So You're Saying He's the Emperor?
I let out a hollow laugh.
"So, in your eyes, Hero, which of the two is at fault?"
"It's my brother! I may have spoken a little harshly, but..."
"Then if your brother has come to regret his mistake, he will surely come to apologize."
Hyeok Gi-rin wore an expression that said it was nowhere near that simple. Honestly, though, the quarrel itself was so petty I could barely understand why she was fretting over it at all.
"B-but... I told him not to come looking for me for a while. Do you really think my brother will come to apologize...?"
"Hahaha. Don't worry. He'll contact you soon enough."
Had she never fought with Yu Gyeong before? From the little I had experienced, the imperial family was quite strict. Young Yu Gyeong and Hyeok Gi-rin would not have been in a position to quarrel freely, so this might well be their first real fight.
Come to think of it, Yu Gyeong was the Emperor. He might not be in a position to apologize so easily.
"I said 'for a while,' but once I leave Luoyang, who knows when I'll see my brother again. Will he come to apologize in the meantime?"
Ah. So that was the real issue.
Opportunities for Hyeok Gi-rin and Yu Gyeong to meet were scarce. Practically nonexistent, really. The Emperor could not leave his post, so Hyeok Gi-rin would have to be the one to move—yet even then, excuses for her to come and go from the Imperial Palace on a regular basis would not come easily.
Returning to the palace under her identity as Princess Yu Ya was no simple matter either.
In short, chances for the two of them to meet freely like this were rare.
I did my best to comfort Hyeok Gi-rin after that, but the shadow of worry never left her face.
"Tsk..."
I felt a lingering unease myself. The thought that Hyeok Gi-rin and the Emperor had fought because of a request of mine naturally weighed on me.
It was all that scoundrel Dujak's fault. In the end, because that bastard had pulled some strange stunt on me, I had been forced to call on Hyeok Gi-rin's connections. And because of the mess Dujak had caused, Hyeok Gi-rin had clashed with Emperor Yu Gyeong, souring their relationship.
Carrying that faint sense of guilt, I whiled away the time after lunch in a pavilion when—
"Ahem."
Dujak and Sama Hwi-gyeong. The very troublemakers themselves appeared.
"What the..."
To be honest, my first reaction was pure disbelief. After causing that massive disaster yesterday, they were just strolling around the palace? Smuggling the Emperor's guest out of the palace might have been a crime that could be mitigated somehow, but trying to make off with the Emperor's gifts was a serious offense.
Their complexions looked poor and their bodies seemed drained of energy, but that was not the point. The fact that the perpetrators of the incident could walk back into the palace halls less than a day later left me speechless.
I stared at Dujak with my mouth hanging open. Catching my gaze, he slowly turned his head away and began clearing his throat.
I waited to hear what he had to say. After a long stretch of empty coughing, Dujak finally managed to open his mouth.
"About... yesterday's matter. I am truly sorry."
"Haha."
What was this situation? I looked at the two of them for a moment, organizing my thoughts, then spoke.
"Please, sit. You as well, Sama Hwi-gyeong."
Frankly, as long as no lasting grudge remained, I did not care whether this scoundrel Dujak grew up, received a harsh lesson, or anything else. I just needed to collect the Emperor's rewards and be done with it.
But for Hyeok Gi-rin, this stay in the imperial household was a rare chance to remain in her family home and reunite with the imperial kin after a very long time. It was as precious as a private's hundred-day leave. I had burdened her with needless worry during such a period, so of course it bothered me.
It bothered me... yet there was nothing I could do. Right now I had to pretend I did not know Hyeok Gi-rin's true identity, so I could not dig deeply into the fact that she had quarreled with her brother. All I could offer were superficial words of comfort.
I had planned to leave it at that—until these two showed up in front of me. After the initial absurdity of seeing them passed through my mind, the next thought was that the situation had grown serious.
More precisely, the fact that these two could appear before me at all was serious.
Hyeok Gi-rin must have been furious. What did it mean that these two were still freely wandering the Imperial Palace? Even if Hyeok Gi-rin was involved with the Murim, she was still of direct imperial blood. Whatever punishment those two eventually received, house arrest would have been the bare minimum.
Yet here they were, coming and going freely through the palace halls? And the palace maids of the audience chamber had not stopped them?
That meant the influence of an imperial family member higher than Hyeok Gi-rin—namely Emperor Yu Gyeong—was at work.
