Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I gaped at the dazzling splendor of the imperial palace.

Wherever I turned my eyes, there was nothing but extravagance, and I wondered whether there could be another such paradise in the world. I could say with certainty that there was not.

Within this opulent palace, the grandest hall of all came into view. It was the Hall of the Sun (Sun Palace), where the Emperor of the Nakbyeon Empire lived his daily life.

To reach it, one had to climb an endless, interminable flight of stairs. I climbed, dabbing away sweat I could not tell was from nerves or exhaustion.

Perhaps he pitied me, for Prince Hye, who had been watching me quietly, suddenly lifted me off my feet.

I squirmed to signal that he should put me down, but he paid me no mind. He only gave my waist a light pat, as if telling me to stay still.

The palace maids and eunuchs passing by could not hide their astonishment at the sight.

“Your Highness…”

It was agonizing, as if all the embarrassment were mine alone to bear.

Without so much as a change of expression, Prince Hye carried me steadfastly to the top of the stairs. Then he set me safely down on the ground.

He seemed to be a brute, all strength and no sense of etiquette. If word of this reached the Emperor and my parents-in-law reproved me for it, the trouble would be mine alone as well.

Of course, there was no chance that His Highness, the great Prince Hye, would consider my circumstances down to such details.

He looked at me with a satisfied smile, as if hoping for praise. His look told me to be grateful, but I wasn’t the least bit grateful, so I turned my head away with a huff.

Oh, never mind. That man lives as he pleases, so I’ll live as I please too, without swallowing my temper. If I get thrown out for it, then I get thrown out.

He was an imperial prince, after all. Surely he would at least see to the meals of a wife he had cast out. He wouldn’t let her starve. That would stain his reputation, too.

“So prim.”

Prince Hye tapped my cheek lightly.

When he began to walk ahead, I trailed along behind him. If someone found fault with me for walking in front of my husband, things would only get complicated.

But he stopped for a moment, looked back at me lagging behind, and asked casually.

“I’ve been wondering since earlier. Why do you keep following behind me?”

“Doesn’t it look more respectful?”

“Respectful, I couldn’t say, but it makes you look cowed. Come walk beside me. I don’t mind in the least if you walk ahead. It’s only that you don’t know the way through the palace, so you can’t lead.”

Then he caught my wrist and pulled me, and in the end he planted me at his side.

“But… what if someone says something?”

“About what?”

“That the Princess Consort Hye is overbearing. That she walks side by side with her husband. I fear they’ll gossip.”

“Hwacheon, who doesn’t know you have a strong temper? It’s a fact the answer to which shows right on your face.”

“I look gentle!”

“A person’s temperament shows in their looks.”

Not content with walking beside me, he gripped my hand firmly. Just like sweethearts in a commoner’s household.

“Please let go of my hand.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t you say that to dislike something is simply to dislike it, and no reason is needed? Since you said it, you keep it.”

“If someone sees, they’ll speak ill of us.”

“Let them.”

It wasn’t he who’d be scolded, so how carefree he was.

How nice it must be for Prince Hye to be so thick-skinned. Everything in the world must be so smooth and pleasant for him. Everything went his way without a hitch, and no one dared to remonstrate with him however much he did as he liked.

Insufferable man. I was so envious that curses came out of me on their own. How wonderful it would be if he and I could trade lives.

“Ah, Grand Eunuch Jo.”

The Grand Eunuch, chief of the eunuchs, came to greet us. A middle-aged man, rather short, with a gentle face, bowed deeply.

There was an air about him, respectful yet bold and free of servility. Evidently, not just anyone could become a Grand Eunuch.

“I pay my respects to Prince Hye and Princess Consort Hye.”

Grand Eunuch Jo smiled faintly at me. I gave him a small nod.

He wore the pleased expression of a grandfather looking at his granddaughter.

He had a kind face, but facing a stranger, I could not help being nervous. I tightened my grip on the hand clasped in Prince Hye’s and looked up at him with anxious eyes.

Prince Hye glanced at me too and gently rubbed the knuckles of my fingers. It seemed a gesture meant to ease my tension.

That small movement comforted me, absurdly, and I loosened my shoulders a little.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

“Let’s go at once.”

We followed Grand Eunuch Jo into the hall.

Any moment now, I would come face to face with the Emperor and Empress. I wriggled my hand to signal that he should let go, but Prince Hye held on awkwardly tight and would not release it.

Flustered, I looked at him, and he was even humming under his breath, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

This man, honestly…!

