Ryang was taken aback.
"It's a bit sudden," he said.
"I didn't mean to pry," Kyeong'ui replied, "but it seems your sister handles most of the work. I don't see why you can't make some simple arrangements and join me first. Is that too much to ask?"
"You're right," Ryang conceded, "but even ten days is a tight deadline for making arrangements. Give me a few more days. I'll join you after you settle in."
Kyeong'ui nodded, her gaze reassuring. "Alright," she agreed.
Seon approached, drawing Kyeong'ui's attention. "You must be hungry," she said. "Would you like something to eat? I'm sure the street food won't suit your refined palate."
"I've snuck out of the palace and tried plenty of street food in Sunyahng," Kyeong'ui replied confidently. "Let's try something unique to Nahmgyo."
She looked around, but nothing appealed to her. Laver pancakes, which Wu and Seo'oh had already devoured, were greasy, and anchovy soup, simmering in a questionable pot, didn't seem appetizing despite its savory smell.
"What do you two usually eat?" Kyeong'ui asked the siblings.
"We..." Ryang and Seon trailed off. They rarely ate street food. Even in Birahng, they were still outsiders.
Seon thought for a moment, then suggested grilled skewered conch, where pieces of freshly caught conch were grilled on long bamboo skewers. Kyeong'ui's eyes widened as she took a bite. The conch, lightly seared over charcoal, had a savory, smoky flavor and a salty, briny juice that filled her mouth. She and Seon quickly devoured their skewers. Seo'oh, who had slipped away unnoticed, returned with handheld fireworks he had bought from a stall and shyly offered one to Kyeong'ui. It was a simple toy that burned briefly in her hand, but Kyeong'ui beamed.
Ryang watched them from a distance. Their laughter echoed in his ears like a chant. He was startled when his eyes met Hongyoo's. Hongyoo looked at him with contempt, as if he found the whole scene ridiculous. Ryang suddenly became aware of the smile on his own face, and he felt a chill, embarrassed by his involuntary reaction. He looked back at Seon and Kyeong'ui. The happiness that had brought a smile to his face was still there. Is it the warm night breeze from the south that has clouded my judgement? He couldn't distinguish between truth and falsehood. He wanted to smile at them as he had just a moment ago, but his lips wouldn't move.
He thought of the things he couldn't give them. He wanted to smile at Seon without reservation, as if nothing had happened, and shower her with delicious food and beautiful things. He wanted to give her everything she'd missed from their parents, who had died young. He wanted to offer Kyeong'ui his loyalty, as if he were someone without secrets, someone who wasn't testing her. Have even my hopes become a deception? A sudden warmth rose to his eyes, and he blinked rapidly. My mind is broken, so these confusing emotions are all false. So is the despair I feel now, he told himself.
A vendor had set up a stall, selling tangerine wine in cheap earthenware cups he'd fired on the spot. Kyeong'ui, accompanied by Hongyoo and Hyeok, bought several cups and offered them to everyone, including Ryang.
"Here," she said. "It's on me."
"I don't enjoy drinks... Thank you for the thought," Ryang declined with a wry smile.
"But you have to have a drink on a night like this," Kyeong'ui insisted.
Ryang reluctantly accepted the cup. Before he could even raise it to his lips, Seon called out to Kyeong'ui from afar, having found another interesting sight. Kyeong'ui, after glancing at Ryang, rushed towards Seon. As the others moved out of sight, Ryang slipped into a secluded alley and poured the drink onto the dirt floor. Before his weary sigh could settle, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"What a waste to throw away precious wine bestowed by the princess."
It was Ryucheon. Ryang's face hardened. He didn't want to encounter Ryucheon while accompanying Kyeong'ui. Ryucheon approached with a gentle smile.
"I've been watching you," he said. "Is this the first time I've seen you smile at ease?"
"Do I look at ease?" Ryang retorted without meeting his eyes. He tossed the earthenware cup aside, the dull thud of it shattering against the ground swallowed by the darkness.
"Such hostility," Ryucheon remarked.
Ryucheon moved closer to Ryang, following his gaze towards Kyeong'ui, who was laughing with Seon.
"Thanks to you, I got a glimpse of the Princess," Ryucheon remarked. "I hear she's the spitting image of her father, the King. Now I'm curious about the King of Dahn. I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to meet him after I rise in power... It's certainly better to see her mingling with someone her own age than with an old geezer like Hongyoo."
Ryang found it ridiculous that Ryucheon, who seemed to be around his age, was speaking like an old man.
"You and I are both young," Ryang retorted.
"There are degrees of youth," Ryucheon countered. "If you consider yourself young, you should join them instead of lurking in an alley like a dying old man. Why are you just watching?"
Ryang ignored his taunt and changed the subject. "We're mobilizing in ten days," he announced.
"I thought you said it would be before the monsoon season," Ryucheon said. "Why the sudden decision?"
"She said they're moving the camp to Sahpung in ten days. I heard it today."
"Then we need to secure everything we need before that," Ryucheon said. "You haven't forgotten the conditions, have you?"
He glanced towards Kyeong'ui. "Make her happy tonight," he said smoothly. "It's a shame her life is so short."
Ryang glared at him. "You people are truly insane."
"Is there anyone sane in this city now?" Ryucheon retorted with a chuckle, disappearing into the alley.
As the festivities grew more fervent, fireworks erupted into the sky, their red and yellow flames reflected in Kyeong'ui's eyes. Her gaze followed the rising sparks, then settled on the dazzling sky, the light shattering in her dark pupils. Ryang watched the Summer Greetings' fireworks display in her eyes instead of the night sky.
