Chapter 29
Dojin’s posture was respectful, but his gaze was anything but pure. Sensing the unusual intensity in his eyes, Hyunseo let out a cold laugh.
“I’ve never raised a hunting dog that covets its master’s possessions.”
“……”
“Since when does a hunting dog defy its master’s words?”
Hyunseo’s icy gaze bore down on Dojin. Every time their eyes met, Dojin’s body stiffened. It was an incredible presence—one that hadn’t been felt since his master. Only those who had reached a certain level could exude such an aura. Though they had never crossed swords, Dojin sensed they were equals. The overwhelming pressure forced Dojin to kneel on one knee.
“I misspoke……”
Dust swirled around them, but Dojin paid it no mind. If Hyunseo commanded it, he would kneel on both knees and bow his head to the ground. Hyunseo had saved his declining family, dragged him from the battlefield without asking for payment, and brought him into the palace. Everything Dojin had, he owed to Hyunseo.
Dojin first met him during the battle against the Silver Clan. It was a fight where comrades fell in droves. Amid the groans of the dying, Dojin sat covered in blood, his future bleak. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep fighting, how many more comrades he would lose. Whenever he heard a dying man beg for death, Dojin would raise his sword and end their suffering. The blood on his blade was more often his comrades’ than the enemy’s.
A man on horseback appeared, stopping to study Dojin intently—his grip on the sword, his movements, even the shape of his muscles. Dojin didn’t care. The man extended his hand.
“You don’t yet know your own worth.”
A red silk ribbon was tied around the man’s wrist, embroidered with a delicate rapeseed blossom. The bright yellow flower fluttered in the wind. Dojin stared blankly up at him, the sun too bright to make out his face.
“Won’t you join the one who recognizes you?”
To be judged not by family or temperament, but by himself—that was what Dojin, wandering the battlefield, had always longed for. He grabbed the man’s hand without hesitation.
“Do I… really have worth?”
“Of course. I trust myself.”
“But I’m just a wretch who cuts down his own comrades…”
“If you can’t protect them, then at least cut them down. What’s so frightening about that?”
The man smiled. From that moment, Dojin followed him like a shadow, accompanying him everywhere. Only later did he learn that the man was destined for the highest throne.
“Forgive me. I spoke out of turn.”
Yet why, even now, did he want to side with that insignificant omega? Why did he feel resentment toward the king he had sworn to serve his entire life? Dojin couldn’t understand his own heart. He steeled himself and begged for forgiveness.
As Dojin bowed his head, the silver ornament in his hair tilted toward the ground. It was crude compared to Hyunseo’s gold-adorned one. No one but the king and his consorts could wear patterned hair ornaments.
“You’re not even worthy to gift a hairpin to your lover.”
And likely never would be. Hyunseo stepped closer, resting his hand on Dojin’s hair ornament. The weight pressed Dojin’s head lower.
“That’s the difference between heaven and earth.”
“……”
“How could the earth covet what belongs to heaven?”
It was a warning. Though Hyunseo’s hand exerted no physical force, Dojin felt as if he were being pushed down. The weight in his voice, the sincerity in his words, warned Dojin to hide his heart, to bury it deeper.
“Never covet what is mine again.”
For a moment, he had revealed his desire for Doha. As Ungeom, he should never harbor such feelings. The fact that Hyunseo had noticed filled him with shame. Dojin hurriedly replied:
“I swear on my life, it will never happen again.”
Satisfied with the firm response, Hyunseo removed his hand from Dojin’s head and turned toward Jijeongjeon. Dojin silently followed.
With each step, the hems of their robes swayed. Even after the wind faded, its traces lingered. Like the fluttering fabric, their hearts were in turmoil.
“Ungeom.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I entrust you with the guard of Siyeong Palace.”
Without stopping, Hyunseo issued the command in a low voice. Surprised, Dojin lifted his head.
“Once something catches your eye, you never let it go. You’ll guard Doha with your life.”
