Secret of the Two Kings (89 CHAPTERS - ON HOLD)

제 5 부

The Prime Minister's last words resounded throughout the King's head, causing him to totter as he walked across the palace grounds. The memory of Jung Ho's sinister grin and scathing eyes leached into Jae Joong's bones, sucking out his life force. His hwarangs and court ladies behind him got worried at his blank face and increasingly wobbly movements. Another move—he finally lost balance and tripped on the ground.

A hwarangdo grabbed his arm, holding him firmly before he could fall. "Forgive my insolence, Sire. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I am," Jae Joong replied. "People are watching. I can walk to my bedchambers."

The hwarangdo let his arm go, and the distressed king continued walking towards his chambers, thinking about his twins' fate now that the Prime Minister has known everything. An opportunistic monster was about to prey upon his children! Was there even more ominous than that?

He reached his chambers and sank into one of the chairs at his table. His head hung, and he clutched it with his hands in despair. One of his ladies-in-waiting distracted him with the announcement, "Sire, Minister Dae Wong wants to have a word with you."

"Let him in," he responded softly.

Dae Wong noticed the King's troubled face as he sat awkwardly in front of the troubled king. He asked him what was wrong, and the King explained everything that had happened between him and the Prime Minister. Dae Wong was not totally surprised. He had expected that the day might come, considering there were many eyes and ears in the palace. Like birds, news were also winged creatures that could travel as quickly as a lightning bolt. No secrets could be kept in the palace forever, especially from the Prime Minister.

"What shall we do? I am pretty sure that he would target my sons the moment they were born on the same day as the eclipse."

Jae Joong stood and walked back and forth across his room. Anxious, hysterical, fidgeting. Dae Wong leaned an elbow on the table, rubbing his temple—thinking of ways to solve a big problem. He was distracted when the King snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his mind.

"We need to hide the Queen! I will send her to a faraway place to deliver the babies. After that, no one could discover that we had twins."

Dae Wong gazed at the King, listening to his interesting plan. His pupils suddenly goggled seconds later, and he exclaimed, "Sire, I have a better idea! We will plan this ahead... By the way, Sire—regarding the—"

"Oh yes! Now, how was it? Have you gotten any information about the almanac from your surveillance of Lady Jang?"

The young minister picked a black-covered book from his sleeve and handed it to the King, "Here you go, Sire. The almanac she uses to predict the solar eclipse."

"How did you get it?"

Dae Wong smiled and told the King his story. "I went to the royal library to look for any books with a plain black cover. Then, I went straight back to the temple, hoping to find Lady Jang there. The monks said that she might finish the ritual and go somewhere else after two hours. That's why I waited outside the temple until she got out. Luckily, I saw her leaving, carrying a lot of things piled up on her arms. I saw the book that you described. I instructed one of my nangdos to bump her intentionally so her things would scatter on the floor. He secretly switched the books hidden in his sleeve with the black book on the floor."

"Wait, didn't she even check the book?" Jae Joong asked, squinting in doubt.

"I doubt, Your Highness. She seemed to be in a hurry at that time. There is a little possibility that she will randomly open that book."