Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 67 - Kidnapping 02

Two days after being brought into the Prince’s residence in Leegwang’s hands, Yiseo woke up.

“…”

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar ceiling. 

 

For a while, Yiseo simply blinked, her body sluggish as if she had just woken from a deep sleep, before suddenly jolting upright as the last memory before losing consciousness resurfaced.

 

She had clearly been sitting by the waterside, talking with the Prince…!

 

Inside the familiar inner quarters of the Prince’s residence, Yiseo was the only one lying there.

Outside, the sunset seemed to be fading, as a reddish glow seeped through the cracks of the door. Yiseo glanced around the room, which felt emptier than she remembered, before pushing aside the blanket and rising.

However, a sudden wave of dizziness from intense hunger made her head spin, and she collapsed back onto the bed.

 

Thanks to the soft bedding, she wasn’t hurt, but Yiseo groaned for a while before finally reaching for the water bowl placed by the bedside and taking a sip. 

 

Only then did she manage to stand, opening the door and crawling out onto the wooden porch, where the familiar scenery of the Prince’s residence greeted her. When she had only seen the room, she had wondered, but now it was certain—this was indeed the inner quarters where Yiseo had lived for ten years.

The courtyard bathed in sunset was quiet. 

 

There was no one moving about, no noise climbing over the walls.

Just like the ten years Yiseo had spent here alone.

 

It felt so unreal that she sat dazedly on the porch until the growling of her stomach snapped her back to reality. 

 

It felt as though she hadn’t eaten for days.

Between just waking up and the gnawing hunger, her mind was slow to function.

But at the very least, she could tell that the Prince had kidnapped her. Yiseo crawled across the porch and peered down at the stone steps below.

 

As expected, the steps were clean, without a single pair of shoes in sight.

“…”

 

Shaking off the eerie sense of déjà vu, Yiseo stepped barefoot into the courtyard. She told herself it must be an illusion—the strange similarity to the first time she had been brought here against her will.

 

Of course. The reason the Grand Prince treated Yiseo that way must have been due to memories of a past life. 

 

But now, without those memories, there’s no way he’d act the same as before.

He probably just put the shoes somewhere else.

And unlike before, he even dressed her properly.

“Hmm…”

 

Yiseo lowered her head and looked at the clothes she was wearing. It wasn’t until she stepped barefoot into the courtyard that she realized she had been changed into different clothes from when she had lost consciousness.

 

‘Wait. No, not clothes.’

 

She paused when she realized she was only wearing an undershirt and an inner skirt. The outer jacket and skirt were so thick—the kind usually worn in the dead of winter—that she had briefly mistaken them for proper attire.

 

Though overly heavy for early spring, when green sprouts were just beginning to rise, they were perfectly suitable for Yiseo.

 

Since the fabric was thick enough that nothing could be seen through it, she boldly took a step forward. 

 

No matter how noble a young lady she was, after living in the mountains for about a year, she had long stopped caring about maintaining appearances.

 

Besides, it wasn’t like she was leaving the inner quarters anyway.

 

The Grand Prince’s residence was so large that the inner quarters were completely separate, even having their own kitchen. 

 

Dragging her sluggish, weakened body, Yiseo made her way to the inner kitchen.

 

“Ban…?”

 

Her voice echoed through the empty kitchen before fading away. 

 

A faint fire still smoldered in the hearth, but only water was boiling in the pot on the stove.

 

“Ah.”

 

It had already been over a year since the days when Ban would be there, preparing gruel for her after she fainted in the Grand Prince’s presence.

 

“Of course… she wouldn’t be here.”

 

This was the first time she had woken up feeling this hungry. 

 

Before last year, whenever she had passed out, someone—probably Ban—would hold her and force something down her throat.

 

Yiseo stepped out of the kitchen again. 

 

If the Grand Prince had carried her all the way here after she lost consciousness by the water’s edge, she couldn’t help but worry whether Ban had been left alone in those mountains.

 

Surprisingly, she didn’t feel much concern for herself, despite having been kidnapped.

…Maybe it was because it happened too often.

Whether it was the Grand Prince abducting her while she was unconscious or the way he always took off her shoes—it was all familiar.

 

For a moment, she thought it was almost a relief that she hadn’t woken up while being pressed against him, completely unclothed. Then she abruptly slapped both cheeks with her hands.

“Get a grip.”

The past, where he had memories of his past life, couldn’t possibly be the same as now. There was no way His Lordship would act like that.

…No, but he did kidnap her.

Wait, but…

…Was it really true that she had no memories?

