Chapter 6 - The Most Beautiful Bird Part 2

The Most Beautiful Bird Part 2

“Your Highness.”

Court Lady Yoon called out to King Mun with a feeling that she was about to run out of breath. Others call him the Demon King, but to her, Sa Heon-yeong, a man who is her proud King Mun, was holding a woman and frowning. He had a look of annoyance and irritation on his face, but Court Lady Yoon couldn’t step down.

Last night, rumors that the Demon King had brought in a concubine swept the entire Imperial Palace. As soon as the Empress heard the rumors, she only greeted the Empress Dowager and rejected all of the greetings she would receive. She immediately ordered Court Lady Yoon to come and check if the rumor was true or if such an honorable woman existed.

The Fourth prince, Sa Heon-yeong, has circumstances, and since he was four years old, he received the emperor’s command and wore a red goblin mask. In fact, his face was very fine. No, it wasn’t just the point of being fine, he was quite a beautiful young man. However, he wore a goblin mask and was uncomfortable being in the Imperial Palace, so he volunteered to wander the battlefield from an early age.

Sa Heon-yeong was a spineless man from heaven. In addition to the natural environment of the imperial palace, he learned great martial arts from an early age. He gained experience by roaming the battlefield and was not afraid to do anything in the vanguard, so wherever he was, the morale of the military seemed to skyrocket. As a result, the enemy began to spread rumors about him, and as a result, vague and bizarre rumors began to circulate, such as eating blood or enjoying human flesh.

As a result, any woman in the royal family became reluctant to enter King Mun’s palace. Sa Heon-yeong had no concubines, and no descendants. It was frustrating for his mother, the Empress. Most of the generations have a family by the time they are 18, but her son has not been able to form a family. She offered Buddhism, then invited a priest to perform a rite…… How glad the mother’s heart must have been to hear that Sa Heon-yeong returned to the royal family with a woman in his arms at night, when the empress’s heart was burning like that. The Empress was out of her mind since the early morning. Should she send a gift, make a kiln, or have her enter the palace? Even while she went to greet the Empress Dowager, she continued to talk to Court Lady Yoon with a smile on her face the whole time.

But, what is that woman?

She’s small. She is too small. She is too skinny. Besides, even though she is an ordinary woman, she can’t be held by a man like that and goes out in front of a court lady, but she is calm. Is she a family’s young lady? No, she’s that small. Is she by any chance young? If King Mun is thirty and the woman is twelve or thirteen, isn’t it strange? You can’t tell a child who hasn’t even menarched yet to receive a man. I can’t guess her age because I couldn’t see her face.

– At the moment she was thinking.

‘The Lady will soon become the wife of this body.’

Wife? Queen?!

Court Lady Yoon called him, “Your Highness.” Then the woman he was holding in his arms stuck out her head and looked at her. No matter how nice the fool-like face was, it was difficult to say that she was a beauty. In fact, in the eyes of Court Lady Yoon, who had seen all the beauties of the world at the Imperial Palace, she could only see a pale color.

“She was not chosen by Her Majesty the Empress… !”

How would such a thin woman give birth to a child, and how would she set the dignity as a queen?

“Court Lady Yoon.”

King Mun cut her words coldly. Court Lady Yoon shut her lips, and King Mun clicked his tongue.

“I’m going to greet her in the afternoon, so please leave.”

“Your Highness, I,”

“To what extent should the King and Wife have to mix their words with the lowly?”

It was a colder tone than the sharp wind. When Court Lady Yoon didn’t say anything for a moment and looked up at him, King Mun said.

“I am showing patience by thinking about my childhood, Court Lady Yoon.”

Court Lady Yoon recalled his childhood. At one time he trusted her unconditionally. And one day.

…… Court Lady Yoon has never forgotten that day. That day, Sa Heon-young’s gaze remained forever in her heart. She closed her eyes

“I’m sorry.”

Yes, I betrayed you.

Court Lady Yoon recalled everything she had forgotten for a moment, as if she were his nanny and mother. She had a family to attend to. She was forced to obey orders. As Sa Heon-yeong said, she was in the lowly state, and all the people she was dealing with were noble people. She had to be very good at tightrope walking.

It was not a betrayal from her point of view.

But for him, it was a betrayal.

Court Lady Yoon looked up at King Mun. King Mun probably remembered the same day. He grabbed the woman in his arms. Like clenching his fists. Then.

The woman giggled.

“It tickles.”

The woman, as if unaware of the harsh atmosphere between King Mun and her, simply shrugged her shoulders and endured the tickling. It was when Court Lady Yoon, who really thought she was a fool, frowned.

King Mun smiled brightly.

Court Lady Yoon raised him. Even though he was covered with a red goblin mask, she could tell if King Mun was smiling or grimacing. King Mun considers her to be a traitor, but she still regards him as a child she raised. So she was able to recognize it quickly. King Mun smiled and hugged the woman a little, then hugged her tightly and apologized, “I’m sorry.” There was no longer any shadow of anger in that voice.

