Chapter 65
The scroll simply contained a message asking me to take good care of something.
The problem was the seal stamped beside it.
The seal, depicting a dragon, was unmistakably that of His Majesty, the Emperor.
A secret order, yet it looked so official!
I shot a questioning look at Hwirok, who slightly averted his gaze and answered.
“The Emperor also hopes that Your Highness will find a partner soon.”
“Ugh.”
“Do you want to read it all the way through first?”
At Hwirok’s suggestion, I gave myself a little shake. I felt a bit better.
In that state, I nudged my fiancé’s hand with my nose, and he straightened the scroll for me again.
“Press it.”
Let’s see.
At the bottom of the scroll were the names of ten strong candidates for Crown Princess. It seemed they wanted me to pay special attention to these ladies.
As I read the names one by one, my hairs stood on end.
Hong Ram.
Our little sparrow was included!
She had won top honors at the special exam, and officially, she was the daughter of Minister Hong, so it made sense she was a candidate.
Moreover, the Crown Prince had seen her personally, so he would have immediately recognized that Hong Ram was smart and upright.
It seemed that talented people were coveted by everyone. Bringing our little sparrow to Hwaga’s household as a daughter-in-law wouldn’t be easy.
As I bit my lip in regret, Hwirok explained why I was necessary.
“It seems the Crown Prince had us recheck the special exam answer sheets.”
“Mm?”
Even though the results were already announced, why go through it again?
“The questions were given by His Highness himself.”
No way.
I wondered who had set such insanely difficult questions—it turned out to be the Crown Prince himself.
Hwirok said that His Highness was meticulous by nature, needing to double or triple-check even finished matters.
So he had graded the answer sheets again. During that process, they discovered a strange answer sheet.
All the answers were correct, but it was written without showing the work—too neat.
Considering the difficulty of this special exam, that was no small feat. The questions were designed in a convoluted way to fit the current laws and regulations of Hleukguk.
Most importantly, there was a complicated accounting problem that had to be solved manually.
Of course, it was possible that a candidate had actually solved it in their head.
But if someone were that smart, they should have been first place. Yet the owner of that answer sheet was second.
“They were suspicious, so they checked whose answer sheet it was—and it turned out you were on the list of people you called ‘stinky’.”
And the second-place candidate was the grandson of an elder Hong Ram had mentioned earlier.
For reference, Hong Ram’s top-scoring answer sheet was full of detailed work. Especially the final essay—it was so brilliantly written that she had to be given first place.
In contrast, the second-place essay was conventional and brief.
I had a hunch.
A hunch that a villain had done something bad.
“Could it be that the exam papers were leaked?”
I couldn’t contain my curiosity and asked after transforming into human form.
But oops.
Hwirok’s face was too close.
That’s a problem with human form. The distance that seemed reasonable as a dog shrinks drastically when he becomes human.
My fiancé’s breath tickled the tip of my nose.
I stared blankly at his blue eyes, getting closer and closer, when a soft smack landed on my forehead.
Again!
I quickly covered my forehead and glared, and Hwirok stepped back with a fresh smile. He properly answered my question after we moved to the tea room.
Behind a new screen, Hwirok poured tea and spoke.
“It seems His Highness suspected the same as you.”
So after thorough investigation, they found traces of someone tampering with the exam using magic.
“The problem is that the magical traces weren’t from anyone registered in the palace.”
I realized things were bigger than I thought. That meant someone had secretly infiltrated the palace.
“The culprit?”
“They couldn’t catch them.”
So that’s how it was.
They still didn’t know who stole the exam paper, but it was clear they were connected to the runner-up of the special exam.
Since families and relatives of the runner-up would attend the awards ceremony, the culprit was likely among them. So they were asking me, Haetae, to narrow down the suspects.
Oh, joy.
I was going to have to plunge into the stench-filled palace I had tried so hard to avoid.
The last banquet had age restrictions, so the most unpleasant people were few. This time, no age restrictions applied, and high-ranking officials would gather—my nose might truly revolt.
The only relief was that I could take human-animal form at this banquet.
Officially, because the banquet was outdoors. In reality, they needed to see the candidates’ animal forms when evaluating the Crown Princess candidates.
