Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 68 - Kidnapping 02

A bowl of plain porridge, a few lightly seasoned vegetable side dishes, and a small dish of soy sauce.

To Yiseo, it was a perfectly suitable meal, but it seemed unsatisfactory in Leegwang’s eyes. He silently stared at Old Lady Shanggung, who had brought the meal, and she flinched under the sudden sharpness of the prince’s gaze.

 

“Is this what you call a proper meal?”

 

Old Lady Shanggung had simply recreated the exact same meal she had sent to Ban when Leegwang had abducted Yiseo to his residence the previous year. 

 

Ban had been so insistent—“The lady cannot eat greasy food.”—that she had practically hounded the kitchen staff. 

 

The cooks still remembered it clearly and had prepared the same dishes again.

 

Though it looked simple, the porridge was made with rich bone broth, and the side dishes were carefully prepared with rare ingredients, each requiring meticulous effort.

 

It wasn’t Old Lady Shanggung’s fault that Yiseo struggled with meat and had a small appetite. 

 

Flustered, she barely managed to explain, “W-well, this is how the lady has always eaten.”

 

“Why do you call her ‘lady’?”

 

Old Lady Shanggung didn’t understand the meaning behind his question and stayed silent. But Leegwang pressed again.

 

“She should be addressed as ‘Madame.’ Why are you calling her ‘lady’?”

 

It was less of a question and more of an order—a command to refer to Yiseo as the prince’s lawful wife from now on.

 

Old Lady Shanggung wasn’t foolish enough to say something like, “But isn’t there already a Madame who ran away?” in front of Leegwang. 

 

Finally composing herself, she nodded and smoothly bowed her head toward Yiseo, asking. When a man sought to elevate a woman’s status, it was best to play along.

 

“Madame, is the meal to your liking?”

 

Because Old Lady Shanggung had bowed her head so deeply, Yiseo could see the top of her hairpiece. 

 

They had known each other for over ten years, yet this was the first time she had ever shown such deference. Then again, Old Lady Shanggung had never been the type to grovel openly before her superiors.

 

It felt unfamiliar.

 

Even the Grand Prince didn’t usually act like this, so why all of a sudden?

Yiseo hesitated before finally speaking her first words, “…Since I like it, you may leave now.”

Lady Shanggung bowed deeply once more in farewell before exiting the inner quarters. 

 

Suddenly realizing she had just given Lady Shanggung an order, Yiseo flustered and glanced up at Leegwang, but he paid no attention to such things, merely staring blankly at the dining table.

 

“Will eating this really fill your stomach?”

“Yes…”

Yiseo nodded and trailed off. 

 

It wasn’t that she didn’t have the desire to eat delicious food, but after a few childhood attempts ended with her vomiting everything up and falling ill for days—repeatedly—she had given up.

 

“A few bites with the spoon, and it’ll be over.”

Contrary to Leegwang’s words, Yiseo chewed the porridge slowly. Her hunger gradually subsided.

She tried hard not to look toward Leegwang, who sat beside her, watching her every move with the spoon. He rested his chin on his knee, staring intently at her.

 

By the time the porridge bowl was nearly empty, Leegwang asked, “Do you always eat just porridge? It’s not like you don’t have teeth.”

“My stomach feels better when I eat it, but it’s not that I can’t eat rice.”

“Last year, when you were here, was it because your stomach was upset that you only ate porridge?”

“…”

He placed a hand on her lower abdomen and asked, “Was it because I was buried inside you the whole time?”

 

Just as Leegwang said, there was a hard, massive lump of flesh inside her stomach—no wonder food wouldn’t go down. 

 

But as the atmosphere grew suggestive, Yiseo tightened her grip on the spoon and replied dryly,

“…I’ve never had much appetite when I’m away from home. That’s all it was.”

 

Despite Yiseo’s stiff and unyielding tone, Leegwang had already noticed the empty porridge bowl and pulled her waist into his embrace. 

 

Yiseo merely let out a faint sigh, offering no particular resistance.

Resisting wouldn’t have allowed her to escape anyway, so it was better not to provoke unnecessary hostility.

 

Leegwang pressed his lips to the nape of Yiseo’s neck, obediently nestled in his arms, while his hands wandered down to her waist. 

 

Yiseo simply let her gaze drift to the tranquil courtyard of the inner quarters visible through the open door.

 

It wasn’t proper to describe the Grand Prince this way, but at this moment, he resembled nothing more than a naive young groom, raised in innocence. 

 

Now, unable to tear his thoughts away from his bride on their wedding night.

Freshly awakened to desire, whether day or night, the only difference between the Grand Prince and a young groom fumbling over his bride’s body was probably their age.

 

Of course, the Grand Prince in his past life—with memories of his previous incarnation—had also touched Yiseo’s body incessantly. 

