Chapter 29 ….
“Coming to the palace so suddenly must have startled you.”
“It is… it is an honor for my family that Your Highness has come to see me.”
Yi-san stammered nervously. To keep him from being too intimidated, Honga exaggerated her expression into a warm, benevolent smile.
“I am truly glad to have a companion now, when I had none before.”
“I am not sure if I can be a good companion for Your Highness…”
“I don’t know much about life outside the palace. I hope you can teach me many things.”
“Wh-what kinds of things, if I may ask?”
Yi-san asked carefully. His nervousness was easing, and now curiosity was beginning to show. Honga concentrated with all her might to answer like a child of his age.
“I’m curious what young ladies outside the palace do for fun, and what they study.”
“Hmm.”
After thinking hard, Yi-san gave an awkward smile and fiddled with his hands.
“Most young ladies start learning embroidery from their mothers when they’re about seven. When their betrothal is decided, they study the Yeolnyeojeon (Biographies of Virtuous Women).”
“Ah…”
Honga pressed her lips together. She didn’t show it, but she was sweating inside. She had never talked with a girl her own age before and had no idea what to say.
Playing with dolls the way she did with Hong-yeon didn’t seem quite right for this age…
“But I’m no good at embroidery, and I can’t read either. I’m not sure I’ll be of much help to Your Highness.”
Seeing him flustered only made Honga more anxious. She had to win his favor, and that was proving harder than expected.
“Then, what do you usually do in your spare time?”
“I… I play with my older brother, or watch my fourth sister, or just play childishly.”
It sounded unbecoming of a young lady from a prominent family, but it was exactly the sort of topic Honga wanted to hear.
“You have an older brother?”
Honga’s eyes lit up.
“Yes. My real brother is too much older to play with, but I have a cousin who lives with us. He’s only a year apart from me, so we often go to the markets together and such.”
“Actually, I also have uncles just one year older than me, so they’re the only ones I spend time with. I do have a younger sister, but she’s still too little to have any serious conversation with.”
“Oh my, that’s just like me! My little sister was born last year, but she’s far too young to be a playmate.”
Fortunately, Yi-san was an unspoiled, innocent child. Once they found common ground, he became more engaged.
“We really do have a lot in common!”
Honga clasped her hands and gave a small laugh. Yi-san began chatting more freely, telling her stories about his baby sister. Thinking of Hong-yeon, Honga added her own words, and time passed quickly.
“I actually don’t have anyone I could call a friend, so I’m very glad to have met you.”
“Am I really being of help to you?”
Yi-san giggled sheepishly, darting his eyes about.
“My father kept reminding me not to cause trouble for Your Highness.”
“Trouble? Who could be of more help to me than you?”
She meant it. Yi-san was her most crucial insurance. She needed him desperately, to the point that she felt guilty.
“If you wouldn’t find it too improper…”
“Please, go on.”
“Could we really be friends?”
For some reason, her face grew hot with embarrassment, her body shrinking in on itself.
“I—if it’s all right with you!”
“Really?”
The positive answer made her brighten. Looking into Yi-san’s wide eyes, Honga spoke cautiously.
“Then, how about we call each other by our names and talk comfortably?”
“W-what?”
Yi-san clapped both hands over his mouth.
“Your Highness may do so, but… I cannot!”
“Why not?”
“Father said I must never speak so casually, like at home!”
At his innocent answer, Honga couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Would my father or the ministers really know if just the two of us spoke casually here?”
“W-wouldn’t they?”
Yi-san tilted his head, genuinely weighing whether it would be all right.
If he were older, he would surely have refused out of propriety. But he was still too young for that.
She, too, as a girl from a respectable family, had rarely met peers of higher status than herself. The strain of constant formality had her nearly cramping up. After some thought, Yi-san nodded.
“If it’s really all right…”
“Then I’ll call you Yi-san. You call me Honga.”
“Honga.”
Yi-san repeated her name, as if trying to get used to it.
“It’s a pretty name.”
His bright smile made Honga’s heart skip. It was the first time a pretty child her own age had smiled at her like that, and guilt pierced her—guilt at deceiving such an innocent soul.
“Your name is pretty too.”
She forced down her guilty conscience. In this world, she couldn’t survive without shamelessness.
“Your father must have thought carefully when he named you.”
“Yes. He’s still agonizing over my baby sister’s name. He can’t decide.”
