GMLS Ch 53

Yeo Yullyeong said as he got up from his seat. It was time to act even a step faster rather than worry about it now. Then he added that he would dig into the internal affairs of The Jihan Kingdom in more detail than before.

Thus, Shangshuling left, and surprisingly, Wi Junghyuk followed suit and rose.

“I must go see my father.”

The head of the Wi family, one of the two families that supported The Geum Empire and was called the head of the martial families. Muryun nodded. It was clear what they would discuss without asking.

Finally, even Monghyul left for somewhere, and only Muryun and I remained in the vast chamber.

“Yihwa.”

“Yes.”

“Lend me your lap for a moment.”

Muryun’s voice as he said this was so weary. Perhaps that was why. Words that shouldn’t be said kept forming on the tip of my tongue.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes.”

I love you.

“Are you very tired?”

“A little.”

I really like you a lot.

“Then you should rest.”

“I would like to, but there is much work to be done. It will be alright if I stay like this for a little while.”

But in the end, I couldn’t say it.

I will leave him before the end of this year. Yeo Yullyeong will use his competence to the fullest and hide my traces well so they won’t be found. But someday, in the very distant future, Muryun will learn of my death. And that I was already standing before death at this time.

I thought about that time. About him, left behind in a world without me, learning everything too late. In my imagination, Muryun let his hair down and did nothing but weep day and night. All that remained for him was grief and despair.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even draw in a single gulp of air. I forced myself to scatter the thoughts. Only after clenching my trembling hands tightly was I finally able to breathe again.

“Your lap is more comfortable than a silk and brocade pillow.”

“Is that because Your Majesty holds me in your heart?”

Muryun’s eyes flashed open. He, who had been flustered, soon crinkled his eyes and smiled.

“Haha, you are right. Do you remember when I said I liked you?”

“How could I forget? I recall it several times a day. I will probably never be able to forget it in my lifetime.”

“Is that so? Then I will tell you again. I am in love with you.”

My heart swayed helplessly. He, who had thrown a stone into the calm lake, asked mischievously.

“How is it? Do you think you won’t be able to forget this moment either?”

“…Yes.”

“Haha. Then from now on, if a moment you want to remember comes, tell me. I will tell you I love you each time.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. Would I lie to you?”

I hesitated before speaking.

“Every moment is like that.”

Once I said it, it sounded just like a confession. Muryun’s face froze. The sly smile vanished completely.

“Every moment I have spent with Your Majesty is a moment I want to remember.”

Muryun’s hand shot up. He grabbed the nape of my neck and pulled me down. My head naturally lowered, and my lips were swallowed by his.

Time flowed slowly, and all my senses focused on Muryun. His other hand, which was not holding my nape, naturally slipped inside the front of my robes. I flinched reflexively, and his hand withdrew as naturally as it had come. His lips also pulled away.

“Right. The next step should be after hearing your answer when the first snow falls. I am not that much of an inconsiderate man.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

We burst into laughter at almost the same time.

“Do you remember? When I became the Captain of the Guard and went to The North Palace. Your Majesty asked me what my purpose was, why I had volunteered to be your Captain of the Guard.”

“Yes. I did.”

“Do you remember what I answered then?”

“I remember.”

‘I do not know my purpose, but there is something I want. It is to serve His Highness, The 5th Prince, by his side until the day I die.’

Muryun’s eyes deepened, as if he had recalled the same thing as me.

While he was resting his head on my lap, I pulled out the donggot that was already loosened. After untying the yongunggeon as well, I stroked his long hair. Swish, swish. With each stroke of my fingers through his hair, Muryun’s body relaxed comfortably.

“I will always be by Your Majesty’s side.”

I will do so until the day I leave. Instead, when I leave, I will leave my heart behind.

“Even if I am reborn, I will return to Your Majesty’s side.”

Even if this poison gnaws at my body and eventually kills me, I will not forget Your Majesty.

“In the next life, no matter what I am reborn as, and no matter what Your Majesty is reborn as, I will live as Your Majesty’s guard again.”

Even if I am not reborn as a human, I will return. I will definitely come back. So, no matter what I become, please do not be hesitant, and please do not resent me as a dog that left its master without a word, but please allow me to stand by your side.

Muryun quietly took my hand that was moving through his hair. Then he kissed the back of it.

“You probably think that I chose you. But that’s not it. It was I who was chosen by you. You, who came to me like this in this life, how could I push you away in the next?”

He clasped my hand with both of his and buried his face in it.

“For the rest of my life, the Captain of the Guard will be only you.”

Muryun’s voice as he said this was thick with emotion. It was a sincerity deeper than the sea.

“The person I will give my heart to for my entire life will also be only you, Yihwa.”

Yihwa. My lovely Yihwa.

