Chapter 20
— — —
Three days later, Hwaryeong dressed herself more radiantly than ever. With a basket filled with rice cakes coated in various delicacies in her hands, she stood before the Prince’s Estate.
As she faced the large plaque inscribed with the words "Prince’s Estate," Hwaryeong’s heart swelled with excitement.
When she knocked, a servant of the estate peered at her through the gap in the door. Upon catching sight of her exquisite beauty, the servant blushed involuntarily and asked, "What brings you here?"
Hwaryeong offered a graceful smile, like a blushing bride, and replied, "My older sister is the Consort of Prince Hye, and I have brought some rice cakes for Her Highness."
"Ah, you must be the daughter of the Left State Councilor."
The servant opened the gate without a hint of suspicion.
Stepping inside, Hwaryeong slowly looked around the Prince’s Estate. She had been amazed by the grandeur when she visited her maiden home, but the Prince’s Estate was twice as vast and far more opulent.
"I shall escort you to where Her Highness is staying."
"Yes, thank you."
The servant was incredibly kind.
People in the world were always kind to Hwaryeong. It was because she was beautiful.
Since Hwaryeong knew this fact all too well, she felt genuine ecstasy at having been born with such beauty.
In her life, her half-sister Hwacheon was the only person who treated her unkindly.
Seeing that everyone else adored her while only her sister despised her, she concluded it must be because her sister was a strange person. Hwaryeong had never doubted that belief until now.
"Where is His Highness Prince Hye?"
When Hwaryeong, who had claimed to be visiting the Consort, suddenly asked for the Prince’s whereabouts, the servant looked momentarily flustered before answering, "He is currently in the study."
"Ah, I see. It’s not that I have any other intentions; I was just curious."
"Yes, my lady."
The study, she thought. Where might the study be? She needed to meet the Prince soon and catch his eye so that her plans could proceed step by step.
Of course, she knew she had to take her time, as one cannot reach the summit of a mountain in a single stride.
However, since her plan was to use Hwacheon as a stepping stone to reach the top, the key was to meet the Prince before her half-sister could catch on to her schemes.
Of course, that was a matter of fate, not something she could control with her own power.
Even so, she felt no fear or great worry. Based on her life so far, the world had always been on her side.
‘It would be nice if my sister and I could get along. What on earth is she so greedy for? It’s so strange.’
She truly believed that.
It was Hwacheon who was strange. Hwacheon, who hated her, was a rare oddity. Therefore, it was only right to prune such an oddity to keep the world clean.
‘They say Prince Hye is rumored to be so beautiful. But no matter how beautiful a man is, he is still a man. He couldn’t possibly compare to my beauty.’
It was just as she was walking behind the servant, lost in these thoughts.
Along with a gentle spring breeze, the back of a man caught her eye.
He was wearing robes in a color that seemed to have been lifted directly from the blue sky. It was a clear, limpid shade without a single cloud.
The man felt her presence and slowly turned around.
In that instant, Hwaryeong’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt as if she were plummeting to the ground.
Her fingertips and toes tingled as if burned, and the breath was sucked from her lungs all at once. It felt as if she were a person facing death.
He was clearly a living, breathing human, yet as she looked at him, her vision blurred as if she were in a dream rather than reality. It was a miraculous sight that only he, that very existence, could create.
The man’s deep eyes turned toward Hwaryeong.
At that moment, all the noise in the world ceased, and only his breathing could be heard clearly. He was a dreamlike, distant existence, like a fantasy that could not be touched even if one reached out.
Who is he? Is he a celestial being? Does a celestial being truly live in the Prince’s Estate?
Hwaryeong’s lovely face froze in horror, and she could not even part her lips.
Just then, the servant who had been guiding Hwaryeong spotted the man and bowed deeply. Even in that moment, Hwaryeong stared intently only at the man’s face.
She knew it was a great rudeness to stare at someone’s face so brazenly, but she could not pull her gaze away.
The man, perhaps accustomed to being stared at as if he had bewitched someone, wore a very calm expression, indifferent to whether Hwaryeong was looking or not.
Hwaryeong’s soul was strongly drawn to the man before her. No matter how much she tried to compose herself, she could not deny that fact.
