Even My Life Is Yours Chapter 77

“Were you okay yesterday?”

Hongyo, who was walking with Yeoryeong to attend class, ran into Yoo Deoksu and his group waiting in front of the Hakseogwan. Looking at Yoo Deoksu, who was approaching him with a concerned face, Hongyo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“If you mean yesterday, I’m sorry about that. I did make a bit of a fool of myself. You guys must have had a hard time.”

“No. If anyone had a hard time, it was the Commander, not us.”

It was embarrassing to have shown such a pathetic sight after passing out from a mere four glasses of alcohol. Especially when Jeonghwan’s name was brought up, the unpleasant memories she had managed to forget came crashing back, making her want to crawl into a hole and hide. However, as if that wasn’t the answer he was looking for, Yoo Deoksu shook his head vigorously.

“I don’t mean him, I mean the Lord Commander. Yesterday, he was determined to give you a piece of his mind once you woke up. Was everything alright?”

Hongyo looked at Yoo Deoksu as if asking what he meant, then turned to look at Yeoryeong. However, Yeoryeong merely looked straight ahead, avoiding Hongyo’s gaze.

‘So you’re not going to help me, huh?’

Hongyo’s mind raced. Although Gamyoung hadn’t told her anything, it seemed he had done something to keep the relationship between them from being discovered. Borrowing Yoo Deoksu’s words just now, Hongyo replied as plausibly as possible.

“Ah, don’t even get me started. I was scolded terribly as it is. He told me never to let a drop of alcohol touch my lips again.”

Well, since Gamyoung had actually said that, it wasn’t a lie. At that, Yoo Deoksu, who was notorious for being gullible despite being by Choi Hyangbang’s side, breathed a sigh of relief on his own as if reassured.

“Still, I’m glad nothing bad happened. I was worried you might get disciplined. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to stay alone with him for even ten seconds. The Lord Commander is one thing, but the fact that he is the Emperor’s younger brother… Ugh….”

Yoo Deoksu squirmed as if the mere thought of it was terrifying.

‘Is Gamyoung really that scary?’ 

Then again, if she had only known Gamyoung by his background, he would indeed be terrifying. There was nothing good about getting involved with the imperial family, after all.

“Besides, when he stares blankly at you, it’s impossible to tell what on earth he’s thinking. Yesterday, my knees were practically shaking.”

Hearing people talk behind Gamyoung’s back didn’t feel very pleasant. Even though she should be doing everything she could to hide their relationship completely, Hongyo found herself retorting without realizing it.

“But is it really that easy to look after a subordinate like that? On the contrary, do you think it’s easy for someone of his status to treat others without any formality?”

“That’s true too.” Seeing Yoo Deoksu nod his head, Hongyo quickly said,

“Anyway, thanks for worrying about me. As you can see, nothing happened, so let’s head inside.”

With that, Yoo Deoksu led his group away and disappeared. Watching their retreating figures, Hongyo turned her head to the side.

“Did something happen yesterday?”

“Well, I don’t know. What Yoo Deoksu said is everything, so I have nothing more to say.”

At those words, Hongyo stared at Yeoryeong with suspicious eyes, but Yeoryeong remained silent. Yeoryeong stole a glance at Hongyo, who was turning his head away. Hanging from the wooden sword he always carried with him was an ornament that differed only in color from that of the Chief Commander of Hwayounggyeong. At a glance, its simple shape made it look like an ordinary accessory, but to anyone who knew its true worth, it was an incredibly precious item.

Both Yeo Hongyo, who had received a gift that would typically only be given to someone deeply cherished, and the Chief Commander of Hwayounggyeong, who had undoubtedly given it to him, did not seem to have an ordinary relationship, which made Yeoryeong frustrated that there was no way to find out more. Furthermore, seeing how he took care of Hongyo last night as if it wasn’t his first or second time doing so, it was only natural to become curious about the relationship between them.

‘It’s not that there’s no way, but….’

