Chapter 21. The Name That Cannot Be Spoken (2)
While Seongha remained at the Jin family residence, the night gradually deepened.
The shadows of Seongha and Sangwon, father and son, flickered across the wall.
“Why did you tell me to go to the ruins of the old Cheonhui Kingdom?”
Seongha looked straight at Sangwon.
Until now, resentment and fear had kept him from ever looking properly at his father.
“I still don’t understand how I was able to reach Cheonhui Kingdom, why I met that woman there, or why I ended up returning to the mortal world with her... None of my questions have been answered.”
Sangwon had used Seongha to bring Cheongyeon onto the stage of the Hui Kingdom.
Yet he had never personally visited to see the Heavenly Maiden, nor had he shown any real interest in the affairs of Beopsindang.
Everything felt more like a test for his son, Seongha.
“Did you already know things would turn out this way?”
Silence filled the inner residence.
Only the crackling of the fire could be heard.
After a moment, Sangwon slowly closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
“A very long time ago, someone once told me a prophecy.”
He continued calmly.
“They said that a certain existence would appear and change the fate of the Hui Kingdom.”
Then his gaze settled on Seongha.
“And that you would become the key.”
Seongha shook his head, unsatisfied with the answer.
“I thought you were someone who didn’t believe in prophecies.”
It was not an answer that suited the practical and cold-hearted Sangwon.
Seongha narrowed his eyes, trying to understand the true meaning hidden behind his father’s words.
Sangwon quietly said,
“Even I sometimes wonder.”
“Whether fate is something already decided... or something that can be changed by human will.”
Seongha pressed him.
“What exactly did that prophecy say?”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you.”
Sangwon’s expression became difficult to read.
“I made a promise to the person who gave me that prophecy.”
Then he added,
“And I intend to keep that promise.”
Prime Minister Jin Sangwon was a man everyone believed would only move for the sake of his family’s interests or politics.
The fact that he could act for a purely personal reason was unexpected.
Seongha changed the subject.
“The appearance of the new Heavenly Maiden has caused various factions to move against us.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Was that also part of your intention?”
Seeing the challenging look in Seongha’s eyes, Sangwon let out a faint laugh.
“When I offered to take the Heavenly Maiden with me because I feared something like this might happen, weren’t you the one who insisted that you would protect her yourself at Beopsindang?”
“...”
“Now, whatever influence that existence has on the balance of power in the Hui Kingdom is in your hands.”
His voice was calm.
“It is already too late to ask about my intentions.”
Seongha could not argue.
His father was right.
It had been Seongha’s own decision to keep Cheongyeon by his side and protect her.
Even if that decision eventually turned the entire world against him, the one responsible for it would still be Seongha himself.
Sangwon studied him with interest.
“What I find more interesting is how much you have changed.”
“It seems your trip to the heavens caused some change of heart.”
Ever since childhood, Seongha had despised the filth of worldly affairs and had kept himself far away from struggles for power.
Yet now, that same child was preparing to act against his own nature.
What kind of power could change a person so blindly?
Sangwon’s words seemed to see straight through his heart, and Seongha felt some of his strength leave him.
As expected, a man as skilled as Sangwon at hiding his own thoughts would never reveal his intentions so easily.
Seongha had come here hoping to uncover his father’s plans.
Instead, it was his own heart that had been read.
But Seongha was different today.
He held an enormous card that even the great Jin Sangwon did not know about.
Crown Prince Namhyeon was alive.
And he had returned to the Hui Kingdom.
Seongha steadied himself.
Since he had already gone through the trouble of visiting the Jin residence, he might as well obtain what he had come here for.
Sangwon spoke.
“What did you truly come here to tell your father today?”
His eyes gleamed sharply between the wrinkles at their corners.
Seongha answered without hesitation.
“I won’t speak indirectly.”
“At present, Beopsindang does not possess enough strength to keep the forces threatening the Heavenly Maiden in check.”
“...”
“So please give me the jade command token that will allow me to deploy the Jin family’s private soldiers, so that the Fifteenth-Day Festival can proceed safely.”
The border army that Sangwon had quietly expanded over the years was the greatest military force under his control.
No matter how desperately the members of the Jin family or Seopjun had begged him, Sangwon had never once handed over command authority to them.
The smile slowly disappeared from Sangwon’s face.
He tilted his head slightly.
Seongha had come with a far bolder plan than he had expected, so even Sangwon had no choice but to consider it seriously.
“I know there has never been such a precedent.”
Seongha continued,
“But I believe this proposal will ultimately benefit you as well, Father.”
Of course, Seongha did not expect Sangwon to hand over the jade token so easily.
That was why he planned to touch upon a problem Sangwon had left unresolved for years.
“I intend to use that token to persuade the surviving members of the destroyed Ban family to move.”
The Ban family had once been one of the five great noble families of the Hui Kingdom.
They were known for their intense loyalty and pride.
Unable to accept the destruction of their house, they had resisted the royal family until the very end.
The person who had stepped forward to persuade them at the time had been Jin Sangwon.
Afterward, the Jin family granted the surviving Ban family members land and allowed them to live together as a group.
Even so, they remained uncooperative.
But if Seongha could bring the Ban family to his side, he would gain a powerful force that could prove invaluable in the future.
Sangwon said,
“The Ban family is known for being as upright as bamboo, and just as stubborn.”
“...”
“Even if you invoke the name of the Jin family, they won’t so much as blink.”
He looked directly at Seongha.
“And they certainly won’t obey the orders of an ordinary priest who has never commanded an army.”
“...”
Then Sangwon reached inside his robe.
“But if you can persuade them and make them move...”
He held out the jade command token.
“Then do as you wish.”
“Take it.”
Sangwon handed the token to Seongha.
It seemed as though he had accepted Seongha’s proposal surprisingly easily.
But it was not because Seongha had successfully persuaded him.
Sangwon carefully considered whether what his son intended to do would interfere with the long-standing plans he had built over the years.
At the same time, he calculated his next move.
And eventually, he reached a conclusion.
Although the two of them had different goals and different methods, they would eventually arrive at the same answer.
More than anything, Sangwon wanted to see what card Seongha would play in order to persuade the Ban family.
Seongha accepted the jade token and bowed politely.
With both hands clasped together beneath his flowing ink-colored sleeves, the small portion of his face that could be seen looked as beautiful as moonlight.
After giving his farewell, Seongha left.
The moment Sangwon watched his son’s back disappear, his expression twisted painfully.
