CH 71

“I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday, Your Highness Sukbi.”

“Thank you, Yeonbin. I never expected I would get a congratulation from you in my life.”

“Unnie…”

Previously, on each other’s birthdays, they used to only exchange maledictions, not blessings, so even though there was no sharp tone in Biyoung’s voice, there was clearly a thorn in her words. Songhyun, who flinched from the side, pulled Biyoung’s arm, but Biyoung rather stared at Hwawoon’s face with a sharper gaze. However, Hwawoon answered in a calm voice, bowing his head slightly despite Biyoung’s provocation. 

“There is nothing I can do about what’s already passed, but I’ll congratulate you every year like today from now on.”

Biyoung didn’t say anything to Hwawoon’s answer and only stared at him. Unlike the court lady standing behind Yeonbin who could not properly control her hurt expression, no matter how sharp she looked at the end of his eyes and his mouth, she could not find any other discomfort in Hwawoon’s expression.

“… I’d be hoping for that too.” 

And when Biyoung uttered such words in a subdued voice, a voice was heard loudly from behind their backs, announcing that the empress had arrived. As the people facing each other turned around at the same time, Jaran showed herself slowly in splendid gold clothes that only the Empress could wear.

“Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“I see that all of you arrived earlier and were greeting each other. Get up.”

Jaran’s eyes, looking at the concubines raising their bodies after giving their greetings side by side, stopped at Yeonbin, who was wrapped in clear blue color under the moonlight of the night. Yeonbin’s clothes seemed too plain compared to the Empress and other concubines, but that neat attire shone so beautifully when it met a person named Yeon Hwawoon. At this point, it was safe to say that the person became the wings, not the clothes became the wings for the person anymore.

In addition, Jaran only felt that his clothes were plain compared to women’s clothes, but when she thought of the clothes Yeonbin wore after he changed, it was quite splendid, and she was even looking forward to the reaction of the Emperor who would see his figure today. 

Irreverently imagining the emperor’s reaction, Jaran stretched up the corners of her mouth for a while. She then immediately opened her mouth looking at Biyoung. 

“Sukbi. Happy birthday.” 

“I’m grateful for your vast kindness, Your Majesty. Allowing me to have such an undeserved banquet again this year.” 

“How can this be done only by my will? This is His Majesty’s heart that cares for you.”

“I’m so honored, Your Majesty.”

At that time, Biyoung felt that her mind, which had been running uneasily all night, had subsided somewhat. It was because when she faced the Empress who showed her dignity with just a few words, she remembered the promise she had made the other day that she would protect her. 

Biyoung still couldn’t completely believe Yeonbin, but she believed in the hearts of the Emperor and Empress she had seen so far. Such a worst-case scenario that plagued Biyoung all night was never going to happen. 

And when Biyoung was thinking about it and getting herself back together. 

“His Majesty the Emperor!” 

There was a loud shout from afar that shook all around. It was their emperor. 

***

What’s the big deal with it? It’s nothing big to be at a concubine’s birthday party. 

Yihan repeatedly wiped the sweat on his palms to the sleeves of his robe several times on his way to Changgyeong Pavilion. 

There was nothing special. As always, he just needed to sit with the Empress and the concubines, enjoy the food, celebrate Sukbi’s birthday, and give her the gift he had prepared. It was such a normal routine, which needed not concern his heart and mind.

Yihan then lowered his gaze again and looked at the jade ornaments hanging on his waist. Usually, Yihan was not interested in decorations or such, so he didn’t care about what was put on him. However, as if something got into him, it was uncountable how many times he changed the jade ornaments because he didn’t like everything that Eunuch Oh put on him today. 

Although it was obvious, the jade ornaments that Yihan rejected were made with all the hearts and souls of the nation’s best craftsmen, or the best works selected and sent from other countries. However, they were all so ugly in Yihan’s eyes today, strangely. 

Even though he changed it several times, he couldn’t find anything he liked. He ended up wearing whatever was available, but it kept bothering him the whole time, so Yihan continuously held and let go of the ornaments. Once again, it was never really ‘whatever was available.’

