FIB Ch 2 part 2

PR by neji

From that day on, MoonWon’s life changed in an instant.

Her shabby home that seemed like it would collapse at any moment was suddenly changed to a handsome residence that came with servants.

“My Lady, we’ve finished.”

At the servant’s call, MoonWon gazed at the mirror. The tired, rough face she had become so used to seeing was gradually showing more life.

The days when she used to worry about tomorrow had disappeared as if it had all been an illusion. Her situation had completely changed.

‘The emperor’s intention.’

The one who approached her was the Deputy Secretary General, but the one who had painted the whole picture was the emperor.

The moment she saw the document with the Imperial decree, MoonWon could no longer go against the flow of events. She heard that Consort Yu had been delighted to hear the news, but MoonWon felt that this was not the case.

‘Consort Yu and the emperor’s intentions are different.’

If they were the same, then Consort Yu would have been the one to personally approach her.

MoonWon had never met the Consort, but from what she’d heard from her deceased mother, Consort Yu was not warmhearted nor trustworthy, just like MoonWon’s mother.

“The tea is cooling. Let me get you some more.”

“No, it’s alright.”

MoonWon shook her hand, and the servant lowered their head and exited the room.

Left alone, MoonWon let out a heavy sigh.

“Is this for the best?”

They had definitely escaped the life where they had to worry about surviving day by day. However, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that, instead of having overcome a crisis, she had only dug herself deeper into a hole. The people devotedly bringing in their luggage were servants by name, but they were actually people who were stationed here to watch them. 

She was able to save SoYoon, but she ended up turning her family into hostages in the process.

“Did you say that the Chief Commander was staying in the capital?”

“Yes, ma’am. I heard that he arrived last night under Imperial orders.”

She heard that her marriage partner, the Chief Commander, was stubbornly refusing to obey the Imperial decree and told the emperor that he would never marry her.

If this marriage didn’t happen, then everything MoonWon had wanted to protect would disappear.

Getting up from her seat, MoonWon rang the bell on the table. A servant entered the room.

“I must get ready to go out.”

“Where are you going?”

The path that she had chosen to take… She had already received the reward that came with it.

“I am going to see the Chief Commander.”

The servant’s eyes widened at MoonWon’s words, but MoonWon remained calm.

It was a bit ridiculous for a woman to go to the man before their marriage, but in this situation, she was the more eager party.

MoonWon swallowed her shaky breath and smiled.

* * *

Heon received the Imperial decree to marry the daughter of YongUn, whose family had been restored to their previous status. Heon refused to obey, and the Consort clung to the emperor, but the emperor still did not back down. 

After having left the Palace, Heon still did not plan on going through with the Imperial decree. There was only one thing that was making him consider changing his mind.

‘This marriage must never happen! You must take back the Imperial decree no matter what!’

Consort Yu’s reaction was strangely fierce as she protested this order. For some reason, Heon’s curiosity was piqued. This was different from a normal protest against having him marry the daughter of an abandoned noble.

“Huu.”

Leaning back against the seat of the carriage, Heon closed his eyes. He wanted to return to the bamboo grove this instant, but the emperor had ordered him to stay in the capital until his decree was carried out.

“Master, there is a guest waiting for you.”

Heon’s eyes narrowed at the news.

With the exception of the time when JaeHoon had barged in here without notice, Heon never let someone into his personal space. Because he absolutely hated interacting with other people outside, one of the first things Junghwan did was get to the location first and hold Heon’s spot.

“They said if they waited for you somewhere else, it would be difficult to meet with you, so they said they’d wait outside. However, that didn’t seem proper, so Yusun let them in. But they said they didn’t want to be a nuisance, so they insisted on waiting outside the receiving room.”

Hearing Junghwan’s report, Heon entered his residence with a stiff face. Just as he said, a lady with a hooded cape was standing quietly in the wide yard.

“Mm?”

He had definitely believed he’d never see this woman again.

She was no longer wearing the worn clothes that were easy to move in. They were replaced by wide silk skirts. Her ponytail tied up with a worn out piece of cloth had disappeared and was replaced with a braid.

Her unusually tranquil expression and the quiet aura were still the same, but it made everything feel more amiss.