“It’s okay.”

The woman shook her head.

“We should get married soon.”

King Mun murmured. Does he know what voice he is speaking in? He sounded like he was clinging. Court Lady Yoon bit her lip.

“Really, was my father okay?”

Asked the woman in a worried tone.

“Of course.”

King Mun answered happily, and he kissed her forehead. The kiss was over the mask, but the woman still closed her eyes.

King Mun disappeared with the woman in his arms. Court Lady Yoon looked at him until his dignified back completely disappeared, then became dizzy and touched her head. Then the court ladies, who accompanied her, hurried to support her, calling “Madam!” Court Lady Yoon raised her hand and refused the support to her, and she fell into thought.

Father, the woman spoke of her father.

…… Which house woman are you?

I’ll try to find out from there. Court Lady Yoon’s eyes went cold.

***

When King Mun entered the bedroom with the queen in his arms, the maids followed carefully. Each of the maids had a neat and elegant appearance, and there was no sound of footsteps. The maids, dressed in pure white, knelt and bowed down when King Mun laid the queen down on the bed. The woman in the front smiled kindly and spoke politely.

“My name is Soye, who will be in charge of Her Highness from today. I will regard it as an honor to meet you.”

Soye was rather proud of her squeamishness when the master’s most difficult sarcasm fit like a tongue in his mouth, but the other person didn’t even look at her. The queen, who would become her master, glanced at the maids and grabbed King Mun’s collar.

The maids swallowed a groan inside as they watched King Mun’s collar wrinkle with the rough, dry fingers like branches. King Mun is a terrifying boss. No matter how much he decided her to be queen, he was a person who could hit her neck in an instant if he didn’t like her. The maids trembled inwardly, fearing that they would see any kind of blood.

But from last night, King Mun seemed not to be himself.

“What’s the matter?”

King Mun knelt down on his knees and made eye contact with the queen.

The maids swallowed in a different way this time. Who is under that goblin mask that is so sweet? A little while ago, he was himself with Court Lady Yoon, but the one who treated the queen was a different person.

“Where…. Are you going?”

The woman’s eyes were severely troubled. Sa Heon-yeong suddenly thought about what it would be like to leave this woman behind. Will she be scared and cry waiting for him? What does that feel like? It can be satisfying and heartbreaking. Either way, it must feel human.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Sa Heon-young kissed the woman’s forehead. The woman’s body smelled of the perfume he had chosen.

“Your Highness, I will serve you with all my heart. Please guide me well.”

Jae-ran, a young but tactful maid, crept on her knees closer to her. The woman relaxed a little by the maid’s gentle face.

Like a fox.

The maids smiled bitterly inside. Although Jae-ran’s face looked mild, the insides were toxic. Sa Heon-young laughed inside as well. But only the woman was deceived by the gentle face and nodded her head a little.

Bathing the woman, Sa Heon-yeong can do it, but he’s just overdressing her. In the Sun dynasty, women’s clothing was very complicated, as men also wore it. It was not something that could be figured out with some tricks in a day or two, so Sa Heon-yeong hid his regret and handed over the woman to the maids.

Surrounded by the maids, the woman hesitated and looked back at Sa Heon-yeong. The trust in her eyes is just clear. Sa Heon-young smiled brightly because he was very happy about it.

“I will be here.”

The woman nodded her head.

In the Sun dynasty, the high-ranking officials usually had women as their attendants. However, among the women, it was difficult to find those with a high enough education to work as attendants. So, the higher the rank was, the more they had attendants.

Ha Soye was a court lady, and she had strong bones. She has been waiting for the Queen Mun while strictly managing the King Mun’s wealth. And finally, King Mun had brought the queen.

Soye carefully attended to the queen. Soye’s eyes became as sharp as a blade when the hands of the maids became rough, even a little. The maids who were already touching with soft hands acted cautiously as if they were touching a bubble doll. Soye, who cracked down on the maids with her bloody gaze, looked closely at the queen, who was unfamiliar with the attendants.

Let me see, let me see.

Every time the queen and her eyes met, Soye opened her eyes and smiled brightly.

She thought the woman was too thin, but she looked better than Soye thought. But she was too skinny. For the time being, she will focus her energy on gaining weight. Still, the features are pretty high-end. Soye can’t say intelligent, but she has gentle, big eyes, an elegant nose bridge, and thick, sensual lips instead of small ones. Although her body was full of scars, her face was flawless, and her skin was flawless, even though it was not smooth.

I can decorate it well.

By the time Soye gave the estimate, the queen looked back at King Mun several times with an uncomfortable expression. She looked worried about where he was going.

“Your Highness, do you want to raise your hair?”

Jae-ran asked with a soft smile. The queen quietly shook her head. However, as her troubles faded, Ha Soye glanced at the maid at the doorstep and nodded. A little later, when the maid came in with some snacks on the tray, the maid smiled and spoke to her.

