‘What kind of encouragement was that?’
Not only Kang but Huiseo who’d heard those words directly, and even the surrounding palace staff—everyone knew that wasn’t it. However, it was also true that they lacked justification to argue when he said that.
So all Kang could do was pressure him with a sharp gaze to hurry along on his way. Of course, that didn’t mean he obediently left either. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister left only after looking directly at Kang and saying everything he wanted to say.
“I hope you keep in mind what I’ve said.”
He didn’t know what they’d talked about inside, but those words couldn’t be more hateful.
He was leaving only after thoroughly upsetting Kang like that.
So in the place he’d finally left, only cold silence could remain. The Crown Prince as the Crown Prince, the palace staff as palace staff—each would be enduring wretchedness from their own position.
While no one could easily open their mouth first because of that, Huiseo spoke:
“…I think it would be better for me to come back another time after all.”
Though the palace staff had earnestly asked Huiseo to wait earlier, having directly faced the situation, it seemed Kang’s insides were more torn up than expected—that was the reason. There would be no capacity to care for him as well right now. So it meant giving him time to collect himself alone for a moment.
However, Kang even waved his hands refusing Huiseo.
“No, no. It’s fine. After you waited, I can’t do that.”
Then he even led the way telling him to come inside quickly.
‘…There’s no need to go this far.’
But it wouldn’t be polite to insist further there, so Huiseo hesitantly followed behind him.
***
Bihyeongak, visited again, was covered with piles of documents enough not to lack the description of “Crown Prince’s office,” unlike before when it had been neatly organized.
It wasn’t for another reason. Around this time, it was routine to rack one’s brains squeezing out any way to secure even a bit more of the imperial budget. But today the Prime Minister had suddenly visited, so he would have been even more frantic preparing to fight logically with various things.
Kang’s face was also full of exhaustion more than ever.
This frantically complicated appearance of Bihyeongak might soon be inside his head.
Kang had brought Huiseo inside telling him to come in out of urgency, but seeming somewhat embarrassed by the messy state, he asked him to wait a moment and called palace staff to request tidying up. During that time, Huiseo ended up sitting at the table for a bit.
But in that process, Huiseo ended up seeing certain documents on the table that clearly showed traces of the Prime Minister having been there until just before.
‘…Hm?’
At first, even Huiseo didn’t know exactly what it meant.
Since there were photos of several pages and something like personal information sheets, he naively thought ‘Are these resumes?’
However, soon Kang, who’d been sitting across from him, followed Huiseo’s gaze and became very flustered, hurriedly clearing away those documents himself. So conversely, Huiseo could more easily figure out what they were because of that.
‘I hope you keep in mind what I’ve said.’
The meaning of the words the Prime Minister had left finally came together like a puzzle.
‘…State marriage.’
The day that had been postponed and postponed had finally come.
In fact, considering that the Crown Prince’s current age was a full twenty-five, it wouldn’t have been strange if he’d already held a wedding ceremony. In the old days, it would have been an age when he’d have had not a wedding but several children already.
He knew.
Yet the reason this wretched feeling arose was probably because of the special circumstances that modern imperial marriages held. Huiseo clicked his tongue bitterly.
In the past, when deciding marriage partners for the royal or imperial family, the most importantly considered factors were bloodline and family background. Conversely, it was troublesome if they had too much wealth and power. Because they were wary of maternal relatives gaining power and disturbing the court.
However, coming to modern times, the situation was turned exactly opposite.
Due to the imperial family’s fallen authority, they couldn’t even dream of selection ceremonies. Thus, arranged marriages they had no choice but to choose were only with families that had relatively inferior bloodlines but plenty of wealth.
Even then, being desperate, choosing and choosing children who would influence succession as little as possible rather than precious offspring—it couldn’t all be described.
The reason the imperial family couldn’t refuse this marriage despite such treatment was because, though shameful, this also became a breakthrough for the difficulties the imperial family currently faced.
It was a kind of transaction.
Through this marriage, the imperial family would give them—whose only weakness was legitimacy—image renewal and furthermore the expansive power that the imperial family’s name possessed to easily expand channels even overseas, and in return, the imperial family would receive so-called “sponsorship.”
Though saying it as plausibly as possible, in the end it meant money changed hands.
He wasn’t saying the dream-like notion that a Crown Prince’s marriage should newly be based on love, but even so, having money in between made it sad, that was true.
Those documents Huiseo had just witnessed were probably what the Prime Minister had brought when he visited.
