By Zephyria 
Returning to his room with a faster pace than usual, Min-hyeok set the gift he was carrying down on the table in front of the sofa. His stomach churned, and his chest felt suffocatingly tight. Collapsing onto the sofa, Min-hyeok’s mind raced over the words he had accidentally overheard from Hae-joo.
Since when had he been thinking that? What? He wants to go out and live? That was out of the question. It was absolutely impossible. As a concubine, Hae-joo could go nowhere without the Emperor’s command. And there was no way Min-hyeok would allow it. That would remain true even after he dealt with the Prime Minister.
“…It seems the Palace Lord’s emotional wounds are deeper than expected. That is likely why he feels this way. He has been physically unwell and increasingly sensitive since the incident with the Queen Mother; perhaps he will improve if Your Majesty comforts him?”
Even after witnessing what he suffered at the hands of the Prime Minister, Min-hyeok had let him endure such things in front of the Queen Mother. This was something he should have paid closer attention to. The wounds had piled up, leading Hae-joo to harbor such thoughts and speak those words.
Min-hyeok closed his eyes without answering Sang-seon. Setting aside everything else, how did he know about the Empress? Had he overheard the words Hae-joo muttered to himself when Min-hyeok visited him while he had a fever?
But Hae-joo had been delirious then. Did that mean he instinctively knew he wasn’t fit to be the Empress?
Then again, given how he was treated, it would be stranger if he didn’t know. Perhaps because of these overlapping complexities, Hae-joo’s self-esteem now seemed severely diminished. In truth, Hae-joo’s life could hardly be called normal.
He had been pushed into the Imperial Palace at a young age. It was as if he had been thrown into a place where everyone around him was an enemy due to the Prime Minister’s greed; it would be stranger to remain sane in such an environment. Hae-joo must have lived his entire life feeling that way.
In a place where there wasn’t a single person to protect him, he had lived in silence, fighting a lonely battle. And in Hae-joo’s eyes, Min-hyeok likely wasn’t any different from the others.
Just another member of the same crowd who treated him with coldness and contempt. Just as Min-hyeok had misunderstood Hae-joo, it was evident that Hae-joo had viewed Min-hyeok that way for a long time. And would it be any different now? Min-hyeok’s heart ached at the loneliness Hae-joo must have endured.
‘That man who calls himself my grandfather always comes to get angry and hit me.’
‘Do you know how the Imperial family looks at me? That look of utter disgust, as if they can’t stand the sight of me.’
‘The person who finds me the most bothersome is probably Your Majesty. Have you seen the expression Your Majesty makes when he smiles at me? Only the corners of his mouth go up. Like this.’
“This is driving me crazy. Fuck.”
“Your Majesty.”
As a curse burst from Min-hyeok’s lips, a startled Sang-seon approached him. He had almost never used such coarse language; it was a sign of just how poor Min-hyeok’s current state of mind was.
‘Could I ever leave here alive? Given what my family did to the Imperial Palace… would the Emperor ever let me live?’
The idea of wanting to go out and live was absurd enough, but asking if the Emperor would let him live? Did he think Min-hyeok would actually kill him? Unable to bear this intolerable misunderstanding, Min-hyeok bolted upright and rubbed his face.
He didn’t have the slightest intention of killing Hae-joo. He was currently pondering how to keep him by his side without getting him caught up in the political turmoil, and it felt cruel that Hae-joo harbored such misunderstandings, unaware of this. Then again, since Min-hyeok hadn’t said anything, it was only natural he wouldn’t know.
Until now, Hae-joo had never once thought that Min-hyeok would protect him; instead, he had believed that he would be lucky if he simply wasn’t killed. In short, Hae-joo did not trust Min-hyeok.
His stomach turning over at Hae-joo’s misunderstanding, Min-hyeok thought about it again. He had indeed been quite preoccupied with Hae-joo lately. But was that all?
If so, what kind of trust had he shown Hae-joo? He was the one who had failed to give him the certainty that he could be trusted. Even he could see that.
Min-hyeok had only thought about how to bring the two brothers, Hae-joo and Han-bin, under his thumb and how to make them his allies. He hadn’t once considered fully embracing Hae-joo.
That was why he had only amplified the anxiety. Though Hae-joo appeared indifferent, he was actually extremely sensitive and quick to pick up on things. Because of that, the current situation was worse than when they had both been indifferent to each other.
On top of that, hearing the nonsensical claim that he wanted to live being loved by someone who told him he was beautiful made him feel even more unsettled. Hae-joo was the Emperor’s concubine, and those were words only the Emperor could say.
Therefore, such a statement was not appropriate for an Imperial concubine. It was the kind of remark that anyone could have used as a pretext to attack him, so Min-hyeok felt fortunate that he was the one who had heard it.
In truth, Min-hyeok was just as impatient, though Hae-joo wouldn’t know it. The desire to completely separate him from the Prime Minister, Hae-joo’s strange words and behavior lately, and then there was Kang Hyun-wook.
There were too many things to figure out and understand about Hae-joo. Moreover, perhaps because he had felt Hae-joo’s pheromones recently, this obsession had intensified. And yet, Cha Hae-joo, unaware of all this… Go out and live? Go out? Absolutely not. He would never let that happen.
