Chapter 58
Yun-seo’s hands paused as he was about to remove his heavy garments. He turned to look at Yeondeok, who had become a proper palace servant in just a few days.
“Couldn’t you at least call me… by my original name?”
“I’d like to, I mean, this humble one would like to, but…”
Yeondeok fidgeted anxiously while watching Yun-seo’s expression. He also seemed to find Yun-seo unfamiliar, which was both bitter and amusing at the same time.
“Thanks to you, I’m smiling for the first time.”
“Don’t feel disappointed, Your Majesty…”
“I know. Honorifics might be unavoidable, but let’s drop this ‘humble one’ business. Doesn’t it make your skin crawl?”
“It does, actually.”
The honest answer made Yun-seo laugh again, his strength leaving him. Yeondeok also seemed to relax, offering an awkward smile.
“There’s so much to memorize that someone with a poor brain like mine could lose their head with one small mistake.”
“If they cut off heads for trivial mistakes like that, they’d be the barbarians. Don’t worry. Who would dare touch the empress’s trusted servant?”
Yun-seo asked self-mockingly, then struggled with the ribbons of his clothes that wouldn’t easily come undone by himself. Yeondeok quickly approached to help him undress.
After removing all his garments, Yun-seo entered the warm water and felt his fatigue melt away. However, remembering that this bath was merely preparation for the next procedure, he found it difficult to relax. He drew his knees up, rested his head on them, and let out a tired sigh.
“Your Majesty, how are you feeling?”
Yeondeok asked with evident concern. While Yeondeok knew that Yun-seo had traveled with the Emperor, he didn’t know anything beyond what Yun-seo had told him. He didn’t know this was the second wedding, nor that this wouldn’t actually be the first night together.
“I don’t know. I’ve now entered a path from which there’s no return. Perhaps it’s better not to think at all?”
Warm water was poured over his body, which had dried in the meantime. A soft cloth gently wiped his skin. The rising steam moistened his eyes, making them appear tearful.
“Young master, you’re someone who will be loved wherever you go and can overcome anything. Though you’ve come down a path you didn’t want, everything will be fine, so don’t worry.”
Yeondeok whispered softly, lowering his voice lest someone hear the improper title. Despite being in a strange place where everything must be difficult and tiring for him too, he still cared for Yun-seo, which made Yun-seo nod in gratitude.
“I’ve heard something. They say the Emperor is generous and benevolent. Though he may look intimidating on the outside, he’s not difficult to serve. And since he suffered for a long time without a matching Yeong Chunhwa, he’ll treat you well.”
At the mention of Yeong Chunhwa, Yun-seo’s lips hardened. He submerged himself in the water up to his shoulders, dunked his face, then resurfaced. He pushed back his wet hair that clung to his skin and leaned his head against the tub. His eyes, staring somewhere into the void, lost their light and became empty.
After finishing his bath and getting out, palace attendants helped with Yun-seo’s adornment. When he asked if he had to wear such cumbersome things every day, he was told that fortunately, since a Yeong Chunhwa needed to visit the Jioktaegeon (Imperial Bedchamber) at any time, he wouldn’t need to be adorned like this during normal days.
Though, given that he had to go to the Jioktaegeon, it could hardly be considered fortunate.
Yun-seo was guided by a court lady to the bridal chamber. The sun had already set, and candles softly illuminated the room. The space, permeated with the atmosphere of a wedding night, evoked no emotion in Yun-seo.
When even Yeondeok left, leaving him alone, he felt his throat tighten again. The fate of meeting the Son of Heaven approached steadily, weighing down the air heavily.
While fidgeting with his clothes, which felt uncomfortably smooth without a single wrinkle, he heard movement outside the door. As he wondered if there would no longer be sudden appearances and disappearances like a ghost since palace attendants were everywhere, the door opened.
Yun-seo immediately rose from his seat and knelt.
“I greet Your Imperial Majesty. May you enjoy eternal spring.”
“Please rise.”
It was formal speech. Though Hwi had merely spoken with elevated language, Yun-seo blinked vacantly as if struck by something. The realization that his relationship with Hwi, their positions, had truly changed descended as coldly as midwinter rain. With a rising obstinacy from an unknown source, Yun-seo remained firmly in place, refusing to stand.
“You must know that the imperial throne and the empress position are equal. You shouldn’t lower yourself like this.”
“Knowing that this law is merely nominal, how could this subject husband stand as an equal to Your Majesty?”
