CH 21.2

On his way to the Empress Palace this morning, Yihan pictured Hwawoon with his pale face, sitting gracefully and bowing his head without saying anything. It was as if he alone knew that everyone would be shocked and unable to trust him. Yeon Hwawoon sat calmly and quietly as if those were also things he had to endure. Yihan unconsciously imagined this.

He knew that it was laughable. Yihan himself felt he was very ridiculous for still being tricked by him despite having been disappointed so many times. That was certainly ridiculous and unbelievable.

However, the emperor, Yihan,

“I… I want to be a loyal person for you from now on, Your Majesty.”

If he recalled that voice; if he recalled Yeon Hwawoon from that day who spoke of his desperate feeling with an expression and tone that he never showed to him, and made him unable to take that easily as a lie;  

Even after so many memories of disappointment and anger, he had vain hopes such as ‘what if it is true this time? What if he completely changed for real this time?’ It was not that he didn’t know that deceit was the only thing that came back even if he trusted him. However, Yeon Hwawoon whom he met recently felt like a different person.

“Your Majesty, where…”

The eunuch asked again to the emperor who stood up silently. Yihan walked silently for a while and soon opened his mouth.

“… just. Let’s just walk.”

A long shadow stretched behind the tired emperor’s back. 

***

“Your Highness, don’t you feel cold?”

Although it was spring, it was still cold at night. Ahjin was worried about Hwawoon, who came out in thin spring clothes, so she asked until her mouth dried up while fixing the outer garment around her master’s shoulder more firmly. Hwawoon was sitting on a swing at one side of Jeongan Palace garden and looking at the moonlight.

“I’m fine. I’m feeling rather good to relieve the frustration in my heart, so don’t worry too much.” 

However, despite Hwawoon’s answer, Ahjin still pouted her lips without removing her anxious expression.

“Your Highness, I’ve told you that your body is weak. I’m telling you’re at odds with the cold air. On top of that, your lungs are not good, so you have to be careful since a mere cold could make you very sick.” 

“Yes, yes, I got it. I got it, so stop worrying about me and take a seat here. The moonlight is very beautiful…” 

While listening to Ahjin’s worries, Hwawoon looked up at the night sky with a beautiful moonlight and replied in a smiling voice. Tonight’s moonlight without any clouds in the sky was so bright that it could be sensed even through the closed window. Hwawoon, who was feeling frustrated at that time, came out to the garden to chase that light.

However, Ahjin gave no response to Hwawoon. She couldn’t reply to him. Ahjin kept thinking about Hwawoon’s words asking her to sit next to him like a broken person. 

What kind of servant dared to sit next to their master in this imperial palace? No matter how kind and benevolent they were, would a master give their servant a seat to sit next to them?

That didn’t make sense. That was a thing they dared not to accept. Even though a servant could prostrate on the ground and be a footrest for their master sitting on the chair, they couldn’t sit side by side with their master and enjoy the moonlight.

However, a moment ago her master; the very master who in the past thought the court ladies no more than peddle on the ground, just now reached out to her and invited her to watch the moon together nonchalantly. As if Ahjin was really a human. As if he treated her as the same human, who breathed like him, had flesh and blood, and had a feeling to feel the beauty of the moonlight. 

She felt like crying. Ahjin felt like she wanted to bury her face on Hwawoon’s lap and cry out. Whether it was because she was sad about the hardships she had gone through in the past or because she was glad and liked that her master had changed now, all her emotions were soaring up that she couldn’t even differentiate it and she felt like running away. 

“Ahjin…?”

As if thinking that Ahjin’s silence was odd, Hwawoon turned his gaze from the sky to his side and asked. The way he looked at her was full of undeniable worries, so Ahjin sniffed her nose once. She sorted out her feelings and smiled at Hwawoon.

“It’s fine. I like standing next to you, Your Highness.”

“… Don’t you already stand next to me all day? Let’s sit down and watch together.” 

“No. I’m fine, Your Highness. I’m not tired at all. I swear.”

“You really—”

Hwawoon, who could not coerce Ahjin anymore since she rejected him firmly like that, made a dejected smile once and turned his head back to look at the moon. It was said that the moon had the power to oddly shake a human’s heart, and it seemed like the moon of this night was such a moon for Hwawoon.