GMLS Ch 49

Crack.

A twig snapped under my foot. A dagger shot out like lightning and jabbed under my chin.

“I lose.”

As I held up both hands, Heukwol put away his dagger. He brushed the dust off my shoulders and back.

“It’s fine. I’m going to change anyway.”

Heukwol wrote on my back.

—You seem to be in a particularly good mood today.

“Do I?”

I replied, looking up at the sky. It was clear and bright, without a single cloud. The glare made me narrow my eyes. The corners of my mouth softened into a gentle expression.

“Yeah. I think I am.”

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

The Imperial Palace was bustling with energy for the first time in a while. This was because the arrival of the envoys from The Jihan Kingdom and the five southern nations was approaching. The palace was abuzz with preparations for the banquet to welcome them. At the same time, the castle’s guard personnel and military forces were reinforced, and the number of my days off increased.

After receiving my duty roster and giving it a quick glance, I looked at Muryun. Our eyes met, as he had been looking at me. He had a very complicated expression. He seemed restless as well. Thanks to Heukwol, I had become an expert at reading people’s inner thoughts, so his thoughts and anxieties felt almost tangible.

Surely you don’t think I would change after hearing such words? Or were you worried that I would shy away from you? After all we’ve been through, do you still not know me? I put all these inner thoughts into my smile. It was a smile that looked as if it could melt away anything.

Muryun’s eyes widened. His face gradually relaxed, and soon, a smile just like mine bloomed across it.

“Heh.”

Someone let out a deflated sound. Muryun’s and my gazes turned simultaneously to the source of the noise. It was Monghyul.

Ghastly pale, he looked back and forth between us. He then scrubbed his face with a dry hand and said, “No, well. Haa… Yes. I understand.” He was certainly quick on the uptake. A great deal was implied in those five interjection-riddled words.

Since that night, a small change had occurred between Muryun and me. From the outside, it was as small as a dewdrop, but if you looked closely, it was a change as massive as a flood.

Muryun, who had my duty roster memorized more accurately than I did, would secretly visit my quarters on my days off. And while I dealt with my few documents, he would rest his head on my lap and take a nap. When my work was done, we would intertwine our fingers like a childish game and talk.

We talked about many things. They were mostly Zen-like dialogues, and sometimes they were about rumors, folktales, or anecdotes from collections of folk stories circulating among the people. The topics of conversation were not fixed. There was no need to fix them. Muryun and I both enjoyed the conversation itself that flowed between us.

So much had happened until now. We had gone through it all and overcome it together. However, both he and I belatedly realized that we hadn’t spoken much to each other during that time.

In fact, it was understandable. From the early spring when we had just reunited until today. Pushed along by a whirlwind of events, simply enduring and overcoming was the best we could do. Perhaps that was why. This time spent having leisurely conversations felt all the more precious.

“When you first came to the 5th Prince’s palace. It would have been nice if we had talked calmly like this back then.”

Muryun clicked his tongue repeatedly, saying what a waste it had been.

“Weren’t there many things that passed between us without words back then? Was I the only one who felt that?”

At my words, the frown on Muryun’s brow smoothed out.

“No. You are right. Come to think of it, it’s only been about half a year, but it feels like a very long time ago.”

“Is that so? I feel the opposite. The day I sat perched on the magnolia branch, waiting for Your Highness, feels like just yesterday.”

The conversation ended there. We looked at each other and smiled without a word.

There are things in this world that can be understood without being spoken. Just like him and me right now. And yet, there are also things that can never be known unless conveyed through words. Like my impending death.

‘Until the first snow falls. Until the day my life ends, can I really hold it in?’

I couldn’t say for sure. I even had a prior record of almost blurting it out already. If Muryun hadn’t set the deadline as the first snow back then, I would have already poured out all sorts of words of affection.

“What are you thinking about to make a face like that?”

What is my face like?

“Like a mutt who’s caused trouble.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t entirely wrong. I was anxious, and I still had something to hide from him. Even after hearing his confession of affection, he remained unchanged.

“You’ve seen wrong.”

Muryun’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. I deliberately changed the subject.

“Rather than that, would you like to go out in disguise today? It’s evening now, and starting tomorrow, Your Majesty will be busy with work, won’t you? It’s a waste to let the rest of the day go by.”

“How do you know my work will be busy?”

I heard it from Monghyul. But if I said that as it is, a stick insect would surely appear hanging upside down in the main hall. I feigned ignorance and said.

“Someone gave me a hint.”

“It was Monghyul.”

But it didn’t work on Muryun.

‘I’m sorry, Monghyul.’

Apologizing in my heart, I got up from my seat first. I opened the wardrobe in the corner and took out the clothes we used for our excursions. Not only mine, but Muryun’s were there as well.

This wasn’t our first time going out in disguise. When we got tired of talking in my quarters, Muryun and I would leave the palace like this and head to the city streets. When we returned, Monghyul and Wi Junghyuk would be there with faces like demons. Even if Muryun cleared his throat and tried to act dignified, it was useless at those times.

