YCHW Ch 57

The sky was impeccably clear. Everyone in the Imperial Palace agreed in unison that it was an auspicious occasion blessed even by the Dragon God. Every person he met expressed their gratitude to Yoonso. They said that spring had finally come for His Majesty the Emperor, calling Yoonso the most precious of all precious people.

The ceremonial coronet, which made jewels sparkle with every step, was magnificent and heavy. The blue formal robe, on which a seven-clawed dragon holding a Forsythia in its mouth was woven with silver thread, was flawless without a single errant stitch. Yoonso laughed at himself, thinking that it was not so much a man wearing clothes as it was clothes wearing a man.

Members of the imperial family, whose faces he barely knew, graced the event with their presence, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that every person who ran the Imperial Palace was in attendance, so numerous were the people. However, even this countless crowd was but a drop in the ocean compared to the people of Daeyeong.

Seeing them in person, he finally realized what kind of position he was ascending to, and at that, he felt as if someone were strangling him, making it impossible to even swallow a dry cough properly.

Everything that comprised the ceremony was grand. It seemed to declare that even the most trivial of beings were priceless and precious, making it impossible to ever deny that this was the state wedding of a nation’s sovereign.

The ceremonial flags embroidered with divine beasts flapped fiercely in the wind. Starting with the sound of a large transverse flute, the palace instruments released a magnificent melody. Yoonso walked with his neck held ramrod straight to support the weight of the coronet and stood abreast of Hwi.

Everything proceeded according to procedure. He walked slowly down the long path toward the palace with Hwi. The wedding that had no one to bless them, that was held freely while ignoring tradition and procedure, that was simple and modest but filled with nothing but joy, flashed before his eyes.

Every part of the current process was a contrast to the ceremony that day, and so it made that beautiful memory fade. Yoonso felt something crumbling inside him and became engrossed in a single question.

Just why, what did this man want that he even held a fake wedding?

He reached the ceremonial table and turned to face Hwi. The man’s face, which he was seeing for the first time since entering the palace, was still as cold and beautiful as if it were sculpted from moonlight. Moreover, his appearance wearing the coronet suited him so well that one would believe he was born that way, and a hollow sigh escaped his lips.

Once he knew that Hwi’s place was here, he could hardly imagine him as anything but the Son of Heaven. Now, his moonlight was trying to cut him. Before the wave of sorrowful grief could overwhelm him, Yoonso bit down hard on the inside of his cheek and composed his expression.

As he stood still and faced him like this, he remembered what had happened last night.

Though he tried to seek sleep in preparation for the grand ceremony the next day, he could not get a wink of sleep and was only sighing when he saw a flickering shadow outside the window.

In a space where security was extremely tight, there could be only one person who could linger about like that. Yoonso watched the shadow and then rose and went to the window.

‘Is that Your Majesty?’

‘……’

‘Do you not know better than I the rule that we cannot meet before the wedding ceremony is held?’

‘That is why I did not open the door.’

The unchangingly gentle tone pierced the cracks of his unsettled heart. A man who seemed like he would tell the rules to go to hell was now not opening a mere window, making him think that now, difficult rules, dignity, and duty would take their place between them, and a bitter smile formed on his lips.

‘Many things will change tomorrow. Are you satisfied?’

Yoonso could not hide the thorns that had sprouted so sharply. There was no answer from the man beyond the window. Only the shadow that perfectly outlined his high nose bridge held its place without any wavering.

‘Please return now. It is late at night.’

He turned away without mercy and lay on the bed, but he could not stop his gaze from turning to the window.

That night, Hwi kept watch in front of the window, and Yoonso, with a burning heart, drew and redrew the blurry figure. He had to use all his strength to suppress the impulse to throw open the window to see what kind of expression Hwi was wearing.

However, now, he could not read anything from Hwi’s face looking at him. Yoonso wanted to be the same. He wanted to show him that he no longer wanted to give him anything, and that he could not. Even while knowing full well that it was a futile defiance.

While they performed the ceremonial bows to each other and shared the nuptial wine, Hwi’s gaze, which had landed on Yoonso, did not leave. Yoonso lowered his eyes to ignore him and wished for this long and tedious marriage formality to end quickly.

