Struggle Chapter 56

An unfamiliar voice was the start. Judging by the age sensed from the voice, it seemed likely to be the family acquaintance Sim Suhwan had mentioned. One of the three would be Min Gwiong, and another voice was faintly familiar yet deeply strange. To begin with, it was a very damaged voice.

Nanyoung felt a moment of doubt. Min Gwiong was also from a merit subject family, so there was no way he would remain so quiet in there…

“I, too, am from a merit subject family, but not to the extent of the Kims, the Parks, or the Gongs. At this rate, they will devour even the dragon.”

Ah…. The third voice was Min Gwiong.

He acted as if he himself were not of merit subject origin. Nanyoung’s mind raced. The shock of that content was one thing, but first he had to grasp that even among the merit subjects, factions were already divided and discontent was rising from within. Only then could that gathering be understood.

But what kind of gathering was it? With what purpose had they gathered for merit subjects, quasi-merit subjects, and one unknown person to be having such… yes, such talk, as if of treason, in his uncle’s main guest quarters…

“The royal family is on the verge of being devoured, Grand Prince.”

“…!”

Nanyoung clamped his hand over his mouth.

Grand Prince.

He had assumed Taerok was inside, but to definitively confirm his uncle’s presence following the flow of the preceding conversation was a different matter entirely.

“So what do you propose.”

A languid voice flowed out. It was his uncle’s.

“You must not leave things as they are.”

“You have all profited handsomely playing the part of merit subjects, and now to act this way is rather amusing.”

“Even a hero must know when to step aside. If one stubbornly clings to their place without doing so, blocking the next generation and refusing to yield the seat of the true master of the feast, they become nothing more than an unsightly figure steeped in aged greed.”

The owner of the voice, which was even bloodcurdling, was the one Nanyoung still did not know. However, its content was exceedingly direct.

“It is for the good of the country.”

The unidentified third figure emphasized once more.

At that person’s voice, Nanyoung faintly furrowed his brows. It was not a voice pleasant to listen to for long. The voice was clearly greatly damaged. Perhaps he had injured his throat…

“It is for the good of the country, Your Excellency. You have already felt it for some time, have you not. This cannot go on. A weak king will only endanger the nation.”

It was a statement so tremendous it instantly erased any sense of déjà vu. Nanyoung’s eyes flew wide. He felt as if a scream would burst out at any moment if he did not clamp his hand over his mouth so hard his cheeks turned white.

“A weak king, yet again.”

“…Still, he is my nephew. Be mindful of your words.”

“Even if it costs me my life, I shall say it again.”

“…”

“You, Lord, are the one fit for the throne.”

Nanyoung bolted upright. His mind went blank. In his hurry to rise, his back scraped against the lower wall, and leaping over the stone base wall, he nearly twisted his ankle. Nanyoung staggered as he ran out.

The sound was very light. The atmosphere inside the room was so stiflingly rigid and everyone was in such a state of tension that they would not have heard Nanyoung’s noise. They had been ordered to let no one near, and no one dared disobey a Grand Prince’s command.

The only ones who could disobey it were the king, or the nephew whom Lee Taerok had ordered to come and go anywhere in his domain without permission because it was bothersome. The king was not paying a visit here, and the others never imagined Grand Prince Heonui would come to this place. Taerok was the same. For Lee Nanyoung could no longer be met except during the funeral procedures for his brother.

As such, Nanyoung’s escape was easy. No, it should have been easy.

If only Lee Taerok had not been distracted during this tremendous conversation.

“Wait.”

Taerok lightly raised his hand. Then he brought his raised thumb to his lips.

Everyone turned pale and shut their mouths. This included Saon, who bore the horizontal scar on his throat. The third voice that had given Nanyoung a sense of déjà vu—it had been Saon.

“Quiet.”

Taerok murmured, and lifted open the sliding doors. Nanyoung had already crossed over to the servants’ courtyard. Standing on the wooden veranda past the doors, Taerok gripped the railing tightly.

“W-was someone there?”

