Chapter 1

The night wore on in the imperial bridal chamber.

The Crown Princess, who just wed the Prince today, was alone in the room, feeling the crushing weight under heavy robes and ornaments, and staring endlessly at the door that didn't open. Meanwhile, the court ladies lined up outside the chamber, turning deadly pale as the moon declined deeper into the night. 

“Oh my, what do we do? Hish Highness the Crown Prince has not entered the bed chamber yet!”

The oldest, top court lady stomped her feet in a panic. But the ladies couldn’t do anything – after all, they were just court ladies with no authority whatsoever. All they could do was play up to her putting on the long face just as she did. 

“Madam, His Highness must be staying at Lady Seung-hwi’s place.”

“How can he be so heartless? He could’ve at least put the hairpiece down for the princess.”

No, this is unacceptable. The eldest court lady thought to herself. Prepared to get castigated for what she was about to do, she decided to send out a nimble maid for an errand. 

“Run and tell Her Majesty the Empress what’s going on here. Take extra caution lest you spread any rumors!”

“Yes, madam.”

Some time had passed since the maid rushed out. Everyone was merely waiting around with a heavy heart when finally, the eunuch's high-pitched voice filled the front yard.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived!”

With the announcement came the Crown Prince – Heon of Taesa Empire. 

He was an exceptionally handsome man who was often the talk of the town, mostly for public gossip. His black royal robe matched his tall stature down to the ground.  

All the poets in the country wrote about his charm—how his sighs melted away the longing hearts of all the court ladies. And when he smiled with those plum-like lips, even an eighty-year-old lady would blush. When he walked under the moonlight, his dazzling looks caused the full moon to hide behind the clouds. Rumor had it, however, he was using his charm for debauchery.

 

“Your Highness, welcome.”

 

Could it be that he was drunk or that the top court lady couldn't handle the annoyed prince? Today, normmally a nagger like her acted as if she was just thankful to see Heon there, bowing to him, whose striking face clearly revealed how unhappy he was with all this. 

 

“Your Highness, please go inside. Her Highness Crown Princess has been waiting for you all evening.”

 

Heon's face became stiffer by the second as the courtiers coaxed him into the bridal chamber. He had no desire to be here in the first place. He was only here because the court lady from the Empress’s palace came running, hounding him to pull out at the most pivotal moment. Of course, the bride in the middle of the newly decorated room, lost in thought alone, annoyed him a great deal.

 

“...”

 

Slam.

 

As the door closed, the wind blew in. Their wedding candles flickered violently. The Prince shot an icy stare up and down his bride for a while. Annoyed, he finally blurted out, “Look, Princess.”

 

"Yes, Your Highness."

 

This was the royal couple's first greeting.

 

It didn't take a genius to sense the annoyance in Heon's voice, but the princess’s response was beyond calm.  

 

“I married you out of necessity, but I have already taken a lover. So, don’t expect marital love or duty out of this marriage. As the Crown Princess, all you have to do is take proper care of the Empress and lead the ladies of the court. As for me--"

 

“Your Highness.”

 

The princess, who had been quietly listening, frowned out of frustration, and cut him off in the middle of his speech. Faced with an unexpected situation, Heon couldn't even think of getting angry at her. All he could do was stare at her cherry lips.

 

“I did not ask you.”

 

“W-what did you say?"

 

Showing absolutely zero interest in what the prince had said, the weary-eyed princess slowly turned towards Heon.

 

She remained aloof even after hearing the absurd nonsense on her wedding night. She maintained her composure as she continued. 

 

“I’m not remotely curious. That’s what I'm telling you. Your Highness, your lover is none of my concern. So, whether you decide to stay for the rest of your life at that concubine or whatever Seung-hwi's chamber, it doesn't matter to me. Stop talking about your lover, marital love, or duty now, and take this hairpiece off my head. My neck is killing me.”

 

For a moment, Heon forgot his status as royal prince and stared at her with his mouth agape like a fool. Has she always been like this? In his head, he actively searched through the images of her he had seen earlier—from the wedding ceremony this afternoon.

 

“The Fourth Bow!”

 

Through the crown that obscured his view, Heon looked at his bride as he raised himself up after stooping for the formal bow. The Crown Princess, feeling his gaze, gently raised her head, and as soon as her eyes met Heon's, she looked startled and bowed her head right back down. 

