CH 73

Perhaps he was complacent. Isn’t it just one hawk? Soon, the guards waiting underneath will come up, and no matter how big and fierce the hunting hawk is, it will be caught soon. Yihan thought so and pretended to not notice the anxiety rising from the inside. He thought there was no reason for him to be nervous about the appearance of a hawk when he, the emperor, was not in danger, and the empress, the mother of the nation, was not in danger either.

Of course, Yihan ordered the guards surrounding him to protect the concubines because he was safe there, but at this moment, the emperor and the empress were certainly the guards’ priority to protect, so they did not move a foot from the spot. 

“Your Highness Yeonbin!”

At that time, the scream that someone shouted roared loudly in Yihan’s ears like the sound of the sky being torn. Yihan’s eyes were stabbed with Hwawoon hugging Sukbi, who was standing straight in front of the fast-paced hawk. Each series of scenes in which the brute’s claws tore Yeon Hwawoon’s shoulders and back, and blood rose from the wound, penetrated Yihan’s eyes sharply like an arrowhead and engraved them in his head.

Yihan was convinced that he heard a crack in his heart somewhere. No, it was not simply a sound. It was clear that something unknown had given him a very good blow. Otherwise, there was no way to explain this tremendous pain he felt. 

“Your Majesty! You have to evacuate yourself first!”

Eunuch Oh shouted in a very strong voice, but the voice did not reach Yihan at the moment. Only Yeon Hwawoon, who was bleeding from his back yet was still looking at Sukbi’s condition, dominated all of Yihan’s senses. 

Even though he didn’t think it was something to regret. Even though he knew that his actions, in which he couldn’t jump forward to protect Yeon Hwawoon, were the right choice no matter how he saw it.

He was angry. He was so angry at himself, who complacently stepped back because he thought that the safety of Yeon Hwawoon had nothing to do with him. No one dared to stop the emperor, who ground his teeth, walking forward.

***

“Your Highness, it’s alright! Please wake up!” 

Sukbi was shaking and only closing her eyes. Someone supported her body that fell down, tangled with Yeonbin, and when she managed to open her eyes, she saw the faces of Yeonbin, Yeon Hwawoon, looking at her with a pale face. In her confused head, the current situation began to be recognized little by little. 

The image of Yeon Hwawoon, who hugged and protected herself, when she was frozen as she saw a hawk flying straight toward her. 

“Blo… blood…”

Only then did Biyoung realize that her cheeks and clothes were wet with blood. It wasn’t Biyoung’s blood. It was blood flowing from the shoulder and back of Hwawoon, who was still standing in front of Biyoung and soothing her. However, Hwawoon was trying to calm Biyoung, even though his face was wet with a cold sweat that was likely because of the pain. 

“Your Highness! You’re bleeding too much!”

She then saw Ahjin trying to help Hwawoon, shedding tears behind him. Biyoung also realized that Hwawoon’s arm, which she was holding, was already wet with the blood flowing down. Biyoung couldn’t take his eyes off Hwawoon, who was trying to make her feel safe and move to a safe place even in this kind of situation. A situation where he was bleeding because he tried to protect her and was injured instead.

Just then, Biyoung saw Hwawoon’s body, which had been holding her so far, suddenly moving away. His body was not simply separated from her, and she could see the two legs of Hwawoon were lifted in someone’s arms in an instant. 

“Your-Your Majesty…?!” 

Hwawoon, who confirmed who suddenly picked him up, raised his voice in surprise. It was none other than the emperor, Yihan, who was holding Hwawoon while glaring with the same expression as yaksha. 

“Your Majesty, I am fine…” 

“Make sure to catch the hawk!” 

Hwawoon opened his mouth, shaking his feet to ask Yihan to drop him off, but the emperor, who lightly ignored him, looked around and raised his voice. All the guards that had climbed up Changgyeong Pavilion at some point, raised their voices to answer the emperor’s orders, and Yihan continued. 

“And quickly… quickly tell the palace physician to go to Anjeong Palace.”

The voice was not as loud as the previous command, but it was heavier and colder than that, and it was enough to cool all the back of the listeners. And with the same energy in his eyes, Yihan looked down at Hwawoon in his arms. Hwawoon, whose face was not only pale but also blue, was covered with cold sweat, and seemed close to losing his consciousness immediately. 

