Chapter 17 …
Madam
“Have you risen, Madam?”
“…Pardon?”
Startled by the gentle tone—complete with a smile—Seoryeon momentarily lost her footing.
“Are you alright!”
She had only staggered for a moment, but Wang Hae reacted excessively and caught her in his arms.
“I-I’m fine.”
Seoryeon slipped out of his embrace as she spoke.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had been hurling insults just yesterday—telling her to clear the way and that even a courtesan would be better. He seemed like a completely different person.
But… Madam?
Even the court eunuch had addressed her that way.
Since the queen’s investiture ceremony had not yet been held, the title Madam was technically appropriate, yet it still made her feel strangely self-conscious.
“Chief Eunuch Kim, go and summon the royal physician.”
“I’m fine, really.”
To Eunuch Kim, who stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do, Wang Hae forced a faint smile and spoke calmly.
“I am merely concerned that the Queen Consort may have been weakened overnight.”
“Ah—yes! If that is the case, I will go at once.”
As if delighted by the news, Eunuch Kim hurried off at a trot.
Still completely confused, Seoryeon only blinked and stared blankly at Wang Hae.
It didn’t seem like he had eaten anything strange in that brief moment…
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“I was just wondering whether there was any reason my energy would be depleted.”
“It is merely a formality, so there is no need to think so deeply—”
Realizing belatedly that she was being sarcastic, Wang Hae added in a warning tone,
“You must correct that habit of yours first.”
“What do you—”
“I am the king. How dare you talk back so sharply? Are you also trying to insult me, relying on your father’s power?”
His expression changed completely. Just moments ago, while Eunuch Kim was present, he had been all smiles like the rising sun—yet now that they were alone, he had turned cold as winter frost.
“At times like this, instead of staring blankly, you simply say you are sorry.”
“….”
Sorry?
Shouldn’t he be the one apologizing?
Having survived among rough men, Seoryeon was not accustomed to yielding. She usually made sure never to put herself in a position where she would have to apologize to anyone.
Pressing her tongue against the inside of her cheek, Seoryeon shot him a subtle glare.
He merely lifted his chin, waiting for the next words to fall from her lips.
It was obvious he intended to keep her firmly suppressed—but recalling how talking back last night had not ended well, Seoryeon finally forced herself to speak.
“…I. Am. Sorry.”
Through clenched teeth, she delivered each syllable with deliberate force.
There was no point nitpicking and worsening their relationship further.
During her queenly training, she had been taught that to strengthen relations with His Majesty, she must treat him as a man. Because the king is still a man, they said—praise him highly, and his heart will turn toward you.
Though she outwardly complied, the fierce sharpness in her eyes did not fade.
“The morning sunlight is harsh. Let us wait inside.”
Perhaps satisfied with the apology he had been waiting for, he headed toward the annex with a pleased expression.
Seoryeon followed as slowly as possible, imagining driving a throwing dagger into the back of his head.
An awkward tension filled the air between them as they entered the annex to wait for the royal physician.
Unable to settle her thoughts, Seoryeon’s gaze drifted to the bed. As memories of last night surfaced, her eyes rolled about in embarrassment.
Watching her quietly, Wang Hae spoke first.
“There is something I wish to ask.”
“Please ask.”
“What is your relationship with the man who was with you at the marketplace?”
“He is my senior brother from the temple where we trained together.”
Seoryeon’s stiff expression instantly softened at the mention of Yoo Wonseok.
Meanwhile, Wang Hae barely managed to control his face as it threatened to flush red and blue. When she was alone with him, she looked nothing but uncomfortable—yet the moment that man was mentioned, her expression melted.
“You seemed quite close.”
Close enough to call each other by name, at that.
“To me, he is no different from an elder brother, so of course—”
Seoryeon trailed off.
Because of the absurd consummation night, she had briefly forgotten. The injuries he sustained during the bloody fight on the deck had been severe—had the arrow wound healed properly? And why had her senior brother become a member of the Mokja Order? There were so many things she wanted to ask.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him at all during the wedding ceremony.
“I have somewhere to go briefly. I will take my leave first.”
The moment Seoryeon rose, Wang Hae pressed her back down into her seat.
“It will only take a moment—”
“Even that moment now requires my permission.”
“….”
“You are now my Madam. That means you are wholly my woman. Without my permission, you cannot meet anyone—whether it be your sworn brother or your own father.”
At his firm declaration, Seoryeon was left speechless.
Just moments ago he had spoken gently—yet now he had turned cold as winter metal.
She already knew he was prickly and foul-tempered, but this was beyond expectation.
“A woman of Goryeo may be free, but the Queen of Goryeo cannot be. Were you not taught that?”
It was exactly what she had heard during her training.
That cursed Neo-Confucianism from Song had begun spreading through the Goryeo royal court.
