The Ministers hurried to attend the court. They were keeping their head down as they briskly walked towards the place when they felt the atmosphere and looked up. Everybody was standing still with their spine straight and their expression hidden except of the utmost respect.

For a moment fear seized the hearts of the two ministers as they thought for some reason may be the King had decided to attend the court way earlier than his scheduled time.

Nervously half sweating at the notion, they quickly glanced at the throne, to see it empty.

Puzzled, they followed the gazes of their other colleagues to find a regal man, elegantly attired in the finest of fabrics, standing in the front. His long black hair was completely tied back with a leather band, which was usually not how men in his stature went, but the expressionless face carried a hint of disdain for the rules and a mockery for people who judged.

The man stood quietly, waiting for the King to arrive, while a gentle smile occasionally lifted his lips.

Seeing him, the Ministers almost stumbled.

He was the most heroic and the most Ruthless man the entire Kingdom had ever seen, his presence and aura greater than that of the royal family.

The low whispers in the court carried with it only one astonishment. After being missing and assumed dead for 27 days, the General had calmly appeared with not even a single scratch on him, where as the best batch of Imperial Guards consisting of 32 men had disappeared.

Imperial guards were the finest trained assassins, capable of impenetrable being the defence of the King. And the best of them were still missing while their supposed lone target was pleasantly present before them.

A shudder of fear wracked the bodies of every person in the court. It was an openly hidden secret, the matter of envy and admiration the King held for the General.

The King, could not rise and remain in his position without any strife of conspiracy without the General, and he also could not live peacefully as long as the same person breathed.

The Ministers hurriedly joined the rest, "He is well. More than just that?"

Another minister nodded, "And he is smiling." His voice low he whispered, "Perhaps, today, Heads will roll."

Also established in the palace and the main channels of the upper echelons, was the attitude of Jung Hoseok. If he rigidly stood with his oppressive aura, it was considered normal, but his smile. . . .

The more dangerous he got, the colder he became was when he smiled the most.

The gentle quirk of his lips hid a savagely brutal nature, his insanity and viciousness writhing beneath the surface.

"Are you going to side with the King, if it comes down to it?" another minister made a hushed question which was met with dozens of surrounding scoffs.

No One, would ever go against Jung Hoseok. Even if it was the King on the other side.

Angering the King would only result in a swift death, crossing the General would be akin to the torture a soul would experience after death.

Never ending, cruel, violent and merciless.

Death, would be a luxury.

It was perhaps the untold truth of this era that the throne was occupied by the Royal who had the pure lineage but the uncrowned King who commanded loyalty and power was Jung Hoseok.

It was because the General did not aspire to sit on the Throne, that he was spared of conspiracies. His reach had a choke hold on people, they feared him more than respected him. But that fear, did its job to make them all faithful to the man.

"Do you think he knows?" a question was asked.

"When does he not? The real matter is, will this be his bottom line? Will he retaliate?"

The time for the Royals to arrive was drawing close, and the Ministers, Scholars, Vassals all arranged themselves properly, each making a vow to stay away from the path of the General, no matter what he did in the court today.

Hoseok turned his head towards the door from where the King entered, followed by the Crown Prince and the Fourth prince. The other two Princes had been killed in their childhood, and the Fifth Prince was a person with a weak constitution and of a gentle scholarly nature. He rarely made an appearance in court.

Right then, Hoseok's eyes focused on the Fourth prince. No doubt he was a handsome man filled with vitality and a noble sense of justice, his spirit commanding, his nature playful yet decisive.

With dark eyes trained on him, Hoseok calculatively went over the pattern he was going to guide the events to follow, his cunning mind going over the way he would be steering these people as his puppets to get what he wanted.

Lazily he smiled, thinking about the way he would let the Prince be, just as an act of goodwill for his Gazelle.

But if the Prince made trouble. . . Hoseok's pupils constricted into an icy stare, If he made trouble. . . the air around the General seemingly grew a little cold.

With a chilling smile, he anticipated the pleasure he would feel with the way he would bring the most savage death to a pathetic person who dared to covet the woman who was born for him.

The King nodded towards the greetings and deep bows he received from his courtiers but startled abruptly when he saw the man with Black robes standing straight without a single expression on his face.

"Gen-general Jung." The King stuttered but then controlled himself. He sat down of his throne with a thump, cold ice flowing in his veins at seeing the man alive and healthy in front of him.

The General behaved courteously, like a switch being flipped, he gracefully bowed deep and murmured a polite greeting. This time, he straightened by himself. With a gentle and serene look he then said, "I apologise to His Majesty for troubling him with my disappearance."