Since both the Chief Commander of Hwayounggyeong and Yeo Hongyo were men, they obviously wouldn’t be betrothed to each other, but….

‘There’s definitely something going on.’

However, it was still too early to make reckless assumptions. Yeoryeong looked at Hongyo. He had a delicate and beautiful face despite being a man. To the point where one might be completely fooled if he were dressed in a woman’s clothes instead of a training uniform.

But was Hwayounggyeong such an easy place to enter? In the first place, it was a location within the imperial palace where women were strictly forbidden from entering. Yeoryeong shook off the thoughts that even he found absurd, but once the gates of suspicion were opened, they could not be easily closed.

˖°⛩️⋆˙️

For the first time since the Sigyeonghap, a sense of tension circulated within Hwayounggyeong. This was due to the Grand Oracle Ceremony that the Emperor had announced not long ago. The Grand Oracle Ceremony was a ritual where the Emperor asked the Dragon God for guidance before making a momentous decision. Thus, Hwayounggyeong, which was tasked with guarding the event, had been undergoing high-intensity training for over a month. In particular, Hongyo, who had taken first place in the Sigyeonghap, was suddenly appointed as the new Vice-Commander because the previous Vice-Commander had recently transferred to become a regional army commander, and was now learning how to command the Gamhwis by assisting Jeonghwan, the Commander.

“Wow, this is too exhausting, I can’t do this anymore.”

Hongyo, who was working on a rough draft of the budget proposal related to the event, finally put down her brush and slammed her head onto the desk. At that, Jeonghwan, who was likewise examining ledgers containing past data, scolded Hongyo.

“Didn’t I draft almost all of it for you? How can you complain about it being so hard when all you have to do is review it?”

“I’ve never done anything like this before. I would much rather swing a sword thousands of times instead.”

She felt like she would rather grip a sword than do such boring and complicated work. At that, Jeonghwan clicked his tongue.

“You’ll get plenty of training at night anyway, yet you’re already whining. Get up this instant.”

He was right. Although she had originally been receiving separate training from Jeonghwan, she was currently undergoing even more intense training to prepare for the Grand Oracle Ceremony. As a result, the person she saw the most from morning till night these days was Jeonghwan. Not only did she see him almost every day, but because they spent day and night together, she felt much more comfortable around Jeonghwan than before, but conversely, it also meant it was just as exhausting. In particular, Jeonghwan was so perfect and thorough when it came to work that, from the perspective of someone assisting him, every single day felt like torment.

Despite her superior’s command to get up quickly, Hongyo remained with her cheek pressed against the desk, merely turning her head to look at Jeonghwan. Even though she was showing behavior unbefitting of a subordinate, Hongyo stared at Jeonghwan in that exact posture for a while. It was truly admirable how he hadn’t taken his eyes off the books for a single moment since earlier.

But apart from that, she couldn’t shake the thought that his profile as he examined the books was exceptionally handsome. She had always thought he was masculinely handsome, but his sharp, high nose bridge and prominent brow bone made his striking face stand out even more. Come to think of it, though she had only seen her once, the lady who was said to be his younger sister was an incredible beauty who was not easily forgotten. Staring blankly at Jeonghwan, Hongyo suddenly asked,

“Commander, do you not have a betrothed?”

At that, Jeonghwan finally took his eyes off the ledger and looked at Hongyo as if looking at something peculiar.

“Where in the budget proposal does it say anything that could prompt such a question?”

His furrowed brow made him look dumbfounded, but he didn’t seem angry. Hongyo straightened her back and picked up her brush again. However, this game of numbers simply didn’t suit her temperament at all. In the end, putting her brush back down on the inkstone, Hongyo turned her body completely toward Jeonghwan this time and spoke.

“I heard that for nobles, their betrothed is usually decided as early as before they are even born.”

