𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲'𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 || 敵の旦那様 (𝐁𝐋) ✔ [COMPLETE]

72. Loyalty over oneself

He'd have said yes.

He'd have said yes to Emperor Guang's proposition, if it were a few minutes earlier.

Fu Lin would have gratefully accepted and bowed his head in obeisance at Guang if only he'd have uttered those words a bit earlier; a few minutes before he heard what the guy from the crowd had to whisper in his ear. When he was pushed from among the crowd and held in place, he'd thought it was one of the Blazing Sun assassins waiting to slit his throat in the chaos. But instead, what he felt were the dry lips of somebody grazing his ear as words spilled forth from the lips in a breathy whisper,

"Your family is dead," the voice continued. "They all drowned in the ship by wreckage and their bodies have been found on the shores of the Taihe continent. Not one of them survived. Dead, all of them. Your royal father, mother, 6 brothers and their families- none were spared and all of them are to be buried in the Taihe continent."

As Fu Lin remained thunderstruck by the sudden revelation, the first thing that sprung to his mind were his parting words to his family:

"Go before I curse that your journey may end with you drowning in the ship."

Hot tears made their way to his eyes. He knew what happened might not have had any correlation to his words, and that it was a mere superstition. He knew it was not his fault, and yet he couldn't help but regret telling such accursed words towards his family, especially when he didn't know that was the last time he'd be seeing them.

His grief transformed into an ugly surge of anger.

He wouldn't have said those words if he didn't find the need to go find Haoran. And they wouldn't have sailed to the Taihe continent if the Blazing Sun weren't after their tail like some blood hounds.

He felt angry at himself for letting himself choose a Blazing Sunner over his family. And he felt angry at Haoran for making him do this, though he knew it wasn't his fault. He despised the fact that he once thought of committing betrayal for the sake of this man.

And yet when Haoran said "Tell me you love me," and looked at him with such gentle and incomparably loving eyes, he found himself drowning in its soft lull. Fu Lin ached and loved at the same time that Haoran was just as devastated as he was in doing this. In choosing them.

"Tell me you love me and I shall slaughter everyone in this hall, not looking back. Tell me and I'll kill everybody except you and take you from these heinous eyes somewhere far away." When he said that, those words thundered their way right to his heart.

Because he knew, he couldn't say it.

Because to tell those words was to acknowledge open betrayal towards his Empire and family in his heart and accept Haoran as the one for him.

And he would not do that. He would not choose a Blazing Sunner over his Empire once more.

Well, it doesn't matter. He was about to die anyway and maybe he could peacefully reunite with his family. At this point in life, he believed living was a torture as opposed to dying because of the pain inflicted on him in having to choose between two impossible choices.

But Guang had completely obliterated his plan.

In the name of granting amnesty, he had forced Fu Lin's hand towards the worst thing he dreaded- making a choice. If it was simply a constitution of Guang letting his life go, he could have refused with the words 'I do not wish to live under the mercy of a Blazing Sunner' but when he told, "I would also grant you the concession of remarriage with former General Haoran and absolve his stance as a traitor and reinstate everything that belonged to him. However, there is something trivial you must do for it," Fu Lin felt his insides knot and bleed.

Because now it wasn't just him and his reputation at risk, it was Haoran himself and his relationship to him at the arrow-point here. And the condition was the worst Fu Lin could have ever anticipated. "You just simply have to swear me an oath of blood to acknowledge me as your Master and you to be my subject. For you to be a subject of mine- the Blazing Sun's wholeheartedly."

Fu Lin felt his heart drop when he saw Haoran look at him with hope in his eyes. He looked down, trying to bite back the bile that rose in his throat. Fu Lin had always thought of himself as high maintenance, but never this much; not to an extent where somebody could risk their neck for him and being unable to respond to them. General Haoran was a fool- he was an idiot to fall in love with a selfish man like himself.

Hence, he dared not look at General Haoran when he said the words, "I shall not accept the proposition, Your Majesty."

He could live loveless, but not disloyal.

Fu Lin did not have to look up to see how destroyed General Haoran was.

The tremor with which his sword fell to the ground, and his slightly hunched defeated posture as knelt down as he said, "Your wish is my command Your Majesty," told Fu Lin all that he wanted to know.

However, as soon as Haoran uttered those words, a voice from the crowd broke in. "The Council of Ministers object to the former Imperial General's pardoning. He is a traitor who doesn't deserve that amnesty, hence we implore your Majesty to reconsider!"

Emperor Guang raised his brows meaningfully; of course, it was the Minister of Revenue. The Emperor signaled one of the servants to bring in a stack of parchment and said, referring to the stack, "This is the petition you've compiled against the General for being a traitor, isn't it?"

The Minister smiled slightly, rubbing his pot belly. "That's right, your majesty."

"Well, then..." The Emperor suddenly got up and dumped parchment into a bowl of burning embers used as a torch and turned to look at a very panic-stricken Minister, "Too bad for you. As 'Imperial General' Haoran has been reinstated to his former glory with his agreement to my marriage a few minutes ago, what you've done. This very moment is accredited as slandering and open disrespect to the order of noble hierarchy. And going by the law of disrespectful slander..."

Emperor Guang smiled, "...All the ministers involved in this conspiracy shall face the penalty of death by poisoning. As compensation for this sudden decision-,"

"Your Majesty!" The Minister cried, rolling on the ground.

"Your daughter Jing Hui shall marry General Haoran the coming week of the seventh moon day. This marriage is one blessed by this venerable one; and this marriage shall happen regardless of who cheers or jeers for it."

And when General Haoran stood silently, accepting those abysmal words; Fu Lin knew. Fu Lin knew that they had both chosen loyalty over themselves.

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