TKEP 07

Chapter 07

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“Blackmail? Hahahahaha! You’re telling me it’s blackmail for a son to visit his mother? Yeona, are you filming a movie or something?”

Yeon clenched her fist.

It wasn’t unusual for the Crown Prince to pay a courtesy call to the Empress.
In fact, in the Imperial Family of the Korean Empire, which emphasized filial piety along with the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, such visits were encouraged.

But it was a different story when Crown Prince Byeong went to see Empress Park Nayoung.

Whenever he did, Byeong would deliberately provoke her.

He claimed the Empress had driven his own mother to her death, and that she had abused and discriminated against him when he was a child.

Though none of it was true, Nayoung endured the appalling accusations in silence.

When he was young, she tolerated it because he was just a child.
When he was grown, she feared any rebuttal would only bring trouble down on Yeon.

As a result, the delicate Nayoung would always collapse in illness after one of his visits.

Over time, the repeated stress damaged her health so badly that she now spent several months each year recuperating.

Yeon thought of the Nayoung she had met upon returning home.

Nayoung had greeted her from her silk bed, smiling as fragilely as if she might crumble, embracing Yeon as tightly as her weakened arms could manage.

But the lack of strength in that embrace had filled Yeon with sorrow.

“She’d only just regained enough strength to move about comfortably… If that jerk makes a scene again, Mother will collapse.”

There was no way she could stand by and watch that happen.

She already felt guilty for leaving her mother alone during all those years abroad; she couldn’t bear to cause her more pain now that she was back.

“…Fine. I’ll go.”

Byeong rose with a satisfied smile.

Just then, Chamberlain Park came in with cold water.

The Crown Prince took a glass from the tray—then tipped it right over Park’s head.

“Hhup!”

Park froze in shock.

“Your Highness!” Yeon snapped.

Byeong ignored her, fixing the chamberlain with a cold stare.

“When the master does wrong, the servants need to keep their heads on straight. Chamberlain Park, take good care of the Princess. Understood?”

Having said his piece, Byeong brushed off his modernized royal robe and strode away.

Yeon’s fists trembled.

This so-called “guidance” disguised as violence had started again.

It was yet another reason she needed to grow stronger—and fast.

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Empire Hotel, lounge café.

Yeon stepped into the empty space.

It looked like the entire lounge had been reserved for the blind date.

The Crown Prince wouldn’t have done that for her; more likely, her prospective match had arranged it to show courtesy.

For Yeon, who was only interested in sabotaging the meeting, it was a stroke of luck.

She strode briskly toward the man who was standing to greet her.

“As they say, you’re truly beautiful!”

Before she could even sit down, the third son of the Dongjeon Group offered an unsolicited evaluation of her looks.

The back of Yeon’s neck tightened.

She swallowed the retort on the tip of her tongue and calmly extended her hand.

“Hello, I’m Lee Yeon.”

“An honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

Apparently he had binge-watched historical dramas beforehand, because he was speaking in the formal courtly manner used only within the royal household.

“Tiring.”

Yeon forced a polite smile and sat down.

“You’re even more beautiful in person than in photos or videos.”

Once again, the man brought up her appearance.

“Thank you,” Yeon replied curtly, glancing toward Sillan.

“Director Seong, an iced Americano, please. You should order something too,” she added, turning back to the man.

“Director Seong” was the title she used for Sillan in public. Court ladies were often referred to by corporate-style ranks depending on seniority—director, manager, assistant manager, and so on.

“I’ll have the same. But really, you’re far more beautiful in real life.”

At the third appearance comment, Yeon’s lips twitched.

Compliment or not, she didn’t want to hear it.

And despite her clear disinterest, he kept going—so there had to be a reason.

“Is there something you want to hear me say?”

“Oh? Hahahaha! You really are as straightforward as they say.”

He laughed heartily. His bangs fluttered as he shook his head, trying to hide a forehead the size of the Pacific Ocean.

Yeon didn’t join in his laughter; she simply stared at him.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

The man’s chuckles petered out. Clearing his throat, he forced a grin.

“I’m better-looking in person too, right?”

So the compliments were just a setup for fishing a compliment about himself in return.