If the great Eunuch Oh knew how many times Yihan thought about asking him to change the ornaments the whole way to Suhwawon, even he could never have managed his expression properly.

So when he reached Suhwawon and stood in front of Changgyeong Pavilion. When he rubbed his palms again on the hem of his clothes, grabbed the jade ornament he didn’t like and let it go once again for no apparent reason, and walked to Changgyeong Pavilion like that. 

“Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor.”

When he instinctively found and gazed at Hwawoon first among those who greeted him—without having to make any effort, without even having the intention of doing so in the first place.

Yihan realized it at that moment. 

Ah, what made me so restless and nervous. What made me keep getting annoyed and don’t like the imperial robe, which does not change much every time, and the jade ornaments, which I never cared about. That is.

It was all because of that person. Yeon Hwawoon. He realized it was because that person, whose name was nothing new to him, kept making him think about him and got troubled.

Without knowing the identity of his feelings, Yihan was looking at Hwawoon for a long time. 

***

Yihan really tried his best. He was really trying to do his best, earnestly. He put quite a big force in his eyes so that he would turn his gaze to everyone sitting in front of him but Yeon Hwawoon.

The clothes he wore today were those that Yihan had already seen at Jeongan Palace yesterday, but various decorations were added to them as if the young court ladies of Jeongan Palace were in high spirits. 

Yihan had already imagined Hwawoon, whom he saw yesterday, for a moment last night. However, the appearance of Hwawoon standing on Changgyeong Pavilion under the moonlight with the night scenery of the main palace behind him was just magnificent and out of this world. Yihan, who couldn’t say anything until Eunuch Oh reminded him secretly, was just staring blankly at Hwawoon, and then he made a resolution that he should never look at Hwawoon afterward. 

But every time he blinked. Whenever that person was seen through the hem of the fluttering clothes of the dancers, who raised the excitement of the banquet. Every time he looked away to relax for a moment. Whenever he did it. 

Yihan was really going crazy because Hwawoon kept appearing in front of him senselessly. No, of course, Hwawoon didn’t really do anything to gain his attention, but Yihan thought it was entirely Hwawoon’s fault that his eyes kept turning and stopping at him.

Hwawoon only sat quietly watching the performance without looking at the emperor at all, and repeatedly put food in his mouth, but in Yihan’s opinion, all of this was due to Hwawoon anyway. 

Yet in fact, Hwawoon had a completely different thought at that time.

“Ahjin.” 

Hwawoon’s voice quietly called Ahjin through the beautiful sound of music. When she bowed down and brought her ears close to Hwawoon, Hwawoon peeked around and whispered.

“It would be… against the law to offer you food here, wouldn’t it…?” 

As soon as she heard that, Ahjin was surprised and looked at her master as if she was dumbfounded. Hwawoon himself seemed to have guessed that his question was a little excessive. He slightly shrugged and blinked his big eyes. 

In fact, after becoming Yeon Hwawoon, Hwawoon spent every day in a series of surprises, experiencing all sorts of delicacies that he had never imagined in his previous life, but the foods of the royal banquet he tasted for the first time today were definitely the best one ever. As it were foods that the Emperor and Empress would have eaten, the foods that must have been prepared with special care made Hwawoon’s eyes open wide as soon as he put them in his mouth. Hwawoon suddenly wanted to show this taste to Ahjin, who was standing next to him. 

“Your Highness, that’s definitely not acceptable.” 

“Right…? I thought so, too…”

What’s so disappointing about it? In the first place, people like Ahjin wouldn’t even dare to dream of eating it, and Ahjin herself had no desire to eat it, so what’s so sad about not being able to give the food to a person who was just a servant?

Ahjin, who was staring at Hwawoon, whose eyes drooped like a child who was stopped from doing what he wanted to do the most, could not stop the smile from spreading around her mouth. Even though she knew she shouldn’t have it, the desire to wrap her master’s cheeks with both hands and pinch them strongly ran wild inside her.