The door opened and Hyejin came in with Koryun in her arms.

Koryun had been born at the beginning of the rainy season. Many court ladies dissuaded her from going out for the first few months after she was born, but she rejected their advice out of hand.

Holding her baby, she offered formal greetings to Kyosul and sat down on a cushion lower in the back. She opened her mouth gently while looking at Kyosul for a moment.

“I told you about it, Your Highness.”

“… Pardon?”

“Don’t you remember I already told you that you would have a baby, too?”

Her well-arranged white teeth gleamed as she smiled. As Kyosul saw her smiling brightly first, she looked on her in awe for a moment before coming to her senses.

“Ah. Uh, as it happens, I’ve come to be pregnant as you predicted.”

Kyosul thought Heyjin mentioned her her pregnancy out of courtesy, so she responded accordingly.

“Congratulations!” she said in a calm voice.

Kyosul returned her compliment by smiling but felt bitter deep inside.

Though Heyjin was congratulating her purely, she couldn’t feel comfortable because she was deceiving her by not telling the truth.

“Just relax and receive my congratulations!”

“Pardon?”

While smiling at her, Kyosul rolled his eyes in embarrassment as she felt Heyjin seemed to read her heart.

“You are smiling, but you are not smiling at all. Please don’t think of anything else and just feel comfortable. What are you worried? The baby in your womb is your baby, right?”

“… Yes. ”

“Then, what is bothering you? When you feel relaxed, your baby can grow well.”

Hyejin’s blue eyes gleamed mysteriously.

Did Heyjin know something about her baby? Looking into Kyosul’s blinking eye, she noticed a book on the small desk before her. She held out her hand and picked it up.

“I studied this book, too.”

“Oh, these days I’m learning a lot about the Mok kingdom from Ruhae. He has been appointed as the teacher for my prenatal education.”

“Really? I heard a lot about him from my husband.”

“I see.”

“He says Prince Ruhae is a very good man. So, I’m going to ask him to teach my girl when she grows up.”

While saying that, Hyejin stroked Koryun’s cheeks. Koryun wiggled her eyes a bit then snuggled into her bosom.

Hyejin’s gaze upon Koryun was soft. Seeing her, Kyosul stroked her belly and thought to herself, ‘Can I and my baby laugh happily like Koryun and Hyejin?’

While Kyosul was looking at her blankly, there was heard a court lady’s voice outside the door.

“Your Highness, Princess Oran’s son has arrived to see you!”

“Please let him in.”

At that moment, Hyejin said, “Let me leave now. Once again, congratulations! Hope you don’t worry about anything and deliver a baby well.”

Hyejin said goodbye and left the room immediately.

Right after she left, Mu came in with an excited look.

Then he, sitting on a cushion, jumped into her arms,.

“Ayamama! Ayamama! ”

“Mu, What’s the matter with you?”

Surprised by his sudden action, she hugged him and stroked his back. Wrapped in her arms, he murmured feebly, “Ayamama, don’t be sick. Don’t be sick because I can’t protect you as I’m so young now.”

“Mu…”

“I went to the flower garden with mom. She told me you couldn’t come to the flower garden anymore. I asked why, and she replied that you would have to stay put in your room. She also told me you would have to take care of yourself. You must be sick, right? You shouldn’t be sick. Please, don’t be sick. Let me blow my breath on you.”

Then he raised his hands on her shoulders and blew his breath on her cheeks.

“You are alright as I blew my breath on you, right?”

She burst into laughter at his bright smile.

It was true that her mobility was impaired by her pregnancy, but Mu misunderstood the reason why.

He tilted his head a bit when she smiled at him then grinned at her, thinking she smiled because she was okay. She opened his mouth, stroking his head.

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m not sick, Mu. ”

“Really? Aren’t you sick? ”

“Nope, Here inside my belly is a baby, so I can’t go out because I have to be careful.”

Then, she stroked her belly. He cast a glance at her belly. Then, he jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands.

