Baekhyun finds himself at the cliff that lies behind the royal palace. A place he likes to frequent when time allows it and when he desperately needs an escape. Whenever he visits these days he is always reminded of the deposed Crown Princess, whom he had brought here a few times in the past. He is reminded of how he had secretly gazed at her while she had her eyes closed and her golden skin gleamed under the sun as they laid in the grass. Or the flush of her cheeks when he had insisted for her to call him sobangnim¹ as they sat by the edge of the cliff after giving her her very first horse ride. 

Speaking of the former Crown Princess, Baekhyun catches the said woman’s lithe figure standing near the edge of the cliff, seemingly gazing upon the lush mountains that lay ahead. 

Despite his initial surprise, Baekhyun is overcome with joy at the sight of her. He runs to her. “Buin,” he addresses his wife wearing the most exuberant smile. 

Mura, who has been far too engrossed in spectating the view before her, finally looks Baekhyun’s way with a warm smile.

“Have you been waiting for long?” Baekhyun asks her. 

Mura gives him no response. Only regards him with a kindness that one may display to a stranger on the street; not to one’s own husband. It bothers Baekhyun.

Without a single word, Mura turns her back on Baekhyun and proceeds to walk away from him.

“Buin!” Baekhyun follows her. “Buin!”

Mura stops and turns to look at him, expressionless.

“Where are you going?” Baekhyun asks her. 

Again, Mura says nothing. She turns back around and resumes on her path. 

Baekhyun is so utterly confused. He catches her by the elbow, compelling Mura to look his way again.

“Where are you going?” Baekhyun asks again. “Stay.”

“I cannot stay,” Mura finally speaks. 

Baekhyun furrows his brows. “Why not?”

“Because I do not love you.” 

She states it most nonchalantly like those words do not plunge right into Baekhyun’s heart like a dagger, splitting it apart. Tears rill down his face. “Please… please, do not say so.”

Mura continues to stare at him blankly.

“You must love me, I beg of you,” Baekhyun pleads pitifully. “Please, love me.” 

But Mura shows no compassion for his pitiful state or his groveling. She remains expressionless as she tears her arm away from Baekhyun’s grasp before spinning around to leave. 

“No, Buin! Don’t go!” Baekhyun sobs. “Don’t go! Don’t go!”

But Mura only moves farther and farther away from him and Baekhyun cannot seem to catch up.

“Buin!” Baekhyun opens his eyes abruptly and is instantly met with the most acute headache and ringing in the ears. It takes him a moment before he realizes he has just awakened from slumber and has awakened to not only an ache of the head but also aches in every bone and muscle in his body. His body blazes with heat yet it shivers from an invisible chill. Thorns prick sharply at the inside of his throat, prompting a roaring cough to escape his lungs.

“His Majesty has awakened!” 

Baekhyun hears the voice of a man cry out. His vision is clouded hence he cannot discern whom exactly the voice belonged to but he guesses it likely belongs to the vague-looking figure that hovers over him.

“Chusang!”

“Chusang!”

Baekhyun recognizes the voices belonging to his mother and grandmother, respectively, who have now settled beside his lying body.

“Chonha!” 

A shrill rattles Baekhyun’s aching head even further. He vaguely notes the addition of another female figure by his foot. Someone he cannot seem to recognize instantly, but is likely the woman whose cry exasperated Baekhyun’s headache and it continues to do so as she keeps calling for him. However, before he could instruct her to be quiet, Baekhyun finds even the remaining of his faculties begin to slip away before ultimately falling into oblivion.

A distressed Hayeon watches the King’s eyes shut close before his head drops to the side. Fearing the worst, she shrieks, “Chonha!”

“The King still breathes. He has only lost consciousness,” The royal physician confirms upon examining the sleeping King; bringing relief to the room.

After the King fainted in Consort Nam’s chamber, he was transported to his own chamber, where he presently lies in the presence of the royal physician, his assistants, the queen dowagers, both royal consorts, and a couple of court officials— one of them being Left State Councilor Park. 

Despite the physician’s assurance that the King still lives, Hayeon remains inconsolable. “Chonha…” she wails. “You must wake. You must wake, Chonha!” She then glares at the physician with her red swollen eyes. “Do something, you dunce!”

Both the Queen Dowager and Grand Queen Dowager, who have been relatively composed, despite being anything but on the inside, have had enough of the royal consort’s hysterics. The dowagers share a glance and the Grand Queen Dowager takes it upon herself to summon Consort Nam’s lady-in-waiting. 

“Take her away,” with a tight voice, the eldest dowager commands the attendant as soon as she enters the chamber.

“No, do not touch me! I will not leave the King’s side.” Hayeon protests when her lady-in-waiting tries to her out.

“Do not just stand there, drag her out,” the Grand Queen Dowager cries.

A few more servants join the lady-in-waiting and proceed to forcibly take the royal consort away. Hayeon stubbornly struggles in their hold and continues to verbally protest as she is practically dragged out of the chamber.

