GMLS Ch 34

Rumble. Crash.

The sound of the burned palace collapsing still rang in his ears. The cries of a child from within a chest lingered in the collapsed rubble and the burnt ashes.

Muryun, dumbfounded, fell forward onto his face. A sorrowful cry swirled within his mouth. Tears of regret seeped into the pillars of the prince’s palace, of which only traces remained.

By loss and grief, he was forced to mature.

Muryun tempered himself to the point of self-abuse. He perfected a hard exterior and became a flawless warrior by honing his sword. His body, which had not yet fully matured, grew in an instant, showing the appearance of a great man.

However, the heart he had left behind in the ashes did not grow at all. That young heart was searching for Yihwa in his dreams.

My Yihwa. Yihwa, where are you? Are you not my Captain of the Guard? Why is the one who should always be by my side not here? No matter where you have gone, return swiftly. I am growing weary of waiting.

Was that sentiment conveyed through the dream? A pair of black leather shoes came to a neat stop in front of the prostrated Muryun.

‘Your Highness.’

Muryun’s head snapped up. He immediately saw Yihwa with a bright face. His love, like a magnolia, was there.

Staggering to his feet, Muryun grabbed Yihwa’s hand. His surroundings flipped upside down. He was now sitting face to face with Yihwa in the spacious room of The North Palace. He was sure he had grabbed Yihwa’s hand, but in the blink of an eye, their positions had reversed, and Yihwa was holding his hand.

Seeing this, Muryun knew when this was. It was the moment they had exchanged questions and answers so he could push Yihwa away. Muryun’s heart sank.

I must have been crazy. Why did I do such a thing? If he came to me naively, saying he liked me without knowing anything, I should have just snatched him up and devoured him. The truth, my foot. Frankly, if Yihwa, disgusted with me back then, had simply run away…

Muryun couldn’t think any further and squeezed his eyes shut.

He knew. Confirmation was an absolute necessity. And in the middle of confirming, he had a premonition. That the man before him would soon occupy a very large place within him.

While Yihwa was struggling with the Zen-like questions, Muryun was standing before a stepping-stone bridge he could not go back across. Because he couldn’t go back, it was a bridge he had to check a hundred, a thousand times before crossing.

What he saw changed once again. Muryun was suddenly transported from the spacious room to a place above a vast expanse of water. To be precise, it was the starting point of a stepping-stone bridge made of stone.

Muryun, who was staring blankly at his feet, burst into a hollow laugh.

What he thought was the first stone of the stepping-stone bridge was in fact the last. He belatedly realized that the countless stones spread out before him were ones he had already crossed. He had only been looking back from the other side of the river.

“…Ha.”

Muryun, waking from his sleep, laughed in futility.

As he laughed, he soon called for someone. The head eunuch replied, “I am here,” and bowed. Muryun asked about Yihwa. The head eunuch, who always replied with unconcealable apology, “He is well at the shrine,” today gave a different answer in a slightly excited voice.

“Word has come that he will be returning soon.”

Muryun’s reaction was surprisingly calm.

“Is that so.”

…In truth, he was only pretending to be calm. Muryun told a maid to open the window. The lattice window opened, and the clear dawn sky filled half of the frame.

“I see.”

A star, not yet swallowed by the morning, was shining white.

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

Late June. The day finally came for the return of his chief contributors, who had made The 5th Prince the emperor. Unlike when they left, they were traveling by horse and carriage, so even though they hurried greatly, ten days were spent.

The emperor, forgetting his decorum, paced in front of the main gate since morning. And then, he was caught by an Imperial Guard on patrol.

The guard, who had bowed to the floor, asked what brought him here, and the emperor, having nothing to say, remained silent. He didn’t say to stand at ease. Nor did he state the reason for his visit.

‘No, why is he acting like this? Did I, without knowing, somehow offend His Majesty?’

As the fires of hell spread through the guard’s mind, the Captain of the Imperial Guard, Wi Suhyeok, having heard the news, came running in a flurry from the main palace. He grasped the entire situation just by seeing the prostrated guard soaked in a cold sweat and Muryun pacing with his hands behind his back.

“We have not received a report as to which gate the Captain of the Guard will be arriving through. You might miss him if you stay here, so please wait at the main palace. We were told the Captain of the Guard would come straight to the main palace.”

Muryun headed for the main palace without another word.

Originally, he should greet them at the throne hall to reward their merits upon their return. However, Wi Suhyeok flexibly omitted that part. The eunuchs and other palace servants would prepare the rest of the minor details, including the formal attire.

Following behind the emperor, Wi Suhyeok was lost in thought. He had only been able to meet Muryun in person after becoming the Captain of the Imperial Guard. Even so, his new master wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. This was because he had heard about The 5th Prince from his older brother, Wi Junghyuk, until his ears were worn out.

The rare days when Wi Junghyuk, who did not like alcohol, had a drink, were the days he would recount the heroic tales of The 5th Prince Muryun.

