4 Chapter 4

Woorum, the First Princess of the Hwa Kingdom became Kyosul, Crown Princess of the Mok Kingdom. Woorum had to forget her childhood name Woorum and live with the royal name Kyosul. Her new name led her to maintain a new lifestyle.

Kyosul was waiting for Bipaan on the bed of her residence in the East Palace. In her mind, she seemed to wait for a long time, but actually she waited only briefly when she heard the sound.

"His Excellency, the Crown Prince has arrived."

As soon as the court lady announced his arrival, the sliding door of her residence opened and Bipaan was escorted inside. Kyosul clenched her hands on her knees before she knew. She heard his footsteps coming nearer and the red silk wrapped around her body was removed by him.

Kyosul waited with her eyes closed.

"Open your eyes."

At that moment, her closed eyes trembled then opened, revealing her black pupils slowly. She now saw Bipaan's red royal dress embroidered with golden thread.

After he removed the red silk covering her face and dropped it to the floor, he carefully looked at her. Her eyebrows and her white forehead were neat, and the eyelashes of her closed eyes were long. Her small nose was neither high nor low, and her small and thick lips were as red as a pomegranate. Her slender cheeks and slim jawline led to her slender neck, and her neck was skinny enough to reveal its joints. When she opened her eyes, her small face began to come to life.

Her big eyes were wet as if she were about to burst into tears.

"Please raise your head."

"… "

"Raise your head and look at me. I am Bipaan, your husband."

She slowly raised his head. Her big eyes were full of fear.

Fear, fear. How come she is still scared of me? Isn't she a young girl?

Bipaan burst into laughter. She sat face to face with Bipaan for the first time.

Is his face a piece of carved ice or stone?

She felt his face was icy and rigid, but still handsome.

His eyes shone sharply and seemed to penetrate everything, and his high nose and red lips were curved slightly.

She felt he seemed to smile, but his faint smile disappeared and hardened in no time.

It was the face of an adult man.

Bipaan and Kyosul looked at each other silently for a while. It was Bipaan who broke the silence first. He took off his red robes and put them at the end of the bed.

When he took off the red cloak like the petals of the sweetbrier, he revealed dark red robes. Bipaan took off her outer garments and removed the crown studded with ornaments. And that was it.

"Princess," he called her name.

When Bipaan took off his clothes, Kyosul, who was curling up her body with her eyes closed, raised her head and looked at him. He gently stroked her face with his warm and large hands.

With his hand down, he stepped back a step. His face became cold and rigid right away.

"I don't care whatever you do here. Whether you embroider or read books, I won't meddle with you, but you shouldn't block my way. You should not disturb my efforts to succeed the throne. Remember it. Other than that your can live freely the way you want, " he said.

After he notified her about matters that require her attention in a cold voice, which was not fast or slow, he turned around and sat at the drinking table.

With his back to her, he continued, "By the way, don't wait for me. I will never seek you. "

Having said that, he never again opened his mouth. With surprised eyes, she did not even dare to open their mouth while looking at his back.

The first night of their wedding passed like that.

When the day dawned, Bipaan rose from his bed and disappeared after he opened the sliding door.

He never turned his eyes on her after that. With his back to her all through the night, he left the next morning. Perhaps Bipaan had stayed awake all night while sitting at the drinking table.

And it was the same with Kyosul. Sitting in the same place she had been the night before, she also stayed up all through the night while looking at his back with surprised eyes.

Bang!

When he left after closing the sliding door, her small body collapsed. Without even making noise, she kept shedding tears.

She was so scared of him. She thought for a moment that it would be okay to be held in his arms when he smiled slightly and touched her warmly.

He was still scary.

His cold voice seemed to tear her apart. His cold voice seemed like a piece of ice that flew through her.

While crying her fill, she suddenly conjured up the face of the royal family member who greeted her on the day she arrived in the Mok Kingdom. He said his name was Uljin Yu and smiled at her.

"I would rather… . "

She squeezed the blanket with her thin fingers.

"If he were a crown prince. "

Once again, tears dropped from her big eyes.

***

The sky was blue.

As usual, Ruhae was looking up at the sky with a gentle smile. The sky was deeply blue, but he was not as calm and peaceful as his smile.

Her eyes were red. He drank alone all night long. He could not call a princess nor a royal official in charge. For he had no answer when asked why he was drinking alone. He himself didn't know why. As there was no one to fill his cup, he had to drink alone.

He had never drunk that much before.

"Why did I drink so much like this, Woorum?"

Surprised by his own calling of that name, he stopped smiling. His eyes, which were always bent in the shape of a half moon because of his constant smiling, looked astonished.

He touched his mouth with his trembling hand then put it on his chest.

His heart was pounding.

Last night was the first night of Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

***

Dongchon Palace was located in Bipaan's residence in the center of East Palace and was always quiet. Even a little court lady held her breath and never raised her voice there. Sitting in a library with his book open, his chin resting on his right hand. Bipaan tapped on the desk with his right finger meaninglessly.

Tok tok tok tok ...

His long nails hit the wooden desk, making a clear sound. Though he had been reading a book for a while after returning from Kyosul's palace, he didn't yet turn a page. When he had a book on the desk but wasn't reading, it indicated that he had some questions.

Now, he had two questions in his head, whose answers he had been looking for.

Why did I stroke her face then? Why did I stay up all night?

She was a young girl.

She was young but beautiful. And she had eyes that seemed to burst into tears. Her fear of him was as full as her tears. Her hands trembled like aspen and turned white with fear. She had a slim figure that seemed likely to collapse at any moment, covered in big red clothes.

"Poor little girl."

Murmuring to himself, he laughed uncontrollably. Was it because of that? Was it because he felt pitiful about that young girl from a faraway country? He swept down his chest with his left hand.

"Have I ever had feelings like sympathy or compassion before? That's funny. "

As if he had resolved his question, he turned his eyes on the book and turned the page.

***

After she cried her fill, Kyosul was staring at the drinking table with a blank expression. Bipaan did not touch a sip or a side dish. Standing up, helped by her slender arms supporting her body, she took off the layers of red cloth one by one with wobbly hands. She again fell into bed, dressed in a white sheet, and pulled the silk blanket across her body.

"I wish he were my… . "

Murmuring to herself, she fell into sleep soundly as she couldn't sleep overnight. Tears, which seemed to dry out after her good cry, dropped from her closed eyes and soaked the silk blanket.

The sun rose in the sky. As there was no sign of Kyosul being around, her nanny started rolling her feet.

"Didn't she wake up yet? I don't see any sign of her getting up and moving around. "

When the nanny became impatient, the royal ladies standing with their heads bowed signalled to each other with eyes as if they were nervous.

"Will you go inside to check on her?"

"Ugh?"

"As you, Lady Yuon, are her nanny, I don't think she will scold you for going in," one court lady said.