Villainous Concubine Has Run Away

“Why? Is seeing me again so awful that you’re about to cry?” Haejoo, who passed away at a young age due to a hereditary illness, is reborn as the “Grand Concubine”—the most despicable concubine from his younger brother’s favorite omegaverse novel, who dies by the Emperor’s hand. Knowing the Grand Consort’s doomed fate, he desperately tries to escape the palace and live a life of his own. But unlike the original story, the Emperor Joo Minhyuk begins to obsess over him… Will Haejoo be able to escape the palace safely as he originally planned? * * * “Then, excuse me for a moment.” As he finished speaking, Joo Minhyuk stepped forward and blocked my path, cutting off the space between me and Hyunwook completely. All I could see in front of me now was his broad back. Now that I was out of Joo Minhyuk’s line of sight, I bit my lip and let my anxious expression show freely. What’s going on? I even explained things, but he still seems upset. Don’t tell me… he’s going to kick Hyunwook off my security detail over this? He can’t do that. But knowing the kind of man Joo Minhyuk is, I couldn’t help but worry. “You’re Kang Hyunwook, right? Your father, Daeho, is my former teacher. So I was glad to see your name on the list—Daeho’s youngest son. It’s no problem for me, but I heard even Daeho didn’t know you applied to be the Princess’s guard. Still, it’s admirable you did something on your own without relying on your parents.” “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to ensure there are no mistakes while serving Her Highness.” I couldn’t see him because Joo Minhyuk was blocking the view, but from Hyunwook’s trembling voice, it was clear he was very nervous. “Of course you should. But listen—no matter how intently the Princess was looking at you, you should’ve bowed your head first. You know the royal protocol, don’t you? It’s a basic rule that you must not look directly at a royal concubine.” “Ah, I… I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” “Oh? But I was the one who told him to raise his head. Please don’t misunderstand, Your Majesty.” “Misunderstand? Who said anything about misunderstanding? I was just curious. And I wasn’t talking to the Princess. If you keep siding with him, I’m the one who might start misunderstanding things.” Wait a second—this isn’t about taking sides. I just wanted to reminisce a little, but why is his tone sounding so off? It’s not like I got caught cheating on my spouse or something…