C11 Part2

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Well aware of Heon’s reach and influence, MoonWon first went to a border town of SeoMoon when she left the bamboo grove. Because of the uneasy situation at the capital, MoonWon believed that it would be difficult for Heon to come all the way over to the small town.

However, Heon had come to find her, so she quickly evaded him and went somewhere else. Because he personally searched and followed her from village to village, there were many instances where she barely made an escape in the dark of the night with only the moonlight to guide her.

When it became obvious that she would not be able to avoid him in SeoMoon, she finally crossed the border. However, this time, it seemed that Doyoon had caught wind of her location. Whenever she settled down, he would always come to see her.

“How did you find me again?”

“It’s not like this place was impossible to get to.”

Even when she begged him not to come, even when she angrily asked him why he kept doing this to her, Doyoon always remained calm. She felt that she finally understood why Heon was so reluctant to introduce her to Doyoon.

Three days after she had settled in Yeon, the moment she saw him arrive as he asked her for some tea, she decided to give up trying to escape him.

“Heon is no fun these days.”

When she heard the blunt remark about Heon, MoonWon lowered her head.

“Am I not fun either?”

“You’re fun. No matter what I say, you don’t seem to care, right?”

MoonWon never knew where her conversations with Doyoon would go, and it was quite exhausting. And the one with the upper hand was always Doyoon.

If Doyoon wished it, he could always tell Heon where she was. However, he never used MoonWon to make Heon waver, and he even helped hide her location from Heon.

“If your empress finds out that you are speaking with me like this, she will not be pleased.”

“Mm, there’s no way that would happen. I don’t have an empress yet.”

MoonWon’s brow furrowed at the unexpected answer. She had heard that Ju was swallowing surrounding nations. At this point in time, its influence was no smaller than SeoMoon’s. And Doyoon, as the master of such a nation, did not have an empress. MoonWon found it surprising.

“So it looks like you’ll have to play with me a lot. Heon hasn’t been very fun these days.”

“......”

“The thing about Heon is…”

“Your Majesty, I know that I do not have a right to say this to you, but I beg you. Please stop talking about that man.”

MoonWon’s head sank as she spoke. With his chin in his hand as he propped it on the table, Doyoon’s eyes gleamed as they gazed at MoonWon.

“Are you still hurt? Or do you still hate him?”

“Don’t you think it’s time for me to clear out my heart?”

“Hmm.”

Doyoon thought that she’d miss Heon after living apart for a while. But unlike Heon, who was collapsing further by the day, MoonWon remained steady. He had planned to tell Heon about MoonWon’s location after her heart had sufficiently healed. However, after seeing how peaceful she was, he realized it was going to be difficult.

“Are you truly done?”

“Your Majesty, so…”

“Then I can begin preparations for your remarriage.”

“

Cough,

cough.”

In the middle of drinking her tea, MoonWon began to cough. She turned her head away and tried to stop it, but tears began to form in her eyes as she was overcome with wracking coughs.

After taking a few more sips of tea, the coughs settled down, and MoonWon let out a strained breath.

“Hmmm.”

Doyoon’s voice sounded strange. Filled with a sense of dread, MoonWon carefully opened her mouth. Suddenly, Doyoon got up from his seat.

“I’m going to leave now. The air is nice and crisp, so the tea tasted amazing.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Ah! I came here to tell you something, but I almost forgot. SeoMoon’s army will begin to move into Yeon. Yeon recently looted one of SeoMoon’s villages and was subdued by the Chief Commander.”

“Ah…”

“Heon was against it, but the Emperor and the Crown Prince thought differently.”

MoonWon was lost in thought as she lowered her head. When Doyoon turned around, the doors opened.

When MoonWon followed him out, she saw a large heap of objects on the ground.

“I’m paying you back for the nice cup of tea.”

“Your Majesty, this is too much. How can I accept all this?”

“If you don’t want to receive this, why don’t you move to Ju instead?”

MoonWon’s eyes widened. Saying she forgot it all because it was in the past was a lie.

Even when she lived in hiding as she moved from one dangerous place to another, MoonWon never entered Ju. It was because she was afraid of becoming a burden to Heon.

Therefore, whenever Doyoon made one of his unexpected visits, MoonWon never let it show that she was having a difficult time.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

“Heon is Heon, but I also like you.”

“Your Majesty.”

“But I am not the type of person to give my heart to someone else’s wife, so don’t worry. I just want both of you, that’s all.”

“......”

“It was difficult to bring all this stuff when I came, so when I leave, I’ll leave with a lighter pocket. With this much, it won’t be too difficult to weather the winter. You’re still a lady, so don’t overwork yourself.”

“How can I receive this? I am not a citizen of Ju.”

“Later… I’m talking about way later, I think you’ll be of help to me. I’m merely investing in you for that help now, so do me a favor and take it.”

Doyoon turned around as if he were refusing to hear a different answer. After Doyoon and his entourage trickled out like water and disappeared, MoonWon gazed at the large heap of items filling up the empty house.

“Mistress.”

Hong-yeom approached her and looked at the items with wide eyes.

“He just came and left these here, so I wasn’t able to properly ask him to take them with him.”

“At this rate, we’ll have enough to last the winter and then some.”

“We better share what we can with the villagers.”

