Chapter 128: Chapter 128

It was the wedding day.

Bipaan headed for the Dongbi Palace, the official dwelling place of his official wife, which had been empty for a long time. The woman was the princess of the Hwa Kingdom. When he entered the Dongbi Palace to meet the woman who would be his official wife, he saw a woman who was covered with a red cloth.

Waving her hands dangerously, she was at a loss about what to do as she couldn’t see.

“Where are you, nanny? Please hold my hand.”

He grabbed her hand waving in the air. She did not seem to even know who was touching her hand. It was no wonder because he appeared after the red cloth was put over her face.

“Nanny?”

She felt relieved, thinking she grabbed the nanny’s hand. At that moment, the court ladies in her room shouted in unison, “Long live the Crown Prince! We’re honored to see you!”

He didn’t take their greetings seriously, but the princess trembled at their greetings.

He felt she was trembling when she tightened her grip on his hand.

“As you’re late, I’ve come here to see you in person.”

The princess flinched again. While she was absent-minded, the princess bowed and opened her mouth, “Oh, I apologize. I’m late as I have to do makeup and get dressed up…”

“It’s okay. As I will escort you, follow me and watch your step.”

“Yes, yes.”

Before the princess finished talking, he pulled her hand to his side. Looking down at the skirt, she went ahead, led by his hands. Following the two were the eunuch, chief court lady, a group of court ladies and the nanny. Soldiers holding red flags on both sides escorted them. When Bipaan and the princess arrived at the entrance of the wedding hall, somebody blew the trumpet loudly, and the musicians began to play. Surprised by the sound of the trumpet, she hesitated, and Bipaan looked at her.

She was a much smaller woman than he expected. If he had not heard that she was now an adult, he would have thought that she was fifteen at most. As her face was covered, he did not see her face. But he assumed that her face would look like that young girl he met a long time ago in the Hwa Kingdom.

Bipaan leaned forward a bit and whispered in her ears, “Do not tremble. You have to walk without holding my hands from now on. Just watch my steps and follow me. ”

“Yes, yes…”

Her small voice was trembling. Although he let go of her hands, he could feel that the woman standing by was still tense.

By the time she felt comfortable about standing alone, Bipaan began to walk. She followed him carefully. He saw her trembling, but pretended not to know. He was not so generous to care for a little girl like her.

Now Bipaan had an official wife.

“The Crown Prince has arrived!”

When the chief court lady announced it and opened the door, Bipaan came into her room.

He slowly headed to her bed. Kyosul was holding both hands on her knees. He removed the red cloth covering her head. She sat quietly, with her eyes closed.

“Open your eyes.”

She flinched at that.

Her closed eyes trembled and opened, gently revealing her black eyes.

Bipaan was looking at her face after he removed the red cloth covering her face and dropped it on the floor.

It’s strange, but it was familiar to him.

Feeling strange momentarily, he soon regained his composure. Although her beauty was stunning, he already saw many beautiful women in the Mok Kingdom. Could he still be captivated by her beauty?

He couldn’t understand why he was enchanted by her beauty even for a moment.

“Please raise your head.”

She didn’t.

“Please raise your head and look at me. I am Bipaan, your official husband.”

Kyosul gently raised her head. Her big eyes were full of fear.

‘Fear, fear. How come you are afraid of me? You’re still only a little girl,’ he thought to himself.

Thinking like that, he couldn’t control laughter. Kyosul first saw his face.

Both looked at each other silently for a while. It was Bipaan who broke the silence.

He took off his red wedding coat and put it on the bedside.

When he took off the wedding coat, which was red like the petals of the flower, she saw his dark red robes this time. He then took off her outer garments and the crown studded with fine ornaments.

And that was it.

“Crown Princess!”

When Bipaan took off his clothes, Kyosul, who was shrinking, with her eyes closed, raised her head and looked at him. He gently stroked her face with his warm, large hands.

Putting his hands down, he moved back a step. He soon turned into a cold-hearted man.

“It doesn’t matter to me whatever you do. Whether you embroider or read books, that’s none of my business. Just don’t stand in my way. Don’t disturb my efforts to succeed the throne. Other than that, live freely as you wish.”

After telling her this in a low and cold voice, he turned and sat in front of the liquor table. With his back against her, he continued, “By the way, don’t wait for me. I will never come and see you here.”

After that, he never again opened his mouth. Surprised by his bombshell announcement, she did not even dare to open her mouth, looking at his back.

Sitting in front of the liquor table, it looked like he was going to go back to his dwelling place at the East Palace when it was getting dark a little later. He was sober and couldn’t even sleep.

Soft breathing rang in his ears from the woman sitting on the bed. As it was quiet, her breathing sounded loud when he listened for it.

As he was hearing her soft breathing, he felt somehow relaxed.

While he was listening like that, time passed quickly and the day broke.

He didn’t intend to stay there all night, but that’s what happened. From the moment he met her for the first time, he could not understand his actions towards Kyosul. Although he missed her, he couldn’t follow through with action. He had no lust for her.

‘Why?’

Wondering why for a moment, he closed his eyes quietly then stood up. It was futile thinking to him. He quickly walked toward the door.

Though he had lots of complicated thoughts about her, he did not cast a glance at her.

Only showing his back to her all night, he left her room like that.

He deliberately closed the door loudly. By closing it with a bang, Bipaan decided that he would end his longing for her, but it was a dangerous thing for Bipaan to have stayed in her room all night. It should have never happened again.

It was more dangerous because he didn’t intend it.

He had to close her feelings towards her.

That was the only way he could be the emperor.

***

Bipaan’s dwelling place in the center of the East Palace, called Dongchondang, was always quiet. Even the errand boy held his breath there, so he could never raise his voice. Sitting in the study with his book open in front of his arms, Bipaan meaninglessly knocked on the desk with his right finger.

Tak, tak, tak.

His long nails hit the wooden desk and made a clear sound. After returning from Kyosul’s residence, he had been reading a book for a while, but he couldn’t get through a single page.

When he wasn’t reading a book at the desk, it meant he had something in his mind.

Now, he was looking for the answer to two questions in his head.

‘Why did I stroke her face back then?’

‘Why didn’t I get out of there right away and stay overnight?’

She was a young girl.

She was young but beautiful.

And she had eyes that seemed to burst into tears at any moment. Her pale hands, trembling like a leaf, turned white when he entered her room last night. She had a slender figure that could be buried and disappear in his red and big clothes.

“Poor girl.”

Murmuring to himself with a bitter smile. Was it because he felt this young girl from a faraway country so pitiable? He stroked his chest with her left hand, on which he was resting his chin.

“Did you have this kind of feeling, like sympathy or compassion? How funny…” he asked himself.

As if his question was resolved, he turned his eyes to the book. Then he could read the pages.

He wished that was the right answer.

He wished it was just his feelings like sympathy or compassion, or some other warm feeling, but he was not supposed to toy with this kind of feelings.

His fate did not work out for him as he wished..