Wandering Through Vol. 2 Chapter 41 - Escape 

The shaman felt bewildered by the letter she had handed him.  

 

Huishan—no, should he call her Eunbi now?  

 

He couldn’t understand why she would give him such a letter. Her memories of her past life were nothing but karmic retribution. 

 

It wasn’t due to divine energy, nor did she possess any other special abilities.  

 

In short, like any other ordinary person, she couldn’t possibly know about events that hadn’t even happened yet.  

 

“Why did you think she would flee here?”  

 

“Whether she flees here or not, I don’t know either. I’ve simply left a copy of the letter in every place she might possibly escape to.”  

 

She gave a bitter smile.  

 

“One at her parents’ home, one here, and one at the minister’s residence where the young master lives. That’s all.”  

 

Even if Yiseo’s parents’ home was an option, her mother was worse than a stranger. So, realistically, if Yiseo were to run away, she wouldn’t go there. That left only the connections from their past lives.  

 

The past life where her younger cousin and wife had killed his beloved.  

 

The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.  

 

“After living for over twenty years, she has nowhere and no one to turn to unless she clings to his past life. The Grand Prince must have made it so.”  

 

“If she has nowhere to go, then she wouldn’t run away in the first place. Huishan, I truly don’t understand why you think she would—”  

 

“I am not Huishan.”  

 

Eunbi firmly cut off Gukmu’s words.  

 

“This isn’t an attempt to escape my karmic retribution. Huishan is my past life, not who I am now. There was a time when I was confused, but now I can say it with certainty. I don’t think or act like Huishan. It might sound self-praising, but I believe I’m at least a better person than Huishan was.”  

 

“…You certainly don’t speak like Huishan, Madam.”  

 

Unlike Huishan, who always concealed her true thoughts and spoke ambiguously.  

 

“Are you disappointed that I’m not Huishan?”  

 

“No. I’m simply curious why you care about him if you’re not Huishan. By your own words, that connection is over—a life that’s already ended.”  

 

“Because the connection is over, and that life has ended, that’s why I care about him. If I still believed myself to be Huishan…”  

 

“…”  

 

“I would have cared about it instead.”

 

Eunbi thought he would understand her meaning even if she stopped there. Yet, on impulse, she added one more line.

“Because Huishan loved him. Perhaps even more than her own husband.”

“…”

“I don’t believe you were unaware of that.”

“…It was never meant to be from the start.”

“Was it not a matter of the heart, either?”

Yangmu did not answer. She did not press him further. The past life was just the past life. 

 

Unnaturally, she shifted the topic.

“You asked why I thought he would run away.”

“…”

“Because she resembles you. No matter what the heart may feel, if he believed it wasn’t meant to be, she wouldn’t look back.”

If she still had a temperament similar to her past life, she would run away. She would think it necessary to sever ill-fated ties.

 

💫

 

She slept deeply until late in the afternoon.

“You should at least eat before sleeping.”

Whether sleep only makes one crave more sleep, Yiseo blinked her drowsy eyes and nestled into Leegwang’s arms. She took a few spoonfuls of food from him like a child before dozing off again.

Whether it was Yiseo spreading her arms to embrace him or simply reaching out her hand, he seemed content and did not touch her beyond that. 

 

Thanks to that, Yiseo, who had slept soundly all day, woke up with a clear mind as the sun began to set.

And her eyes met Leegwang’s, who had been watching her sleep the entire time.

“Did you sleep well?”

Yiseo nodded.

“Do you plan to sleep more?”

Yiseo shook her head and sat up. He supported her back to help her rise. Holding his arm, she sat up, her hair slightly disheveled.

“I’ve slept enough…”

“Then you must be hungry. Would you like to eat something?”

“More than that, I’d like to wash up first.”

He lifted Yiseo lightly and seated her on his lap. Then, intending to wipe her body, he began to untie the strings of her clothes.

Having shared intimacy so often, it had become routine for him to clean Yiseo’s body with a damp cloth several times a day. 

 

Outside the door, Nanny Yeongseon would leave a jar of boiled water for this purpose. But Yiseo caught his hand as he moved to remove her jacket.

“I want to soak my whole body…”

 

His eyes slightly narrowed. To prepare—wiping the wooden tub and pouring boiling water—he would have to call the servants. 

