By Zephyria 
Time flew by, and several weeks had passed since the day of the incident with the Queen Dowager. The Queen Dowager’s palace sent a court lady along with some gifts as a gesture of regret to wrap things up. It was a bitter pill to swallow, seeing her perform a superficial apology without a single word of genuine remorse, but I decided to let it slide since there was nothing to be gained by causing further trouble.
Besides, what could I even do if I didn’t let it go? I have no power. I don’t know what kind of humiliation she intended to put me through by summoning me that day, but it’s certain that her plan was ruined by her own son, the Emperor. I’ll just take solace in that and move on.
To the outside world, the Emperor and I maintain a good relationship. And today, my brother returns. He had been away for quite a while this time, resolving issues regarding conflict zones and borders. Having not seen him for several months, I had been missing him, so this was very welcome news.
Furthermore, Joo Min-hyeok told me not to worry even after the Brigadier General returned. He hasn’t given me the details yet, but it seems he intends to keep my brother within the military base and cut him off from the outside world. If that happens, my grandfather will have no way of taking him. The military is an organization that exists outside the Prime Minister’s power.
Thus, my brother can be free within those walls. Since Joo Min-hyeok said he would plant his own confidants around him to protect my brother, I have no choice but to trust him for now.
In truth, it is only right for military officers to reside at their bases. This is especially true for my brother, who is a Brigadier General. However, my grandfather had pulled strings to allow him to commute from home, which led to a lot of gossip within the military.
They said he received special treatment, allowing him to stay outside the military base—let alone away from the front lines—thanks to the Prime Minister. He was cursed out in every way possible, with people wondering what would happen if he leaked national secrets to the Prime Minister. Since these claims were all true, I couldn’t refute them. It was only natural for such rumors to circulate.
It would be stranger if people didn’t talk when an officer, not just a regular soldier, was behaving contrary to common sense simply because his grandfather is the Prime Minister.
Regardless, it makes me so angry that he is dragging his grandson’s reputation through the mud for the sake of his own greed. I truly hope things proceed normally this time. Yet, in the midst of all this, the Prime Minister’s movements are far too strange.
“The old man is being too quiet, isn’t he?”
Lately, the Prime Minister has been too quiet and compliant. This, in its own way, made me deeply worried about what he might be plotting. People don’t change easily; when someone starts acting out of character, there’s usually something fishy going on. I felt anxious, as if there were a reason for this current silence. I wondered if he was scheming something again.
“Cha Hae-joo. When are you coming out? You said we were leaving; what are you thinking about so deeply?”
Just then, Hyun-wook entered the drawing room. We were supposed to go outside the palace today, and since I hadn’t come out despite him waiting, it seemed he came in to fetch me. We had planned to go to the convenience store that opened in front of Cheonggyecheon, but I had been lost in thought while leaving him standing outside.
“Ah, sorry. I’m coming now. I just had some things to think about.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“Not exactly, but have you heard any news about my grandfather? It’s a bit strange that he’s so quiet. I heard he hasn’t had any major clashes with people during meetings lately?”
“I don’t know the details, but they do say he’s definitely quieted down. My father mentioned that he’s not staying in the palace long because he’s not feeling well, and instead goes straight home to stay there.”
“…That’s strange. He’s not the type of person to do that. Why is every single thing he does so suspicious?”
“Don’t think too seriously about it. He might actually be unwell. It’s natural to be cautious at his age. Maybe he’s reflecting on himself after that incident with His Majesty?”
No way. That man probably doesn’t even know what ‘reflection’ means. My heart felt uneasy at his suspicious behavior. Even as I watched Hyun-wook comfort me and lead me outside, my anxiety would not subside.
∗ ∗ ∗
“So, the two of them have gone outside the palace now?”
“Yes. Guard Kang Hyun-wook is by his side, and the rest of the personnel will follow quietly, as they always have.”
“They were quiet for a few days, and now they’re going out again? And with Kang Hyun-wook, no less. They really are in sync, those two.”
Min-hyeok tossed the pen he was holding, leaned his head back against the chair, and closed his eyes. Hae-joo was getting along with the new guards better than expected. In particular, he maintained a quite intimate relationship with his personal guard, Kang Hyun-wook. Perhaps he should have chosen an Omega as the personal guard?
There is one fact that Hae-joo is unaware of. In truth, the security team leader was Min-hyeok’s own man, specifically chosen and assigned to Hae-joo’s side. By Min-hyeok’s order, the team leader prioritizes Hae-joo’s safety while also fulfilling the mission of reporting everything that happens in Hae-joo’s Imperial Pavilion to Min-hyeok.
Min-hyeok began monitoring Kang Hyun-wook after noticing a strange rapport between him and Hae-joo on the first day. Additionally, before the dinner gathering with the Queen Dowager, Sang-seon Kim Yul—who is essentially Min-hyeok’s right hand as his secretary and aide—visited the Grand Imperial Concubine’s Imperial Pavilion on Min-hyeok’s orders and overheard a strange conversation.
