CHAPTER 28: Don’t Lose Control

It had taken long for me to realize I had underestimated my mother, Queen Seoyeong. Aside from being pretty and having given birth to twins with Magical powers, Queen Seoyeong was a fairly ordinary woman of this world or this had been my perception. So far she had struck me as a docile and fragile. How wrong had I been!

Queen Seoyeong bowed before the King and said, “I had no idea what I should give. Your Majesty is like the sun to me, and I owe everything to Your Majesty. Your Majesty wants nothing.”

The King sat there nodding in agreement, unimpressed. I envisioned hitting him in the stomach.

“Therefore, I have decided to present to Your Majesty with everything that I have.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Myself. Come to my bedroom tonight.” (T/n: damn. now THAT is ballsy!xD)

Everyone was shocked. A queen had dared to issue an order to the King. This is how it seemed to everyone except me. Seduction as a concept didn’t exist. Interpreted through the lens of my former life, Queen Seoyeong had been seductive, but here her actions were interpreted as a command to the King.

The men of this world had no concept of romance. The women so grossly outnumbered the men and are so expendable that there was no point in it. The queens were all staring at Queen Seoyeong, some were glaring with daggers in their eyes and others with their mouths agape. My mother had been so courageous as she confidently offered herself and I was proud of her.

Scumbag was cool and said. “You’re giving me something I already have?” Making Queen Seoyeong lose her composure.

Mother! Don’t lose your cool. It’s obvious that he approves—don’t back down now. He hasn’t refused you, so don’t be afraid.

The queens were all clearly dismayed. Oh, don’t look so shocked. You just wish you’d thought of it yourselves! What gift could be better than that?

The King chuckled—he was clearly enjoying himself. Queen Seoyeong had shown him a surprisingly saucy side no one could have anticipated, making even the King, himself, intrigued. He was planning to pay her a visit soon anyway.

Scumbag announced, “Next!”

Princess Heeah, the ninth-born princess presented the king with emerald earrings which cast a brilliant light that seemed to bear magical properties. Just how Princess Heeah had gotten a hold of such a rare thing of beauty was a different issue.

Involuntarily I murmured, “It’s beautiful.”

For a princess to secure something like this was a painstaking feat. Even so, the king paid no mind. For a king, this was an everyday item, and as it was not an artifact or ancient treasure, the King had no need of it. He almost told Heeah to keep it, but he heard, with his superhuman hearing, a murmur of, “It’s beautiful”

This amused him greatly, Girls were drawn to little shiny objects.

 He said: “Well done. Next?”

The twins ran forward.

“Dad! I caught a mantis! It’s this big!” Hwan-Hyeok said indicating with his arms.

“Your Majesty! I caught a cicada THIS BIG!”

“No, Dad! Mine is THIS BIG!”

And so on. Princess Sang-Ah was panting, out of breath. The King explained affectionately, “If you use magic, you won’t run out of breath.”

The other princesses and queens stared at Sang-Ah with envy; here was a girl who had been born with magical abilities. She was, of course far beneath a prince, but she was still above the other princesses.

Prince Hwan-Hyeok asked earnestly, “Which do you like better?” and with equal earnestness, the King answered, “Whichever would win in a fight.”

Hwan-Hyeok smiled victoriously. A mantis would definitely beat a cicada. He pumped the air with his fist. “I win!” he crowed.

The princesses had come bearing precious objects aplenty. Their selections gave me pause though. The women of this world were just as simple-minded as the men. Maybe they had just not been given the time to think through their gifts in the confusion, or perhaps it was the nature of people born in this world, but their thoughtlessness frustrated me, one after another.

These ladies would feed grass to a tiger or meat to a cow!

The women appeared to have put a lot of thought into these gifts, but most of them gave the King women’s jewelry. Just why on earth would the king want a heap of necklaces and earrings? Fools!

Scumbag looked at me, “What have you brought?”

Now the time had come to put my plan into action.

I pulled out all the stops on my display of bashfulness.

“Out with it. Don’t be shy.”

“May I come closer, Your Majesty?”

As if he were too impatient to wait for my useless to carry me there, he cast a spell to make me float toward him. Sheesh, at least give me some warning! 

I spread my arms wide in a gesture that was unmistakably a hug. I was suspended in the air so I could not see behind me, but I was certain that all would be gaping in disbelief that a princess was daring to embrace the King.