 

She is not half-bad to look at. But when will this boring ceremony end? 

 

That was the extent of his interest in the Crown Princess. His body was at the ceremony, but his mind was elsewhere because his lover Seung-hwi Jin was all he could think about.

 

But what? Concubine or whatever Seung-hwi? Was this the same woman who blushed when our eyes met earlier?

 

“What are you doing, Your Highness?” The princess called out to him.

Startled, Heon broke away from his own thoughts.

 “No, I was just thinking…”

 

“You can think later. Didn't you hear me? I want you to get this hairpiece off my head. Don't you know I can't do this alone?”

 

It was odd. Very odd indeed. All he had to do was shout at her as he normally would to the eunuchs, but strangely, Heon was moving along as she requested. It was as if a string was attached from her voice to his body, and he had to do exactly what she told her to do. Though a tad clumsy at first, one by one, he untied all her accessories, his finger movements quite deft. 

 

“Ouch!”

 

Heon must have pulled her hair by mistake while removing her last hairpin. Couldn't she have been more understanding, though? After all, men are clumsy with these sorts of things. But seeing that she was grimacing, it was clear the princess had no intention of being understanding at all. 

 

“It’s fine. It can't hurt that much.”

 

“Of course, you'd say it's fine. It's my hair that's getting pulled off, not yours.”

 

She never loses an argument, does she? 

 

Having lost his will to argue with her, Heon put the hairpin on a silver plate and didn't say anything. Clang. The sound of two different metals gently chiming with each other reverberated across the room. 

 

 “Whew... Finally, I can relax."

 

The princess stretched her slender neck back and forth and gave it a good message. She also shook off her wrists and pulled out the strings of her robe while she was at it. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Petrified, Heon almost shouted—he didn't even realize he was raising his voice. In his defense, anyone else would have done the same. This was their wedding night, no less. How could she undo her own blouse string that her husband didn't even touch yet? But in her voice, there was no sense of embarrassment whatsoever as she took off her clothes and folded them next to her.

 

She said, “I presume you promised your lover that you wouldn't even touch my blouse string tonight. There is no way I'm going to sleep with all of this on, so I took them off myself. Oh, you do not need to worry yourself. I’ll tell the court ladies that you undid my blouse string yourself.”

 

Is she a ghost? She read his mind! 

As he walked out of Seung-hwi’s chamber at the request of the Empress, his royal concubine said to him, dripping with tears, “Your Highness, now that you're married to a beautiful princess, you should forget about a lowly concubine like me.”

 

And how did he respond to her plaintive words? He said, “You are the only one I love. How many times should I tell you? Tonight, I won't even touch a single string of her blouse. If you just wait here for a bit, I'll return in no time.”

 

Because he didn't know what to say, Heon kept his mouth shut. Meanwhile, the princess moaned and groaned trying to get herself out of the heavy wedding attire, one layer at a time, like a cocoon. Now, she was down to her last inner dress. Seeing her twisting and turning her torso in that thin translucent fabric, she did look like a moth that had just come out of the cocoon.

 

Crack, pop.

 

Each time her slender waist spun and rotated from one side to another, a loud, satisfying, cracking sound reverberated in the quiet bridal chamber – just listening to the sound of joint cracking was so satisfying. After repeating a few times, the princess stretched herself, looking content. She grabbed a bottle of liquor from the table.

 

“Finally, I can breathe. Your Highness, let us exchange wedding night drinks.”

 

Weren't we supposed to drink that before I put her hairpiece down? 

 

With no concern for what was belatedly running through Heon's mind, the princess had poured the liquor to the brim, with her glass was already in her hand and she raised it to toast. Heon, in spite of himself, held up the glass, wondering why he was being swayed by her like this—his body had simply stopped listening to him. 

 

Let me at least enjoy this drink. 

 

Heon awkwardly raised his glass and brought it to his mouth.

 

Looking at him, the princess said, “It looks as though Your Highnesse is already quite drunk, so let me drink that for you.”

 

Like the claws of a hawk preying on its victim, in an instant, her hand reached out for his glass and snatched it quickly.

 

 “...!”

 

 While Heon stared at her blankly, the Crown Princess emptied the glass in her hands one after another.

 

“Ahhh...!”

 

The way she pushed a piece of the snack into her mouth and wiped the corner of her mouth looked more like a thug at a gambling joint, not a newlywed bride.