One minute I was in charge of the mission that I had painstakingly planned and carried out with ever fibre of my being, even to the point where I had tortured my own woman at times, even without her knowledge. And the next thing that I knew, I was being arrested in front of my own General Office that I had under my thumb for all of these years on the charge of attempted murder. I was dragged off from my horse as soon as we made our way back into the palace and instantly thrown into a dungeon in the palace. I was beaten and whipped, although rather unsuccessfully before I was left to stew in my own hatred, my anger…and the fact that there was no opium in sight to calm me down, not even a little bit. That was when I was forced to be confronted with my true violent and dark nature, the one that my own father had beaten into me, and I had nobody to take it out on apart from myself for a while. That was until I was being sent new cellmates who turned out to be lowlives criminals, the very same ones that my father used to constantly goad to me about because I was useless in doing my job in the earlier stages since I had no formal training for capturing criminals. The days were some of the worst days of my life, but I also had Yeon then as my father's hostage and I didn't hesitate to vent my anger at her, before we became closer. But even then, she refused to take anything personally with me, it was as if she knew I was purposely trying to distance us from each other, but she refused to give in or take the bait at all.
I had no sense of time in that ever rotting place, so I had no idea how much time had passed until I had gone used to the stench of fear, humiliation and piss on the floor. We were all dressed in thin white robes that didn't bode well for us at night, never mind the approaching winter season. Our shoes were made out of straw, just like the ones that The Seo's had to wear all year around for almost over a decade, which gave me a little solace and more time to think about the lives that they had lead before Yeon brought up her entire family into power, the kind that always made her brother look favourable no matter what he did or didn't do. I could only use my free time to trace back through every single memory that I could remember and put myself in his shoes, literally. Seo Hwi was still my best friend who had known me since we were very young, but he wasn't half as ambitious as I wished he would be, even with al of that power he held in his hands that came from his father's name. But after everything I hd already unwittingly put him through, I had no choice but to respect his wishes, even if I wasn't too happy about it myself. His sister on the other hand, she was well aware of the power that she held due to her father's legacy, and she wasn't shy in using it at all to get her both in and out of trouble that only led to our goals being accomplished, even if it was taking a toll on her every single time. And now I was too far away from her to reign her in from whatever it was that she was planning to do once she heard the news of my arrest that I feared for her life. That brat needed to stay the hell way from this place so that I could cling onto that for peace of mind, as my body had no control over itself without the opium that I was constantly craving.
The opium withdrawals were at the peak of it's insanity when I started to experience hot and cold flashes for the first time, I began to sweat through every inch of my body and my muscle cramps were at an all time high when I had my first visitor in god only knows how long. At first it was Jeong Beom who could only stop long enough to sneak me in some of Yeon's honey cakes that I had always loved without incriminating himself. I had to restrain myself on epic proportions to ask about her, but the fact that he was already avoiding eye contact told me everything that I needed to know, especially when it was known that this man wasn't a good liar at all. I was already going crazy without her, and the very last thing that I needed to hear was that something had happened to her or that she was planning something risky behind my back. I never wanted her to see me in a lowly place like this one, not even for a single second, as it would breakdown every single belief that she had in me and then she would leave me for good.
I hadn't been the best man that I could be to that girl, and I needed to think of new ways to keep her by my side, even if I had to keep her as a hostage again. I missed her so much that I could feel my lips bleed every single time that I tired to remember what I felt like when she kissed me, when she used to nuzzle her little face into my neck when I was too busy working to pay attention to her, or when she used to put her hands around my waist and lean onto me a little more before I couldn't take it anymore and she would drag us both to bed in the early hours of the morning just because she couldn't sleep without me holding her in bed. She used to do anything and everything to get my attention, to the point where she used to put too much salt or chillies in my food just so that I could scold her a little. She always liked it when I was angry, weirdly enough; maybe it was because of the power that she knew she held over me whenever I got into that level of anger that only she could stabilise. I was still thinking about her when my lips were completely chapped due to the lack of moisture, my feet had bloody bruises at the soles of my feet due to my straw shoes coming undone and my robes were ripped to shreds but I didn't care about any of that at all. I had my share of cakes whenever anyone could bring them in for me, and nobody dared to say a word against me since I had already proven myself a man not to be messed with in a place like this. But I specifically expressed to Jeong Beom that I was to have no visitors at all, even if it was killing me more than anything this opium addiction and withdrawal was putting me through. I hadn't kissed, touched or even slept with my woman in a very long time and that alone was driving me crazy enough to believe that she was the one who came to visit me as soon as I could taste a very familiar scent in the air, only to be proven very wrong, to the point where I threw up whatever little contents there were in my stomach when I realised who it was that had come to see me.
