GMLS Ch 6

The place we arrived at was the garden where I did my morning training, and it was also the spot where the window of the 5th Prince’s quarters was visible. The 5th Prince, standing in a secluded spot, turned to look at me.

“What in the world are you trying to do?”

“Pardon?”

“It seems you won’t understand unless I say it directly, so I’ll just ask you outright. What is your purpose for approaching me? For what reason have you appointed yourself as my Captain of the Guard?”

“Did I not tell you before?”

“Yes, I heard the story of the grateful Yihwa very well. I might have believed you if you had come running to me five years ago, but the you of today is the heir to the Yeo family.”

His dark eyes were stained with suspicion. His attitude was unyielding.

I shut my mouth in bewilderment. I couldn’t figure out what I should say. To be precise, I knew that whatever I said would be useless. No matter what words I spoke, the 5th Prince would not accept me. I could guess as much just from the way he had treated me over the past few days.

Now, what will you answer? The prince who had put up a wall stared at me.

Meeting his eyes, which were like black scales, I let out a faint smile. Seeing my smile, the 5th Prince’s eyes wavered. Ripples formed in his pupils, like the surface of a lake brushed by a sudden gust of wind.

As I gazed into those eyes, my usually calm heart began to pound. It was unpleasant yet gratifying, serene yet intense. It was just like that time five years ago.

The desire I felt right after getting to know him was remarkably simple. I like him. I like him. I like him. I just liked him endlessly. I simply wanted to stay by his side. To sit on his lap and doze off, to receive sweets and be praised for eating well, to have my bottom patted—just like that.

I thought I would be fine being a child forever. I would have been happy to be five instead of fifteen, just to stay as I was.

It was impossible even then, but now that I had grown so much, it was a wish that could absolutely never be fulfilled.

So I pondered for many long days. The method I came up with at the end of my deliberation was to keep the essence of my desire but change its direction. If I couldn’t achieve it perfectly, I would just have to achieve something similar.

And so I resolved to become someone by the 5th Prince’s side. I decided I would become a sword that carries out his will with deep loyalty. But when Yeo Yullyeong heard my story, he tilted his head.

‘Will you really be alright?’

‘With what, sir?’

‘You don’t look like someone who would be satisfied with just that.’

‘Is my satisfaction important?’

Yeo Yullyeong laughed loudly.

‘It is not important.’

Then he added.

‘That is, if that heart of yours, which seems calm for now, does not overflow, does not waver, and does not change.’

‘Then you have nothing to worry about. My heart will remain tranquil to the very end.’

‘Is it because you are still young? Or is it because you have not yet suffered a sorrowful heartache? You make promises so easily, not even knowing how difficult it is.’

The folding fan he always held like a part of his body snapped open. Yeo Yullyeong peered at me from over it. His thinly folded eyes seemed to be laughing at me.

‘Do not look down on your own desire.’

Why of all things was I remembering his added remark now?

“I do not know my purpose, but there is something I want. It is to serve the 5th Prince, Your Highness, by his side until the day I die.”

It was a sincerity without a single blemish. On that day, during those ten days, it had been decided.

The 5th Prince’s face contorted. He hesitated and took a step back. One step. Two steps. His retreat was regrettable, but I did not dare to grab him. The 5th Prince opened his mouth as if to say something, then shut it again. After doing so a few times like a fish thrown onto land, he spoke in a voice that sounded like it would soon extinguish.

“I will relieve you of your position. Disappear to wherever, immediately.”

“Even if it is Your Highness’s command, I cannot obey that order.”

I reached into my breast pocket and took out the royal decree I always carried like a treasure. As I unfurled the thin scroll with a fwip, the Emperor’s royal seal stamped at the very bottom was revealed.

“I, Yeo Yihwa, am here under the command of His Majesty, the august Emperor. His Majesty ordered me to be a companion to the 5th Prince, Your Highness, and to learn about the affairs of this Imperial Palace by his side.”

“How dare you speak such nonsense in my presence. He would never do such a thing.”

“How could I possibly misrepresent the words spoken directly by His Majesty the Emperor? He most certainly said this.”

Looking up at the heavens, I had not a speck of shame. I spoke only the truth. Moreover, the royal decree in my hand backed up my words, so I was truly confident.

“Haa.”

With a sigh, the 5th Prince gave up arguing and started walking again. His momentum had been broken. He seemed to have resigned himself. Still, his aimless steps were proper. It was the gait of a man trained in the martial arts. I belatedly realized that the terrible smell of alcohol was not present today.

What a relief. My heart was still pounding from the order to leave, but my relief was genuine.

