Chapter 19 …
While Sleeping
Startled for a moment, Seoryon looked at Wang Hae, but his eyes were still closed.
The strength of his grip on her wrist was so strong it felt like he could break it—too much to dismiss as sleep-talking.
Unable to endure it any longer, Seoryon let out a sharp exclamation through her teeth.
“Ah.”
Wang Hae’s firmly closed eyes slowly opened.
Confirming that it was Seoryon in front of him, he released her hand with a sharp motion.
“What are you doing here?”
Seoryon, rubbing her reddened wrist, replied bluntly.
“You told me to stay by your side.”
Wang Hae finally sat up. Beads of sweat had formed on his perfectly shaped forehead.
It seemed he had broken into a cold sweat in that brief moment.
“Don’t think about touching my body while I’m asleep.”
Without any excuse, apology, or explanation that it might have been a misunderstanding or sleep, he left the room, leaving only a chilling warning behind.
Seoryon was left alone, feeling not just unfairly treated but utterly exasperated.
He had ravaged her body without concern the previous night, and now he vanished without even letting her argue that she had never thought of—or would ever think of—doing anything to him.
Her hand, which had tried to shield him just a little, now felt pathetic to her.
“What’s so great and precious about him…”
She trailed off, then suddenly remembered glimpses of his upper body through the nightclothes.
Not bulky, but when she had touched him, his abs were divided like a turtle shell—rare even among trained men, truly remarkable.
“Yeah, he is a bit extraordinary… but so what?”
Seoryon muttered to herself while flicking her brush against her inner cheek.
Then, suddenly recalling something, she quickly began writing it down.
Dislike (不好, not liking):
Does not like being touched while sleeping.
Does not like sleeping with anyone.
“And what else was there…?”
Recalling her master’s saying, “If you know your enemy and yourself, you will win every battle,” Seoryon carefully reviewed the brief moments she had spent with him.
“I do not mix my body with someone I respect.”
Among all the things he had said, that one phrase surfaced in her mind.
“Ch, seriously… mix, what mixing?”
Suddenly, a wave of heat rose in her—not even summer yet.
Having lived in the temple and fought with men regularly, she had never had anyone openly speak of male-female relations in her presence. Even when such topics arose, conversation ceased the moment Seoryon appeared.
Yet he spoke so openly in front of her.
And he was the king.
The reality was far scarier than her imagination.
“Now then… what should I do from now on…?”
Since she had practically been living in the gyo bang (court quarters), she assumed a man of this body size wouldn’t mind, but it seemed even the king had standards for women.
“Unexpectedly… picky…”
Seoryon muttered to herself while tapping the brush tip against the inside of her cheek.
Then, suddenly remembering something else, she quickly wrote it down.
“Your Majesty, where are you going?”
Attendant Kim approached the departing Wang Hae with a pale face and asked.
“I’m going out for a little air.”
“Shall I accompany you?”
“Stay. I want to be alone for a while.”
After a brief quiet, it began again.
The nightmares of someone strangling him while he slept.
Each time the nightmares came, he would curl up like a wounded animal, moaning in pain.
The first nightmare had occurred the day he welcomed Lady Yeondeok as the first queen.
He had accidentally overheard a conversation between the princess and the Gu-gong.
“Only bear the crown prince. If you bear the crown prince, this father will give you control of Goryeo.”
Wang Hae, who had always followed his maternal grandfather faithfully, realized that he was being treated like a puppet. From that moment, he began to distrust matters related to the Gu-gong. The relationship with the princess Hwarin, who had grown up in the Gu-gong’s household and was like a sister to him, was fundamentally affected. He wanted to believe such a sister wouldn’t commit such misdeeds—but as the Gu-gong’s influence grew, so did Wang Hae’s unease.
To shake off his dazed thoughts, Wang Hae headed straight to the well.
The Gu-gong’s house, woven like a spider’s web, was almost as large as a secondary palace.
As such, there were many secret passages and narrow paths only the retainers used.
Having grown up playing hide-and-seek with the Gu-gong’s children, Wang Hae knew the corners of the house as well as they did.
