The Young Consort Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 23

***

Upon seeing him, I slightly furrowed my brow. Why isn’t he asleep at this ungodly hour?

“What’s the matter… Why are you there?”

I was about to use my usual commanding tone mixed with casual speech but then decided to speak more comfortably. It was cumbersome to always use period drama speech, and since there was no one around to hear, I thought, why not?

Hearing my words, Dawn bit his lip and then started to move his hand around in a vague manner. It seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite manage it.

Sign language, perhaps? Does this world have sign language?

No, that looked more like body language. It reminded me of myself when I had traveled abroad before.

“Are you trying to come up here?”

After pondering for a bit, I carelessly threw out what I thought might be the answer. It was a thoughtless remark, but at my words, Dawn’s mouth opened wide in an ‘Ah’, and his face lit up with joy. I burst out laughing at his expression.

“Come up. It’s okay.”

Upon hearing me, Dawn nodded deeply in agreement, then walked forward and disappeared from my view.

Thinking he would come up soon, I turned to head towards the door when suddenly a shadow flitted over me accompanied by the sound of a stone skipping.

“Yikes…!”

I spun around in shock and took a deep breath, then found myself facing truly dazzling eyes.

Beneath the hair that fell like a curtain were misty blue eyes. During the day, they seemed clouded by fog, but under the moonlight, they sparkled vividly.

I lost my words for a moment, captivated by those eyes that were more beautiful than any gemstone I had ever seen. The shock I had felt earlier vanished in an instant.

“…Dawn?”

At my call, Dawn flinched. His body wobbled as he seemed about to fall from the window, prompting me to rush towards him in alarm.

“Be careful!”

My voice rose almost in rebuke, and Dawn bit his lip, bowing his head.

“…I’m sorry.”

The voice that murmured from beneath him was astonishingly clear. The tender voice sounded like dew rolling off leaves.

No, more importantly, wasn’t it said he couldn’t speak? Catching my gaze, Dawn shyly turned his head away.

“I apologize for a moment…”

“Ah, yes. That’s alright.”

I stepped back to give Dawn space, and he jumped down from the window to stand before me. Having been sitting down earlier, I hadn’t realized, but Dawn was precisely one head taller than me.

Though he was still just a kid, the regrettable truth was that I was even more of a kid at the moment.

“So, you could speak after all.”

Muttering softly, Dawn hesitated before kneeling down.

“I have deceived my superior with falsehoods, I am ready to accept any punishment you deem fit.”

I was taken aback by his calm response. Why would such a young child kneel so easily? Instead of telling him to get up, I lifted his arm to help him stand.

“It’s okay. And don’t kneel in front of me again.”

I was somewhat worried about his indifferent demeanor. He’s still so young. Responding to my touch, he awkwardly stood up and quietly said, “Yes.”

I wasn’t particularly angry about him hiding the truth. There must have been a reason he felt he needed to hide it. It wouldn’t have been easy for him not being able to speak, so it seemed unlikely he did it without reason.

Instead of questioning him about that, I asked what I was more curious about.

“What’s the matter, being up so late?”

Dawn hesitated at my question. Just like before, he seemed to be a shy child.

“…You asked about my name.”

Dawn’s voice carried a hint of embarrassment as he spoke.

“Wasn’t your name Dawn?”

“That name was temporarily given by others.”

I nodded quietly at his response.

“There must be a reason you haven’t shared it. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“…Yes.”

Dawn responded obediently, but I noticed a slight slump in his shoulders.

…Did he come to tell me his name?

The world of young children is complicated. I couldn’t be sure why, but it seemed like he really wanted to tell me his name.

“…Would it be alright if I knew, um, is it okay?”

Had that way of speaking stuck because I had used it recently? It was difficult to speak normally.

At my words, Dawn lifted his bowed head. He was about to nod when he suddenly looked surprised and answered.

“Yes.”

I almost laughed at his curt response. Was he originally a man of few words? Nodding seemed to be his way of agreeing.

I’ll have to tell him later that it’s okay to speak freely. Holding back a laugh, I then quietly asked Dawn.

“What’s your name?”

Dawn took a deep breath at my question, as if it were a kind of ritual.

Then, the child’s mouth opened.

“…Gowun. My name is Gowun.”

Dawn, or Gowun, said this and then smiled broadly. It was the first time the somber child smiled. His slowly spreading smile and the faint blush on his cheeks were endearing.

I smiled back at him. So cute.

