“If I collapse, he will be the first to be suspected.”
Seowoo took out a pipe from the drawer beside his sleeping quarters. With practiced hands, Jinhee placed herbs in the pipe and lit it, causing smoke to rise. Undisturbed by the hazy smoke, Seowoo continued speaking.
“Before the hunting competition, there will be a brief tea time. It should be easy enough to add it to the tea.”
“Even so… a paralytic poison is too dangerous, isn’t it?”
Jinhee looked at Seowoo with a worried expression. Having lived together for a long time in the Chief State Councilor’s household, Jinhee was like family to Seowoo. Though they didn’t share blood, they cared for each other more than blood relatives.
When Seowoo and Jinhee first met, the Chief State Councilor’s storehouse was crowded with children sold by their parents. Jinhee’s parents had sold her to pay gambling debts, leaving her sobbing in the corner of the storehouse, not knowing why she was there.
As night deepened, the children whined for their parents, but only one child—a boy sitting crouched next to Jinhee—silently stared at the wall. Jinhee would occasionally look at him while wiping her tears with hands covered in dust.
<“Why aren’t you crying?”>
Only when Jinhee spoke to him did the boy look at her. She flinched, her shoulders trembling at his unusually emotionless expression for a child.
<“Crying doesn’t change anything.”>
The boy turned his head back toward the wall. His voice was remarkably composed, giving no indication that he was imprisoned. Intrigued by his emotionless voice, Jinhee scooted closer.
<“But… crying makes you feel better.”>
<“What’s resolved by feeling better?”>
How old could he have been? Jinhee looked at the boy’s small frame. The youngest was 12, and this boy was much smaller, so he must have been 8 to 10 years old. Jinhee couldn’t understand how such a young child could be so calm.
<“My parents sold me here, and so did yours.”>
It was close to resignation. No one in the storehouse saw reality as clearly as this child. His words were like a wake-up call to Jinhee. While some children were like her, others burst into louder crying at the mention of being abandoned by their parents.
<“No! My father would never do that!”>
<“Wouldn’t he?”>
The boy questioned those denying reality. Rising from his seat with a cold voice, he slowly walked through the children sitting with their knees drawn up.
His face was illuminated by moonlight through the window. It was a beautiful face, but without a trace of warmth. Jinhee gulped.
<“Then why are you here?”>
The corner of the boy’s mouth turned up. Shocked by his expression, the children huddled together and began crying louder. As the storehouse suddenly grew noisy, Jinhee watched the boy return to his seat.
<“You should be thinking about how to repay the debt and get out of here as quickly as possible. Crying alone won’t change anything.”>
She couldn’t take her eyes off the boy. Jinhee thought that if she stayed by his side, perhaps she could survive in the Chief State Councilor’s household, where people died almost daily. Seowoo was that intelligent and appeared wise. It was a feeling close to admiration, the emotion of seeing someone at a higher level than oneself.
From that day forward, Jinhee stayed close to Seowoo. With his rather pretty face, Seowoo soon caught the Chief State Councilor’s eye and was adopted as a collateral relative. Jinhee willingly remained by Seowoo’s side, who desperately clung to the Chief State Councilor’s household despite any contempt or disregard.
As a close attendant, she handled tasks Seowoo couldn’t. These included dealing with both animals and people. During the process of handling Seowoo’s affairs, she fortunately made connections with information brokers and gained intelligence by inquiring about various palace matters.
That’s how important Seowoo was to Jinhee.
“Your Highness, you must be cautious.”
Inhaling the smoke Seowoo exhaled, Jinhee spoke. Though she knew he was not one to change his mind once it was made up, the matter was too dangerous.
“I have already been cautious enough. I cannot be more careful.”
Seowoo replied, removing his lips from the pipe. There was no room to retreat. Before that fox, the Flower Bin, secured the position of the official consort, Seowoo needed to turn His Majesty’s heart back. Seeing Seowoo’s hardened expression, Jinhee added:
“How can you not take care of yourself?”
“If I only take care of myself, I’ll be driven out of the palace. What else would I preserve?”
“Your Highness…”
“I’ll do anything to expel him from the palace.”
One of the taboos in the palace was jealousy. The rule that one must never show jealousy under any circumstances was especially strictly applied among the royal consorts. If accused of poisoning, Seowoo would surely be driven out of the palace.
The Chief State Councilor would probably be at the forefront making a fuss. Malice settled on Seowoo’s face.
“Even if it consumes me, I must remove the Flower Bin.”
As the hazy smoke filled the room, Jinhee coughed slightly. Watching her, Seowoo silently opened the window to release the smoke.
As the night air leaked into the room, the pipe’s smoke dispersed. Seowoo sat with one knee raised, resting a hand on his leg.
“I wonder if becoming the Queen would bring peace of mind.”
“…”
“How life becomes more difficult as time passes.”
A touch of loneliness settled in his usually emotionless voice. If he became Queen, if he achieved his goal, would this uncomfortable feeling and worry disappear? Seowoo couldn’t tell.
