Deep Repugnance (1)

Was the king this dense? Sungho was lost from listening to his words; he was speechless because he could not bring him an answer that would not offend him.

Where should he begin? There were many things to tell the king that could answer why he was disregarded by Hyeon Ju.

"Do you despise me?" King Im Seok brought the apparent question that could only be answered with an unmistakably positive response.

Who would not loathe such a person? Was the reason why he desired to escort him so he could bring this question?

"You are the third woman I wedded. I only proffered you the rank of a concubine because I could not bestow you an upper rank since it was your request to settle with it," he continued, leading Sungho as they trailed the road and increased their distance from the Cheon Han residence.

Sungho looked straight on the road, hearing the low footsteps from the servants following far behind them. "If His Majesty is considering I condemn him for not bestowing me a new status, then you are mistaken."

A short pause in a moment and the king replied to Sungho, "Then is the only reason why you despise me was when I ordered to destroy your clan?"

'Only?' The word caught Sungho's attention. He immediately shifted his gaze to the man beside him; his brows were in the urge to come across each other. 'What did he mean from his statement?'

"Concubine Eun, the Du Clan shared history with the first King of Hwang Mok. Your clan has served us for decades and it should not be an inconvenience if they would be serving the current reigning ruler as well."

His blood was suddenly boiling from anger. 'This beast is too greedy of the clan's support that he has no choice but to destroy and claim these siblings? Is that what was he trying to prove? How could he say such things as if he was talking that it was just a light matter to deal with?'

Sungho clenched his dress and replied with his greatest effort to sound as calm as possible. "As my clan befalls to ruin, so is our salvation upon the royal family-"

"But your brother still chose to work under my control and agreed when I requested a hand of marriage so I assume that your salvation didn't break after all." Sungho was taken aback. He stared up at the blurry face of the greedy beast who was accompanying him.

…

Their conversation did not turn out well. Sungho felt defeated the whole time while they were feasting their meal at the king's residence but mostly, he was disappointed in himself that he could no longer bring himself in a debate with him.

Especially, when the king recited the words that he would never forget before Sungho took his leave to his residence.

"This time, I shall give you a visit to your chambers."

The occurrences yesterday felt like a nightmare. Sungho could not sleep last night from his words that kept on running inside his head, hunting him with the king's image in mind whenever he would attempt to close his eyes.

The agitation made his chest tighten and it was seemingly getting difficult to breathe while the forming thoughts started bugging him in his head once again.

When would he take a visit? What made the king change that he suddenly desired to approach Hyeon Ju? What was the real reason that caused him to be conscious of his existence in the harem? More importantly, did this news already reach Hyun Sik?

Sungho proceeded to lean on the cherry blossom tree as he closed his eyelids and tried his best to calm his heart from racing. With the sounds of a liquid being poured on a container, Sungho managed to catch the foul sour aroma of the cherry blossom tea of which Chun was serving him.

He blew air sharply from his mouth, opening his eyes and blinking as he listened to the leaves dashing against each other, washing away the tiny bit of his worries. "Chun?"

His court lady passed him the teacup filled with the tea she brewed for him before asking what he needed. As Sungho received the tea from her hands that intentionally gave warmth to his palms, he continued, "When do you think His Majesty will take a visit?"

"Your Highness, maybe a week or less from now. The King has to attend Her Majesty, the consorts, and then the grand concubine before visiting your chambers since His Majesty strictly follows the moon cycle."

"I see." Sungho brought the teacup near his lips and took a sip, scheming a plan to escape from the upcoming visit without inflaming the king.