The prince wandered the market with a girl named Yeoju. Though he was occasionally interrupted by Yeoju, he still considered it an outing he had no regrets about, and now prepared to return.
The Crown Prince, who had reached the palace with Yeoju's protection while recalling what had happened at the central market today, looked at Yeoju and said before returning to the palace.
"Your eyes are truly like jewels. And they resemble roses. Not just any roses, but black roses with a mysterious charm. I doubt I'll ever see you again, but if we do, may I promise to marry you?"
The heroine, instead of answering his question, smiles in the affirmative. And as the crown prince climbs over the palace walls, the heroine wipes her smile and returns home, seemingly bored. Her face seemed to be annoyed by something. It was as if she was hiding something.
โข โข โข
Many years passed, and the Crown Prince turned eighteen. Though he was well past marriageable age, he still couldn't forget the woman he met that day. He couldn't forget the woman who had saved him from trouble at the central market when he was twelve, and the way she had cared for him and walked alongside him ever since. That's why he had been putting off marriage, claiming he already had a woman he loved. Of course, the opposition from those around him was fierce. The king urged the Crown Prince to prepare for marriage, but he couldn't bring himself to marry just anyone, for fear of meeting the Lady of the Black Rose.
However, he couldn't continue to delay the Crown Prince's marriage, so the King decided to meet the woman he had feelings for and find out who she was. He didn't know much about her, but with power and money, anything was possible, so he secretly searched for her. After some searching, he finally found the owner of a rice cake shop.
"So, you know this woman named Lee Yeo-ju?"
"Yes! Of course, sir... He was a child who lived in our neighborhood, but I haven't seen him since that incident six years ago... He seemed to be living with his brother without a husband... I wonder if he was eaten by a beast..."
"6 years ago...? What happened 6 years ago?"
"I was probably selling rice cakes at the time. A boy who looked to be about 12 years old came into our shop, ate a whole rice cake, and walked away without paying! That girl, Yeoju, paid for it..."
"Do you remember what that man looked like?"
"Yes! I remember! Her face was... so pretty, like a girl's~ She acted like she was the king of this country! How dumbfounded must I have been to laugh to myself that evening?"
"I guess it must have been the day the Crown Prince left the palace... Are you a laughing stock to my Crown Prince?"
"Yes...Yes? What do you mean..."
"The boy you saw that day was the crown prince. And you said that you laughed in vain at the thought of the crown prince that evening. Do you have nothing to say?"
"Huh... Huh-huh?!?! J, Lord, I have committed a sin worthy of death!! Please, spare my life...!"
"You laughed at the prince. But since you spoke helpfully to me, I will spare your life. But before that, tell me where that girl lived."
I'm not sure if I'm writing this too briefly.