Veil of the Dusken Rose - #ambw (18+)

22장 || Secrets in Ink

Crown prince pov

"Have they gone home?" I inquired, pacing slowly around the room.

Scholar Hyun-seok nodded, rubbing his palms together nervously before quickly hiding them behind his back, as if to conceal the redness.

He avoided meeting my gaze directly as he shuffled over to the wooden table and gently placed a document on its surface.

"It seems the guards did their job to have them retreat, but we can't be sure when they will choose to come back," he said, his usual tone of caution intertwined in his words. He clasped his hands together, fidgeting slightly as he continued avoiding my eyes.

I paused my pacing, standing still as I studied him for a moment. He was clearly anxious, though trying not to show it outright. I folded my arms across my chest, waiting for him to meet my gaze, but he did not.

Instead I absorbed his words with a simple nod, watching as he hurried out of the room. The door closed behind him with a dull thud, enveloping the space in silence. I was alone now with my thoughts.

I moved slowly to the desk, looking over what he placed down, but instead reaching for the now familiar letter from Lady Jinsun that contained my mother's words in the small container nearby.

The parchment felt soft and worn under my fingers from the many times I had unfolded it, tracing over the creases made by my own hands.
Gently, I unfolded it once more, hearing the paper crinkle softly. As I scanned the looping script, a quiet sigh escaped my lips. While I traced them slowly, I couldn't help but to reverently repeat them, mouthing each word as I read.

As delusional as it felt, I could almost hear her gentle cadence speaking to me, wisdom woven into each line. A lump rose in my throat as I blinked back tears, my hands coming up to massage the tightness in my neck. Though static on the page, her words seemed to dance before my eyes, transporting me for a moment to sit beside her.

I leaned back against the cool wall, tilting my head upwards as my eyes drifted towards the window.  The setting sun cast everything in a warm amber. I pictured my mother sitting beside me, her smile crinkling the corners of her eyes, laughter dancing in them as it so often had. Her familiar yet fading face illuminated in the room's warmth as I held her letter close.

The world outside seemed distant, in such moments I was but a quiet observer to the confusion within the palace walls, as well as my mind.

"Eomamama," I found myself saying, it had been a while since I had spoken her title outloud, in such a personal way into the room. My gaze remained on the sky, where the first star was leaving its place, and the others were soon beginning to appear. I'd like to think even then, that was a sign of some sort. That she was taking over the skies to hear me.

"I'm not so sure how much more of this I can take." I confessed to her.

My gaze returned to my fingers as they traced the elegant script of the letter. "If a solution doesn't come soon..." I started, yet left unfinished.

I closed my eyes, to gather my thoughts, a silent prayer forming in my mind. "If you can hear me, and what you say in your letters of being with me is true, then please help me protect this woman I've found myself in love with."I asked her, it was a chance I was taking that the heavens had a conscience and wouldn't allow me to lose a happiness I had just found.

I held my breath, listening, hoping beyond hope for a sign she had heard my desperate plea. Thunder rumbled distantly, making me flinch. Rain would be coming soon to match the storms in my mind. She said such things often. While lost in her stories when she'd call me over to sit beside her and listen to her read. Only now I could feel what she meant.