The Young Consort Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 36

***

“Thanks to your concern, I am fine, Your Majesty.”

I replied quietly, but Yehwa still responded with a voice full of worry.

“How could my concern alone alleviate sore legs and the hot sun? Hmm, perhaps it would be better to build a corridor.”

No, well, that’s true, but…

…A corridor? Isn’t that those roofed walkways attached to palaces?

I chastised myself for thinking at most it would be an enormously large umbrella. This damn scale, I just can’t get used to it.

As I let out a sigh over the absurdity, the Empress turned her head. Her demeanor seemed as if she would order the construction of the corridor right then and there, prompting me to speak without hesitation.

“Your Majesty.”

“Hm?”

“My legs are not hurting, and the sun is just fine as it is. You really don’t have to do that.”

“Is that so…?”

Upon hearing my words, Yehwa nodded her head with a somewhat sullen face. That expression didn’t look very reassuring to me.

However, whether fortunately or unfortunately, she soon brightened up and gestured to a palace maid standing behind her. That sight was so eerily familiar that I wrapped my arms around my goosebump-ridden skin.

…What is it this time, exactly?

“Today, I’ve come to give you something.”

Yehwa confidently stated. The tone suggested it was something quite significant, but I wasn’t particularly surprised.

Perhaps realizing there’s a limit to how much one can engage in small talk, Yehwa started bringing something in her hands from one day. One day it was food, another day it was accessories; it was usually like that.

The only issue was that the value of these items seemed to be increasing over time. No joke, I was actually afraid that one day she might just hand over a small country.

And sure enough, Yehwa received a box from a palace maid, her face brimming with anticipation.

“Look at this.”

I didn’t understand why she sounded more excited than I was, the recipient, but I was busy guessing what could be inside the box.

A box that size could contain clothes, accessories, or maybe shoes. Surely not a gemstone of that size. Documents seemed too small to be contained in that box.

…Or not. Could it be filled with some sort of trade documents to the brim?

As I entertained that thought, breaking out in a cold sweat along my back, the Empress, with a face flushed with excitement, flung open the box.

“Ta-da!”

As soon as the box was opened, a strong fragrance wafted out.

I inadvertently furrowed my brows, but upon seeing the contents of the box, I let out a small sigh.

‘So it’s flowers this time.’

The box was filled with yellow freesias. Freesias from the western continent, which must have been picked a while ago, yet remarkably, they were still fresh.

I was genuinely relieved that the box wasn’t filled with documents. With this thought, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“These are exotic flowers brought from the western regions.”

From above, Yehwa’s voice sounded somewhat disappointed but still hopeful.

Honestly, it wasn’t about whether I liked it or not. Since most things from the eastern continent were already in my palace, the gifts she brought me were often from the western continent.

However, most of those were things I had seen to the point of exhaustion in my previous life. Still, the freesias were beautiful. I remembered seeing them occasionally in my past life.

“They look truly lovely to my eyes.”

“Sanya, look at this. This is Mom’s favorite flower.”

…Huh?

“Do you like it?”

That question snapped me back to reality. Like being pulled out of cold water, I took a moment to look around, took a couple of breaths, and then lifted my head to smile lightly.

“Yes, I am grateful, Your Majesty. Your kindness is as vast as the sea.”

A rather practiced compliment flowed out. I reached out for the box from her, then passed it straight to the female attendant standing behind me. It seemed unlikely I would take it out again.

Yehwa would give me a gift and then spend a long time boasting about it. Where it came from, how she obtained it, and so on. It was unclear whether she was showing off or explaining the distribution process, but it had become as familiar as an annual event. I didn’t feel much about it usually, but today it felt somewhat bitter.

‘…It seems I’ll be late.’

Mirinae might not be very pleased about that. But there was no good solution either. Ignoring it wasn’t an option given her position as the Empress.

Instead of sighing, I breathed out once and lifted my head again. I had to give some sort of routine, macro-like response, even if it was just three words.

Perhaps due to my silence, she who had been chattering non-stop quieted down. I momentarily panicked but then lifted my head with a smile on my lips. It was a smile meant to appear as if I was attentively listening to the Empress’s story, but it crumbled like dry mud the moment our eyes met.

“Do you not like it?”

Her confident posture dropped, and her gaze grew heavy as her lips sealed shut.

It was an expression I had never seen on Yehwa before. So taken aback, I forgot to smile and just gaped.

Normally, she would laugh heartily and explain this and that, so why did she look like she was about to cry?

“You are…”

Yehwa spoke in a subdued voice, a tone not bright as usual, which felt awkward to hear.

It wasn’t entirely an awkward face. However, seeing such an expression on Yehwa’s face felt incredibly dissonant.

That is, she looked disappointed.

…Why?

“You still find me difficult and disagreeable, I see.”

Faced with my bewildered expression, the Empress finally cracked a slight smile. But the sadness in her eyes remained.

“Where are you headed?”

“I was on my way to visit Consort Cho at the request of Consort Gi.”

“Take care on your journey.”

