Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 88 - Side Story 3

“Doesn’t Baekdol’s cheek look exactly like a rice cake?”

Yiseo only smiled faintly at Nanny Yeongseon’s words as she held her grandson, who was fast asleep during his nap.

“It does.”

“Eating well and never falling ill surely means he’s a filial son. That Yeongseon, for all her fierceness, gave birth to such a gentle child…”

It was obvious what Nanny Yeongseon was really up to, sneaking in to show off her young grandson while the Grand Prince was briefly away at his office, attending to business. 

 

It was her way of urging them to at least try to have a child of their own.

“…Even if the mother’s body is weak, the child can still be healthy…”

Yiseo half-listened to Nanny Yeongseon’s words while staring fixedly at the sleeping child. 

 

Noticing her expression, Nanny Yeongseon fell silent, then, after a deliberate pause, spoke again.

“He looks so much like Yeongseon… does it bother you a little?”

“Huh? No. No, Nanny. He’s Yeongseon’s child, so of course he looks like her. And I told you, I hold no grudge against Yeongseon. She apologized, and I said it was fine.”

After returning to the Grand Prince’s residence, Yiseo had brought her old nanny from her natal home, and along with her came Yeongseon, her husband, and their child. 

 

Later, Yeongseon had expressed regret in front of Yiseo for her past coldness. Whether she was truly remorseful or just pretending, Yiseo couldn’t know, but she accepted Yeongseon nonetheless.

Nanny Yeongseon had muttered something about Yiseo being too kind for her own good, but well.

“I was just looking because he’s so precious. The child is so gentle. He doesn’t even wake up.”

Yiseo knew. She knew that Yeongseon had received excessive retribution for what she had done.

“Oh my, yes. This child is so gentle; he doesn’t even cry when others hold him, just blinks his eyes…”

 

As Yiseo simply nodded at the dragging bragging about the grandson. 

 

After listening silently for quite a while, unlike the grandson’s praise that didn’t cease, Nanny Yeongseon hesitantly broached the main point after several pauses.

 

“…Just think how lovely the child would be if the Madam also had one.”

 

“I suppose so.”

 

Yiseo muttered that, recalling the daughter she had in her first life. 

 

However, Yiseo couldn’t have a child in this life. No, to be precise, it might be possible, but…

 

“But what can’t be, can’t be.”

 

“If you put in the effort, you never know…”

 

“Not in this life, Nanny.”

 

Yiseo cut her off firmly.

 

“Maybe in the next life, but in this life, my fate is to be childless.”

 

“No, what kind of quack would give such a crazy fortune? There’s absolutely no need to believe such nonsense.”

 

She looked ready to chase down and throttle whoever had said that to Yiseo. 

 

At any rate, touched by her concerned appearance, Yiseo chuckled and deflected.

 

“The physician said it. The physician. Isn’t it obvious if you look at my body?”

 

“Even so!”

 

“What do you mean, ‘even so’? Nanny, am I important to you? Or is my non-existent child important?”

 

“Well, of course, the young miss is, but…”

 

Nanny Yeongseon replied immediately, even forgetting the title ‘Madam’. 

 

Yiseo looked at the child, who flinched at the raised voice.

 

“Anyway, the Master will be here soon, so stop this nonsense and go play with the child. Nanny.”

 

Nanny Yeongseon let out a deep sigh, hesitated for a moment, but eventually left.

 

Left alone, Yiseo stared intently at the sleeping child and the untouched Yumil-gwa (honey pastry), then finally turned her head away.

 

A child not fated to exist could still be born.

 

If Leegwang wanted it, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to have a child.

 

However, the child born in that way had no connections throughout their life. 

 

It would have been better if they were young, but the older they grew, the more everyone around them would leave, leaving them alone and lonely, unable to enjoy any affection.

…That was the future that the white stone child would have, all because of Yeongseon, who obtained a husband and children despite it not being in her fate.

Yiseo swallowed a sigh.

It was still too great a karmic retribution for Yeongseon’s mistake. Yiseo once again thought about the Grand Prince’s mercilessness. 

 

Of course, the reason the Grand Prince had been like that in the past was ultimately Yiseo’s fault, but perhaps it could change a little now.

So, Yiseo mentioned Yeongseon’s matter to the Grand Prince when he returned from the sarangchae….

“Who?”

“Yeongseon. The one you previously granted a child….”

…The Grand Prince, who had no memory at all of whom this Yeongseon was, desperately pretended to remember and first held Yiseo and lay down.

 

💫

 

Late at night, after putting Yiseo to sleep, the Grand Prince strode to the sarangchae.

