Chapter 134

Indeed, she really flew away from his arms like a bird. Tears dropped from his eyes suddenly. Although he decided to send her off long time ago, it wasn't as easy as he thought.

He already began to miss her.

He took the wedding robe she left behind to the small back room of the East Palace. In the empty room without any furniture only the red wedding suit hung on the wall. He did not allow anyone to enter, and he spent time alone there.

One day, when he was lost in thought, he looked at the robe in the back room before going to bed. He got up suddenly. He unexpectedly headed to Kyoyoung's residence. It was a strange road that he had never walked since the wedding day.

He didn't even think it was late. Not only the court ladies at the Dongbi Place but also its owner Kyoyoung couldn't hide their surprise when they saw him. As she was just about to go to bed, she was wearing thin and light clothes. Looking at her with a shy expression, he indifferently asked.

"Do you have my wedding robe?"

"… Wedding robe?

"The wedding robe I left behind on the wedding night."

"Ah! I remember. Apparently, the court ladies took it to the royal laundry center. I guess they sent it to the East Palace after washing it."

Embarrassed, he barely squeezed out her memory.

'Yes, that's the way you handle it,' he thought to himself.

And then he said, with a sigh, "Oh, I see."

As soon as he confirmed it, he turned.

That was the only reason he went to the trouble of visiting the Dongbi Palace.

Why did Kyosul bring the wedding suit to him after looking at it on the wall for so long?

As he was curious, he wanted to check if his other wife kept it like Kyosul had.

But Kyoyoung didn't put much weight on his wedding robe.

'If that's the case, why did she keep it until recently?'

He felt like he could have some hope. Did she ever expect him to come and sleep with her?

'Can I covet her even now?'

He was consumed by such vain illusion at that moment when he was about to leave Kyoyoung's room.

She grabbed him by the collar with one hand and pulled the string of her gown with the other.

"Your Majesty."

Calling him, she pulled his hand. He frowned at her nudity when she took off all her clothes.

"What are you doing, Princess?"

"Please hug me. Please do not turn away from me this time."

Then, she jumped into his arms. The rustling lapel of his robe touched her n.a.k.e.d body.

She tightened her grip on his hands.

In the end, he flopped down on the scarlet mattress. She fell over his legs.

He knitted his brows. He put his hands on her shoulders.

He felt through his fingertips her tender skin, her soft and rounded shoulders, and her trembling feelings. Surprisingly, he bit his lip, but he still had no interest in her.

Was it because he was troubled by Kyosul these days? When he touched a woman's skin, he felt something hot going up deep inisde.

'I want to hug and touch Kyosul like I'm touching her now. Would she touch me, too? Does she want to hug me, too?'

His false delusions continued without hesitation.

He imagined Kyosul in place of Kyoyoung. He felt as if he was hugging Kyosul at the moment.

At that moment, Kyoyoung touched her lips to his hand. His fingers wiggled. He opened his lips slightly and whispered with a low voice, which was hardly inaudible.

"Why are you…"

He was thinking to himself, 'Why don't you see me? Why are you in love with another guy?'

But he knew he couldn't approach her as he was scared and cowardly.

Suddenly, he felt Kyoyoung's presence at the moment, who was anxious to touch him.

The more he sensed her coquettish act, the more he resented Kyosul.

Why couldn't Kyosul act like her?

No matter how many women he had, it was meaningless to him without Kyosul.

As he was confused for a moment, he held Kyoyong. Although he saw her n.a.k.e.d body, he was not s.e.x.u.a.lly aroused at all.

Could he forget Kyosul if he hugged her now?

"Ah…"

As if she were prepared for this moment, she made a m.o.a.n. He shook off his wild thoughts.

"Stop it."

He left the Dongbin Palace without making love to her.

'How stupid I was!'

He felt he was so stupid while leaving the palace.

He thought it would be rude to Kyoyoung if he hugged her to forget about Kyosul, no matter how s.e.x.u.a.lly she approached him.

'I'm screwed up…' He reproached himself.

'I can't afford to waste my time playing this kind of emotions game.'

He pulled himself together.

Imperial palace, throne, emperor: he reminded himself of the great cause he had lived with all his life.

***

Bipaan had to harden his expression when he was told that someone came from the Dongbi Palace to visit him. In fact, he inevitably saw Kyosul because of imperial events, but tried to keep his distance from her. But it was not easy for him to give up his affection for her.

It was at this point when he was struggling to forget her when she came back again.

He even thought that she might want to make fun of him after she found out his true feelings about her.

"Long live the Crown Prince! I'm honored to see you. The Crown Princess has not yet come back to her residence!"

The person from the Dongbi Palace was not Kyosul but her nanny.

Given her way of greeting him quickly, she looked very desperate. Obviously, she had been agonizing about this for a long time before coming to see him. She kept wiping sweat on her forehead as if she was very tense.

"What do you mean she didn't come back?"

"She went for a walk around noon…But she hasn't come back yet. I dared to call on you because I was worried something bad might have happened to her."

'"It's already quite dark outside."

He looked outside.

He was as nervous and worried as the nanny.

"Call up the Imperial Guards right now."

He ordered the eunuch and then stood up from his seat.

'I'm afraid she has been hurt while running around in the field.'

He recalled the tomboy image of Woorum, who ran around hills like a rabbit and climbed up and down trees faster than a squirrel. As there were large trees in the palace, he naturally thought that she might have been attracted.

The first place he visited was the library in the East Palace, but the officer in charge of the library said he never saw her. Then he reluctantly looked around all the likely places in the library and the back garden of the outer palace in vain. Coming back with a heavy heart, he arranged a search team of the Imperial Guards.

'She can't go there…'

Suddenly, he called the nanny quietly as if he smelled a rat.

"Let's go to the South Palace."

"…Pardon?"

The nanny was stunned. Given her reaction, he felt the nanny must know something regarding her disappearance. Pretending to be calm, he issued an order.

"Go to the South Palace and check out where Prince Ruhae is right now."

The nanny's face turned white. Trembling like a leaf, she moved up and down her dry lips.

"Well, Your Majesty…"

"Hurry up!"

He didn't reveal his feelings. After quickly ordering them to hurry up, he turned away.

He could feel the nanny's glance at him.

Her glance was telling him, 'Do you already know? How did you know? How come…'

But he ignored her desperate glance, and he didn't want to let her know that he also knew something.

There was no update from the Dongbi Palace, and there was no official record on her entrance or exit of the palace.

The nanny sent to the South Palace soon returned. Her face was white and tired. She couldn't easily open her mouth and hesitated for a while.

"Even the South Palace people say they don't know Prince Ruhae's whereabouts."

On the night, Kyosul disappeared, Ruhae also disappeared. He wiggled one of his eyebrows.

That's what he expected, but confirming it always was a tough thing for him.

"When did she leave the palace?"

"… At noon… . "

He cast a glance afar, while staying silent.

The search team of the Imperial Guards were out everywhere to find their whereabouts.

Bipaan wanted to protect Kyosul by all means, but things didn't work out as he wished.

'What a tough day it is!'

While standing alone, watching the soldiers on the search with a nervous look, he looked lonely.

The situation surrounding Kyosul's missing unfolded more uncomfortably in Bipaan's eyes.

Unexpectedly, Prince Dukwol and Oran visited him to help with their search efforts.