Flower Dream Chapter 30

“In just a few days, he’s captured everyone’s hearts—quite the talent. Just how did he win them over…”

Tap, tap. His long fingers lightly drummed against the bathtub. It was said that imperial people were enthusiastic about talented individuals, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a bit excessive.

Of course, Shin Ryuwon himself was satisfied with Dan Yuha’s medicinal teas and sleeping incense. Unlike flower teas or green teas, any medicinal tea typically had a bitter or astringent aftertaste because it contained medicinal ingredients. Naturally, the fragrance was also sharp and dry.

On the other hand, the medicinal tea Dan Yuha served had a fragrant and richly layered aroma. The flavor was also very deep. What was interesting was that despite the strong concentration of the tea, it went down very smoothly.

And the sleeping incense—what of it? To exaggerate slightly, it boasted such a rich fragrance that one could hardly tell whether they were in a bedchamber or a forest. As one breathed in the faint floral scent drifting among the cool woody and fresh grassy notes, the tension in one’s stiff body melted away, and one’s eyes would close of their own accord.

Lately, burning incense alone hadn’t been enough—he had needed sedatives and sleeping pills just to barely fall asleep. But since arriving at the small island, he hadn’t needed any medication. For someone not yet even of age to have this level of skill was undeniably astonishing.

“Is this what they call a genius among geniuses…?”

Shin Ryuwon murmured with interest. Though the fields differed, he had encountered many people like Dan Yuha. After all, everyone in the royal palace—civil and military officials alike, as well as craftsmen—had all been called prodigies multiple times in their youth.

While Dan Yuha had certainly trained and worked hard, to Shin Ryuwon, he seemed to possess an extraordinary natural endowment. In truth, his talent was beyond doubt.

But still, a question remained. The retainers’ attitudes seemed oddly affectionate for mere admiration of his skill. It was almost as if they were looking after a younger brother.

Chief Eunuch Baek’s behavior was somewhat understandable. Having had a brief connection with Dan Yuha through his father’s affairs in the past, he would naturally feel a sense of care. However, Mun Sewon and Hyeok Ryeoa’s actions were rather puzzling.

Frankly, it wasn’t as if there had never been anyone like Dan Yuha before. There had been quite a few perfumers who had developed sleeping incense or medicinal teas that were effective for Shin Ryuwon.

Dan Yuha’s own father was one such example. Recognized for his skill by Ryuwon, he had supplied goods to the Prince’s Palace and attended to him whenever he visited the small island.

The problem was that no matter how effective the sleeping incense, Shin Ryuwon would develop a resistance to it within a few weeks. Once that happened, its efficacy would vanish like magic. It was highly likely that Dan Yuha would follow a similar path to those who had come before him.

The retainers surely knew that as well, yet they were already petitioning for Dan Yuha to be appointed as the exclusive perfumer after only a few days. Though they hadn’t spoken as openly as Hyeok Ryeoa, Chief Eunuch Baek and Mun Sewon seemed to share similar sentiments.

“…He must have a good personality.”

As Shin Ryuwon pondered the possible reasons, he realized anew that he knew very little about Dan Yuha. That was only natural—though he drank the tea Yuha brewed every day, Ryuwon had had very few direct conversations with him. They had hardly even faced each other, let alone exchanged words.

Currently, Dan Yuha’s status was that of an attendant, not a formal palace official. For that reason, unless there were exceptional circumstances, the medicinal tea Yuha made was always delivered to Shin Ryuwon through Chief Eunuch Baek.

As a result, aside from the brief exchanges they had shared in the rear garden pavilion and the bedchamber on the first night, Shin Ryuwon had no memory of interacting with Dan Yuha.

He knew that every night, Dan Yuha attended to him in place of Chief Eunuch Baek and others—checking on his condition and replacing the incense while he was fast asleep—but Ryuwon could count on his fingers the number of times he had actually seen Yuha’s face.

“…Like a tale of a celestial maiden.”

A sudden thought of a folk story resembling his current situation brought a gentle curve to Shin Ryuwon’s lips. His gaze shifted to the rapeseed-flower-shaped incense candle on the side table next to the bathtub, emitting a fresh fragrance. That, too, was surely made by Dan Yuha.

In this way, Dan Yuha had naturally woven himself into Shin Ryuwon’s daily life over the past few days. Yet his presence remained almost imperceptible. Which was, of course, proper.

Because of that, Shin Ryuwon still hadn’t been able to figure out what kind of person Dan Yuha was. That was precisely why, despite his retainers actively expressing their favor, he had taken no action until now.

