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Chapter 06
The sharp voice asking if he wanted to die, paired with the little girl’s forceful shove of his hand, made the boy’s eyes widen.
Had he just heard things wrong?
Only moments ago, this girl had been sniffling pitifully, like a little puppy drenched in rain. Had she really just shouted at him, asking if he wanted to die?
Again, the absurd roar of her voice reached his ears:
“You insolent brat! How dare you lay a hand on me if you don’t want to die! Kneel and beg for forgiveness this instant!”
The boy, dumbfounded, blinked at the tiny, chattering figure before him. The little girl’s neatly furrowed eyebrows were set in anger.
No matter how young she was, her behavior was outrageously rude.
“Want to die?” “Kneel and beg?”
Judging by her clothes and adornments, she seemed to be from a fairly influential family, yet her actions were completely wild.
Suppressing the irritation that bubbled up within him, the boy tried to speak in a composed voice, scolding her:
“I’ve only just met you today, so it’s natural that I don’t know who you are. And yet, you speak to me so recklessly, even though I came to help you when you were in distress—that is most improper!”
The little girl’s nostrils flared like coins at the audacity of his words. Already furious from the humiliation inflicted by Kyungbin earlier, she glared at him, lifting her face high.
“Improper? You dare talk about what is proper! Who do you think you are, that you can speak to me this way!”
The boy’s expression stiffened.
How could such a tiny girl, barely reaching his chest, be so fierce and unruly? He stared, stunned, mouth agape, at her unyielding glare.
Was she truly insane? Here he was, trying to help a child, and she treated him like a lowly street urchin.
The secluded palace garden path, with no one else passing by, felt the tension of the spring breeze pause, as the five-year-old princess in a pink azalea dress squared off against the boy in his blue scholar’s attire.
After a moment, the boy let out a frustrated, almost incredulous laugh, looking up at the clear blue sky.
“Sigh… so this is why one shouldn’t offer kindness to just anyone,” he murmured.
“What did you say?”
The girl’s sharp rebuttals hadn’t ceased. The boy frowned, pressing a hand to his forehead.
“Let’s end this. I merely came to help you because I saw you crying after being scolded by what appeared to be a palace lady. It seems you don’t need my help, so perhaps it’s best we each go our separate ways.”
The boy’s supposedly generous words made the little girl frown even more and flare her nostrils.
“You insolent brat! You should be kneeling and begging me, yet you say whatever you please? You don’t even know who I am!”
“Ha… really now!”
Both were infuriated—she with anger, he with exasperation—and they glared at each other.
The boy’s name was Kim Ji-hoo.
He was also the only son of Kim Gyo-hyeon, the head of the Saheonbu (Office of Censors), who was En-hye’s tutor.
Today was Ji-hoo’s eleventh birthday, and he had been exploring the palace with his father.
Renowned as a prodigy, Ji-hoo had memorized the Thousand Character Classic by age three, and by five had already studied the elementary Confucian classics including the Xiaoxue, Analects, and Mencius.
When Crown Prince Yi Hwan turned seven, an event was held to select study companions for him, with Ji-hoo being recommended at age six by the Crown Prince’s maternal grandfather, the Minister of War Park Nam-il. Though his mother had been expelled from the palace for misconduct, Ji-hoo’s father’s upright character and Ji-hoo’s intelligence earned him this recommendation.
However, Ji-hoo had to forgo the selection due to the unexpected death of his mother.
Five years passed, and Ji-hoo, now eleven, was finally being shown around the palace by his father, reliving the memories of his lost childhood. During their tour, they encountered a high-ranking official at the Saganwon, who required urgent attention, so Ji-hoo was told to wait outside.
It was then that he spotted a small girl running frantically down the palace path. She was utterly reckless.
Ji-hoo forgot his father’s instructions and, almost instinctively, followed her. Perhaps he had been enchanted by the sight of her trailing azalea petals floating through the air.
If only she hadn’t been running like this, if only he had pretended not to see her…
Yet he couldn’t ignore the sight of adults scolding the small child and the child silently crying with clenched fists.
So, almost instinctively, he pulled out a treasured handkerchief, an heirloom from his late mother and a sort of protective charm, to wipe her dirty nose.
And yet, this shameless little girl, instead of thanking him, treated him as a ruffian.
Ji-hoo’s irritation grew, and he forced his expression into a serious scowl, speaking firmly to the mischievous child:
“Clearly, you come from a powerful household, but you are utterly unlearned. To speak rudely, invoking your father’s authority without discretion, is improper!”