Though it was said that the Emperor and Empress held equal positions, Yun-seo knew well—and had been taught—that this was merely a measure taken to establish the status of the Yeong Chunhwa and ensure everyone revered them. If he and Hwi were truly equal, how could he be in a place he didn’t want to be?
Despite kneeling, Yun-seo raised his head and looked up at Hwi with disrespectful eyes, unlike someone trying to lower himself. After staring at Yun-seo for a moment, a smile spread across Hwi’s face—a smile completely unaffected by Yun-seo’s barbs.
“Then I have no choice but to command it. Rise. And never lower yourself again. I don’t like those ceremonial greetings either.”
The greeting “May you enjoy eternal spring” was almost equivalent to the highest blessing one could offer to a Yongson. That he disliked it naturally reminded Yun-seo of when Hwi had compared the relationship between Yongrim and Yeong Chunhwa to that of dogs and masters. The contempt and pessimism embedded within it.
“If Your Majesty commands it, I dare not refuse. Your grace in allowing me to rise is immeasurable.”
Yeong Chunhwa. Yeong Chunhwa So Yun-seo. Reciting the name attached to his existence, how Hwi would see him, Yun-seo slowly rose from his position.
Hwi pointed to the chair opposite him and sat down. Yun-seo stared at him, who appeared completely composed without the slightest hesitation, before sitting down himself. Hwi poured wine into an empty cup, but while he took a sip, Yun-seo didn’t touch his.
“Aren’t you hungry? It would be good to eat even a little.”
With the formal speech, Hwi’s manner of speaking became more irritating. Overwhelmed by the illusion that the Son of Heaven before him was the same “lord” who had cherished him, Yun-seo gripped his robe.
Despite not having eaten much due to the wedding ceremony, his appetite had vanished. Even Hwi, who had recommended food, merely moistened his lips with wine without picking up his chopsticks.
“You had finally put on some weight, but it’s all gone now.”
At the soft clicking of Hwi’s tongue, Yun-seo looked at him as if in disbelief. He hadn’t expected Hwi to so casually mention the time they had spent together. Swallowing the anger rising within him, Yun-seo waited for Hwi to explain himself, but what came from his lips was something else entirely.
“I’ll tell the royal kitchen to prepare what you like from now on. Today must have been tiring, so it would be better to retire early.”
Sensing what was coming, Yun-seo’s body stiffened. As Hwi stood up abruptly, Yun-seo bit his lip hard.
Was he going to consummate their marriage without offering a single word of apology or explanation? Was it enough to just take his body, to just take the Yeong Chunhwa’s protective energy?
In truth, since he had to give the Emperor whatever he wanted, Yun-seo stood up with a miserable feeling.
Hwi seated Yun-seo on the bed and undid his elaborately arranged hair. His fingers touched Yun-seo’s hair as it flowed down smoothly. He stroked Yun-seo’s hair as if caressing silk robes, then moved his hands to the clothing.
Yun-seo’s tense body stiffened even more, awaiting Hwi’s touch. As the cumbersome garments fell away one by one, leaving him in only his innermost layer, Yun-seo clenched his fingers tightly. Though his nails dug into his skin, he couldn’t feel the pain.
He never dreamed there would be something with Hwi that he wouldn’t want. That he would have to endure him.
Soon, his body tilted backward. Hwi supported Yun-seo’s back, allowing his head to touch the golden pillow slowly. His gaze methodically scanned Yun-seo’s face. When Hwi raised his hand to tuck Yun-seo’s hair behind his ear, Yun-seo couldn’t help but flinch.
“I’ll stay by your side. Rest comfortably.”
Hwi whispered softly and withdrew. His gaze was the last to leave, and even as he extinguished the candles in the room one by one, Yun-seo couldn’t grasp the situation.
When all but the farthest candle from the bed were extinguished, leaving the room dim, Yun-seo abruptly sat up upon seeing Hwi seated on a chair.
“Why don’t you take me?”
Hwi’s black eyes, appearing even more serene in the darkness, turned toward Yun-seo. With trembling lips, Yun-seo continued.
“Take me. Isn’t that why you brought me here? I am a flower that Your Majesty can break at any time, so what are you hesitating for?”
Wasn’t it because he needed a Yeong Chunhwa, because he had been waiting for the most suitable protective energy, that he had deceived him? If so, Hwi should take him without hesitation. Only then would this entire process not be in vain.
On this wedding night that couldn’t be his first, Yun-seo finally revealed the emotions he had been suppressing.
*Eoju: 御廚. The kitchen where the king’s meals were prepared. National Institute of Korean Language, Standard Korean Dictionary.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
