My Ultimate Ambition

The emperor sat alone in his bedroom lost in deep thought. Years had passed since he __ the brilliant orator , the learned judge and the gifted leader of a big nation succeeded the title of emperor.Years that had stolen brightness from his face, that had shadowed his eyes, that had left deep lines round his firm lips.

Hardwork, anxiety, great responsibility had left traces upon his comely face , but neither time nor work had aged him as his powerlessness.

It would be idle to attempt to describe his grief , it was beyond all comfort and all words. The brighter part of his life was the birth of his children and most importantly the marriage to his consort __Consort Ki.

Consort Ki is the life of his life, the soul of his soul. She is to him what the sun is to earth, the source of all his brightness, the warmth , the light, the center of his life and world. He wondered what would have become of him had she been absent from his life.

Together as a team, they waded through muddled water, swarm through shark-infested water and walked through the fires of hell. She has been and always will be, the knight that protected his mind, heart, soul and body__She is a warrior.

"How would I have lived my life differently if she hadn't come into my life" He cried .For the first time it stuck to him that his endurance, perseverance, forbearance, fortitude had seeped from her .

At the peak of his lamentations, an announcement of the arrival of a secret guest reached his ear. At his silent approval, a man dressed in a cloak and hoodie stepped in respectfully and bowed in deep reverence.

"Your Majesty, may you live for a thousand years to come". He removed his disguise.

The emperor let out a throaty laughter while teasing him. "This person, are you cursing me? A thousand years?"

The man with the hoodie sprawled on the ground at the speed of the light and with specific gravity while kowtowing. "I wouldn't dare my liege! Please forgive this wretched servant".

With a big smile plastered on his face , he ordered him to stand up as he just teased him. A distant faraway look became visible on his face .

"Is it already that time?" The man nodded but stayed on his spot, not budging until told otherwise.

An eunuch brought to the emperor a doc.u.ment he had been searching for. Scanning through the content, relief washed through his face making his deep wrinkled brow to straighten. He kept it carefully on the desk and invited the man over.

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A white slender hand plucked the strings of a zither delicately. The melody produced is quite calming and beautiful. The owner of the hand stopped abruptly reaching her trembling hands to her forehead to wipe off cold sweats.

"Why do I keep getting chills?". Pushing her zither away, she ordered her maidservant to ask for a revitalizing tonic from their family physician, and something for her fever too.

"Seo-yun Agassi, what is wrong?". A short grizzly haired man sprinted towards her with an alarmed expression advertising his emotions. The white dr.a.p.e on his body signified him a doctor.

"Doctor Baek , I am having chills all over my body in addition with a fever".

He asked for her arm, placing a white handkerchief to avoid disrespecting the lady , he read her pulse.

"No way!". He screamed before removing his hands. The unexpected diagnosis startled him making him tremble but how did this happen?

"What is wrong?" She asked." What is it!" She cried, panicking at the unbelieving look on his face.

"Miss..."

"Yes? Go on" She said getting annoyed with his action.

"Miss, this is... "

_________________

The crown prince sat nonchalantly while playing chess with himself. This is a hobby he picked up when his brother left him. The kind of joy he derives from it is something unimaginable.

Playing against himself, losing against himself and winning the game all together gave him a kind of thrill undescribable to him. Moving the chess piece against the board , he exclaimed. "I win again Hyungnim and you lose as always".

His eunuchs felt miserable watching their master talk to an imaginary person. A person that abandoned him and hurt him before fleeing. The most miserable was the chief eunuch who took it as his personal task to see to the needs of his master.

Ever since he came back to the palace, he became taciturn keeping only to himself. Playing chess with himself became incessant too.

'Your highness, I wish you find a decent wife through this selection. Even if It is not that lady, I wish you become your happier and sunnier self'. Wiping away a drop of tear that appeared at the corner of his eyes, he left the room to wait on him outside. Watching this maniac behavior is too heartbreaking for him.

At the same thing he left the room, the crown prince raised his head, traces of his earlier nonchalance gone replaced with a very serious look.

"Report" He ordered not batting an eyelid at all.

Like a black shadow, a man appeared from the wall and knelt before him. A look of deep respect oozed from him hiding his murderous aura. "My lord, the dragon palace is acting strange".

The crown prince's eyes narrowed at the mention of his father's abode. "Royal father? How strange?"

The man gave him a rundown of all the clandestine activities going on. A person in hoodie has been visiting the dragon palace every night and leaving in early morning. Consort Ki suddenly stopped visiting at night and the emperor stopped going to her palace. He found out it was a man but his identity remained unnoticed due to a shadow following the man around. From the aura, he could tell the person is stronger than him or is at the same level. Avoiding clash and remaining undetected is of utmost importance therefore he didn't get too close .

The crown prince turned Sherlock Holmes with his analysis. A person with a hoodie having a secret rendezvous with him at night brought the idea of a secret woman to him ,but he dismissed it because only one woman has been able to shake his royal father's heart long before the shadow said it was a man.

Coming every night and leaving early morning confused him. If it was a secret inspector or a messenger, the person would leave in the night not morning.

The part where he stopped spending the night with his favorite woman got him in a deeper confusion. What could keep his royal father away from his consort for several nights? Is it really a secret woman?

"Did you check to see if it's a woman disguised as a man?"

The shadow assured him it was a man __ from his walking step to his footprints. He even heard his voice.

The crown prince lightly tapped on his legs. Something he does whenever he is thinking about something deeply. 'If not a woman, who is it ?". Is there something his father wants to hide from the rest of the world?

He sent the shadow away with the instruction to stop spying on the dragon palace. If his royal father doesn't want the world to find out this secret owing to the nature of the secrecy, then he will respect his wish .

"But seriously, what is happening with you, royal father?". He cried while shaking his legs.