“Your Majesty, that order—”
“Even on the day of the Pleasure Period, you will guard Siyeong Palace.”
At the mention of the Pleasure Period, Dojin’s protest died on his lips. He couldn’t fathom why Hyunseo would entrust him with this duty, nor the emotions behind it. Staring at Hyunseo’s retreating back, Dojin bowed his head again.
‘He is unyielding. He will never break.’
No one dared challenge him. From the moment Dojin first laid eyes on Hyunseo, he had never seen him bow his head. He always stood firm, shaking people and events to his will.
The only person Hyunseo couldn’t manipulate was Doha.
“But do not step inside the room. My patience is not infinite.”
“……I accept the command.”
Pleased with the answer, Hyunseo resumed walking toward the war council where the Chief State Councilor awaited. Dojin followed silently.
***
“How long will you look at me with such impure eyes?”
Doha turned to Court Lady Kim, who stood glaring at him from a distance. She refused to listen to him, yet she had already jumped to every possible conclusion. Doha sighed at her accusatory stare.
“I told you, it wasn’t adultery! Do you even listen?”
“Noble Consort! The moment I came to greet you, I saw that… that thing… Ugh, it’s too shameful to even say!”
Court Lady Kim’s face flushed crimson at the memory of that morning. Doha let out a hollow laugh.
“Why don’t you just say it? You saw me straddling Ungeom, grinding my hips against him.”
“Noble Consort! How can you say such wicked things?!”
“Isn’t that exactly what you imagined?”
It was frustrating. He couldn’t explain that he was just helping Dojin dress. He couldn’t reveal his martial skills—he had to keep that secret at all costs.
‘I might need it later.’
His acting experience was his trump card, one the original Doha didn’t possess. It was his way to win in this story. As much as possible, he wanted to keep last night’s events hidden.
Of course, that included the kiss with Eunsung.
“Noble Consort! What lewd thoughts are making your face red?!”
Doha’s cheeks flushed prettily. Court Lady Kim shrieked, convinced he was having impure thoughts. She’s the one with the impure thoughts, Doha muttered under his breath.
Dojin had seemed surprisingly gentle that morning. Doha couldn’t tell if he remembered last night’s events, but at least he hadn’t concluded that the intruding assassin was Doha himself.
‘That’s good enough.’
With the wound on his hand, avoiding suspicion entirely was impossible. But as long as Dojin wasn’t certain, Doha was satisfied.
The real problem wasn’t Dojin—it was Hyunseo. Last night, Hyunseo had gone to Seowoo’s palace and hadn’t returned by morning. Had he spent the night with Seowoo? Doha’s imagination spiraled in dangerous directions.
Hyunseo had avoided contact as if it were a plague, only to rush to Seowoo’s palace. The thought made Doha’s blood boil. It felt like his ranking as the top celebrity everyone wanted to date on Valentine’s Day was crumbling.
“Noble Consort… last night…”
“The scent is so strong… It’s almost like our Flower Bin…”
Whispers from the court ladies outside the door reached Doha’s ears. Judging by the fragments he caught, last night’s events had already become palace gossip. As he glanced at the door, Court Lady Kim cleared her throat.
At this rate, the Pleasure Period might end up being spent with Seowoo, just as the original scenario dictated. The final scene of the last script meeting flashed through Doha’s mind:
Doha, collapsed in red silk, clinging to Seowoo’s waist as Hyunseo betrayed him. The image made him scowl.
Just then, a court lady spoke from outside the door:
“Noble Consort, Kim Jipyung of the Office of the Censor has arrived.”
Who’s that?
Before Doha could process it, the door burst open, and a man in a dopo robe stormed in.
“Doha!”
A strikingly handsome man threw himself before Doha, his eyes glistening with tears. Doha stared at him, bewildered.
‘Who… are you?’
He swallowed the words that threatened to escape. A silent scream echoed in his mind.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