The Grand Prince would sometimes stay in the sarangchae under the pretext of handling household affairs, leaving Yiseo in the inner quarters. 

 

Of course, a man who would rudely turn away the king for lack of time would never truly leave Yiseo’s side to handle the household’s major and minor affairs.

In the sarangchae, the Grand Prince would call Old Lady Shanggung or, very occasionally, other household servants to piece together his past that he couldn’t remember.

It was an underhanded effort to maintain the lie that he remembered everything.

The Grand Prince knew very well how good Yiseo, now quietly in his arms, was at running away and did not let his guard down just because he was holding her now.

And the one being constantly pestered by this effort was Old Lady Shanggung.
“Who is Yeongseon?”

 

As soon as he stepped into the Sarangchae, without even asking why she had inquired, Lady Shanggung immediately began reciting details about Yeongseon.

 

“As you know, she is the daughter of the nanny cherished by the Madam. When the Madam married, she was brought along as a body servant. After about five years, by the Grand Prince’s order, she returned to the Madam’s maiden home to marry.”

 

“I gave the order…. What was their relationship like?”

 

“They have grown distant now, but in the past, they were as close as sisters.”

 

“How close, exactly?”

 

“Though she was a slave, she often ate at the same table as the Madam and slept in the same room.”

 

“…”

 

The Grand Prince’s unpleasant silence continued. 

 

Internally, Lady Shanggung could only shake her head at his intimidating aura that made it hard for anyone to breathe. 

 

This went on for a while, until finally the Grand Prince broke the silence and muttered.

 

“I must have hated that.”

 

“Yes. At the time, we all thought you disliked the body servant simply because you disliked the Madam.”

 

From just that level of fact, Leegwang could surmise quite a lot. It was obvious what he, that person from the past who was still himself, would have thought.

 

He must have been annoyed by her closeness to Yiseo and had her removed.

 

Combining the information recited by Lady Shanggung with what Yiseo had said, Leegwang, having roughly pieced together the facts, slumped in his chair while organizing in his mind what he would say to Yiseo today. 

 

The nerves that had been on edge, fearing his lies would be discovered, had half-relaxed.

 

Now habitually cursing his past self, Leegwang opened his mouth.

“Are the wedding preparations proceeding well?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

No one, including Lady Shanggung, could understand why a wedding was necessary for a couple already married. 

 

However, no one could break the Grand Prince’s firm determination to make his wife wear wedding robes again.

 

At least there was no need to receive guests; they only needed to prepare the bridal chamber and the wedding robes. The problem was that those very robes were time-consuming.

 

“The Sangüiwon says the work will be finished the day after tomorrow.”

 

It wasn’t just a matter of roughly matching the colors—the garments had to be formally received from the Sanguiwon (Office of Royal Weddings) as if it were a real royal wedding ceremony. 

 

No matter how much they pressed, it would inevitably take several days. 

 

The King was infuriated by the Grand Prince’s behavior of ordering the palace ladies around, a man who never even showed his face to the King.

But whether the King was lost in sorrow or not, what could he do about the Grand Prince?

Too afraid of retaliation, he wouldn’t be able to punish Leegwang anyway.

Court Lady Shanggung didn’t know the exact reason why the King couldn’t lay a finger on Leegwang, but she was now very well aware that the King was powerless against him. 

 

Sometimes, she even felt sorry for the King.

“We have also received an auspicious date from the Seongsujeong (Office of Astronomy). The day two weeks from now is auspicious…”

“Prepare the bridal chamber in three days.”

How could he be expected to wait until two weeks from now?

“…Yes.”

“You may leave now.”

Upon hearing Court Lady Gwak’s answer, Leegwang rose from his seat. His steps as he immediately left the men’s quarters and returned to the inner quarters were somewhat hurried.

He felt uneasy leaving Yiseo alone.

Striding into the inner quarters, the latch hooked on the door handle was in exactly the same position as he had left it.

He removed the latch and went inside, where he saw a bundled-up quilt. He approached and ruffled through the quilt bundle, revealing Yiseo, who had been sleeping buried deep inside the blankets without a single strand of hair showing. 

 

Only then did he realize he had been holding his breath, and he let it out.

“Hah…”

Leegwang hugged Yiseo, quilt bundle and all, and buried his head in her shoulder. 

 

Only Yiseo’s ragged breathing filled the quiet room.

Soon, that quietness was encroached upon by wet, sticky friction sounds and low moans.

“Mmm…”

“Huh…”

Leegwang had Yiseo lying face down and sucked on her shoulder blades. 

 

Unlike her snow-white front, her back was already mottled with red patches, and another red toothmark was added to it.

The red marks that had increased incessantly over three days bloomed like flowers on Yiseo’s white back.