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East Wind
Jeonggwan, underwater, opened his eyes and looked up. Though he couldn’t see any human figures, the surroundings seemed to brighten even underwater, as if a torch had drawn near. Jeonggwan needed to surface as he had already used up his breath, but he closed his eyes tightly and endured, fearing Taekun might spot him if he came up. If only the water were deeper, it would require less effort, but the lake’s edge wasn’t as deep as expected, and using his legs to keep himself down made holding his breath even more difficult.
He desperately hoped the man would come looking for him after discovering his abduction. Of course, since the man was a eunuch from the Crown Prince’s palace and of lower rank than Taekun, both of them might face trouble if he came searching. But Jeonggwan was willing to bear all the consequences for both of them—he just missed the man terribly. Though surely the man didn’t even know he’d been kidnapped and was probably anxiously waiting for him by now.
He had truly reached his limit. Deciding it was better than dying, Jeonggwan quietly raised his head above the water, trying not to be discovered.
“…Haah.”
Fortunately, the torch seemed to have moved a bit farther away as the surroundings were slightly dark, and the lake’s edge had enough height that if he stayed close to it, he wouldn’t be spotted even with his head above water. Jeonggwan quietly walked underwater toward the edge.
“Where is he?”
Just then, a familiar voice reached Jeonggwan’s ears.
“Junior Minister of Justice Jung Taekun. I asked where Jeonggwan is.”
It was the man. The man who should have been waiting for him at the palace, unaware of anything. How did he know I was kidnapped? How did he get here? And why is he speaking like that to Taekun, who outranks him…? Ah, could it be that the man wasn’t just a eunuch of the Crown Prince’s palace but a Fifth Rank Upper Chamberlain!
Surprised that he held such a high position, Jeonggwan was about to rise up, ready to call for the man to severely punish Taekun, when—
“Your Highness… I was first.”
At Taekun’s voice, filled with resentment as he appeared to be standing before the man, Jeonggwan froze. Your Highness?! Did he come here with the Crown Prince? Could a eunuch possibly bring the Crown Prince just to find a mere court attendant? Jeonggwan was suddenly concerned that the situation had become too serious, wondering if he should immediately surface and pay his respects to the Crown Prince.
“I was the first to love that child since he was a servant! He was supposed to leave with me…!”
“Yet in the end, he entered the palace, did he not?”
“Your Highness…!”
“In the end, he gave his heart to me.”
Something seemed strange about the conversation. Taekun kept addressing someone as “Your Highness,” but it was the man who was responding. Due to the raised edge, Jeonggwan couldn’t see the two of them, but an unsettling realization began filling his mind, sending chills down his spine.
“After I ascend to the throne, I will officially make that child my concubine. Then, a mere Junior Minister won’t dare to covet him. Soon enough, you’ll realize how foolish you’ve been.”
“…”
“I would love nothing more than to cut you down right now, but since that might harm that child in the future, I will restrain myself. Your life was spared by that child, so tell me immediately where Jeonggwan is.”
Whether it was from the cold water or from the words coming out of the man’s mouth, Jeonggwan’s lips were trembling uncontrollably. The man was speaking as if he were the Crown Prince. That couldn’t be right. The man was a eunuch from the Crown Prince’s palace, not the master of the Crown Prince’s palace…
‘The only very handsome and young person I know at the palace is just one person…’
‘…Who is that?’
‘Since you’re so curious about his face—it’s His Highness the Crown Prince. What are you going to do about it?’
‘Huh…! The Crown Prince?! Absolutely not! Absolutely!’
‘Of course not. There’s no way he would be wearing eunuch clothes.’
Several memories flashed through Jeonggwan’s mind.
‘What kind of clothes are those?’
‘These? These are the clothes of the inner court attendants of the Crown Prince’s palace.’
Come to think of it, all the court attendants Jeonggwan had encountered wore simple green official attire. The silk clothes the man always wore when meeting him had no pattern but were of fine quality. When he first encountered the man upon entering the palace, the man’s clothes had a large golden dragon embroidered on the chest, but not on both shoulders. That’s why he thought the man was a eunuch working in the Crown Prince’s palace.
‘By the way, I think it’s true that the person you serve is really designated to be the Crown Prince’s consort. Usually, they don’t place the quarters of outsiders on the inside. But His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly had the empty palace near the Crown Prince’s quarters cleaned, and they even planted flowers in the yard and everything.’
‘Flowers in the yard? Do you mean chrysanthemums?’
‘That’s aster. They say the person who brought in the flowers couldn’t tell the difference and brought aster instead.’
‘Ah… but they look very similar.’
‘I guess that’s why His Highness didn’t say anything and just told them to plant them.’
He told them to plant them without saying anything. That meant the Crown Prince also wanted chrysanthemums to be brought in. Since the man had always looked at chrysanthemums with him when they came here every night.
‘…Well, if you ask if I work at the Crown Prince’s palace… I could say so.’
