The Young Consort Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 91

* * *

Despite my abrupt demand, it was immediately accepted.

To be precise, it was a bit excessive.

‘Were you… lonely because you had no friends your age?’

I couldn’t deny Mother’s words spoken between sobs. I just stood there quietly. I couldn’t answer, “No, a strange letter came and I’m trying to find the culprit,” with other ministers present.

Then Mother looked even more like she was about to cry, and I was very flustered. I later went to Mother and tried to explain that it wasn’t the case, but it didn’t work at all.

In the end, I gave up on explaining and just made a condition. Gather all the twelve-year-old noble girls. I will personally select from among them.

Mother readily nodded when I specifically asked to gather only twelve-year-old children. And until those children arrived at the palace, I had to spend a somewhat awkward time. Everyone tried so hard to play with me that I wanted them to stop giving me that damn awkward smile every time we ran into each other.

‘Somehow this little kid seems better.’

The unknown girl I’ve been exchanging letters with. The letters kept arriving for those few days, and I wrote replies.

What I learned from a few letters was that this child gets along with me better than I expected.

The child was very mature. Although she didn’t talk much about herself, she amazingly responded to my stories.

With that strange way of making me talk, I found myself telling her all sorts of trivial things.

And the day before the children were to enter the palace, I wrote this at the end of the letter.

[I’ll see you tomorrow then.]

The letters were fun, but there were definitely many inconveniences. One of them was having to wait a day to hear a reply after saying something.

It meant that since she would come to the palace tomorrow, we could meet, but the reply that arrived was meaningful.

[How?]

That single word was the only reply to a long letter. I was also flustered when the quiet and kind child sent such a reply. I was excited to check the letter, but I froze awkwardly with the letter in my hand.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

Seoyeon’s voice was heard from outside the door. I absentmindedly answered yes. Seoyeon, who opened the door and entered my bedroom, frowned upon seeing the letter in my hand.

“It’s that letter again.”

Seoyeon disliked this unknown letter that arrived every morning. She said that although there was no malice in the letter’s content, someone had secretly entered my room.

“I’m sure we guarded it flawlessly…”

The muttered voice sounded quite serious.

“I should tell Her Majesty.”

“Ah, no.”

I waved my hand at Seoyeon’s words. The owner of the letter would be among the children coming today. If not, it wouldn’t be too late to tell her then.

“But Your Highness.”

“Her Majesty is already doing her utmost for my safety, so it will be fine.”

I had asked Mother not long ago. Is it okay that everyone can use abilities now that the palace barrier is gone?

Then Mother stroked my hair and casually said,

‘No one will be able to harm you, Sanya.’

That voice was different from Mother’s usual voice. It was clearly the same voice, but a bit more hazy and low, just like Mirinae’s singing voice.

When I asked if that was the Dragon’s Command, Mother smiled and nodded. The power to make what is spoken come true is really amazing and equally useful.

So even if the person visiting my room is an assassin, I will be safe.

Seoyeon finally sighed at my dissuasion. Before she could nag, I got off the bed.

“Hurry and prepare. Okay?”

I said that to avoid more nagging, but Seoyeon paused at those words. And her expression became sentimental again.

“…Were you waiting for this day?”

Ah, stop it already.

* * *

“Then I will take my leave.”

Seoyeon, who had set up the refreshments and finished introducing the children to me, bowed her head.

I waved my hand for her to leave, and the room became quiet with the sound of the door closing.

“…”

Whoever thought it would be easy to converse with young children?

I looked at the children sitting to my left and right with curious eyes.

‘Are they really twelve years old?’

Perhaps because they ate well and grew up, the children were much taller than I expected. Twelve-year-olds were taller than I thought. If they’re twelve years old, that would be sixth grade in elementary school to first year in middle school in Korean age, and they’re a head taller than me.

‘Were they originally that tall…?’

I knew girls grew faster than boys, but I was a bit flustered seeing kids even taller than Gowun, whom I had only been seeing. Still, they looked young though.

The children were just watching my reaction even with snacks in front of them.

Just as those children felt awkward with me, it seemed the same for them.

“It is an honor to be called here, Your Highness.”

The child sitting to my left broached the subject. At those words, the other children’s eyes twinkled urgently.