The well was at the far back of the mansion, requiring a long detour along the main road.
The fastest route was through the western kitchen passage.
After washing up and returning, he heard whispers from two court ladies at the alley entrance.
“The princess must have sent them, right?”
“No way, I don’t think the princess would go that far. Maybe if it were the Gui Sal Gate… but still.”
“Gui Sal Gate? Isn’t that just a legend that kids believe?”
“You never know. Perhaps righteous assassins of the Gui Sal Gate will appear and strike the Gu-gong and his men.”
“Bold dreams… but did the future queen really fight off assassins alone?”
“Well, the man who came out with her in the room… maybe he saved her.”
“He was blindfolded though. How could someone like that manage?”
“Is it even believable that the future queen faced them alone?”
“True…”
Snap.
A small branch under Wang Hae’s foot broke, making a sound. His foot had unknowingly tensed.
The court ladies scattered, sensing the sound.
Clenching his fists tightly, Wang Hae returned to the annex and immediately sought out Kim.
“Kim Naegwan, where is the princess now?”
“The princess is enjoying tea with her siblings—”
Before Kim finished, Wang Hae headed straight to the private room.
The princess was enjoying tea with her siblings, laughing together.
Just as he was about to head up to the pavilion, he noticed a man talking with Steward Jang below.
The man seemed familiar. Judging from his blindfold, he must be the blind man the court ladies mentioned.
Steward Jang, noticing Wang Hae first, hurried over.
“Your Majesty, is there something you need?”
His attitude was very different from when they first met at the academy.
“It’s been a while. Did you return the carriage to its rightful owner?”
“Yes, of course. I even attached a doctor to care for it.”
Steward Jang bowed so low his head nearly touched the ground, unsure what to do. He had been hired after Wang Hae left the Gu-gong’s house and entered the palace, so he had no reason to recognize him. Yet he had unwittingly caused a shocking incident at the academy. If he hadn’t been a palace servant, his head might have rolled.
“And… this one beside you?”
Wang Hae looked at the blind man, who lowered his head slightly.
“I am Yu Won-seok, the head of the Mokjadang.”
“Head?”
Wang Hae knew the Mokjadang were the Gu-gong’s soldiers, but it was rare for him to meet the head in person.
Studying him intently, Wang Hae noticed that the blind man spoke to introduce himself.
“I am Yu Won-seok, Your Majesty.”
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“Your Majesty… as you can see, the head is blind.”
Steward Jang subtly interjected.
Although Jang’s behavior seemed suspicious, Wang Hae didn’t pursue it further, not wishing to shame a blind man.
At that moment, an unwelcome voice came from behind.
“Your Majesty!”
Princess Hwarin’s brother, Lee Jimi, hurried down the pavilion stairs to greet Wang Hae.
The princess, still harboring lingering resentment from the morning, barely nodded to Wang Hae without properly bowing.
“We were just enjoying tea. Please join us, Your Majesty,” Jimi offered.
Wang Hae, having his own matters to attend to, ignored his curiosity about the Mokjadang head and followed Jimi up to the pavilion.
“Your Majesty, do you remember? Before you entered the palace, you used to have tea here with us every day.”
“That’s right. Your Majesty particularly liked peaches preserved in honey.”
“The peach blossoms near the annex are beginning to bloom. This year, we’ll have peaches sooner than last year.”
Jimi and his siblings tried to flatter Wang Hae, but his gaze was solely on the princess.
“Ah, the princess also likes peaches, doesn’t she?”
Unaware that the king’s gaze had fixed on her, the princess sipped her tea. Jimi subtly signaled her.
“I liked them as a child, but now they are too sweet.”
The princess’s gruff response made Jimi laugh awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.
“Haha… people’s tastes do change. Has Your Majesty’s taste changed as well?”
Wang Hae, who rarely spoke, set down his teacup and smiled gently.
“No. I still like them. Nothing softens the heart like something sweet.”
The princess, realizing his remark was directed at her, paused mid-sip.
She glared at Wang Hae with a look that clearly said, How could you say that to me?
The unexpected tension between the two left the pavilion in a heavy, silent atmosphere.
