* * *
Minhyuk had installed a tiny camera in the eyes of the cat plushie he gave to Haejoo.
Unlike a common home security camera, this was a specialized professional device that was not easily obtainable by the public.
Though it was expensive wireless equipment capable of transmitting directly to a nearby receiver, he hadn’t actually used it after installing it.
His initial intention was to uncover the strange, mysterious behavior of the Grand Royal Concubine, and further, he had a vague expectation that he might learn something about the Prime Minister’s affairs.
However, strangely, his conscience nagged at him, and he hadn’t been able to bring himself to look.
It was behavior that didn’t fit his personality—usually, he executed his plans without hesitation.
After their first night together, his obsession and possessiveness toward the Grand Royal Concubine grew strangely intense.
There was something uniquely bothersome about Haejoo, and to investigate it, Minhyuk finally turned on the phone connected to the camera.
Sure enough, Hyunwook hadn’t been able to help himself; he had scurried over to Haejoo and started pouring out every little detail.
But what on earth was with that tone of voice?
Were those two really this close?
Calling each other “this punk” and “that punk,” using the casual slang and light swearing common among close peers…
It wasn’t just a breach of etiquette; it was utterly impossible.
Not just the behavior, but the conversation itself was bizarre.
The two are in a relationship where they shouldn’t be able to have such conversations.
They didn’t spend their childhoods together.
Their families were certainly not close, so there was no reason for them to have “parted.”
He couldn’t even fathom what “meeting again” was supposed to mean in this context.
“Seojoo… so Kang Hyunwook came to see the Grand Royal Concubine specifically to give him news about Seojoo?”
Seojoo appeared again.
This time, the description was more concrete and certain.
The two of them had “found” this person named Seojoo, and they were very close.
While the relationship with Haejoo seemed deeper than the one with Hyunwook, a strange emotional thread connected Seojoo to Hyunwook.
But this Seojoo person doesn’t remember either of them.
No matter how much he thought about it, it was too strange.
The three of them had met again, they had been very close, and only Seojoo didn’t remember the other two.
When?
When did they meet, become close, and repeat a cycle of parting?
Haejoo was hiding these oddities.
Yet, it seemed Hanbin knew something about it.
Hanbin…
“Could the person have been swapped out midway?”
He even reached that thought.
If so, could someone have replaced the Grand Royal Concubine?
Perhaps the current Haejoo, who had been living well on the outside, entered the palace, causing the three to part—and then Haejoo and Hyunwook met again in the palace, but for some reason, Seojoo lost his memories of them.
The young Grand Royal Concubine, who was twelve at the time of the marriage, had a very different personality from the current one.
He was bolder, more aggressive, and filled with greed and obsession.
Managing his moods back then had been no easy task.
But from a certain day, his personality changed completely.
The reason Minhyuk remembered the change so vividly was that he started to actually like the Grand Royal Concubine from that point on.
Starting at age fifteen, Haejoo stopped looking for Minhyuk and stopped bothering him.
From then on, he strictly observed etiquette, calling him “Your Majesty” and never initiating conversation unless it was necessary.
The person who used to love bustling, flashy environments started wanting to be alone in silence, and voluntarily avoided mingling with people.
He would stay tucked away in his palace just reading books or silently going out to buy snacks—that was all.
Even when Minhyuk questioned him, he would just smile awkwardly and give brief “Yes, yes” answers before moving on.
As if the person had been replaced.
“Haha, have I truly gone mad? What nonsense am I thinking…”
Suppose he was replaced.
Then what about his appearance?
His voice?
The Grand Royal Concubine hadn’t changed a single palace etiquette that was ingrained in his body.
You couldn’t find a person that identical, nor could you bring someone in through plastic surgery.
No matter how powerful that family was, swapping a person in the palace wasn’t easy.
It was just Minhyuk’s nonsensical imagination.
He must have been incredibly frustrated to imagine such things.
That was how much Haejoo and Hyunwook’s conversation was shrouded in mystery.
There was much to investigate, so he couldn’t afford to approach this emotionally or hastily.
Because his head was so complicated, he had avoided Haejoo for a few days.
But the image of Haejoo’s retreating back with slumped shoulders after waiting for him kept weighing on his mind.
He had fallen into a cycle of secretly watching Haejoo sleep and then returning at dawn.
The person sleeping in the bed was just the ‘Haejoo’ Minhyuk knew, and seeing that fragile figure made him feel guilty for his complicated thoughts.
He was just confused and unfamiliar with the situation.
Regardless of the truth behind everything, the fact that the Haejoo here was Minhyuk’s Omega would not change.
So, settling his confused heart, he went to Haejoo’s palace to see his sleeping face once more, entering the bedroom as he always did.
He wanted to touch Haejoo’s soft skin and feel his warmth.
But…
Haejoo wasn’t in the bed. It was past midnight, already after 2 AM.
Did he go to the bathroom?
Haejoo usually didn’t wake up until morning once he fell asleep.
