I Became My Ex-Boyfriend’s Concubine - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 27

“Your Majesty, the female Sukwon has taken her meal.”
“Let her in.”
Dan Bi, standing before the door, caught sight of the attendants arrayed on either side. The court ladies signaled with their eyes for her to enter, bowing their heads in unison.
As Dan Bi hesitated for a moment and exhaled a quiet breath, the heavy door swung open with elegant ease.
When she lifted her gaze, there in the distance stood Hyun, dressed in spotless white robes. Several palace attendants clustered at his side, adjusting the drape of his clothes.
Dan Bi found herself staring blankly at the sight, then started when she felt his eyes settle upon her. She quickly lowered her head.
A low voice soon cut through the silence.
“This way.”
Hyun’s gaze was fixed directly upon her. Dan Bi caught her lower lip between her teeth, then slowly began to move.
Behind her, the sound of the door closing echoed distantly. As she drew near to Hyun, he made a light gesture with his hand.
“All of you may withdraw.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The palace ladies attending Hyun retreated in orderly fashion, stepping backward in unison.
As she watched them disappear through the doorway, a firm hand suddenly grasped her chin and turned her head sharply.
When her senses returned, Hyun’s face was inches from her own. She instinctively tried to pull away, but instead he tilted his head down, closing the distance between them.
“You came to see me, didn’t you?”
“Ah, well……”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Eh……?”
Hyun held her gaze and continued calmly.
“That’s what you say at such times.”
“Ah…… I beg your pardon.”
Hyun watched quietly as Dan Bi repeated his words as though in a trance, then slowly released his grip.
At a brief gesture inviting her closer, she took one more step, drawing nearer. Hyun stood motionless, his eyes closing softly.
Dan Bi’s hands moved to his robes with practiced ease. Her fingers smoothed away any wrinkles with natural grace.
Of late, she had been visiting his quarters every morning without fail—ever since the day he had first made his bargain with her.

“Eliminate all the assassins who target me.”

She couldn’t refuse his condition that she help him with his task in exchange for an appropriate price.
In truth, such an arrangement wasn’t a losing proposition for Dan Bi either.
The reason she had hidden the true nature of her Mission from him was simple enough.
If she had told him plainly—”Your death is my Mission”—she wouldn’t have been able to protest even if her head was severed on the spot.
His sudden question had caught her off guard, but it was an obstacle she’d have to overcome eventually.
After a moment’s hesitation, Dan Bi reached her decision.
After all, Hyun had no way to confirm whether her words were false. In that case, the wisest course was to shape the situation as favorably for herself as possible.

“To be loved by you here. That’s my Mission. That’s how I can leave this place.”

