Fake Concubine 33

That ​Grand ​Prince ​Gwang-han ​had murdered the ​child ​was, ​for ​now, ​merely a suspicion. Of ​course, ​Song Seol was ​certain that this ​suspicion ​was ​the ​truth, ​and ​he intended to ​uncover ​every ​single detail. However, ​he could not tell ​Moon Hae-min ​at this ​stage.

If he ​spoke rashly ​without ​clear ​evidence, Moon Hae-min ​might be ​hurt even further. He ​didn’t intend to hide ​it forever, but he ​had to ​gather ​at least a minimum amount of ​evidence before delivering the ​news.

“Do ​you ​not ​know ​the reason? I ​am told ​the ​child suddenly stopped ​breathing ​in the middle of the ​night. Is ​this ​the wealth and ​glory ​of ​the ​royal ​clan that ​you ​spoke of, ​My Lord? Even the children of commoners ​seek the cause ​when they are ​harmed, yet you…?”

“…….”

“Half of ​the blood ​flowing through that ​child’s ​body came from ​you; how can ​you be ​so ​heartless!”

These were ​words ​Moon Hae-min ​had ​not dared ​to ​utter ​until now. He ​was ​the one ​who ​had ​decided ​to raise the child alone. He felt it would be wrong to force fatherly affection upon Song Seol now.

“If you took the child, you should have at least raised him well.”

But looking back, he had been right a hundred times over. He should have raised the child visit our sitehimself. He should not have let Song Seol take him, no matter the cost; he should never have sent him to Hanseong… It [unauthorized copy]felt as though his insides were rotting away, wondering what difference regret made now.

“I am sorry, Hae-min. My fault runs deep.”

“Save your apologies for Bok-deong-i. Bok-deong-i was such a good child… Even when walking all day on that freezing day, he endured it steadfastly and didn’t even whine once.”

Hae-min barely managed to continue, his voice trembling with tears.

Not long ago, a thought had occurred to him. Perhaps it was thanks to Bok-deong-i that he hadn’t realized he was pregnant until the final month.

Even if he had found out early, realistically, Moon Hae-min would have been unable to take any action. Instead, he might have been caught by Song Seol while spending every day in anxiety. Though he had been terribly panicked at the time, it was actually a blessing that he found out so late.

Was that all? Bok-deong-i was a child who didn’t even make a sound in the womb. The reason Moon Hae-min could hide his pregnancy for ten months wasn’t because he was skilled at it, but purely thanks to Bok-deong-i.

“That sweet child… how could you let Bok-deong-i, who deserved to be loved, leave so vainly…?”

Hot tears surged. No longer having the strength to stand, Moon Hae-min collapsed as if crumbling.

“Huu… ugh, uuuugh…!”

Finally, a sorrowful, heartbreaking sob burst forth. Unable to compose himself, Moon Hae-min wailed, repeating only that he was sorry.

Song Seol supported him halfway, but Hae-min could not bring himself to get up. In the first place, he wasn’t even aware that Song Seol was touching him. There was only one person on Moon Hae-min’s mind.

His poor child, Bok-deong-i.

“…….”

Blink. As he lifted his eyelids, his surroundings were pitch black.

Moon Hae-min realized he had fainted from exhaustion after crying. It was a situation that had become almost common. Falling asleep in tears and fainting from overwhelming grief had become his daily routine.

The only difference from those common days was that Bok-deong-i was no longer here. Not in Songdo, nor in Hanseong.

“Huu…!”

A sob escaped through his clenched teeth. Even after regaining consciousness, all [stolen content]Moon Hae-min faced was a devastating reality. A [Read on Read BL Novels]reality more nightmarish than any nightmare, one he couldn’t even dismiss as a dream.

‘Daddy is sorry, Bok-deong-i.’

Moon Hae-min no longer resented Song Seol. Not because he had forgiven him, but because he lacked the energy to do so. Instead, all that resentment was turned inward.

He was a person who didn’t deserve to raise Bok-deong-i. It was pathetic that he had dared to blather about protecting the child when he had no such power. Feeling as though it was all his fault that Bok-deong-i had become a star in the night sky, Hae-min could not even breathe properly.

“Hic, ugh…!”

A suppressed cry broke out. Hearing this, a maidservant cautiously entered the sarangbang.

She was someone Song Seol had assigned. In truth, Song Seol wanted to stay by Moon Hae-min’s side himself, but he had stepped away, fearing that doing so would only worsen Hae-min’s condition.

“Young Master.”

Recalling Grand Prince Byeokran’s order to ‘look after him carefully,’ the maidservant spoke.

“You must drink some water.”

“…….”

“You will be exhausted if you shed so many tears. Please, just a sip…”

No answer came. Only the sound of sobbing that could melt the heart of any listener. Out of pity, the maidservant urged him again.