Watching Seowoo blow smoke toward the window, Jinhee cast a worried glance. She wanted to say it wasn’t that nothing was improving, but rather that His Highness’s desires were growing; that it was due to increasingly higher goals without knowing satisfaction. But the night was too cold for such words.
As Jinhee hastily swallowed what she wanted to say, there was a knock at the door.
“Enter.”
Only one person had the strange habit of knocking before entering, so Seowoo gave permission. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door opened, and Eunsung entered with a smiling face.
With unhesitating steps, Eunsung approached and sat comfortably next to Jinhee.
“How dare you sit without being asked!”
Jinhee shouted angrily at his impertinent behavior. Despite her voice laden with fury, Eunsung ignored her and spoke:
“Noble Consort.”
At the address, Seowoo looked at Eunsung. The green palace servant attire now seemed to fit him quite well. In response to Eunsung calling him “Noble Consort” instead of by his name as before, Seowoo replied:
“Yes, did you visit Siyeong Palace well?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did you meet the Flower Bin?”
The corner of Eunsung’s mouth curved into an oblique line. It was a crafty smile. Watching Eunsung from the side, Jinhee narrowed her brows. She couldn’t understand why His Highness was so eager to keep this mysterious man close.
“Of course I saw him.”
At Eunsung’s words, Seowoo once again put his lips to the pipe. His lips, tinted with flower petals, were bright red. Eunsung silently watched as the red lips parted, waiting for an answer.
“…What was he doing?”
“It seemed he was practicing archery for the hunting competition.”
Eunsung had been watching Dojin and Doha from behind since they began practicing archery. He had seen clearly with his own eyes how their hands intertwined, how close their bodies pressed together, and how intimately they whispered from such a close distance.
Thinking about it makes me angry again.
A vein stood out on Eunsung’s forehead as he recalled the seemingly affectionate image of the two. A cold chill suddenly surrounded his face.
“Did you bring the arrow?”
It was something Seowoo had specially ordered Eunsung to get for the hunting competition. Since each consort used different arrows, it was essential to create a favorable situation in various ways.
“Here it is.”
Eunsung took out an arrow from his breast pocket, one he had picked up after the two returned to the palace. It was an arrow with blue feathers. The crest of Doha’s family was prominently engraved on the arrowhead.
Though knowing the scenario, Eunsung handed over the arrow without a moment’s hesitation and muttered:
“But our Flower Bin.”
He continued, growling like an enraged beast. Seowoo, who was taking the arrow, focused on his words at the changed voice. Eunsung’s Adam’s apple bobbed prominently.
“He’s having an affair with Ungeom.”
The corner of Eunsung’s mouth turned up. Though his face was clearly smiling, his eyes were not.
I never gave permission for that. He added. Taking the pipe from Seowoo’s hand, he brought it to his lips. Smoke rose from his mouth. As if the smoke flowed from his burning insides, Eunsung quietly gazed up at it.
***
Though he wanted to have an affair, Doha, who had not succeeded, looked at Dojin with a sullen face.
“You should be looking at the target when you shoot, not at me.”
Dojin spoke while observing Doha’s posture from a distance. With his arms crossed, Dojin’s shadow stretched long. The small shadow of Doha overlapped with Dojin’s. Regardless, Doha glared at Dojin and pouted his lips.
“Since you’re teaching only with words, it’s impossible to understand.”
His red lips jutted out. Dojin’s gaze paused on the cute, fidgeting appearance.
Again. Several times a day, he lost himself in that face. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d been startled to find himself staring at His Highness without realizing it.
Dojin hurriedly turned his head away. After regulating his breath and composing his expression, Dojin discovered a familiar shadow. Behind the garden, where wildflowers were planted in abundance, a shadow was cast. When the wind blew, the shadow wavered. Dojin immediately recognized the shadow’s owner.
“Your—!”
Before he could fully call out to His Majesty, the shadow shook its head. It meant not to acknowledge him further.
“Ungeom?”
Hearing Dojin’s voice, Doha walked toward him. Even as he watched the beautiful face approach, Dojin couldn’t move his body, as if paralyzed. The guilt of being watched by His Majesty clashed with his desire for Doha.
“Are you ill?”
Having approached closely, Doha stood on his tiptoes. Still unable to reach, he had to stretch his hand high. The small hand touched Dojin’s forehead.
“Shall we end today’s lesson here? I think it might have been too much…”
With a worried face, he clung closely to Dojin’s side. From behind, it was a distance that could easily be mistaken for an embrace. Doha’s gaze turned toward the shadow behind.
‘You won’t come even with this?’
He had known for quite some time that Hyunseo was watching. He had waited to see how long he would just observe, but it seemed he wouldn’t take a step until the practice ended.
Despite rumors throughout the palace that the Noble Consort of Gyopung Palace had been displaced by the flower of Siyeong Palace, it was displeasing that Hyunseo was just casually observing instead of kneeling and begging earnestly.
Let’s see about that.
Though briefly, malice settled on Doha’s expression. Quietly grinding his teeth, Doha turned his gaze back to Dojin. This time, he placed both hands on his cheeks and stood on tiptoes again. Just like someone about to kiss.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