"Your Highness Prince Hye. This lady is the sister of the Consort, and she has come to visit in person, bringing rice cakes for Her Highness."
At the servant’s report, Hwaryeong’s eyes widened. The man’s identity was none other than the famous Prince Hye.
The husband of Hwacheon, and the man who would soon be her own husband.
Hwaryeong could not help but be moved. If she could go to the side of such a beautiful man, what did it matter if she were a concubine?
In truth, she had not wanted to be anyone’s concubine, but she had accepted becoming the Prince’s mistress under her mother’s insistence.
It was a conclusion they had reached without the Prince’s consent, but Hwaryeong was certain that if he saw her beauty, he would not be able to refuse.
She regained her senses and hurriedly offered a formal bow.
"I greet Your Highness Prince Hye. I am Yoo Hwaryeong, the second daughter of the Left State Councilor, Yoo Hanshin."
The man stared at Hwaryeong intently before opening his mouth.
"Ah, the sister-in-law."
Sister-in-law. The word grated on her ears so much that her insides felt twisted.
But it was fine. Since she had luckily encountered the Prince, he would surely be so captivated by her beauty that he would be desperate to take her as his wife.
Hwaryeong smiled at the Prince, her eyes crinkling softly.
"I came to deliver these rice cakes to my sister."
"You sisters seem to have a good relationship."
"Yes, of course. I often prepare things my sister might enjoy and come to visit."
It was a complete lie. Except for today, Hwaryeong had never once brought food to Hwacheon.
But her priority was to leave a good impression on the Prince. Since Hwacheon would have thrown it all away anyway, she calculated that it didn't matter if she claimed to have brought it.
"How virtuous."
At the word "virtuous" from the man’s lips, Hwaryeong felt so happy that her stomach tickled.
"Hwacheon is currently practicing flower arrangement."
How could even his voice be this sweet?
She hadn't wanted to be hung up on the position of a concubine, but seeing this man, she was consumed by possessiveness. She wanted to make him hers by any means necessary.
Hwaryeong took a step toward the Prince and said in a low voice, "Ah, then could you perhaps deliver these rice cakes to my sister in my stead?"
"You’ve come all this way, so you should deliver them yourself."
"Well... my sister is deeply focused on something, and if I were to dare disturb her..."
Hwaryeong let her voice trail off. The Prince tilted his head at Hwaryeong’s dejected appearance.
"She might be angry with me..."
"Hwacheon? She is not a child who would get angry over such a trivial thing."
"Ah..."
Hwaryeong moistened her eyes like a woman with a tragic story. As transparent tears welled up, the Prince’s head tilted further to the side.
He looked at her closely, as if analyzing the hidden intentions of the woman before him.
Mistaking his gaze for a sign that he was smitten with her, Hwaryeong pretended to be even more pitiful.
"I was taught that for me, born of a lowly concubine, to dare disturb my sister, the legitimate daughter, is a sin punishable by death..."
"Who taught you that?"
"That is... I cannot say."
To anyone, it sounded as if Hwacheon had taught her that.
It wasn't a complete lie. Hwacheon would surely have said as much.
Hwaryeong felt no guilt in telling such lies. She simply thought that this was the perfect opportunity to firmly plant a negative impression of Hwacheon in the Prince’s mind.
Are men not generally weak against the tears of a beautiful woman?
If she welled up with tears with such a pretty face, even Prince Hye would have his heart melted. After all, even her own father would act as if he would pluck the stars from the sky if Hwaryeong teared up.
* * *
The scent of the blooming magnolia wafted through the air. It was a faint fragrance compared to its vivid color. Yet, that subtlety made it all the more tantalizing.
Flowers truly are beautiful in both appearance and scent. Above all, they attract flashy butterflies.
What a fascinating existence.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Since my husband, the Prince, usually barged in without knocking, the owner of the faint shadow flickering outside the door must surely be a servant.
"Come in."
No sooner had I given permission than a servant entered and reported, "I greet Your Highness. It is nothing else, but your sister has come to visit."
Sister? I thought for a moment about whether I had a sister, and then the face of that wretched thing came to mind, causing me to furrow my brow. The servant took a half-step back, perhaps intimidated by my expression.
Ah, how sorry. I’ve startled an innocent person.
‘Why did that thing come here? What connection does she have with me?’
0 Comments