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Chapter 03
“Ouch…!”
En-hye rubbed her shoulder and forehead where she had hit the flowers, then sat up quickly.
Looking up at the closed window, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Nanny, sorry. I’ll come back soon!”
Since it was the girl from the herb room, she must be in the pantry now. That meant En-hye couldn’t go back there.
A sigh escaped her small face, carrying a mix of disappointment.
In the palace, there were three safe places for En-hye to hide from spirits.
The first was the flower garden in the Gyotaejeon, the central palace; the second, the Crown Prince’s library in the East Palace; and third, the herb room in Hyeshingung, her current residence.
For some reason, these three places were mostly free of spirits—or at least, any spirits present didn’t pay much attention to her. That was why En-hye often ran to these spots to escape.
But now, of all places, the girl with a spirit had appeared in her favorite spot, Hyeshingung’s herb room…
With a heavy sigh, En-hye hid among the azaleas, peeking toward the pantry.
‘First, I’ll head to my brother’s library,’ she decided.
Though she was tiny and surrounded by the bright orange flowers, none of the palace attendants passing by noticed her. They were all busy with their own duties.
En-hye rubbed her tingling jaw with her tiny hand.
“Ouch… that hurts a little,” she muttered.
She had probably scraped her cheeks and chin on the branches as she fell into the flower bed.
Feeling the faint sting, she carefully touched her face with her small hands and then lit up her eyes, turning toward the quiet courtyard of Hyeshingung.
“Let’s go now. Please, don’t let me meet anyone!”
Her whispered plea wove through the pearl-orange flowers as she prepared to dash.
After a moment, En-hye popped up from the flower bed, clutching her little hands in nervous determination, and ran toward the back gate of Hyeshingung.
Once through that gate, she would be on the path directly leading to the East Palace!
In her green jacket adorned with a round floral badge and her bright pink silk skirt, the little princess ran with all her might. From afar, she looked like an upside-down azalea flower hopping along—a charmingly funny sight, despite her urgent pace.
“Miss! Princess!”
“Princess! Where are you?”
“Your Highness!”
A commotion stirred in the inner palace, the deepest part of the royal quarters.
The little princess, who had said she would rest, had vanished without a trace.
Park Sang-gung and the other attendants of Hyeshingung ran frantically, searching for the princess throughout the inner palace.
“Good grief… how many times has this happened already?”
Three exhausted attendants stood under the palace wall. Among them was the newly assigned girl from that morning.
“Does this happen often?”
She asked cautiously, and the freckled older attendant, Kang, pursed her thick lips in a scowl.
“It’s an everyday thing. They say she was very smart as a baby, and now, you’ll see it for yourself.”
The new girl remembered the delicate, polite little princess she had greeted that morning. But there had been something unsettling in her eyes…
Even when she had been in the central palace, rumors about the princess were all unbelievable.
Could it be true that a five-year-old princess spoke with spirits and wandered the palace at night?
While the new girl pondered this, Kang smirked, her lips curling mischievously.
“Hey, did anything happen when you saw the princess today?”
“What do you mean?”
With a clear-eyed, confused look, the new girl stared at her. Kang and the other attendant both leaned in, curious.
“Did she scream? Cry? Suddenly get scared and look down…?”
The new girl blinked as she muttered to herself, recalling the princess lowering her head as soon as she saw her.
Kang giggled, waving her hands and mimicking ghostly wails.
“Heheh, you’ve got a ghost attached to you! Didn’t you know? The princess sees spirits. That’s why she walks around looking at the ground, scared!”
The new girl frowned. Though she had only recently joined the palace, she knew better than to believe every rumor.
“Be careful, Kang. You shouldn’t talk about the princess like that… spreading false stories can get you in serious trouble.”
Another attendant nudged Kang’s side.
“Yeah, stop it. If one of the senior attendants catches you, you could be punished badly.”
“I’m not wrong! Doesn’t everyone in the palace know that the princess sees spirits? Especially in the inner palace?!”
As Kang raised her voice, suddenly her expression froze in fear.
“Ahhh!”
She clutched her left ear and screamed, writhing in pain.
A chilling voice sliced through the air.
“Look at you, blabbering like that… How dare you!”
The new girl watched wide-eyed as Han, the senior attendant, twisted Kang’s ear mercilessly.
“What? What did you say?” Kang screamed, her face turning red from the pain.
Han’s small frame seemed delicate, but her strength was extraordinary. She held Kang’s ear tightly, speaking with a fierce, icy voice.
“You little brat! Your mistress is the princess! How dare you insult her! Especially in front of someone who just arrived this morning!”
Kang’s protests were drowned out as Han slammed her to the ground, twisting her ear again.
“You think you can talk like that about my princess? Even if others do, it’s our duty to protect her! We are her family!”
The other new attendant watched nervously as Han’s eyes, full of fire, shifted toward her.
“Do you understand? If you ever disrespect the princess again, I will tear your mouth myself!”
Han even demonstrated tearing her hands across her mouth, leaving Kang frozen in horror.
“Now go! Stop standing there and find the princess!”
The new girl and the other attendant helped Kang to her feet, and they scurried away.
Han looked after them, her eyes misty.
“Ugh… these bad girls. They dare insult my mistress… Our little princess is so clever, and they dare to talk like that!”
Han lifted her head toward the sky, her fists clenched.
“Sky! Please, take away the spirits who come for our princess! Or at least let me see them, so I can stomp them properly!”
