TFYOPWRO 10

Chapter 10

Beneath the ceiling on the east side of the library, a large skylight, half-open, let soft sunlight spill into the space.

This secluded corner, hidden from view from the library entrance, was Eunhye’s favorite spot. On days like today, when the sunlight was so pleasant, she could even hear the rustling of leaves singing in the breeze through the open skylight.

“Ah… finally some rest.”

Eunhye plopped down, stretching out her legs, and lifted her small head.

The sunlight, faintly golden like gardenia silk, spread widely across the dim interior of the library.

Leaning her back against the wall and closing her eyes, a tiny sigh, far too long for a child, escaped from Eunhye’s small lips.

The warm sunlight above her and the library’s quiet stillness felt like a soothing rest. It was almost as if all the troubles she had endured on her way here were melting away.

After a moment, Eunhye slowly opened her eyes and raised her head to gaze at the shelves filled with old books.

It felt as though stories her grandmother might have told were drifting to her across the long, lingering scents of the ages.

After a moment, she bent her short legs, placing them under her knees, and rested her small chin on her folded arms.

“That insolent brat!”

The image of the boy she had just met, that wretched Jihoo, came to mind. Jihoo, the son of Master Jipyeong—her tutor.

Eunhye recalled the boy’s name, called from afar by her teacher, blinking her eyes.

How dare he pinch my nose, then even touch my face!

And hadn’t he even insulted me, saying such rude things about my parents?

That brat! Next time I see him, he won’t get away with it.

Eunhye puffed out her cheeks and, with her chubby fingers, rubbed the spot on her nose where Jihoo had pressed his hand.

“Ugh, truly insolent!”

In all her life as a princess, no one had ever dared to touch her so freely—except Jihoo!

“It seems you’re lost, too. But crying and standing here won’t help. Cheer up and release it.”

A voice suddenly spoke as if right beside her. Eunhye’s cheeks, soft and round like little rice cakes, flamed instantly.

Oh, how utterly embarrassing and outrageous.

A commoner boy—her teacher’s son, no less—had wiped her tears and runny nose!

Burying her face in her arms on her knees, Eunhye squeezed her eyes shut.

“How can I face Master now?”

Thinking about having to see Master Jipyeong this afternoon for study and lectures made her feel like the world had gone dark.

“But… what was that handkerchief for? Why does he have something like that?”

She recalled the handkerchief Jihoo had carried and slowly lifted her head.

It was a strange feeling she had never experienced before.

Though she sensed the cool air that usually came from spirits, it wasn’t wicked or unpleasant. No, it felt fresh and clear, even subtly fragrant.

And what were the golden and red threads stitched into the four corners of that handkerchief?

Though she scolded Jihoo for being insolent, Eunhye secretly coveted that precious handkerchief. She knew she had to take care of it lest it be lost if mishandled.

How could Jihoo, that insolent boy, possess such a fine thing?

Eunhye rested her chin on her arms and glanced at the scholar spirits quietly reading in the library.

If she had that handkerchief, would the spirits stay away? Could she ask Master to get one for her?

Raising her head, she noticed the sunlight streaming beautifully through the library.

“It’s better to be two than alone, isn’t it…?”

The voice of the boy—unaware she was a princess—seemed to echo in her ears.

Eunhye’s lips trembled as if about to cry.

Why was she the only one who could see the spirits? No one else could, yet she could. If only she couldn’t see them, she wouldn’t be wandering the palace alone.

If only she couldn’t see them, Father and Mother would love her as before, and she wouldn’t have to hide alone.

Thinking of her mother’s sad face made her eyes burn. As she blinked, tears poured down.

She wished she had just died when she had smallpox.

Then she wouldn’t have to see these things, wouldn’t have disappointed Father and Mother.

Tears spread across her crimson skirt.

Her father’s cold gaze, her mother’s sad yet stern expression—there was no trace of their warmth from before.

It was all because she could see strange things.

Malicious spirits kept coming to her, and that was why Father and Mother feared her.

But she was scared too!

She wished she couldn’t see them!

