Her body staggered momentarily as his arm unwrapped from around her waist.
“If you’ve given your heart to Kim Hee Gyeom, then sort things out and come back. I don’t want to embrace a woman who has feelings for another man.”
He spoke indifferently, as if nothing had happened.
“And what about you, Your Highness… No, never mind.”
She wanted to ask if he could sort out his own feelings, but couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
She wanted to ask if he could sort out his feelings for the countless women, and especially for Eun Joo.
“You still have that habit of stopping mid-sentence.”
“…”
This was their first conversation since their initial meeting.
Yet how did he know her habits?
As she was lost in thought, a low, cold voice was heard above her head.
“I can see that you dislike me, but…”
He took a step closer.
“Isn’t it a bit rude to be lost in thought in front of someone? And stop running away every time our eyes meet. I’m not going to eat you.”
Her whole body trembled at his intense gaze and warning tone.
Eun Seol stepped back as much as he had advanced.
“This is the first time I’ve met a woman who rejects me so completely with her whole body. Don’t worry, no matter how lustful I may be, I won’t force myself on someone who dislikes me.”
Just as she was about to say that wasn’t the case, Eun Joo called for the prince from the entrance of the annex.
Eun Joo approached with a smile on her face, dressed far more splendidly than her.
“I didn’t know you were here and looked for you for a while. Let’s go to the main house. I’ve prepared some drinks.”
“…Alright.”
The prince turned his gaze from her and walked towards the main house alongside Eun Joo.
Her heart ached as she watched him pass by indifferently, as if nothing had happened.
A cold sneer flashed across Eun Joo’s lips as she turned her head before leaving the annex.
It was as if she was saying the prince was her man.
Left alone, Eun Seol sat down weakly on the wooden porch.
Absentmindedly lowering her head, she noticed a plum blossom petal resting on the ribbon of her jacket and carefully placed it on her palm.
Looking at the petal blown by Prince Jin Heon’s breath, she recalled his words again.
−Do not forget that you are my woman.
* * *
Late at night, Eun Seol sat alone in a candlelit room and carefully unfolded the royal decree on the writing desk.
Seeing the pure white plum blossom petal on the decree, she recalled her encounter with the prince earlier that day, and her face flushed once again.
“It’s alright, you already knew the rumors about the prince. You weren’t planning to give your heart to him anyway. As long as you can escape this place, you can endure anything.”
She comforted herself, talking to the empty air. Don’t think about anything.
It was already fortunate not to be sold to an old widower.
Even if he just helped her escape this hell, it would be a marriage Eun Seol would be grateful for.
She knew the prince wouldn’t truly care for her.
Even if he was really the man the rumors said he was, even if he humiliated her out of dislike, it was right to endure such disgrace.
“Hey, I’m coming in.”
What woke her from her thoughts was Eun Joo’s voice calling from outside.
Eun Joo entered abruptly without asking permission, looked around the room once, and sat down.
Eun Seol put the petal from the decree into a bookmark and placed it in a drawer.
“You’re not a child… How pathetic, picking up flower petals and pressing them in books.”
“It’s none of your business. What are you doing here at this hour?”
She wouldn’t have come without a reason.
Eun Joo normally didn’t even treat Eun Seol like an elder sister. The only days Eun Joo came to this room were when Eun Seol was beaten half to death by her mother.
Each time, her words, spoken with a smile, were as vicious as a snake.
She already sighed, wondering what hurtful words she would use today.
“We don’t have many days left together, so I came to comfort you and make you realize your place.”
“I don’t know what you want to say, but I don’t want to hear it. So…”
“Stop being cheeky and listen. You think I wanted to come here? The prince wanted me, not you.”
She already knew that the person the prince wanted was Eun Joo, not her. His actions spoke clearly enough without needing to be told.
“So?”
“What do you mean ‘so’? It means you’ll never be the prince’s true love.”
“What are you…”
“Do you think it makes sense for you to become an ordinary wife? Please, know your place. You’ll never have the prince’s heart. Do you know why? Because I’ll make sure of it.”
“You could have said from the beginning that you wanted to marry the prince. The person the prince wants is… you, after all.”
She foolishly blurted out words she never wanted to say.
It hadn’t hurt this much even when she realized the prince’s heart belonged to Eun Joo.
Now that she had admitted it with her own mouth in front of Eun Joo, she felt miserable.
“Am I crazy? To marry such a man who goes crazy for any woman. Frankly, if he were to become the next king, I could endure that much. But he’s not even that. I just want to enjoy seeing the prince desperate for me.”
“…”
“What will you do? I’ve already captured the heart you’ll never be able to have.”
Eun Seol repeated to herself.
If it would just help her escape this hell, it wouldn’t matter if the prince never looked at her for the rest of her life. It shouldn’t matter whether he was lustful or debauched.
But Eun Joo’s words stabbed her heart like a dagger.
“You know, the prince seemed quite angry that he put you on the selection list instead of me. What if you’re rejected on your wedding night?”
Eun Joo’s gaze swept up and down her body.