The reason she’d said this was obvious.
It was the most plausible condition that wouldn’t seem threatening to Hyun, yet would justify her lingering presence at his side.
Even if she were approaching him for assassination, there was no better pretext than this.
In that sense, the counter-proposal Hyun had offered had given her wings.
Yet as everything unfolded too smoothly, an unsettling feeling took hold. Perhaps Hyun, like her, was cynically exploiting this very situation.
From his position, there were any number of ways to verify the truth of her words. He could simply kill her again and observe whether the world repeats itself.
That he hadn’t acted hastily meant there must be a reason worthy of his restraint.
Dan Bi already knew that he didn’t entirely believe her story. Paradoxically, the fact that he didn’t press further was itself evidence that he was acutely preoccupied with this very situation.
In the end, all Dan Bi could do within this precarious dance of words was to accept his proposal. Only time would tell who won this tug of war.
In that instant, her waist was pulled sharply forward. When she lifted her head, she saw Hyun’s face mere inches away.
He asked with a slight furrow between his brows.
“What are you thinking about, standing before me?”
“……I beg your pardon.”
“That’s not what I taught you that expression for.”
Dan Bi held his gaze for a moment before slowly drawing back.
Her eyes traced naturally downward, following the contour of his broad shoulders clad in the Red Dragon Robe. Her careful hands came to rest on the silk that draped his muscular chest.
She smoothed the Jade Belt with its densely set white jade plates, then withdrew her hands and stepped back.
“That will do.”
“Four days have passed, and you’re still moving at a snail’s pace.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Your apologies come far too easily. Enough of this.”
Hyun’s brow twitched slightly as he brushed past Dan Bi without breaking stride. She trailed behind him, letting out a small, sardonic snort under her breath.
He had offered instruction readily enough—now he was just telling her to stop.
Still, she thought, “I beg your pardon” seemed capable of smoothing over most situations, and she resolved to keep that phrase in her arsenal for future use.
The moment she stepped past the threshold to offer a bow and turn back, Hyun’s voice caught her by the ankle like a snare.
“Sukwon shall attend me.”
“…I’m sorry?”
“Today we shall share the Royal Meal. See that you are aware of this.”
Shock rippled through the chamber—not only Dan Bi’s face, but among the senior ladies-in-waiting and attendants as well.
Yun stepped quickly to Hyun’s side and bowed low.
“Your Majesty, it is without precedent in the palace law for the Royal Meal to be shared. And moreover—not even with the Queen Consort, but with a mere Sukwon who has only just emerged from the Cold Palace? This plainly violates the protocol of the realm.”
“Protocol.”
Hyun’s laugh was thin, almost bitter, as he looked down at Yun.
“Have you forgotten that in this realm, my word is the law itself? If I command you to sit, you sit. If I command you to eat, you eat. There is no breach of hierarchy—I am establishing a new one.”
At the low, cutting edge to his voice, Yun’s shoulders visibly shrank. Hyun cast a brief glance at Dan Bi, then swept past Yun without another word.
The attendants, Yun among them, had no choice but to follow in his wake. Dan Bi watched the procession disappear, then exhaled a heavy sigh and took her place at the end of the line.
‘Self-indulgent. Same whether it’s reality or a game.’

***

The Great Hall, into which she was led by the senior attendants, was overwhelming in its grandeur.
Beneath the high latticed ceiling, a thick fragrance of agarwood hung heavy in the air.
The dark wooden floor exhaled a chill with each footfall, and across the far end rose an enormous folding screen depicting the Sun, Moon and Five Peaks, like a fortress wall.
Before it: a seat reserved for the king alone.
Hyun settled into place with solemn dignity, drawing the Red Dragon Robe around him. The moment he adjusted his Jade Belt, the side door that had been sealed shut swung open.
“The Royal Meal is served, Your Majesty.”
With those measured words, a procession of attendants swept in. Silver vessels caught the candlelight above the large red lacquered table, casting an austere radiance.
White rice, red pickled vegetables, and twelve varieties of side dishes brimming with delicacies.
On any ordinary day, this would have been a simple, solitary meal for the king—but today, before Hyun was placed an unusually broad shared table.
And beside it, with careful hesitation, utensils and empty bowls for Dan Bi were arranged.
The attendants from the royal kitchens, pale with apprehension, hurried to position each vessel.
With each lid lifted, a rich aroma of meat suffused the air—yet no one dared to breathe loudly.
When all the dishes were arranged, the attendants withdrew as one and prostrated themselves upon the floor.
In the oppressive silence, Hyun gazed down at the meal without moving, then lifted his head. His eyes fixed directly on her.
“Sit here.”
The atmosphere was more solemn than usual, and Dan Bi settled carefully beside him. As she did, the tasting attendant—standing by the table—lowered her head, watching Hyun’s expression.
“Your Majesty, shall I proceed with the tasting—”
“No.”
Hyun’s curt refusal brought the tasting attendant to a startled halt.
She raised her head carefully, confusion written across her face, as Hyun stared directly at Dan Bi and spoke.
“Today the tasting shall be done by Sukwon here.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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