The Grand Queen Dowager sighs in relief once the commotion finally ceases upon Consort Nam’s departure. She directs her attention toward the royal physician. “What seems to ail the King?”

“His Majesty is displaying the telltale signs of the plague, Dewangdaebi-mama,” the physician informs.

Both queen dowagers’ eyes grow wide with alarm. 

“The plague?” The Queen Mother exclaims. 

The Royal Physician lowers his head in apology. “I’m afraid so, Daebi-mama.”

“How?” The Grand Queen Dowager cries. “How could he have caught the disease? Unless someone within the palace had passed it to him.” She fumes at the thought. “In that case, I call for an investigation to find the culprit who dared to come near the King whilst ill. They must be found and executed!”

Just then, Chanyeol barges inside the chamber, having overheard the conversations happening from the corridor. He promptly kneels upon entering. 

All eyes are now on the newcomer. Especially, those of Councilor Park and Consort Yoo. The latter of whom has been silently spectating everything from a corner. 

“Dewangdaebi-mama, Daebi-mama,” Chanyeol addresses the two dowagers. “It is I who is to blame for the King’s illness.”

The Grand Queen Dowager narrows her eyes at the chief personal guard. “Whatever do you mean?”

Chanyeol then reveals his and the King’s visit to the plague colony all those days ago.

Councilor Park closes his eyes defeatedly. His nephew-come-adoptive son just admitted to committing a high crime.

“You reckless, incompetent moron!” The Grand Queen Dowager bellows at the guard. “How could you let it happen? Your sole duty is to protect the King, instead, you carve out a path to his possible end?”

“Dewangdaebi-mama,” the Queen Mother cries. “Pray, refrain from making such morbid predictions. The King will recover, no doubt.”

The elder dowager realizes her mistake. “Forgive my tongue, Daebi. Of course, he will.” She then glowers at the kneeling guard. “That still does not absolve Park Naegeumwi of his crime.”

Chanyeol agrees. He should have never allowed the King to visit the plague colony. He is to be blamed entirely. He hangs his head low in shame and guilt. “I have committed a mortal sin. I deserve death.”

“Indeed, you do,” the eldest dowager agrees. “Send for the guards and have Park Chanyeol detained in the court prison,” she decrees. 

No. Eunbo has the urge to protest the Grand Queen Dowager’s orders, but with great difficulty, she manages to restrain herself. She has no right to defend a man with whom she bears no relation, nor does she have any authority over the eldest dowager’s words. She glances in Councilor Park’s way in the hopes that he may be able to employ his influence to prevent the arrest of his nephew, but all she sees is a man standing idly in silence with his head and shoulders hanging low. 

Eunbo watches with dismay as a couple of royal guards appear and take away Park Chanyeol, who allows them to do so without protest or an appeal for mercy. 

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

To avoid mass alarm and unending speculations, it was concluded that the King’s ailment be kept a secret beyond the knowledge of a select few within the royal court. Hence when Lord Park returns home that evening from the palace he does not reveal the King’s condition to either his wife or daughter. The councilor expects the young, and otherwise, healthy monarch to overcome his disease and make a full recovery, hence he believes there is no need to alarm his family over the matter. 

The situation regarding Chanyeol, however, has the patriarch caught in an agonizing dilemma. On one hand, it is his wife’s and daughter’s intrinsic right to know about the imprisonment of their adoptive son and brother, respectively, while he awaits punishment. On the other hand, that would mean Lord Park would need to explain the reason behind his nephew-come-adoptive son’s detainment. But most importantly, he does not wish to trouble his family lest Chanyeol comes out of this mostly unscathed.

However, Lord Park cannot guarantee that his nephew would come out unscathed or even alive. Chanyeol has committed the high crime of failing to keep the King from harm’s way with full knowledge of the said harm. The penalty for such an offense could be anywhere from severe beatings to maiming to even death. It is a decision that will ultimately be made by the Bureau of Punishment upon further assessment of the crime in question.

Lord Park very much intends upon making an appeal on his nephew’s behalf. He may not be able to prevent his nephew from receiving any punishment, but he will fight to avert a death sentence from befalling his descendant’s fate. 

However, there always lies the possibility that his efforts may prove insufficient and his nephew very well have a blade slice through his neck at the end of this ordeal. Lord Park winces at the thought. 

“Daegam², what is the matter?” Lady Kim asks her husband upon noticing the distress on his countenance. 

Lord Park looks at his wife and daughter, who are gazing back at him with concern. The three were in the middle of dinner.

Lord Park tries to school his expression. “Nothing at all.”

“There must be something,” Lady Kim states. “You have been quite tense since your return from the palace. Is all well there?”

“Merely some court politics buffoonery with which I shall not bore you. Apart from it, all is well.” Lord Park forges a smile.

“Are you certain, aboji?” This time, it is Mura who questions.

It tears the patriarch apart to resort to deceit against his beloved family, but for now, it is perhaps best they remain ignorant of the mayhem happening in the royal court. He holds his feigned yet reassuring smile. “Of course, my love.”