At those words, a single, thin stream of tears finally traced a path down my cheek.

“For my entire life, I will live as your Yihwa.”

This, too, was my sincerity, deeper than the sea.

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

Time flowed like water. During that time, there were no noticeable changes.

Yeo Yullyeong moved beneath the surface as usual. If he was usually a grass snake with a visible white tail, now he was a dormant dragon with long whiskers. He began to stir the waters underneath, mobilizing everything he could.

Wi Junghyuk returned with a bluish bruise on his right eye. Muryun and I were at a loss for words. It was the work of the head of the Wi family, Wi Hyeokgang.

Although I hadn’t seen him in person, I had heard and learned about him when I was studying the families and the flow of power in The Geum Empire. He had retired from politics and was currently living in seclusion, and was said to be a gentle, upright man who, despite being a warrior, disliked violence.

“I said I wanted to inherit the position of family head. I told him that since he is getting old now, he should not just pretend to have retired but actually retire and rest. And then, a fist came flying out of nowhere.”

Wow. No, wow…

“It’s a relief that it was only a fist that flew.”

Monghyul said what I wanted to say. Wi Junghyuk glared at Monghyul. Even so, with that bruise, he wasn’t scary at all.

Just then, Muryun handed me a scroll. At a glance, it had the same seal as the one I had received from Yeo Yullyeong and delivered to Muryun before.

“Can you deliver this now? I am sorry to entrust you with such a trivial task.”

“Not at all.”

Taking the scroll with both hands, I tucked it into my clothes and crossed the palace like the wind. Even as I ran, my mind was filled with complicated thoughts.

Muryun had ascended to the throne through a legitimate process. There were no other heirs to the throne left. Time was on his side. If he waited, power would naturally gather around him.

The problem was that time had become scarce.

The officials and families who wielded considerable influence had been on the Crown Prince’s side until a few months ago. The rest were neutral. There were a small number of supporters of The 2nd or 3rd Prince, but they were literally a minority and not even worth mentioning.

The neutrals were better. Those who had originally been part of the Crown Prince’s faction did not immediately bow down just because Muryun became emperor. They were only pretending to follow on the surface because one of the two most powerful families, the Yeo family, had sided with the emperor.

I could guess why Wi Junghyuk had said such a thing to the head of the Wi family.

If the Wi and Yeo families both sided with the emperor, there was really no need to worry about those below them. If that happened, those who didn’t want to be left behind would scramble to bow their heads and crawl in.

‘Then couldn’t he just persuade Wi Hyeokgang to side with the emperor?’

When I asked Yeo Yullyeong while delivering the scroll, he said, ‘Wi Junghyuk is a simple man, and his nature is such that he is only satisfied when he protects what is important with his own hands.’ Even if he’s his own father, he’s like a stranger. On the other hand, that was also very much like Wi Junghyuk.

When I returned to the East Hall where Muryun was, two praying mantises were standing upside down in front of the office.

“This is all because of you, water strider. Because you said something unnecessary—”

“Enough. Go to the market or somewhere and buy some sense, you rhinoceros beetle.”

“……”

Correction. It was a water strider and a rhinoceros beetle standing upside down like praying mantises. It was a relief that no one was watching. I pretended not to see and stepped inside.

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

Tanakhan was quiet. So quiet that it was strange. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so, as Muryun summoned one of the Milyeonggun he had assigned to Tanakhan. However, there was nothing to be learned from the report.

He really was just lazing around, going back and forth between his quarters and the imperial palace gardens. Other than occasionally making passes at the palace servants and warriors, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Muryun and I were buried in work. Muryun had no time to rest, with the envoy’s affairs and the huge stone Tanakhan had thrown added to the state affairs he originally had to handle. I, too, had short days, planning the security and routes for the banquet with the Imperial Guard and the Milyeonggun and coordinating the details.

While we were busy like that, the banquet for the envoys was suddenly just a day away. Not much time was left. A few days after the banquet, they would pack their belongings and return to their respective countries.

‘I think you’re fit to be my queen.’

‘If you come to me, I will not strike The Geum Empire, at least not while you are alive. I’ll give you time, so think about it.’

I wiped my face with my hand. I don’t know what he’s thinking at all. Even if everything he rambled on about was true, and I did fit that ‘ideal,’ it was still incomprehensible.

Tanakhan knew nothing about me. Didn’t he hear for the first time then that I was Shangshuling’s son and my name was Yeo Yihwa? The same goes for me. When he was called a ‘scoundrel’ from Subaek, I just thought, I see, and that was it.

We knew so little about each other, yet he confessed his love just because I looked similar to the ‘someone’ he had dreamed of?

“Haa.”

I grabbed my throbbing temples and sighed. Thinking about it further would only lead to more confusion. I gave up on trying to understand and turned my eyes to the reality I was facing now.