Flower Dream Chapter 19

‘Hmm, I’ll have to ask the chieftain about this matter. For now, we must serve His Majesty his medicinal tea and light the sleep incense in his bedchamber, so let’s roughly fix it with tacking pins… and try to mend it tonight.’

‘Understood.’

‘Oh dear, I wonder if this will all be finished within today…’

Senior Court Lady Kim, who had looked Dan Yuha up and down, murmured to herself in dismay. Her fluster at the unexpected situation was palpably evident.

‘I apologize. For the needless trouble…’

‘Oh my, please don’t be. It’s not something you, Aromancer, should apologize for. I should be the one apologizing for mishandling the matter.’

Saying there was nothing to be sorry for, Senior Court Lady Kim smiled kindly at Dan Yuha. However, unlike her gently curved lips, her eyes were not smiling at all. Having grown seasoned in the imperial palace, she seemed to have guessed without difficulty who had played this prank.

‘In any case, the clothes are too large and must be uncomfortable, but please bear with it until tomorrow night. I think I can have them all fixed by then. Excuse me for a moment.’

Approaching Dan Yuha, Senior Court Lady Kim examined the garment with earnest eyes.

‘Let’s see… Mm, the waist can be cinched as tight as possible with the ties. The sleeves, shoulders, and hems of the trousers can be tacked with pins.’

Having made her assessment, Senior Court Lady Kim turned swiftly and disappeared. A few minutes later, returning from somewhere with a sewing basket, she had Dan Yuha remain standing just as he was, then folded the sleeves and trousers and began fixing them one by one with tacking pins.

‘How is it?’

‘Wow…!’

At the change that had occurred in the blink of an eye, Dan Yuha marveled as if he had witnessed an amazing magic trick. He was amazed that the clothes, which had been baggy and too large just a few minutes ago, now fit his body perfectly, as if they had never been otherwise.

‘Is there anywhere it’s uncomfortable? The pins aren’t pricking your skin, are they? Try moving around a bit.’

Following Senior Court Lady Kim’s words, Dan Yuha moved his arms and legs this way and that and let out an exclamation. It was comfortable without any part catching or pulling. It was the same when he sat down and stood up again.

‘Not at all, your skill is truly amazing!’

‘I’m relieved. Fufu, this much is basic. Perhaps because the clothes hanger is good, it’s quite becoming.’

Only then relieved, Senior Court Lady Kim looked at Dan Yuha with a proud face. It was the look of a craftswoman pleased with her own creation.

‘I thought so when I first saw you, but our Aromancer, you’re an incredible beauty.’

‘Pardon? Me?’

At the unexpected compliment, Dan Yuha’s eyes rounded.

‘I’m sorry if it was unpleasant. But I meant it. When I first saw you, Aromancer, I honestly thought you had stepped right out of a painting of a beauty.’

‘Th-that’s…’

‘To look like this just from changing clothes… I wonder how pretty you’d be if you deliberately dressed up.’

‘No, I’m, well, compared to me, others are much more…’

Dan Yuha mumbled, not knowing what to do. Since everyone except a few like the Ju Cheongwoo siblings and Ha Seokmun hated him, he was weak against this kind of praise.

‘Are you getting shy now? Aww, how adorable.’

Senior Court Lady Kim laughed aloud, finding the innocent reaction of Dan Yuha amusing. Perhaps because she had lived long in the imperial palace where everyone wears a mask, a playful impulse would often well up in her whenever she encountered such unsullied purity.

‘Ugh, please stop.’

His fair cheeks flushed pink at the sound of her laughter. Dan Yuha hid his reddened face with both hands, his tone almost pleading.

‘Ahem, I understand. I was being a bit silly for a moment there.’

Senior Court Lady Kim, who had been chuckling while watching the embarrassed Dan Yuha, cleared her throat. The goal of lifting the strangely subdued atmosphere had been more or less achieved, and it seemed better to stop since teasing Yuha further might make him cry.

‘Anyway, this is only a temporary measure. Be careful, because the tacking pins might come out if you make any big movements. Understood? You absolutely must not make a mistake in front of His Majesty.’

‘…! Yes.’

When Senior Court Lady Kim dropped her smile and earnestly entreated him, Dan Yuha answered resolutely. He didn’t know who had played this prank, but that person surely wanted him to disgrace himself. He absolutely did not wish to dance to the culprit’s tune.

Fortunately, no mishap of a tacking pin popping out in front of the Imperial Prince occurred, not when serving the dansam tea, nor when setting up the sleep incense in the bedchamber. After watching Shin Ryuwon retire to bed, Dan Yuha hurriedly returned to the servants’ quarters and mended the clothes together with Senior Court Lady Kim. Later, Jeong Ryeon also joined and helped with the sewing.

But of course, it was impossible to perfectly reduce the size of the clothes in a single night. Besides, all three of them needed to get at least a little sleep for the next day.

