The king was reading Confucius’s work as always in his private room in the company of his old teacher, a man of few words but great wisdom. They were discussing the text when the eunuch entered the room, immediately bowing.

“Lady Hwang has just arrived,” the eunuch revealed. “She’s being led to the royal garden of the southern pavilion.”

“Make sure there will be tea and snacks for her while she waits. I still need to finish my lesson for today,” the king dismissed his servant and returned his full attention to the text they were discussing. However, his thoughts quickly turned to Sunji. He wanted to make her wait for him, wished she would get anxious upon his late arrival… but his heart was already painful in his chest and he wanted nothing more other than to rush to her side. “I apologize,” he said in the end, closing his book, “I’m afraid I’m not as sharp today.”

“If the heart is troubled, so is the mind, Your Majesty,” his teacher bowed slightly. “And being the virtuous ruler Your Majesty is, I am not concerned that you will find the equilibrum soon.”

“I am sure I will under your guidance,” the king replied, allowing the man to leave the room. “Chief Park,” he then summoned his eunuch, “we shall go now to Lady Hwang.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the eunuch bowed as the king passed by him with determined steps, closely followed by his personal guard.

The king was trying to keep his steps at a normal pace when all he wanted was to run to her.

“Your Majesty,” the queen seemed to appear out of nowhere, her bow being repeated by her court. “I was actually on my way to see you. You seem in a hurry,” her eyes scanned her husband’s body language, “is there something that needs your attention?”

“What else could be more important than my queen?” He answered with a smile.

“Your Majesty is thoughtful as always,” she smiled, pleased with his answer. “Your Majesty should join me for a cup of tea. These days are too lonely without you,” she continued, shyly lowering her eyes.

The king looked at his wife for a second long, knowing she was testing him. He was sure she knew something. “There is nothing I would love more, my queen,” he eventually reached out his hand for her to take. “I was actually on my way to have some tea with a guest right now. Join me,” he proposed, looking directly at her.

The queen’s eyebrow twitched.

››۝‹‹

Roaming around the royal garden, Sunji felt disconnected from the world, nature taking over her senses. Everything was of an artificial beauty that perturbed her senses. She too looked like a flower, a rebellious peony blooming among roses.

“Ah, he must be kidding me!” She heard Jungkook hiss by her side. And turning around she spotted the prime-minister walking towards them, wearing his official red robes. “Is he following us?”

“Behave,” was all Sunji could whisper before the man approached. “Prime-Minister Kim, we meet again,” she bowed gracefully.

“You must have guessed I would be coming to see you once you enter the palace,” the man said in a direct and unusual manner. “His Majesty is on his way.”

“Was that not the purpose of this invitation?” Sunji smiled pleased to hear her waiting would soon be over.

“The queen is with him,” the prime-minister revealed, watching Sunji’s reaction closely. Only the was she held her head up high gave away her troubled heart and mind. “I am not your enemy in here, Lady Hwang,” he continued, “but the queen is.”

“It cannot be that she is my enemy when she does not know me,” Sunji’s fingers touched the softness of a rose petal.

“Perhaps she envies your closeness to the king.”

“Surely that cannot be a reason. There’s no one in this kingdom who is closer to His Majesty than the queen,” she let her finger slip down the stem of the flower. Pricking her finger in one of the thorns, she withdrew her hand feeling sorry – for the flower’s purity that she had defiled and for herself. “Why was I summoned?”

The prime-minister offered her his handkerchief, a sigh escaping his lips while he watched her blood stain the fabric. “You have His Majesty’s attention and he wants you to know that, Lady Hwang. A bird cannot fly too high during hunting season, for it will be shot down.”

“My lady, you don’t need to listen to him, we could go home,” Jungkook interfered, frowning at the other man. “If the king is truly coming this way with the queen, then you are in for an uncomfortable meeting. You haven’t done anything to deserve this!”

“I am not your enemy, Lady Hwang,” the prime-minister repeated. “And showing your troubled heart would only give the upper hand to that who looks to bother you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to hurry to the council’s meeting.”

Sunji watched him walk away without saying a word before turning to Jungkook with scared eyes. “I don’t want to run away,” she said, taking off the handkerchief from around her finger and hiding it inside her sleeve, “so I will face whatever and whomever comes my way.”

She had just sat down on one of the pillows placed on the polished floor of the pavilion when the eunuch announced the arrival of the royal couple. Standing up, Sunji bowed, keeping her eyes down not in a desire to show respect but in an attempt to hide all the emotions and questions she knew they would’ve been able to read in them.

“Ah, Lady Hwang, I believe,” the queen was the first to speak after they sat down, leaving Sunji standing in front of them. “What a pleasant surprise to see you again so soon. Your Majesty should have told me that you have met such a delightful friend.”

“Please take a seat,” the king asked, keeping his eyes on the other woman. “I am glad you have decided to accept my invitation, Lady Hwang. How do you find the palace?”

Such platitudes failed to show her what he actually meant, so she too hid behind her words. “It is my a