“I’ll do it. You stay here, Mistress.”

“Let’s do it together.”

The relationship between MoonWon and Hong-yeom was not like that of a mistress and servant. Rather, they were more like family. They both dropped everything and left their old lives, so their old titles and positions were dropped as well.

After gazing in the direction Doyoon had disappeared, MoonWon turned her head away.

* * *

When the night deepened, Yeori came to MoonWon, who was sitting at the table, and brought a wash basin full of warm water.

“Please give me your feet.”

“You don’t have to do that anymore.”

“You went hunting and overworked yourself again. Please give them to me.”

Helpless against Yeori’s insistence, MoonWon lifted her skirts. Yeori carefully sprinkled warm water on MoonWon’s feet and began to massage them. MoonWon let out a satisfied sigh.

Every night before they went to sleep, Yeori washed and massaged her feet. Although MoonWon told her she didn’t need to do it anymore, Yeori continued to wash her feet without fail every single night.

“Please don’t overwork yourself.”

“I didn’t overwork myself today.”

After her feet were bathed in the warm water, MoonWon felt as if her entire body had melted. As Yeori continued to wash her feet, MoonWon’s eyes traveled to the clothes Yeori had taken out. MoonWon glanced at the thick clothing and then at the bedding.

Feeling MoonWon’s gaze, Yeori spoke up as she continued to wash MoonWon’s feet.

“The weather has gotten colder, so I put some more cotton into your clothes and blankets, Mistress. Please try it out and let me know if you’re still cold.”

“What about you? Did you put some cotton in your clothes?”

MoonWon touched Yeori’s sleeve. When she felt that it wasn’t even half the thickness of her clothes, she shook her head.

“Your clothes are too thin.”

Despite MoonWon’s words, Yeori merely smiled in silence. After meticulously drying MoonWon’s feet, Yeori went to MoonWon’s bedding and began to adjust it.

“Please sleep.”

“Yeori.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s let it all go now.”

Yeori’s breath caught. However, that only lasted a moment. After helping MoonWon to bed, Yeori bowed and exited the room. When Yeori’s presence disappeared, MoonWon sat up.

MoonWon wasn’t the only one who had remained frozen after what had happened.

She wished Yeori would take care of herself as much as she took care of MoonWon, but Yeori still felt guilty. She believed that MoonWon had become like this because of her, so she continued to give everything she had to MoonWon, even the most trivial of things.

‘Are you still hurt? Or do you still hate him?’

Doyoon’s question clung to her mind, but she had no answer.

However, one thing was certain. She had no intention of starting something with Heon ever again. MoonWon looked away from the window. She opened the tiny dresser at her side and took out a pouch.

When she opened the worn pouch, a ring and a hairpin fell out.

She had given up everything when she left, but she could not bring herself to leave the only things she had received from Heon.

“I should throw them away now.”

Although she always felt the same way, she could never act on it.

Doyoon may have said those words because he saw the crack in her facade. She put the ring and the hairpin back into the pouch and looked out the window.

She would have to send it all away at some point. And the only one who could do it was her.

* * *

Heon held MoonWon’s hand and buried his face against her skin. He took a deep, satisfied breath. MoonWon gazed at Heon and enclosed her hand around his cheek. Her soft breaths, the warmth of her skin… They all belonged to her.

He had never forgotten a single moment he had spent with her. Every minor detail clung to him and rooted themselves deep into his heart.

“MoonWon.”

MoonWon looked at him and smiled in silence. When he saw her bright smile, his anxious suspicion that this was all a dream withered away. He pulled Moonwon into his embrace and rested his chin on top of her head.

“I will never let you go again.”

Within his embrace, MoonWon wound her arms around his hips.

“Husband.”

His heart trembled at her voice. He didn’t care what happened anymore.

She had returned to his arms.

“Why…”

“Mm?”

“Why did you kill him?”

His peaceful heart collapsed. He lowered his eyes to see her still in his arms.

Blood began to trickle out of her eyes and drenched his clothes.

“MoonWon?”

“Why did you kill my father?”

MoonWon’s blood caused Heon’s heart to twist inside his chest. He couldn’t breathe, and a terrified groan remained stuck in his throat. When she saw that he was in pain, a deranged smile stretched across her lips.

“Ha!”

Sweat dripped down his chin and fell onto the sheets. Heon’s panting breaths turned into mist in the cold room. Early winter weather had arrived, but Heon was left alone in the cold room without any warmth. He continued to gasp for breath for a long time.

“Huu.”

No matter how cold it got, Heon refused to heat his room. Worried for his health, Junghwan and Yusun begged him to change his mind, but Heon remained resolute.

When MoonWon left, the only things she took with her was the ring she had been given at their wedding and the hairpin he had purchased for her. She took nothing else.

Without knowing how she was living on her own out there, Heon could not live comfortably himself.

“I’m losing my mind.”

After MoonWon left, the nightmares grew worse and continued to plague him.

He told himself that he could endure it, but he was reaching his limit.

* * *

Junghwan searched for Heon, and a heavy sigh left his lips. What should have ended with the previous master had unexpectedly plagued Heon as well.

After Consort Yu left him, the previous master lost himself in liquor. Unlike him, Heon remained sober. However, Heon looked to be in more dire straits.