How she wished, as her older brother said, that everything depended on her mind.

If she could truly think “I don’t see, I don’t hear,” and that would make it so, how wonderful that would be.

But her brother didn’t know anything!

No matter how firmly she tried, no matter how hard she thought she couldn’t see or hear, they kept coming!

Burying her face in her arms on her knees, Eunhye burst into tears.

“No… I hate this me… I really hate it… sniff… sniff…”

Her five-year-old sobs spread through the quiet library. The scholar spirits slowly turned their heads to watch her.

After a while, they returned to their books.

Eunhye, still sobbing alone, began fiddling with the rustling pouch beneath her jacket.

Rustle, rustle.

The dried flowers and leaves of the Nandina in the pouch seemed to comfort her.

It was a gift from her older brother, the Crown Prince.

“In the common lands, they say the Nandina tree drives away spirits and brings good fortune. So I put dried flowers and leaves inside this pouch.”

The Crown Prince had tied the pink silk pouch to her jacket himself and explained this to her.

Eunhye squirmed the pouch in her small hands and began to sob again.

“Sniff… brother, even so, I’m still scared.”

The twelve-year-old Crown Prince, unlike Father and Mother, was always kind to her.

Yet as the heir of Taeshin Kingdom, he was constantly busy from dawn till night, sometimes going five days without seeing her.

How wonderful it would be if he were here now.

“I wish I couldn’t see the spirits too… I really hate seeing them… sniff… sniff.”

Eunhye muttered to herself, her tiny, sad head bathed in soft spring sunlight.

The golden light filtering between neatly stacked books, the sad sobbing coming from a corner of the shelf…

The scholar spirits, who had been motionless, suddenly stirred.

They seemed tense, as if afraid, all turning their gaze toward the sound. And there, stepping lightly on the softly lit sunlight, appeared an elderly spirit dressed in a white magoja (traditional overcoat)!

Unlike the other spirits, he radiated a strong presence, staring down the scholar spirits with a commanding gaze.

Instantly, the murmuring scholar spirits vanished.

Time passed.

The elderly spirit slowly approached the sobbing Eunhye, speaking in a low, deliberate, but clear voice.

[Why do you cry so, when there is nothing to see?]

Eunhye’s crying stopped abruptly.

[Will you not answer why you weep so?]

Wiping her wet cheeks with her sleeves, she held her breath and blinked.

Who is this?

She hadn’t sensed anyone approaching. Was it a spirit?

No—there was no chill down her neck, no goosebumps like a spirit.

Then… a person?

Judging from the voice, it had to be an elderly man.

Who could casually enter the Crown Prince’s library in the palace?

Eunhye tilted her head, finally steeling herself, and opened her eyes wide, asking boldly,

“Who… are you?”

Immediately, a scolding voice boomed with anger!

[How insolent! An elder has asked first, yet you dare answer so boldly?!]

Startled, Eunhye’s lips trembled, as if about to burst into tears.

Had she ever heard anyone scold like this before?

Her tiny heart racing, Eunhye looked up at the strange old man before her.

He was not dressed like a palace official, but in fine white silk pants and jacket, topped with a long white magoja.

No, he was an elderly spirit!

Eunhye watched the sunlight pass through the old spirit’s body, falling onto her feet. She tried to hold back tears, her lips quivering.

Then the elderly spirit scolded again.

[Why do you cry after doing nothing well?!]

Eunhye clenched her tiny fists.

Jihoo, Kyungbin—why were all the people she met today so insolent?

And now this elderly spirit, appearing in the Crown Prince’s library, dared to shout at her—a princess?

Burning with anger, Eunhye stood up, fists tightly clenched.

“You! How dare you speak so freely, even if you are a spirit!”

But…

As she looked fully at the old man before her, her eyes widened in shock.

“Uh?”

The elderly spirit’s form, illuminated by the yellow sunlight through the skylight, was enormous.

Even larger than her father, the King. Eunhye tilted her head back, jaw agape.

“Uh… who… are you?”

She had never seen this spirit in the Crown Prince’s library before!