Chapter 50
Between Husband and Wife
The faint sound of footsteps made Danseol freeze.
‘…Is it a court lady?’
This was the royal bath, a private place for the emperor, Gyeom, so no one could enter freely. The only person who might come here would be a court lady attending Danseol.
‘But the sound is coming from the opposite side of the entrance?’
However, the sound came from the direction opposite to the exit the court lady had taken. Although this was an open-air bath, essentially outside, a mountain rose directly behind it, blocked by a sheer cliff.
So the direction of the footsteps led to a dead end.
‘I must have imagined it.’
When the sound didn’t continue, Danseol concluded she must have been mistaken. Relaxing her guard, she scooped up some warm water with her hand to soak her shoulders.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The footsteps came again. This time, the sound was closer.
‘It’s not my imagination.’
Danseol curled up in the water, staring into the shadows as if a monster might leap out.
As the steps drew nearer, she moved silently and hid behind a rock jutting out by the bath.
The moment she hid, the owner of the footsteps appeared.
‘Wh-what on earth…?’
Her eyes widened, and she quickly ducked. Her face turned red as she squeezed her eyes shut.
‘Why is he here?!’
The one who startled her was none other than Gyeom. She had been told he was away, and now he was here—and he was naked.
It was normal to undress for a bath, but…
‘Why of all times, does he come when I’m here!’
Now she couldn’t move until he left. She had seen his upper body before, but now he was completely exposed.
For the first time, seeing a man’s body fully, it was both grand and beautiful, and overwhelmingly shocking.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her racing heartbeat showed no sign of slowing. Heat flushed through her body, and her breath grew shallow. The hot water made it increasingly difficult to bear. She wanted to leap out immediately, but couldn’t, and felt helpless.
‘…I’m losing it.’
As if things weren’t bad enough, Gyeom entered the open-air bath where she was. Danseol curled up even more. His state was one problem—but hers was another.
Her thin under-skirt had already soaked through, clinging and turning semi-transparent.
She could not, must not, show him this embarrassing sight.
‘Where did he go?’
While flustered, Gyeom suddenly disappeared from view. She had seen him enter just moments ago. It was as if he had evaporated.
Danseol pressed herself against the rock, scanning the surroundings. But no matter how she looked, Gyeom was nowhere in sight.
“Are you looking for me?”
“…Huh!”
Startled by the voice behind her, Danseol spun around but tripped over her under-skirt, falling backward helplessly.
“Be careful.”
Instead of hitting the water hard, she felt a firm support behind her. Opening her eyes, she realized Gyeom had caught her from behind.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Not a ghost—but nearly as shocking. Gyeom knew too well the state she was in, wrapped in the wet under-skirt and soaked clothes.
“Th-that’s not it…”
Danseol searched her mind for a suitable excuse, but it was blank. The man’s body pressed against hers left her completely immobile.
“I-I didn’t expect you to come so soon…”
“I hurried when I heard you were near the capital,” he replied.
Danseol furrowed her brows. Why he had hurried just because of her arrival, she could not understand.
“But I didn’t expect you’d be waiting in such an adorable state.”
His gaze swept over her exposed white neck, rounded shoulders, and the wet, clingy under-skirt. She crossed her arms, shielding her chest.
“I thought no one else would be here! Besides, the entrance connects directly to my room—”
“This bath also connects to my room.”
“…What?”
Danseol frowned as if she’d heard something impossible. Gyeom chuckled lightly at her reaction.
“Didn’t know? This is the shared bath for the king and queen. So it’s natural it connects to both rooms.”
So that meant he had entered from the entrance in his room, explaining why she hadn’t seen him come in. That’s why the sound seemed to come from the opposite direction.
“I’ve committed a breach of etiquette.”
Danseol bowed her head, signaling she would step aside.
“What breach of etiquette could there be?”
Contrary to her expectations, Gyeom did not let go.
“Between husband and wife.”
Such a strange thing to say. Danseol was at a loss. She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her maliciously, or if he genuinely meant it.
‘Whatever it is, it’s none of my business.’
His intentions didn’t matter. To her, he was merely a target for revenge. Dwelling on feelings like this was pointless.
“We are not real husband and wife.”
“Others don’t see it that way.”
“If you’re trying to tease me, stop now.”
Danseol removed Gyeom’s arms from around her waist. His thick arms had held her stubbornly, but they came away surprisingly easily.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
Without looking back, she left the bath and returned to her room.
After that embarrassing incident, Gyeom did not seek her out. He focused solely on his work.
It was both a relief and a worry.
‘I’d have to see his face to do anything about it.’
Even seeking revenge, she couldn’t act because she couldn’t see him, leaving her hands tied. Her mind wandered uselessly—like recalling the image of Gyeom in the bath.
“…I’m insane!”
She slapped her own cheek, frustrated at thinking of his naked body. She was certainly out of her mind—but she could not fully erase him from her thoughts.
“‘What breach of etiquette? Between husband and wife.’ ‘We’re not real husband and wife.’ ‘Others don’t see it that way.’”
It was because of Gyeom’s words. Whether meant in another sense or not, she kept repeating them in her mind, searching for some hidden meaning.
Danseol didn’t fully understand why she felt this way—but recently, she couldn’t stop thinking about Gyeom. In a different way than before.
“Was that really true?”
“Yes. I heard you just passed the castle gates.”
To clear her troubled mind, she went for a walk, and overheard whispers from the court ladies. Excited, they hurried somewhere.
‘What’s going on?’
Danseol followed them to the palace courtyard. There, many people had gathered, and some were kneeling, bound like criminals.
They wore narrow golden skirts. The women draped a long cloth with gold embroidery diagonally across their torso. Judging by their attire, they were from Yuldo.
“His Majesty the Emperor!”
Gyeom appeared, dressed in casual clothes, a sword at his waist.
“King and Queen of Uldo, pay respects to His Majesty, the Sun of Hwangseon!”
They bowed forcibly. Danseol trembled as she watched. Though dressed differently, the king and queen of Yuldo kneeling before Gyeom reminded her vividly of her own deceased parents. Her parents must have died in similar humiliation.
“Your Majesty, show the remaining Yuldo forces what happens when they oppose Hwangseon,” the officials urged.
Gyeom drew the sword at his waist.
‘No…!’
As he approached the Yuldo king and queen, Danseol clapped a hand over her mouth.
He swung the sword freely, and the ropes binding them snapped, falling to the ground.