“Young Master Hee-yul, please drink some water.”

The maidservant did not realize what result that carelessly uttered title would bring.

Hee-yul.

Even amidst the chaos, as if standing in the center of a storm, those two syllables pierced Moon Hae-min’s ears. Moon Hae-min thought blankly.

Is this how I must live from now on?

Having lost Bok-deong-i, having lost my name, for the rest of my life…

“Haha…”

Once, he had wanted to be born into a harmonious family. After realizing that was a hopeless wish from the start, he had wanted to meet a good spouse, have a daughter and a son, and live happily. But that was an unattainable dream. Even so, he had wanted to raise Bok-deong-i with an abundance of love…

It was all impossible. There was no hope left.

“…Young Master Hee-yul?”

His fragmented mind shattered completely, like powder. Even in that state, Moon Hae-min spoke, feigning the composure that had become second nature to him.

“If it is water, just leave it. I will drink it on my own.”

“But…”

“And I have a request.”

“A request? Please, command me, Young Master.”

“I wish to rest in silence to compose my mind.”

Though the end of his voice trembled, he sounded sufficiently calm. Feeling more at ease, the maidservant bowed her head.

“Yes. Then I shall take my leave.”

The maidservant left the sarangbang. Once the door was tightly closed, Moon Hae-min looked at the water bottle she had left behind. As expected, it was made of wood.

Until a few days ago, he had thought such treatment from Song Seol was excessive. But now he understood. He understood why Song Seol had not let him into the sarangbang before.

“…….”

Hae-min rose silently. His eyes, now dry of tears, were desolate. He scanned the room with a hollow gaze.

Next to the six-panel folding screen was a small book chest. Originally, a white porcelain gourd-shaped bottle had sat atop it, but it was gone now. It seemed Song Seol had removed it while he was in a daze.

He had no choice but to search the book chest. But there were only books inside. The dressing table and [stolen content]the head chest were the [unauthorized copy]same. There wasn’t even a shadow of scissors or a blade.

Despite finding nothing, Moon Hae-min wandered the room, searching every nook and cranny. Just as a series of failures continued, something on the side table caught his eye.

A celadon turtle paperweight.

An object Moon Hae-min had once given to Song Seol had returned to his hand. He fiddled with the turtle paperweight. With its round head and shell, the turtle paperweight had no sharp edges anywhere. However, anything becomes sharp if it receives a strong enough impact. Like this.

Thump.

Hae-min lifted the turtle paperweight high and slammed it against the edge of the book chest. A dull sound echoed, and a crack appeared in the paperweight.

Fortunately, because the paperweight was small, the sound wasn’t loud. It was quiet enough that the servants likely wouldn’t hear it, or even if they did, they wouldn’t think to enter the sarangbang. Feeling slightly relieved, Hae-min swung his arm again.

On the second strike, the turtle paperweight split wide open. As he tapped it against the book chest, the cross-section became quite sharp. It was no match for a real blade, but it seemed usable. Even if it didn’t cut as deeply as he wanted, he could just keep cutting until it did.

With trembling hands, Moon Hae-min gripped the shard of the paperweight tightly. Then, he swung the shard again. This time, not at the book chest, but at his own wrist.

Once, twice.

And three, four, five times…

Moon Hae-min’s hand no longer trembled. His touch was resolute and fierce.

‘Bok-deong-i, I’m sorry.’

How long and frightening the road to the afterlife must be. Therefore, he had to be by the child’s side. Though he failed to protect him in this world, he intended to protect him in the next.

He hoped there was no reincarnation. He was too exhausted to start another life. But if there was a next life, he wanted to meet Bok-deong-i once more.

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.’

Looking back, there were more than a few people who had suffered because of him. The merchants of the Muam Trading Company, who suffered immense losses because they couldn’t set sail on time, and the owner of the rental bookstore, who had shown him kindness in many ways and might now face severe punishment. He hoped Song Seol would show them mercy… but it didn’t seem likely.

‘As for you, you are just…’

His heart became infinitely complicated whenever he thought of Song Seol. He hated him, resented him, loathed him, yet at the same time, he felt sorry… All sorts of emotions were layered upon one another, to the point where Read on Read BL Novels[Read on Read BL Novels]even Moon Hae-min could not define his own heart. Then unauthorized copyagain, now that things had come to this, there was no need to sort them out.

Blood flowed from his mangled wrist. It looked like a dandelion stem crushed by a stone by a child playing house. A red liquid carved a path like sap.

He felt this was enough. His consciousness was beginning to blur; it seemed he had succeeded.

Only then did Moon Hae-min release the strength in his hand. The blood-soaked shard of the paperweight fell to the floor, and Moon Hae-min’s body collapsed.

Amidst the rolling shards of celadon, the jade-colored eyes slowly lost their light.