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

It has been four days since the King was taken ill and thus far he has shown no sign of improvement. Chanyeol continues to remain in detention, his case still under evaluation, while Councilor Park has been doing his best to convince his associates in the Bureau of Punishment to disregard any talks of a death sentence. However, the councilor has been told that the Grand Queen Dowager has been rallying for his nephew to be executed. 

This, for the most part, does not come as a surprise to the councilor, for he is aware of the eldest dowager’s abhorrence for him, which also seems to extend to the members of his family. The dowager’s clan belongs to the political faction that rivals the faction to which Councilor Park belongs, giving way to some animosity over the years between the two clans.

In spite of it, there remains a good chance that the Left State Councilor will be able to save his nephew from possible execution.

But misfortune strikes again.

It is late in the night---nearly bedtime--- when a servant comes to Lord Park’s chamber and informs him of a visitor who is waiting for him by the front gate of their property.

It is a subordinate of the councilor who has been tasked with relaying to him any new developments pertaining to the King’s health and Chanyeol’s case when he isn’t present in the royal palace. However, dropping in at such an hour makes the councilor worry about the nature of the message his subordinate brings with him.

He steps out of his quarters only to find Mura loitering about the courtyard. “Why aren’t you in bed, dear?” He asks his daughter.

“I just arrived home.”

Lord Park frowns. “From whence did you arrive this late in the night?”

“There was a small gathering in Minseok oraboni’s house. Did omoni not mention it?”

She did indeed, but current circumstances have been keeping the patriarch's mind quite preoccupied and it had slipped his mind. “Right, of course, yes. I remember now.” 

Mura has noted her father has been quite stressed these past few days, but he refuses to divulge the reason. Both she and her mother have been worrying about him. Whatever it is, it is safe to assume something serious must be going on in the palace. 

“Oh, a man is at the gate wishing to speak with you,” Mura informs.

“Yes, I’m on my way to meet him now.”

“Who is he?” Mura asks.

“A subordinate.”

“Why is he here at this hour?” Mura prods, hoping to find some answers regarding his father’s troubles.

“I am about to find out,” Lord Park gives a tight-lipped smile. “Go now, retire to your quarters.”

“Yes, aboji,” a disappointed Mura says before walking in the direction of her chambers. 

Lord Park walks to the front gate to meet with his late-night caller. “Leave us,” he tells his servant who is standing next to the visitor. 

The servant obediently takes his leave and Lord Park surveys their surroundings to make sure that he and his visitor are alone. “Speak,” he tells the other man. 

“The King’s condition has worsened,” the other man informs. “The physicians have been doing all they can, but they fear that the King,” the man stops before whispering, “the King may not make it.”

The information stifles Lord Park. This isn’t good. In more ways than one, this isn’t good. Not only is he at risk of losing a young and promising King to an untimely demise— who also happens to be his son-in-law— he may also…

“Daegam, if the King perishes…” the man does not finish the sentence but the implication is not lost on Lord Park.

Chanyeol will be made to follow his master, the lord thinks. He will most certainly be executed for having a hand in the King’s death. No amount of politics or groveling on the councilor's part will be able to save his nephew.

“Why will the King perish?”

Lord Park spins around to find his daughter standing some distance away giving him both a questioning and alarmed gaze. “Mura, what are you doing here?”

“That gentleman mentioned something about the King perishing.” Mura ignores her father's question.

“Mura, you are not supposed to be eavesdropping,” Lord Park scolds his daughter.

“Aboji, is something the matter with the King?”

“Mura, go to your chamber.”

“Answer me!” Mura shouts at her father; extremely disrespectful and unfilial of her, but she could not bring herself to care at this moment.

Lord Park sighs and approaches her daughter and places two gentle hands over her shoulders. “Mura-ya, the King…” he hesitates. “The King is gravely ill. It is plausible he may not make it.”

“No, it can’t be.” Mura is in disbelief. “It cannot be. Surely, it isn’t true.”

“He still breathes and we can only hope that he improves. However, it’ll do us good to prepare ourselves in the event that he—”

Mura does not allow her father to finish his thought as she pushes him aside to head toward the front gate. 

“Mura, where are you going?” Her father asks.

“To the palace,” Mura answers curtly. 

“It is late.” Her father follows her.

“I must see him.”

“It is no time for a visit. We shall make an arrangement for tomorrow.”

“No, I must see him now.” Mura is nearly out of the gate when her father takes hold of her. “Release me!” She fights against his hold.

“Mura-ya, my child, you cannot simply storm inside the palace. Try to understand, my love. Let us wait until tomorrow.”

Mura goes slack in her father’s arms before an agonizing wail rolls out from deep within her chest. She loses all strength in her legs, nearly dropping to the ground, as she bawls. But her father keeps her propped up while consoling her with warm words.

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

Translations:

1. Sobangnim: husband.

2. Daegam: Your/His Excellency.