Chapter 48

“I think I worried you as I happened to get sick after having seen you. I’m fully recovered now. So, don’t worry. In fact, I was not sick enough to make many others worry about me,” Kyosul said cheerfully. She added, “I wanted to go out for an outing as soon as possible, but the royal doctor stopped me from going out. I thought I could get more healthy if I breathed in some fresh air and basked in the sun. It looks like the royal doctor is too protective.”

Heyjin burst into laughter when she got overly chatty. Her laughter was clear and pleasant like pebbles hitting each other in a stream.

“I think I know what you mean, Your Highness. When I got pregnant, the royal doctor was really protective, too. I just gave up taking walks and confined myself to my room.”

“In other words, you chose to stay put here rather than hear his nagging, right?”

“Oh my god!”

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Heyjin opened her eyes wide with surprise. She tried to hold back her laughter with her hands. Heyjin was in the same situation as Kyosul. Neither liked the royal doctor making such a fuss about their outings and opposing them. While speaking ill of him, both naturally felt a bond of sympathy.

“You’re right. Your description of the royal doctor is so accurate and interesting.”

“I hope I am not rude to him.”

“Not at all. I think I was right when I decided to ask for your company.”

“I’m happy you think so,” replied Kyosul kindly. While smiling at Heyjin, Kyosul looked away often even though she tried to fix her eyes on Heyjin. In some respects, Kyosul seemed to talk a lot on purpose because of Ruhae.

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“I’m glad to see you again,” he said.

“Nice to see you here, too.”

Did Hyejin notice her affectionate feelings toward him? Kyosul felt a prick in her heart but tried her best not to reveal it. She didn’t turn her head when she talked to Heyjin. She barely spoke now.

“Why are you in the North Palace, Prince Ruhae?” Kyosul asked.

He was sitting beside Heyjin’s desk, who was sitting face to face with Kyosul. When Kyosul arrived at the North Palace, she noticed a pair of black wooden shoes on the stepping stones. At that time she thought they belonged to Prince BInsung, but it had been Ruhae.

Lowering his head slightly, Ruhae replied politely.

“In fact, I’m giving her prenatal education here.”

“Oh, prenatal education?”

“Well, I’m reading her basic classical books and beautiful stories for the baby in her womb.”

Then, he picked up the book that was lengthways on her desk.

Kyosul was curious about the book while talking with her, thinking it was her book. His visit made sense.

Ruhae’s accompanying Binsung to see her the other day and his presence in Heyjin’s room now was all legitimate, but Kyosul felt embarrassed as her path overlapped his often.

“Are you personally in charge of the princess’s baby?” Kyosul hastily shook her hand and said, “Oh, I don’t mean to underestimate you. I just thought you might be too busy with managing your overwhelming workload, so I wondered if you could do this additional job of prenatal education.”

Heyjin could have taken her remarks as looking down on her baby, but she just smiled as if she didn’t care about what Kyosul said.

Looking at Kyosul sweating out in embarrassment, Ruhae laughed slightly and said, “In fact, Binsung asked for my prenatal education. You decided to keep Princess Heyjin’s company at the request of Binsung, right? He made the request to me first.”

“I see.”

Ruhae explained by alluding to Binsung’s efforts. Thanks to Ruhae’s quick reply, Kyosul was saved further embarrassment. While she let out a sigh of relief, Ruhae changed the topic to Heyjin.

“I think Prince Binsung thinks the world of you. He asked me to give you prenatal education in person, then he seemed to have listened to your passing remarks on the Crown Princess and went to see her to convey your wishes. This is only possible because of his enormous affection for you.”

“I’m flattered, Prince Ruhae.”

“It really looks good to me!” he said.

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While Ruhae and Heyjin were talking, Kyosul looked at him secretly for fear Heyjin might notice it. Though she fixed her eyes on Heyjin, she only paid attention to Ruhae.

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He was the same from his white. clean face, his bangs and neatly tied topknot to his straight gaze, soft smile, and polite tone.

While looking at him, Kyosul felt somewhat empty and bitter.

She felt as if it were a distant past when he visited her residence recently and almost touched her lips and ears with his long fingers. She clearly remembered that he told her he would prove his affection for her, but she could not find any trace of his courage or boldness in him today.

Kyosul even felt resentful towards him because she felt like she alone got nervous and anxious about him. While looking at him maintaining an expression of peace now, she felt that he toyed with her in the past. She felt she alone felt affectionate towards him even though he first approached her with genuine feelings.

She pouted, complaining deep inside, I just don’t know why I feel strange like this…

Kyosul stopped pouting with difficulty.

Heyjin said, “It was the first time.”

“Pardon?”

While she was lost in her thoughts, Kyosul couldn’t follow what Ruhae and Heyjin were talking about. What did she mean by ‘the first time’?

She was at a loss as she couldn’t figure it out. Ruhae was trying to hold back his laughter, which made her blush.

Heyjin continued, “I mean the reason why I asked Prince Binsung to ask you to keep my company. Except for my husband, you were the first who was considerate enough to like the sculpture made in my motherland.”

“Was that the reason?”

Kyosul was embarrassed once again.

Kyosul felt it was kind of far-fetched that she mentioned it to her husband several times. Maybe she was really bored in the North Palace.

As if she read Kyosul’s mind, Heyjin added, “Most of the people who saw that sculpture expressed surprise at first then looked down on it with an air of conceit.”

“How can they look down on such a wonderful sculpture?” Kyosul asked with thinking, but not only Heyjin but also Ruhae were already accustomed to her way of speaking her mind freely.

“The Jinsung Kingdom is a vassal state, and they seem to think its people are an uncivilized race. So, I’m used to their treating it like that.”

“That’s too much,” Kyosul said, bursting into anger. Then, Kyosul added, “The Hwa Kingdom, my motherland, is also a small state compared with the Mok Kingdom, but the Mok Kingdom can’t ignore it. No matter how excellent it might be, any kingdom should not judge another country’s culture by its own standard. That’s really arrogant. I think an empire state like the Mok Kingdom should be more cautious about expressing such an attitude.”

“Why do you think it should be cautious?” Ruhae cut in while listening to Kyosul’s argument quietly.

Kyosul responded, “Don’t you think such an attitude could lead to an empire’s improper treatment of a weak country? I may be blowing this out of proportion, but I think if an empire thinks a country is uncivilized or looks down on it just because it is weak and small, it virtually discriminates against such a country.”

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“Then, do you have the view that an empire should avoid discrimination against a weak country?”

“Yes, I do. Don’t you think the ruler of an empire should stop treating a weak state improperly more than anything else?”

“Are you talking about its welfare policy on its vassal state?” asked Ruhae in a very sharp tone. There were no romantic thoughts in their minds at this moment. Ruhae didn’t try to read her mind nor feel thrilled but began to argue logically.

“No, I’m not talking about it. My point is the empire should respect a weak state as a matter of principle.”

“Just like the basic respect of a human being?”

“Yes.”

“You’re quite liberal-minded,” said Ruhae, looking into her provocative eyes. There was a smile on his lips as usual, but his eyes were the same as before. Kyosul seemed to see a prince of the Mok Kingdom, not Ruhae who she used to know.

“But in a society where the discrimination against people in terms of their ranks and social status exists, how can you overcome their treatment with contempt and social discrimination? Basic respect for them as human beings can disrupt the order of ranks. What are you going to do about this?” Ruhae asked sharply.

While speaking her opinion freely without reserve, she hesitated at that moment.

But Ruhae continued to ask mercilessly, “If you argue for the sake of argument, it will never go anywhere. Any idea without any practical support is no more than an ideal.”