The inside of the hot bath was so filled with steam that it was difficult to see clearly ahead.

Lee Woon removed his clothes one by one and eased his body into the bath.

The slightly hot water temperature and the faint scent of orchids made his body feel languid and pleasant.

He leaned back in the tub, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

His loose long hair spilled out over the edge of the tub.

In the quiet bathhouse, the sound of water dripping seemed to beat in time with his heartbeat.

Lee Woon rested his arms on the edge of the tub and remained motionless for a while, lost in thought with his eyes closed.

-“Is it true that the wedding night has still not been consummated?”

Those were the words Eom Sang Gung had blurted out in disbelief when she saw him visit the inner quarters as soon as he arrived at the palace residence after leaving the royal court.

“It doesn’t make sense. That’s why today… I’m planning to send her.”

He muttered to himself in the hazy air.

He brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead and exhaled as if feeling stifled.

Eom Sang Gung’s words thrown at him as he turned away pierced his heart.

-“She is a delicate person. Cherish her and never say words that will wound her heart. Do you understand?”

He had no desire to hurt her.

She was someone he had wanted from the moment he first saw her.

He was unbearably angry that the woman he wanted by his side was looking at another man.

He thought the person she loved was Kim Hee Gyeom.

So he thought she didn’t want to marry him and her expression would harden whenever she saw him.

If he had paid just a little more attention and interest, he could have known that wasn’t the case.

Feeling hurt that she wouldn’t look at him, harsh words came out without him realizing, but he never intended to cause her pain.

He was a foolish man who had only hurt a delicate person without properly confirming things.

He rubbed his wet face repeatedly with his palms as he stood up.

At the same time, water from the tub splashed out.

He roughly dried himself off and put on a robe over his undergarments.

His footsteps heading towards the inner quarters were leisurely and light.

* * *

Yoon Eun Seol took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

She had been like this ever since hearing from Eom Sang Gung that the prince had entered the bathhouse.

Her heart started pounding erratically and she felt too nervous and anxious to sit still.

As she was pacing around the room, she heard the prince’s voice from outside.

“Everyone withdraw, and Eom Sang Gung, bring what I requested.”

She heard Eom Sang Gung and the other court ladies respond, and then the door opened immediately.

Her breath caught as she saw the prince enter the room.

His long hair was loosely tied back. Wearing a blue robe over white undergarments, his appearance was mesmerizingly attractive.

The only word that came to mind was “beautiful”.

A faint orchid scent wafted from him as he approached.

Yoon Eun Seol finally came to her senses as he came right up to her.

He smiled at her and whispered softly in her ear.

“A secret night, perfect for sharing secret love. That’s why I prepared this.”

He sat down and looked up at her.

“If you keep standing like that, you’ll regret it.”

She hesitated to sit down.

She was so nervous and tense that she couldn’t think straight.

Suddenly, his arm grabbed her wrist and pulled, causing her to fall into his arms.

“My lord!”

“See, didn’t I say you’d regret it? Is this what you were hoping for?”

“What? No, that’s not it.”

As she struggled to get away from him, she accidentally pulled on the sash of his robe.

The loosened sash couldn’t support her.

Just as she was about to fall backwards, his strong arms pulled her forward again.

Her gaze landed directly on his chest visible through the opened robe.

Seeing his muscular, firm chest right before her eyes, her face flushed hot red.

“What… what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose, it’s just…”

“You’re more lecherous than you look.”

More lecherous than he looks? Flustered, Yoon Eun Seol abruptly stood up and sat down at a distance.

Who was the one who created this situation in the first place?

Feeling a bit wronged, she glared at him, when suddenly he reached his hand out towards her.

Wondering what he was doing now, she stared at his face.

“Give it to me.”

“…Pardon?”

“The sash in your hand. Unless you’re fine with leaving things as they are…”

“Here you go.”

Even as he fixed his disheveled robe and tied it tightly with the sash, his gaze remained fixed on her face.

He stroked his chin hesitantly before quietly speaking.

“I have something to say to you, my lady. About our wedding night.”

“My lord, I am listening.”

As he paused for a moment, his words were cut off by Eom Sang Gung calling from outside.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Eom Sang Gung entered carrying a tray of alcohol.

A pleased smile played on Eom Sang Gung’s lips as she set the tray down in front of the two and backed out of the room.

After Eom Sang Gung left and it became quiet, he poured alcohol into each of the cups on the tray.

“We can’t skip the wedding wine on our wedding night. Come, let’s have a drink.”

“I can’t drink alcohol.”

“Drinking the wedding wine on the wedding night is how we truly become husband and wife. This is not just alcohol, it signifies that you and I have now formed an alliance. We can’t exactly share blood, can we?”

Alliance – it wasn’t a word that really fit this situation, but she knew that drinking wedding wine on the wedding night was customary.

“They say drinking the wedding wine leads to a harmonious and happy marriage. It’s not very strong, so please try it.”

At the words “happy marriage”, her gaze turned to him.

How wonderful it would be if this moment was sincere.

