Chapter : 13
Sitting on the Madder Flower (3)
The main estate of the Ha family had been vast, but this place was even more complex, like a maze.
Since the inner castle was the ruler’s residence, there weren’t many soldiers stationed inside it. After all, the area around the inner castle was already heavily guarded, so there was no need to fill the inner quarters with troops as well.
Still, at the very least, there were usually guards posted in front of the middle gate or assigned to each residential area. Strangely, however, there was no one at all where she was standing now.
The first time she had stepped out of her quarters alone, maids had followed her, but today she had come out too early and was by herself.
Standing in the middle of the garden and turning around, she saw several branching paths.
She had no idea which way she had come from.
Well, they’ll come looking for me.
Since things had turned out this way anyway, Jo-yeong decided to go a bit farther inside.
Unlike the other gardens, this one was overgrown with trees and grass, like an abandoned place that hadn’t been tended in a long time.
It reminded her of the rear garden of the Ha family estate where she had lived.
The difference was that the place she had known was a dirty, useless patch of land where sunlight barely reached, whereas here the sun was warm, nameless wildflowers filled the ground, and butterflies drawn by the fragrance of blossoms danced about.
Why would they leave a place like this abandoned?
It wasn’t a landscaped garden, but it wasn’t gloomy either. It had a natural, unadorned charm.
As if enchanted, Jo-yeong ventured deeper into the garden that had turned into a small forest.
She hadn’t gone far when she saw an old wall and gate hidden by thick foliage.
The stone wall was so covered with ivy and weeds that only its outline was barely visible, and the gate was tangled in vines and half broken.
Still, sunlight streamed in well, so the space beyond the shattered gate glowed brightly.
No. This is…
The warm light she had thought was sunlight alone wasn’t just from the sun. As she kept looking, a faint, shimmering glow—like heat haze—wavered, radiating warmth just from being seen.
It wasn’t a dazzling brilliance like a princess’s jade token, but there was a sacred presence that felt as though it might gently soothe the heart.
There was something precious inside.
What in the world could be in a place so abandoned?
Driven by curiosity, Jo-yeong tore away the vines and all but smashed the creaking gate open as she went inside.
The interior, too, had clearly been abandoned for a long time, with weeds growing thickly, but straight ahead stood a pavilion.
She didn’t know who had once used it, but the simple, elegant structure gave a faint sense of its former owner’s tastes.
Though the paper windows had rotted away, the building as a whole didn’t feel excessively decrepit.
Rustle, rustle.
Jo-yeong pushed through brush that reached up to her knees as she walked forward.
The shimmering light was flowing out through the window lattice.
Creeeak.
When she opened the door, the rusted hinges, unused for ages, let out a stiff groan.
A haze of mist-like dust rushed at her, but Jo-yeong paid it no mind and moved toward the light, which now appeared even clearer.
Judging by the furnishings in the room, it seemed to have been a woman’s living quarters.
Small, delicate ornaments remained just as they were; though thickly coated in dust, everything felt as though it had been used until just moments ago.
For some reason, whoever had left this place had abandoned it without putting anything in order.
The light was spreading out from beneath the bed.
Ignoring the dust, Jo-yeong knelt down and peered underneath.
What is that?
She pulled out a blue silk pouch. Having been in the shadow beneath the bed, it was free of dust and its color hadn’t faded at all.
But the precious object wasn’t the pouch itself. When she opened it, a knotted tassel emerged—and that was the treasure.
The light seemed to insist that this tassel was something precious, though Jo-yeong couldn’t immediately tell what made it special.
At a glance, aside from being a bit longer than a typical norigae ornament and having a round mother-of-pearl decoration hanging from it, it didn’t look particularly valuable.
In fact, more light flowed from the plain tassel than from the mother-of-pearl ornament, which usually looked the most expensive.
Ah!
As she examined the knotted tassel more closely, turning it over in her fingers, she felt as though she understood.
Each strand of the rich tassel was dyed a slightly different shade.
Every single thread had been carefully dyed differently, gradually shifting from a pale apricot color to a deep sunset hue.
It was not something made with ordinary care.
That was probably why the light wasn’t flashy, but warm.