I fully intended to make use of this.
“Hwirok.”
“Hmm.”
“I need you to keep holding me.”
Whenever my nose threatened to revolt, whenever I wanted to punch the scoundrel in front of me!
I couldn’t reveal my identity, so I would press my nose against my fiancé’s chest as a dog.
Hwirok agreed, albeit cautiously.
“Not now?”
“…”
“I’ve been holding back a lot.”
I rolled my eyes at his words, but seeing his eager eyes made me soften.
In the end, I sat on Hwirok’s lap. Wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning against him felt familiar and comforting, making me smile.
If you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it.
I memorized the candidates’ names from Hwirok’s embrace.
There were fifty Crown Princess candidates in total.
Ten were top contenders. The total was fifty to prevent families from resorting to assassination or conflict over the vice position. The age and conditions were kept broad.
“Your abilities will likely determine the outcome of this evaluation.”
The hardest thing to judge is character.
Even if someone seems kind or cruel, it may be impossible to tell by watching them for a long time.
But with me there, it would be different.
“I can definitely weed out the bad ones.”
As Haetae, I could detect villains.
I planned to monitor not only the candidates but also their families.
Of course, such labor wouldn’t come free. I would claim a reward from the Crown Prince.
“What will you get?”
“I’ll discuss it with my grandmother.”
My grandmother was better at handling such matters. Hwirok nodded in agreement.
“My fiancée is straightforward.”
“Do you want something, Hwirok?”
“The wedding date…?”
His eyes softened.
He had waited eagerly to marry me for 11 years, and still had two more to wait—it seemed painful.
“Shall we set a date when we return to Seolgokdo?”
“Eh?”
Hwirok looked surprised. He hadn’t expected me to agree so readily.
I had a good reason.
I had seen close relatives’ weddings, including my uncle and aunt—it was grand and expensive.
Preparation fell on the head of the family, my father, buying supplies and running the event.
At that moment, I thought my father was a raccoon. His eyes were so dark under them.
Seeing that, I decided it was best to start wedding preparations early. With only two years until I came of age, why not?
“Let’s start preparations this year.”
“…!”
Setting the date was no big deal.
But I had to pay the price for casually agreeing.
Hwirok, flushed with happiness and excitement, held me tightly and wouldn’t let go.
“What are you doing there?”
Until Si-on returned home, looking like a goblin reminiscent of my grandmother!
Si-on said he wouldn’t attend the next banquet.
He had been away from his new sister and the baby too long, and his work in the capital was done, so he would leave immediately.
“Do you miss your sister and niece that much?”
“Every day it feels like my flesh is being torn.”
His niece was still very young, and he probably worried about my sister.
Si-on’s long absence had taken a toll—his cheeks were thin, his body emaciated.
“I’ll summon the family sorcerer to shorten travel time.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“May I ask when you plan to depart? If possible, we’ll prepare so you can leave tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Sobaksan.”
Si-on’s face brightened at Hwirok’s consideration.
“Please take good care of my sister at the banquet.”
“Leave it to me.”
Si-on grabbed Hwirok’s hand.
Hwirok flinched.
I noticed the veins on the back of Si-on’s hand bulging.
“Our Hyeon is still very young.”
“She’ll be an adult in two years, brother.”
“To marry, at least two more years must pass.”
“So even after two years, she’ll be of age?”
Si-on seemed uneasy leaving just me and Hwirok. He even lectured about propriety between men and women.
“Hyeon, don’t cling too much to family just because they’re absent.”
“We’re engaged.”
“Even if engaged, there are boundaries. Especially at night. Even as a dog, you can’t sleep together. Before marriage, separate rooms are mandatory.”
Si-on didn’t know that when I visited the Baek family, I often napped with Hwirok in my animal form.
In spring under the flowering trees.
In summer under cool shade.
In autumn and winter, despite the cold, I curled warmly in the white tiger’s embrace, sticking my tongue out and sleeping.
Knowing that joy, I couldn’t fully give up sleeping together.
“Hyeon, are you listening?”
“Mm-hmm.”
So I let Si-on’s waterfall of scolding wash over one ear and out the other.
Sorry, brother.
But I like tigers.
