Chapter 7

Her big eyes widened as soon as it met his.

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Mirina was puzzled as to why the child lowered her head right away until a court lady came from behind and handed him his blindfold.

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She saw his eyes. He was hiding his identity. Of course Yehwa and some of her close aids knew, but that didn't mean the secret had to be revealed to everyone else.

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The child was stiff because she saw something scary. It was good that she didn't cry because that would've just been noisy, but it didn't soften Mirina's cool gaze.

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We'll have to keep an eye on her.

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Mirina then proceeded to make a couple of comments towards Sanya, who barely answered and was like a frog in front of a snake. He knew at that time, she was definitely a child who was just afraid of looking into his eyes.

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However, after a while, Mirina was surprised to make eye contact with Sanya again. Where's the intimidated child from before, and who is this easy going kid sitting there now?

Sanya's eyes were full of drowsiness and annoyance. Mirina's mouth flinched unknowingly. His eyes were as red as blood and because of his thin pupils, most people couldn't see them properly. Among the children who saw those eyes, there would be a ruckus.

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Maybe she's not scared?

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Sanya opened her eyes wide open again at his response. The sleepiness on her face was easily shaken off. He finally came to his senses and smiled. Come think of it, it's late so she must be very tired.

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Mirina, who was worried for a moment, picked up Sanya and put her to bed. He was being warm and gentle in front of Yehwa, so his action was appropriate.

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However, he made a mistake when he put Sanya on the bed. He could see her small feet and it was covered with colorful silk shoes. He then saw that they were new and realized it must've been very painful for her feet and proceeded to take them off and put them quietly on the side.

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Mirina was then startled when he heard Sanya expressing her gratitude in an uncomfortable voice.

'What did I do?'

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***

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I shook my head a couple of times. The court lady who passed me was startled and proceeded to walk past me again.

I couldn't sleep well after all. After Mirina had left last night, I was laying down next to the emperor. I have a habit of rolling here and there on my bed when I sleep, but I couldn't move last night so it felt like I was sleeping on a bench.

I hope she falls asleep soon because she drank. I listened eagerly to her breathing, but instead I heard the sound of her getting up. She made no move after that so I assumed that she was probably staring at me. I tried my hardest to make sure my eyes didn't twitch.

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The emperor, who was looking at me curled up like a shrimp, swept her hands across my forehead.

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"Poor thing."

Her voice was calm, but the words made me stiff. Oh, the pity. The pity that made the original Sanya live and die. She continued to stare at me, and I couldn't fall asleep because of that. I was dozing off like a sick chicken sleeping in the sun.

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"Miss, here is some cooled juice. Would you like to try it?"

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I woke up at the sound of the court lady's voice. She smiled at me when I took the cup away from her.

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"…What is this?"

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"It's nectar juice. It can wake you up with a sweet and bitter taste…"

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This must've been the same fruit I ate yesterday. Why does the world love putting me through hardships? As I looked into the cup, despair crept up on me. I know the court lady was being sincere and I can't ignore that, but I also can't drink it either.

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After thinking for a long time, I handed the cup back to her.

"…Here"

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"Miss?"

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"Could you put some honey in it?"

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Shit. It's a shame. I feel embarrassed asking for honey in a drink at this age. It's because I have a younger appetite now. I used to drink three Americano shots like water…

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When I looked at her again, she seemed surprised as she took the cup back from me.

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"Yes, I will."

She answered politely and left the room. I tried to sleep a little longer but I kept hearing outside the door 'Oh my – Is that so?' that someone might as well as just pour cold water on me. Why is asking for honey such a big deal?

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I couldn't fall asleep and instead waited for the court lady to come back, I felt guilty making her do extra work for me. Afterwards, she came in with a strange expression on her face. After giving her my thanks, I put my mouth towards the cup.

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I liked cool drinks, but I don't want to ask for ice. I took a sip with anticipation, and my face hardened. This time, the taste was so sweet my mouth hurt.

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"Are you all right?"

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I couldn't say yes or no to the court lady. In the end, I had to drink all of it because her eyes were so shiny that I would feel terrible if I were to complain even more. This definitely woke me up.

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Yesterday, Mirina acted strangely soft towards me, like pudding. It definitely seemed a bit excessive in front of the emperor, but that didn't mean I'll get away with it in the future. It's annoying because he's the concubine the emperor cherishes the most. And now they'll probably investigate how I live everyday. Well that doesn't matter, so let's just say…

I looked up when a thought came in my mind. Did it really matter? The original Sanya was a very nice and gentle child in the Yeoran family. No matter what, she always did what she was told. It was the same when Kiyun Yeoran sent his youngest daughter, whom he had forgotten himself, to the palace with only one maid accompanying her. The servants would roll up their sleeves and harass Sanya, but that was when she was still a nobody. In order not to get found out by the emperor, if asked, they would all say they served Sanya with the utmost sincerity. No one helped her back at that house.

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I tried putting my head back on the pillow. When they saw and asked about the scar on my back while washing me yesterday, I had to explain that no one ever hit me. There were many scars on this body due to childhood abuse. It ranged from hands that have turned very rough due to doing household chores to small scars that accumulate over time.

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When Sanya was told to be sent as a concubine, Kiyun ordered all the servants to not touch her, and instead tried erasing the scars instead. They used all sorts of methods to make her skin glow, but the long scar on her back still left a trace. It was a wound from when Sanya was whipped while she was still young, and before it could fully heal, she had to do more work, making the injury spread which remained the biggest scar.

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It was bittersweet for Kiyun Yeoran. He played a father who had to hug a terribly hated illegitimate child while sending her to the horrified palace.

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I opened my hands, they were smooth without any hardship. It was as if all the labor and hardships she had endured were just simply erased. If you were going to spend that much effort to erase these scars, you could've just treated her well from the beginning.

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I sighed deeply. Anyways, the conclusion is that I will probably be under Mirina's radar for a while. I quickly jumped up from my seat, this is because I had work to do. When I opened the door and glanced out, the court ladies were standing in the same place as yesterday. No matter how much they have been watching, isn't this too much? I can't imagine standing like that 24/7.

I exhaled softly and said to the court lady in front of me,

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"I want to go and take a walk for a while."