“Do your best. Who knows? He might at least like your body if you serve him well in bed.”
“What?”
“Then again, he likes women so much, I’m not sure if someone like you will satisfy him.”
“Don’t speak so recklessly. I’ll handle my own affairs, so don’t worry and just leave.”
“If the prince comes looking for me even after the wedding… I don’t know how I might change then. If you don’t want to end up like your mother, who died without ever receiving a man’s love, you should learn some bedroom skills before you go.”
Eun Seol clenched her fists, gritting her teeth at Eun Joo’s blatant mockery.
Eun Joo, who had been looking at her with contemptuous eyes, stood up with a quite satisfied expression and adjusted her voluminous skirt.
“I forgot to say something important. Lady Secondary Wife, congratulations on your wedding. I hope you spend your wedding night safely… Haha.”
Eun Joo left, letting out a sneer.
As Eun Joo’s laughter faded away, heavy silence fell once again in the quiet room.
She would endure it.
This kind of insult was nothing compared to the verbal abuse and beatings she had endured until now.
No matter what happened, she would endure and persevere.
But her determination to never give in easily was shattered miserably on her wedding night three days later.
* * *
After the hectic wedding ceremony, Eun Seol sat alone in the room, waiting for the prince with a nervous and anxious heart.
However, evening came and turned to late night, but he did not appear.
And how much more time passed?
As she turned her stiffened body, she heard the first rooster crow.
Only then did she remove her wedding headdress and dress, having stared at the door for hours still in her wedding attire.
Just as she neatly arranged her clothes and undid her hair ribbon, the door quietly opened.
Hoping against hope, she turned her head to find not the groom, but her new mother-in-law, Soon Young, standing there.
Soon Young glanced at her bowed head, clicked her tongue, and sat down.
“How bad must a man be to reject his bride on the wedding night? Such a disgrace. Like mother, like daughter indeed. Even getting rejected on your wedding night, you take after your mother.”
“…”
“The prince spent the night with Min Ah.”
“What? What do you mean…”
“Don’t be so surprised. What else can you do if that’s what the prince wants? If he wants to embrace Min Ah instead of you, what can be done?”
How could she understand a prince who not only rejected her on their wedding night but blatantly took a maid to his bed?
“Still, you should have made him come here.”
“Be quiet and stay silent. Do you think the prince was happy to marry you? If he’s let you sit in the position of secondary wife, just live like a mouse without complaining. Understood?”
She knew this marriage didn’t make sense and that she was far from sufficient to stand beside the prince.
But how could he embrace a maid, of all people?
Only then did she remember what Eun Joo had said to her.
−I hope you spend your wedding night safely.
Did she know this would happen? Or did she deliberately create this situation?
As that thought crossed her mind, something welled up in her chest.
“The prince wanted Eun Joo. You should have put Eun Joo in the secondary wife position… Agh!”
With a sharp sound, her head was violently turned to the side.
As she cupped her face with one hand and sat up straight, another hand flew towards her.
Though she was used to being hit, today it hurt more. Her eyes reddened and tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Do you think our Eun Joo is like you? Who would give her to such a scoundrel?”
“Did the prince really want Min Ah?”
“The prince doesn’t turn down any woman. Didn’t you know?”
Is that really true?
They say he jumps up even from sleep for a woman.
Prince Jin Heon, who practically lives in brothels and changes women every day.
It hit home most clearly now that this was the groom who had married her today.
Her thought that he might not be as bad as the rumors said was just her own vain hope.
“Then, what will happen to Min Ah now?”
“If the prince asks for her, we have to give her.”
“Mother!”
“Remember this. To the prince, you’re worse than a gisaeng. Even if you have to become the prince’s plaything, live and die there.”
Soon Young looked at her with contemptuous eyes, spewing all kinds of insults.
“I wonder how long you’ll last in the prince’s residence, losing your groom to a maid on your wedding night, tsk.”
Soon Young, who hadn’t said a single kind word till the end, stood up and sneered at the wedding dress placed beside her.
“How is it that I feel no affection for you from beginning to end? If you don’t want to be cast aside by the prince, beg for one night like your mother did and get pregnant. Then again, if you take after your mother, you’ll be abandoned even if you have a child.”
Soon Young muttered as if talking to herself and then turned and left.
Although she should be used to her mother’s curses by now, it still hurt and stung.
After sitting blankly for a while, she straightened her clothes and stood up.
The first thing she saw when she went outside was a pair of men’s and women’s shoes placed side by side on the stone steps.
She slowly moved her feet while fixing her gaze on the room across.
With trembling hands, she grabbed the door handle for a moment, then let go.
Suddenly coming to her senses, she stepped back a few paces.
What had she wanted to confirm by moving her feet so helplessly?
Just as she was about to turn around, her eyes met Min Ah’s as she opened the door and came out of the room across.
Unlike her, who was flustered, Min Ah left with an expressionless face.
What woke her from her daze was the prince who came out after.
He looked at her for a long time and then called someone.
“Is Yeom there?”
______
In This Life, I Won’t Be Foolish To Lose You Again (Female-dominant)
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]