CH 26.1

“It must be because His Majesty is very kind, thus Yeon Hwawoon lost his mind and became obsessed with him…”

Hwawoon’s voice spread into the serene room. Hwawoon could not understand most of the terrible things the previous Yeon Hwawoon had done, but the only thing he could understand was that the old Hwawoon really loved the emperor and wished for him to be his only lover. 

He must be unable to give up even though he knew that the emperor could not be a lover of one person alone. He must have felt like his heart was torn when he saw the emperor with the other concubines. He must have loathed the world because that person couldn’t love him only. 

That could never be the consent for all the evil deeds that Yeon Hwawoon had shown, but Hwawoon understood one thing. Regardless of all the reasons, their emperor was so beautiful that they could not help but give their hearts. 

Just like Hwawoon at this moment.  

Just like how deep in his heart, he wished to receive that person’s affection—even in this kind of situation. Even though he thought he shouldn’t dare to wish for it when he was engulfed with the serene atmosphere in the night just like now, he looked back on his life, and suddenly thought of his face and endlessly longed for him.

Just like how he brazenly wondered how it would feel to receive warm attention, gentle touches, and soft smiles from that person, Yeon Hwawoon of the past must have been unable to stop his heart from running toward the emperor. 

“…”

Hwawoon quickly closed his eyes before his useless thoughts wander further. A human’s feelings were so difficult.  

***

“Did Jeongan Palace call the physician last night?”

The emperor asked on his way to do morning assembly in Cheonggeon Hall. Even though he wasn’t ordered to find out about that in advance, Eunuch Oh bowed his head and answered without any hint of panic.

“Your Majesty, Jeongan Palace didn’t call the physician, and a court lady only visited the physician to ask for an ointment.”

“… Seems like it’s not that severe, then. I can’t believe he whined as something bad will happen to his wrist.” 

Although he said that, Yihan bit his lips like someone who was nervous about something. The reason was he knew that Hwawoon didn’t exaggerate his pain. Yihan was the one who knew better than anyone else how much strength he gave last night while holding Hwawoon’s wrist.

It was clear that the thin arm would have had bruises all over because he held the man, who easily turned red and had traces everywhere, outrageously.

“…”

Then, Yihan suddenly felt despondent.

The reason Yihan knew that traces could easily be left on Hwawoon’s skin was purely because of the night he spent with Hwawoon in the past. 

Now they were completely like this and the days he stayed at Jeongan Palace had come to a distance, but since Hwawoon entered the palace as a concubine in the first place, it was natural for Yihan to sleep with him.

He didn’t want to remember those memories because he became disgusted with them, but yesterday’s incident made Yihan aware of Hwawoon’s body, which left a clear mark everywhere he touched.

He should feel unpleasant about it. It was the right thing for him to be unpleasant about it. On top of that, the last time he visited Hwawoon’s bedroom, Yihan became completely tired of Hwawoon’s evil acts for ridiculous reasons, and he even left Jeongan Palace in the middle of the night. Therefore, even if the nights in the past came to mind now, Yihan should have only felt unpleasant, and in fact, Yihan was afraid and reluctant to remember the night with him for a while. 

However, Yihan recalled Yeon Hwawoon, who endured the small moan even though he was holding his wrist so painfully last night. He then naturally thought about what Hwawoon would look like if he stayed at Jeongan Palace tonight.