Seoryeon pressed her lips tightly together and lowered her eyes. Continuing to oppose him here would only drive them further apart. Even if she could not behave like the tongue in his mouth, she had to at least avoid earning his hatred.
Hadn’t she already ruined things last night by provoking his temper?
Until she bore his child, she needed to strengthen their relationship somehow.
But his temperament changed faster than the weather—her head already throbbed at the thought of keeping up with it.
She almost felt sorry for Eunuch Kim, who had to attend him constantly.
Just then, Eunuch Kim’s voice came from outside the door.
“Your Majesty, I have brought the royal physician.”
“Enter.”
After paying respects to the king, the physician also bowed to Seoryeon.
“I am Royal Physician Heo Jin. Please tell me where you are unwell.”
“There is nowhere in particular—”
Embarrassed, Seoryeon tried to hide her hand further inside her sleeve, but Wang Hae forcibly pulled it out and presented it before the physician.
“Examine this first.”
The hand that had bothered him most since the wedding.
Wang Hae himself had suffered similar injuries during training and knew well how painful and raw they could be. It was a wound that needed rest to heal—but unlike him, she clearly had not let that hand rest for even a moment.
“The injury is quite severe. Have you applied any medicine?”
Seoryeon slowly shook her head.
“If left like this, it will scar.”
As the physician leaned in to examine her hand more closely, Wang Hae subtly withdrew it.
“Tell me first how to prevent scarring.”
“I have an ointment made from the bark and sap of the hwangchil tree. If it is applied consistently to the affected area, it should improve. Most importantly, she must refrain from using her hand as much as possible.”
Lowering his gaze, the physician explained calmly.
Seoryeon watched the two men with mild fascination. She herself felt perfectly fine, yet they discussed her wound as if it were some grave state affair.
The king aside, the young physician even appeared impressively learned. After seeing only rough, coarse men at the temple and within the Mokja Order, starting from Wang Hae she now found herself surrounded by rather handsome men—it felt like she had stepped into another world.
Just as her thoughts wandered so far as to imagine gathering them to open a training house for women and making a tidy profit—
Wang Hae’s low voice fell.
“Very well. Royal Physician, you may withdraw.”
Seoryeon’s drifting mind snapped back.
“May this concubine also take her leave?”
“No.”
“…?”
“You should hear this as well. The Grand Madam has prepared breakfast.”
“Breakfast…?”
It was news to her. Though she had been taken in as an adopted daughter for over three months, she had never once shared a meal with them. More than anything, just seeing the Duke’s face was enough to make her nauseous—yet now she was to eat breakfast together?
“Why—are you uncomfortable? Then we shall return to the palace—”
“No. They are family. How could I be uncomfortable?”
The moment he mentioned returning to the palace, Seoryeon quickly stepped forward.
As they exited the annex, Eunuch Kim was waiting for them.
As Wang Hae and Seoryeon entered side by side, everyone rose and bowed toward them.
The first thing that caught Seoryeon’s eye was the dining table and chairs. During her entire stay at the Duke’s residence, those unfamiliar contraptions had made her uncomfortable. Sitting cross-legged on warm ondol floors and eating casually was the proper way—this structure that required sitting upright in chairs was something she simply couldn’t get used to.
“You have arrived, Your Majesty.”
Leaving Seoryeon glaring at the table and chairs behind him, Wang Hae naturally headed toward the seat of honor where the Duke sat.
Yi Ja-gyeom obediently gave up his place and moved to sit beside it—but Wang Hae stopped him.
Then he spoke toward Seoryeon, who still stood blankly behind.
“Her Majesty the Queen should be seated first.”
At the word Queen Consort coming from his mouth for the first time, the court ladies’ heads all lifted at once. This was a title he did not even use for Queen Yeondeok, the official primary queen—yet he was using it for Seoryeon, who had not even been formally invested.
And in such a familiar tone, no less.
Meanwhile, Yi Ja-gyeom’s face hardened like stone. With his children and daughters-in-law watching, humiliation did not get worse than this. Yet by rank and by law, it was correct—so once again, he had no choice but to step back silently.
When the king lifted his spoon, the others followed.
Just as they were about to begin eating, Eunuch Kim came running in, out of breath.
“What is it?”
“Y-Your Majesty… th-that is…”
Eunuch Kim fidgeted, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
“I asked what it is.”
Wang Hae even set down his spoon as he repeated the question sternly.
“Th-they… have arrived.”
“Arrived?”
There was only one person besides the Duke who could make Eunuch Kim tremble like this.
“Eunuch Kim! Can you not speak properly!”
Already in a foul mood, Yi Ja-gyeom shouted sharply.
Startled by the thunderous rebuke, Eunuch Kim blurted out as if coughing it up—
“T-the Princess—!”
Before he could finish, the door swung open—
—and the Princess appeared.