"You can't take your eyes off them, even though the fireworks in Sunyahng must be more spectacular," he remarked.
"We don't have fireworks in Sunyahng," Kyeong'ui replied. "This is my first time seeing them."
"Don't you have them on holidays?"
Kyeong'ui shook her head. "They say nothing should shine brighter than Reason and Intellect in the sky. Nonsense. It's just gunpowder..."
Ryang suspected Reason and Intellect was an excuse, and the real reason was the artillery troops that had been massively deployed along the borders and coasts since Dahn's founding. Even Hyangdo, which barely served its purpose as a fortress, had a considerable number of cannons and gunpowder stockpiles. The cannons lining the coast, always aimed towards the sea, were the biggest obstacle to landing on the mainland from Birahng.
Ryang's mind was always preoccupied with finding clues to subdue Kyeong'ui from her every word, but she was unaware of his struggles. Her gaze remained fixed on the night sky.
"They are beautiful," she mused. "Watching them makes me feel even more intoxicated."
"Enjoy the sight," Ryang replied.
As the festivities reached their peak, the group moved through the streets, sometimes together, sometimes scattered. At one point, they had a brief scare when Hyeok disappeared for a while, but they managed to enjoy themselves without any major incidents. After the fireworks display ended, the atmosphere grew increasingly intimate, and Kyeong'ui decided it was time to leave. The Myeonghyeon siblings escorted them back to the south gate. After they joined their escort troops waiting at a distance, Hongyoo asked Kyeong'ui, "Did you say ten days, Your Highness?"
"No, six days," Kyeong'ui corrected him curtly, mounting her horse.
Hongyoo froze for a moment, then followed suit.
When they arrived back at the camp, the full moon had already passed its zenith. Though not as lively as the streets of the city, the campsite buzzed with laughter and chatter. Soldiers huddled around fires, cooking in pots, and Mujin, noticing Kyeong'ui's return, rushed to greet her with a deep bow. Kyeong'ui was pleased to see such a lively scene for the first time since arriving in Birahng.
"Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves," she remarked.
"I'm making sure they don't overindulge," Mujin replied.
"They deserve a night of carefree revelry," Kyeong'ui said. "Thank you for your hard work."
A soldier from the crowd spotted Kyeong'ui and greeted her with a cheerful shout.
"Her Highness has returned!"
The soldiers, fueled by alcohol and excitement, swarmed around Kyeong'ui, bowing and offering greetings. Their enthusiasm was contagious, and despite the fatigue from the night's adventure in the city, a bright smile spread across Kyeong'ui's face. The smell of grilled meat, anchovy soup, and tangerine wine wafted from the soldiers. One of them bowed, offering her a cup.
"Please have a drink, Your Highness! I'd be honored to offer you one!"
"I'm alright," Kyeong'ui declined, waving her hand. "Don't waste it on me. Enjoy yourselves."
Hyeok, who stood behind her, whispered, "Don't refuse them outright. Accept a few drinks."
Kyeong'ui reluctantly took the cup. The soldiers erupted in cheers and laughter as she downed the overflowing cup in one gulp. Caught up in the excitement, she accepted a few more drinks on her way back to her tent, and her head began to spin. She left Wu and Seo'oh, who were eager to join the revelry, and let Hyeok and Hongyoo help her back to her tent.
"A royal is not a general," she chided Hyeok before entering. "It's Hongyoo's and Mujin's job to entertain the troops. It's not appropriate for you, too, who will soon be a member of the royal family, to behave like this."
"Why not?" Hyeok asked.
"The royal family shouldn't show such unrefined behavior."
Despite her reprimand, her tone was gentle, devoid of anger. Hyeok smiled wryly.
"This will be a lifelong memory for them," he said. "They're not just any soldiers. They're the Shadow Legion, His Majesty's personal troops, the elite. Earning their favor will be a great help in the future."
"The future?"
"Yes... the future..."
Hyeok flinched as Kyeong'ui emphasized his words. She simply smiled at him and entered the tent.
Exhaustion and alcohol battled within her, but sleep evaded her. She was wide awake, acutely aware of even the weight of her hair against her skin.
Would my days be like this if I had been born an ordinary person, not a royal? Would I travel to the high mountain ranges of Yahngbuk, the volcanoes of Soyeol, the vast plains of Sung, and the dazzling desert beyond? Would I dance with abandon tonight, entranced by the strange music? Even Hyeok, whom she usually found disagreeable, seemed amiable tonight. As she recalled the carefree smiles of Seon and Seo'oh, she felt a pang of sadness for the life she had lived, without any real friends except for her kind second brother, Kyeongyul. This fleeting, trivial happiness of tonight would disappear when she woke up, and she was reluctant to sleep, despite her heavy eyelids.
The image of Ryang surfaced in her mind. Why did Ryang, who had been smiling amiably, occasionally look away with a distant expression? Was it because of the burden of relocating to Sahpung? Despite the considerable financial sacrifice he had made for her, she had a hunch that he was still hiding something. Why did he stare at me with such sorrowful eyes? When she looked away from the fireworks that lit up the night sky, she felt as if she would be trapped in his gaze. Just as she didn't know his true intentions, he wouldn't know that she had been staring not at the fleeting fireworks but at the deep secrets hidden within him. Is he also lying awake now, troubled by those unspoken thoughts? Kyeong'ui wanted to uncover everything he was hiding, to see his true self.
As she gazed at the moonlight filtering through the blue tent, she heard Hyeok's voice outside.
"Your Highness, if you're still awake, may I come in?"