Furthermore, there was no sign or warmth that anyone had even been lying in the bed.
Turning on the lights, Minhyuk scanned the bedroom.
There was no trace of Haejoo in the clean, tidy bed.
He threw back the covers for no reason, but found nothing.
Seized by an irrational panic, Minhyuk bolted out.
Normally, he would have called a servant to ask where the Grand Royal Concubine had gone.
But the moment he realized Haejoo was gone, Minhyuk’s reason became paralyzed, and his actions turned violent.
He remembered the image of Haejoo turning away with drooping shoulders earlier that day.
He began checking every room, smashing open doors as he went.
It wasn’t that he intended to break them; he simply couldn’t control his strength.
He was terrified that Haejoo might have left because he felt hurt by being avoided lately.
He knew the problem would end if he just called a court lady and asked.
But at the mere fact that Haejoo was missing, Minhyuk, unable to control his emotions, moved physically first.
Eventually, he forgot the very idea of calling a servant.
Minhyuk even began releasing his pheromones as he shouted Haejoo’s name.
He wasn’t in this area where he usually resided.
Then the detached villa?
“Your Majesty! Please, calm yourself!”
Even when the Chief Secretary rushed over in shock and asked what was wrong, Minhyuk’s heart wouldn’t settle.
“Where did Haejoo go? Why is the Grand Royal Concubine not inside at this hour!”
Minhyuk, breathing heavily, interrogated the bowing, trembling palace servants without withdrawing his pheromones.
Even the Head Court Lady was nowhere to be seen today.
Strangely, a heat seethed inside him that he couldn’t calm. He had never been like this before.
Minhyuk was skilled at patience and endurance.
Hiding his emotions and smiling was not difficult for him; it was easier than anything.
Even when the Prime Minister’s family and his followers openly ignored him as a powerless royal, he would just smile slyly and let it pass.
But this was the first time his anger had exploded like this.
Just for the single reason that Cha Haejoo was not in the bedroom, his entire body was trembling.
“The Palace Master sometimes sleeps in different locations. We don’t know the exact places; he just enters a room he feels like staying in and sleeps, then in the morning…”
“Does that make any sense? Does it make sense for you not to know where your superior is sleeping? If you handle your duties like this—”
The panicked Chief Secretary stepped forward on behalf of the Emperor, who looked half-insane.
But the Emperor even pushed him aside and approached the servants.
The servants tried to hide behind the Secretary at the sight of the Emperor’s crazed, flashing eyes, but Minhyuk shoved the Secretary far away and brought them to the front.
“…You dare hide? I can’t even speak, this situation is so absurd. You don’t know where the Palace Master went? You’ve all lost your minds, haven’t you? If you don’t know, who does?”
“Wh-whenever the Palace Master feels stifled, it’s something he does occasionally. He said he dislikes it and feels uncomfortable if we follow him to where he goes, so we had no choice but to follow his words… Your Majesty…”
“Disappears whenever he feels stifled… Fine. I’ll find him myself. No one move an inch; stay right here. If I can’t find him, someone will have to take responsibility.”
With that, he began slowly going from room to room, looking inside and smashing doors.
Knowing they would only get hurt by flying furniture if they tried to stop him, the Chief Secretary sent everyone to a safe place.
Only once before, when the late Emperor was insulted by the Prime Minister while Minhyuk was still Crown Prince, had he expressed such rage.
At the time, Minhyuk had burst into a meeting where everyone was gathered, and upon being insulted by someone from the Prime Minister’s side, he had slapped the man’s cheek and overturned the table.
This was the first time since that single outburst.
He had been severely disciplined by the Emperor and had practiced controlling his mind for a long time, so this kind of rage was truly a rare occurrence.
It was only because Minhyuk repressed it; he actually had a rather hot-tempered and violent side.
The late Emperor had worked harder than anyone to cool that temperament, but the Grand Royal Concubine had made it explode again.
No, it wasn’t because of the Grand Royal Concubine.
This happened because of his possessiveness over him.
Because he searched and he wasn’t there; because he wasn’t in the place he was supposed to be.
That was why he was anxious. Knowing he had hurt Haejoo’s feelings made him even more anxious.
So, if he raged like this, Haejoo would surely come out.
Surely.
He believed that if he warned him this way—never to go somewhere else without a word again—he would understand.
“Your Majesty!”
It was just as he had stopped counting how many rooms he had smashed.
Hearing Haejoo’s voice from behind, he kicked aside the debris at his feet and turned around.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead as he turned, he saw Haejoo there.
As always, Haejoo was wearing pajamas with a cute bear on them, his hand placed on his lower belly, looking at Minhyuk with an uncomfortable expression.
Ha, he’s right there.
See? He came out.
The corners of Minhyuk’s mouth curled up as he spotted Haejoo.
Because his hand was covering his face to wipe the sweat, Haejoo probably didn’t see him smile.
* * *
Hehe