Ha-hyeon belatedly realized that the Emperor’s murderous gaze looked ready to sever his arm clean off, and he quietly lowered it from Wol’s shoulder. Then he had Wol step down from the carriage. Only after Ha-hyeon took that measure did Wei Wuyuan turn away, apparently satisfied.
What a peculiar man.
Soon, the grand sound of a conch horn rang out to signal the departure. The Winter Hunt had begun.
“Move out!”
With Wei Wuyuan’s thundering command, the Emperor, the imperial guard, and the sturdy military officers rode forward, kicking up clouds of dust. The carriages carrying the concubines began rolling after them, but from the start there was no comparing the speed of nimble warhorses with that of heavy carriages. The gap widened in an instant. The Emperor’s figure had already shrunk to the size of a thumbnail.
At this rate we’re not even worth calling an entourage. Ha-hyeon opened the carriage window, propped his chin in his hand, and followed the Emperor’s retreating figure with his eyes.
They had been riding for some time, steadily following behind, when the Emperor’s figure came back into view. Wei Wuyuan’s bearing as he led from the front was truly commanding. Even atop a horse galloping at full speed, he was perfectly composed. He released the reins and balanced himself using only the strength of his core, then reached behind his back, drew his bow, and nocked an arrow.
In a fleeting instant that seemed to leave no room for aim, the arrow split the air. Moments later, a bird that had burst out from the edge of the forest tumbled to the ground without even a cry.
A roar of cheers and thunderous applause shook the forest. The military officers sent heartfelt admiration toward the Emperor’s nearly supernatural archery.
A gasp of admiration escaped Ha-hyeon as well. Though, the posture the Emperor used when shooting was slightly different from that of the Martial Arts Instructor. But well — even within families, people walk differently. Ha-hyeon didn’t think too deeply about it.
One of the military officers following behind the Emperor quickly dismounted and carefully lifted the prey. It was a small creature, barely the size of a palm. To have taken down a target that tiny and moving with a single arrow — that was truly impressive skill.
Sa Ha-hyeon was gazing at him with sincere admiration when it happened. Wei Wuyuan slowly ran his fingertips along the fur of the creature he had just caught, then abruptly turned his head to look at Ha-hyeon’s carriage.
A strangely satisfied smile spread across his lips.
“The fur has a fine sheen. Made into a scarf, it would suit Yeong-ui perfectly.”
Ha-hyeon jolted. Admiration and everything else — a chill ran down his spine.
That’s insane, absolutely not!!!!
Whether Ha-hyeon’s stomach turned or not, Wei Wuyuan took up the reins again with a pleased expression.
“We move deeper in!”
With the Emperor’s authoritative command, the cavalry disappeared into the distance, kicking up dust. The moment they were gone, the forest grew rapidly denser. The carriage jolted violently on the rough path where tree roots tangled and crossed underfoot.
Even Sa Ha-hyeon, who never got motion sickness, felt his stomach turning. He would have much rather gotten out of the carriage and walked on his own two feet, or ridden a horse himself.
The coachman, who had been quietly driving all along, spoke up in a loud voice.
“My lady, I beg your pardon, but the road ahead is too narrow for the carriage procession to pass through all at once. We have unavoidably been rerouted along a side path, so please do not be alarmed. Once we clear this forest, a wider road will open up.”
“There is nothing to be done about it. Proceed.”
The carriage made a sharp turn. As it entered the dark, shadowy forest path, the jolting grew even worse. Ha-hyeon gripped the window frame and looked outside. Something felt off.
Wol’s carriage and the other concubines’ carriages that had been following behind were nowhere to be seen. And that wasn’t all. The military officers who had been escorting him were gone too.
Is this a trap?!
The moment that uneasy premonition struck —
Screeeee!
The horse let out a sharp, ear-splitting shriek. At the same time, the back of the carriage Ha-hyeon was riding in lurched up into the air, and the body of the carriage tilted sharply to the right. Through all of this, the coachman was completely silent.
Damn it. I was right.
Ha-hyeon instinctively curled his body and covered his head with his hands. The carriage crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom and bounced off the earth several times.
The moment the jolting stopped, Ha-hyeon didn’t hesitate — he drove his foot into the warped door and kicked it clean off, then stepped outside. In all the chaos, the elaborate hairstyle Wol had so painstakingly put up was now completely undone, and the ornaments dangling and jabbing at his face were a nuisance. Without a moment’s regret, Ha-hyeon grabbed the jeweled pins and hairpieces still stuck in his hair and yanked them out roughly.
Through the cloud of dust, a massive silhouette came into view. It was Consort Hwa, along with his attending maidservants.
“Well.”
Seen up close, Consort Hwa’s build was beyond anything Ha-hyeon had imagined. A physique solid enough to easily bench three times his own weight.
