CHAPTER 24: SEOYEONG KANG’S TRIUMPH

I gave the ragdoll to Jinsu. Perhaps I was imagining it, but the whole building seemed to shudder then. I did not know whether it was real or not. Then a window shattered on its own, which gave me a start.

After I had handed Jinsu the doll, I walked over to Scumbag. I opened my arms to invite him to embrace me, but he just ignored me coolly. That bastard! And with all the knights watching. How embarrassing. (T/n: Oh please. The King’s prolly still in shock for what just happened )  I hadn’t expected him to embrace me anyway. I lowered my spurned arms, but I smiled anyway.

“I gave it to Jinsu, my fiancé because of my father, the King, told me to give it to him and I must obey.”

I continued, “Sir Jinsu resides far away in the Empire, while father lives close to me, so he may keep the doll and I would be so grateful if the King would accept me,” I said as sweetly as I could. While I had been unintentionally a coquette in my former life, I now unconsciously amped up my charms. Sadly though, it was of no use now. I felt an unease I could not explain.

I clung to Scumbag’ leg. However energetically I bounced up and down, I was only able to reach his leg. I couldn’t tell what mood he was in, but he did not shake me off him. He just patted me on the head twice. At least the incident was concluded.

Jinsu asked then, “Do you have a moment?”

I’ll remind you again that it was acceptable for him to make this request because this was not an absolutist monarchy. It was very similar to a modern-day society. They were both a part of the social elite. Scumbag agreed to Jinsu’s respectful request.

They spoke in private. With a wave of his hand, Scumbag summoned something like a partition between the two of them, and I could hear them at all. Then he waved his hand again to make it disappear.

“I find it interesting that my future-son-in-law would make this request”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The King gave his permission. What had he given permission for? I soon learned that Jinsu had asked to accompany us to the third destination. The first had been the Goryeo Plantation, the second had been the Goryeo Museum. At the Goryeo Plantation, I had observed the miserable conditions of the slave women. At the museum, I had begun to learn about interpreting ancient scripts.

We were now in the car.

Why did he have to come? Why?

The awkwardness was oppressive. Hwan-Seong sat at my left, and Jinsu, who looked identical to my husband in the previous life, sat at my right. The usually chatty Hwan-Seong sat silently. Jinsu was silent as well, but that was quite typical for him. The roar of the engine was audible, but the air was oddly still. And it was not acceptable for me to speak without being spoken to first.

Sandwiched between them, I felt sulky and almost grimaced. Hwan-Seong thankfully broke the silence.

He said, “If you’re sleepy, you can lean your head against my shoulder.”

I saw Gitae flinch again in the front. Stop acting so shocked, Mister. I’ve worked nine years of my life for this! You have no idea what abuse I’ve suffered! How pathetic for a knight to look so alarmed over such a small incident.

“Your Majesty, don’t subject yourself to that just for my fiancé” Jinsu then lifted his finger to cast a spell. My head rose on its own and then leaned on Jinsu’s shoulder. No, it almost did, but then tilted toward Hwan-Seong’s shoulder on its own again.

Jinsu stared at Hwan-Seong, “Your Majesty?”

They were fighting over whose shoulder I leaned on to take a little nap! My head was being knocked right and left!

Jinsu eventually emerged the victor. Jinsu was both older than Hwan-Seong and possessed superior magic skills. Jinsu was also very assiduous, from what I’d heard, while Hwan-Seong’s only advantage was brute power. He had eventually admitted defeat to Jinsu in a competition of pure magic.

 Our third destination was a waterfall. Stuck between Jinsu and Hwan-Seong, it was difficult to tell if it was a waterfall or fountain until I was standing right before it. It was three hundred twenty meters high and nine hundred meters wide. It was unmistakably a majestic waterfall. I felt it might swallow me up if I looked at it too long.

In awe, I stood speechless.

“I’m spinning! The world’s spinning!”

Relax, the world isn’t spinning. You are.

Hwan-Seong leaped into the huge pit of the waterfall and leap high and spun around. He slid down the cascade. Jinsu did not do anything to stop him, so it must not have been very dangerous.

You really can do anything with magic, I marveled.

Any Earthling who ran headlong into this thunderous waterfall would almost certainly perish. But Hwan-Seong was diving again and again as if he were at his home swimming pool.

“I would like a moment with my fiance,” Jinsu said as he led me away.

How Strange. Where were we? I was wondering when he suddenly asked, “What are you?”

I could see nothing. We were in total darkness, but there was one thing I could see. Naturally, it would be difficult to see in darkness, but only one thing was illuminated and it was Jinsu. Jinsu was supposed to be my fiance, but I couldn’t address him as my husband. We were still just children. I would address him according to his position.

“Where are we, Sir?”

It’s a special place I’ve created. So relaz. I can tell you taht much. And if you were any normal nine year old, you’d be throwing a tantrum at being brought here.

