* * *
Dark clouds rolled in. They were pitch-black clouds that seemed about to thunder at any moment. As the clouds covered the sun, shadows fell over the interrogation chamber of Gyopung Palace.
Despite it being midday, the interrogation chamber was dark and gloomy. Perhaps it felt that way because of the envoys’ haggard faces. Each of the envoys, with their arms and legs bound to chairs, poured out their stories to Seowoo, who sat in the seat of honor.
“I am a father to a child! I left two rabbit-like children back in my country, how could I have a lover?”
“Me, me, well, I! I am a male omega so I couldn’t possibly be anyone’s lover!”
They pleaded their innocence with desperate voices, but their voices didn’t reach Seowoo. Seowoo looked at them with a bored expression, resting his chin on one hand.
“Isn’t it characteristic of men who call themselves fathers to have affairs?”
Seowoo’s gentle voice resonated through the interrogation chamber. The man who had claimed to be a father erupted in anger, but Seowoo turned his head to the opposite direction. Beyond the interrogation chamber, he could see the endlessly stretching wall. It was a long wall, like the days he had endured until now.
It was his own father who habitually had affairs. His father would constantly wander outside despite having a mate. He spread his seed so much that there was hardly anyone in the entire neighborhood who wasn’t a half-sibling to Seowoo.
Wherever he walked, there were abandoned male omegas left with children. Foolishly, they raised and cared for their children while waiting for the alpha who had spent one night with them. His mother was no different.
He recalled his mother who, clinging to a stubborn hope, waited for his father until the moment of her death. Watching his dying mother, Seowoo vowed never to fall in love. Love, fathers—they were all just empty pretenses.
“Does His Majesty know that the envoys are being interrogated like this?”
The man sitting in the middle of the envoys looked up at Seowoo. He had been sitting quietly alone among those desperately calling out to Seowoo.
“Even for a vassal state, treating envoys like this…”
His attitude was so relaxed it was hard to believe he was bound. Seowoo’s gaze turned to him. As their eyes met, the man smiled slyly.
“I wonder if Your Excellency is playing too dangerous a game.”
“…”
“I’m just concerned.”
“Ha.”
“It’s my habit to worry when I see a beautiful person.”
Seowoo slowly rose from his seat. That level of provocation wasn’t enough to stimulate Seowoo, who had grown up hearing vulgar talk in the marketplace. However, it was enough to pique his interest.
“Do you know who you just called beautiful?”
Seowoo’s voice spread low throughout the interrogation chamber. The voices of complaint that had been popping up everywhere instantly subsided. A heavy atmosphere enveloped the chamber.
“You just called the King’s lover beautiful.”
With slow steps, he descended the stairs. The man who had locked eyes with Seowoo didn’t avert his gaze until Seowoo reached the envoys.
‘He’s no ordinary man.’
Seen up close, the man was somewhat different from the other envoys. His upright posture, slow manner of speech, and the relaxed smile on his face were traits only those noble by birth could possess.
Moreover, his silk undergarments and headband proved that his status was quite high.
“Do you think you’ll be safe after daring to speak such words to the King’s lover?”
Seowoo approached closely and whispered in his ear. His tone was gentle but threatening.
“…Well. Was Your Excellency the King’s lover?”
“…What?”
The man turned his head slightly toward Seowoo. Their gazes met in the air. Looking at the face with fine features, the man smiled provocatively.
“The lover is someone else, isn’t it?”
The man’s eyes curved into crescent moons. Overall, he had the appearance of a gentle-looking handsome man, but somehow his smile made those who saw it uncomfortable. Seowoo must have felt the same, as he stepped back from him.
“Your Excellency, something terrible has happened!”
Seowoo’s court lady, Jinhee, came running with quick steps. Although it had been a long time since she had followed Seowoo into the palace and become a court lady, Jinhee’s habit of running had not been corrected. Seowoo opened his mouth to rebuke her when:
“Flower Bin is now heading this way!”
“His Excellency?”
“Yes! They say he just left Yongwa Palace…!”
Doha, who had not left Hyunseo’s palace, Yongwa Palace, for a long time. He had even dared to occupy His Majesty’s bedchamber, as Seowoo had heard from other palace people long ago. Seowoo bit his lip.
Nothing was prepared yet.
He recalled the day when he had cautiously asked Hyunseo about Doha. On the day he deliberately visited the study to see Hyunseo, Seowoo looked at Hyunseo reading a book and asked.
“Is His Excellency well?”
As soon as Seowoo spoke, Hyunseo’s previously composed face changed. An expression like that of a child not knowing what to do was drawn on his face like a picture. It was an expression he had never shown in front of Seowoo before.
Every time Hyunseo’s face flashed before his eyes a dozen times a day, his chest would tighten. The symptoms grew more intense the longer Doha stayed in the bedchamber.
