GMLS Ch 12

The 5th Prince’s loosened hair swayed slightly. His clenched teeth were visible. Though unable to hide his agitation, he ultimately did not back down.

“How naive you are. Did the Minister of State Affairs not teach you? To survive in this pit of gudok (蠱毒 – poison), you must either become a venomous spider or a scorpion, or you must submit to the king of venomous spiders and scorpions. I have not known you for long, but your character is certainly not one of poison. As I said before, when you see His Majesty the Emperor, just prostrate yourself humbly before him.”

“I do not wish to survive here. I wish to be by Your Highness’s side. I don’t even wish for you to stroke my hair, give me sweets, or hold me comfortingly like you did back then. Is it so difficult to ask you to simply let me stay by your side?”

It was frustrating that we were having a conversation, yet our intentions were not getting through to each other. How could someone wiser than me be like this? Why is he pushing me away? I was growing terribly anxious.

“I do not keep people by my side.”

“If you dislike people, then I will become an object.”

“There is no object that can think and judge.”

“Then I will become an object that neither thinks nor judges.”

“Even more unnecessary. What use or value is there in an object that is not used?”

“In this world, there are objects that fulfill their purpose simply by being there. Like that bonfire.”

I shot my hand out and grasped The 5th Prince’s hand. I had touched the body of royalty without permission. It was an audacious and disrespectful act. But I felt I had to do it.

“I shall become Your Highness’s bonfire.”

The 5th Prince flinched at my touch but did not pull his hand away. He simply looked down at his captured hand, thinking of something else. I couldn’t even guess what he was thinking. His jade-like face was still hard to read.

“A bonfire is not an object you simply keep by your side; it is something you must constantly tend to. A bonfire is something that goes out without its master’s attention.”

As he said this, The 5th Prince’s imposing air had softened.

“At the very least, I will not go out.”

“A rash promise is worse than no promise at all.”

“It is not a rash promise. It is a promise made with something to believe in.”

“Something to believe in?”

“That a cold wind has settled in Your Highness’s heart. For those who are cold are bound to seek a bonfire.”

Just as I sought you out.

I intertwined my fingers with the hand I had been holding as if to cover it. The long, jointed fingers did not interlace back, but neither did they pull away; he simply let me be.

For now, that was enough. I would burn my everything to light your future and warm your side, becoming your bonfire.

“You truly… how can you be like this.”

The 5th Prince’s face contorted. He opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately closed it again without a word. The 5th Prince’s head gradually bowed lower.

I saw a thought as deep and damp as an abandoned well settle near his ear. Still, I said nothing. I just waited. Now was the moment to do so. I had waited five years; could I not wait for one more sliver of the dawn? I waited patiently and gently rubbed his neatly trimmed nails with my fingertips.

“Did you not resent me?”

“That is a word that does not exist between Your Highness and me.”

“Even though I abandoned you like that?”

“Was that abandoning me back then? I thought you were entrusting me to them.”

I asked, withdrawing my intertwined hand.

“Was I mistaken?”

The 5th Prince could not answer right away. I waited patiently for his reply. In truth, the answer he would give now was the answer to all the Zen-like questions so far, and it was also the word that would define our relationship from now on.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t anxious about what his answer might be. Still, I believed in The 5th Prince.

He was a man like solid ground. When held in his unwavering arms, I would even forget that my feet were dangling in the air. Right now, he was just a little frozen. Like the permafrost north of the Taebaek Mountains.

The 5th Prince’s fingers, left on the table, curled inward. Finally, the answer I wanted came from his lips.

“No. You are right, I entrusted you.”

He curved his lips into a smile. He was clearly smiling, but to my eyes, it looked just as if he were crying.

“Will you not regret it?”

“Yes. I will not regret it.”

When I added, “Absolutely,” he laughed, looking deflated.

“Did I not just say? A rash promise is worse than no promise at all.”

“This is not rash either. It is a promise born from experience. I had my fill of regret five years ago when I woke up alone in that empty bed. I did all the regretting I will do for a lifetime back then, so it is all right.”

The 5th Prince spoke as if he were flabbergasted.

“Fine. I will never think to beat you with words again. Just where on earth did something like you pop out from?”

For a question like this, not a Zen-like one, I could give the correct answer as much as he wanted. Towards him, who looked like he would cry but couldn’t, who was smiling but not truly smiling, I smiled brightly.

“I came out of the mother-of-pearl box that Your Highness opened.”

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

“Let me introduce you. As you already know, this is Yeo Yihwa, who has been appointed as my Captain of the Guard.”

My jaw dropped. What kind of nonsensical talk was this?

While I couldn’t shake my bewilderment, the equally surprised Captain of the Guard looked me up and down. He then looked at The 5th Prince with an expression of deep admiration. I thought he was just living like a carefree libertine, but as expected, he was a dragon in hiding. As expected of my lord. Such thoughts could be read from his face, word for word.

