Chapter 1: A Marriage Alliance Announcement
Inside the ancestral shrine, where long rows of candles flickered, the only sound was the eerie whisper of the wind.
In the deathly silent room, a man stood gazing at a portrait of Empress Seonhyeon, who wore an elaborate golden crown and a magnificent ceremonial robe that shimmered with golden light.
He was none other than Emperor Rye Hoon of the Northern Empire.
“Your Majesty.”
Eunuch Dongseok entered silently and bowed his head.
“What is it?”
The emperor’s deep, low voice echoed softly through the shrine. There was a rumor that any woman who heard his voice would be unable to forget him and would suffer from lovesickness.
And that was not all. He was so tall that no one in the palace had ever seen the top of his head. His firm, muscular body, hardened by years of warfare, was said to be enough to captivate even other men.
“Your Majesty, the ministers have been waiting outside the main audience hall for several hours.”
Rye Hoon slowly closed his eyes and fell into thought.
Judging by how they had settled themselves there and refused to leave, it seemed they were determined to settle the matter of selecting a new empress today, no matter what it took.
The moment the state funeral for Empress Seonhyeon ended, the ministers had begun submitting memorials demanding that a new empress be chosen.
While Rye Hoon had been a prince, he had spent his time traveling from battlefield to battlefield, expanding the empire’s territory. Meanwhile, the late emperor had continued taking concubines, even while seriously ill, in an attempt to suppress the dissatisfaction of the tribes he had conquered and incorporated into the empire.
As a result, there were even concubines who had never once been summoned to the emperor’s bed.
Whenever the late emperor ordered a new palace to be built for one of his concubines, the empress would take to her bed in distress.
Now, all those palaces stood abandoned and lonely, without anyone to inhabit them.
When the late emperor passed away, all his numerous concubines became Buddhist nuns and entered temples. Only Consort Jingyi, the mother of the Crown Prince’s younger brother, the Imperial Prince, remained in the palace, quietly waiting for the right moment.
After Rye Hoon ascended the throne, he too came under pressure to take more concubines. In the end, he had reluctantly accepted several.
Yet the ministers remained dissatisfied. They constantly invoked tradition as an excuse to pressure him into taking even more concubines whenever they got the chance.
Then, as soon as the empress died, they began demanding that he take a new empress without delay.
Even the Empress Dowager was urging him to hurry, insisting that the position of empress could not remain vacant any longer.
How could he not understand that this matter could no longer be postponed?
Even so, he could not make such a decision carelessly.
As for the concubines, he could balance the competing factions by choosing women from different powerful families. But there could only be one empress.
He did not want the balance of power to tilt too far in favor of any one faction.
The Empress Dowager believed that even now, they should place a woman with a powerful family background on the throne beside him. That way, they could eventually regain control of the imperial succession.
With so many complicated interests involved, choosing the woman who would become empress was no easy task.
“Your Majesty…”
Dongseok called out again cautiously, bowing his head.
Is that really the only way?
“I will go to the main hall. Bring me the Crown Prince of the Seoyeon Kingdom.”
At last, Rye Hoon broke his silence and gave the order in a low voice.
Dongseok looked puzzled by the emperor’s command, but soon bowed and withdrew.
As the emperor rose from his seat, the candle flames flickered violently.
“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of the Seoyeon Kingdom has arrived.”
“Bring him in.”
Rye Hoon said this as he closed the memorial he had been reading.
A moment later, Crown Prince Hui entered, wearing a dark blue royal robe and carrying a solemn expression.
Rye Hoon rose from his seat, exchanged a brief and courteous greeting with him, and led him to the tea room.
“You must have had a difficult journey.”
“What is the reason you have summoned me this time?”
While Dongseok served the tea, Rye Hoon quietly studied Hui’s stiff expression.
It had already been seven years since they had first begun meeting face-to-face, yet Hui remained full of suspicion and guardedness.
Perhaps that was only natural. His country had been forced to submit, and he himself had been brought here as a hostage. How could anyone expect him to feel friendly toward the man responsible?
Rye Hoon understood this perfectly well, but he still felt a little disappointed.
After all, seven years had passed. Perhaps he had hoped that Hui would open his heart just a little after all the kindness he had shown him.
Rye Hoon gave a self-mocking smile at the thought.
“I asked you to come because there are a few things I would like to confirm with you.”
“If that is all, you could have sent someone to ask me.”
As always, Hui replied with a straight back and an unyielding attitude.
Rye Hoon, however, remained unfazed. In fact, his expression softened slightly as he continued.
“I heard that you have sisters. If the ministers’ reports are correct, there are six of them, are there not?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about that…?”