To bring Doha down, he needed evidence of infidelity. Even without touching him, Hyunseo’s suspicion and obsession would inflate the evidence, and one day the evidence would swallow Doha.
Then maybe my constricted heart will be cured.
“Let me help you.”
The man with the mysterious smile whispered softly. It was a voice just loud enough for Seowoo, who was nearby, to hear.
“With a face like this, wouldn’t it be believable to claim I’m a lover?”
It was such a natural informal speech that Seowoo didn’t feel any strangeness. Before a response came, the man winked at Seowoo and added.
“You can have the King. I’ll take His Excellency.”
The sound of several people walking was heard from outside the wall. Just as Seowoo, with a hardened face, hurriedly returned to his seat, the main door swung open.
“Flower Bin has arrived!”
* * *
“Your Excellency!”
Seowoo, who had been sitting in the seat of honor, jumped to his feet. It happened in an instant that he ran to Doha. He ran so urgently that his flower shoes nearly fell off.
Arriving in front of Doha, Seowoo breathed roughly. His white socks were stained with dirt. The gazes of the court ladies and eunuchs turned to his socks.
Pretending not to notice their gazes, Seowoo took Doha’s hands in his.
“Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
Seowoo whimpered, looking at Doha as if about to burst into tears. His caressing touch was so warm that anyone watching might mistake them for long-separated family members.
“After that, when you couldn’t be seen, I searched everywhere for you…”
As if reaching a climax, Seowoo rubbed his cheek against Doha’s hand. His face showed not a hint of jealousy. Court Official Park, who had turned pale, was about to explain the situation when Doha opened his mouth.
“I too almost got in trouble because I missed our Noble Consort.”
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Acting for acting. Going even further, Doha placed his hand on Seowoo’s cheek. With the warm touch of a lover, he caressed the cheek.
“Have you grown so thin from worrying about me?”
“I am ashamed.”
Normally, Doha wouldn’t have been able to say a word. Every time, he would be confused by his changed manner of speaking and get dragged along, but today he even shot back.
‘So the incident at the banquet hall was not a coincidence.’
Seowoo’s eyes sparkled momentarily.
“Worrying about Your Excellency, I couldn’t eat…”
“Tsk. I ordered the court ladies of Gyopung Palace to pay attention to your meals long ago.”
As soon as the words ended, Seowoo’s expression faintly frowned. The court ladies of Gyopung Palace were strictly under his command. Doha giving orders to Gyopung Palace’s court ladies meant that he was positioning himself above Seowoo.
“…It seems they’ve forgotten, as it’s been a long time since you ordered it.”
“Is that so? Then I must remind them again.”
Doha, who had finished his response like a sly snake, moved. Naturally passing in front of Seowoo, Doha leaned against the seat where Seowoo had been sitting.
Although it was a seat prepared for Seowoo, no one could tell Doha to get up. Even Seowoo, the owner of the seat, had no choice but to bite his lip and stand behind him.
Standing behind like a court lady, Seowoo glared at the back of Doha’s head.
“Your Excellency, with your health not being well, wouldn’t it be better for you to go back?”
The back of his head felt hot. Doha wanted to reach out and touch the back of his head but decided to endure it. Right now, he had to act as the righteous and warm-hearted flower of Siyeong Palace.
Turning around, he saw Seowoo with a smile plastered back on his face. Looking at Seowoo, who had cunningly hidden his true feelings, Doha said:
“I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine after resting in His Majesty’s bedchamber.”
Pretending not to know anything, he emphasized ‘His Majesty’s bedchamber.’ If you have a brain, you’ll understand what this means. It was also entertaining to watch Seowoo’s face contort in real-time, but there were more urgent matters at hand.
Doha looked down again at the envoys bound to chairs.
“What are their crimes?”
There was no answer to Doha’s question. The officials and court ladies standing in the interrogation chamber only looked at each other’s faces, unable to easily open their mouths.
No one would say that they had investigated the lover of their master in front of their master.
The envoys murmured, seeing the suddenly changed owner of Gyopung Palace. They had not forgotten Doha’s face as he danced in the banquet hall. The envoys harbored hope that if they told the truth, this merciful Excellency would release them.
“The crime of having relations with Your Excellency.”
The man sitting in the middle moved his lips. At his low voice, everyone turned their heads to look at him. Doha’s gaze also turned to him.
“If that’s a crime, then it’s a crime.”
Doha’s eyes widened as he confirmed the man’s face.
Meeting Doha’s gaze, the man continued.
“I couldn’t forget… so I came here like this.”
“…!”
“Doha. My lover.”
The man who had never separated from Doha during the year of filming the drama.
The actor who had originally played the role of Hyunseo.
It was Eunsung.
‘Why are you appearing here!’
A silent outcry echoed in Doha’s heart.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