 

But since he had ordered no one to enter, he would either have to go out and give the command himself or have Ban, who brought in the meals, relay the order…

 

He didn’t want to leave Yiseo behind, nor did he want to take her with him.

“I’ll have them prepare it tomorrow morning.”

He planned to instruct Ban, who brought the morning meal, to make the preparations. But Yiseo shook her head.

“I want it now.”

“If I call the servants and order them to prepare it, it will take a long time. By then, the night will deepen—what if you fall asleep again?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”

“If you stay lying down, it might be different.”

Stubborn, he didn’t want to leave the private quarters where they were alone.

 

Yiseo suppressed her embarrassment and wrapped her arms around his waist. Holding him like that, she buried her face in the nape of his neck, and he stiffened momentarily.

 

It was fortunate that the sunset had tinted the room in a reddish glow. 

 

Otherwise, the flush on her face and ears would have been obvious.

“I don’t think I’ll sleep… So… if we soak or play together…”

Yiseo was certain she had no talent for seduction.

 

This kind of half-hearted attempt didn’t even feel like seduction—no one would fall for it. The stiff tone, devoid of even a hint of softness, was clearly wrong. 

 

Unable to finish her words, she simply buried her face in his shoulder. Her face felt hot.

 

If she wanted him to leave, maybe instead of this, she should just…

“Understood.”

 

Suddenly, Leegwang set Yiseo down from his embrace. He stood as if to leave but then turned back and undressed her.

Extremely quickly.

 

In the blink of an eye, Yiseo was stripped completely bare, left alone in the room. 

 

Why alone? 

 

Because Leegwang, after removing her clothes, took all of them and walked out.

 

It was a clever move if he wanted to prevent her from suddenly running away—after all, she couldn’t step outside naked—but for Yiseo, who had been abruptly undressed, it was nothing short of bewildering.

 

I’m not a fairy, and my clothes aren’t winged robes… What is this…?

 

She hadn’t even been gone for long. Wondering what was going on, she froze atop the blankets, and by the time he returned, he had already dressed Yiseo neatly again.

 

Yiseo noticed the flicker of relief in his eyes as he saw her sitting there, still undressed atop the blankets, just as he had left her.

 

Why had he been so uneasy over such a brief absence?

 

He pulled Yiseo back into his arms and whispered. Even though they had only been apart for a short while, his arms held her tightly.

 

“Once everything is ready, I’ll take you to the bath right away.”

 

It seemed he had already forgotten his earlier words about the preparations taking a while. True to his word, it wasn’t long before he wrapped Yiseo in the blankets and carried her out.

 

There wasn’t a single person in sight along the way.

 

Honestly, Yiseo was a little puzzled—why had he bundled her up from head to toe when there was no one around?

 

Only when they reached the bath did he unwrap her from the blankets.

 

Next, her jeogori and skirt came off. His fingers lingered at the ties of her undergarments, but instead of undoing them, he reluctantly pulled his hands away. 

 

Then, he slowly lowered Yiseo into the bath.

 

The warm water gradually submerged her, starting from her toes. The warmth seeped deep into her bones. The water carried a faint, soothing fragrance. 

 

At the shrine, it had always been plain boiled water, but the Grand Prince’s residence seemed different.

 

Then again, aside from the early days of her marriage, when had she ever had the chance to properly use a bath?

 

For ten years after her marriage, the servants wouldn’t listen to her, and she couldn’t bear to trouble Nanny Yeongseon to fill the bath for her. 

 

So she had simply washed by pouring a single bucket of cold water mixed with a ladle of hot water over herself.

 

…Back then, she had washed more often, thinking her husband stayed away because of the bitter medicinal scent clinging to her.

 

But eventually, she had stopped even that. She had never imagined things would turn out like this. 

 

Yiseo exhaled deeply and looked up at him.

 

As she sat alone in the bath, Leegwang, standing before her, asked,

 

“Do you like it?”

 

“…Aren’t you coming in?”

 

“If I join you, you won’t be at ease.”

 

For a man who had spent days between her legs without leaving, it was surprisingly considerate. 

 

Yiseo smirked inwardly. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t shared intimacy before.

 

At least once. Well… 

 

At least once, for the last time, she wanted it to feel like they truly desired each other…

 

“It’s fine.”

 

With a wet hand, she grabbed the collar of his clothes and pulled. His face descended easily at her tug, and she pressed her lips to his.

 

His patience lasted only until that moment.