CH 122

It was not much different even though he was now in the position of a concubine. Technically, the emperor was the only one in the imperial palace who would be bothered by the scar. But no matter how much he thought about it, it seemed that the emperor would not sleep with him. And Hwawoon had long forgotten about the scar. Hwawoon said, looking at Biyoung with a soft look as if to comfort her.

“Did you keep it in the back of your mind?” 

“I’m not a human if I forget it.”

Biyoung’s voice sounded firm yet weak, and she seemed to be perturbed even though she looked strong. Between them, Songhyun sipped the tea, looking around. Hwawoon straightened up his posture and continued to speak, looking Biyoung in the eye.

“When I just lost my memory, you could have been more vigilant to me. If anything, it was the way it should be. It was, considering the things I’ve done to you in the past.”

Listening to Hwawoon’s calm voice, Biyoung recalled the day when he first came to visit the Empress’s Palace after the drowning incident. Hwawoon went on talking. 

“But you didn’t do that. If you hadn’t been so generous with me back then, I would have had an incomparably harder time.”

It wasn’t wrong. If Sukbi had made up her mind at that time, it wouldn’t be difficult at all to insult and harass Hwawoon, who had no one to protect him. There was no one in the palace who didn’t know how rude Yeonbin was to Sukbi, his superior, so even if Sukbi harassed Hwawoon in the name of revenge, no one would have felt sorry for Hwawoon. If that were the case, it would have been much harder for Hwawoon to adapt at the Imperial Palace.

Hwawoon said with a gentle smile to Biyoung, who was still listening to Hwawoon with a nervous face. 

“I have also received a lot from you, so please feel free to treat me comfortably, Your Highness.”

As she sat there and listened to Hwawoon’s voice wash over her like a gentle stream, she felt one of her worries that made her feel stuffy melt away. Then, when Biyoung slowly opened her mouth and tried to answer with a somewhat comfortable mind. 

“But…” 

Songhyun, who was quietly listening to the conversation between the two in the middle, suddenly intervened. Both eyes were on Songhyun, and Songhyun said, puffing her plump cheeks. 

“Yeonbin. Didn’t I treat you very well too?”

Biyoung and Hwawoon burst into laughter at the same time. Songhyun’s lips pouted even more. She was right in a way. Who was the first to reach out and treat Hwawoon kindly when Biyoung still did not believe in him? Hwawoon, full of laughter, spoke in a gentle voice as if to soothe a little sister. 

“Of course. I still can’t forget the day when you first came to Jeongan Palace. I’m very thankful to you, Jeongbin.” 

“Right? You do agree, right?” 

The heavy atmosphere disappeared due to Songhyun, who was the youngest among the concubines, and only laughter remained.

***

“At this rate, all the people in the palace will be friends with Yeon Hwawoon.” 

It was the first thing Yihan uttered when he heard that Sukbi and Jeongbin took a walk with Hwawoon and enjoyed a friendly chat while sharing snacks in the pavilion. It even made Eunuch Oh forget his position and think that it was a shame that he had to look at that grumpy face alone. Eunuch Oh, quickly erasing the disrespectful thought, said. 

“Isn’t it a good thing that His Highness Yeonbin is getting to know the other concubines after all the time he’s been alone?”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” 

Yihan immediately glared at Eunuch Oh. It was very annoying when a person who was already aware of his feelings asked such a thoughtless question. Eunuch Oh bent down quickly. Yihan, who had been glaring at Eunuch Oh, soon turned his eyes forward and tapped his fingertips on the table. He was suddenly reminded of the time when the courtiers of the main palace mentioned Hwawoon as a beautiful gentleman. 

Yihan, who had been thinking alone for a long time, opened his mouth again. 

“Does Yeonbin look attractive in the eyes of women?”

For a moment, Eunuch Oh couldn’t believe what he had just heard, so he looked up at the emperor without realizing it. The emperor had a serious look on his face, completely unaware of how outrageous a question he had just asked. Eunuch Oh almost sighed loudly in front of the Emperor. Yihan continued, not caring about it at all. 

