"Do you hate it?" The Emperor asked suddenly.
The question startled princess Yura into silence.
He continued, voice low. "The weight of responsibilities you cannot escape… even though they have nothing to do with what you truly desire."
Yura slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were swollen and red. She didn't speak again, but the expression on her face said it all.
The Emperor didn't press the matter, he simply continued.
"It will be wise of you to let him be."
Princess Yura's gaze remained fixed on her lap. Even when she had a lot to say, her lips always refused to open in the presense of Han Ji. But this was the perfect time to speak, if she truly wanted to save Yunxi.
"He didn't do it," she finally murmured, eyes still lowered. "I may not know much about his past crimes, but I'm positive it was not him this time." She raised her eyes to the man she couldn't tame. "I was with him. Ask Jing, he slept with him that night," she insisted.
Han Ji looked at her, expression unreadable. "Plea—"
Yura opened her mouth to continue, but the Emperor didn't let her.
"What if I find him guilty?"
Yura straightened her posture. "Then I will spend the rest of my life paying for that fault," she said firmly.
"Your guard, you say?" Han Ji began. "You're right about the sleepover part. But… he said your innocent angel didn't really spend the whole night at the inn."
Yura's eyes widened. Even if that were the case… Jing would have told her first, right? She was his master. His friend. At least, she thought so.
"You didn't know about that, did you?" The Emperor asked.
"That doesn't prove anything. Anyone can leave their room at night. Hanying also left. Does that mean she did it? You just want to frame Brother Yunxi," Yura snapped.
"Hey, I don't think we're that close. Don't cross the line," the Emperor warned coldly. His eyes fixed on the princess as he continued, "It's hard to believe, but… whether you accept it or not."
The carriage stopped as the palace gates closed behind them.
Han Ji straightened his posture, ready to leave.
"I want him to be as innocent as you claim him to be," he said. With that, a smile stretched across his face before he stepped out.
Princess Yura remained seated for a moment. She tried to follow, but the Emperor's guard blocked her way.
"The Emperor advises that you should rest. You will be at his service when it gets dark."
She froze. What the hell was that supposed to mean? They weren't even married yet, why did he want her at night? Before she could think further, the carriage moved again.
Yura pulled the curtain aside. She looked around until she spotted the Emperor standing beside a suspiciously covered carriage. She shook her head, and their eyes met from a distance.
The fake smile he wore minutes ago was gone.
'He really wants brother Yunxi dead.' she thought.
Tears threatened to fall. She felt it was useless now. She had let the only chance to save Yunxi slip through her fingers. There was nothing more she could do. She sank back into the seat, tears streaming.
---
He Ju hopped down from his horse. They had reached the palace.
His eyes instinctively found the Emperor, who was heading toward the carriage where Yunxi and the doctor were kept. He had seen how Yunxi reacted to the doctor's injuries. Who was this man to Yunxi? He Ju wanted to ask countless questions, but one thing was clear;
If he did nothing… Yunxi might die. And that meant he would never get the answers he desperately wanted.
That meant Yunxi would never be by his side again.
That meant… loneliness for good.
He Ju moved toward the carriage as well.
The Emperor signaled a soldier to open the door. The moment it swung open...
There he was.
Yunxi had been cornered...at least, that's how it looked. The instant the door opened, Yunxi crawled away from the doctor. Almost like he had been caught doing something wrong.
He Ju frowned. 'What was that?'
The Emperor's eyes narrowed. His fists clenched. He too wanted the same answer He ju wanted, why the fuck were they so close? His expression was fully readable...pure fury. His lips were pressed into a thin line.
He didn't say a word.
Yunxi stayed crouched by the door, looking at the Emperor like a child caught stealing sugar in the night.
Nowhere to run.
They locked eyes. Neither spoke, but the silent war between them was undeniable.
Yunxi broke eye contact first. His gaze lowered. Whatever it was… he knew the Emperor had caught him. And he knew it mattered. It had angered him.
The tension thickened.
One soldier stepped forward to retrieve Yunxi but was immediately stopped.
"Step aside," the Emperor sneered, voice low and commanding.
Yunxi, breathing hard, turned back toward Nim Si. His breathing was loud..painful.
A small movement caught both Han Ji's and He Ju's attention.
The injured doctor had shifted, revealing the worsening wound on the shoulder where the hand was cut off from.
Han Ji's eyes returned to Yunxi.
Their eyes met again. And he saw it,
Yunxi feared he might hurt the doctor again.
The cloth in Yunxi's hand drew the Emperor's attention.
It was the same fabric from his own clothes.
The Emperor snapped.
He stormed past the soldiers, who quickly stepped aside to avoid the blow meant for someone else.
Yunxi scrambled backward in fear, but it wasn't enough to escape the monster whose teeth were already sharpened.
Han Ji's hand shot out, grabbing the back of Yunxi's red hair.
Yunxi instinctively reached for the doctor's robe for support.
That was it.
Han Ji tightened his grip, yanking hard and dragging the boy out of the carriage.
Yunxi screamed from the burning pain. He released the doctor's fabric and reached up, trying to loosen the Emperor's grip, which only enraged the man further.
Han Ji threw him down with brutal force.
"A-ahh… ngh…" Yunxi cried out.
Not satisfied, the Emperor seized him again, dragging him through the tall corridor walls toward the second palace gate.
"You're hurting me, please…" Yunxi pleaded, blood dripping from his nose and a bruise forming at the corner of his mouth. His palms were scraped raw, and his knees were torn open.
Han Ji didn't care. His anger was louder than Yunxi's cries.
He hated how Yunxi acted caring toward others.
He hated the way Yunxi looked at that man Nim Si as if he were the only reason he was still alive.
He hated the fact that Nim was the reason behind the boy's escape out the city.
Even if the Emperor believed there was a small chance Yunxi didn't kill the Shadow, he still wanted something, anything, that would justify taking the man away from them.
Yunxi clung to the gate, fingers slipping from blood and sweat. Han Ji paused briefly, feeling the stickiness on his own fingers, whatever it was, he didn't care.
He yanked hard.
Yunxi crashed to his knees in pain, unable to catch himself because Han Ji had used his usual walking speed.
Yunxi tried to stand. But the wounds on his knees had deepened, blood soaking through his clothes.
He begged.
He sobbed.
But the Emperor's sympathy had long since died.
Whenever Yunxi slowed or fell, Han Ji would pull him by the hair harder, like dragging a goat by the rope around its neck when it stops to eat grass.
Yunxi's legs burned. His body trembled.
The distance was long, and Yunxi was exhausted. He was half-bent, walking with staggering steps.
When they finally reached the courtroom stairs, the Emperor stopped. Maybe he thought about dragging Yunxi up those countless steps too will be cruel.
He smirked, maybe he wasn't thinking at all.
For a moment, the onlookers felt sorry for the boy.
Some believed Yunxi couldn't have done it, he was weak, he didn't know how to fight, he had never touched a weapon before, not in their watch. But the boy had griwn up before their eyes. They suspected he knew something… and that the Emperor was simply trying to get rid of him.
Others thought he was being used, a pawn.
And some believed he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Yunxi collapsed onto his knees again, tears streaming. His hand slipped from the Emperor's grip.
He was tired, and he hated this pain.
"Get up," the Emperor commanded.
Yunxi didn't. His cries echoed faintly in Han Ji's ears. Just reminder of the same similar cries from the same person but different situations.