While I was in a flurry, he mercifully let go of my hand. And as he did, he gave my bottom a couple of light pats.

Shameless pervert who never knows the time or place! Liver-eating nine-tailed fox!

Before I even had a chance to glare at him while heaping curses on him inwardly, I was at last granted an audience with the Emperor and Empress.

‘They’re completely golden.’

I was cowed by the majesty of the two, wrapped from head to toe in gold.

When I bowed together with Prince Hye, thoroughly intimidated, the laughter of an older man reached my ears.

The tone of that laughter was so like Prince Hye’s that goosebumps rose on the back of my neck. Fathers and sons, it seemed, even share their voices.

When I raised my head and looked at the Emperor and Empress, they weren’t transcendent beauties as I had imagined.

Having borne someone like Prince Hye, I had expected parents whose beauty rivaled that of immortals.

The Emperor had an utterly ordinary face, and the Empress was elegant, with graceful lines, but not as dazzling as Prince Hye. He seemed to be the most perfect combination that could possibly come from the two of them.

“Come closer.”

We drew nearer to the Emperor.

The Empress, as if she could bear it no longer, rose from her seat and held her son tightly in her arms. It was a tender reunion of mother and son.

It was not unpleasant to watch, and I smiled softly too.

“You seem a little thinner in the face.”

“No, Mother. I have been eating very well in the meantime. I trust you have been in good health.”

Prince Hye spoke in a voice even sweeter and softer than usual. He seemed to be putting on a goody-goody act in front of his mother.

After inspecting her son’s face, the Empress came before me this time.

Tense all over, I bowed my head again in greeting. But the moment I raised it, the Empress threw her arms around me.

“How glad I am to meet you, my dear new daughter-in-law. Please take good care of my Hyeok.”

Though we had only just met, she embraced me with all her strength, as if she had found someone she had longed for all her life.

Afraid that standing there blankly would seem rude, I carefully hugged her back. Prince Hye watched me with amusement as I stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do, with a foolish look on my face.

“Mother, Hwacheon is embarrassed. Please stop.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry…!”

The Empress let me go, clasped my hand tightly, and met my eyes.

“Were you uncomfortable…?”

Asked so by a face like a celestial maiden’s, I had nothing else to say.

“No, Your Majesty. I am only grateful for your warm welcome.”

Only then did the Empress smile brightly, reassured.

Ah, her smiling face looked just like Prince Hye’s. He had his father’s laugh and his mother’s smile. These two were certainly his parents, it seemed.

The Empress took my hand and led me to a chair. On the table lay all manner of sweets in every color. I had never seen such a lavish spread of refreshments in my life.

The Emperor spoke in a solemn voice.

“Eat. There are so many kinds that surely one of them will suit your taste.”

It seemed they had prepared one of every kind because they didn’t know my preferences. It was admittedly a little excessive.

“Your Majesty has not yet eaten, so how could I dare to?”

By etiquette, the elder must take the first bite. I had heard the imperial household was especially strict, so I had assumed this, too, was a test of me.

“Hahaha! So that’s what was on your mind! I’m full, so don’t mind me and go ahead and eat. It was all prepared for you. Children like sweets, don’t they?”

For someone who had already been married off, calling me a child was a stretch, but in their eyes I seemed to be nothing but a child.

Not knowing whether it was truly all right, I glanced at Prince Hye.

Unable to watch any longer, he picked up a sweet and placed it in my hand. I put it carefully into my mouth and tasted it bit by bit.

In an instant, my eyes flew open. The moment the sweetness touched the tip of my tongue, it melted away, a taste truly from heaven.

It was so delicious that my mouth watered and the insides of my cheeks tingled. The Emperor and Empress watched my reaction closely.

“Is it good?”

“Yes! It’s delicious.”

When I smiled brightly and nodded hard, the faces of the Emperor and Empress lit up.

A person who gives you something sweet is a good person. Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress were without a doubt good people.

What Prince Hye had said was true. I must have been looking at the world with eyes too full of suspicion.

In my good mood, my cheeks flushed the color of peaches.

Did the elders of the imperial palace eat delicious things like this every day? If so, perhaps marrying Prince Hye wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

Of course, I still hated the idea of concubines, and I still hated being bound to the imperial family. But what’s done is done, so one has to find a reason to live with it somehow and make the most of its merits.

Though I didn’t like a husband who would take concubines, if I gave him none of my affection and spent my whole life idling about and eating delicious things, wouldn’t my heart be happy?