Born as the Third Prince of the empire, Shin Ryuwon had lived his entire life in suspicion of everything. It wasn’t that there were no loyal subjects who had remained faithful from the beginning, like Chief Eunuch Baek or Senior Court Lady Kim, but there had also been no small number who succumbed to temptation, passed information to hostile factions, or outright betrayed him.

The incense bearers who came to the Prince’s Palace by the Empress’s command bothered him in a different way. They were more interested in the power they could gain by occupying the seat beside the Prince than in Shin Ryuwon himself as a person.

Conversely, there were those who, captivated by Shin Ryuwon’s beauty, displayed abnormal desires and obsessions. Either way, it was merely unpleasant and uncomfortable for him. Perhaps that was why his rejection reactions to incense bearers had grown increasingly severe.

And it wasn’t just them. Whenever he visited the small islands of various tribes to purify his body, countless fire people and shepherds would try all sorts of tricks to seduce him.

With such incidents repeating countless times, Shin Ryuwon found it difficult to readily trust those who approached him. Though it was said to be the fate of one born as an imperial family member and as someone superior to others, the wounds he had received, consciously or unconsciously, had accumulated deeply.

That was why he had planned to keep a proper distance from Dan Yuha from the start. A few years ago, he had felt a sense of fondness seeing the boy who had wept so sorrowfully before his parents’ grave, as if the world were ending, overcome adversity and grow into a fine adult—but that was all. He had no intention of forming an attachment or making him his own.

Thus, on the first day, he had refrained from acknowledging Dan Yuha. His surroundings had been unsettled in various ways, and with so many people like Hong Juyak who were desperate to secure the position of Prince’s consort, he judged that being cautious couldn’t hurt.

There was also the possibility that if word got out that Dan Yuha had ties to him, Yuha’s daily life might become chaotic or his safety might be compromised.

Moreover, on the day he arrived at the small island, he had been physically and mentally exhausted. He simply hadn’t had the leisure to pay careful attention to anything.

For these reasons, Shin Ryuwon had been pretending not to remember Dan Yuha until now. After all, it was a connection that would be severed again in a week—since he couldn’t take responsibility for it to the end, revealing familiarity rashly in front of others would do neither of them any good. That had certainly been the case, but…

“Hmm.”

Shin Ryuwon murmured lowly as his mind grew complicated. When even his retainers—those he could trust, those who would never betray him—all praised Dan Yuha in unison, he found himself growing increasingly interested in him.

Honestly, Shin Ryuwon was also human. He didn’t want to lose the peace he had tasted for the first time in months. Thanks to having had sufficient deep sleep for several days, he had also gained some mental composure, and he felt a personal curiosity about Dan Yuha.

Recalling the faint, subtle scent of skin he had caught in his drowsy state on the first night at Honghwajeong, Shin Ryuwon pressed his lips together. That had not been mere body odor, but an incense bearer’s body scent. It was most likely Dan Yuha’s fragrance.

Gulp.

Overcome by a strange thirst for a moment, Shin Ryuwon’s throat moved subtly. He couldn’t understand why that scent, caught in a moment close to an instant when he hadn’t been in his right mind, remained so vivid. The fact that he hadn’t forgotten it even after several days meant that the fragrance had left that much of an impression on him.

In retrospect, aside from his mother the Empress and the scent of pure, unbloomed young children, this was the first time he had ever found someone’s body scent not unpleasant.

However, the fragrance in his memory was as faint and delicate as smoke that would scatter with a single puff—so much so that the more he recalled it, the more he wondered if he had simply been mistaken, drunk with sleep at the time.

“If I could just smell it one more time, I could be certain…”

Shin Ryuwon muttered unconsciously, then paused as he was sweeping back his wet hair. Though he did feel a desire to confirm it properly, the thought of wanting to smell an incense bearer’s body scent was something that surprised even himself.

Feeling strangely unsettled, Ryuwon furrowed his brows. Just as a shallow crease formed between his brows, he sensed a presence outside that had become somewhat familiar.

“Speak of the tiger and he shall appear…”

Shin Ryuwon let out a soft chuckle at the sound of Dan Yuha’s approaching footsteps. Since Chief Eunuch Baek had given him prior notice, he was not startled and turned his gaze toward the door. This seemed like a good opportunity to express his gratitude to Dan Yuha and, incidentally, satisfy his private curiosity.

“Your Highness the Prince, this is Dan Yuha, the perfumer.”

Soon, a faint shadow appeared beyond the door. Dan Yuha, who had stopped in front of the bathchamber door, hesitated for a moment, then announced his arrival. As clear and pure as his refined face was his voice.

“I have come in place of Chief Eunuch Baek. May I enter?”