Gowun. A name that suits him better than Dawn. It sounded softer too. Not that liking someone’s name would bring any good fortune, but I still found the name appealing.

“Yes, Gowun.”

After a while, I smiled lightly and looked at the child.

It seemed unlikely that either of us would fall asleep soon. Maybe I should ask him to keep me company for a bit.

“Are you going to sleep now?”

At my question, Gowun shook his head no, then seemed startled and finally laughed. I extended my hand to him.

“Then let’s hang out for a while.”

* * *

“…My lady, Her Majesty has—”

“…Oh. …Yes…”

The sunlight was piercing. I squinted, covering my face with my hand.

So sleepy. Someone, draw the curtains…

Then, a shadow fell over my eyes. I relaxed my furrowed brow, about to drift back to sleep.

“You’re sleeping soundly.”

If it weren’t for the voice that followed.

“Did you have trouble sleeping last night?”

The voice came again, not allowing me any denial. Waking up as if splashed with cold water, I sat up abruptly, facing her, who seemed just as surprised as I was.

Once again, as if nothing had changed, it was the Empress.

“Are, are you alright?!”

As I sat up suddenly, the Empress exclaimed in surprise. Looking at my awkwardly stretched arm, I hesitantly bowed my head.

“I’m fine. My apologies, Your Majesty.”

Being startled by the sight of the Empress was a fault. But then, what action towards the Empress isn’t considered a fault?

Even as I said this, I subtly avoided her gaze. Normally, I would have immediately stood up and knelt, listing all my faults in detail, but at this moment, I was somewhat daring.

I was sure that the Empress wouldn’t kill or punish me for this.

“No, I should apologize for startling you. Did you wake up because of me?”

As expected, she asked me in an informal tone, not using the first-person pronoun ‘I’ which showed her consideration for the child.

Hmm. How pointless.

I glanced towards the window and saw the bright sunlight shining in. Seoyeon noticed my gaze and quietly whispered,

“It just passed noon.”

I was shocked by her words. It was already past 12 o’clock?

‘…I did go to bed late last night, after all.’

Gowun nodded and agreed with whatever I said, which I found adorable, and so I ended up sharing various stories with him. Stories of fairy tales that don’t exist in this world.

As someone who enjoyed reading novels, I knew a lot of stories, and each time I unfolded a tale, the sparkle in Gowun’s eyes made me feel like a grandmother doling out pocket money to her grandchildren.

It was so much fun that I only slept a little late. Just a little…

Now that I think about it, I remember seeing the dawn sky turning blue before falling asleep.

But Heesa, who is in charge of waking me up, always woke me at the same time. When I looked at her with that thought, she subtly avoided my gaze.

“…You looked so cute mumbling in your sleep that I couldn’t help it.”

“Heesa!”

Seoyeon exclaimed in shock at Heesa’s mumbled words. It was natural. It was impolite to call one’s superior cute. She inadvertently shouted out and then quickly apologized to the Empress.

After the Empress left, I thought I should subtly tell Seoyeon not to scold Heesa. Being called cute wasn’t offensive to me, and it wasn’t something that warranted a scolding.

The Empress lightly forgave Seoyeon’s apology and then turned her gaze to Heesa. Her eyes sparkled peculiarly, which made me flinch.

Could she be considering punishment?

“…Was it very cute?”

I was about to intervene on behalf of the Empress, but I was stunned by her follow-up question. Regardless of my reaction, Heesa’s eyes lit up immediately upon hearing the Empress’s words.

“Of course! When Your Grace sleeps, you fidget with your hands like this, and sometimes you smack your lips. Then, occasionally, you’ll go ‘Hmm,’ and bury your face into your hands like a cat… Ah, really.”

“Is, is that so?”

“Yes! Moreover, Your Grace tends to kick off the blankets while sleeping. So sometimes your belly button pops out, and it’s just so adorable!”

Upon hearing that, I wanted to vanish into thin air right then and there. Any intention I had of defending Heesa evaporated. Please don’t proudly divulge my private life and embarrassing history.

Glancing up at the Empress, I saw a mix of dismay and shock on her face, doubling my embarrassment.

“Kicking off the blankets while sleeping, what if you catch a cold again?”

“Ah, right. As cute as Your Grace may be, it would be troublesome if you were to fall ill!”

I take it back. I’m ten times more embarrassed. I wanted to facepalm and faint from the escalating conversation.

“…”

Just then, someone quietly approached the bed where I was sitting.