HLCOB C58

Chapter 58

Before long, it was time for Sun Wook to depart.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

Behind Sun Yu, who gave his parting salute, stood Sun Wook, crestfallen. The sight drew a smile from Jaheon. They had not known one another long, yet it felt like sending off a beloved puppy far away. So Jaheon stretched out both arms to him.

Sun Wook, startled, blinked blankly at first, then, realizing what Jaheon meant, flushed scarlet.

Jaheon asked quietly, “Do you dislike it?”

“….”

Unable to speak, Sun Wook lowered his head. Yet after hesitating, he yielded, stepping forward to rest in Jaheon’s embrace. From Jaheon’s warm arms drifted a faint, pleasant fragrance. Jaheon placed a hand upon his back, gently patting.

Thump, thump—

At that touch, Sun Wook’s heart pounded as if it would burst. Eyes squeezed shut against the racing beat, he murmured an earnest plea.

“My lord.”

“…?”

“…Until I return, you must remain unharmed.”

For he too knew what Luoyang was.

“….”

Jaheon froze at his words. Had anyone in this city spoken to him thus? Always others had pressed him for favors, never once spoken from such simple concern.

—I will surely serve by your side…

—So please, keep my place for me.

How long had it been since anyone had shown him such untainted goodwill?

So Jaheon smiled softly.

“…?”

Seeing that natural smile—so rare—Sun Wook gazed up at him in a daze. Meeting that gaze, Jaheon’s eyes curved as he answered the boy’s vow.

“Yes. I shall.”

A promise made for the young scion who so purely worried for him.

And so Sun Wook departed for Yingchuan.

‘…Perhaps it is his rigid honesty, but….’

Jaheon could not shake the thought that he, a grown man, had been comforted by a boy. With that in mind, having seen him off, Jaheon turned back.

“…?”

There stood Choseon at the gate, watching him with a strange expression. After staring him up and down for some time, she spoke.

“Brother, you are a bad man.”

At her words, Jaheon thought a moment—and realized he had none to give in reply.

“And you think yourself fit to scold me about Apo?”

Had he not left Sun Wook in her care while he conversed with Sun Yu? With her quick eyes, how could she not have guessed what Sun Wook felt toward him?

Feeling a pang of guilt, Jaheon turned his gaze aside. “…It is but the folly of youth.”

He too knew what lay behind Sun Wook’s gaze. But the boy was still young. In time, it would fade.

“And if it is not folly, then what will you do?”

“Do you think it easy for a man to confess love for another man?”

In this age, relations between men were not rare. People were generous to beauty, male or female alike. But that was all. To be acknowledged openly as lovers was rare—possible only for an Emperor.

And Sun Wook was no Emperor.

“Moreover, he is Lord Sun’s cherished nephew. Soon enough he will be wed.”

“….”

“Fear not. In time, his feelings will fade….”

Even if Sun Wook loved him, the chance of anything coming to pass was slim. He was, after all, the most promising heir of the Yingchuan Sun clan. His elders would never permit such a path.

Speaking the cold truth, Jaheon turned—and met a look from Choseon he had never seen before.

“…?”

He faltered. “…Was I so wrong?”

“No.”

Gazing at him with that strange look, Choseon turned and slipped silently into the house.

O Juk-yeop, who had been hovering, crept up at once.

“Whatever it is, my lord, you were in the wrong.”

“…?”

“I’ve never seen the young lady look at anyone that way before.”

Giving him the same odd look, O Juk-yeop hurried after her.

“….”

And so Jaheon was left alone before the laborers’ hall, bewildered, feeling like refuse cast off by those dearest to him.

News that Sun Yu had visited the laborers’ hall spread swiftly through Luoyang. Was it not the Yingchuan Sun clan, one of the foremost noble houses? Even if Sun Yu was of a cadet branch, the weight of that name could not be ignored.

“My lord. It is said Sun Gongdal, cadet of the Yingchuan Suns, has called at the laborers’ hall.”

All sharpened their ears. Depending on what Jaheon chose, the balance of court could shift.

But there was one man too distracted to care—Wang Yun.

‘Damn it.’

In truth, he had hoped at the last court session that Lady He’s elevation to Empress would stumble. If she gained the title too easily, she would feel no debt to him, and his influence over her would fall behind Jaheon’s. Thus he had wished for the proclamation to be made at his word in the next audience.

But matters had not gone as he foresaw.

Though he had signaled that it was safe to oppose her, far more had defected to the Cao faction and resisted Lady He’s rise than he had anticipated. Seeing that, could he be sure even the remaining Qingliu officials would follow him?

‘…Perhaps I should have trusted Im Jaheon’s word that they would not betray me.’

Had Jaheon not won over the Yuan clan of Runan, drawing part of the Murky faction to his side, Wang Yun would surely have fallen.

Bang—!

He slammed his desk in fury.

“…My lord!”

Even his retainers could not calm him. In truth, this court session had been less about confirming the Empress than igniting a new round of factional strife. For now the loyalties of officials lay plainly exposed.

‘How has it come to this?’

Cao Cao, whom he thought an ally, had struck him from behind. Jaheon, whom he distrusted, had moved in his favor. He knew not whom to trust, whom to suspect.

‘Now that the Cao clan holds the Palace Guard, they will soon seize the officials with ease.’

For control of the Guard meant power to uncover every corruption. Had the eunuchs not once used such means to bend court to their will?

‘The son of a eunuch indeed—no different from them…!’

Disgust twisted his face.

“My lord, might you take some tea to calm yourself?”

A retainer offered a cup.

“….”

Wang Yun accepted, regaining composure, then asked,

“What was it you sought to tell me earlier?”

“That Sun Yu of the Yingchuan Sun cadet line visited the laborers’ hall.”

“Leave it be.”

He shook his head.

“He is but cadet kin, not the main line.”

Was it not Wang Yun himself who had driven Sun Shang, head of the Suns, down to the provinces as governor of Yingchuan? Despite Sun Shang’s great name, the post had been beneath him, yet Wang Yun had forced it through. For Sun Shang’s reaction to Jaheon had been too unsettling.

It was exile in all but name.

“Once sent to the provinces, he will not set foot in Luoyang for some time.”

And for Wang Yun, who led the Qingliu, it was better so. For the Suns were ranked above his own clan, and with Sun Shang gone, their presence in the capital no longer threatened his standing.

‘Yet why does such a house look kindly upon Im Jaheon….’

Had Jaheon not always sold honor for gain? Wang Yun could not fathom why Sun Shang would choose him. So he was loath to grant Jaheon any further chances.

But he had little choice.

“Send word to the laborers’ hall.”

For there were but few who could sway the court with a handful of words.

“Tell him—a father longs to see his child’s face, and bids him come.”

And of them, the only one Wang Yun could freely command was Jaheon.