Though he didn’t know exactly what he’d said bringing that himself or what to keep in mind. Even without knowing all that at length, he could clearly catch the message the Prime Minister wanted to convey.
‘He will cut the budget.’
As originally planned. Without a shred of room for compromise.
Though your circumstances aren’t my concern, if I were to tell you one method anyway—wouldn’t it work to supplement the lacking money in this way?
What truly “kind” advice, wasn’t it?
To the extent of personally visiting the Crown Prince’s palace and acting like that, naturally he trembled with anger and was at a loss for words just imagining how tyrannically he must have acted before His Majesty the Emperor, the stage before this.
Though it wasn’t that he didn’t know such a situation would come someday, actually facing it felt quite different.
The reason this matter weighed more heavily on Huiseo wasn’t for another reason.
Say this time it was somehow resolved like this.
‘…If the budget is cut again?’
Would it be Second Prince Ho’s turn next?
‘…Then after that?’
At the face that came to mind as the next turn, Huiseo silently bit his lower lip. The distant future he’d vaguely thought of suddenly felt like it had stepped right before his eyes.
In truth, he couldn’t really remember with what mental state he finished the conversation with Kang after that.
“…Mm, yes. A report. There were no problems? …I see. That’s fortunate.”
Seeing the kind but somewhat creaky reaction, Huiseo thought that in fact, Kang was equally out of it. Perhaps Kang too… might have realized that Huiseo had noticed.
“……”
“……”
However, the two didn’t open their mouths about that matter until they parted.
***
Because of his unsettled heart, Huiseo couldn’t return straight to his quarters even after finishing his business at the Crown Prince’s palace. So after wandering wherever his feet took him, he eventually ended up settling on a bench prepared in front of Gyeonghoeru.
The sun was setting, but since it was still a period when summer’s energy was vigorous, it was muggy.
Huiseo was blankly staring at the lake where darkness was gradually beginning to descend.
‘…Is this really okay as it is?’
While thinking such thoughts.
But suddenly there were hands firmly grasping his two shoulders from behind.
Though the Prime Minister had also grabbed him once earlier, these were incomparably affectionate hands. Because he couldn’t not know who would approach him like that, Huiseo slowly turned his head to look back without being startled.
As expected, it was Hwan.
Yet Hwan, contrary to his affectionate hands, grumbled with his mouth as if pretending otherwise.
“Do you know how much I looked around for you?”
He’d been scolded for a long time at the Empress Dowager’s palace and returned to the quarters, but Huiseo hadn’t come back yet. So he’d rushed over to find that he’d left there too. Thinking they’d crossed paths, when he returned to the quarters again.
‘Again! He’s not there!’
He made a fuss saying he’d finally found him only after thoroughly searching the surroundings for where on earth he’d gone.
That story wasn’t an exaggeration—beads of sweat were even forming on Hwan’s forehead. Having gone around like that in this heat, he couldn’t not sweat. When he kept looking up at that, Hwan wiped it away looking awkward and sat down beside him.
“Why are you here alone like this? Did something happen with hyung?”
“…What matter?”
Huiseo shook his head weakly. Watching such a Huiseo, Hwan furrowed his brow.
‘It’s not nothing, is it?’
Even if he fooled a ghost, he couldn’t fool Hwan’s eyes. Something had definitely happened. But to pry persistently like usual in his immature way, since an unusual shadow had descended over Huiseo’s face unlike normal, Hwan became a bit more cautious.
His tone asking again became somewhat gentler.
“…But why are you like this? Hm?”
“……”
“Huiseo-ya.”
“…Because I wish I could quickly become an adult?”
Hearing those cryptic words, Hwan blinked for a moment.
Somehow it felt similar to the conversation the two of them had together as small children in a corner of Gyeongbokgung Palace long ago. However, what was a bit different was that this time, it was Huiseo who’d said words difficult to easily understand.
Of course, Hwan was even worse than young Huiseo back then, so regrettably he couldn’t immediately understand what it meant or what had happened.
Still, if he dared guess from just those words, though he didn’t know what it was about, he could at least tell that Huiseo had felt deep powerlessness and was frustrated. What other reason could there be for a child to dream of quickly becoming an adult?
‘…Because there was something they couldn’t do while remaining a child.’
Probably the matter that frustrated Huiseo wasn’t something trivial and cute like his childhood self about friends not stealing the ball. So the upset Hwan pondered what kind of comfort would be good to soothe his heart.