With that, she patted my head once and then turned her back and disappeared. Under normal circumstances, I would have been very pleased by the Empress’s departure, but I just stood there for a while, staring at her retreating figure.

* * *

I don’t know what kind of mindset I had going to the Flower Spirit Palace afterward. I walked as I was led, sat as I was directed, and drank as I was offered.

I could understand if Yehwa was angry at my actions. But the fact that she was hurt was really hard to comprehend.

Was it all an act? But what could she possibly gain from winning my favor to such an extent?

“Sanya.”

Why is she doing this, really?

“Sanya.”

What’s the reason for all this…?

“My child. Are you alright?”

“My lady!”

I was startled by the hand placed on my shoulder. As I flinched, I saw worried blue eyes looking at me.

Remembering the voice I had heard earlier, I stealthily glanced around and then bowed my head slightly.

“…I apologize.”

Mirinae quietly observed me. It seemed like he was sighing, perhaps feeling gloomy, but soon, he didn’t dwell on it any longer and changed the topic.

“I heard you met with Her Majesty the Empress.”

At his concerned voice, I finally let out the sigh I had been holding in.

Yes. That’s right. The Empress. The very person who has been causing me so much contemplation up to now.

Do you know why she acts the way she does?

As my lips twitched in unease, Mirinae hesitated for a moment before asking me,

“Sanya, did Her Majesty do something terribly wrong to you?”

“…No?”

There wasn’t any significant wrongdoing. It was a question I could answer without much thought. However, Mirinae’s face remained downcast.

“My child, although Her Majesty might be clumsy, she truly cares for you.”

Uh, well, I doubt that. I swallowed those words.

“I don’t know what might have hurt your feelings, but could you please give her a chance? Hmm?”

In Mirinae’s eyes, the Empress struggling to win me over seemed pitiful. Indeed, if one didn’t know the full story, it would be a reasonable assumption.

But to sincerely accept that goodwill was far too difficult for me.

No, more accurately, it was impossible, as long as I knew the secrets of this world and the Aryun family.

“Consort Mirinae. Do you love Her Majesty?”

Instead of answering, I asked a question, causing Mirinae’s eyes to widen. But after a moment, he shyly smiled. That alone was sufficient as an answer. Looking at him made me feel uncomfortable.

It wasn’t jealousy over Mirinae’s love for Yehwa. It was just a slight concern.

The Aryun family’s supernatural abilities, as well as those of the royal family, were shrouded in mystery. The seven founding families were also blessed by dragons, but the Aryun family’s dragon was said to possess power surpassing those of the seven families.

Being blessed by the dragon, the origin of all supernatural abilities, rumors circulated about an unimaginable powerful force, but the royal family’s abilities had never been revealed. The Empress using her abilities was no exception.

However, having read the original work, I knew about the royal family’s supernatural abilities.

It was something abstract, unable to be precisely named. It also somewhat filled the gaps present in the novel.

Loved by everyone in the world, yet incapable of loving anyone in return.

That was the supernatural ability of the Aryun family, of Yehwa.

Why was it possible to keep the nobility’s precious children in the position of consorts and use them at will? Why didn’t the powerful Yeoran family, even if they coveted wealth and power, dare to touch the royal family?

As befitting the heroine of the story, Yehwa was loved by everyone because of her ability. Thus, the consorts were satisfied with the evenly distributed favor, and Giyun Yeoran could never overthrow the Empress.

The ancestors of the Aryun family were aware of their abilities and educated their successors to not show it off. Ironically, by not knowing how to cherish someone, they became the most perfect emperors through education.

All their actions were focused on the welfare of the people, and since they could love no one, there was no bias.

Thus, they were emperors for the majority.

An emperor who could love no one. And the consorts who loved her to death.

It was truly a novel-like relationship. But they were alive. Here, right in front of me.

Did Mirinae know about this?

Yehwa, true to her role as the protagonist of the novel, was loved by everyone. At least, as long as this world remained the one I knew from the novel, that was an unchanging truth.

What would Mirinae have felt upon realizing he could never be loved by Yehwa in return?

‘I really don’t understand.’

I’ve had experiences of liking someone. But the idea of risking one’s life for love was truly incomprehensible to me. After all, that person is someone else, and the feelings that seemed life-threatening if not reciprocated cool down over time.

To like someone to the point of wanting to die because they don’t like you back? That seems like a mental illness.

Yet, I still find myself a bit worried about him.

‘Who am I to worry about someone else at this point?’

Even so, the face he made, shyly smiling at my question about loving the Empress, weighed heavily on my mind.

How would Mirinae end up, having devoted so much love only to receive nothing in return?

Caught in such thoughts, I unwittingly smiled bitterly. It felt like just yesterday that I was hating and fearing this, and now, here I am, worrying about him. Affection was truly frightening.

It was the first time Mirinae had ever asked something of me. He had never forced me to do anything. Although I felt pity for him, I was a person who valued myself more, inevitably. I was sorry that I couldn’t fulfill that one request he had made.