Why were his actions the same whether she remembered or not?

This shouldn’t be happening. She had thought his cruelty toward her stemmed from the betrayal in their past life, so why would he kidnap Yiseo now, when he couldn’t even remember that past?

Did he really like her body that much?

But even if he did… who just kidnaps someone over that…?

Was the Grand Prince in this life… always like this by nature?

She had assumed the wounds from their past life had made him dark and cruel… so why now…?

 

Standing dazed in the courtyard of the inner quarters, lost in tangled thoughts, Yiseo suddenly found herself under a shadow. 

 

Before she could even lift her head, the owner of that shadow had already scooped her up in his arms.

“…!”

“Why are you out here?”

 

At Leegwang’s question, Yiseo looked up at him with startled eyes. His displeased gaze swept over her from head to toe before he strode up onto the wooden floor of the inner quarters. 

 

The moment he removed her dirtied socks, he led her inside the room and set her down on the disheveled bedding.

 

It all happened in an instant, before she could even gasp in surprise.

Leegwang pressed a light kiss to Yiseo’s widened eyes, then scolded her in a low voice.

“You come outside wearing only an underskirt? What if someone sees you?”

“It’s not like there’s anyone in the inner quarters…”

Yiseo answered reflexively before trailing off. That had been true last year. Now, she couldn’t be sure.

 

Leegwang’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

“So, no one was allowed in the inner quarters when you were here?”

“…”

“Not even the servants?”

“No, of course not. My personal maid would—”

“Just her?”

Yiseo pressed her lips together. Leegwang easily read the unease on her face. 

 

Hesitantly, he answered, “My nanny, Old Lady Shanggung, came and sometimes went, and of course the other servants too…”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“It’s not a lie! It really was like that before. You can ask the servants if you don’t believe me.”

“Fine. If it was like that before, then since when did you start forbidding people from entering?”

“…”

 

Leegwang pulled her into his arms and whispered, “Old Lady Shanggung told me that after I brought you here last year—after you’d been humiliated—I kept you locked up day and night. No one was allowed in except your maid, and even she only came to deliver meals.”

Yiseo’s body stiffened. He slowly tugged at the end of her ribbon.

“So every time, that maid was questioned about what the two of us were doing that kept us from coming out. Apparently, she wasn’t the brightest—she’d shamelessly spill every little detail. Old Lady Shanggung said she eventually got so embarrassed she’d wave her hands to stop her.”

“…”

“And every time she brought in a meal, she’d hear the sounds of us tangled together.”

 

Leegwang’s hands slipped Yiseo’s jeogori off her shoulders.

“On top of that, whenever I left the room, I’d strip all your clothes off and take them with me. So you couldn’t go anywhere.”

 

His hand paused as her pale shoulder momentarily stole his gaze. At that moment, Yiseo grabbed his wrist.

“It’s in the past, my lord.”

The tremor in her voice suggested she already sensed what was about to happen.

“I don’t even remember. What past?”

Ignoring her grip on his wrist, he moved his hand and finished slipping off her outer garment.

“After holding you day and night, you’d think I’d recall even a handful of it. Isn’t it unfair that I don’t?”

“It’s not something worth remembering.”

“Maybe for you, but not for me.”

Leegwang buried his nose in the exposed nape of her neck and took a deep breath. 

 

Yiseo flinched. 

 

In the past, she had been too preoccupied with matching his movements from below, making even this gesture of his feel awkward.

“Just the scent is good, but the taste must be even better.”

“…”

The press of his lips against her nape tickled. Despite her tension, Yiseo was hungrier than anything else. 

 

Was it because he had to phrase it like that?

“Tell me, how did I hold you here? You said you did all sorts of things with your previous husband. Why not remind me of those ‘things’ too?”

Yiseo hastily grabbed his hand as it crept further beneath her skirt. 

 

Then she quickly spoke, “Food.”

“…Food?”

“Whatever it was, you always… fed me. You never let me miss a meal.”

Even if he had thrust himself inside her, he never let her go hungry. Even when Yiseo was half-conscious, he would diligently spoon gruel into her throat.

Leegwang knew how frail her body was, and no matter how roughly he took her, he never forgot to ensure she had her meals and medicine.

He understood all too well that if he neglected her, she might truly cross the Soul River.

Thanks to that, despite enduring all sorts of unspeakable things in the past, Yiseo had clung to life.

And now, her physical state was no better than it had been then.

Having been unconscious for days without food, her head spun. She needed food and medicine—not just the energy-draining act of lovemaking.