Just because the grand ceremony was over did not mean it was completely finished. They had to go to the royal ancestral shrine and the temple to pay their respects to the ancestors and the Dragon God.

Even as he stood before the lined-up ancestral tablets, the fact that he too would one day be placed there did not feel real. He hoped he could meet death in a place where he was free, but would that even be possible?

The low, dignified voice reading the ceremonial address did not properly enter his ears and just flowed past. Yoonso only moved his eyes to look at the address Hwi was holding. Among the string of characters, one name stood out.

Hwi (暉).

He uses a character that means light.

At the thought that it suited him terribly, a bitter smile threatened to break through his lips. Moreover, upon learning the emperor’s name, he truly felt that he had entered a path from which there was no return.

Until a Dragon’s Scion is chosen and invested as the crown prince, all imperial grandsons are called by their childhood names. They receive a formal name after being invested as the crown prince, but the Dragon’s Scion’s name was not known to the public.

This was to prevent the Dragon’s Scion’s sacred name from being spoken carelessly or used in profane acts, and at the same time, it was a system that stemmed from the intent to establish the Dragon’s Scion’s authority.

The emperor was always the emperor. The Dragon’s Scion was always the Dragon’s Scion. They, who inherited the sacred power and blood, were not called by their names, making them feel not like mere individuals, but like a single, continuous existence that was the dragon’s bloodline. It was a way to display dignity through absence and draw out the reverence of the people.

After death, once they receive a posthumous title, various evaluations might be exchanged, but in life, they were simply the sacred and great Dragon’s Scion.

And so, he too had not known the face or name of the emperor who had completely changed his life with the single phrase that he was fit to be empress, and because of that, was he not dragged here without even knowing who the lover he had adored was?

Because Hwi’s name was brilliant, because it seemed so much his own, because it felt as if he would inevitably end up loving even that one character, Yoonso slowly closed his eyelids.

The ceremony, which began in the morning, finally came to a complete end in the late afternoon. Yoonso now arrived at the inner palace where he would be staying, and the court attendants who had been waiting for Yoonso greeted him.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

Yoonso’s expression, which had been about to brighten upon seeing Yeondeok’s face as soon as he got out of the palanquin, fell.

From the eunuch to the court lady, the trailing court attendants, and even the Yongrin. Yoonso exchanged greetings with Court Lady Jo and then turned toward the Yongrin. Two Yongrin bowed to him in courtesy.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. May the dragon’s protection be with you.”

Yoonso fixed his gaze on one of the two. It was someone he knew well.

“So you can speak.”

The man from the association building was here, dressed in the attire of a Yongrin. As long as Hwi was the emperor of Daeyeong, he must not have been an ordinary menial worker, but to think that his inability to speak was also a lie was dumbfounding.

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude, Your Majesty.”

The man lowered his head with a calm and humble face. Well, he must have pretended so under the emperor’s orders; what fault was it of this man? When Yoonso ordered them to rise, the two Yongrin stood up straight.

“I am Yu Jeong-ju. I will serve Your Majesty with all my heart from now on.”

“I am Jang Hui-je. It is truly an honor to be able to serve Your Majesty the Empress!”

The man from the association building’s name was Yu Jeong-ju, and the woman’s name was Jang Hui-je. Both had pleasant impressions, but Hui-je seemed more cheerful. It was unfamiliar and awkward that the Yongrin would now be guarding him, but Yoonso did not let it show and turned away.

Court Lady Jo followed him and advised him that he must now speak informally to everyone. The education he received for seven days at the detached palace was for naught, but he was so exhausted that he did not even care. Yoonso gave a rough nod and entered the inner chamber without even having a chance to look around the inner palace.

However, he could not rest there either and had to head straight to the royal bathroom.

Warm steam rose from the water that filled the tub, exuding a deep fragrance, but he just wanted to lie down and sleep, never mind bathing. Yoonso stared blankly at the tub and then opened his mouth.

“I would like it if only Yeondeok remained.”

He had been worried that now that he was the empress, even taking a single bath would involve rules and procedures, but fortunately, Court Lady Jo took everyone out. Just as Yoonso let out a sigh, Yeondeok approached.

“Your Majesty, you have been through so much. Congratulations.”