Chapter 49

The palace was in a remote place.

It was a splendid sculpture that could not be compared with her own cabin. However, the moment she entered the palace in Sa Heon-yeong’s arms, Song Young-young caught a familiar smell.

The smell of loneliness, solitude. The shadows of the trees shake ominously, and the leaves rub against each other. Even in the daytime, it is dark, and the sound is mixed with the wind, only fueling anxiety. She could feel the moisture peculiar to an abandoned place.

Throughout the wedding, she traveled from place to place in the Imperial Palace. Everything was bright and colorful, but why is this place so quiet and lonely? Young-young suddenly smiled. 

So was her own hut. Her father had the largest drugstore in the city. His whole house was splendid, but her hut was unseemly.

Because even the richest person in the world doesn’t spend a penny on the abandoned.

“It’s not a good place, but be patient. After the banquet is over, we will never come again.”

Sa Heon-young was truly sorry.

He did not take her into the room. He sat on the balustrade in the long corridor, he put her on his lap and stripped her of her shoes.

“You’ve had a hard time since morning, haven’t you? Does it hurt?”

A friendly voice. Kindly curved eyes.

…… they don’t look alike.

Young-young raised her hand and touched Sa Heon-yeong’s goblin mask.

“You didn’t look alike.”

“Yes?”

“The Crown Prince and Lord Heon-yeong. It wasn’t very similar. I saw it wrong.”

“No, it was like that. We’re similar …… This is a secret.”

Sa Heon-young put his index finger to his lips. Young-young instinctively understood why Sa Heon-yeong was wearing a mask.

“Is Lord Heon-yeong wearing a mask because you resemble the Crown Prince?”

Young-young frowned.

Sa Heon-yeong began to remove all of the hairpins from Young-young’s hair. 

Even if he had to bring her to the banquet with scattered hair, her headdress had to be removed. If he took her to the long banquet with her headdress, it seemed that Young-young’s neck would break. She felt Sa Heon-yeong’s touch who was immersed in her hair while leaning, and Young-young looked quietly into the distance.

She could see the sun shining through the leaves. Young-young looked at it quietly and heard the sound of the wind. 

After a long time she remembered the hut in which she had grown up.

“Did you know about goblin’s eggs?”

“I don’t know.”

“The female goblin lays eggs, but it is difficult to raise them. The male goblin likes the eggs laid by the female.”

“They like it, but why is it difficult to raise? The two can raise it together.”

“They ate it.”

Finally, all the hair ornaments were removed and he was able to lower her headdress. As soon as the headdress came down, Young-young, who was groaning, turned her head to look at Sa Heon-yeong.

“They, they ate it?”

“That’s what it is.”

“The egg with your own child?”

“The male goblin said it was a delicacy. Especially the egg with their own child.”

Young-young’s face contorted. Sa Heon-yeong continued his words as he pulled her, who couldn’t understand, into a hug, and he kissed her on the forehead.

“It is said that female goblins avoid the males’ eyes and put their eggs into human, pregnant wombs. So, the human develops maternal love and raises the goblin’s egg like their child. Because they both have the same face, so you can’t tell which one is a human and which is a goblin.”

“…… .”

“So, I am a goblin.”

Young-young reached out and fiddled with Sa Heon-yeong’s mask. She wanted to see his face properly. She was worried about what his face would look like as she heard the voice as lonely as the winter wind.

Suddenly, her hand was grabbed. Sa Heon-yeong’s hand was hot and large, and whenever he grabbed her wrist, it became warm rather than scary. Young-young looked at the manly hand wrapped around her wrist and asked.

“Are you going to say no here?”

When Young-Young asked, Sa Heon-Young smiled brightly and whispered, “Yes.”

Song Young-young looked up at the man who wore the goblin mask and said he was a goblin and blinked her eyes. 

For the first time, she thought that this man was pitiful. The goblin, who appeared in good shoes, only looked gorgeous and strong. He seemed to know everything. He seemed to truly believe in this goblin egg story. 

Young-young fiddled with Sa Heon-yeong’s mask.

“You know what twins are?”

Young-young was unaware of the circumstances, but she also knew to some extent what twins are. The human may have a goblin egg, but how do you tell the difference between an ordinary twin and a goblin egg?

“Of course I do.”

“…….”

“But the imperial family does not have twins. No such thing is born of noble blood.”

Before meeting Sa Heon-yeong, the highest person to Young-young was the lord of the estate. He was high-ranked, but by default. But she heard he was not of a good enough noble blood to be said. So, although Young-young had met high-ranking people, she had never seen noble blood.

What is noble blood?

“What color is noble blood?”

“…….”

“What about goblin’s blood?”

Sa Heon-young did not answer. 

He wiped Young-young’s cheek and just smiled. Young-young quietly felt his hand, then raised her hand and wrapped it around the back of Sa Heon-yeong’s hand.

Young-young closed her eyes. Sa Heon-young looked down at Young-young’s face. Young-young’s face, asking what color the noble blood is and what color the goblin’s blood is, was just innocent. 

She didn’t know what she was asking, and she seemed just curious. No, maybe she’s just comforting him.

“Even if your husband is a goblin…… Are you okay?”