Chapter 118 (1/2)

Bipaan was a man he could never understand, a man who stood aloof from everything since he was a child.

Ruhae tilted his head back after taking a deep breath. His flushed neck with protruding blood veins produced a shrill cry. His clenched fists loosened. After staggering a bit, he collapsed on the floor with a thump, but court officials couldn’t even touch the door of his room, stunned at his unprecedented actions.

If the floor of his room was cold, it would be better for him, but it was warm because the court ladies had moderately adjusted the temperature of the heated floor.

He laughed a hollow laugh unconsciously.

“Hahaha. What a guy you are…Ha ha ha ha ha…”

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Tears flowed from his empty eyes.

Even before the fight began, Ruhae knew he lost. Although Bipaan was a man who didn’t show his intentions to anybody and didn’t get close to anybody, it was Ruhae who was closer to him than anybody else and knew the most about him.

He didn’t know at first, but soon he discovered that he was a loser from the beginning.

Ruhae gave the name Damkang, meaning a ‘clear hill,’ to the baby.

His full name and title was Dohwan Taehwanggun Danmok Damkang

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And he was the son of Kyosul and somebody.

Three years later…

Dukwol and Oran faced each other in the innermost room of the West Palace.

There was no refreshment tray. Dukwol smiled at Oran with his eyes, and she also looked at him, smiling at his face. Though they were looking at each other tenderly, the atmosphere was far from warm. Rather there was a cold and tense atmosphere in the room.

“That baby is already three years old. As I heard it, I guess you already know that, too.”

“Haha, you mean how the emperor thinks about him?”

Dukwol, who burst into a hearty laughter, waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry, Oran. Everything will be alright. ”

“But honey… ”

“Honey!” Dukwol cut off her words when she was leaning forward to say something.

After letting out a sigh, she corrected her posture and sat upright.

What could she do when he, whom she loved and trusted, said everything would be alright?

Nonetheless, Oran couldn’t shake off her anxiety, and Dukwol was well aware of that.

“Actually, it is true that the power of our faction has been greatly weakened by the birth of Dohwan Taehwanggun, but don’t you know that the powerful factions of the Lee family and your father firmly support our faction?”

“But Bipaan’s faction is supported by the powerful Taegongsin, isn’t it? You shouldn’t ignore the Hwa kingdom, Kyosul’s motherland.”

“Although the birth of the baby attracted many political figures to Bipaan’s faction, their actions are fleeting, so don’t worry.”

Now, Dukwol, who had been smiling at her, looked straight at her. His creepy eyes were as dark as an abyss, sparkling.

Faced with his unaffected face, Oran blushed slightly. It was his eyes that attracted her back then. The moment she saw his eyes, she was captivated by him.

“Our son Mu is now ten years old. Everybody knows he is a smart boy. Even Taemunhang told me he was paying special attention to him.”

“Oh, really?”

Oran shouted for joy at his remarks.

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Taemunjang was the chief royal scholar and he was the highest of all civilian servants. Though he was lower than Taegonsin in rank, he was still regarded as a powerful figure on the central political stage.

He was the oldest of all the bureaucrats serving in the Mok Kingdom and spent a long time in politics while keeping the title from the previous emperor’s rule. Unlike those who sat on the fence because of the competing rivalry of Bipaan and Dukwol, he was the most powerful figure who remained neutral. Accordingly, the fact that he was watching Mu closely was something very special to Dukwol and Oran.

Oran’s face was flushed.

“Huh, do you mean that Taemunjang will protect him?”

“Well, the problem is I can’t figure out how to read that old scholar’s feigned smile.”

But the smile on Dukwol’s face was surely filled with confidence.

“Besides, Dohwan Taehwanggun has a fatal weakness.”

“A fatal weakness?”