HRB 18

Chapter : 18

Poisoned Honey (3)

It had only been a few days since Joyeong came here, but this was the first time she had seen Bugyeong so visibly excited.

On the surface, Bugyeong was still calm and gentle as ever.
Yet as she brought out the few sets of clothes and pieces of jewelry they had and dressed Joyeong, her expression was unmistakably bright.

Watching Bugyeong’s lips twitch again and again in the mirror, Joyeong asked,

“Why are you so happy?”

“It may be presumptuous, but I’m delighted to hear that the Lord is going out. It’s been so long.”

Bugyeong spoke as though she were pleased to see her son, who had been buried in work, finally taking some rest.

“It seems the Lord hasn’t been able to rest at all?”

“Don’t even get me started. The former Lord passed away far too early, and our Lord ascended at such a young age that the court’s scrutiny was relentless. Now, no one fails to recognize how he has raised the standing of Bisan Fortress to where it is today, but the moment he lets his guard down, they’ll be ready to tear him apart. How could he ever have rested in peace?”

“But the Crown Prince trusts the Lord and will support him. Surely he can ease his mind a little now?”

“Exactly. That’s why I find it such a relief that Your Highness has come. With the Princess at the Lord’s side, who would dare look down on the ruler of Bisan Fortress? At last, the Lord should be able to relax a little.”

“……”

Joyeong had no reply to Bugyeong’s words.

The real princess had already gone far away.
The thought that her own presence might have caused them to miss the chance to pursue the princess weighed heavily on her heart.

She had failed to consider just how important the princess’s existence was to the Lord, being too caught up in her own circumstances.

‘No. Even if I’d told the truth, they wouldn’t have believed me.’

Forcing away her guilt, Joyeong looked at her reflection in the mirror.

The woman staring back at her was no longer a filthy girl who did menial chores.

‘While I’m here, I’m a princess. If anything, doing my best to play the role is the way to help him. I just need to endure three months without being found out.’

Sensing the darkening of her complexion, Bugyeong spoke in an apologetic tone.

“I never meant to burden Your Highness. I’ve heard about it as well. Three months isn’t such a long time. Even if Your Highness must leave afterward, please spend good time with the Lord while you’re here.”

Hearing Bugyeong voice the same thought she had, Joyeong felt noticeably lighter.

“Still, the clothes were prepared in such a hurry that they don’t seem to suit Your Highness. I apologize. But for the banquet, we are preparing splendid attire so that everyone will admire the Princess.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. When I cast aside my status as a princess, I cast aside those things as well. It’s my fault.”

The carriage held only a few pitiful belongings—hardly worthy of a princess.

Ironically, to Joyeong, they were items so precious she had never touched anything like them in her life.

“Even if you were to discard all of that, how could you possibly hide Your Highness’s nobility? Just look at you now. I worry that people will recognize you the moment you step outside.”

Trying to cheer up the dejected Joyeong, Bugyeong spoke lightly, but Joyeong only gave a bitter smile.

‘Clothes really do make the person. A girl as shabby as I once was—now everyone bows and calls me a princess.’

Bisan Fortress was far more developed than one would expect of a frontier stronghold.
The roads were well paved, and the streets were bustling.

Even to Joyeong, who had grown up in the Imperial Capital, there was little difference, and the streets were crowded with people.

“How is it? Is it much more impoverished than the capital?” Yeonho asked.

He took pride in Bisan Fortress, yet he was genuinely curious how it appeared through the eyes of someone from the capital.

“Not at all. It’s hard to tell whether this is the capital or Bisan Fortress. The people seem relaxed—it feels like a good place to live.”

She had expected devastation from constant warfare, yet the atmosphere was even more peaceful than the capital.

How hard the Lord must have worked to make it so.
Now she understood Bugyeong’s words.

“That’s a relief.”

A faint smile curved the lips beneath the wide-brimmed bamboo hat pulled low over his face.

Though only his lips were visible, his handsome features could not be hidden.