Yi-san chuckled. His casual speech was sounding more natural now.
“He’s debating whether to use ‘Do’ from peach (do, 桃) or ‘Do’ from grape (do, 荼).”
Han Hwak’s penchant for naming his daughters after fruits was famous even into modern times. In an era when girls often weren’t given names at all, it was oddly progressive.
Even Yi-san’s own name contained i (梨), the character for pear—just as Hong-a and Hong-yeon shared the generational character Hong (弘).
“So that’s how names are chosen outside the palace.”
Feigning interest, Honga asked. Yi-san shook his head after a pause.
“Some friends and relatives don’t even have names. They’re just called ‘Aji’ (little one). But my father believes every living creature must have a name. He’s a bit of an eccentric.”
“He’s right. Even if women are told to obey their fathers and brothers when young, their husbands when married, and their sons when widowed… to demand responsibility without even giving them a name is far too harsh.”
“Wow, Honga, you’re so smart! I don’t even understand what that means.”
Yi-san clapped his hands together in admiration. Strictly speaking, it was knowledge she’d brought from her past life, so the praise embarrassed her. She gave an awkward laugh.
“It means: when young, follow your parents and brothers; when married, follow your husband; when your husband dies, follow your son.”
“Oh! I’ve heard that before.”
Yi-san nodded solemnly.
“That’s why I’m not sure I even want to have a son.”
“What?”
“I can accept obeying my father or my husband, since they’d surely be wiser than me.”
His voice carried a gravity beyond his years.
“But if my son takes after me, he won’t be all that clever… and I don’t like the idea of having to obey someone like that.”
His words carried conviction—innocent, yet strangely persuasive. They struck a chord in her heart.
“Speaking of sons…”
Watching for the right moment, Honga spoke carefully. Now it was time to bring up what she needed to say.
“This is a real secret. Can you promise not to tell anyone?”
“Of course!”
Yi-san pressed a finger to his lips, emphasizing secrecy. For a child, nothing was more irresistible than a secret.
“You know that royal marriages happen earlier than commoners’, right?”
“Yes. My second sister married Lord Geyang when she was only twelve.”
“By that reckoning, I don’t have much time left either.”
Yi-san bent his fingers, counting his age. He nodded when he saw only about four fingers left.
“I see.”
“So lately, I’ve been curious about the outside world.”
Ever since Prince Suyang had brought up her marriage, she hadn’t been able to escape the topic for a single moment. The marriage had to be steered toward the most favorable outcome.
“So, I was wondering—among the sons of good families, do you know any suitable young gentlemen who might make a good husband?”
It was a heavy subject for seven-year-olds. But even at that age, they could understand what it meant. Especially Yi-san, whose older siblings had all married, would have grasped it well enough.
“In preparing for my third sister’s marriage, matchmakers have been coming to our house often.”
Yi-san thought carefully.
“They mentioned the grandson of the Bu-sa of Seongcheon, and the nephew of the Chief Censor… but they’re at least seven years older than us.”
“That figures.”
“Hmm. I don’t know many our age. Maybe I should ask my cousin Chi-won?”
At last, Honga heard the words she’d been waiting for.
“Cousin Chi-won? The same cousin you mentioned earlier?”
“Yes. He has his own friends, so he might know someone suitable.”
“That would be wonderful. By the way… what about your cousin himself?”
“Chi-won?”
Yi-san’s face filled with puzzled doubt. Why him, of all people? The look on his face was the same one Honga wore whenever she looked at her uncles.
Honga felt ashamed of herself for even considering pairing Yi-san with Prince Suchun. She saw her uncles with the same expression, yet she had thought of pushing such a burden onto this innocent child. She couldn’t lift her head.
“Chi-won is just a frivolous fellow.”
Yi-san muttered.
“A husband doesn’t need to be especially clever.”
Honga answered like an adult. Still, she didn’t want a thoroughly worthless man either. She would feel sorry if the king’s brother-in-law turned out to be such.
“I’ll ask my cousin’s friends instead.”
Yi-san replied firmly. Clearly, his cousin wasn’t the one.
After chatting a while longer, it was time to part. Honga walked him to the gates of Yeonggyeong Hall, promising to meet again.
“Ah, Honga!”
As they were talking about the current fashion in clothing colors in front of Yeonggyeong Hall, a familiar voice called out nearby.
