After arriving in front of the palace, he put her down and slowly turned around.

After a moment of silence, he continued speaking with difficulty.

“I have frequented brothels many times. However, I have never once held a courtesan. Of course, I have never given my heart to one either.”

She knew the rumors were not true.

Even if the rumors were true rather than just rumors, it would not have mattered to her now.

It had been that way from the beginning.

From the moment he entered her heart, rumors meant nothing.

Yet, the man before her now was speaking sincerely in an emotional voice.

“If I say everything is a first with you, would you believe me?”

At his unbelievable confession, her heart began to race wildly.

“Seeing how my heart cannot find its bearings and is pounding like this, it seems I already believed you. Yes, I believe you.”

“Ah, Yoon Eun Seol.”

His lips slowly touched hers.

Feeling as if her breath had stopped, she closed her eyes.

Forgetting that this was in front of the palace, she wrapped her arms around his waist and burrowed into his embrace.

It was when their lips briefly parted to catch their ragged breaths.

“Yoon Eun Seol, you may not believe this, but you were the first for all my beginnings.”

Eun Seol wished the moonlight was just a bit darker.

Then she could have hidden her excessively flushed face.

His breath on her nape shook her uncontrollably.

In that moment, her body was lifted up by his two arms.

“My lord!”

“I have no intention of putting you down, so stay as you are.”

Held in his arms as they entered the palace, she curled up without even raising her head, watching him dismiss the servants standing on either side.

The passionate emotions they had just shared vanished without a trace, and her face grew hot for a different reason.

She buried her face in his chest out of embarrassment.

“Eom Sang Gung, prepare the bath water.”

At his words, Eom Sang Gung and the maids quickly moved into action.

.

.

.

Despite her protests to put her down since there were eyes watching, he ignored her and calmly walked on.

“Everyone withdraw.”

Hot water filled the bathtub and he cleared the surroundings.

“You must have been very startled. Soaking in warm water for a bit will make you feel much better.”

“Um… my lord.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s probably correct. Even if you tell me to leave, I won’t.”

“I don’t want to. Please let me do it alone.”

“Is it that you dislike me?”

“No… that’s not it.”

“Then, come in here.”

The bath was large enough for two people to enter with room to spare. He went in first, settled in place, and held out his hand.

“Come on. Shall I carry you in my arms?”

Seeing him about to stand up, Eun Seol hurriedly went inside.

Pulling her arm to sit her on his lap, he buried his face in her shoulder.

“It feels like a dream. I can’t believe you’re in my arms.”

“…My lord.”

“I thought I wouldn’t mind who your heart belonged to as long as you stayed by my side.”

My heart has been only yours from the beginning.

“I’m growing more greedy. I wish you would look only at me, and keep only me in your heart.”

My heart is already filled with only you, but would you believe me if I said so?

“How vexing it was every time you ran away in fear when you saw me… That’s why I think I acted more hatefully.”

She shook her head.

It wasn’t that she ran away out of fear, but because her heart felt like it would burst when she looked at him, so she avoided his presence.

His confession mixed with sighs continued.

“I searched for you like a madman. You were always at the end of my gaze, but ah.”

His head touched her back.

“You only smiled so prettily in front of others, never me. Just once… I wished so much for you to be in my gaze just once. I think I’ve been crazy about you since then.”

She slowly turned around.

Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

Not seeing this, he hung his head and struggled.

Unable to contain her overflowing emotions, she fell into his embrace just as she was.

“Eun Seol.”

Strong arms held her.

The man she loved most in the world and longed to reach most was making such an anguished love confession to her, who had been abandoned by everyone.

If he knew how much she had wanted to reach his heart, he would not have made such a painful confession now.

“I thought it wasn’t me. I thought you disliked me.”

Only now did she seem to understand what So Hyang had told her.

Just as she had, he had wanted her too.

While looking at each other, they had different thoughts and built up misunderstandings.

“If you had feelings for me, since when was it?”

“When I first saw you, you were so splendid I couldn’t take my eyes off you, and beautiful enough to fall for at first sight.”

“Hmm… Am I that handsome? Enough for Yoon Eun Seol to stare in a daze?”

With her arms around his neck, she nodded.

Looking into her dazed eyes, he whispered gently.

“Perhaps, did you fall for me at first sight?”

Instead of answering, she softly kissed his lips.

His eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

“My lady, shall we go to the bedroom now?”

The look in his eyes as he gazed at her seductively was insanely sensual.

* * *

“My lady, are you listening to me?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“What are you thinking about that you’re not answering and your needle isn’t moving?”

Come to think of it, her hand had stopped with the needle stuck in the embroidery frame.

It seems she had been distracted thinking about what the Crown Prince had said last night.

After leaving the bath, he carried her not to the inner quarters but to Yeonhwadang.

The reason was that Yeonhwadang was quieter and better than the inner quarters.

His lecherous intentions were clear, but she didn’t mind either.

Woon only lay down quietly holding her exhausted form when dawn came.

