Chapter 17

The Queen lay in bed, sorting out her thoughts. Seeing the concubine so vulnerable and upset terrified the Queen. Arisa didn't know whether they were to move on from this. What was the feeling they had for each other anyway? Was it love? Was it possible for two girls to fall in love as well? 

The Queen pondered these thoughts and sighed. She thought to herself that if a man and a girl could fall in love, surely a woman and a woman could. But would the concubine feel that way as well? Remembering how tightly Kira held onto the Queen, she must've felt guilty and kept her feelings hidden because it felt 'wrong.' 

'What shall I do? What is there to do? What can I do to fix this?' The Queen thought out loud. The King next to her in bed yawned and turned around to the Queen. 'What's wrong? Maybe I can help, talk to me about it.' The Queen ignored him and kept overthinking. 

The King saw this and poked the Queen's cheek, 'I won't be able to sleep if you're going to keep sighing.' 

'Mind your business.' 

'I'll keep bothering you if you won't tell me.' He held the Queen's arms and moved them around his waist. 'Hug me and tell me all about it.' He whispered. 

The Queen furrowed her brows and moved away from him. After a moment of silence, she spoke. 

'As a woman, visiting a brothel would be considered wrong... right?' 

Edward smiled to himself and replied, 'Not like someone hasn't already done that before.'

'Forget it.' 

'No no no, carry on.' 

'For women, there's a lot of things that they can't do compared to what men can.'

'That's only because it's only right if men can, it would be wr-

'Wrong.' The Queen interrupted him. 

'It could be considered wrong, but for me, the best thing is to think about it carefully and see whether there is any actual harm in it.' The Queen continued.

The King was confused but stayed silent.

'If a man can walk around freely, surely a woman can too. If I think that it's okay, but another woman doesn't, what do I do?' 

'It's not right in the first place. Without a husband, it's natural for women to not be seen out in public alone.' 

'Did I ask about that?!' The Queen got up and glared at him, 'If I wasn't already bothered about something, I would've already beaten you for that response.' 

The King was bewildered but he was getting used to the Queen's free and wild nature. 'Okay, okay, let me think... You're asking me what to do if a woman doesn't accept what you think a woman can do? Well... explain it to her, maybe that would be easier for her to understand.' 

The Queen suddenly thought of an idea and a brilliant smile appeared. 'That's it! We should research more about it together!!' 

She got up, pulling a warm coat over her. 'If someone won't accept something because they think it's wrong, then the only thing to do is educate them on why it is right!' Arisa spoke cheerfully. She didn't know where she was going but she knew she had to see the concubine at once.

The King was half asleep on the bed, he looked at the Queen dazed. 'Where are you going? It's nearly midnight!' 

Even if he spoke more it wouldn't convince the Queen to stay and so she left at once.