“I know! I know! It’s like that baby girl Koryun, right? Will your belly grow big like this?”

He drew a large circle over his stomach. She had no choice but to smile and nod as he acted so cute.

“Wow, a baby! I saw Prince Heyjin holding Koryun in her arms a moment ago. So, will I have another sister like her?”

“Yes. You’re smart, Mu! “she said.

Mu cautiously crawled on her, knelt before her and put his lips on her belly.

“Sister, can you hear me? Grow up there well and come out quickly. Let’s play together!”

He stroked her belly with his small hands. At that moment, she could forget everything and laugh happily.

***

Next to the Dongbi Palace was a small pavilion. It was a small space housed just one table and two chairs. It had a good view of the front yard and backyard of the Dongbi Palace. It was a good place for anybody to watch Dongbi Palace quietly. Kyoyoung liked to spend leisure time at the pavilion. She drank tea, wrote calligraphy, or just sat down there for fresh outside air.

Again today, she was sitting there. On the table was a large piece of drawing paper. Small porcelain dishes were lined up along the side filled with colored dye.

She grabbed a fine brush and slowly drew each stroke. It seemed she spent time leisurely rather than painting, basking in the warming sunlight amid the gentle wind. .

It was spring.

“Spring…”

Kyoyoung murmured suddenly. The tip of the brush stopped in the middle of drawing a long thin line and trembled. She drew the leaf vein crooked. She hated spring at some point. It was about this time last year when Kyosull entered the palace.

‘I’m afraid I can’t love the Crown Princess.’

That’s what Kyosul confessed to Kyoyoung when they met.

“Ahhh!”

A scream was heard suddenly, along with the noise of something being smashed.

“Your Highness!”

“Princess Kyoyoung!”

Sudden court ladies rushed to her when they heard a sudden scream at the pavilion.

“Don’t come near me!”

She issued a sharp command again. They stopped approaching her. While looking at each other for a moment, they asked carefully.

“Princess Kyoyoung, are you okay?”

“What happened?”

Their master was depressed. She had never raised her voice as high as today. They were not only surprised but also embarrassed. This kind of situation became more frequent over the past several months. All the court ladies already knew that their master was not just out of sorts but also depressed.

She didn’t let them approach her. Her voice was calm like before, but it was somewhat stiff agitated, and trembling.

“Nothing… I just saw a little bug. Let me take care of it, go back to your work. ”

“We’ll take care of it, Your Highness.”

“I just said just go away!”

Her voice from the pavilion was firm. They exchanged eye signals with each other.

“Yes, madame. We’re leaving now.”

And they stepped back and left there.

Their footsteps disappeared gradually. The palace people learned how to walk silently. And they were accustomed to listening to their muffled footsteps, too.

Only when she was convinced that she was left alone, she let out a deep sigh. She stood up suddenly and grabbed a corner of the table. Her strained hand trembled.

The table was empty. All the bowls, brushes and paper were strewn all over the floor. Various colors of dyes were mixed up, and the porcelain dishes and inkstones containing water broken.

“I’m so stupid.”

She murmured with a sigh. Her blurry gaze skimmed over the broken pieces of china. The floor of the pavilion was stained with various colors, but she didn’t move at all. Rather she watched the colored dyes permeating into the wood.

“I can’t even understand why I’m so stupid.”

She just felt so sad and pathetic about herself. The messed up pavilion reflected her bad temper. The result of her tantrum tormented her.

“A lie, a liar.”

Her fine makeup was twisted in an instant.

‘I’m afraid I can’t love the Crown Prince…”

“Ahhh!”

She shouted again. There was nothing else she could throw or break in the pavilion.

Bang, bang.

All she could do was hitting the table with her clenched, dry fist.

“Stop it, stop it!”

She reached out into the air. Kyosul’s stupid voice kept ringing in her ears.

Every time she recalled Kyosul’s lies, she couldn’t control her pent-up anger.

She couldn’t calm herself down without screaming, shaking her hands, and breaking something.