"Crown Prince!youWe must not forget that we are the foundation of a country!!"
"I'm sorry, Abamama."
"Useless guy"
"Useless...isn't that what you always say to your mother?"
"Don't bring that up!"
"Have you already forgotten, Abama?"
"I forgot, so you should forget too."
"How could you forget your mother..."
"Hyeon-ah, you have to forget"
"I remember it so vividly... I can't forget Mother's last words... If I just stay in the palace, I miss Mother so much I feel like I could suffocate and die!!"
"Remember your mother's last words."
The king got up from his seat and headed to Daejeon.
"My mother's true last words, which my father did not know, were 'Your Majesty'... My mother, whom my father had forgotten, thought of him until the moment of her death..."
3 years later
Once on the first day, once on the fifteenth day, once on the last day of the month. These three times, three years had passed and become 108 times. Their relationship deepened without knowing what would happen in the future.
Lee Heon (Crown Prince) = Seok Kwon (Master): 15 years old
Yeonhwa: 13 years old
Yeonhwa has been waking up to her father's scolding for several months now.
Perhaps it was because of the selection of the Crown Princess... After the marriage ban was issued and my older sister became a virgin, my father put even more effort into my older sister's education.
"We must think and act more wisely and intelligently!"
"Yeah, Father... If I fall in the three-way race..."
"The Queen Mother is from our family. The three selections are judged by the Queen Mother. If Sowol does well, the position of Crown Princess is a sure bet!"
"Yeah, but still"
"Think of your name, bright moon! Become a bright moon, shine upon the whole world from your high place! A woman of the Tao family should not ascend to the position of queen of the nation!"
"Yes, girl, I will definitely become the crown princess..."
At the end of my father's scolding, there was always my sister's crying. What Sowol gained from her crying was Yeonhwa's life. For Yeonhwa, Sowol lost his name, his lover, and even his own life. As the older brother of these two, there was nothing I could do.
"Brother... why are you like this?"
"Are you sure it's okay? Right now?"
"Father, I will never give up. If it weren't for me, it would be Yeonhwa. Don't you know how dangerous the position of Queen Mother is?"
"Did you know..?"
"How could you not know? The death of the Queen Mother and the downfall of the Do clan were the work of my father and the Queen Mother... Yeonhwa must not know this. It is not a truth that such a young child can endure."
"Don't worry Yeonhwa, I will protect you."
At that moment, Yeonhwa was preparing to go out. White skin, red lips, neatly tied hair, and beautiful silk clothes.
"Yeonhwa"
"Yes, brother."
“Are you going to see that young master again?”
"How can you ask when you already know everything?"
"You should come home early because the last day of this month is the day of the re-election."
"I know. Today is the full moon, so I'll be going now."
"Be careful"
"Yes, brother."
Not long after Yeonhwa went outside, raindrops began to fall from the sky.
"Uh, uh... it's raining..."
"Let's go to the cabin first."
"Master? How can the Master..."
"The sky was unusual today, so I waited for you in front of your house, Yeonhwa."
"I was surprised"
"I'll explain later, but for now, it would be best to avoid the rain."
The two entered a nearby cabin and waited for the rain to stop. It only finally stopped around sunset.
"I couldn't do anything today because of the rain."
"Today is a day where the night is even more important."
"You won't be able to see anything at night..."
"What I have prepared for you can only be seen at night. The sunset is setting and it's getting dark, so let's go."
"Where are you talking about?"
"You'll know when you get there, so take my hand and follow me."
The place Seok-kwon headed was the back mountain. He walked along a path rarely visited by people, not the top of the mountain. He found a wooden door nestled between the vines.
"I've been to the back mountain often, but this is my first time here."
"It's too early to be surprised~"
Seok-kwon unlocked the door with his key and entered, where a breathtaking scene unfolded before him. Flower petals fell between the branches, and the full moon in the night sky shone brightly upon them.
"Master Seok-kwon..."
"I really wanted to show you this view."
"It's so beautiful..."
"This is the place my mother told me about on my birthday."
"Mother gave a truly wonderful gift to Master Seok-kwon."
"Yeonhwa, you're the first woman to come here besides your mother."
"How could you tell me about such an important place...?"
"Yeonhwa, you are important to me, so I wanted to come with you."
