A Small Visitor

“Are you sure it’s okay to just leave it like this?”

“You’ve already asked six times, Juran.”

“I think it would be better to call a physician, but you keep insisting, so I’m asking.”

“It’s fine. Just leave it like this.”

Juran repeated the same question several times, clearly displeased that Yi-seol was applying crushed herbs to the back of his hand. If merely mashing a few weeds and placing them on the swollen, red skin would heal it, what need was there for doctors? Even if herbs were to be crushed, it should be done as a physician ordered. It wasn’t that she distrusted Yi-seol, but Juran still felt uneasy.

“Here… yes, wrap it like that. Good, you’re doing well.”

He wrapped the herbs with a white cotton cloth and tied the ends. Although a dark green stain seeped through the fabric, it was acceptable. Yi-seol let out a long breath, as if the stinging pain had already begun to fade.

After returning from Tanyeongdang and removing his clothes to check, thankfully, there were no severely burned spots. On the contrary, his face had reddened from having to show his leg to Lady Ju, which led her to believe tea had splashed on his face as well, making it even more awkward to explain.

After the Emperor had left, Yi-seol had escaped Tanyeongdang as if fleeing. The wet clothes kept clinging to his leg, making walking uncomfortable. However, the sunlight soon dried the fabric, and by the time he arrived at Bi-eun Palace, only dark stains remained. The grayish fabric, now stained, looked old and worn.

Hwahong, unaware of the situation, saw Yi-seol and immediately scolded him playfully. “My Lord, if you wear such clothes, what happens to our pride as seamstresses?” But she shut her mouth tightly when she saw his expression. Yi-seol headed straight to his bedchamber with a face that looked as though he might collapse at any moment.

After barely a quarter-hour alone to calm his mind, when Yi-seol opened the bedchamber door again, he appeared as he usually did. With his typical calm tone, he told Yoo Kang to find and pick a certain herb from the rear garden. When Yoo Kang finally brought it, Yi-seol crushed it and applied it to the back of his hand. That was all. Neither the maids who had witnessed the incident in Tanyeongdang nor Lady Ju brought it up first.

“My Lord, shall I prepare the midday meal now?”

“……Do so.”

He had no appetite and didn’t want to eat, but there was no choice. If he skipped this meal, the situation would only worsen. The maids had been watching him nervously the whole way back; if he skipped a meal, they would surely worry that something terrible was happening.

Yi-seol always disliked making others uncomfortable with the burdens he carried. So he always pretended to be fine, reassuring everyone. It was a consideration for others, and also a way to lighten his own burden.

Thus, Yi-seol always grieved alone, where no one could see.

****

The wall surrounding the rear garden was barely visible, hidden by trees taller than itself. Among the long stretches of wooden fencing, there was one particularly dense spot. Yi-seol had always passed by it without much thought. But today, as he happened to walk by, he saw something crouching among the bushes, chin resting on its hand, peering intently at the ground. Something was fluttering.

If it had been dark, he might have been startled. Fortunately, the sun was bright, and before he could be surprised, Yi-seol realized what ‘it’ was.

“…Do you need help?”

Sticking out from the thick bushes was a person’s arm. It was very short, clearly not an adult’s. The arm, which had been struggling as if asking to be pulled out, stopped in surprise at Yi-seol’s voice. Then it started fluttering again. Understanding it as a plea for help, Yi-seol grabbed the arm with one hand and used the other to push aside the bushes to create space.

“…Ugh, phew… Hah, ptui!”

After a while, ‘it’ tumbled out of the bushes, face-planting on the dirt. Beside it, Yi-seol fell on his bottom. Ouch. Rubbing his backside, Yi-seol got up and helped the small figure still lying face-down to wriggle up.

“Are you okay?”

“…Ah…”

It was a child. Around seven? Or eight? Unable to guess the age from face and build alone, Yi-seol stopped guessing and brushed the dirt off the child’s clothes. It wasn’t just dry dust; the wet mud from the fall made it impossible to clean fully, so he gave up. The child just stood still, watching Yi-seol’s actions. Whether he was startled from being stuck in the bushes or from seeing Yi-seol, he couldn’t tell.

Yi-seol asked again.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…Yes, I’m fine. ……I’m sorry for causing trouble when we’ve just met.”

The boy’s polite speech suggested he was the son of a noble visiting the palace. His clothes and leather shoes were all of high quality. Otherwise, a child this young wouldn’t be walking around the palace grounds. His black hair was completely disheveled from being caught in the bushes, but unlike an ordinary child, his face was neat and his small actions carried dignity.

“What were you doing back there? Did you climb over the wall?”