“Come to think of it, at the banquet at Changgyeong Pavilion… Even in the midst of all the chaos, Yeonbin led the others and protected Sukbi and Jeongbin, so he must have looked like a hero to them.” 

“Your-Your Majesty…” 

“I used to think he was beautiful, but he wasn’t particularly attractive… But these days, even in my eyes, he isn’t just pretty, but also neat and elegant, so in the eyes of women, he is surely—” 

“Your Majesty. Please take back what this little person doesn’t dare to hear.”

Eunuch Oh knelt down in front of the emperor to stop him from talking, for if left alone, there was no telling how far his thoughts would stretch. Yihan looked confused with Eunuch Oh’s action, but he soon realized what he was talking about and was greatly embarrassed. The reason was that Yihan was concluding that his concubines had different hearts for each other. 

“No, I mean… It’s not that…”

Yihan, who was surprised by himself, stammered. He simply said it because he was upset that Yeon Hwawoon was spending time with others without him, but if anyone heard it, they might think it was high treason.

“Jinsung. I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.” 

Yihan eventually raised his hands and muttered, covering his face because the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it became. He felt ashamed because he felt like he was really becoming an idiot. This is all because Yeon Hwawoon left me and went to look around Myeonghawon with others. Yihan thought so.

***

“Were you originally familiar with His Highness Yeonbin?”

As the midday heat grew hotter, Yeonbin ordered that each guard at Seojeong Palace be given a bottle of ice water. Today was the first day, and So Jeong handed out the bottles to the guards one by one. Seocheon, who took the bottle without thinking, hardened his face at the sudden question and looked at So Jeong. So Jeong didn’t wear any expression, so it was difficult to guess what his intention was. Seocheon replied, showing a similarly nonchalant expression.

“With my humble status, how could I know His Highness Yeonbin? I was just a guard protecting Jeongan Palace.” 

“I heard that you suddenly changed your station to Jeongan Palace not too long ago…”

“I came to Jeongan Palace because it was short of guards. Is that a problem?” 

Seocheon tried to find out what So Jeong intended to say, paying attention to his tone so as not to give him any chance to find out anything. He wondered if Yeonbin was suspecting him. Thus, he asked So Jeong to find out about him. He was being so unnatural when he ran into Yeonbin the last time, so it was no wonder if Yeonbin was suspicious of him. 

In the meantime, So Jeong, who once again scanned Seocheon up and down, shook his head and said. 

“No, it’s not a problem. I just asked out of curiosity.” 

And So Jeong walked away as if he was no longer interested. Seocheon’s gaze flickered uneasily as he followed So Jeong’s back. Seocheon was still unable to resolve all his confusion. When he closed his eyes, he couldn’t even sleep comfortably because he thought of Hawoon’s sword technique, which was so familiar to him. He was already troubled to get chosen as one of the guards to come to the summer palace, but a person, who became a close aide to Yeonbin, asked such a question out of the blue it made him disturbed. 

“Do you think…”

Jamun, who had been listening to their conversation, carefully opened his mouth. 

“Do you think His Highness Yeonbin found out that you were a close friend of Hawoon?” 

Seocheon’s lips closed into a straight line. It was certainly not impossible. His attitude that day was suspicious, and if Yeonbin had tried to find out about him, it would have been easy to find out his connection with Hawoon. 

Then why did he protect me that night? There was nothing I could do even if I had been arrested and interrogated on the spot, so why did he lie and protect me? Yeonbin did not punish Seocheon separately after that, and he also let him come to Myeonghawon. There were so many things that he couldn’t understand even after considering that Yeonbin had become a completely different person than before. 

“…”

Seocheon’s eyes sank deep as he looked at the path So Jeong had already walked. The questions rooted deep in his mind, but there was no way to find the answer, which only added to his frustration.