Hui trailed off, feeling uneasy inside.
He had a bad feeling about this.
“How old are they?”
“…What exactly are you planning?”
At Hui’s disrespectful response, Dongseok widened his eyes and was about to intervene. But Rye Hoon raised one hand slightly, stopping him.
“It has already been seven years since you came here. I think it is about time you returned to your homeland.”
Hui tilted his head, looking as though he could hardly believe what he had heard.
Every year, the Seoyeon Kingdom had sent delegations requesting that their crown prince be allowed to return home. The emperor had always ignored those requests.
Now that he was suddenly bringing up the subject himself, Hui could not help feeling bewildered.
Then…
“It sounds as though the condition for my return is one of my sisters.”
Rye Hoon smiled faintly.
“As expected, the Crown Prince is clever.”
Hui’s brow furrowed slightly at the unpleasant compliment.
Rye Hoon continued, looking as though he could see straight through Hui’s thoughts.
“I intend to take your sister as my empress and establish peaceful relations with the Seoyeon Kingdom.”
“…”
So he wants another hostage.
Hui clenched his fists tightly and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.
Even now, women from the Seoyeon Kingdom were being taken away as tribute women. The emperor was now demanding that they hand over a princess as well.
His anger surged.
This was even more humiliating than being dragged away from his own country himself.
“I heard that your eldest sister is already married and has left her family home. Is that correct?”
“…”
It was a question that required no answer.
“Let us exclude your youngest princess, who is only eight, as well as the princess born to a concubine. The youngest is far too young, and the daughter of a concubine is not of suitable rank to become the empress of the Northern Empire.”
Rye Hoon spoke as though he were generously making concessions.
The skin around Hui’s eyes began to redden as he glared at the emperor without blinking.
“I heard that your second sister is at an ideal age for marriage in the Seoyeon Kingdom. As you probably already know, my mother has been urging me to produce an heir as soon as possible. So I believe your second sister would be a very suitable choice.”
“Are you informing me of your decision?”
“Did you think this was a negotiation?”
At the emperor’s contemptuous smile, Hui’s hands trembled slightly.
His fury continued to rise, but there was nothing he could do about it. He felt so enraged that he could almost collapse from the sheer frustration.
“You summoned me all the way here just to announce a decision you have already made. You are doing this simply to humiliate our Seoyeon Kingdom.”
“What place is there for such talk between a ruler and his subject?”
“Our Seoyeon Kingdom has never been a subject of the Northern Empire!”
At Hui’s forceful declaration, Dongseok abruptly lifted his bowed head.
Even though Hui was a crown prince, he feared that the confrontation might end in bloodshed.
Yet, for some reason, a faint smile appeared on Rye Hoon’s lips.
“The Seoyeon Kingdom swore allegiance to us seven years ago, Crown Prince. If you still refuse to accept that fact, is that why you look so unwell? Perhaps all this denial has made you sick with worry.”
“The Seoyeon Kingdom is an independent country! We trade freely with other nations and develop our own culture and economy. It was the Northern Empire that forcibly invaded and conquered us!”
“Hmm…”
Rye Hoon sighed softly, wearing an expression of regret.
The crown prince glared at him with burning eyes.
“Crown Prince, let me repeat myself. I did not summon you here to debate or negotiate.”
“…”
“You represent the Seoyeon Kingdom here, so I am informing you first that a royal marriage has been arranged. Once the princess departs from the Seoyeon Kingdom, you will leave this place at the appropriate time as well. So why not send a letter to your king and ask him to make the necessary arrangements for the royal marriage as soon as possible?”
Hui caught a glimpse of the cruelty hidden behind the emperor’s smile and could not help shuddering.
The crown prince returned to his residence with anger burning in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Rye Hoon sat back at his desk. Dongseok poured him a cup of tea and cautiously spoke up.
“Forgive me for saying this, Your Majesty, but why do you tolerate the crown prince’s insolence? I am concerned that if he returns to his homeland in this state, he might become a threat to our Northern Empire.”
Rye Hoon quietly answered while reading a memorial.
“I like his spirit. Even if his country has fallen, a man who is the heir to the throne should not behave in a cowardly or submissive manner. That would be unbecoming of a man, would it not?”
“…”
“The crown prince has a sickly king, a family he must protect, and an entire population depending on him. If he does not even possess that much courage, how could he ever lead a country?”
“Even if Your Majesty holds the Crown Prince of the Seoyeon Kingdom in high regard, how dare he raise his head and defy Your Majesty so boldly? I cannot understand why you simply allow him to behave that way.”