I repeated to myself over and over again, I’m only twelve, I’m still only twelve.

While we’re on the topic of my age, I’ll mention I had toiled for every one of those twelve years, unnoticed by anyone. I did stretches at night to lengthen my legs and practiced the yoga I had learned on Earth to keep my figure trim. This was my strategy. I knew a woman’s looks gave her power, which was why I was always careful with my appearance. I was still only twelve, so I had not reached my prime yet.

Scumbag embraced me, oblivious to all the jaws dropping.

I confessed, ” I love you sooooooooo much!” I impulsively planted a kiss on his cheek. My lips—they’re burning! I’ve touched your vileness with my lips! Twelve years of my innocence—gone. I consoled myself that I was still pure because I was a child.

I beamed, disguising my true feelings, my eyes sprakling. It was the sweet look I practiced nightly in the mirror. “I love Your Majesty will all my heart.”

 Silence descended on the family gathering. Queen Seoyeong’s behavior had already caused a shock, and this was bordering on obscene. A princess had dared to embrace and kiss the King.

 Princess Heeah was thrown into confusion. Maybe Sang-Hee had really been masculinized. Where else would she have gotten the courage?

She did not have that appearance though. Heeah could not make head or tail of this. And she even had dared to kiss the king. That’s suicide…

 Princess Sang-Hee’s behavior made it obvious that she had not received proper training from the other princesses. She would not have made such a drastic mistake, a fatal one most likely, if she had spent more time with the older princesses.  Finally, the King broke the silence.

He burst out laughing. He made a serious face again. The queens and princesses waited tensely. It was the calm before the storm. To their great surprise, the King was charmed.

“You’re quite the daredevil.”

The knights standing guard at the hall entrance noted something peculiar.

“How is Princess Sang-Hee daring to make physical contact with the King?”

“He must have given her permission.”

She was still only a little girl. If he had objected in the slightest, she would have been dripping blood at the hall entrance. She would not have dared to touch him without his consent. Even a knight, who outranked a prince, would not dare lay a hand on the King. This must mean the princess had the King’s consent.

“The princesses and queens must be quite shocked.”

“Well, duh. Even I am shocked. There’s change in the air and to think just a few years ago, Princess Suyeong was executed.”

“There is a lot of change happening. I can’t describe it.”

“Yes, I feel it too. It’s kind of a pleasant feeling. It feels quite unusual.”

The King turned to Sang-Hee, “Is this your gift?”

“If you do not like my gift, kill me tonight! I have done wrong.”

She knew of course that these were empty words. She was able to do this because he had permitted it. She was in the King’s favor at the time. Even so, Sang-Hee acted as though she were actually fearful.

The King just grinned, “No, I like it.” He then announced, “I am so pleased with Princess Sang-Hee’s gift that I will bestow Furious to all of you gathered here.”

“Your Majesty!” The queens and princesses all said in unison. Even Princess Sang-Hee was taken aback. Furious was a rare potion, which had the power to prevent or heal ailments throughout one’s life with just one drop.

The Goryeo Kingdom, after the Empire was the most powerful Kingdom. They did not have the martial might of the Empire, which boasted on the Prion Knights, but they were a prosperous Kingdom. Even given the Kingdom’s wealth, a bottle of Furious was equivalent to the entire value of a kingdom. One bottle of Furious was a priceless possession, even for a King. To give everyone present one drop of this rare potion, an entire bottle would have to be used.

Prince Hyeong-Seok interjected, “Perhaps that is too extravagant, Dear Father.”

He replied, “I can obtain more Furious later on.”

Prince Hyeong-Seok did not press further. What he meant by this was that he could always obtain more Furious later, but he could not continue to accept Sang-Hee’s gift. Prince Hyeong-Seok was perceptive enough that he knew that the King had made this announcement as a diversion from having accepted this show of affection from a favored princess. Princess Sang-Hee had become his favorite this way. She had some intangible quality.

“We are the Goryeo Kingdom, after all. We can come by more Furious later on.”

“I haven’t seen Father look so content before.”

He had no desire to disturb this contentment. Everyone was still in a state of shock, but the King continued, “Let us now welcome the special personage I have invited to this event.”

Since the purpose of the gathering was a family get-together and the conferment of a title, nobody had been invited except the family and the knights standing guard. A man entered the hall, and everyone turned to look at him. Princess Sang-Hee turned ice-cold.

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….WHAT WAS JINSU DOING HERE?