Chapter 79

Kyosul knew too well what kind of woman was sitting before her eyes, so her hands were trembling. Kyosul knew well that she committed an unpardonable sin against this woman.

Though she knew it, she couldn’t stop loving Ruhae.

“I’ve got something to tell you, Crown Princess.”

“Yes, please tell me comfortably.”

Though she opened her mouth again, Yomin remained silent for a while, but Kyosul patiently waited for her to speak.

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She didn’t know how much time passed.

Then Yomin suddenly began to speak out.

Yomin asked, “As you know, I recently reminded you of the official titles of the Crown Prince Bipaan and Prince Ruhae, didn’t I?”

She suddenly brought up the matter of official title unexpectedly, reminding Kyosul of what she told her the first day the met. That day Yomin taught Kyosul how to call the royal family members above all, as she didn’t know anything about it, but Yomin belatedly discovered that she made a mistake.

“Come to think of it, I’ve realized that you don’t have to add any honorifics when you call people except for the Crown Prince in this palace.”

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“I learned about it from the chief court lady in charge of training me in the royal customs.”

In the Mok Kingdom only the Crown Princess was equal to the Crown Prince in terms of rank. Wives of other princes were all lower than the Crown Princess in rank, so they had to add the honorific title to the Crown Princess’s offspring in the future.

“Your Highness, you are a very special person,” Yomin said.

In fact, Kyousl was given special treatment, compared with the other wives of princes in the vast empire of the Mok Kingdom where all the royal members were ranked in hierarchy.

“You’re special in everything in this palace,” Yomin said, giving her a fake smile. As if she was discouraged, she sneered at herself, saying, “It seems you’re fundamentally different from us.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to say that.”

“I think I intervened even in this matter unnecessarily without knowing which way the wind was blowing.”

“I know you tried to help me back then. And you were kind to me.”

“I was foolish to do so.”

Foolish heart.

Yomin was really heartbroken when she mentioned that word. That word seemed to be driving her nuts for some reason. As she was physically and mentally exhausted, she couldn’t think straight at that moment.

Come to think of it, Yomin’s fatigue didn’t start on the day Kyosul first arrived in the Mok Kingdom. In fact, she had been sick and tired of waiting for Ruhae from the moment her eyes met his, long before he deserted her on the wedding night. It became clear that he didn’t want to embrace her from the beginning.

“So, I’m not going to meddle in your love affair with Prince Ruhae. I don’t want to spend my time and energy on useless stuff anymore,” Yomin said.

“Are you sure, Prince Yomin?”

Kyosul couldn’t figure out what Yomin was trying to tell her, but Yomin sorted out her thinking on her own and made the final decision not to bother Ruhae’s ongoing relationship with Kyosul.

After she touched the point, Yomin shut her mouth. When she opened her mouth again, her voice sounded lifeless.

“Please don’t sway and confuse the prince’s heart. Please don’t tempt his integrity.”

Though she described Ruhae simply as ‘the prince,’ both she and Kyosul knew who the prince was. Bu Kyosul couldn’t understand what she was trying to say.

In the end, Kyosul asked, “Princess Yomin, what do you mean by that?”

“The prince loves you, and Crown Princess Kyosul also loves him.”

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Kyosul flinched momentarily.

She found it hard to take Yomin’s direct mention of her name. As Yomin was Ruhae’s official wife, Kyosul was at a loss about what to say to her.

As if she read Kyosul’s troubled mind, Yomin continued in a meek voice, “I thought I loved the prince, but It looked like I just regarded it as my obligation to love him as his official wife. Yes, I’m positive about that, but I’m still confused.”

Yomin really seemed confused herself. She slowly went on, “Anyway, I am not sure if I really love the prince even if I have been with him for several years.”

Her eyes began to sparkle when she was speaking. She stared at Kyosul sharply and said, “What’s certain is that Prince Ruhae is having an affair with Crown Princess Kyosul by going against moral laws.”

Having heard that, Kyosul couldn’t hide her astonishment. She suddenly looked drained, dropping her hand holding the short pillow on the mattress. Even Yomin was surprised at her composure when she said that to Kyosul without feeling any regret.

“I won’t serve such a prince anymore. I can’t serve a man who doesn’t respect moral laws.”

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“Oh my god…Padon?”

“Do you not get it because you’re immature? I told you I would let go of him. I’m going to let him follow his heart.”

Yomin narrowed her eyes and frowned in annoyance.

‘Why is this little woman before me making herself look bad? She constantly arouses my anger by making an innocent expression on her face, pretending not to know what I have said.’

Yomin continued, “Don’t confuse him by loving another man because you said you loved the prince. Don’t trouble his mind by keeping away from him over time because you said you loved him. Prince Ruhae, who loves you only, will always look at you. Don’t tempt him by doubting his sincere heart toward you. Just stand by him, smiling at him. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

Kyosul was so embarrassed to hear Yomin’s shocking statement like that that she couldn’t believe her eyes. She looked at Yomin with a blank expression.

Yomin bit her lip as if she was angry at her. She really hated the Crown Princess looking at her blankly, but it was impossible to truly hate her. She didn’t think there was anybody in the whole who could hate the cute, little woman.

“I’m a woman boxed in by the customs and manners of the royal family in this kingdom, but the prince who doesn’t care about them at all is like an invisible man to me. Though I’m the official wife of Prince Ruhae, he is non-existent in this palace.”

Yomin denied his existence like that.

She felt if she totally denied his existence, she could get over this miserable situation facing her. She had no other choice but to do so if she had to get by everyday.

“Long Live the Crown Princess!”

After offering her greetings, Yomin stood up, convinced that she wouldn’t have to offer the same greetings to her privately in the future.

When Yomin left the room, Kyomin was confused and at a loss what to do. Her nanny came into the room after confirming that Yomin left.

Kyosul was pale as the nanny stroked her back and staring with wide eyes.

The nanny asked, “What did Princess Yomin say?”

“She let go of Ruhae,” she said, looking at the door through which Yomin left.

Did Yomin really tell her that?

Kyosul was confused and scared because there was a real possibility that her relationship with Ruhae had become an open secret.

Yomin looked sad as she’d made that bombshell announcement to her a moment ago.

Yomin returned to her residence in Nambi Palace.

“Bojin, close the doors,” Yomin said.

“Your Highness, what’s wrong with you?”

“I told you to close the doors. Right now!”

Bojin closed all the doors in Yomin’s room.

Nonetheless, Yomin kept telling her close the doors in an empty voice.

“Don’t you see the door is open here? It’s wide open. Don’t you see that?”

Now, Yomin began to hit her chest, and Bojin began to sob near her..

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“Bojin, close all the doors. I’m afraid my husband might come again. Quickly close the doors, and let me hide here completely.”

Her empty voice echoed into the air. Though she married Prince Ruhae out of obligation, not love, it was not easy to let go of him overnight.

Whenever she cried, however, she fortunately realized the sad fact that she didn’t love him genuinely.

***

Ruhae always met Kyosul secretly.

They avoided lots of people in the vast palace during the day and met in the remote backyard or alley of the palace early in the morning. They kept a watchful eye all the time, looking around carefully, muffling their steps and lowering their voices.

Two shadows appeared in a narrow and dark space between the wall and the trunks of a big tree.

“Nobody is here, right?” she asked.

“Nope. There is no possibility that anybody is around here at this time,” he replied.

They whispered in low voices before she burst into laughter. She hunched her shoulders and covered her face with her hands. With her upper body trembling a bit, she tried to hold back laughter.