“Hyunnie, should we make some more snacks for Seungwan?” Miyoung looked up from the wooden food crate.

“Yeah, I was going to ask the aunties to roast some sweet potatoes.”

The mother and daughter were packing food for when Joohyun returned to the military camp. At the beginning of Seungwan’s imprisonment, Joohyun stopped by every night to check on her husband.

But as the season got colder, the prince didn’t want her wife to come so frequently. She only allowed Joohyun to visit her every three days.

Yoo Ah entered the kitchen and curtsied. “Princess Consort, the Imperial Deputy Commander has arr–”

Claang.

Miyoung looked over from the fire–lit stove. Where Joohyun once stood was a pile of spilled roasted chestnuts left. “Aiya, that child. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was a wife rushing to see her beloved return from war.” The Lady of the Bae Estate shook her head and gestured for Yoo Ah to clean up the mess.

When Joohyun arrived at the camp, she darted her way towards the meeting tent.

Seulgi and her entourage were exiting the tent after greeting the generals. Her ears perked at the call of a familiar voice. She stopped her tracks and turned towards the source. “Ogf!”

“Seulgi–ah.” Joohyun had launched herself at the latter, knocking the air out of Seulgi’s lungs. The general’s daughter indulged herself in a cloud of lavender.

“H–hyun…” Seulgi maintained a calm expression. But the pacing of her heart had gone awry. It was a short moment before she was tackled, but she noticed how the other girl had bloomed the past three years since they last saw each other. The baby fat under her bright eyes was gone. Her cheekbones were more defined. Her lips naturally curved into a smile. A sign that she was laughing more than before. It had to be Seungwan that could make her smile so much. 

She gave Joohyun a small squeeze in her arms before pushing the latter off. “Princess Consort, it is an honor to see you again.”

Seulgi’s small entourage, which was mainly composed of the Imperial Ghosts, gave her a teasing smile.

“Seulgi–ah, hav–”

“Ah, my mistake, I should address you as Captain while in the barracks, shouldn’t I?” Seulgi slightly furrowed her eyebrows.

Joohyun caught on. She cleared . “Er, yes. Chief Investigator, let’s discuss more about the case in my tent.

After entering Joohyun’s tent, Seulgi was tackled once again in an even tighter hug.

“You told us to write to you.” Joohyun tightens her arms. “But you only replied twice a month!”

“H–hyu–n…can’t…br…alk…”

Joohyun loosened her grip but remained still. When Seulgi saw that Joohyun wasn’t going to release her anytime soon, she sighed and returned the hug. Her arms s perfectly around the other girl’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. There were so many things I had to sort out I lost track.” Her grip loosened. “Hyun, where’s Wan? Can I see her?”

Joohyun looked up from their entangled limbs. “We haven’t even finished our conversation and you want to see her already? Do you miss her that much? More than me?”

Seulgi smiled at the sullen expression. This time Seulgi was the one who tightened their hug.