CH 4.1

“….”

“….”

“Now you’re doing all sorts of things.”

The one who broke the breathtaking silence was Yihan, the emperor, who had been standing looking at the top of Hwawoon’s head for a long time with a ridiculed expression. He had always thought that it was hard for him to understand what was in Yeon Hwawoon’s little head, but this kind of ingenious act was new for him.

Ahjin, who belatedly came to her senses, quickly prostrated in front of the Emperor’s feet and spoke.

“Your-Your Majesty…! Pardon me, but my master is still… because of the shock from falling into the water, his body is still not well, that’s why he did such a thing…!”

“Hm. What do you mean by ‘unwell’ when his way of greeting is very similar to a general?” 

After saying so, the Emperor turned his body and sat on the chair without telling Hwawoon to raise up. He looked at Hwawoon with narrowed eyes that were still filled with suspicion. Meanwhile, Hwawoon, who had realized what kind of mistake he had made, kept being flustered.   

He knew he had made a mistake, but he didn’t know what he should do now. He wondered whether he should raise up and redo his greetings, or should he plead for guilt first, or perhaps he should just pretend innocence and sit on the chair. 

In the first place, he had no knowledge about palace manners, but because he was shocked and flustered, his head became not working even more, and he felt like crying.  

For now, Hwawoon decided to fix his posture first. He tried to move his body little by little, but unfortunately, he stepped on the end of his skirt that was spread on the floor. And as expected, he fell forward. 

Ahjin shouted, “Your Highness!” Then she supported Hwawoon. On the other hand, as if he wasn’t surprised by this kind of act, the emperor let out a little remark—huh—then he smiled once, amazed by his antics and mocked him. 

“Do you want to avoid punishment by pretending to be weak, or by making me laugh? Just do one of them—just one. ” 

“Your-Your Majesty….”

Hwawoon, who was still lying on the floor, couldn’t say anything as if his throat was blocked and barely managed to call the Emperor. Originally, he often heard that he was bold and an easygoing person, but the thing that happened lately was still too much for him to accept. On top of that, he had an audience with the emperor here without any preparation, thus his head didn’t work properly.  

Hwawoon’s hands on the floor turned white. The Emperor just looked at those detestable hands, which he was sure was an act, before standing up. He had shown his face just like what Eunuch Oh had said, so it was safe to say he had done all he needed to do here.

“It seems like Concubine Yeon is already recovered enough to do funny things, so let’s go back.”

“….”

Hwawoon couldn’t give any reply, and he just bowed his head. The emperor’s voice that poured towards him somehow filled with the coldness that even if he made no mistake earlier, Hwawoon wouldn’t have been able to speak a word. The words about how the emperor looked at Jeongan Palace as if it were an enemy had spread across the imperial palace, and he knew very well the reason for that. However, when he became the one to receive that, it was hard to deal with. 

Then, the emperor, Yihan, who was leaving without any regrets, suddenly stopped in front of the door and spoke without even looking back at Hwawoon.

“A guard died trying to save you.” 

Hwawoon, who had barely stood up to see off the emperor, stiffened. It was because the guard who died from saving Concubine Yeon, Yeon Hwawoon, was himself. 

“I’m saying that a precious guard that I personally picked through my order lost his life by your play to get my attention.”

A precious guard. I personally picked. 

Those words spoken by the Emperor became a huge whirlpool, and they messed up Hwawoon’s ears. The reason he was able to become a guard despite his low status was on his birthday, the emperor had ordered to select guards on a large scale regardless of their status, whether it was a lowly man or a nobleman, as long as they had the ability. 

Although Hawoon wasn’t the only one chosen at that time, and the emperor didn’t even know that there was a man named Hawoon among them, the emperor was talking like that to Hwawoon here.

He was a precious guard that I personally picked.

His lips were trembling all of a sudden. His vision blurred that Hwawoon had to bite his lip tight enough to bleed in order not to show his shameful condition. While still showing his back, the emperor said.

“In your eyes, the life of that mere guard is so insignificant……”

“….”

“But if you want to keep wearing your human mask, you should feel guilty about him and behave yourself properly.”

After finishing his words, the Emperor left Jeongan Palace and when he got far away, Hwawoon, no, Hawoon. 

The guard who had died and left this world. 

“Hic…. Hiic…..!”

His body crumbled—just like that. The tears he had barely held back burst out of control, and in an instant, it ran down his cheeks and dripped to the floor. Ahjin, startled and ran to her knees before supporting Hwawoon’s body. 

“Your Highness, why are you crying…. I’m sure His Majesty talked like that because he is also shocked and upset that a bad thing happened to you. Your Highness….”

Maybe Ahjin thought the reason Hwawoon was crying this sadly was that the Emperor talked harshly to him, but the real reason Hwawoon cried was far from that.