Chapter 94

He replied without looking back at her in his usual plain tone, “Oh, it’s not a big deal, so I didn’t tell you about it. I was going to tip you off as I bumped into you here. I will go back to the palace early tomorrow. ”

Surprised by his unexpected response, she asked back, “Really? Going back tomorrow? Just you alone?”

“If you want, you can come with me.”

“Oh no. I would love to stay a little longer here. ”

Her voice trembled because her intention to stay here was not pure. She looked down in hopes that he would not notice her impure intention, though he could not see her eyes as he turned back.

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“Today I’ve received an urgent notice from the palace. The Emperor has ordered me to come back urgently because of some important national issues.”

“I see.”

Nodding, she asked again as if she felt something strange. As she already asked one question, it was not difficult for her to ask another.

“If you didn’t run into me like this, were you going to go back without telling me? ”

“Well, I was going to tell the eunuch to convey my message to you.”

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His answer was simple and clear.

He added quickly, “The Emperor’s order was so urgent.”

She thought to herself, ‘Of course, you should follow his order.’

Though she was taking a hot bath, she felt something cold in her heart.

Leaving her alone there and returning to the palace was natural to him.

‘Was I mistaken in thinking that we had grown closer after spending several days with him here?’

She felt funny about it when she felt she was sorry for his sudden departure.

Having heard that, she also replied with a tone similar to his.

“I’m alright. Please go to sleep early as you have to go a long way.”

“Good. Let me head out first. Have a good time here!”

“Thanks. Don’t worry about me. ”

She thought it was strange for him to express consideration about her but responded properly.

She lowered her head toward him as he left the bath.

He left without looking back.

Standing alone for a while, she sat down in the hot bath. The hot spring water warmed up her body.

“Now I can really relax freely at this villa. ”

She murmured in a relaxed and empty voice.

She leaned back against the edge of the bath. When she was with him in the bath, she was so nervous that she couldn’t even think of that. Now she could feel relaxed as he left.

She could enjoy the scenic beauty of the open-air bath.

She leaned back and looked up at the sky. She felt warm under the neck while she felt the cold on the tip of her nose. The thick steam coming from the open air bath covered the moon. The moonlight shining through the dim vapor looked moist like the wet air.

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Definitely, she had a hot bath, but she felt cold today.

The next day Bipaan was ready to go back to the palace early in the morning.

When he left for Kongrimok, he accompanied her, sharing the sedan chair with her.

He reserved the sedan chair for her, and mounted his horse this time.

“Your Majesty!”

He heard someone calling him who was not part of his entourage.

When he turned back with a curious look, Kyosul was standing there.

Neatly dressed, she bowed quietly, “I wish you a safe return, Your Majesty!”

“Did you come to see me off?” he asked in a trembling tone.

Then she nodded to him calmly, “As your wife, I think I should say goodbye.”

“Oh, that’s good to know. ”

Their eyes met for a moment, and then he turned, as usual.

“See you at the palace, Your Majesty. Let me offer you greetings when I return. ”

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“Have a good time as much as you can.”

“Thank you.”

Soon he and his entourage left the villa. Standing in place, she watched him disappearing gradually. When his horse disappeared from sight, she quickly walked back to her room.

“It looks like the Crown Prince and Crown Princess are really enjoying a happy married life.”

Several court ladies who came out to see him off whispered among themselves when she was leaving.

“Wow, I envy them so much. I wish I could find a lover. ”

“Hey, forget about it!”

Of course, they didn’t know anything about the royal couple’s relationship after marriage.

Hearing their babbling and whispering, she quickened her pace biting her lip as she went.

***

Since Bipaan left the villa, she went to bed with a lamp burning outside the white paper window of her room.

She also placed a purple flower in the window sash nearest to her bed. Though she promised to put the flower there as the sign of their promise, she couldn’t blow out the lamp for fear that Ruhae might get lost during the night.

As the lamps were hung on all streets of the villa, it was bright everywhere, but unoccupied buildings were dark with no lamps. She made sure the lamp was on outside

her dwelling, so he could easily find her room among many dwellings in the villa.

Behind the white paper window of her room was lit a faint lamp..

She lay on the bed in the dim room. She went to bed a long time ago, but she had not fallen asleep yet. Though she didn’t see anything amind flickering light, she was just staring into the air without closing my eyes.

“He said he would wrap up his work within 15 days.”

She recalled what Ruhae had said before he went out for the inspection tour in the southern areas.

Somehow she felt nervous. As she felt so lonely and empty in her heart, she couldn’t relax and enjoy her free time at the villa.

‘Why do I feel so lonely now?’

Whenever she was in doubt, she only thought about Ruhae. She felt the reason why she felt so lonely was that Ruhae was not with her now.

“I wish he could come back to me soon. ”

She curled up her body beneath the silk blanket and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Although she slept alone every day since she came down here, she felt her room was unusually large these days.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Lying in bed, she curled her fists and pressed on her chest.

‘If I hadn’t seen him on the last day, I would have stayed here without knowing he already left.’

Surprisingly enough, she was thinking of Bipaan, not Ruhae.

She felt the villa, famous for its quietness, became more quiet after Bipaan left. Though she hadn’t bumped into him, she felt strange after he left.

Initially she felt the quietness of the villa peaceful, but she now felt it was lifeless and frustrating. She thought her stay at the villa was boring. No matter what she did, she found herself repeating the same thing, so she stopped taking a hot bath and walks. She even closed the window closest to the bed and kept it closed. She did not go outside.

For the first couple of days, her nanny let her do whatever she wanted to do, but she began to worry on the third day. To the best of her knowledge, Kyosul remained in bed only when she was sick. Rather than staying put in any one place, Kyosul liked to go out and visit many places by nature.

“It looks like you’re back to your old habits,” her nanny said.

Was it because of her habits that she formed after coming to the Mok Kingdom?

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“You gave me lots of headache because you used to bum around in the Hwa Kingdom. And now you’re giving me another headache as you spend all day in your room without going out at all.”

Expressing her frustration, her nanny removed the hem of the cloth that covered her bed. Kyosul was lying there just like she did yesterday, as if she got frozen there.

“Why are you disgruntled this time? As you are throwing a tantrum here, I feel embarrassed when the court ladies here look at us with a curious expression.”

Her nanny was complaining with reason. As she watched Kyosul for many years, she lectured her instead of sharing her nervousness or worry.

“I’m just tired,” Kyosul said.

Not caring about her constant nagging, she tossed and turned in bed with a lazy voice.

“As you lie down on the bed like that, it’s natural that you get tired. Just get out of bed, take a walk and breathe in the fresh air. ”

“Well, I know every place here even with my eyes closed.”

“Would you like to go out to the market? As you came down here, I think you can enjoy going to the market for a change.”

“The market…”She briefly seemed to have interest but buried her face into the bedspread again. “I’m tired of going out.”