"The scenery is so beautiful."
"How can I shed tears when I see such a beautiful scenery?"
"Master, I want to live as a flower."
"You're saying the same thing as your mother..."
"The sun and the moon share the same sky, but the sun rises during the day and the moon rises at night, so they can never meet... However, flowers bloom beautifully facing the sun, and the sun also shines on the flowers... I would rather live as a flower than as the moon shining alone and lonely."
"That's so true..."
"Please be my concubine's year. I will live as your flower."
"I will be your sun forever"
"As a flower of the new concubine, it will never wither."
"Yeonhwa, I have something for you."
"I have already received such a great gift."
"It is a norigae decorated with silver in the shape of a flower."
"It's an excessive gift."
"I wanted to give it to you, so I asked the craftsman who makes norigae to make it for me. And here is the key to this door."
"master...."
"Today we have promised to marry. Please accept this as a substitute for a ring."
"Yes, then I have a gift for you too."
Yeonhwa gave Seok-kwon a brief kiss.
"Isn't it too short?"
Seok-kwon cupped Yeon-hwa's cheek and kissed her, and their lips remained locked for a long time.
"Ha...ha... Master, I'm out of breath."
"So, you didn't like it?"
"No... it was good, no, it was more than that."
"It was ecstatic"
"Yes, my lord, I was ecstatic."
Deep into the night, Seok-kwon took Yeon-hwa home, and Yeon-hwa stood in front of the gate, gazing at him until he disappeared from view. As she opened the gate and was about to enter, a man grabbed her hand.
"How rude! How dare you touch a virgin's body!"
"I'm sorry, miss... Are you the lady of this house?"
"Yes, that's right. But why do you ask?"
"If so, then she must be Sowol's sister."
"What about my sister..."
"Please deliver this letter to Sowol."
"It seems you have feelings for my sister, but please ignore them... My sister is destined to become the crown princess."
"We promised to marry... Are you telling me to break that promise?"
"What is your name..?"
"This is the line"
"I will deliver this letter to you."
"Thank you."
"It's late at night. You should go now."
Yeonhwa knocked on Seolhwa's door right away.
"Sister, this is Yeonhwa."
"Come in"
"I have something to tell you..."
"What are you going to tell me..?"
"This person, Seon Lee, asked me to deliver a letter."
"Leave this... letter behind."
"yes..."
Yeonhwa returned to her room, placed the norigae in her jewelry box, and quickly fell asleep, perhaps exhausted. Meanwhile, Sowol read the letter, then came outside and burned it.
"Master Seon... What will happen if Father finds out? Master Seon, you must be safe and sound..."
The last day of the month after the full moon
Before getting into the palanquin, Sowol greeted him as if he were someone he would never see again.
"Please protect Yeonhwa, my brother."
"Don't worry, Yeonhwa."
"Yeonhwa, please forgive my sister's foolishness..."
"How can you say that?"
"If anything happens... don't ignore my love for you. Human bonds never break... shamelessly, I'm happy now."
Sowol got into the palanquin and the palanquin headed to the palace.
"Yeonhwa, why are you at home?"
"Master Seok-Kwon said that he won't be able to meet you today because there's an important event at home."
"Doesn't Akjik know what kind of family that young master, Seok-kwon, is?"
"Yes, ma'am. It doesn't matter whether he is a slave or a nobleman. How can it be a sin to have feelings for him as long as he is not the king?"
It must have been a while since Sowol had gone to the palace and the re-selection was over, but there was still no word. Hyuk and Yeonhwa were worried and were waiting for Sowol in front of the house gate. Suddenly, a man passed through Yeonhwa's mind.
"This...line"
"This line, Yeonhwa, how do you know that man's name?"
"How do you know, Brother?"
"Sowol also had a lover like Yeonhwa, whose name was Lee Seon. However, I thought their relationship ended due to her father's opposition."
"On the full moon day, the man asked me to deliver a letter, so I delivered it to my sister."
"Sowol is in danger!"
As expected, upon arriving home, my father became furious and ordered someone to find Sowol. Hyuk followed, sword drawn. Seemingly out of his mind, he killed every servant who stood in my way to protect me, then thrust his sword at my throat.
"Oh, Abama, this is Yeonhwa. Please put away your sword."