−I love you. Please be my first and last love.

It was an incomparably happy night and a time she would never forget.

Geum Ok woke her as she sat dazed, lost in thought again.

“Did something good happen?”

“Does it show?”

“You keep smiling absentmindedly. Something good must have happened when you went out with the lord yesterday.”

“Yes. I went to a tavern for the first time and also… it was just nice.”

“The lord seems to have changed a lot. How should I put it, he feels more human now.”

“Oh? What kind of person was he before?”

Geum Ok hesitated for a moment, then bluntly said:

“He was scary. I had never seen him smile. Sometimes he was like an angry beast. Ah, I’m sorry.”

Like an angry beast? She had never felt that way about him even once.

“Well… he was just a bit cold and scary. Don’t you find the lord frightening, my lady?”

“Well, he’s such a gentle person, how can you say that? He’s even cute sometimes.”

Her heart fluttered when his eyes curved gently or when he rested his chin in his hand and stared at her intently.

Especially when he grumbled for attention next to her while she was absorbed in other tasks, it was as cute as watching a child.

“What? Did you just say he’s cute? What on earth is cute about him?”

Geum Ok stopped what she was doing and made an incredulous expression.

Geum Ok was about to say something more when she closed her mouth upon seeing Eom Sang Gung entering the room.

“My lady, it’s Lady Jung’s birthday in five days. I almost forgot.”

“A busy person like me doesn’t need to bother with such things. I can just go quietly by myself, so don’t worry about it.”

To Eun Seol, her stepmother Soon Young’s birthday was not particularly special.

Though there was lots of food prepared and guests visited, it was not much different from any other ordinary day.

On such days, she was trapped in her room and could not take even one step outside.

Many of the guests did not even know of her existence, and even those who did know paid her no attention out of consideration for Soon Young.

She always spent the day locked in her room like that. She was not family to them.

She thought it would be the same this time, as it had always been.

But a few days ago, she received a message from Soon Young to stop by the house.

“Did you tell the lord that it’s your mother’s birthday?”

“I didn’t say anything, planning to go quietly by myself.”

“But you should still tell him. It’s the first birthday since your wedding, shouldn’t you go together? I’ll prepare some food to take. Is there any food she particularly likes?”

“Just prepare something simple as you see fit. Where is the lord now?”

“He was at the training grounds but went to Yeonhwadang a little while ago.”

“He’s already gone to Yeonhwadang? I hope he’s not ill.”

“I’m sure he’s not. He’s probably just tired. He has been overexerting himself lately.”

Belatedly understanding Eom Sang Gung’s meaning, her face flushed hot.

* * *

Eun Seol prepared some simple refreshments and went over to Yeonhwadang.

Located behind the men’s quarters, Yeonhwadang served as the Crown Prince’s office and resting place.

She called out to him quietly as she entered Yeonhwadang, but there was no answer.

Opening the door and going inside, she saw him sleeping leaning against a chair in the distance.

She gently set the plate on the table and approached him.

It was just as she was brushing back the hair that had fallen over his forehead that her hand was caught by his.

He opened his eyes and met her gaze.

“My lady, this is troublesome.”

He pulled her hand to sit her on his lap and chuckled.

Even though this had happened many times before, she still felt embarrassed and shy each time.

“Why did you come here?”

“I heard you came in during training, so I was worried and came to check. Are you ill somewhere?”

“Yes, I’m in agony and suffering.”

“Then this is no time to be like this. I’ll call for a physician.”

As Eun Seol turned to stand up, she sat back down as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Woon, holding her, buried his face in her shoulder and exhaled softly.

“This is your doing, my lady. I came here deliberately trying to endure, but you’ve exhausted my patience.”

“What do you mean…”

“All day long I think only of you like a madman. I try to stop because I feel like I’m becoming obsessed, but I can’t manage it. Is there something wrong with me?”

She shook her head.

She wanted to tell him she felt the same way, but as he suddenly laid her on the bed and kissed her, she was unable to say it in the end.

Seeing how her heart raced even at this brief kiss, it seemed she too was going mad for him.

His lips on her shoulder were hot.

His touches grew faster and faster. The heated breaths they made echoed in the quiet room.

She burrowed into Woon’s chest, taking ragged breaths.

She could feel his wildly beating heart directly.

Eun Seol raised only her face from Woon’s embrace to meet his eyes.

“It’s my mother’s birthday in five days so I should go. I’ll go by myself and be back quickly.”

“I have to stop by somewhere that day, so you go ahead first. I’ll drop by after finishing my business.”

“No, mother said it would be burdensome and told just me to stop by briefly. So don’t worry too much about it.”

“Then I’ll prepare a gift for you to take.”

As she nodded in agreement, his lips touched her earlobe, making her body flinch.

“My lord, we can’t do more. Eom Sang Gung will be waiting.”

“She probably won’t be waiting. If she knows you’re here with me, I don’t think she’ll expect you to come out quickly.”

“My lord!”

Unlike her surprise, his touches were leisurely.