“It’s hard to get dressed up. Have some tea.”

“Do you like honey tea? If there is a tea that you enjoy, I will tell the merchant tomorrow and get it.”

“What fruits should we prepare?”

As the maids chattered, the queen turned white and only her eyes widened. Ha Soye looked at the face and realized that the queen was very shy. She was about to cough to get them to stop making noise.

“Do you like it?”

When she turned her head to the sudden voice, King Mun asked. The queen didn’t seem to understand what that meant, but the maids quickly understood. One of the maids showed a mirror to the queen.

Sa Heon-yeong watched the woman look at her own face. The woman seemed puzzled. As if she couldn’t believe her look in the mirror, she tilted her head and even raised one hand. At that moment, Sa Heon-young burst into laughter. But on the other hand, the woman was showing great seriousness, as if she had not heard his laughter.

Sa Heon-young approached her and hugged her from behind.

“Don’t you like it?”

“It, it’s weird.”

The woman groaned in his arms and looked back at him. It was a really weird face.

Lips with rouge on them are especially red. The powdered face was too white, and the small face was as bright as the moon. Her black hair was intricately braided and put on a hair pin, and long earrings that accentuated her deer-like neck made a dangling sound. It was pretty.

“It’s just overly pretty, but not weird.”

Overly.

…… Who can she show this to?

The maids quickly read his displeasure and quickly knelt down. Kiss, Sa Heon-young kissed the woman and the maids glanced down. Then the mask shook.

The woman was holding his mask. The moment she tried to remove his mask, there was a hoarse, shrieking, swallowing sound among the maids.

Sa Heon-young grabbed her wrist with a short delay.

“No.”

“You said we were going to get married.”

The woman’s words were theoretically right. For a moment, Sa Heon-yeong was speechless for, then opened his mouth to refute it.

“We haven’t done it yet.”

“You undressed me.”

Although the woman seemed like a fool, she was surprisingly good at her words. At the woman’s comment, Sa Heon-yeong hesitated for a moment, unable to find anything to say. Meanwhile, the woman tried to grab his mask with her opposite hand. Sa Heon-young grabbed the woman’s wrist, which was likely to break if he applied too much force, and then immediately took the power away from her. He shook his head gently, but held on to it so hard that she couldn’t escape.

“No.”

“Why?”

The woman was not aware of the atmosphere. Sa Heon-yeong looked troubled and shook his head, but she immediately asked why. He barely answered.

“… … It, it’s still early, isn’t it?”

He started wearing the mask when he was four years old, but he has never been as happy with the mask as he is right now. Sa Heon-yeong was genuinely unable to believe what he had said. Is it still early? What did he just say now?

Then the woman asked

“Are you embarrassed?”

Sa Heon-young said nothing and looked down at her blankly.

It was Ha So-ye, not Sa Heon-yeong, who came to her senses. She gathered her mind and slapped the side of the maids who were watching this spectacle. Then the maids, who came to their senses, hurriedly withdrew from the bedroom. Finally, as they retreated from the bedroom, Ha Soye closed the door.

Even though there was a sound of the sliding door closing, Sa Heon-young could not find a word to answer. His pretty wife looked like she had been starved for four days and rolled up her eyes at him instead of a meal. At this point, he should have returned her words, but she had her eyes widened, waiting for an answer.

“I, I’m not embarrassed…….”

“Hmm.”

“…… I have a difficult situation.”

“Hmm.”

Even if I die, I guess I can’t get away from it.

“I’m ugly.”

At Sa Heon-yeong’s words, the woman widened her eyes. Then she burst into laughter.

“Take it off.”

“No. You laughed.”

At this time, Sa Hoon-yeong endured. The woman’s wrists were so thin that he couldn’t even hold them tighter for fear of breaking them.

At Sa Heon-yeong’s words, the woman stopped her laughter. “I won’t laugh, I swear,” she said blankly and pointed her finger at the sky.

He doesn’t believe in oaths to heaven. It has been a long time since he believed in neither God nor people. Sa Heon-young looked down at the woman. This pretty and lovely woman, will she be able to believe it? If so, is it progressing or regressing?

Sa Heon-young alternately kissed the back of the woman’s hands.

“After we spend the night, take it off by then.”

As if walking through a red cotton yarn.

Sa Heon-yeong said so and released the woman’s wrist.

“Do you understand?”

He thought this was the end of the matter by saying something like appeasing a child. But the woman reached out her hand.

It was an instant thing. Sa Heon-young never thought that she would put her hand on his mask after the woman had heard this far. A slight time gap brought victory to the woman. The red goblin mask fell to the floor.

“Then, let’s do it now.”

The woman smiled brightly. As if she had already forgotten her vow not to laugh.

—-

Note:

I changed Prince Mun to King Mun, because I thought it was weird that he had the title of ‘King’ when technically he’s the Prince ._. But the ML was called the Queen, so I’ll change it to the original King Mun.