Chapter 7
May your journey be peaceful and safe…
With her eyes closed, Nayoung listened to the sorrowful cries of the people outside and began her long journey to a distant land.
The Crown Prince and his party, who were traveling from the Northern Empire toward the Seoyeon Kingdom, arrived at the border and unloaded their belongings. They had come to welcome the princess’s procession, which was expected to arrive soon.
Northern Empire soldiers stood quietly around the tents erected on the desolate plain. Frost gathered on the tips of their spears, glinting faintly in the sunlight.
Hui stood with a stern expression, gazing beyond the border.
“Your Highness, the wind is cold. Please go inside.”
Crown Princess Hwayeong, who had come out to look for Hui after he remained outside for a long time, spoke cautiously.
Hui shook his head without taking his eyes off the border, where the cold wind was blowing.
“My younger sisters have traveled an even longer distance than I have. I cannot simply sit inside and wait for them. Please go in and warm yourself, Crown Princess.”
“Then I shall stay here with Your Highness.”
Just as Hui was about to say something more, a palace attendant hurried over and bowed.
“Your Highness! The princess has arrived.”
Hui immediately turned around.
The flaps of the tent billowed violently in the wind. He hurried toward the central tent, almost breaking into a run.
“Uihwa!”
He shouted her name without even remembering to maintain his dignity, but as soon as he entered, he stopped short.
The princess had just removed her veil and was holding it in her hand. A faint layer of dust from the long journey covered her clothes, and the hems were slightly disheveled.
She looked somewhat different from the neat and composed Uihwa he remembered.
A young girl stood close beside her. The princess gently placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, helping her straighten her posture, before bowing.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Princess. Please take your seats. Allow me to pay my respects.”
“Oh, no. That’s enough. Let us sit together.”
Unable to hide his confusion, Hui sat down, and the Crown Princess took the seat beside him.
“Your Highness, please forgive me, but I would like everyone else to leave us alone for a moment.”
Hui looked puzzled but nodded to the palace attendants.
A short while later, only four people remained seated around the table inside the tent.
“Well, was the journey difficult for you today?”
“Thanks to Your Highness’s concern, I arrived safely without any trouble. However, Your Highness…”
The princess answered quietly, then looked at him as though she had much more to say.
Hui silently nodded.
“It seems you do not recognize me.”
Nayoung was inwardly impressed by how naturally those words came out of her mouth.
Hui looked startled for a moment before giving an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry. It has been so long since I last saw you.”
Nayoung smiled faintly.
She had never imagined that she would one day have to introduce herself this way.
“I am Eunjeong, the daughter of Prince Inyang.”
“…What?”
The smile disappeared from Hui’s face. He stared at her in shock.
The Crown Princess was equally unable to hide her surprise, while Nayoung remained calm.
“And this girl is Jagyeong, the niece of Her Majesty the Queen and Your Highness’s maternal cousin.”
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess exchanged bewildered glances at this unexpected revelation.
After finishing their conversation with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Nayoung stepped outside the tent. The cold air struck her face.
Senior Court Lady Han was waiting nearby with her hands clasped together.
“Have you been waiting for me here the whole time?”
Although she had covered her face with a windmill-shaped winter hat and a pair of traditional cheek warmers, her nose had turned bright red from the cold.
“Why are you so foolish as to wait out here? What if you catch a cold, just like Uihyeon? I don’t want you getting sick too.”
“I’m perfectly fine, Your Highness.”
Nayoung gave her a displeased look before asking,
“How is Uihyeon doing?”
“She has taken her herbal medicine and is lying down.”
“I should go see her for a moment.”
Jagyeong’s tent was right next to Nayoung’s.
On the way there, Nayoung saw Northern Empire soldiers patrolling the area. The Crown Prince had told her that they were actually guards keeping watch over them under the pretense of protecting them.
Curious, Nayoung glanced at the passing soldiers but ignored their gazes and entered Jagyeong’s tent.
“Your Highness, you have arrived.”
At Senior Court Lady Choi’s words, Jagyeong, who had been lying on her bed, sat up.
“Older Sister…”
Jagyeong called out to Nayoung weakly. Her complexion was poor, and she looked exhausted.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m just okay.”
Nayoung approached the bed and sat beside her. She placed a hand on Jagyeong’s forehead.
She still had a fever.
“We still have a long way to go. What should we do?”
“Older Sister, I’m so scared.”
Jagyeong pleaded with a frightened expression.
Nayoung looked at her with a heavy heart. Jagyeong seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Aren’t you scared too, Older Sister?”
Nayoung gazed quietly into Jagyeong’s eyes.
How could she not be afraid?
Before meeting Eunjeong in her dream, she had tried all sorts of things to avoid going to the Northern Empire.