"Who would have ever thought that our proud and mighty Lord Nam would have ended up as a prisoner one day? And in the same cell as Seo Geom resided in during his very last days before all of the families that have met their end at your hands all colluded to get him where he was? Simply because his status was befitting of all of the wealth, respect and genuine skill that man possessed." "So it was you? You were the one who colluded with The Third Prince to frame me…in exactly the same way that you wanted to frame Seo Hwi?" "I have to hand it to you Lord Nam; not only have you held out far better than I would have hoped that you would, but you also fell just as hard as your own father did." "Before he was taken out by The Seo's you mean? You couldn't have forgotten about them already, because you were the one who tried to take your ex=lover down when you couldn't have him at all…"
"Enough of this! I was never a lover to that man, as you were the one who robbed me of that chance to happen at all! How bizarre it is for you to deny my existence completely, as soon as you found a woman like me, but one that you could control instead. I was the one who was true and living to you, at least in the beginning, and you were the one who betrayed me first! You deceived me, you abandoned me, and now look at how you have ended up because of me!" "Exactly, I am a man in ruins thanks to you, and I am not the only one either." "Excuse me? What did you just say?" "Myself, The Third Prince and god only knows who else has become ruined as soon as you touched them? It truly is no wonder why you could not keep a man for beyond a year, and why people cannot help but to compare you to…" "Do not say it! Do not say here name here, don't you dare do it!" "Why? Does she threaten you that much? You so=called affection towards me is that of your own making, you cross all boundaries for your own delusions, and that is why you have not had a single marriage proposal whereas I have proposed to that girl every single year since I chose her!" "And yet you are still not married yet!" "Do you really not think that I can have that girl whenever I want to? From the first night she gave healers to me unlike you did, she became my wife and we both know it. So what wrong did I do you, when we have been married after all?" "Are you kidding me right now? Look at how you have victimised all of the women in your life, including her! I will see exactly how long you can keep this up before…." "Before what exactly? Because I will suffer any punishment in the world before I have to lay my eyes on you ever again!" "How does it feel to be abandoned, after such a long time? Lord Nam? Here, accept this drink from me, as we finally share something in common after all! It is not too bad for us to meet without her after all of this time after all, isn't it? We both know that Seo Yeon has the power to release you with just one request from The Emperor, but she didn't do that, did she? Has she come to visit you at all? She hasn't, because she could not care for anyone over her brother, not in this lifetime!" "She doesn't know what has happened to me…" "You are spending your last days here in this filthy place, and you still defend her!" "She refuses to worry me, that is why she hasn't come for me at all, I know her well and…" "Enough of this! I already know your tricks! You are staying as cool as she does, just to lower my guard, isn't that right? Despite your life being on the line here?" "With her personality, she will never abandon me at all. I know that she is waiting for me, and so do you, just like any good and respectful wife." "Such a woman like her must meet her maker sooner rather than later, just like her parents!" "She is my woman at my disposal, she is not even allowed to die without my permission! Nobody can take her away from me, not even when I am reduced to this state for many more years to come!" "Is that so? Is that why The Seo's already perished in a house fire as soon as you left for your mission? They are dead long ago, and you do not believe me, then you can ask your clan all about it since it was their idea and not mine." "What? What did you just say? The Seo's…a fire….where exactly?"