Yu Gyeong, against Hyeok Gi-rin's wishes, had either handed these two an absurdly light slap on the wrist or no punishment at all. Enraged, Hyeok Gi-rin had then quarreled with him. That had to be it.
Otherwise, these two appearing in the audience chamber made no sense whatsoever.
Yes. Something of this scale would be needed for that gentle Hyeok Gi-rin to raise her voice against the brother she had not seen in so long.
Her worries had not been unfounded. Considering what these two had done, severe punishment was only proper. Yet for some reason, Emperor Yu Gyeong had chosen to protect them.
I did not know why the Emperor had made that decision, but there must have been a reason he sided with Dujak instead of his own sister. Having chosen as Emperor rather than as an older brother, he might never apologize to Hyeok Gi-rin.
In other words, if I simply sat back and did nothing, the Emperor and Hyeok Gi-rin might dig in their heels against each other and waste these precious days entirely.
Hyeok Gi-rin's imperial vacation was in danger of being completely ruined.
Remembering her face full of worry, I could not just fold my arms and watch.
"About yesterday's—"
I raised a hand and sealed Sama Hwi-gyeong's mouth before he could speak in Dujak's place. Sama Hwi-gyeong was no easy opponent. If I let him talk, there was a high chance I would be led around by the nose.
"Dujak, why don't you speak for yourself."
Burdened by guilt, Sama Hwi-gyeong closed his mouth with a look of defeat. I did not even glance his way, fixing my gaze solely on Dujak.
Dujak heaved heavy sighs before finally speaking.
"The whole thing started... because of my younger sister. We were talking about the Emperor's guests."
"Is that so."
It was a completely unexpected topic, but more information was always better. Instead of urging him to get to the point, I focused on taking in every word.
"As we talked, the conversation turned to a gambling addict who took the money he had earned with such difficulty and offered it all up on the gambling tables. He had lived that way for quite a number of years, you see."
"Oh. I see."
That level of addiction was severe. As a guardian of the gambling tables, my instincts stirred at the thought of someone who needed a healthy gambling campaign, but I soothed them for now and kept listening.
"And yet my sister defended the man. She said there was no danger of him getting into trouble at the tables and that he could control himself perfectly well."
Dujak let out a long sigh.
"Then, with the most innocent expression, she demonstrated the cheating techniques used at the gambling tables right in front of me. My eyes simply flipped."
"...Ah."
The love for his sister radiating from Dujak's gestures and tone was immense. And that beloved sister had shown favor toward some good-for-nothing gambler and even learned gambling techniques from him.
"So... well. I approached you. I wanted to show her that no matter how skilled a gambler might be, he can still lose at the tables..."
"In other words, to teach your sister how fleeting gamblers really are, you decided to set a trap for me?"
"Ahem. Ahem...!"
From my perspective, it was enough to make me scowl. And it was not a particularly believable story either.
Yet that ridiculous claim was not entirely without persuasive power.
I had naturally assumed the two of them had smuggled me out of the palace to go after the imperial gifts.
But what if they had simply wanted to drag me outside the palace and make a fool of me at a gambling den? Then, contrary to my expectations, their only crime would have been smuggling the Emperor's guest out of the palace—there would be no charge of trying to seize the Emperor's gifts.
Smuggling the Emperor's guest outside was no light offense, but for members of the imperial family it was something that could be brushed off as a youthful indiscretion.
On the other hand, if the two of them had truly tried to lay hands on the Emperor's gifts, then no matter how important a figure Dujak was in the imperial household or how much Sama Gyeong-hwi belonged to the prestigious Sama clan, they would never have gotten away unscathed.
They would not even have been able to walk around freely like this.
And if what they were saying was true, it made sense that the Emperor and Hyeok Gi-rin would fight over how to handle the two of them.
The Emperor might have preferred to quietly cover up such an embarrassing imperial scandal rather than let it spread. Once the incident became known, he might have feared the same kind of rumors I had—that they had tried to steal the Emperor's gifts.
But what about Hyeok Gi-rin? Judging by the murderous look on her face when she first heard the story, she would not have let it go so easily.
"Hmm. I see."
Of course, I was only acknowledging the possibility. I had not fully accepted it.
It made a rough kind of sense, but the realism was still far too low. Even if he doted on his sister, would he really go this far just because she had spoken up a little for a gambler?