She had heard that political marriages occurred earlier among nobles, who focused primarily on family background, compared to the imperial family, who had to consider everything from family lineage, appearance, and character to political influence and factional power at the time. Even within Hwayounggyeong, many had already held their weddings, and at the very least, the majority had their betrothed decided. As Hongyo stared intently at him, Jeonghwan furrowed his brow but put down his brush as if conceding.

“Do you dislike looking at the ledger that much?”

She expected him to rattle off a harsh scolding as usual, but unexpectedly, his tone was rather soothing. As Hongyo widened her eyes in surprise at this, Jeonghwan said calmly,

“I don’t know about other nobles, but at least in our family, we marry the one we love, regardless of whether their status is high or low.”

Of course, even so, since they rarely had occasions to mingle with commoners, those they loved were still the children of noble families. It was precisely because of this family atmosphere that he had thought it would be a good idea to introduce Hongyo to Bian. Although Hongyo was not a commoner in terms of status since he was the adopted son of the Chief Martial Officer, by nature, a real noble was considered someone who possessed an ancestral estate or at least had a family head who had risen to a high official position.

Therefore, based on Hongyo’s conditions alone, a marriage with Bian would be difficult to achieve, but his parents did not seem to care much about such things as long as it was the person their child loved. Furthermore, Bian had a personality where she absolutely had to possess whatever she wanted to be satisfied, so she would undoubtedly like it even more if he were a son-in-law married into the family.

“Then, Commander, is there a lady you wish to marry as well?”

“No. Not yet.”

If there was a flaw, it was that he himself had not yet met such a woman. At that, Hongyo, whose eyes had been shining, muttered with a deflated expression,

“If it is you, My Lord Commander, what woman in the world could possibly not admire you? You are cool, masculine, and kind.”

It was Jeonghwan who was surprised by her unfiltered words. He gazed intently at Hongyo, who had turned her eyes back to the ledger. Then he asked,

“Would you have thought the same of me even if you were a woman?”

At those words, Hongyo froze as if struck by lightning.

‘Could he possibly know something about me?’ 

However, when she raised her head and looked back, Jeonghwan was merely staring at her calmly. Relieved by this, Hongyo rolled her eyes upward as if recalling something. If it were Jeonghwan, there was certainly no woman who wouldn’t like him. He was that handsome and capable, and even though he pretended otherwise, his disposition was also warm and kind. So who wouldn’t like him? But….

“Of course, since I am not a woman, I cannot fully know that feeling, but on a human level, I already respect and follow you enough even now.”

“Respect… Then it is not affection?”

“…Before that, I am a man.”

When she looked at him as if asking why on earth he was questioning such a thing, a hint of disappointment showed on Jeonghwan’s face for some reason, despite his attempt to hide it.

‘Should I have just said yes?’ 

It wasn’t a question asked with the knowledge that she was a woman anyway. However, the person who came to mind the moment she received that question was by no means Jeonghwan. Rather….

It was then. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jeonghwan standing up from his seat, and Hongyo looked back at him. Then, Jeonghwan, who had stridden toward Hongyo before she knew it, spoke.

“My concentration is completely broken because of you. It will be training time soon, so let’s take a short walk before then.”

With that, the way he waited by the door was unmistakably a sign telling her to follow. It was true that Hongyo had definitely grown more comfortable around Jeonghwan compared to before, but her superior, who had been acting a bit unpredictably lately, felt harder to read than before in some aspects. He originally had a personality that wasn’t particularly reserved, but does one become more playful once they get closer?

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Yes. I’m coming, I’m coming.”

It was just as Hongyo, springing up from her seat, stepped outside the door of Jeonghwan’s office. Even though it wasn’t the official training time yet, an unseasonably large crowd had gathered at the training ground.

“What is it?”

However, it didn’t take long for the answer to appear with someone’s arrival. A man who was exceptionally large even among men walked straight toward Hongyo through the crowd that parted every time he took a step.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I missed you, Yeo Hongyo.”

It was Jang Daeho.