The King nodded without passing any queries, too frantic in trying to calm his fear from showing outwardly.

The Crown Prince too remained quiet, but the Fourth prince came forward to him and with a genuine smile said, "General! I knew the rumours of your death had to be false. I am so very glad at your safe return."

Hoseok bowed his head again, "The Prince is too kind."

The fourth Prince laughed, "Oh no, the General is too modest. Come now, tell us? What held the potential to keep you for almost a month after you settled the borders in a jubilant victory?"

The fourth Prince remained clueless as to the darkness in the heart of the man standing before him, playing right into his hands.

Hoseok seemed to hesitate. He glanced towards the King, who looked to be in a trance, and then said in a low confidential tone, "I had stumbled upon a peculiar conspiracy. I willingly stayed behind to chase its origin and truth."

The entire court collectively held their breath, nervous and in awe of Hoseok openly bringing the matter to surface. The Crown prince tightened his hold on the hilt of his sword, his eyes revealing a complicated emotion.

Only the fourth Prince, who remained unaware of the ugly machinations of the Palace, asked in a serious tone, "Speak General. What did you learn?"

Hoseok replicated the tone of solemnity "The activity of the Bandits of the Yangsong village is fraught with deeper malice towards the Kingdom."

For a few moments, silence swept over the court who absolutely did not expect such a statement.

This time, the King woke up from his fearful daze, "Bandits?"

Hoseok nodded in a dignified way, "At the risk of overstepping, I must first bring into attention the absence of the Golden tiered Imperial Guards in the palace."

Before the King could again go into a panic, Hoseok smoothly continued, "My attention was attracted by a call of help from the region of the forest in the Yongsang village while I was taking a leisurely stroll. I entered the region at night to investigate, only to find the dead bodies of the entire unit being desecrated by a group of men.

At first I did not suspect them to be Bandits for they were too refined in their speech and mannerisms to be labelled as such. Their language was slightly different and the content of their speech held a tone of panic over the fear of being discovered by the Palace this early in their plan to bring the kingdom down. I assumed them to be spies.

But their number was too great to be just spies. I wanted to know more so I watched as they contemplated and buried the bodies of the guards. Their desire was tied to something in the Yongsang village. The more I heard, the more I became sanguine that they were from a different country, having hostile schemes towards us."

Hoseok weaved the tale with a confident aura, his words carrying a hint of aloofness as well as stark power of being unconcerned about his safety. That was what laid more credit and made the spectators believe his words absolutely, not even a smidgen of doubt entering their subconscious.

Even being on the central position of all attention, Hoseok's keen gaze noted the flinch of the Crown Prince and the King simultaneously, they looked at each other and leaned forward to concentrate more acutely in what he was speaking, shaking away any doubt or caution from their eyes.

Interesting. . . .

Hoseok continued, "They seem to have been looking for something. I wanted to follow them but they were experienced enough in the forest which was a geography I was unfamiliar with. In order to not be discovered, I could not follow them that night. Since then, I tried to find their location and I did find a trail of them leaving the country, then coming back with a new resolution.

Unfortunately, I could not stay for long due to the rumours of my death spreading. I was afraid it would give them the courage to forward their schemes which would be detrimental. Before I left, they seemed to be interested in a house.

I thought the rumours needed to be stopped so I deemed it necessary to not tarry anymore and I came here."

The fourth Prince suddenly exclaimed, "It is the Physician's house they were interested in! Just six days back, they attacked the brother of the Mistress of the house. And it does make sense." He turned to the King, "This Kingdom's most advanced and miraculous healer is residing in the house Your Majesty. Her medicines can change the tide of a war and curb natural disasters. She is also the person you have given your blessings for me to marry even though she is a commoner, which proves that even the Royalty knows of her value."

Hoseok's fists clenched at his side but his face remained cold and expressionless as he listened on.

The King nodded as the Crown Prince spoke up, "By the account of what the General has said, we know that these people are not just simple bandits. This matter needs to be delicately investigated to its fullest. But we also know that the presence of the healer is a guarded secret known only to this court. As such, her value is too great."

Hoseok looked around to see various nods and scoffed inside.

Calling her valuable without even speaking her name. she is just a pawn to them.

"She will also be the Princess in this palace. I think it will be wise to bring her here with a procession first before we start the investigation." The Crown Prince concluded.

"Yes, that would be the most prudent action needed to be taken swiftly." The prime minister agreed.

The King too nodded again, "Have the procession made and escort her to the palace." The fourth Prince heard his father and with joy in his eyes, he bowed deeply, "I shall escort the procession."

