Kept

Legitimacy

King Kwang POV

That fucking bastard.

I knew he'd be trouble from the moment his bitch mother had told me she was pregnant. I mean how could she have been so stupid? I'd told her, marrying her had been a mistake. How dare she challenge the legitimacy of my heirs?

I had been foolish, invincible in my youth- nothing could touch me, no law could snare me, and I'd put those the test many times in many ways. But even as a prince, marrying in a drug induced flurry of twenty-something hormones was still binding, even if my father had done everything short of offering to assassinate her, claiming she was innocent. 

Insipid old fool. 

The law of the gods was unbreakable... tying me to me first wife permanently, regardless of my regrets. I'd kept her, young love.... or  lust anyway. She was a convenient outlet for my urges, her family name not one of importance even if I wanted her as my queen. 

Gods, I should have  disposed of my mistake before he died, my secret going with him. We'd killed the monk who'd married us and my younger brother, a witness to the debacle. Everyone had been taken care of, but, in accordance to my father last will and testemant, I had to remain married to her until my thirtieth year- hope I would change my mind about her importance clearly driving my father's dying wish. 

He just could not force himself  to move on from the thought of the beguiling Hwang Jinae being my queen. 

Once I was king, I buried all evidence of our union, burning the documents and tying any lose ends leading to her, the official story being that she was my mistress, nothing more. Once free to marry for status, I chose Park Yojeong- a woman rife with powerful lineage and an ass that could make a grown man weep. She'd given me four sons and a daughter- performing her duties perfectly.

Jinae remained a pleasant enough distraction as my mistress- until she went and got herself pregnant.

With twins at that.

At first, I thought it would be fine, a minor issue that could be dealt with at a later time, if need be. Jinae hadn't been from any useful pedigree, after all... what were the chances the brats would be anything more than simpletons?

But when they were born, the boy first then the girl, my court seer had informed me they were, indeed possessing powers of fire and ice, perfect opposites of the most powerful elements known to man. One could not exist without the other, as only they could govern the other.

I'd wondered, after that, if I could have used them... gifts such as theirs rare and if harnessed correctly...devastating. But keeping them would force me to acknowledge their legitimacy- forcing my heirs to the wayside in accordance with royal law.

No, they had to be disposed of. So I had sent Bang Yuhui to... ensure they were never heard from again. He'd returned, bloody but resolute, assuring me he'd taken care of the babes and their mother.

There had never been a reason to distrust him, he'd been my loyal servant and guardsman for years, his young son poised to take over his role when the time came, as Bangs had served the Han family for centuries.

So,  when Chan, the loyal son of Yuhui had disappeared from his post, allowing my son... the most powerful oneiromancer since Han Yungi- a child so powerful he'd divined his own mother's death,  to escape his confinement, claiming he had no idea where he could be...

I'd been furious, my rage at his ineptitude surge forward, forcing me to punish him... perhaps going a bit too far. I lamented that, Chan was a good guard, and had intended to climb the ranks once Jisung married. I had hope he would eventually take over the post his father had held- my personal confidant, the general of my army.