“I had been curious what kind of creature the Emperor dotes on so — and here you are. A flat, featureless body like a plain log, front and back indistinguishable from each other, and a face caked thick with powder.”
Consort Hwa’s voice was deep and booming — unmistakably that of a man. Ha-hyeon felt a pang of pity for himself, having strained his voice to near-hoarseness trying to imitate a woman’s falsetto all this time out of fear of being found out.
It was only then that Ha-hyeon truly understood. Why Wei Wuyuan had been fooled so easily by his clumsy disguise. Having already dealt with that, he must have stopped questioning anything even remotely similar, and simply stopped looking too closely.
Regardless of what Ha-hyeon was thinking, Consort Hwa glared and issued his threat.
“A lowborn creature who knows nothing of palace etiquette, daring to slander me just because you caught the Emperor’s eye? Your foolishness is something you must atone for with your life.”
Ha-hyeon said nothing in return. Instead, he lowered his center of gravity and took a stance ready to engage at any moment. If he went down here, Wol — who had also disappeared — would not come out of this unscathed either.
“My, are you going to pick a fight with those tiny little fists? How laughable! But I am of noble standing, serving the Emperor himself. I cannot dirty my hands with filthy blood. Come out — Orang!”
From the darkness behind Consort Hwa, a massive beast stepped into view. Ha-hyeon had thought it was a leopard — but it was a grey wolf, its body the size of a calf. The moment it laid eyes on Ha-hyeon, it bared its yellowed fangs and let out a low, rumbling growl.
“Our Orang is going to tear you apart in the most horrible way. Did you not know? This hunting ground is home to all manner of terrifying beasts. Ho ho ho. If Orang attacks you, I’ll save you. With this arrow.”
Consort Hwa drew back the empty bowstring and aimed it directly at Ha-hyeon’s heart. His eyes gleamed with vicious cruelty.
“…….”
“But you see, I’m a noble who has spent his days doing nothing but embroidery in the palace, so I’m rather clumsy with a bow. My arrow won’t pierce Orang — it will go straight through your heart. Orang will be startled and run away…… and then I will weep before the Emperor and report.”
Consort Hwa suddenly broke into a performance of a tragic, weeping figure.
“Your Majesty…… sob, I fired the arrow trying to save Yeong-ui…… but Yeong-ui was so terrified she had a fit and…… oh, oh, oh…… sob……!”
The sound of weeping echoed through the forest. Then in an instant, Consort Hwa lowered the sleeve covering his face. The dry, tearless face beneath it was carved with chilling murderous intent.
“Well? What do you think?”
“You’re completely out of your mind.”
There was no point exchanging words with a lunatic — it would only waste his breath. Ha-hyeon tensed the arm beneath his sleeve and immediately readied himself for combat. If it came to it, he planned to leap in and wring that beast’s neck.
“Go, Orang! It’s dinnertime!”
With a chilling smile, Consort Hwa released the leather leash he had been holding. The wolf bared its yellowed fangs and lunged at Ha-hyeon as if it had been waiting for this. Its powerful hind legs drove hard off the ground, and the massive body soared high into the air.
Whoosh!
The wolf’s body, which had launched itself into the air, snapped backward with a hard jerk. An arrow had come flying from somewhere and pierced clean through the handle of the wolf’s leather leash, pinning it to the trunk of a tree behind. The fletching of the arrow buried deep in the tree trembled tautly, straining against the enormous tension it bore.
The wolf was left completely helpless, tethered to the tree, letting out nothing but a pitiful whimper.
“Who’s there!”
Consort Hwa snapped viciously, whipping his head around. Looking toward where the arrow had come from —
“Instructor?”
His Martial Arts Instructor was standing there. Not in the shabby clothes that had been little better than rags, but dressed properly in a military officer’s uniform.
Why didn’t you dress like that from the start? The outfit was sharp enough to rival any actor’s, and for a brief moment Sa Ha-hyeon almost forgot he was in a dangerous situation.
But the admiration lasted only a moment.
“Seize him! How dare he interfere with the noble’s hunt!”
The moment Consort Hwa’s shout rang out, the escort soldiers who had been holding their breath in the shadows of the forest revealed themselves all at once. Dozens of arrowheads trained themselves on Ha-hyeon’s Martial Arts Instructor.
And yet the Instructor himself looked utterly calm — as though he had simply stepped out for a leisurely stroll. He slowly set down the bow he was holding and spoke.
“Do not do something you will regret, Consort Hwa. His Majesty is watching all of this.”
The declaration that the Emperor was watching was enough to freeze Consort Hwa in place. But for Ha-hyeon, there was a far greater shock than the content of those words.
“You could speak?!”