Even if she continued resisting, she had no idea whether she could actually change anything in a novel whose events seemed already decided.
The fact that she had ended up traveling to the Northern Empire just as the original story described was proof enough.
Nayoung smiled faintly and answered calmly.
“I’m not afraid of anything as long as it’s for your sake.”
“Waaah!”
Jagyeong finally burst into tears, unable to hold them back any longer.
Nayoung wrapped her arms tightly around the girl’s shoulders.
She desperately wanted to believe that the author’s final comment about the happy ending was true.
“Older Sister, I’m really scared. It’s so different from the Seoyeon Kingdom.”
Jagyeong sniffled against Nayoung’s chest.
“You’re clever, so you’ll get used to it soon.”
“I heard the emperor of the Northern Empire… swings his sword around and kills people recklessly.”
Jagyeong was terrified.
The emperor of the Northern Empire was said to have been called the Cruel Divine Sword on the battlefield. No one knew how many people had shed their blood at his hands.
There were even rumors that he had so few concubines because he killed them whenever they displeased him.
“Rumors are just rumors.”
Nayoung answered calmly.
“Anyone who has fought on a battlefield is bound to be frightening in some way.”
After sniffling for a while, Jagyeong lifted her head from Nayoung’s shoulder. Her eyes were full of tears as she spoke.
“I just hope the emperor never looks for me for the rest of my life. I wish he didn’t even know I existed.”
Nayoung could only feel sorry for the girl. She held Jagyeong tightly in her arms.
Nayoung stayed beside Jagyeong until she fell asleep. When she returned to her own tent, she found Myeonghui dozing in front of the brazier.
“You good-for-nothing girl!”
At Senior Court Lady Han’s quiet scolding, Myeonghui jumped up in fright.
“I beg your forgiveness!”
She sprang to her feet and bowed her head repeatedly.
“Have you finished preparing the bedding?”
“Yes.”
When Nayoung took off her cloak made of rabbit fur, Senior Court Lady Han quickly accepted it from her.
“Myeonghui is here, so you may leave and get some rest now, Senior Court Lady Han.”
“No, Your Highness. I will leave after making sure you have gone to bed.”
“Didn’t you freeze out there while waiting for me earlier?”
“I warmed up completely when I went to see Princess Uihyeon.”
Nayoung looked at her with concern. Senior Court Lady Han stubbornly insisted on continuing to serve her, but Nayoung gently refused.
“I’m fine. We still have many days of travel left before reaching Dae Bukseong. I genuinely don’t want you to get sick.”
She meant every word.
In this unfamiliar place, Senior Court Lady Han and Myeonghui were the only people she could trust and rely on.
“I shall do as you wish, Your Highness.”
Having no choice, Senior Court Lady Han gave Myeonghui a meaningful look, silently instructing her to take good care of the princess, and then quietly left the tent.
“So does that mean I’m allowed to get sick?”
The moment Senior Court Lady Han left, Myeonghui asked sulkily.
Nayoung sat in a chair near the brazier and chuckled softly.
“I just wanted to spend some time chatting with you privately for a change. Don’t you like that?”
Nayoung teased her, and Myeonghui’s mood immediately improved.
She pursed her lips playfully before bringing out the snacks she had prepared earlier.
“Have you been studying hard?”
Nayoung had warned Myeonghui that now she had officially become a palace maid, she would have to study.
“Of course! Thanks to you, Young Lady, I’ve already learned to read. Do you really think I can’t learn anything else?”
Myeonghui proudly thumped her chest as she spoke.
Nayoung smiled and nodded.
“That’s right. My Myeonghui is clever. You’ll learn everything before we reach the fortress.”
“Of course! There’s no need to worry about me.”
Myeonghui puffed out her chest again.
For the first time in a while, Nayoung was able to laugh and enjoy a little time with her.
Nayoung and Jagyeong stayed at the border for one more day before bidding farewell to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Perhaps because she had rested well during that time, Jagyeong’s complexion had improved considerably.
“Send us news often.”
The Crown Prince spoke warmly to the two women, whose faces were covered by their veils.
“I will, Your Highness.”
“Princess, and Princess Uihyeon, above all else, your health comes first.”
At the Crown Princess’s heartfelt words of concern, both women bowed their heads and promised to take care of themselves.
“I pray that your journey will be safe and peaceful.”
The princess’s calm attitude made both the Crown Prince and Crown Princess feel another surge of emotion.
Hui could not decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that his younger sister would not have to be sent away after all. His feelings were complicated.
After exchanging their farewells, filled with worry, concern, and guilt, the two groups went their separate ways.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess continued toward the Seoyeon Kingdom, while Nayoung and Jagyeong resumed their journey to the Northern Empire.
