Secret of the Two Kings (89 CHAPTERS - ON HOLD)

제 83 부

Many people, especially women, consider their wedding day as one of the happiest moments of their life. The time when a chapter closes and a new, refreshing, and exciting one opens. A portal to a never-ending world, full of love, passion, commitment and of course, adventure. Suppose this wonderful idea was running inside Jin Ri's head as she strolled down the courtyard with her retinues. It must have been a pure bliss of imagination.

She was going back to her chambers, after having a tea party slash chit-chat with her girlfriends. Daughters of noblemen who were loyal to her father. They gave her gifts, sang girly sing-songs, and talked about the Prince. Mostly, it was the third. She was cautious of the tales she told them, filtering every detail. She protected his image to safeguard hers. If the degree of closeness would be considered, they would be on the borderline between casual friends and acquaintances. Knowing her attitude and sense of entitlement, fueled by the position of the powerful prime minister, it would be quite understandable if she did not have a single close friend. The result of her blind idolatry and overdependence on Jung Ho. She mingled, but she never did trust.

As she was about to pass through the man-made pond, she saw Sae Joo walking across the bridge, alone. She swung her hand and waved at him. At first, the Prince gave nothing but a decent nod, but when he was a meter close, she scurried and bowed in front of him. "Your Highness, hi. How do you do?" Her cheekbones inflated in a big grin.

"Jin Ri, hello," he mumbled.

"I'm glad to see that you were getting along with my father. Suppose this is the start of the harmonious relationship between our families."

"Just doing my duty as his future son-in-law. Your father is an excellent man. A true reliable source of life wisdom. I see myself talking and discussing with him in the future. Perhaps tactics on how to rule the kingdom."

"That's what he truly is. My father is not a hard man to deal with. When you get to know him, you'll realize that he's a normal person after all. When he loves you, then he loves you. Nothing can change that. But let me tell you, he has a strange way of giving out knowledge and advice. He does not give it to you on a silver platter. You have to peel the skin gently to expose what he means.

He scoffed internally, but smirked on the outside. Peel? How much more do I need to reveal?

"It must have been a difficult decision for you, knowing what had happened in the past. I don't have the right to convince you to forget about trauma and move on. Nonetheless, I wish to thank you for choosing me as your bride. I promise not to bring dishonor to the royal family, especially to our subjects."

Sae Joo almost regurgitated upon hearing the angel's promise as sweet as ambrosia. His stomach clenched, the chyme hoisting up to his throat. An innocent cherub, all dressed in snowy white hanbok could not just simply hide her faux halo. The Prince thought that she was not utterly truthful with her words, that those word junks were pungent steams from her nose. Why? Well, for him, she exactly sounded like she was a hundred percent certain that she would be Queen. Nothing wrong about that, but if the desire for power overshadowed the beam of love, that was when it would become poisonous. Never in her life she cared for the welfare of the people. For her, they were like dolls. Dress them, feed them, pamper them, so they worship you. Then throw and replace them when they break or die. She worried about having a perfect image before the people and not as a woman—certainly not as a wife. He wanted to break her assumptions as the following thoughts ran through his mind: How sure are you that you'll be Queen? That I'll be King? Or let's put it in the simplest way—How sure are you that we're going to get married?

For the last one, Sae Joo abhorred admitting that he did not know if that would be possible. Though he chose to push through with the nuptials, he could not cheat on what his heart truly screamed—freedom! His soul was disgusted, repulsive to an extent. If he listened to his brain, do what was right according to Heaven's will, he should prepare to wrap his neck around the tightest noose while his body dangles mid-air and his lungs scrape for air.