She picked up the cup and drained it in one go. Though her throat burned and heat rushed through her body, it was bearable.

She had to endure it.

He refilled the empty cup and said,

“If you drink just one more cup, I’ll finish what I was going to say earlier.”

So she drank. Another cup. Without knowing why he kept offering alcohol, she drank what was given.

Feeling a bit tipsy, she didn’t drink any more alcohol.

Even the words coming out of her mouth seemed to be slurring.

“Here. Try this too. Ah, open your mouth.”

“Why are you really… doing this to me? I’ll… I’ll eat it myself.”

She was mortified as he insisted on feeding her the food directly despite her saying she would eat it herself.

Why was he suddenly acting like this?

Could it be that he was trying to get her drunk and put her to sleep?

If that was the case, he didn’t need to go to all this trouble – he could just say so.

“My lady, are you alright? You’re not drunk, are you?”

“No. I’m fine. Please continue speaking.”

“Then I’ll say what I was going to say earlier. But first, let me ask you one thing.”

“…”

“Why don’t you ask? Why don’t you demand to know what happened when the court lady and I came out of the same room on our wedding night?”

Yoon Eun Seol barely lifted her heavy eyelids to look at his face.

The smile that had been on his face moments ago was gone, and his eyes were serious.

“Do I have the right to do that? You probably already find me a dreadful woman, so how could someone like me demand answers?”

“That’s not true. I don’t know why you think that, but I’ve never once thought you were dreadful. And that day… nothing happened with that court lady. If nothing else, I hope you’ll believe that.”

He says nothing happened with Min Ah.

Judging by his serious expression, it seemed to be the truth.

-“But you know, a butterfly finds a fragrant flower and just sits there without doing anything. Even though it should be intoxicated by the scent. I wonder, did that butterfly sit there because it liked the flower?”
-“That butterfly didn’t need the scent or nectar of any other flower. Aren’t you curious why?”
-“The butterfly that already had an owner never glanced at anyone else. No matter how much others tried to tickle its wings, it didn’t budge. It was a butterfly with quite remarkable fidelity.”

Suddenly, she recalled So Hyang’s words to her before.

She wanted to believe.

Given the prince’s character that she had seen since coming here, she thought it likely wasn’t a lie.

She believed his words that nothing happened with Min Ah.

Now she wanted to believe his words, not rumors.

She wanted to thank him for telling her, but her head was dizzy and her eyes kept closing.

“My lady, try to stay awake. I have much to say, how can you lose consciousness like this? We still have things to do.”

“I’m also… also not involved with anyone. Kim Hee Gyeom the Deputy Chief Scholar is my teacher. The person I care for is… well… not him, I mean.”

Her body swayed unsteadily as she shook her head.

.

.

.

Yoon Eun Seol looked around as she tried to gather her senses, feeling something was off.

The prince who had been beside her was nowhere to be seen.

“My lord… where did you go?”

She leaned against the wall to keep from collapsing.

After remaining motionless with her eyes closed for a long while, she spoke in a voice tinged with a sigh.

“Don’t come to me… after embracing another woman. I hate it. I hate that you have another woman in your heart and embrace her… I hate it all. I wish… you would love only me. But, how can I… say such things? How dare I be so greedy for you?”

Given how casually she was saying things she shouldn’t, she must be quite drunk.

It’s fortunate he’s not here.

But why are tears falling like this?

She needed to wipe away her tears before he returned, but her body was so limp she couldn’t move even a finger.

All she wanted was to just sleep like this.

“I shouldn’t sleep… leaving me behind again, prince.”

Yoon Eun Seol closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Lee Woon embraced Yoon Eun Seol, who had fallen asleep leaning her back against his chest.

He thought he would go mad with desire to hold her as she leaned into him, making such a heartfelt confession.

He looked down at Yoon Eun Seol sleeping peacefully against him, thinking his body was the wall.

His fingertips that had been brushing her hair away from her forehead slowly trailed down to stop at her small, red lips.

Driving a person crazy and then falling asleep – he shouldn’t have let her drink.

Seeing her slightly parted lips and chest rising and falling with each breath, he simply couldn’t hold back anymore.

He pulled Yoon Eun Seol close and buried his face in her exposed white shoulder.

Then he brought his lips to her ear and whispered.

“Eun Seol. Open your eyes. Hmm?”

Though he didn’t really expect a response, he was vexed by her lack of reaction and gently bit her earlobe.

That was the beginning of the torment. Yoon Eun Seol let out a short moan and burrowed deeper into his embrace as he nibbled her earlobe.

Her lips against his bare skin were hot.

Just as his mind was growing hazy from the tingling sensation running down his back, her hand slipped inside his robe and embraced him.

There could be no torture worse than this.

It was his limit.

He quickly but carefully detached Yoon Eun Seol from his embrace.

A groan like a lament escaped his lips as he rose from his seat.

“You are the first woman to touch my body so carelessly, Yoon Eun Seol.”

For some reason, it didn’t seem like he would be getting any sleep tonight.