The image of Hwawoon taking care of Biyoung with this kind of body, and in this kind of situation flashed before his eyes again, and Yihan bit his lips. 

“Don’t say anything and stay still.” 

Yihan looked down at Hwawoon, talking in a voice that seemed to contain complicated and heavy emotions. Hwawoon’s lips, which parted as he once again tried to ask to be put down because he didn’t dare to be held in the emperor’s arms, were closed by the emperor’s voice that flowed out first. The emperor then said again. 

“If you bring up a word like, ‘I’m okay,’ I will punish all your servants for being unable to protect you properly, so shut up.”

Who could guess that it was not his servants, but Yihan himself, whom he really wanted to punish. 

Yihan’s hand, wrapped around Hwawoon’s back, was wet with Hwawoon’s blood, and Yihan left the still disastrous banquet hall and moved to Anjeong Palace. For the first time in Yihan’s life, it was the moment when he walked the path of the imperial palace with someone in his arms. 

***

With a dizzy stare from losing too much blood, Hwawoon looked up at Yihan. Even at that moment, Hwawoon was wondering why his Majesty would be suffering like this when he could just have to send him to Jeongan Palace for treatment. His arms must hurt. No matter how bright the night path of the palace is, the night path would be dark. Why is the noble emperor walking like this with this lowly person in his arms? 

When he blinked once, a street where the sun shone brightly suddenly appeared in front of him. It was the moment of that day when his humble life changed. The day he was greedy for something for the first time in his life. The very day he held dear something he would never have, the most precious thing in the world. That day now was filling Hwawoon’s eyes.

Then, when he closed and opened his eyes again, there was the face of Yeon Hwawoon in the emperor’s eyes. With an appearance that wasn’t his, but now his, Hwawoon held the emperor’s hand and asked him for permission to stay here.

He was dizzy. He was confused. He didn’t know if he was seeing an illusion or dreaming. He wondered if he had a dream for a long time. Because he was so desperate. Because he wished with great eagerness to be by his side. He thought that was the reason he had such a ridiculous long dream. 

“Your Majesty…” 

“Hang in there. Soon… I’ll let you receive treatment soon.”

The emperor’s voice, which sounded distant, wavered like an illusion. Strangely, the voice sounded hurt, and Hwawoon’s heart sank even in the midst of his confusion. How could His Majesty have such an uneasy voice? Why does His Majesty, who is always confident and has to enjoy only the best things in the world, speak in such an upset voice? 

My emperor is the best man in the world… He should always be happy… Hwawoon kept thinking about that, so he felt sad for no reason.

“Your Majesty…”

Therefore, Hwawoon spoke out even though he was in a weak condition. It didn’t matter whether it was a dream or an illusion. There was something he wanted to know now. If he couldn’t ask that one thing, he felt like he couldn’t relax even after breaking out of his dream. Hwawoon opened his mouth again toward the Emperor, who gave no answer. 

“Your Majesty…” 

“… I made it clear that you should not say anything.” 

“Your Majesty… you are okay, aren’t you…?”

It was at that moment that Yihan’s steps suddenly stopped. They were in a hurry. Hwawoon had already lost a lot of blood, so he needed to get treated quickly. However, at the sudden question asked by Hwawoon, his whole body was frozen and he couldn’t move his body easily. 

All of those who followed the emperor in a hurry stopped walking, but Yihan could not hear any other sound in the world. Only the breath and the voice of the fragile man in his arms filled his boundary.

Hwawoon said. 

“Your voice… your voice doesn’t sound good, Your Majesty…”

“…”

“You’re not sick, are you…?” 

It was easy to notice that Hwawoon wasn’t speaking in his right mind just by looking at his face, which his eyes couldn’t open properly. How great the shock would be to a weak person who has suffered a big wound that he has never experienced in his life? The bleeding and pain that Hwawoon was experiencing now would not be easy for martial artists either. 

And yet, Yeon Hwawoon. Even while his body was in such a mess, he was worried about the emperor. The heartless emperor who saw himself in danger and did nothing. 

Grinding his teeth, Yihan walked again. 

Even at the moment when all the concubines were surprised and couldn’t do anything, Yihan made several eye contacts with Hwawoon, who constantly checked where he was, as if he were looking into the emperor’s safety. His ignorance for that became a sharp needle now, rising on the path where Yihan walked, making the emperor suffer at each step he took, but Yihan regarded it as a deserved pain.