Someone must have been making this for someone else and didn’t realize they’d left it behind.
This was something that truly ought to be returned to its owner.
Jo-yeong put it back into the pouch and stepped outside.
Just then—
“Your Highness, Princess!”
“Your Highness!”
People came rushing in from the overgrown garden, their voices filled with alarm.
After returning to Bisan Fortress, Yeon-ho first sought out the princess.
Since she was not yet his wife but still a princess, it was only proper that he report to her upon returning from a campaign.
Normally, the princess would come out to meet him, but she seemed to be trying her best not to fulfill her duties as a princess.
As he was about to go find her himself, Bu-gyeong spoke apologetically.
“Just so, Your Highness—the princess went out for a morning walk, but she hasn’t returned yet, so we’re looking for her. We’ll bring her shortly.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a commotion could be seen in the distance.
Yul-bok spotted it first and pointed.
“Oh, isn’t that Her Highness the Princess?”
Far off, a group of maids were hurrying along in a cluster, escorting the princess.
At that moment, Yeon-ho’s eyes met the princess’s.
Her steps stopped, and the maids halted as well, then noticed Yeon-ho.
As Yeon-ho approached her, the maids looked flustered and at a loss.
He soon understood why when he got closer.
Her hair and clothes were covered in all kinds of weeds and dust, almost comically so.
How could a princess who had gone out for a morning walk look like this?
As though she had tumbled down a slope.
“Did you fall?”
The first words from her betrothed, who had returned from the battlefield after two days, were remarkably awkward.
Jo-yeong replied with a bitter smile.
“No. More importantly, I heard you’ve returned. I’m glad you came back safely.”
“If you didn’t fall, then how did you end up like this?”
The two of them were each saying only what they wanted to say.
“I was looking around inside the castle and happened to enter a pavilion that housed a secret garden. I was drawn by curiosity—”
“A secret garden?”
Before she could finish, Yeon-ho cut her off sharply.
“Yes. There was a pavilion that looked abandoned—”
“Were you in Byeolwongak?”
With a hardened expression, Yeon-ho questioned the maids.
The maids bowed their heads, intimidated.
“Yes… We escorted Her Highness when she came out.”
“……”
Yeon-ho stared at them in silence, anger evident on his face, and the maids couldn’t bring themselves to meet his gaze, fidgeting nervously.
The one who felt most uncomfortable in this situation was Jo-yeong.
Caught between the anxious maids and Yeon-ho’s angry expression, she was just about to speak.
“Um—”
“Lord Governor. Would it not be best to first escort Her Highness inside?”
Thanks to Bu-gyeong’s timely interjection, the maids finally escaped Yeon-ho’s gaze.
Though his expression remained stiff, Yeon-ho spoke politely.
“It would be best to do as Bu-gyeong suggests. I will properly pay my respects later. Please go in first.”
“Yes. Then…”
Jo-yeong was hurried away by the maids.
Once she was out of sight, Yul-bok spoke awkwardly.
“Are you still that angry? Surely it’s time to forgive now.”
“How does one forgive someone who is already dead?”
Yeon-ho retorted coldly as he turned toward his quarters.
Bu-gyeong dismissed all the maids and personally attended to Jo-yeong’s bath.
Watching her carefully, Jo-yeong spoke first.
“Um… that place called Byeolwongak. Was it somewhere I wasn’t supposed to go?”
“There is nowhere within this castle that Her Highness the Princess may not go.”
“Then why was the ruler so displeased?”
“That place is like an old wound for His Lordship. A wound that hasn’t healed and has festered—so much so that even the slightest touch causes pain.”
“A place that becomes a wound… I don’t know what happened there, but leaving it abandoned like that will only make the wound fester.”
Jo-yeong felt sorry for the abandoned secret garden she had seen earlier.
“Indeed. Perhaps that is why His Lordship insists on remembering that place as it is. Pain is not something one can easily forget.”
Bu-gyeong’s murmured voice sounded sorrowful.
Jo-yeong looked at the blue silk pouch resting atop her discarded clothes.
The gentle light contained within the object felt out of place in a location burdened with such a dark past.