“Must you wear that hat?” she asked.

“I don’t mind, but it will only trouble Your Highness. If I take it off, people recognize me.”

Because he had often led troops at the front lines and rallied the people during wartime, the Lord’s face was widely known.

“Then why not send them away? Even with the hat on, it seems people might recognize you because of them.”

When Yeonho glanced back, Yulbok and several soldiers were following suspiciously behind.

No—they were blatantly glaring at anyone who came too close, escorting them so conspicuously that the pair were already drawing attention.

In that case, it would be more sensible to simply announce his presence as the Lord.

“They won’t listen to me, so just pretend not to notice and ignore them.”

“Are they following with such grim faces because they fear an assassination attempt?”

“There’s always a risk of assassination, but I’m not careless enough to be killed in broad daylight in the middle of the street.”

“Then are they guarding us because they’re worried something might happen to the Princess?”

At that, Yeonho’s lips parted, and a short laugh escaped him.

“Why are you laughing?”

“With me by the Princess’s side, there’s no need for additional guards.”

“And that’s funny?”

“My apologies. It seems Your Highness is misunderstanding something, and I laughed without thinking.”

Joyeong tilted her head, unable to find anything strange about the flow of her questions.

“I don’t understand. What am I misunderstanding?”

“They’re not guarding Your Highness. They’re watching you.”

“Pardon?”

“They said that if Your Highness were to make up your mind and flee in a crowded place like this, I alone wouldn’t be enough to stop you.”

Joyeong, who had never once thought of running away, was both dumbfounded and embarrassed that she’d mistaken surveillance for protection. She pursed her lips.

“You have an excellent advisor. To think he’d foresee even things I never considered—always several steps ahead.”

“He’ll be delighted to hear praise from the Princess.”

The corners of Yeonho’s mouth refused to fall.

Seeing him so pleased, Joyeong found herself in a better mood as well.

“Here we are. This is the largest bookstore in Bisan Fortress. There are bigger ones in the capital, of course, but there isn’t a book you can’t find here.”

In truth, Joyeong had never been inside a bookstore, nor could she recall even passing one by.

She had often gone to the market on errands, but the streets with bookstores were frequented by the wealthy, and she had no reason to go there.

So while she felt excited entering a bookstore for the first time, she was also nervous that her shallow learning might be exposed.

Still, Joyeong wasn’t completely ignorant.

She couldn’t recite poetry and prose by heart, but she had encountered a fair variety of books through copying texts.

The Ha family ran a large merchant guild dealing in vast goods, so cultural and artistic literacy was essential.

However, she herself had never received such education.

In moments like this, perhaps she should be grateful to her older sister.

Because she had done Jin-hong’s assignments in her stead, she had ended up exposed to such things.

It wasn’t as though she enjoyed it—copying texts never excused her from housework. She wrote while fighting off sleep, and if her writing slanted because she dozed off, she was often beaten for wasting paper.

So it could hardly be called studying.

“Welcome. Is there a book you’re looking for?”

An elderly shopkeeper with graying hair approached the two as they entered.

“No. We’ll just browse.”

“Yes. Please take your time.”

The old man retreated to a corner, as if not to disturb them.

Yeonho, too, stepped aside to browse the military texts so the Princess could look freely.

Joyeong wandered slowly, taking in the shelves packed with books.

The Lord might not have had a particular book in mind—but she did.

‘I should choose a book I know.’

If she picked something unfamiliar and someone asked whether she read such books, she’d be at a loss for words.

Then, up on a high shelf, she spotted the book she had copied the most among poetry collections.

It was the one Jin-hong had struggled to memorize, forcing her to copy it two or three times over.

‘It’s too high.’

She stretched out her arm, rising onto her tiptoes and reaching with her fingers to pull it out.

Then—

Suddenly.

“!”

A shadow fell over her from behind, and a hand—large and solid, utterly unlike her own small, slender one—grasped the book.

Thump.

For reasons she couldn’t understand, her heart began to race wildly at that moment.