Resting his hand on his chin, Min-hyeok bit his lip and stared intently at the gift he had tossed onto the table. After a while, he unwrapped the package.
Inside, in a transparent gift box, was a luxurious and elegant cat doll. It was a beautiful Persian cat that looked real to anyone. The deep blue eyes made of beautiful blue diamonds and the white fur made it look as if it were alive.
Since Hae-joo kept talking about cats, he had ordered a custom-made doll because he wanted to give him something. Since Hae-joo said he didn’t have the confidence to raise a real one, Min-hyeok wanted to give him a doll that looked exactly like one… Staring at the cat’s eyes, Min-hyeok poked them for no reason.
“…I think I’ll have to have this remade and sent again.”
“Is there something you wish to add? Shall I order a remake?”
“We’ll talk about that later. More importantly, have you taken measures to ensure that lunatic Han Hee-sung never dares to linger near the palace again?”
“No… well.”
At Min-hyeok’s words, Sang-seon let out a small, troubled sigh, as if he had been waiting for this topic to come up. Han Hee-sung was truly something, for making such words come out of Min-hyeok’s mouth. He was a crazy character like none they had ever seen.
“Your Majesty. As you well know, Han Hee-sung is a strong candidate for Empress. His family is essential to our side if we are to take down the Prime Minister.”
“Of course I know. But that was when I thought Han Hee-sung was sane… How can someone be like that? Is there something wrong with him?”
Min-hyeok closed his eyes, rubbing his brow as if he had a headache. The expression ‘head full of flowers’ was made specifically for someone like him. That lunatic, Han Hee-sung. Min-hyeok had doubted his own ears when the boy suddenly demanded to be taken to see the Grand Imperial Concubine because he missed him.
However, seeing that even his own father was flustered and trying to dissuade him, Min-hyeok realized he had heard correctly. Having never seen such a clueless Omega make such a bold request, Min-hyeok had actually burst into laughter out of sheer absurdity. What on earth was this?
Was he already trying to mark his territory? Who the hell did he think he was to mention the Grand Imperial Concubine and boldly demand to be taken to his quarters? For a mere candidate who hadn’t even entered the palace or received an official decree to mention a formal concubine was practically an act of insult.
Yet, Han Hee-sung’s absurd demands continued. He began to throw a tantrum, asking why he couldn’t meet the Palace Lord if he wanted to meet the Grand Imperial Concubine, and demanding to know where his Imperial Pavilion was.
Min-hyeok was so bewildered that he asked for the reason. And the answer that came back was a disaster of such proportions that it would have been justifiable for his entire clan to be exterminated. Without needing to see or hear anything more, Min-hyeok declared he would remove Han Hee-sung from the candidates.
‘Because I like the Grand Imperial Concubine. Why? Am I not allowed to like him? You don’t care for the Grand Imperial Concubine anyway, Your Majesty. You’re just forming an alliance with him, and once things go well, you won’t need either of us, so please give the Grand Imperial Concubine to me. That is my condition for helping you.’
This went beyond boldness; it was madness. When the son, a candidate for Empress, dropped the nuclear bomb of asking the Emperor for the Emperor’s own concubine, the Chief Prosecutor nearly collapsed, and the Queen Mother didn’t just drop her teacup—she couldn’t even close her gaping mouth.
Han Hee-sung was a Dominant Omega, and Cha Hae-joo was also an Omega. An Omega wanting another Omega? It wasn’t unheard of for Omegas to get along. But the other party was the Emperor’s Omega.
To ask for the Emperor’s Omega—unless one was so plagued by misfortune that they wished for death—was not something one dared to say in front of the Emperor. Min-hyeok scrutinized Han Hee-sung keenly without a word. He needed to check if the boy had some sort of mental illness.
Even if he didn’t, Min-hyeok had no intention of exposing the Grand Imperial Concubine to such a dangerous individual, especially since he was already frail. Seeing the Chief Prosecutor faint backward, it didn’t seem to be a mental issue. The Queen Mother tried her best to smooth over the atmosphere, claiming that young Hee-sung was simply speaking out of admiration for the Grand Imperial Concubine.
But in Min-hyeok’s view, that wasn’t it. He didn’t know where this brat had seen the Grand Imperial Concubine and fallen for him, but those words were sincere. Thus, Min-hyeok made it very clear.
While that family was certainly necessary for this task, this behavior was unacceptable. There had never been a case of someone asking for the Emperor’s consort. It was no different from insulting the Emperor. He warned that if they couldn’t keep their son in check, the one who would die wouldn’t be the Prime Minister, but them. At the Emperor’s chilling warning, even the Queen Mother could not speak.
“If he mentions the Grand Imperial Concubine one more time, I don’t care about the plan—I’ll just kill him.”
“Your Majesty. While Han Hee-sung is unconventional, please consider killing him after the plan has been carried out.”
Min-hyeok frowned at Yul’s advice. Han Hee-sung seemed even less sane than expected, as there was no sincerity in his apologetic gaze. He really seemed to be a special kind of crazy. With so much to worry about regarding Hae-joo, and now a lunatic clinging to him, Min-hyeok felt as if his head were about to explode.