“……There’s a big hole in the wall, so I was trying to come through it…”

The child, who had tried to hide his answer, glanced up at Yi-seol and confessed. Yi-seol hadn’t meant to scold him, but seeing the child shrink back, he knelt to meet his eyes. The child seemed a bit surprised to see Yi-seol’s knees touch the ground.

“So this isn’t your first time here.”

When Yi-seol asked with a smile, the child nodded twice, then shook his head and answered, “Yes.” Apparently, he had been scolded by adults for using nods instead of words.

“But why did you want to come in here? Were you lost?”

“It’s not that…”

“And how did you get into the palace? The person who came with you must be very worried.”

Whatever business brought him to the palace, they wouldn’t have let such a young child wander alone. Whether it was his parents or his attendants, they must be in a frenzy looking for him now. Knowing that feeling well, Yi-seol tried to call a maid from the front yard to find the child’s parents. But when he called out, “Is anyone there?” the startled child suddenly grabbed Yi-seol’s sleeve.

“Please wait!”

The child’s distinct, young voice stopped Yi-seol.

“……I am the eldest son of the Head of the Imperial Academy… My name is Hae Do-won. I came to the palace to study with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Then why are you here instead of studying?”

“Well…”

The child hesitated, choosing his words, and rubbed his forehead. Though he spoke maturely, he was unmistakably a child. Yi-seol understood why he couldn’t speak freely and couldn’t help but chuckle.

The child seemed startled by Yi-seol’s laugh. He quickly let go of Yi-seol’s sleeve and stepped back. His eyes, looking up at Yi-seol, held fear but also pure curiosity. His blinking eyes moved from Yi-seol’s face to the hair on his shoulders.

“You ran away secretly.”

“…….”

“Otherwise, is there another reason?”

“……You’re right.”

The child nodded, his face crumpled with guilt. Nothing could be more adorable than a child—perhaps less than ten—sighing like an old man who had seen the world. At the earth-shattering sigh, Yi-seol buried his face in his knees to stifle his laughter. Whether the child resented Yi-seol laughing without knowing his plight, he stomped the dirt with the toes of his leather shoes.

“Do you always come here to escape?”

“…I don’t always run away.”

“…….”

“Only sometimes, very rarely. It’s secluded and good for hiding… I didn’t know you were here. I apologize.”

The child probably didn’t know Yi-seol had become the master of this palace. He likely used to enter through the hole in the wall when the palace was empty, but this time he got caught in the bushes. The thickets surrounding the wall had grown denser since Yi-seol had been tending the garden, so it was possible the child, unaware of this, had gotten into trouble.

The child kept sneaking glances at Yi-seol, worried that he might tell someone about his escape. When Yi-seol gently interlaced his fingers with the child’s fidgeting hand, the boy, who had been staring at the ground, looked up at Yi-seol with round eyes.

“I won’t tell anyone, so don’t worry too much.”

The child’s soft hand was lightly held in his. As if he had heard something he shouldn’t, the child stared at Yi-seol in surprise. He opened his mouth as if to say something to the radiantly smiling Yi-seol, but soon closed it and only rolled his eyes.

Yi-seol liked children. Their soft cheeks, their short limbs swinging as they walked boldly, and their pure, honest emotions always caught his attention. In the palace of Yeon, there were hardly any children to see. Among the younger royal descendants, only two princesses were younger than Yi-seol, and even they had grown too much to be called children.

The child he met after so long was adorable. Even the idea of running away because he didn’t want to study was endearing. He was only about seven or eight. If Yi-seol himself had to come to the palace to study with the Crown Prince under his father, he would have wanted to run away too.

“Will you really not tell anyone?”

“I promise.”

“Then may I come here again next time?”

“You mean you’ll run away from studying again?”

Though Yi-seol asked with narrowed eyes and a stern voice, the child seemed to realize Yi-seol was teasing lightly. He shook his head with a bright, unblemished smile.

“I’ll come with permission.”

“This place is boring since there’s no child your age… Wouldn’t it be more fun to study with the Crown Prince?”

“I like the trees in this palace. I won’t be a bother; I’ll just sit and then leave. Please don’t chase me away.”

With such a sullen expression, asking not to be chased away, soft-hearted Yi-seol smoothed the child’s tangled hair and promised not to send him away.

The child soon retraced his steps and went out beyond the palace wall. Despite Yi-seol’s suggestion to go to the front yard and use the gate, the child said it was much faster this way and pushed through the bushes. After the child, who had struggled no less than when entering, finally got out, Yi-seol parted the bushes and found a truly large hole in the wall. It was just the right size for a child of that build to pass through.

As he came out of the bushes, he found a hair ribbon caught on a branch. The child’s hair had been disheveled; probably the ribbon had caught here and come undone while he was pushing through. Thinking he would return it when the child came again, Yi-seol took the red ribbon and went back inside the palace.