The man was really…
With trembling eyes, Jeonggwan stopped his body from approaching the edge of the lake. Due to the raised edge, he needed to go to the deeper part of the water to see the man. Though his legs were trembling, Jeonggwan desperately wanted to confirm with his own eyes whether the man was truly the Crown Prince and not a eunuch.
“…While the carriage was briefly stopped, Jeonggwan escaped in this direction, but as the Left Minister had me restrained, I couldn’t look for him.”
“Your Highness, the Kyung family’s residence is not far from here. I will go check if he is there.”
“…No. I will go together. Right Guard, take the Junior Minister away. After all, he attempted to kidnap a court person, so he must receive the appropriate punishment.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He wore a navy blue military robe with a large dragon embroidered in gold on the chest and also on both shoulders. It wasn’t the royal dragon robe Jeonggwan had seen in the bedchamber, but it was very similar—enough that even a fool could recognize it. It was probably attire the Crown Prince wore for hunting, and it suited the man perfectly. As if he was born to wear such clothes.
The man matched the position of Crown Prince extraordinarily well, to the extent that no eunuch could compare or be fitting for it. It was enough to make Jeonggwan deeply regretful for the man having concealed his identity because of him. The man was turning his back to head toward the path of chrysanthemums they had once walked side by side. Jeonggwan didn’t even think of calling out to him or trying to stop him. How could a servant of lowly birth dare to call out to the Crown Prince?
Though he loved the man, if that man was the Crown Prince, it changed everything. Jeonggwan had loved him freely because he thought the man was a eunuch. A lowborn and a eunuch in love—who would be harmed by that? That’s why he had given his whole heart.
But if the man was the Crown Prince, then because of Jeonggwan’s status, the man would also face difficulties, and more importantly…
‘When you become the consort, I’m sure His Highness will love you very much!’
‘I just… I don’t even wish for such love, I just hope that I won’t be recorded as an unfortunate consort in the future. I just want to be remembered as a virtuous and wise consort who lived a splendid life, who formed a harmonious family. I just want to be remembered that way.’
Because of him, Juhwan’s small wish—to be happy, for Jeonggwan to always think of him and wish for his happiness, to be the one person who wouldn’t betray him even if everyone else did—might not come true. The situation was completely different from when Jeonggwan thought the man was just a son from a noble family, when he had selfishly wanted the man all to himself since Juhwan had never seen him.
Juhwan was already designated to be the Crown Prince’s consort and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would become the Queen in the future and might even give birth to a prince who would one day become king.
Of course, even if Jeonggwan received a certificate of concubinage and became a royal concubine, he wouldn’t receive the man’s favor forever. Upon learning this, Juhwan would understand that Jeonggwan hadn’t deliberately approached the Crown Prince to establish a relationship, and would likely understand out of concern for Jeonggwan’s happiness.
‘Young master, it will definitely happen!’
But Jeonggwan would never be able to maintain his brotherly relationship with Juhwan. Juhwan would no longer confide in him, and Jeonggwan would no longer be able to innocently share all the details of his time with the man.
“…”
After staring at the receding back of the man for a long time, Jeonggwan closed his eyes and dived deep into the water.
The third selection was over. As everyone had expected, Juhwan, the second son of the Kyung family, was selected and would hold the wedding ceremony with the Crown Prince in nineteen days. Minister of Justice Kyung Munhwan was already acting as if a celebration was in order, saying that the next king might be born from his family. Justice Vice Minister Jung Yunsik, who assisted Kyung Munhwan, also sincerely congratulated the Kyung family.
“Minister Kyung, if the Crown Prince receives the throne, you will become a meritorious subject, so I offer my congratulations in advance.”
“Haha. This person, really. Thank you.”
There was good reason for this—Jung Yunsik had heard that the servant from the Kyung family, whom he had always viewed as a thorn in his side, had disappeared. He had always been on edge, fearing that his son might one day lose his mind and run away with that servant, but now that the servant had suddenly disappeared of his own accord just before the third selection, what a joyous occasion it was.
Of course, the marriage between his son and the Right State Councillor’s daughter had been called off because his son had attempted to kidnap the servant who had become a court person, but thanks to their good connections, many marriage proposals had come in from other good families, so Jung Yunsik was content.
“But… about that child called Jeonggwan. I wonder if the future Crown Prince’s consort might look for him…”
Still worried that Jeonggwan might suddenly reappear, Jung Yunsik cautiously broached the subject to Kyung Munhwan, suggesting that they should root out the problem by eliminating the servant, saying he would lower the prestige of the Crown Prince’s consort.
“…That child is no longer in this world, so please speak no more of him.”
“Excuse me…?”
“Even if our Crown Prince’s consort asks in the future, do not utter a word.”
However, an unexpected response came from Kyung Munhwan. The servant was already gone from this world? Jung Yunsik had to suppress a rising smile at the corners of his mouth as he wanted to ask for details, but seeing Kyung Munhwan firmly close his mouth as if refusing to say more, he could only bow his head and say he understood.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
