Chapter 2
Ha.
Seon let out a deep sigh. Her mind was still blank, her thoughts refusing to return to normal.
It was her uncle, the man who had cherished her more than anyone.
He had loved and cared for his niece as though she were his own daughter, and at times, he had been someone she could rely on even more than her own father.
Such a precious person, and now, once again, why……?
Her eyes suddenly burned, and heat rushed through her entire body. She wanted to burst into tears and scream her uncle’s name at the top of her lungs.
No matter how many times one experienced it, the pain of parting never became familiar.
Seon lowered her gaze to the floor and drew in a deep breath.
Fresh air filled her empty lungs.
At the same time, the tangled thoughts in her head slowly began to clear.
Seon was a member of the Imperial Family.
The moment she opened a window, there would be reporters everywhere, and eyes watching them from every direction.
Judging by the fact that the news had reached her through Seok-cheol, it meant the information was still under embargo.
She couldn’t give them even the slightest opening.
She had to make her judgment as an imperial family member.
“What about the press?”
“They’ve noticed that there was an accident, but apparently they haven’t reported His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince’s condition.”
She had to pull herself together.
As she had been trained to do all her life, Seon repeated the words to herself.
She had to find the best role she could play right now and perform it flawlessly.
If she looked even slightly strange, the public would immediately realize that something enormous had happened.
In that regard, Seon had confidence in herself.
Being the most beloved member of the Imperial Family wasn’t something one was chosen for simply because one had a pretty face.
She completely wiped away the tears that had begun gathering in the corners of her eyes.
Then she raised her hand mirror and carefully checked to make sure not a trace of moisture remained.
“First, the greeting.”
At Seon’s words, Seok-cheol also examined her face.
She looked exactly like what she was supposed to be: a perfectly beautiful member of the Imperial Family, with no trace of sorrow showing.
When he nodded, Seon lowered the window with practiced ease.
It was part of the routine she had developed while building her public recognition as an imperial family member.
If even the smallest thing went wrong, everything would be exposed.
Hide it.
She had to hide it.
As the car window opened, cheers from the people watching her car seeped inside.
Seon smiled brightly as though nothing had happened and lightly waved her hand.
“Your Highness!”
“Princess! Please look over here too!”
The clicking of shutters came from the phones and cameras in everyone’s hands.
Seon didn’t so much as blink at the deafening noise. Instead, she put on an elegant smile.
A perfect doll wearing the appearance people wanted to see.
That was the reality of an imperial family member standing at the center of Korea.
The black limousine started moving slowly, allowing the reporters and other people plenty of time to take photographs.
The moment the car had gotten a reasonable distance away from the crowd, Seon closed the window.
The bright expression she had put on for the public disappeared, leaving behind only a cold countenance.
Seok-cheol, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke quietly once the window had completely closed.
“All imperial family members who were in the middle of their official duties have been ordered to return to their residences. However, since it will take some time for Your Highness to reach Jincheon, His Majesty has ordered you to enter the Imperial Palace.”
“All right.”
She answered briefly and turned her head.
Even along the sidewalks as they descended the hill from the hospital, Seon could see people waving at the tinted car.
Without lowering the window, Seon waved back at them in exactly the same manner.
It didn’t matter whether she could see them or not.
It was simply an old habit, as well as a duty.
“Let’s hurry.”
At Seon’s words, Seok-cheol gave a brief nod and relayed the destination to the driver.
It took only about ten minutes to reach Changdeokgung from the affiliated hospital of Suhakwon University.
During that time, Seon’s phone rang incessantly.
Since the news had not yet reached the outside world, every call was from another member of the Imperial Family.
—Seon-ah. They told you to come into Changdeokgung, didn’t they? I know you must have been shocked too, but first, please take good care of Their Majesties. How frightened they must be, having to go through something like this at their age.
The first person to call was her father, Grand Prince Uijeong.
His first concern was for his parents.
That was the first role Seon had been given.
—Sweetheart. You need to keep quiet. You know better than anyone that the Imperial Palace is a frightening place, don’t you? I’ll go to Seoul as soon as the restriction is lifted, so stay quiet until then.
Her mother spoke to Seon in a trembling voice.
It was easy to tell what kind of trigger this accident had been for her.
Seon had to promise her mother dozens of times that she would do exactly as she said, so that she wouldn’t be frightened or become even more anxious.
By the time she finally managed to end the call, even her sixth cousins had started calling her.
After listening until her ears were practically ringing to words that she couldn’t tell were concern or admonishment, Seon was even paler when she stepped out of the car than she had been immediately after hearing the news of her uncle’s death.
Seok-cheol, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around several times to look at her with concern.
“Has Princess Cheongyang arrived?”