“Don’t you dare ask again.”

I was quite frightened. I could not see anything. The cold voice was coming from the Jinsu look-alike.

Jinsu asked me something strange, “What did you do to me?”

That’s the first thing you ask after a five-year absence?

“You won’t answer?”

I was thrown into confusion, but I knew I could not dare ignore him. I had to say something.

Jinsu bent at the waist then, until he was eye to eye with me. I felt his breath on my face. It was the Jinsu I had known before. I lost my head then.

“Please…”

“What?”

“Please…be kind to me.”

I’d said it. Had I really dared to say that? I was insane. I remembered where I was. To be frank, what Jinsu was doing wasn’t very nice. He was treating me as though he’d taken me hostage, whispering threateningly to my face.

I wanted to scream, “Don’t use Jinsu’s voice to speak to me that way.”

I had said that to him accidentally. Jinsu straightened, and he stared at me saying nothing.

“Why should I be kind to you?”

“I…don’t know”

This was different from Scumbag and Hwan-Seong. They had very gradually become accustomed to me, unlike him, whom I was seeing him for the first time in five years. Even so, I made up my mind. This guy was my fiance. Whether I really loved him or not, I would be marrying him.

“I…”

I was about to say what I had never said in my previous life. It seemed strange coming from my nine-year-old body, But I was unable to say it. It’s not my Jinsu. No, the boy looking at me with cold eyes was not him.

I almost said I loved him anyway…I could eke out an existence somehow in this world. Strangely, Jinsu was patiently waiting for me to finish speaking.

I could not get the words out; they were stuck in my throat. Then the strange reality we were in was shattered. I became aware of Hwan-Seong’s presence.

“I’m hungry! I was going to wait for you, but I don’t think I can because I’m so hungry.”

“I’m so sorry to have made Your Majesty wait.” Jinsu bent his head.

“It’s okay, it was my fault. It was bad manners to break the spell.”

He seemed too cheerful to really be apologetic. That’s why you’re a brat. Despite this, I was grateful to him, so I smiled at him. Hwan-Seong’s face darkened. He had deliberately broken the spell to transport us back to reality.

You ask how I know? His body was steaming which revealed that he had just recently used his magic powers to their maximum. He had summoned the strongest spell he could to end our conversation.

“I’ve got something I have to attend to.” With just those words Jinsu disappeared. After throwing me into confusion, he vanished without explanation.

Gihyeon showed up soon after. Hw was bellowing, “That bastard! He just threw me out of the car and then left! I’ll kill him!”

He approached me and whispered, “Little Princess, how in the world did you ensnare him like that? Answer at once!”

IT’S GIHYEON \OuO/

And then he went flying. Yes, he literally flew. He floated about and then hung suspended while spinning in the circles in the cascading downpour. Hwan-Seong was doubled over in laughter. He was under Hwan-Seong’s spell and that brat must have immense strength to send an adult male flying. It was incredible.

“So sorry!” he said, “I have to eat lunch with my Mutt now.”

All he had to offer was that weak apology for throwing someone into an enormous waterfall? Well, he didn’t tell me to go fetch there at least.

I smiled. Hwan-Seong offered his arm to me and then we were transported to a city restaurant.

“Oh, I’m not worthy of being Brother’s escort.”

“Hey, little Mutt.”

“Yes, Brother?”

He looked quite serious. I was a bit frightened when he gave me that look as if he might say at any moment, “I tell her to fetch because I love her.”

“You’re really going to get it if you don’t put your arm through mine right now.”

He reached into his jacket as if getting ready to hurl the ragdoll. I linked arms with him, I’ll kill you if you make me go fetch in the waterfall! 

**The setting: a city restaurant.

Hwan-Seong said, “Hey, Mutt”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Aren’t you tired of that?”

“I don’t know what Brother means. Please enlighten me on my stupidity.”

“You know.”

How should I know what you mean? Maybe it isn’t important to you to make yourself understood to me, but I’m at my wit’s end trying to understand you. We’re in very different positions!

I thought hard, but I had no idea what he was referring to. Hwan-Seong drew a grave face. He said as if showing me how intelligent he was, “Pay attention.”

Counting the syllables off on his fingers, he said, “It’s quite long-winded to call me ‘Your Majesty’.”

“Why not just call me by name?” He suggested.

Gitae coughed. He sounds as if he would choke to death at any moment. Why not just use your magic to soothe your cough, Mister? He had seemed quite capable at first, but I was loosing more and more faith in him.

I said, “I don’t mind at all. I use that ‘Your Majesty’ as a sign of respect.” Making Hwan-Seong frowned. Noooo, don’t do it. We’re in a restaurant.

“Fetch!”

Then Gitae seemed to have received a message that my excursion was to end immediately. The fame of fetch has ended too. Hwan-Seong got up from the table. He retrieved the doll using magic and said, “We’re going back to the palace.”