A sudden mocking laugh sounded, "My country and my King means more to me than some small healer, no matter her value."

Everyone froze as they turned to look at the tall General who had his hands clasped behind his back and stared unflinchingly at the Crown Prince. His words though formal and respectful, still contained a hidden danger,

"A procession or even a royal presence will alert the bandits to act speedily if their target, indeed, is the healer. Either a tragedy will occur, or they will retreat causing a failure which may lead to a delay or our inability to guard against whatever strife the other has set into motion."

He paused, then continued with a sharp edge, "My name is associated with this mission, I ask the Crown Prince to reconsider the proposal before adding means of besmirching it."

The courtiers and the Princes understood his sentiments, finding it to be true. The Ministers all grasped that this was the very essence of who Hoseok was, who was more concerned about the Kingdom's safety and his own honour than the love the Fourth Prince clearly had for the healer.

This was also an opportunity to curry the powerful person's favour.

Several ministers spoke up, "The main objective though is to foil their plan and ensure the safety of the healer, we truly cannot afford to scare them away. The Prince should reconsider joining the procession."

The Fourth Prince felt displeased, but he recognised the point raised to be genuine, "Then I will disguise myself as a commoner and bring her with a few guards who will be disguised as well."

Scenting an opportunity to side with the General and for him to remember them in a good light, the Ministers and the scholars spoke yet again.

"Begging Your Majesty to forgive for saying this, but no matter the excellence, the healer is of common birth. For the Prince to personally guide them to the Capital before marriage is lowering the Royal lineage."

"If the target is really the healer, then only a few guards might not be sufficient to combat an attack if their numbers clash and they dare to chase."

"It might be better if this task is delegated to the men under the General's command. This way, a truly dedicated and unbreakable unit will be able to also investigate the matter."

"True. True."

The Fourth Prince's gaze grew increasingly despondent, but he did not argue.

Hoseok suddenly smiled in kindness, his voice soft, sympathizing, "For my Prince, I can do better. I myself can escort her to the capital with few of my men. In those terms, she will still get the respect of being escorted by the Country's General being at her service."

Hearing him, the Fourth Prince's eyes shone with happiness, as he directed his gaze at the King, who chuckled at his obvious display of pleasure. "So be it."

As the talk resumed again, No one noticed the savage delight in the General's otherwise frozen eyes as the first part of his plan succeeded without a hitch.

Few hours later, as the court was dismissed, The Fourth Prince was hurriedly coming out when he stopped on seeing the lean body of the General lazily leaning back against the wall of the outer library, his eyes closed with his face turned towards the Sun.

He immediately changed directions to reach the person, "General. I have to apologise for the trouble you will undertake as well as thank you for your kindness."

The warrior slowly opened his eyes, a smile flitting on his face, "It is my duty, Prince. I for one, am happy to have this excuse to chance a wish."

The fourth Prince went to him, "It will be my honour. Please let me know if I may be able to do anything for you. I grew up with pride in the tales of your courage and dedication towards this Kingdom. You are someone I respect dearly."

For a moment, the Prince saw the General's eyes becoming cold, but the expression was gone the next second as Hoseok chuckled softly and said, "May I be bold enough to extend a hand of friendship and ask you for a drink?"

The Prince was stunned.

Hoseok was known to only prefer the company of the military men who served under him. Given a chance to be friends with such a influential and brilliant figure was his privilege. He eagerly nodded and started walking with him, planning to leave the Palace to travel to the Capital's best brothel.

Hoseok agreed without protest.

Both of them spent the whole day together, drinking and enjoying the company of beautiful women. Or that was the impression retained by the Prince.

In terms of reality, only he became drunk, answered all unassuming questions he was asked, and played with the beauties serving him. The Warrior had remained stone cold sober, his disdainful eyes slowly flashing his real intent which the drunken person could not see.

After being satisfied in getting all the information he needed, the General spoke courteously, the seductive madness in his eyes burning with anticipation for his next move to be implemented, "Why don't you go and enjoy the night, Prince? The ladies here have been teased to their limits for the chance to grace your bed."

The inebriated Prince laughed and agreed, four beautiful woman holding him to guide him to the inner chambers. But before they could leave, the Prince jerked and looked back at the stoic person standing in the dancing shadows of the lantern and the moonlight, "General! I truly thank your selflessness for doing this for me!" slurring out his goodwill, he let the giggling, coquettish ladies carry him out.

Once he had left and all that remained was the delicate fragrance of flowers, carried by the breeze to the pavilion, a slow, soft, dangerous chuckle came from Hoseok.

"No, Prince." He chilling whisper floated in the air, "I am doing this for me."

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

A/N : Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

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