Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 480

◈ 480. Black Eyes

But the Emperor clearly seemed to want something, though I couldn’t fathom what it was.

Perhaps frustrated that Rembrary didn’t catch on, the Emperor finally brought up the subject.

“There was once an impudent eunuch who called me an anchovy.”

*He’ll understand if I say this much.* Emperor Anchovy keenly watched Rembrary’s reaction.

However, there wasn’t even a flicker of change in Rembrary’s expression.

“Is that so?”

Moreover, his voice sounded genuinely bewildered. It was an expression and voice that could fool anyone.

But the Emperor was already convinced that the golden soul he had seen was Rembrary.

“You seem to know that eunuch too, Doctor Rem.”

The Emperor spoke a little more directly. Rembrary tilted his head, feigning ignorance.

“I don’t know anyone like that.”

Like a thirsty man digging a well, the Emperor ended up asking outright.

“Could it be that *you* were that eunuch?”

Anyone with a guilty conscience would flinch.

However, Rembrary flatly denied it again.

“I am not that person.”

At the repeated denial, the Emperor cast a suspicious gaze, but Rembrary’s face remained impassive.

“I have never done that. I have never been a eunuch. You must be mistaken about something.”

Unsatisfied, the Emperor brought up old stories.

“That eunuch also called me an anchovy, just like you. Is that merely a coincidence?”

Rembrary didn’t back down.

“Those who resemble you are often nicknamed anchovies. If anyone were to give you a nickname, they would naturally call you anchovy.”

“!”

“So, when I called you anchovy, please don’t misunderstand.”

“Nonsense.”

“Ask around. Whose words sound more like nonsense?”

When the Emperor looked at his shadow for confirmation, the shadow immediately betrayed Rembrary.

“In my opinion, Doctor Rem’s words are nonsense.”

In fact, it couldn’t really be called betrayal. Originally, all shadows served the Emperor.

“See that?”

“Asking your subordinates is inherently biased.”

The Emperor didn’t expect Rembrary to deny it so vehemently. He thought Rembrary would agree if he cornered him.

He was puzzled by Rembrary’s continued denials.

*Is he really not remembering, or is he pretending not to remember?*

In fact, Rembrary clearly remembered his days as a eunuch.

But he didn’t want to reveal that he was once a eunuch, especially when the other party was the Emperor.

“Oh dear, I must be going now. I just remembered something I was looking into earlier… a rather pressing matter.”

Using the excuse of being busy, Rembrary made a hasty exit.

“Going?”

The Emperor called from behind, but Rembrary only bowed and didn’t say he wouldn’t leave. He simply slipped out.

As Rembrary closed the door behind him, the Emperor clicked his tongue.

“What pride.”

The shadow muttered, not understanding at all.

“Why is Doctor Rem acting like that? If he had a long relationship with His Majesty, wouldn’t it be an honor? It would be very touching, but I don’t know why he absolutely denies it. It’s not like he fought with His Majesty and disappeared.”

That shadow was the one who saw the golden soul leaving Woo Yeon-woo’s body with the Emperor.

“That’s right. It’s strange.”

The Emperor nodded, then narrowed his eyes and muttered.

“Originally, I was only thinking of keeping the doctor here. But seeing him appear in a ghost’s body and then in a real body, it seems that he and his group… might have business here.”

* * *

‘Was that all the business?’

Rembrary thought it was strange that Shin Jo-woon had suddenly summoned him and then told him to return to his room.

He had bought sweets and put them there before being summoned by the Emperor. Now it was time to retrieve them.

When he opened the drawer, a sweet smell wafted out, even though the sweets were wrapped in paper.

Rembrary took the sweets and left the room, planning to distribute them to his group members one by one.

But when he went outside, young eunuchs who looked like apprentices were walking around the yard with brooms much bigger than their height.

When they saw Rembrary holding the sweets, they all swallowed, glancing at them longingly.

“……”

Rembrary looked at the sweets and then at the children, and finally called them over.

“Come here.”

When the children came hesitantly, Rembrary gave each of them a sweet.

After distributing the sweets to the children, there were only three left.

‘What to do now?’

Rembrary walked down the street with only three sweets and pondered.

He had to eat one himself and give one to Mullu, so in reality, there was only one left to spare.

‘Then who should I give this to?’

After remembering that there were four mouths left to feed and pondering, Rembrary decided to give it to Shin Jo-woon, who was on the verge of becoming anchovy crumbs.

*That’s why I bought these, to appease Shin Jo-woon.*

“Anchovy.”

But when he arrived at Shin Jo-woon’s quarters, he wasn’t there.

“Anchovy?”

*Where did he go…* He was about to knock on the door when, fortunately, a passing eunuch told him.

“Sir Shin went out about an hour ago, Doctor.”

“Where did he go?”

“I don’t know exactly where he went, but he went in that direction.”

Following the eunuch’s directions, Rembrary asked around and eventually went to find Shin Jo-woon.

*I wonder if he’s holed up in a corner crying.*

Unexpectedly, Shin Jo-woon, whom he found, was sitting face to face with a scholar, studying books.