Still, if everything Dujak had just said was true, there was nothing bad about it from my perspective. I could still put Sama Yeom in my debt as originally planned, there was almost no chance of forming a lasting grudge with Dujak, and if I handled this Dujak carefully, I might even be able to restore the bond between Hyeok Gi-rin and the Emperor.
So for now, I would play along with the two of them and first confirm whether the situation they described was genuine.
"Your devotion to your sister is truly remarkable. I am honestly impressed."
Dujak blinked.
"You... understand?"
"Honestly, I cannot understand it."
Before disappointment could settle in his eyes, I quickly continued.
"I have been alone for as long as I can remember. I cannot claim to understand the affection between siblings."
"Ah... I see."
"But I have always admired that kind of sibling bond. Having no blood relatives of my own... those things shine all the brighter to me."
"Mm... is that so."
"I cannot say I have lived a particularly long life, but among those who cherish their blood kin, I have never met a truly bad person. I got caught up in something absurd, but... well, I did not actually suffer any loss, did I? I will simply think of it as a bad dream and forget it."
"Is that so... I cannot lift my head. It may sound like empty praise from your position, but the tribute goods you will receive will also include compensation for this incident."
"Haha. That is truly something to be grateful for."
As the atmosphere grew amicable, Sama Hwi-gyeong quietly summoned the palace maids to prepare a tea table. The way he smoothly steered things along was exactly like Sama Yeom.
"I will stop by again tomorrow. Would you share a cup of tea with me?"
"Heh. Of course. Please come by often."
Dujak seemed to relax considerably at my response. Well then, time for some light everyday conversation to dig for more information.
First, that still-dark complexion of his.
"Might you still be troubled on my account? Your face does not look well."
"Does it look that way...?"
Dujak let out a long sigh, then hesitated while gauging my reaction before finally forcing the words out.
"I had a major fight with my sister."
"Ah, I see."
If that sister had heard the full story of this incident, she would not have reacted kindly. A fight was perfectly understandable.
I had not a scrap of "little sister sensitivity" in me, yet emotionally I wanted to side with the sister. Unfortunately, the person sitting in front of me right now was Dujak, not his sister.
"Still, you did it out of concern for her. It must weigh heavily on you."
"Haa... I have my pride. How could I pour out such complaints in front of you?"
Even as he said that, the desperate look in his eyes made it clear his whole body was twisting with the urge to complain.
"It's fine. Since I was involved, I find myself curious."
"In that case..."
As if he had been waiting for exactly that, Dujak launched into his story.
"The truth is, my sister told me, 'What does an older brother know to say such things?'"
"Haha. I see."
"Of course I admit that, having acted on my own like this, she had every right to be furious. But to snap at me first without even letting me speak... haa..."
Did the imperial family strictly control even sibling quarrels? This level of sibling bickering should have been graduated from before adulthood. Whether it was the fight between Hyeok Gi-rin and the Emperor or the one between Dujak and his sister, it was quite the clash of dragons and tigers.
At this rate, "I really hate you, Brother!" would come out next.
"Then she suddenly flushed red and said, 'I really hate you, Brother!' I had never heard such words from her in my life, so I froze in shock."
...Huh?
No. Surely not. It couldn't be.
I found myself studying Dujak's face without meaning to. He looked like her. He resembled Hyeok Gi-rin... No, this is just delusion, Ho Cheon-an, you idiot. Dujak is also of imperial blood, so of course he would resemble Hyeok Gi-rin. Don't jump to conclusions.
"And on top of that she said, 'I can't even stand the sight of you, Brother!' My heart truly crumbled."
I swallowed hard. Yes. As long as those words did not come out, it would be fine.
Dujak had been pouring out his grievances, but the memory of that hurt seemed to strike him again. He hung his head sharply as he spoke.
"I want to apologize and beg her forgiveness, but my sister... said she never wants to see my face again and told me not to come looking for her. My worries are a mountain...!"
"Haha, hahaha."
I stopped denying reality.
"You find it absurd too, don't you! If I cannot go to her, how am I supposed to see her face, how am I supposed to apologize and mend things between us! I admit I was wrong, but how can she speak so cruelly between siblings...!"
I stared at Dujak as he clenched his fists and vented his sense of injustice. No—at the current Emperor, Yu Gyeong.