The princess wasn't sure what got into her but she woke up extra early the next day. Her foot was all okay thanks to her court lady. Somehow, she had a dream.
A dream which visioned how her life would be for the next upcoming years. She had no throne to worry about, no enemy. She was reborn, like how she wished for once. It was a rare opportunity snd Seora figured out she should live this life to the fullest.
She wanted to learn and do as much as she could with her life as Eunmi. She wanted to bring fortune like the name she made up. As she walked into the kitchen, she greeted Youngmi giddily who was preparing an early breakfast.
"Good morning!"
"Goodness gracious!" Youngmi was surprised. Normally, it was only her and Jaehyun who was up as they had to leave early to carry their duties at the palace. She removed the hand over her heart and stared at the princess carefully.
Youngmi convinced herself she wasn't dreaming. "Is everything alright, Your Highness?" "Eunmi." Seora corrected her with a playful glare. "I wanted to help, I can't live here freely, I need to offer something to you and your family at least." She said.
The court lady tilted her head slightly, she was touched by how kind the princess was. Although she would never agree to her having to work or anything but she knew there was no way to stop the young lady as well.
Seora might be an obedient child, but she was also very smart. Something the queen hated so much about her stepdaughter.
"I don't know, really." Youngmi hesitated. "There's nothing much work to be done up in the hill and going to town is certainly a no." She added. "But I won't stop you, just promise me not to head down. Please, everyone is still in search for you." Youngmi pleaded.
Though Seora was quite disappointed that she could do nothing to help but she knew she'll figure out something. She had to. The idea of staying with the family for free really bothered her. She seemed like a useless girl, and it differed from what people thought she was as a princess.
After helping out with breakfast, Seora decided to head out of the house for a while. She wanted to see for herself if the snow had melted. She promised the little girl that she would bring her for the lilacs.
Strangely, Seora found herself excited to see the flowers as well. As she was about to walk out of the door, she almost bumped into Jaehyun who was walking in.
"My apologies, Milady." He quickly bowed but Seora pulled him up to stand straight incase his daughter sees him. "I'm Eunmi, remember? Gosh, you and Youngmi are no different." She said.
Jaehyun could only smile softly. Seora looked at him for a while. Strange, how he was only older than her by a year and yet he was doing such a tough work. Being a royal bodyguard was never easy, he needed to risk his life in exchange for hers.
She glanced outside, somehow eager to go out but she needed to ask him something. However, her curiosity was answered by his outfit. "They put you as a palace guard now?" She asked and the male nodded slightly.
"What about Youngmi?" She asked. "She's in charge of the queen somehow, for her daily routines." Jaehyun answered. The idea of her serving the queen really upset the princess. Youngmi was her friend, she appreciated her that much and she wanted her nowhere near someone like the queen.
"She's fine, the queen barely interacts with her." Jaehyun said as he noticed the distressed look coming from her. "Is something bothering you? You're awake very early." Jaehyun brought himself to ask.
He had been working for her quite a while, he and Youngmi knew her very much. "I'm fine." Seora smiled softly. "I'm just, I'm sorry to have put you into this." She added. The thought was bothering her.
Sometimes she wondered if if would have been better if she ran away alone and tried to survive. No matter how she sees it, Seora saw herself living in luxury. It might not be wealth, but she was always taken well care of. She wondered if it was a blessing or a curse to her actually.
"Your Highness, I've said it before. It is my duty to protect you and I will do that until my last breath." He said, the smile he gave her was one of the warmest and sincere smile she had ever received.
Seora couldn't help but to break into a grin. "I can't thank you enough, but please keep your promise as well." She paused and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Protect your family first even if it cost my life, that is the only thing I can offer to you."
"I will." He hesitated but he had to agree. The whole journey for all three of them to get here was quite bizarre. They had so much plannings and so much promises they gave to one another.
Seora realised she was born with such luck, it was as if she had a guardian who planned everything for her and the princess had reasons to believe it came from her mother. She hoped that the previous queen would continue to take care of her.
《—♡ 》
"Just what are you trying to tell me, Seora?"
Taeyong sighed as he read the letter a few times. He repeated each word, each sentence. The prince made sure to leave nothing, he wanted to picture himself being her at the time she wrote this. He tried to put every tiny pieces he could picture, together.
No matter how hard he tried to combine them, to make them seem logical, he just couldn't come to a conclusion.
Out of the blue, there was a knock on the door to his study chamber. He stared at the door for a second, before he called for the person behind to come in, expecting none other than Doyoung.
However, it wasn't. It was the princess instead. If only he was allowed to express his feelings so freely, he would've frowned. However, he was a prince and he had to be pretentious to certain people, and so he smiled.
"Princess Hara, you didn't inform me of your visit." He stood from his seat to welcome her to join him at a coffee table in the corner.
The princess flashed a beautiful smile at him, as she took a seat across him, eyeing the room for a while. "You had been in this room for quite a while, I was worried." She said. Her gestures, her body language, it was too obvious, she wanted him to acknowledge her care for him.
Taeyong wasn't stupid, for one, he knew that Hara and Seora never acted like siblings, they barely acknowledge each other's existence as half blood.
'separated by a drop of red'
He went silent for a while. The prince wondered for a moment, but he realised he couldn't let his thinking be too obvious or he would start to raise suspicion.
"Is everything alright, my prince?" Hara asked, the nickname was obviously to his distaste as that was what only Seora used to call him. Somehow, Hara knew it.
"My apologies, I guess I have been quite tired lately." He gave a cheeky smile. "I am still too new to this throne." He said, trying to be modest.
"Oh please, great princes like you make a wonderful king soon, with the right woman by your side as well." She said, he was startled by her words. Taeyong didn't think she'd be very brave to say it aloud.
Nonetheless, he had to keep his composure. "Thank you, milady." He smiled. "However, my heart seemed to have failed to heal at the loss of my betrothed for this moment."
《—♡ 》
Hayoung sat outside the house, she had both of her hands cupping her frowning face as she stared at the front yard. Seora took a seat next to the child, she could tell that Youngmi must've grounded her after yesterday's incident.
"If you're so quiet, who am I supposed to talk to?" She asked the girl. Hayoung sighed dramatically. "My dream was a lie." She said, she was still sad the fact that she couldn't see the flowers.
"No it isn't." Seora said. "It will come true soon, trust me." The princess smiled and picked up a twig on the ground, she used it to draw a flower which amazed the child very much.
Hayoung kept on telling her to draw more, but Seora wasn't exactly good at it. Instead, she wrote Hayoung's name which again, fascinated the child.
"What is it?" She asked. "It's your name." The princess replied. The little girl tried to trace after the words on her own and out of the blue an idea came to her mind on how she could help the family.
"Hayoung, I know what we'll do today."
《—♡ 》
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