 

But the feeling was different. 

 

Back then, he had mostly been inside her, so perhaps the act of groping itself hadn’t held much significance.

 

“Hah… ngh…”

His groans grew rougher. Sucking on Yiseo’s ear, his hands roamed over her chest through her robe before his already hardened flesh pressed against her lower back. 

 

Yiseo genuinely wondered what had excited him so much.

 

The moment he embraced her at the dining table, he had worked himself into a frenzy, grinding against her waist—a sequence of events that made little sense to her. 

 

After spending a long time sucking her ear and rubbing himself against her, he finally spoke.

 

“The medicine? Should I summon the physician to prepare a tonic for your health? I heard from Lady Shanggung that you took medicine daily.”

 

That didn’t seem like the right question to ask while undressing her. Yiseo watched as the ties of her clothes loosened quickly, then shook her head.

“No. There’s a herbal shop I always order medicine from. It’s not like my body will improve even with better medicine, so just… Ah!”

 

He gently bit the nape of her neck, then lifted Yiseo in one swift motion and laid her down on the bedding. 

 

Moving quickly, he cleared the table of the meal she had eaten, placed it on the floor, and firmly shut the door. 

 

In the blink of an eye, Yiseo found herself staring blankly at Leegwang, who was already untying the sash of her skirt from above her.

 

…So he did know how to close the door.

 

Leegwang pressed his lips against Yiseo’s parted ones, undressing her with a mix of impatience and care. 

 

As her thin frame was revealed, he pressed his lips to the sharp jut of her shoulder blades and collarbones. 

 

Tracing the pronounced ridges of her ribs beneath thin skin, he murmured,

 

“You should say that after trying good medicine. How would you know? With the right medicine, you might gain a little weight or limp less.”

 

“Who knows…”

 

If her limp improved and her health got better, she wouldn’t just lie here quietly like this.

 

Early on, when Yiseo had been abducted by him, she learned the hard way that the more she refused him, the worse things became. It was a stark realization—never recklessly provoke the one who kidnapped you.

 

Come to think of it, a man who would kidnap someone without any agreement in the first place wasn’t in his right mind. 

 

Even if his captive begged or resisted, he wouldn’t just let her go. If anything, he’d tie her up and keep watch, thinking she’d try to escape.

 

After that, Yiseo became somewhat more compliant toward him.

 

With Yiseo’s frail body, escaping always required meticulous planning and an accomplice. 

 

Wasting energy on futile pleas and resistance, only to heighten his vigilance, was far from wise. 

 

Just as the old Yiseo had once succeeded in escaping by feigning obedience and lulling him into complacency, the current Yiseo intended to follow that proven strategy.

…She would have to stay quiet until Ban or the nanny came looking for her.

Begging to leave would be pointless—no one would listen.

Resignation settled in Yiseo’s eyes. 

 

It was frustrating to be reminded again how her body could barely walk, let alone run. 

 

Patience and waiting had always been virtues demanded of her.

 

As she stared blankly at the familiar ceiling, he parted her legs and settled between them. 

 

Instead of thrusting in immediately, he rubbed himself against her and buried his face in her chest. She couldn’t understand why he kept sniffing her skin when there was no scent to her besides bitter medicine and dried paper.

It wasn’t as if she smelled like the sweet floral or powdery fragrance of other young women…

 

He pressed his lips repeatedly against her chest and whispered, “Once your body improves, maybe we should have a child. You wouldn’t be able to run away if there were a child.”

She didn’t know what he was talking about—hadn’t he once coaxed her by saying she was destined to be childless, that even a stone maiden would suffice?

 

“No. Your breasts are only for me to suck. What would you even have to give a child?”

It was hard to tell whether he was joking or serious.

He took Yiseo’s hand, which lay limply on the blanket, and kissed it—once, twice—before returning to suckling at her chest. 

 

Yiseo slowly stroked the back of his neck, slightly afraid of how much it would take to satisfy this man, who acted like a virgin every single time.

 

💫

 

Lady Shanggung visited the most renowned apothecary within Hanyang’s city walls.

 

The apothecary owner was speaking in low spirits with a sturdy man—likely a servant from some household—but stopped mid-conversation when Lady Shanggung entered.

 

“Oh my! Greetings, Your Ladyship.”

 

The apothecary owner, welcoming Lady Shanggung, glanced back at the male servant and said,

 

“Anyway, tell them there’s no more medicine to spare.”

 

The servant left with a sullen face, and the owner smiled as she asked Lady Shanggung her business.

 

“What brings you here, Your Ladyship? Is His Highness the Grand Prince in need of any herbs?”

 

“Has any ginseng come in recently? There’s someone in need of a restorative tonic.”