His control over his expression was worse than that of a low-ranking official. Was he really the son of that Minister of State Affairs? No matter how much of an adopted son he was, green is just another shade of green, and that which is near ink becomes black. He’s been by his side for years, so where did this softy pop out from?

“This is Monghyul. My only limb.”

“As expected of Your Highness. So you had someone under your command.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. I used to have them, but… now he is the only one. He is the son of a vassal who followed me all the way from The Jihan Kingdom. His main job is information gathering. Or sometimes, I use him as a sword when needed after observing the enemy’s movements.”

Half of The 5th Prince’s words were nonsense.

The vassals who had followed his mother to The Geum Empire were warriors from renowned families in The Jihan Kingdom. The cub of a tiger cannot be a dog. His grandson, Monghyul, was also a top-class warrior in terms of skill, comparable to the Miryeonggun, the Emperor’s personal royal guards, though he lived only in the shadows.

Furthermore, the order of his duties was reversed. He was normally The 5th Prince’s protecting sword, and would reluctantly leave his post only when necessary information was needed.

Surely… he didn’t say that because he was worried this man would find him distasteful, did he? It was an absurd speculation, yet it was also plausible enough that Monghyul was at a loss for words.

While he was flustered and fumbling, Yihwa, who was standing opposite him, bowed his head.

“You must be Lord Monghyul. As you are The 5th Prince’s hand, I look forward to working with you. As I am young in years and ignorant of the ways of the world, I may have many shortcomings in serving His Highness, but please look upon me favorably.”

“You are not lacking in anything, so just be comfortable. And what’s this ‘Lord Monghyul’? ‘Monghyul’ is fine. You are a Senior 5th Rank official and the Captain of the Guard protecting me, a Prince no less, while he is a shadow with no rank or status. Monghyul will probably be more comfortable with you speaking down to him. Right?”

Say yes, even if you mean no.

The 5th Prince said with his eyes only. Monghyul was the sole survivor of The 5th Prince’s personal secret unit. He had served The 5th Prince for ten long years. He could take a hint. Whatever his inner thoughts, he nodded his head silently.

“See?”

“…In that case, I will speak informally.”

The 5th Prince smiled contentedly.

The moment he saw that smile, all the calculations and assessments that had been filling Monghyul’s head vanished completely. How long had it been since he had seen such a smile on this man’s face? It was an event from a distant past, so much so that the memory was now faint.

The 5th Prince gestured to Monghyul. With a bow, he retreated and melted back into the shadows where he had originally been. His heart was in an indescribable turmoil. He had returned as ordered, three days later, but what awaited him was not a new date but the Captain of the Guard standing by The 5th Prince’s side.

The adopted son of the Minister of State Affairs. The sole heir of the Yeo family.

And Yeo Yullyeong was the only one trusted by the Emperor. It was impossible to see what was so endearing about that man. Objectively speaking, he was the type to be at odds with the Emperor, not to be cherished by him.

‘Or does he really hold the secret to life, sickness, old age, and death?’

Yeo Yullyeong had a smooth face that looked thirty at most, but his actual age was nearing fifty. The court attendants called him a monster, and the officials whispered that he was a hundred-year-old white serpent.

Monghyul clicked his tongue, thinking them all foolish. The Minister of State Affairs, Yeo Yullyeong, was the type of man who would secretly pit a guy he disliked against a guy he disliked even more, and while they became bloodied, he would watch from a distance, leisurely fanning himself with a folding fan. A hundred-year-old serpent? Ridiculous. He was an imugi at least a thousand years old.

‘Does he really know the secret to immortality?’

Considering his ageless appearance, it wasn’t an entirely baseless story.

Having thought that far, Monghyul let out a deep sigh. My mind is restless, so all sorts of things are running wild in my head. Above all, it seemed The 5th Prince had completely given up on the idea of leaving.

The thought of how to persuade him again was simply overwhelming. The reason was plain to see, but the person involved was someone he could not touch so easily, which made him even more troubled.

‘If the Emperor really dies a sudden death at this rate…’

As his worries deepened, The 5th Prince’s smile from earlier flickered before his eyes. Come to think of it, the scent of alcohol that used to emanate from his lord like a body fragrance was no longer there.

Pausing, Monghyul, who had been too focused on the Captain of the Guard to see properly, tried to recall what his master had looked like. The ever-present sharp edge in his aura was as soft as a boiled egg today. His attire was also neat. His hair was tidily tied up and fastened with a topknot pin. His complexion also seemed much more at ease.

“…”

A carrier hawk flew toward Monghyul, whose mind had become a battlefield. Monghyul untied the letter attached to its leg.