In the end, Dan Yuha sent the two off and sought a brief nap. Then, at the toll of the bell marking the Hour of the Tiger, he donned the still incompletely mended clothes and left the quarters. Thus he had arrived at this moment.

“Hoo…”

Dan Yuha, having pulled his gaze away from the sleeves that were stuffy just to look at, let out a small sigh. They had definitely been fixed with tacking pins when leaving the servants’ quarters, but it seemed they had come loose on the way to the main building.

Who on earth is it?

Dan Yuha suppressed his irritation and deduced the culprit. No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like the steward’s sole doing. If so, then Hong Haehwa had ordered it, but that too was difficult to understand.

Although she had occasionally displayed hostility toward him, her desire to revive the tribe was sincere. Would such a Hong Haehwa really have committed an act that could give the imperial family a pretext against her? He didn’t like her, but she wasn’t someone who couldn’t distinguish public from private matters to that degree.

And after having even warned him not to bring harm to the tribe like his parents had, she pulls this sort of crude sabotage? It was absurd.

Dan Yuha recalled a few other likely suspects but then shook his head side to side, shaking off the distracting thoughts. In any case, nothing would be solved by agonizing over who the culprit was.

Even if he were to find out, what could he do?

Hong Haehwa would absolutely never take Dan Yuha’s side. Rather, it was highly likely she would falsely accuse him of having given the wrong measurements. If the others also banded together to corner him, he would undoubtedly be helpless.

At the scene so vividly painted before his eyes, Dan Yuha wore a bitter smile. Naturally, he held no expectation that Senior Court Lady Kim or Chief Eunuch Baek would take his side should that happen. Although they had been kind and courteous to him today, that was merely politeness because they were people who would be together for a few days.

Perhaps it was better to let it pass as a simple accident. Composing his troubled heart, he stared at the firmly closed door. For now, he had to focus on what he was capable of doing.

“Your Maj-…”

Taking a short breath, Dan Yuha carefully moved his lips. Perhaps due to tension, his voice cracked again. Clearing his throat with a cough, he called for Shin Ryuwon once more. Then, as Chief Eunuch Baek had instructed him beforehand, he stated his identity and requested permission.

“Your Majesty the Imperial Prince, it is the aromancer Dan Yuha. May I enter?”

…Why is there no answer? As no response came back, contrary to expectation, Dan Yuha tilted his head. According to Chief Eunuch Baek’s explanation, the Imperial Prince should have sensed his presence and woken by now.

What to do?

Standing before the silent bedchamber door, Dan Yuha fell into worry. Faced with the unexpected situation, he fidgeted anxiously and looked around. But no matter how much he looked, Yuha was the only one in the corridor.

“Your Majesty…?”

Hesitating for a moment, Dan Yuha called for Shin Ryuwon again. Yet again, no answer was heard. Growing nervous, he bit his lips and shifted from foot to foot.

He couldn’t decide whether to leave and find someone to help, or to go inside and check if something was wrong. This was because what Chief Eunuch Baek had mentioned earlier, telling him not to be alarmed even in his absence, had come to mind.

‘Ah, that’s right. When you go to change the incense later, there will be no one around the bedchamber. But even so, don’t be alarmed. You, Aromancer, just need to do what you came to do.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Mm, it’s difficult to explain in detail… You know that His Majesty the Imperial Prince was born with denser divine blood than others, yes? Because of that, at night, all of us keep a certain distance away from his side. Especially this time, as he is in a state requiring purification…’

‘Uh, then isn’t His Majesty in danger? If someone were to target him…’

‘Then that bastard would die.’

‘…Pardon?’

‘I mean there is no need to worry that His Majesty might be hurt. Honestly, the ones in danger are us. If things go wrong, an accident could occur where we’re devoured by his energy.’

‘Devoured…?’

‘Oh dear, I didn’t mean to frighten you… This loose mouth of mine! Well, you, Aromancer, are a Non-Fragrant One, so you should generally be fine. Right now, His Majesty’s divine power control is merely somewhat unstable; it’s not his heat cycle. That’s why they requested Non-Fragrant Ones as attendants.’

‘…I don’t quite understand what you mean.’

‘Haha, don’t try too hard to understand. It’s top secret, so it’s hard to explain in detail… Just, mm, if by any chance, truly by any chance, when you go to His Majesty the Imperial Prince’s bedchamber, if you ever feel uneasy or feel like running away, don’t change the sleep incense and just immediately turn around and leave.’

‘You’re telling me to abandon my work and come out…?’

‘It’s only a what-if. It’s just advice I’m giving just in case. There won’t be any disadvantage to you, Aromancer, for not having changed the incense, so I’m telling you not to overexert yourself for nothing.’

Having recalled Chief Eunuch Baek’s meaningful advice, Dan Yuha bit his lower lip. Then, he posed a question to himself.

Do I want to run away right now? Am I unbearably frightened?

No, he didn’t feel that way. Having asked and answered himself internally, he made up his mind and gently took hold of the door handle.