‘Studying? Is he studying now?’

Rembrary was startled and craned his neck like a turtle to get a better look.

But Shin Jo-woon really seemed to be studying, even asking the scholar questions when he didn’t understand something.

‘No, how long is he planning to stay here doing that…….’

He wondered why Shin Jo-woon was bothering to dress like a scholar. *Was that the reason he was doing all this?*

Perhaps feeling the surprised gaze, Shin Jo-woon, who had been immersed in studying, turned his head.

Seeing Rembrary standing not far away with sweets in his arms, Shin Jo-woon smiled subtly, asked the scholar for understanding, and walked out.

“What are you doing here?”

Shin Jo-woon, who approached, glanced at the sweets Rembrary was holding, but didn’t seem particularly interested, as if it wasn’t strange at all. He simply asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m bored because I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re studying because you’re bored?”

“It’s like exploring a new world. Isn’t it kind of fun?”

Rembrary was disgusted by the sentiment. But instead of criticizing other people’s hobbies, he handed Shin Jo-woon the sweets he had brought.

“Here. Explore while eating this.”

Then, when he looked at the building where Shin Jo-woon had been studying, the scholar was staring at them curiously.

When their eyes met, the scholar nodded slightly, as if embarrassed.

Rembrary reluctantly handed over one more sweet.

“Take one and give it to that person over there.”

*My hands are trembling because they’re so precious.*

Shin Jo-woon looked at the two sweets in his hand alternately for a moment and then chuckled.

“Looks like you’re not angry anymore.”

“I’ve never been angry from the beginning.”

“You were very angry.”

“No, really. And Anchovy, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“Not really.”

“You should.”

“?”

“Hurry up and say it. Aren’t you waiting for me to ask?”

“Enjoy the food?”

“Besides that.”

Shin Jo-woon looked at Rembrary in bewilderment.

But inside, he was thinking, *’Could it be?’*

*Rembrary knew that he was hiding something and avoided him because he was upset.*

*Is he giving me bribes because he wants to know what I’m hiding?*

Even so, Shin Jo-woon just stood there blankly, unable to reveal the secret just yet, so Rembrary turned around, scolding him, “You have no sense.”

Shin Jo-woon watched Rembrary’s retreating back for a while, then returned to the scholar and handed him a sweet.

“Oh, are you giving it to me too?”

“That friend who visited earlier wanted you to have it.”

“Thank you.”

The scholar smiled and received the sweet, then carefully asked, glancing at Shin Jo-woon’s expression.

“This isn’t a commission fee, is it?”

“Of course not.”

Only when Shin Jo-woon assured him did the scholar put the sweet in his mouth and eat it, then carefully asked, looking at Shin Jo-woon’s expression once more.

“But Sir Shin, aren’t you close to that doctor?”

“That’s right.”

“But why are you bothering to investigate him……?”

At the scholar’s question, Shin Jo-woon recalled the time when the Demon King’s fragment had occupied Rembrary’s body.

He hadn’t occupied it for long, but he had occupied it a few times, and Shin Jo-woon had witnessed it directly.

Because of this, when Shin Jo-woon heard the story of ‘Rembrary wandering around in a strange state,’ he began to suspect that the Demon King’s fragment had temporarily occupied Rembrary’s body here as well.

Lumena was also worried about this possibility.

The scholar was embarrassed by Shin Jo-woon’s silence and lowered his gaze, chewing on the sweet.

Then Shin Jo-woon suddenly asked.

“How do I meet His Majesty?”

“Yes? His Majesty?”

The scholar was surprised and raised his head, then pointed to the place where Rembrary had been standing.

“That doctor sees His Majesty two or three times a day, so why don’t you follow him?”

“I want to see him without that doctor knowing.”

“Why His Majesty?”

Rembrary went to the night market with the Emperor alone.

As far as Shin Jo-woon had discovered, Rembrary’s strange behavior all happened when he was outside the palace.

Therefore, Rembrary might have temporarily lost control of his body to the Demon King’s fragment even in the night market.

The Emperor was by his side, so he might have seen something. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.

* * *

While Shin Jo-woon was having a serious conversation with the scholar, Rembrary was eating sweets on the side of the road when he encountered Gasora.

Gasora was walking while contemplating the upcoming competition, and was startled and staggered when he saw Rembrary eating sweets in the shade of a tree.

Fortunately, he regained his balance quickly, but he maintained an awkward posture and cautiously looked at Rembrary.

“Why are you doing that?”

Rembrary asked, puzzled by Gasora’s strange behavior.

Gasora stared at Rembrary’s face and shook his head quickly.

“It’s nothing.”

Then he continued on his way, and Rembrary looked back at his retreating figure, still puzzled.

The subordinate who had been walking with Gasora for a long time looked back after walking for a while longer.

Then, after confirming that Rembrary was out of sight, he asked Gasora.

“Captain, didn’t you say you had something to tell that person? Why did you just leave?”

“Eyes.”

“Eyes?”

“That guy has multiple personalities.”