“Wha… what did you say?”
The audacity of the boy, speaking as if he were her superior, left En-hye gaping.
“Do you really want to die?”
Drawing a deep breath to calm herself, she finally spoke slowly:
“Don’t think your insolence impresses me! How dare you speak so arrogantly! Tell me—who are you to roam the palace like this alone?”
Ji-hoo, lips pressed together in frustration, frowned deeply.
“Sigh… things just keep getting more ridiculous.”
He thought to himself that he should have ignored her crying and let her be. Why had he meddled?
Exhaling slowly, he spoke again, carefully:
“You call it rudeness? You, much younger than me, continually looking down on me—doesn’t that count as rude? Tell me, from what esteemed household do you hail to act this way?”
En-hye’s eyes blazed with fierce anger.
“If you know who I am, then speak!”
“What? Die?”
Flushed with fury, Ji-hoo clenched the damp handkerchief tighter, his face hardening as he spoke coldly to her:
“There is no point in revealing my identity to you, for if I do, you will also be compelled to reveal yours.”
“Is that so? Let’s hear it then.”
As Ji-hoo was about to speak, En-hye suddenly extended her plump little palm firmly forward.
“Ah, wait! Before you reveal your identity, I have a question! Where did you get that handkerchief?”
“Wha… a question?”
The girl’s audacity left Ji-hoo fuming, his eyes snapping open.
“You just asked a question?”
Unfazed, En-hye tilted her chin proudly and repeated her question:
“I didn’t hear you clearly. I’ll ask again. Where did you get that handkerchief?”
“Ha! Unbelievable… this tiny thing!”
The small girl’s face bore a few minor scratches, her skirt gave off a pungent fishy odor, yet her spirit was fierce beyond measure.
En-hye tilted her chin again, her voice resolute:
“Several words were embroidered in red and yellow thread, but they are not auspicious! Where did this come from?”
She pointed to the handkerchief in his hand, calling it inauspicious instead of offering thanks. Ji-hoo’s chest heaved with anger.
He forced his roughened breath into control, his teeth clenched, and with a voice unusually cold for a child, he said:
“You may be young, but your ignorance makes me not even want to know who your parents are. Furthermore, standing here quarreling with someone who knows no etiquette might reduce me to the same level. We should each go our own way.”
Having said his piece, Ji-hoo turned sharply and walked away, unwilling to speak with the child any further. He resolved to offer his future acts of kindness more selectively, as his father had advised.
Just as Ji-hoo began to step away, a sharp shout rang out:
“You insolent brat! How dare you turn your back in front of me! And you dare speak of my parents? Who do you think you are!”
“Ha… really to the end!”
Clenching her tiny fists, En-hye glared at Ji-hoo with a fury that seemed to breathe fire.
The little girl, her tiny fists clenched, her lower lip tucked under, stared daggers at him.
Ji-hoo raised one corner of his mouth mockingly and asked:
“Ha, insolent? Insolent, you say? Tell me, what makes you think you are anything? Are you some princess of the palace?”
The sudden question caused the girl’s expression to falter. Ji-hoo shivered slightly, a chill running down his spine.
No…
No…
No…
Surely, this reckless little girl could not be a princess. Which princess would run alone through the palace without a single attendant?
Moreover, from what he had seen, she had just been scolded by someone who appeared to be a high-ranking palace lady. If she truly were a princess, that would be impossible.
Seeing En-hye twitch her lips without replying to his question, Ji-hoo’s pupils shook with unease.
At that moment, a voice called to him from afar:
“Ji-hoo! Ji-hoo, what are you doing there?”
Huh? Who is that?
En-hye furrowed her brow as she watched a man in official attire approaching, calling Ji-hoo’s name.
“Master?”
It was none other than her own tutor, Kim Gyo-hyeon, Ji-hoo’s father.
He had not yet seen her, his surprised gaze fixed solely on his mischievous son.
En-hye, chin raised, one foot cocked slightly, looked at Ji-hoo with a crooked smirk.
So this brat… was the son of her tutor?
Ji-hoo, startled by his father’s voice calling him, turned his head, only to suck in a breath when he heard the little girl call, “Master?”
“Huh!”
“You! Are you the son of Ji-pyeong (Kim Gyo-hyeon)?”
The tiny girl, wearing a sly smile, confidently pronounced her father’s title. Ji-hoo’s head snapped back as if broken.
Clack…
No, this… cannot be real.
It cannot be real…!