We had even been lectured for a long time while sitting side by side. After that, we promised to always have Monghyul and Wi Junghyuk accompany us, but we didn’t keep it well. Rather, we were more careful not to get caught at all.

Muryun and I, who were of one mind in a bad way, planned more meticulously and moved more stealthily than before. An expert martial artist who knew the palace geography in detail and could manipulate the deployment of the Geumgun and Milyeonggun at will. When such a person moved with determination, even crossing the palace walls was a piece of cake.

The official reason was to observe the people’s sentiment. But what we were doing was just having fun.

We walked through the bustling central street of the capital. We would stop by a teahouse to taste exotic teas, or if we were hungry, we would enter a tavern that seemed crowded. When we were full, we would wander around here and there again. An apothecary filled with the smell of herbal medicine. A stall selling cheap accessories. We passed by most of them, but there was one place we never just passed by.

The candy stall. Whenever he saw it, Muryun would always buy some, put one piece in my mouth, and wrap the rest in his pocket to carry in his hand. Even while doing so, our clasped hands no longer felt awkward.

After blending in with ordinary people in ordinary clothes, I finally felt my age. His age, twenty-four this year, also hit me with clarity.

Because of the environment we grew up in, we became adults earlier than anyone else. Being like this felt like it was filling up a little of that lost time.

Munching on the candy in my mouth, I roamed every corner of the capital with him. It was fun. So much so that I wondered when I would ever have such a joyful day again.

Next to him, the blue things felt even bluer. Even the narrow, damp alley we cut through as a shortcut felt secretive and cozy. Every other day. We enjoyed such escapades, where the Milyeonggun, having noticed Muryun’s disappearance, would chase after us in a panic.

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

Perhaps because every day was so enjoyable. Time flowed faster than usual.

It was mid-August, the day the envoys were to arrive. I, who had an ambiguous day off, returned to the estate for the first time in a while at Monghyul’s suggestion. I had said it would be better for me, the Captain of the Guard, to stay and guard my post since the envoys were coming, but he insisted, shaking his hand, saying a day off is a day off, and rules are rules.

There was definitely something going on. But I couldn’t figure out what it was. At the very least, for Monghyul, Muryun’s shadow, to act this way meant that it was to some extent Muryun’s will, so I nodded obediently. At that, Monghyul hesitated and hesitated before giving me a piece of advice.

‘Be careful of Tanakhan, the Crown Prince of The Jihan Kingdom.’

The Jihan Kingdom was where Muryun’s maternal family, the ‘Han’ royal family, was located. But why The Jihan Kingdom, and not the envoys from the five southern nations?

I was confused but nodded for the time being. After thinking it over carefully, I realized. The fact that I had an unusual number of days off during the period of the envoys’ arrival was also the result of Muryun’s handiwork.

There is something I don’t know, and Muryun does not want me to know it. I immediately washed my hands of it right there. In that case, it was something I didn’t need to know. However, I kept Monghyul’s advice in mind.

Cough.

It had been quiet for a while, but I was coughing up blood again. Clicking my tongue, I fumbled in my clothes. A hand swiftly approached and pressed a cloth to my lips before I could. It was Heukwol.

“Thanks.”

Heukwol nodded once.

The training ends here. I roughly wiped the blood and started walking toward the estate. The estate, usually quiet despite its liveliness, was strangely noisy.

Near the middle gate, Yeo Yullyeong, dressed in official robes, had gathered a few servants and was giving some instructions. Next to him were an Ammukdan member and a horse. I greeted him as I approached.

“Are you heading out?”

“Yes. Something has come up that requires me to go to the palace urgently.”

“To the palace?”

“Mm. More importantly, did you train with Heukwol again today?”

“It wasn’t quite training; he was helping me practice my stealth. I know what condition I’m in, but I have no trouble managing or using my internal energy. Other than occasionally coughing up blood, I’m the same as usual, so there’s no need to pretend to be sick and act like an invalid, is there?”

“Right. It’s better than just moping around. Still, be mindful. If anything feels wrong with your body, let me know immediately.”

Yeo Yullyeong’s hand gripped my shoulder tightly and then let go.

I glanced down. I saw a scroll he was holding in his own hand. It was tied with red thread and sealed with a golden stamp. It was a sealed document that could not be opened by anyone other than a member of the imperial family.

“That document, may I deliver it?”

“You?”

“The fact that you are going in person means it’s an important item, doesn’t it? I’m the only one here who can deliver it in your stead.”

The Ammukdan are highly skilled, but they are ultimately Yeo Yullyeong’s private organization. Except in special cases, they are, in principle, forbidden from entering the Imperial Palace. As a personal guard, Heukwol was one of those exceptions, but after the incident in the underground prison, he too had been confined to the estate for a while.

“I know you’ve been busy with work lately. Why waste time unnecessarily? There’s an idle hand right here.”

“What’s gotten into the guy who said he was busy rolling around on the floor?”

Even as he said that, Yeo Yullyeong handed over the document without protest.