At Min Gwiong’s voice trembling with fear, Taerok sneered, unseen and unheard. To speak of treason with such a timid liver. It was utterly pathetic.

“It seems I misheard.”

Taerok answered. At that brisk voice, Min Gwiong and the Commander-in-Chief’s friend stroked their chests in relief without suspicion.

But Saon quietly watched Taerok’s back.

“Let us put an end to this stale talk, and I shall consider the rest on my own, so shall we get some air now. To think we men gather only to spout musty talk, how stifling it must be.”

At the voice tinged with laughter, Saon could only shake his head from side to side. His attitude was one of, You never change.

Regardless, Taerok walked to the edge of the wooden veranda. He grabbed the pillar and sat down, leaning his body deeply against it. He slowly ran his hand along the pillar, from the eaves down to the cornerstone below. The touch was as if caressing someone.

“A guest came and went.”

He murmured.

“It seems you still use the incense I gave you.”

A fragrance lingered there. It was a scent that suited none of the words—petty thief, stray cat, little rat.

“Doing things that don’t suit you at all.”

Taerok smiled willingly.

He had been thinking of him all along. And so, it seemed, he had come seeking him. He must have heard what was being said inside. And so he must have fled.

What kind of expression he must have worn, Taerok was very curious.

“Young master, what has happened!”

Kangmu barely managed to catch Nanyoung as he came bursting out, white as a sheet.

Nanyoung, who had been trembling without even knowing who was in front of him as he ran or whose arms he had fallen into, grabbed Kangmu’s forearm at that voice and lifted his head.

“Let us go. Quickly.”

“To where?”

“Let us return. Quickly…!”

At that urging, Kangmu begged forgiveness and promptly hoisted Nanyoung onto his back.

“Has there been danger?”

Kangmu asked Nanyoung, who was trembling uncontrollably on his back. Nanyoung shook his head.

Even while running, he looked back. No one had come out after him. No one had seen him. He had fled with almost no sign of his presence… so he thought.

Kangmu swallowed a sigh.

Nanyoung, who had been leaning on Kangmu’s back for a moment, murmured with his forehead still pressed there.

“Let me down now. I will walk on my own feet.”

“Is that true.”

“Truly.”

Nanyoung got down from Kangmu’s back.

He caught his breath. It had been an unsightly display before a subordinate. Reflecting on this, he pulled forward the hat that had fallen back and put it on again.

Though his legs were still somewhat unsteady, he could walk nonetheless. Nanyoung walked staggeringly, and Kangmu walked beside him, matching his pace.

∞ ∞ ∞

They said monsters take on familiar faces.

After returning, Nanyoung gave orders not to be disturbed and fell into thought without even lighting a lamp.

He replayed the words he had heard. He did not entertain thoughts like he had misheard or might have been mistaken. He had heard it clearly and distinctly. The other voices did not matter. The most important one was his uncle. There was no way he could not recognize his uncle’s voice. He would not confuse it with anyone else’s.

If so, did that mean his uncle was plotting treason?

No. If he were not plotting it, if he had not already resolved it quite considerably, he could not speak such words openly before a relative of the royal family.

‘Now there is no one left but us. Nanyoung. Only us brothers and the princess remain. Let us… not fight and live for each other.’

Nanyoung covered his face.

‘…Still, he is my nephew. Be mindful of your words.’

His brother’s voice and his uncle’s voice rang simultaneously.

Your Majesty, no, brother, uncle is trying to kill you.

And he told me to take his side.

From the time he said those words, did uncle already have such thoughts? Thoughts that brother is weak and the royal family is feeble.

Did he think the same of me.

Have we been pathetic in his eyes all along…

Nanyoung lowered his hands.

The surroundings had already grown dark.

The room, without a single candle lit, was black as pitch, and so was Nanyoung’s heart.

“Young master, the bath has been prepared.”

“…Very well. I shall go.”

Worried about Nanyoung, who had skipped meals and shut himself in his room, Sim Eung finally used the bath as a pretext to speak.

Nanyoung rose from his seat.