In his stories, Muryun was a hero of the realm and a sage king the likes of which would never be seen again. His eyes holding a cool sharpness, his heavy atmosphere, and the scene of him riding a horse with a sword, beheading the southern barbarians—it all made the young Wi Suhyeok’s heart pound.

“Is anyone there.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The head eunuch answered.

“Where is the Captain of the Guard’s party said to be?”

He had asked the same question a moment ago. And a moment before that, and an hour before that. Wi Suhyeok couldn’t manage his expression at the question that came flying every time the shadow on the windowsill moved a nail’s breadth.

The silent, noble, and dignified emperor.

“Why have they only made it that far? Are they riding on mangy horses?”

The dignity…

“A report came up a little while ago that they are in front of Geumseong Fortress. They should be getting inspected by the capital gatekeepers by now.”

“Inspected? Are you saying they are inspecting my Captain of the Guard?”

The nobility…

“Rules are rules… Of course, it is a formality, so it will be over quickly. What kind of audacious gatekeeper would hold up the Shangshuling and the Captain of the Guard?”

“You never know. This won’t do. Is the Milyeonggun there?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The emperor’s secret shadows dropped down with a rustle.

The head eunuch showed no expression, but the eunuchs and maids below him were different. The Milyeonggun they knew were no different from messengers of the underworld who carried swords instead of brushes.

If the Imperial Guards were a sturdy shield, the Milyeonggun was a very sharp sword. Murderers who would not hesitate to cut down anyone, be they a newborn or an old person, if it was the emperor’s command. A rumor circulated in every era that if you made eye contact with them, you would die on the spot.

The palace servants trembled, not daring to even lift their heads.

“Go quickly and bring the Captain of the Guard.”

And Muryun used such Milyeonggun as something akin to a carrier pigeon to welcome Yihwa.

“We receive your command.”

Whatever the content, as long as it came from Muryun’s mouth, it was a solemn imperial command. The murderous shadows that had filled the spacious room disappeared in an instant.

The head eunuch bowed, saying that if there were no further orders, he would now take his leave. After leaving the room, he secretly sighed. His already old body felt as if it had aged drastically in a short moment.

Wi Suhyeok, who remained inside, became a statue. He tried his best to connect the 5th Prince he had grown up hearing about with the emperor who was pacing like a puppy that needed to relieve itself, even after sending the Milyeonggun of all people as a welcome party.

Muryun, who neither knew nor cared about Wi Suhyeok’s inner thoughts, clicked his tongue in frustration. He imagined Yihwa standing before the gatekeeper. He could clearly picture him standing there, diligently answering each and every one of the sweating gatekeeper’s questions.

‘When I first met him, I thought he was just clever, but as I got to know him, he had a more clueless side than I expected.’

It wasn’t that Yihwa was pretending not to know about the palace servants’ ridicule. It was that he didn’t hear it at all. His personality was go-with-the-flow. His emotions were immature in many ways. Even their texture wasn’t detailed, but broadly divided into the two directions of like and dislike.

A child in a grown-up’s body. Or a puppy that knows nothing but to follow its master. A person who wouldn’t know if they were treated unfairly, or even if they did, would just let it slide if it was about themselves. That was the Yihwa Muryun knew.

But there was a moment when such a fellow held a clear sharpness. That was when Muryun was involved. Thinking that far, his anxiety and impatience cleared away completely.

Muryun smiled contentedly.

‘Right. Since Yeo Yullyeong is with him, they’ll finish quickly and come.’

Then, pretending to be a generous and leisurely monarch, he fluttered a newly acquired folding fan. The maids were aghast, saying they would fan him with a banana leaf fan, but there was no way Muryun would listen.

“It is truly the height of summer.”

The first time they met was in early spring when the snow had not yet melted. His thoughts naturally flowed back to Yihwa again. As this did not seem strange at all, Muryun came to realize anew that he himself had a rather shameless side.

One month apart from each other. Muryun no longer even thought of hiding his sorrow or longing for Yihwa.

What had at first been just a thought of wanting to see him later turned into a fever. It felt like he would die if he couldn’t see that face right away. A dozen times a day. He imagined running across mountains and fields to see Yihwa at the shrine on the eternally snow-capped mountain.

After becoming sleepless again, that feeling grew even more desperate. When he managed to fall into a light sleep and was startled awake by a nightmare, there was no way to hide his empty heart.

‘This too will be the last of it as of today.’

Yihwa, who was at the shrine, is now in front of the capital. The closer the physical distance became, the strangely larger the longing grew. The desire to see Yihwa also became much stronger.

To hell with decorum, Muryun had to use all his effort to endure the urge to run out immediately.

At that moment, Yihwa was passing through the capital’s inspection, just as the head eunuch had said. It was before the Milyeonggun, who had received the solemn imperial command, had arrived.