After that day, the 5th Prince didn’t care what I did. He might have given up on chasing me away, seeing that I had the royal decree. Instead, he ignored me more thoroughly than before.

I decided to think of it in a positive light. I also took advantage of the fact that he didn’t care what I did.

“Your Highness, look. A shrike has landed on the branch of the trifoliate orange tree. Seeing the frog in its beak, it seems spring has truly come. It would be nice if flowers bloomed soon in the Northern Palace as well. The cherry blossoms are still only half in bloom.”

“Your Highness, I have hung a new name plaque. Do you see it? The cleaning of the remaining rooms is almost finished, and the pond should be all sorted out by tomorrow. Oh, how about raising a few brocaded carp in the pond? Or since the pond is large, releasing some small crucian carp and keeping a few mallard ducks would also be nice.”

“Your Highness, where shall you go out today? Your Highness has been leaving your quarters more often lately, and this vassal is endlessly joyful. Since things have come to this, how about trying to drink a little less as well?”

“…Are you always this talkative?”

There was no lie in the old saying. As they say, no tree falls after ten strikes, and the 5th Prince opened his mouth in exactly ten days. It was closer to him opening his mouth out of sheer disbelief and exasperation, but I felt like I could fly with joy.

“No. I prefer silence to words.”

At my answer, the 5th Prince was dumbfounded.

“Then why are you so talkative only to me?”

“Because for five years, I have only dreamed of it. The day we would speak like this again. Even if you don’t answer, the one listening is Your Highness, so the words come out on their own.”

The 5th Prince did not reply. There was no particular reaction either. I only happened to see his fingertips, hanging below his sleeve, curl slightly inward.

It was probably after that. The 5th Prince started to occasionally reply to my words. However, despite my efforts, something soon happened that forced me to reduce my chatter.

“The weather is still cold. There was frost this morning. Please dress warmly.”

“It’s none of your, cough, business. Cough.”

On the first day of April, the prince caught a light cold.

After several fruitless trips, I brought back a physician from the palace. He had a goat-like beard and the typical face of a sycophant. One shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance, I thought, but the man grovelled before me more than he did to the 5th Prince.

I was boiling inside, but my side was the one in a hurry, so I had him check the prince’s pulse. But when I looked at the medicinal packet he prescribed, it was filled with cheap medicinal herbs, things treated as weeds in the marketplace.

I immediately left the palace and headed for Yeo Yullyeong’s estate. My family was happy to see me after a long time, but my business was more urgent.

Without delay, I slung the physician who was practically living there over my shoulder and returned to the 5th Prince’s palace. The old man, who had been accosted while reading a book, was bewildered, but upon seeing the 5th Prince’s face of worldly detachment, he immediately understood the situation.

The 5th Prince sighed.

“The body of a member of the royal family can only be examined by physicians belonging to the palace.”

“Then is it a problem that can be solved by making this physician a royal physician?”

“……”

The 5th Prince obediently let his pulse be taken.

“Your overall energy has weakened. Please take the medicine I prescribe for a month. It would also be good to reduce your alcohol consumption.”

I personally decocted and served the medicine the physician prescribed. The 5th Prince, surprisingly, took it without complaint. Judging by his expression, it seemed he was simply accepting it to avoid further hassle.

In any case, as long as he took the medicine, it was fine. I smiled shyly and offered him a sweet. Though his expression was strange, the 5th Prince accepted that as well.

Perhaps my threat that I would bring the most famous physician in the capital city if he didn’t recover properly had an effect. The number of liquor bottles rolling around the room decreased. Thanks to that, his body improved a lot, but that blasted cough was the problem.

Five days had already passed, and it was the beginning of April, yet even after decocting and feeding him everything said to be good for a cough—bellflower root, pear—there was no improvement.

Frustrated, I consulted Heukwol, and after a long hesitation, he said, 

‘Could it be your fault, Young Master?’ 

My eyes narrowed instinctively. He became flustered again and, telling me not to misunderstand, explained the reason.

A patient with a cough should not talk much. But if the person they are with is talkative, wouldn’t the patient naturally have to talk a lot to answer?

Hearing that, I reflected on the past few days. The 5th Prince ignoring me was already a thing of the past, so there was no need to think further. Heukwol was right.

After that, I kept my mouth firmly shut. I acted uncharacteristically demure and curt, fulfilling my duty as a solemn Captain of the Guard. I said nothing beyond what was necessary. When the prince, who had recently taken a liking to strolls, left his quarters, I followed quietly behind him.

But the reaction of the 5th Prince, who should have been happy that it was finally quiet, was strange. On the first day, he looked at me as if thinking, What did this one eat to make him act this way? On the second day, he kept glancing at me. And on the third day, he was in a very low mood.