Perhaps they had already been informed of her arrival.
The moment Seon’s feet touched the ground, the Chief Court Lady who had been waiting for her greeted her.
Unlike the world outside the Imperial Palace, which continued its daily life completely unaware of the tragic news, the atmosphere here was already one of mourning.
No one raised their voice.
The place was quiet enough to feel lonely.
Seon looked at the palace servants hurrying about.
Some had already changed into mourning clothes, while others were moving busily from one place to another, but the expressions on everyone’s faces were unusual.
“Where are Their Majesties?”
“They are in Daejojeon.”
The Chief Court Lady answered readily.
It meant she had no intention of stopping Seon from going to Daejojeon.
“However, Her Majesty the Empress fainted, so physicians from the Imperial Medical Office are currently attending to her.”
“……Ha.”
Seon looked up at the sky and let out a short breath.
The first face that came to mind was that of her uncle who had always doted on her, lamenting that he had only one son and was lonely.
His face, always breaking into a warm, good-natured laugh.
She would never be able to see that face again.
The corners of the Chief Court Lady’s eyes, as she stood silently beside Seon, were already red as well.
Tonight would not be an easy night for anyone inside these walls.
Moisture gathered in Seon’s eyes as well, the tears she had been holding back finally threatening to spill.
“Your Highness.”
Perhaps noticing that Seon’s resolve was beginning to weaken, Seok-cheol spoke from behind her in a firm voice.
“You must remain strong. Right now, you are the only one who can attend to Their Majesties.”
Hm.
Seon roughly wiped away the moisture from her eyes and steadied her voice.
It wasn’t something she could regard as cruel.
She had to fulfill her role here as well.
“I know. That’s why the Imperial Household Department sent me here, expecting me to stay by Their Majesties’ side.”
The Chief Court Lady soon escorted Seon toward Daejojeon.
That short distance felt like an endless tunnel.
The court ladies and eunuchs waiting in the courtyard in front of Daejojeon were in disarray.
Some were crying.
Some were whispering about what had happened.
Others leaned forward, seemingly eager to overhear whatever news might emerge from Daejojeon.
“Ahem!”
The Chief Court Lady’s low, weighty rebuke rang out briefly.
Although she lowered her voice in case it reached the Emperor and Empress inside, the authority behind it was unmistakable.
The sight of her glaring fiercely at the court ladies and eunuchs was quite intimidating.
No words of reprimand were even necessary.
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
“Forgive us, Your Highness.”
Seon also slowly surveyed the area.
She saw the young court ladies and eunuchs lowering their heads, looking as though they had been caught doing something wrong.
Seon let out a short sigh and shook her head.
“A great many things will happen starting today. Their Majesties won’t have the time to concern themselves with the affairs of the inner palace. The Chief Court Lady will have to restore discipline.”
“I shall keep that in mind.”
The Chief Court Lady bowed deeply.
Seon moved forward again.
Like the Red Sea parting, the people who had been scattered chaotically quietly lined up and cleared a path for her.
Seon entered the main hall of Daejojeon.
Since it was where the elderly members of the Imperial Family resided, it was never particularly lively, but it had never been this quiet either.
The Emperor would sometimes sit in his mother-of-pearl chair and play baduk, while the Empress had taken up knitting and spent her days enjoying that simple hobby.
It had been a place where they lived out their quiet, ordinary lives.
But now, apart from the muffled sobs of the senior court ladies standing guard in the corridor, it was unnaturally silent.
“Please go to the East Ondol.”
While Seon stood hesitating in the corridor, the Chief Court Lady spoke to her.
When Seon’s gaze lingered toward the West Ondol, where the Empress would be, the Chief Court Lady explained firmly.
“Her Majesty the Empress is being treated by the physician. His Majesty has ordered that Your Highness be taken directly to the East Ondol.”
Being summoned to the East Ondol, the Emperor’s bedchamber, meant that the Emperor had something to say to Seon.
Seon looked toward the West Ondol once more before nodding.
If the physician was treating the Empress, there was nothing Seon could do by going there.
Seon’s footsteps carried her through the center of the main hall’s corridor and toward the east, where the Emperor’s bedchamber was located.
In front of the bedchamber of the Emperor, the supreme ruler of this country, only one elderly senior eunuch stood guard.
As though he had been waiting for Seon, the senior eunuch immediately opened the door without saying a word.
The door swung wide open naturally, without even requiring him to announce her arrival.
The master of the hall seated inside greeted Seon with a calm yet exhausted expression, as though he too had known she would come.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Seon-ah.”
It was such a simple thing for her grandfather to say—that he had been waiting for her.
Yet somehow, today, the words sounded strange.
It felt as though she had just stepped into a whirlpool whose depths she could not possibly fathom.