The voices were very low and there was some distance, and since he hadn’t heard from the beginning, he might not have fully understood the context of the conversation. However, even if he didn’t hear everything, the content was enough to make him tilt his head in confusion.
It included things like ‘This place is better than that place’ and ‘It’s good to meet you again,’ followed by conversations showing extreme intimacy, such as ‘I can even have a child.’ That was all Yul heard. After that, a court lady arrived, and he could hear no more.
However, a conversation with such unusually high intimacy and lack of distance was sufficient to report to Min-hyeok. Thus, Yul immediately relayed the story to Min-hyeok, who fell into deep thought for a long time.
What on earth did ‘this place is better than that place’ mean? It was an incredibly strange part. It also connected to the comment about being glad to meet again.
Hae-joo had come to the palace at the age of twelve and had stayed there ever since. He never went anywhere. Was it before then? No, that wasn’t it either. Before that, he had lived practically hidden away in the Prime Minister’s mansion.
As for Kang Hyun-wook, Min-hyeok knew he had stayed in the martial arts academy dormitory before coming to the Imperial Martial Arts Officer School. There was absolutely no point of contact for the two of them to have met and done anything. Since they had never met, there was no way they could be acquaintances.
Yet, it was a mystery why such a conversation took place and why there was even a mention of becoming a godfather to a child. He wanted to go and ask them right now, but he couldn’t interrogate them based on uncertain information.
It was a relationship that needed to be investigated more thoroughly. Therefore, Min-hyeok decided to keep this matter quiet. It was information that would be of no help if the Queen Dowager or the Prime Minister found out, so it must not leak.
It was better to remain silent until everything was clear. It wouldn’t be too late to move after observing a bit more. He might finally discover the true nature of the dissonance he had been feeling from the Grand Imperial Concubine for some time.
∗ ∗ ∗
As expected, he’s not here either. Who? Seo-joo. After buying an ice cream from the convenience store, I sat down under a parasol outside the store, eating it.
I wanted to give the other ice cream that came with the ‘buy one get one free’ deal to Hyun-wook, but Hyun-wook strictly separated public and private matters in such open settings. Glancing at Hyun-wook, I could only sigh at the frustrating reality.
What was the point of hovering around like this, based solely on Seo-joo’s words that he wanted to live an ordinary life running a convenience store? It was truly a foolish, useless endeavor. A foolish act of scouting the area without a single clue.
It would be much faster to hire people with money to find him. But there was no guarantee that Seo-joo even existed here, and if I made a big deal out of it and the Emperor or my grandfather found out, it would become a headache, so I was just lingering around the vicinity. I’ll have to discuss other methods with Hyun-wook.
“Sigh. I’m so incompetent, Cha Hae-joo.”
“Is that tasty?”
Hmm…?
As I sat blankly eating my ice cream, someone approached me and pointed at it. However, faster than that, Hyun-wook stepped in front of me, blocking the space between that person and me.
I couldn’t help but feel tense at the unexpected approach of a stranger. While going out, no one had ever shown interest in me or approached me. Thus, this situation was extremely flustering. I am the grandson of the Prime Minister, who has many enemies, and the Palace Lord of the Emperor. Although permission to go out had been granted, I was in a position where I always had to be careful because I didn’t know who might approach me or how. Therefore, I couldn’t help but be tense at the approach of a stranger whose intentions were unknown.
Hyun-wook watched him silently with caution, and I peeked from behind Hyun-wook to examine the person. However, he was not afraid of Hyun-wook.
“…Who are you?”
“I’m just someone passing by, but I was curious if that’s tasty. I’ve wanted to try it every time I saw it. What flavor is it?”
What a peculiar person. Is there really someone who talks to just anyone like this? He was wearing a ball cap and the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head, so his face wasn’t visible. Even though Hyun-wook frowned and warned him not to come closer, he didn’t seem to care. I reached out my hand to the man who was staring intently at the ice cream.
“Then would you like this? I have an extra. It’ll just melt if I leave it here anyway.”
“Really? Yes, I’ll have it. Thank you.”
Is he just naturally friendly? Ignoring Hyun-wook’s vigilance, he quickly took the ice cream and sat down in front of me to eat it. Hyun-wook frowned and protected me even more closely.
“You don’t need to be that guarded. You were flustered because I spoke to you suddenly, right? Actually, I’ve seen you coming and going from the convenience store in this neighborhood quite often. I got used to seeing you, so I decided to talk to you.”
“Ah, really? I see. Haha.”
So he saw me hanging around the convenience store. I thought it was possible if I had become a familiar face. I pushed Hyun-wook behind me and gave a look that said it was okay. Watching me and Hyun-wook, the man eating the ice cream spoke again.
“You walk around so confidently without even covering your face that I was unsure at first… but after seeing you a few times, I’m certain now. You probably don’t know who I am. But I recognized you.”
“What?”
Looking at him as he delivered the meaningful comment that he had recognized me, my eyes widened.