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Chapter 15
“What did you say?”
Kim Dae-hyun stopped abruptly in the middle of the bustling street, even though the real story hadn’t yet begun.
Jihoo looked up at his uncle with a face on the verge of tears, clenching his fists tightly.
“Truly, the little girl who was scolded by a woman who seems like one of His Majesty’s concubines… that girl, the one you spoke to, is really the princess?”
“Yes…”
Jihoo bowed his head slightly as he replied in a small voice.
“Heh heh…! So you didn’t even recognize such a princess and treated her carelessly?”
“Yes…”
“Heh heh!”
Kim Dae-hyun sighed one after another, raising his head to the sky before lowering it again.
“What on earth were you thinking, wandering the palace so fearlessly?”
“I have sinned, but Uncle, I beg you, let me go to the palace now and face the consequences at home later. Please allow me to enter immediately.”
Seeing Jihoo’s desperate face, as if he might cry at any moment, Kim Dae-hyun opened his mouth in disbelief.
“And what would change even if you were allowed into the palace? Do you really think you’d be able to see the princess again?”
There was no chance whatsoever.
Whatever reason the princess had for wandering alone in the palace and encountering Jihoo, she was someone no one could casually approach.
She was His Majesty’s only daughter, residing in Hyeshin Palace—the innermost palace of the royal complex.
To think that simply entering the palace could allow him to meet her… What nonsense was he thinking?
“You almost made me scold you properly. Let’s return home. Tell me the rest of the story there.”
Kim Dae-hyun turned his steps toward the palace.
“No!”
“What did you say?”
At the loud voice from behind, Kim Dae-hyun’s brows furrowed sharply.
“What did you just say?”
Jihoo looked up at him with steadfast eyes and a firm expression.
“If we go to the palace now, I will definitely be able to meet the princess. I will handle what comes afterward, so please, Uncle, grant me this one request. The fate of our family depends on it.”
Kim Dae-hyun narrowed his eyes, staring down at his nephew who seemed out of his mind.
“Do you know how absurd and unreasonable your words are? If we go now, who do you intend to meet? Do you even understand where you want to go?”
“I understand, Uncle. That’s why they call it the palace of a thousand halls. But, Uncle…”
Kim Dae-hyun felt a strange sense of unease and even chill when Jihoo looked up at him fearlessly.
For a moment, the color of the young boy’s eyes seemed to glimmer gold—was it his imagination?
Jihoo spoke again with unwavering determination:
“We must go now. For reasons I cannot explain, I am certain I will meet the princess. Please, Uncle, grant me this one request.”
“This… is ridiculous…”
Kim Dae-hyun was speechless at Jihoo’s insistence.
“Uncle, I swear I will cause no disturbance. I only wish to go to the place where I met the princess this morning and return immediately. Please allow me this one visit.”
Feeling an inexplicable energy radiating from the boy, Kim Dae-hyun drew in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
Could this child possibly… be like his mother?
Shaking his head as if to dispel the absurd thought, he looked sternly at Jihoo.
“Very well. Since you wish for it so desperately, I will accompany you to the palace. But remember: we only go to the place where you met the princess this morning. Understood?”
“Yes, Uncle! Thank you!”
‘If Father hears about this, he will certainly scold me,’ thought Kim Dae-hyun, remembering his strict younger brother, Kim Gyo-hyun.
“Damn, it’s ridiculously far.”
A court lady, carefully carrying Eunhye on her back, muttered coarse words that didn’t suit her gentle steps.
“How tiring it must have been for you to travel all this way alone… If only there were stairs in Hyeshin Palace, we wouldn’t need to come all the way to the East Wing.”
The sun was high overhead, its rays scorching their heads.
The court lady sniffled unnecessarily and muttered as she approached Hyeshin Palace in the distance.
“Our little mistress must be hungry… Her usual meal time has long passed.”
“I must hurry to place her comfortably and prepare her favorite beef noodles.”
Thinking of preparing the food as soon as she woke, the court lady quickened her cautious steps—then froze.
Ahead, a young boy in a gentleman’s outfit was hurrying toward her, accompanied by an adult in official robes.
Who could they be? A young master in the palace?
The court lady squinted in curiosity as they stopped before her.
What a handsome boy…
His skin was as white as jade, a smooth forehead, dark eyebrows, and a sharp nose. His large eyes seemed to pull one in, and his lips curled upward in a strangely alluring way.
Was this a male gumiho? She thought crazily to herself.
She blinked and shook her head to clear her mind.
“Please, step aside, Your Ladyship,” said the boy, his voice earnest.
“Yes… may I ask why? Did you lose your way?”
The court lady glanced at the man in official robes standing behind the boy.
“No, that’s not it…” the boy hesitated, licking his lips nervously before swallowing hard.
What are you?
She straightened her shoulders, wary that Eunhye was on her back, and looked firmly at the two men.
“Please, go on your way. I am hurrying to deliver something…”
Then she heard the desperate voice of the boy:
“Wait! Just a moment!”
“…?!”
The court lady frowned, puzzled as the boy blocked her way.
“Who are you to block the path of the lady I serve so carelessly?”
“I apologize, Your Ladyship. I know it is a grave offense to block the princess, but I have something I must say and an item I must give her. Please, allow me this one meeting. The fate of my family depends on it.”
Her jaw dropped as she stared at the boy’s tear-filled, deer-like eyes.
How could she scold him when he looked like this? And the man standing silently behind him… who was he?
Shaking her head to regain composure, the court lady fixed her gaze on them, ready to speak, when suddenly…
“What is the matter, court lady?”
The little mistress had awoken!
“Have we reached Hyeshin Palace?”
Feeling the tiny, warm stir of Eunhye on her back, the court lady replied in a gentle voice:
“No, Mistress. You may rest a bit more. We are almost there.”
“Mm… I’m hungry.”
“Step aside, our little mistress says she’s hungry!”
Panicked, the court lady shot a sharp glance at Jihoo and Kim Dae-hyun before continuing on.
“Oh? You… you’re that Jihoo from earlier, aren’t you?”
“Princess! Spare me! I have committed a grave offense!”
Hearing the princess’s voice, the two men fell face-first onto the ground. The court lady stood frozen.
The little princess’s soft laughter reached her ears.
“Court lady, could you put me down?”
“Yes, Mistress. But is it safe? What about the royal guards?”
“No, it’s fine. I know him.”
Eunhye, the little princess, leapt off the court lady’s back, shook her crumpled skirt, and confidently faced Jihoo lying prostrate before her.
“Your name is Jihoo, right?”
“Yes, Princess. It is my insignificant name, and I am honored that you remember it.”
“Hmm… really? Your words are slightly different than before, huh?”
Ah… Jihoo remembered the outrageous and unforgivable things he had said to the princess three hours ago and clenched his eyes tightly.
“Princess! I know that nothing I say can erase the sins I committed against you. I beg that you take my life, and please spare my family!”
“…”
Step by step, Eunhye approached the boy lying on the ground.
“Indeed!”
“Shh!”
Ignoring the startled court lady, Eunhye finally stood before Jihoo.
“My father now knows, so all that remains for you is to die properly, isn’t that so?”