It seemed he had a severe complex about his appearance—and seeing him in person, Yeon understood why.

At only twenty-seven, he already showed signs of balding, was shorter than her, and had a noticeable belly.

But understanding didn’t mean she wanted to comment on it.

Of course, she wasn’t blind to whether someone was handsome, ugly, or cute; she was human, after all. But voicing that judgment was a matter of manners.

Still, she knew if she didn’t answer, he’d keep pushing. So she gave the best answer she could.

“Exactly the same.”

At that, his eyebrows shot up like mountains—then sagged.

An awkward silence settled over the table.

“Your drinks are here.”

If not for the café staff, the date might have gone down as the most silent in history.

The man frowned at his drink, then called the staffer back.

“Hey!”

The employee jumped and turned around.

“This is cubed ice! Who makes an iced Americano with this kind of ice? It should be shaved! Do you know who this is?”

He shot to his feet, belly thrust forward, and loomed over the worker.

Then he glanced at Yeon with a smirk.

“Your Highness, let’s not drink this. An iced Americano with shaved ice tastes much better. Bring us fresh ones!”

He plopped back into his seat with a loud thud.

Yeon’s head spun at the ridiculous display of entitled arrogance.

“Your Highness, when people can’t recognize someone important, they need to be put in their place. But you’re too kind to do it yourself, right? So leave it to me. Anyone rude to you, I’ll just—bam!”

Yeon let out a long breath and picked up the glass of iced Americano the staffer had left behind.

She took a sip, as if trying to cool the heat boiling inside her.

Then she set the glass down firmly, exhaled again, and fixed her gaze on him.

She didn’t say much.

“Apologize to that person.”

“…Sorry? To who?”

Yeon glanced toward where the staffer had gone.

The man let out a derisive snort.

“I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Yeon tapped her finger lightly on the table.

Her eyes remained on him—not fierce, just quiet and deep.

Yet the air grew heavy, squeezing the breath out of him.

His expression slowly drained away.

“Uh… Your Highness? What are you thinking…?”

Sweat beaded on his forehead as her presence unsettled him.

Yeon was, in fact, using him to gauge just how deep the Crown Prince’s malice toward her ran.

“How much must he hate me, to try pairing me with a man like this…”

A man so low-class, dim-witted, and barely civilized.

The contrast to the man she would have chosen for herself was all the more disheartening.

She looked down at her phone.

It was the tenth time she’d checked it in less than five minutes.

“I had a feeling… and I was right.”

She’d been waiting for a message from Seojun ever since Byeong told her about this date.

[Empire Hotel Lounge. Today at 3 p.m. I have a blind date.]

She had sent it five hours ago.

Short as it was, the message carried a clear subtext—one Seojun couldn’t possibly miss.

“If you want to marry me, answer me now!”

But there had been no reply.

Apparently, he wasn’t the type of romantic male lead who would burst into the scene to rescue the heroine from an unwanted date.

“But seriously, why hasn’t he replied? If you’ve read it, at least send a dot or something! Are you ignoring me or haven’t you seen it?”

Worse, since she’d sent it as a text message, she couldn’t even tell if it had been delivered or read.

“Your Highness, are you waiting for someone to call?” the man asked.

“No.”

She had just decided to give up and put her phone away when—

“I’m hurt you’d say you’re not waiting for me.”

A large shadow fell across the table.

Both Yeon and the man looked up.

“What’s my baby doing here?”

Yeon’s eyes flew wide. Goosebumps rippled across her skin.

“What… did I just hear?”

Seojun, smiling at the sight of her slightly parted lips, took the seat beside her and laced his fingers through hers.

The man across from them stared, then blurted, “Y-you… you… you…!”

He didn’t need to ask Who’s that?—he knew the man all too well.

Kang Seojun, former police officer and current member of the National Assembly.

“W-what are you doing here? And let go of her hand!”

He trembled as if he’d just caught his lover cheating.

Seojun chuckled and turned to Yeon.

“Yeona, no matter how mad you are at me, you can’t go meeting guys like this. I’ve already proposed to you, remember?”

 

Smiling warmly, he set a small box in front of her—clearly a ring box.