“We, we are grateful, Your Highness.”

“It is an honor for our family.”

The children all bowed their heads to me repeatedly, but only the child sitting at the far right end kept her back straight. I’m not offended that she didn’t bow her head, but my gaze was drawn to her since she stood out alone.

As my gaze turned to that child, the other children’s gazes also turned to her. The child sitting next to her, surprised, poked her side.

“…Ayeon!”

In the quiet room, the softly muttered voice reached my ears as well.

In Seora, when making nicknames, ‘A’ is added in front of the name. It was a nickname used by close friends or family. Mother wanted to call me by a nickname, but Asan or Aya sounded strange, so I refused…

As I was lost in thought for a moment, the child called Ayeon glanced around, then bowed her head to me.

“I am Seoryeon Yemyeon. I am grateful for being called here, Your Highness.”

“Oh my, we already told you the names!”

Another child reprimanded in a slightly dull voice. Seoryeon, who nodded appropriately at her friend’s answer, slightly frowned. It looked like she was yawning.

‘That kid is something else.’

The other kids are frozen stiff and can’t even eat, but she’s doing her own thing.

The Yemyeon family is Choeun’s family. Based on her age, she seems to be around Choeun’s niece.

‘Is having a unique personality hereditary in that family?’

I looked at that child meaningfully, then turned my gaze again. On the table in front of me were a few neatly folded papers. They were the letters I had received so far.

“Do you know which place in the Eastern Palace is the most worth seeing?”

At my sudden question, the children made puzzled faces. An answer didn’t come easily. It was natural since the children who came to the Eastern Palace for the first time today wouldn’t know that.

But an answer came. In a very small and calm voice.

“I heard the garden is beautiful.”

At those words, the children looked around, and an unusually small figure appeared among them. Looking at the composed Seoryeon, regardless of the attention focused on her, I hid the faintly emerging smile and asked again.

“I heard there is something called a rocking chair imported from the Western regions, have you heard of it?”

“It was offered as a tribute from a country in the Western regions, and I heard Her Majesty bestowed it to you, so it is in your bedchamber.”

This time, the answer came right away. It was Seoryeon again. Despite having a face that looked like everything was bothersome, her skin was darkly tanned as if she had played around quite well.

This was a kind of code. I, who said the garden in the Eastern Palace is pretty, and the child who wrote the letter saying she sat on a strange chair.

‘It seems she delivered the letter through Choeun.’

It was you, you little troublemaker.

I got up from my seat and stepped down from the platform. As I strode towards Seoryeon, the child’s eyes gradually widened. When I stopped in front of her, Seoryeon’s shoulders trembled.

…Did she think I was going to get angry?

I slyly looked around. The atmosphere had become scarily heavy. I felt like a mean person who made a little kid cry.

No, I’m not trying to scold you, just…

“Want to eat sweets?”

When I blurted out anything to get out of the situation, Seoryeon’s eyes became even rounder. Looking at that face, I momentarily forgot even this situation and slightly stretched the corners of my mouth.

Ah, what. Cute.

* * *

Seoryeon quietly looked at the princess offering sweets to her. It was an unexpected reaction, so even she, who was usually composed, was a bit flustered.

Seoryeon was a child like a leisurely flowing stream.

Whether it was due to her innate ability or family history, most of the Yemyeon family members were ambitious. That’s why Seoryeon’s docile, even quiet personality stood out remarkably.

Seoryeon’s parents didn’t reprimand the child’s black hair, but they worried about her easygoing personality. It had already been several years since Seoryeon ignored her parents’ words to take an interest in anything with one ear.

So it was very unusual for Seoryeon to come to the palace today.

Although it was a royal order, it was one of the few times Seoryeon didn’t hesitate and immediately finished preparing.

Seoryeon had been looking forward to this day quite a bit. Due to her innate personality, she didn’t focus completely, but it was true that she was excited.

Seoryeon, who received the sweets, slyly avoided the gaze of the brightly smiling Sanya.

Sanya had a slightly strange atmosphere. Things like asking incomprehensible questions or suddenly walking over and offering sweets. Still, little things like the sound of small footsteps or the gaze of the princess standing meeting the gaze of her sitting were really…

Seoryeon’s ears turned a bit red.

‘…She’s cute.’