C5 Part2

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“If we act too hastily, we may catch His Majesty’s eyes. If that happens, then it will be us, not Consort Yu, who will fall first. While we cannot deny that the Chief Commander’s influence has grown, we do not know who intended it. Therefore, it would be best for us not to get ahead of ourselves. As you all know, the Chief Commander has endured the many dangers that have come his way. However, he is not such a great man who is willing to endure it for much longer.”

When they heard that the Chief Commander wasn’t one to endure the dangers any longer, the nobles looked around at each other. Seeing this, Lee Moon narrowed his eyes.

Whether it was in the battlefield or in the capital, or even back in his own territory, Lee Heon was constantly attacked by assassins. It happened so often that it would aggravate anyone in the same situation. However, unexpectedly, he did not make a counterattack. He merely took care of the assassins and never spoke of it publicly.

The nobles nervously got up from their seats and exited the room. When their presence had completely disappeared, Lee Moon gestured to a servant who was standing quietly next to the closed door.

The door opened, and Heon was sitting in the small space behind it.

“Did you enjoy listening?”

Heon’s eyes slowly went to Lee Moon.

Just meeting his cold, fierce eyes made Lee Moon catch his breath. The more he saw Heon, the more he reminded him not of Consort Yu but his late father.

The foolish man who fell in love with her at first sight and from then on only continued to live for her. The wife he considered so precious ultimately betrayed him and left him. Rather than growing angry, the stupid man reproached himself and even ended up taking his own life.

“Why did you show this to me?”

“I’m not sure. I just wanted to show you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those men would never have imagined that the one who led the charge this time was you. Even though you were the one leading the attack, you are still being misunderstood. I was just curious to see if you’d be upset after hearing their words.”

Unlike Lee Moon’s relaxed expression, Heon’s face did not change. Was there anyone who could make this man waver? Lee Moon felt like such a person did not exist.

His mother’s betrayal, his collapsed clan, his incompetent father who ended up disappearing… All of these shadows ended up making a man like him.

And because of this exact reason, Prime Minister Lee Moon could not acknowledge Heon just as he couldn’t acknowledge the Consort.

“Whether you like it or not, you are Consort Yu’s weakness.”

However, while he hated the Consort to death, he felt that he could stretch out his hand to Heon and form an alliance with him.

“You must block the Consort. That is the only way you can live.”

“Do you think that those men will be able to kill me?”

His voice was monotonous and he betrayed no emotion. Although he took after his father, at times like this, Lee Moon couldn’t see his mother nor his father in him.

“Or are you using the excuse of me blocking her to turn me into a son who killed his mother?”

Feeling as if Heon had read his mind, Lee Moon’s brow slightly twitched.

Seeing this, Heon swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. There was no reason for Lee Moon to show such a side of himself to Heon at his own detriment.

Whether it was the Consort who tried to grab ahold of him for her own future or this man who wanted to use Heon in order to get rid of the Consort, they were all the same in his eyes.

“Consort Yu is merely an obstacle in your life.”

“Then are you saying that you are a help to me, Prime Minister?”

“That will depend on your actions, won’t it?”

“In the end, I am merely the Consort’s son. According to these men, am I not going to bring you trouble in the future? I know that you are not a man who lets future troubles be, Prime Minister.”

After a long silence, Heon let out a sigh. No matter what he said, he would always be the Consort’s son. This stigma would follow him around for the rest of his life.

“If only you weren’t the Consort’s son, we would have gotten along very well.”

“I do not think so.”

From the start, Heon did take his government post because he wanted the power that came with it. He had merely planned on decreasing the Consort’s authority by recommending his own people into vacant positions, but he never planned on gathering any power.

Because of that stupid banquet, not only had he become a laughingstock, but so had MoonWon. After that day, MoonWon seemed to have quietly let it go, but he still felt like a lump of sand was stuck in his throat.

If he could not escape the watchful eyes of Lee Moon, if the power-hungry Consort Yu continued to provoke him and MoonWon, Heon would ultimately have to gather more power and authority. In order to do so, he would have to stop rejecting the Emperor’s many imperial orders and accept a few in order to grow closer to him.

“I will take my leave.”

“Let me ask you one more thing. Did you also move to reinstate your wife’s father?”

Heon frowned at Lee Moon’s question.

“Weren’t you the one who reinstated my father-in-law, Prime Minister?”

“So are you telling me that you weren’t the one to do so?”

Heon hadn’t even thought about YongUn’s reinstatement. Lee Moon seemed confused and didn’t seem to be lying. Who had done it? One thing was for sure. It wasn’t Consort Yu.

“I’ll take my leave.”

“Be careful.”

Despite his wishes, Heon let it be clearly known that he planned on participating in the politics he hated so much. Seeing this change in Heon, the Emperor was delighted and did not say another word as he accepted Heon’s recommendations.

Even though it would cut the authority of the consort he loved so much, he did not question it and accepted Heon’s list of people.

