The diplomatic mission was back in Silla. Princess Jihyo was on her way back from the King’s Court, where she reported their success. She had been congratulated by everyone in court, and the Sangdaedeung had taken the reins of overseeing the actual implementation of the agreement. However, it was quite obvious that Minister Kang was not too delighted with the news, still insistent that extending diplomatic ties could cause bigger problems for Silla in the long-run.

Princess Jihyo couldn't care less.

She had just informed her brother that she wished to visit the summer palace, as a welcome respite after her time in Gaya. She was truly elated to be of service to the nation, but, if she was being honest with herself, the journey had taken a lot from her. If not for her duty to serve the kingdom, what truly gave Jihyo happiness was a simple life - reading books, meeting with children, and enjoying a day in nature - all of which were things she could do in their summer palace near the temple.

She wished to leave as soon as she could, but as she walked back to her palace, she realized she had not seen the commander since they arrived two days ago. She looked back at the ladies-in-waiting following her, their heads silently bowed, and Donghoon and Sechan were still trailing behind them. It seemed they were back to the usual palace protocol; the commander was not even present during the meeting at court.

She looked up at the sky. It was a warm summer day, but thankfully, the atmosphere was cooler given the breeze. This weather was similar to the weather in Gaya on the day that they left. It had been a calm day; she bid her farewell to Insung, who simply smiled warmly at her as they bowed to each other. She saw Taehyun and Jongkook huddled away in deep conversation. They left town with the people of Gaya watching them with joyful looks on their faces. Despite all these, she still was unsettled because the commander had been so curt with her that day.

He dutifully helped her up her horse, and heeded her requests before the trip. But whatever closeness she felt they had built on that trip seemed to have vanished that morning. Having been drunk the night before, she had absolutely no idea what happened, but there was a nagging feeling at the back of her head that the commander’s behavior was borne out of that night.

Before she knew it, her feet had brought her to the Dowager Queen’s garden, straight to the pagoda where she knew someone would likely be. The sounds of a zither being played could be heard, and a faint laugh from a group of women confirmed the presence of the person she subconsciously sought out.

As she came into view from the pagoda, “Oh! Unnie, you’re here!” Princess Jihyo’s sister, Princess Somin, said, immediately standing up from her place and moving towards the older princess. She immediately latched onto Jihyo’s arm, and subtly dragged her so they could walk side-by-side.

As Princess Jihyo expected, her sister would definitely drown out the silence with endless stories about what she missed in the palace. Considering how her sister was not as interested in politics as she was, it was amazing to know that she was definitely in the loop with everything that was happening in the palace. She gave a steady stream of updates regarding the operations of the palace for the drought - some of the information were from her personal experience, when she sneaked her way out of the palace. Jihyo chided her sister, but Somin merely shrugged and giggled, saying that her sister didn’t have a right to reprimand her when sneaking out was an activity both of them enjoyed. “I even learned my tactics from you, Unnie,” Somin said, with a gentle tap on her sister’s arm.

Soon enough, Somin’s endless chatter entered the realm of relationships and upcoming marriages. It was a topic that usually interested Somin but not Jihyo; nonetheless, the older princess always let her sister share whatever pieces of information she picked up in her sleuthing. Princess Somin, as Jihyo had always known, was in love with the idea of love, and there was stark contrast in her expression from when she had been sharing stories about the government to when she began telling Jihyo about the love stories in the palace. 

This time, it was about a noblewoman who was getting married to one of the young ministers; according to Somin, they had been friends since they were young, but as they grew older, they had fallen in love. The man had to leave the capital, because he had been assigned as a magistrate in a nearby town, but he relentlessly pursued the woman, visiting every week, until eventually he asked for the woman’s hand in marriage. Thankfully, the family had agreed, and they were to be wed within the next week. Princess Somin dreamily shared the story, before concluding, “I would do anything to be in a loving marriage like that.”

Princess Jihyo smiled warmly. It was often something her sister said, and she had always been thankful that she had been born first, so that she could carry the burden of securing a political alliance through marriage. It meant that Somin could instead choose to marry for love; all her sister had to do was take her pick from the litter. But on that day, Princess Jihyo couldn’t pin down the reason why, but the thought of having to get married out of duty didn’t sit well with her as it did before. 

They continued to walk, and she could feel her sister’s eyes staring at her. It was usually what Somin did when she wanted to as