From the moment Heon had changed his mind, Lee Moon was there to keep him in check.

Passing by those who lowered their heads to him, Heon exited the residence.

* * *

“It’s raining a lot.”

A few raindrops had turned into a fierce torrent. MoonWon had been sewing when she looked up at the pattering sound of rain. It had rained sporadically in the afternoon, but it seemed that the heavens were only waiting for nightfall to let it all out. It didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

“Has my husband not returned yet?”

“I’m not sure where he went, but he hasn’t come back yet. And he even sent Junghwan-nim out before he left.”

After hearing Yeori’s reply, MoonWon turned her eyes back out the window. The rain was falling so hard that it was hard to see far. MoonWon’s complexion grew dark. When she heard that he hadn’t returned despite the heavy rain, she couldn’t help but worry.

“You’ve been upset about Master for the past few days, and now you’re even worrying about him?”

“Because it’s raining so badly, and he still hasn’t come back.”

MoonWon stopped embroidering and clenched the fabric. Just as Yeori said, the events that had occurred did not go away very easily. As she followed behind Heon and watched his back as he ignored her and only focused on his own path, she was filled with a deep sorrow that she couldn’t shake off. She hadn’t been eating her meals properly, and she even had trouble falling asleep.

Even though she knew these feelings would never be returned, should she continue to hold onto him? In the past, MoonWon had been the type of person to give up before getting her answer.

“I’m angry and sad, but… a person’s heart is such a tricky thing.”

Even though she knew that it would be easier to just give up, her greed continued to tempt her. Whenever she thought of Heon, her heart would sink and throb. She tried to avoid him because of all the wounds she had incurred, but at some point, she found her eyes being drawn to him every chance she got.

“I wish he’d just show his feelings a bit.”

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

Although he shunned her and only seemed to be angry with her, whenever she looked into his eyes, they looked at her differently than they had in the past. At first, she didn’t understand why Heon was looking at her like that, but now she felt like she had an inkling of what it was.

“I wish he’d just show me a bit of his heart.”

He’d be confused by her behavior, but he would never show her his true thoughts in return. He would brush off her hands as she clung onto him, but after a certain amount of time had passed, he’d give her an opportunity once again.

However, whenever she approached him first, he would always end up rejecting her.

“Are you talking about me?”

“No, you’re doing very well, Yeori.”

When she heard MoonWon’s reply, Yeori’s eyes reddened. Although she didn’t show her inner thoughts very often, MoonWon would occasionally express her thanks to Yeori and the others. When she saw that Yeori was at a loss for words, MoonWon smiled and then looked out the window once again.

It was late into the night, and the rain was pouring. The fact that Heon still had not returned bothered her. On top of that, Heon had sent Junghwan to do something and had gone out on his own. Even though he was a soldier, Heon was always careless when it came to his own wellbeing.

“It’s raining too much.”

“Please don’t worry about Master. He’s always been the type of man to do well on his own.”

“No one does well on their own. One merely gets used to doing things on their own when no one is around to help them.”

After speaking to Yeori, MoonWon felt even worse. Was he coming back in the rain? He was a man that never showed anything, so it would be hard to tell if he’d caught a cold or something worse.

“What if he catches a cold…”

“Why don’t you stop for today and rest, Mistress? I’ll come and let you know when the Master has returned, even if it’s late.”

“Still…”

“Since it’s raining so much, he’ll probably come back tomorrow morning. He’s always done that. You haven’t been eating or sleeping well these past few days. Why don’t you just go to bed early for today?”

When she saw MoonWon hesitate, Yeori went ahead and prepared the bedding.

MoonWon laid in the sloppily-made bedding, and Yeori blew out the lanterns. However, a few moments later, the lights turned back on.

MoonWon lit the lanterns and gathered her knees together as she watched the rain.

‘It doesn’t matter if you’re doing your best. What can’t be will never be.’

MoonWon’s eyelashes trembled. After that day, she began avoiding Heon because it was difficult to face him. Whether he knew that she was avoiding him or whether he was truly busy, she didn’t know, but Heon was also absent very often.

‘If this is what you call ‘doing your best’, then do more.’

“What more do I need to do?”

If he’d just tell her what she needed to do, she felt that it would be a lot easier. Although she knew that relationships were difficult, when she was in a situation, she didn’t seem to know what to do.

As if the rain knew how MoonWon felt, it began to fall even harder as time went by.

Boom!

Just as MoonWon shook the thoughts out of her head and moved to lay back down, a sharp clap of thunder shook the sky. The accompanying flash of lightning lit the room for a moment before disappearing.

MoonWon tried to calm her wary heart, but she ended up cautiously leaning outside the window. She couldn’t see a trace of Yeori, who had promised to inform her when Heon returned.

“Since she said he could come back tomorrow…”

But what if he didn’t? What if he was currently being drenched in the rain as he made his way back?

MoonWon glanced at her bedding for a moment before turning to the door.

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