“I came without permission. I apolo— … Ah!”

As soon as she saw Heon, MoonWon quickly lowered her head and caught her breath.

Unable to speak in such a confusing situation, MoonWon furrowed her brow.

Even if it were a coincidence, how could this be? The rude, terrifying man was Consort Yu’s son and the Chief Commander. She felt as if she had hit a wall before she’d even started. 

“I never expected we’d meet again.”

“If you planned on apologizing, then you shouldn’t have come here from the start. Isn’t that right?”

Junghwan trembled when he heard Heon’s terrifying reply.

Heon had always caught the eyes of many ladies. However, he shunned them and never trusted them. Therefore, when a woman showed interest and approached him, they’d end up running away, pierced by his cold words.

As if she’d been flustered by his speech as well, MoonWon flinched, but her normal expression soon returned. A calm voice left her lips.

“I am Ju MoonWon. I had something to discuss with you, so I inevitably made the trip here.”

Heon’s brow flinched when he saw that she wasn’t intimidated by him. He knew that she wasn’t the type of person to let the other have the last word, but now that they were face to face like this, he felt even more uncomfortable.

There was no way a woman could be so calm if she hadn’t known everything beforehand.

“Did you already know what would happen that day?”

“Excuse me?”

She had gone outside because she had heard a shrill voice. MoonWon was about to tell him this was all a misunderstanding, but Heon spoke up first.

“I have nothing to say to you. Go back.”

He cut her off before she could make an attempt to speak with him. As expected, there was no way a man who refused an Imperial decree would change his mind just because of her words.

However, with no other choice, this was the best MoonWon could do.

“I won’t take long. Just a little bit of your time is enough for me, so I would like to speak with you.”

“It seems that young ladies these days are bold enough to personally visit a man who may or may not be their marriage partner. Either that or you just don’t think at all.”

Whenever she tossed him one, he’d return with ten. She didn’t know how the most difficult man she’d met in her life ended up becoming her fiancé.

“If there is something you must take care of first, then I will wait.”

“What if I don’t give you an opportunity at all?”

“Then I will still wait. That’s all I can do.”

He knew she wasn’t easy when they first met, but the more they interacted, the more he realized how stubborn she was. The person who’d be disappointed was her, and in her position, she should lower herself and ask for mercy. But instead, she was telling him that she’d wait and endure. For some reason, this bothered Heon.

Either way, she’s a woman who will return to the Crown Prince. Even though she had the Crown Prince, she still came to see him. This was unbelievable.

“Do you know that the sight of you just makes me angrier?”

Anxiously enduring this treatment, MoonWon’s body flinched and trembled. Seeing her reaction, Heon’s brows furrowed.

Although she acted strong, she had transformed back into a weak maiden. This was such a familiar sight that Heon’s deep-rooted resentment began to twist inside his chest once again.

The more he saw her, the more she reminded him of his mother.

He wanted to kick her as soon as possible, but he didn’t think this woman would leave that easily.

“Come in.”

It would be better to make it so that the word ‘marriage’ never left her lips. Either way, this stubborn woman was no different from his mother.

Taking his eyes off of MoonWon, Heon began to walk up the steps.

* * *

Without offering her a seat, Heon sat in his own chair. Glancing at a chair, MoonWon remained standing upright in front of him. Heon’s eyes darkened when he saw that she wasn’t wavering at all.

“I’ll say this again, but I have nothing to say to you. I told His Majesty that I cannot obey his Imperial decree, and I plan on resisting it until the end. There’s no downside for me not to marry, is there?”

Heon’s eyes traveled up and down MoonWon’s body. Seeing how she looked so different from the first time they’d met, Heon gave her a crooked smile.

“But it seems that you’ve already been compensated for a wedding that has not yet happened.”

MoonWon slightly bit her lip at Heon’s ridicule. She had lowered herself in order to have a conversation with him, but Heon didn’t seem intent on doing that at all.

“First of all, our meeting that day was pure coincidence. I only realized that you were the Chief Commander after seeing you today.”

“But if you did know, there’s no way you’d tell me, right?”

Although she knew why he came to such a misunderstanding, she couldn’t help but feel anxious about the turn this conversation was taking.

What should she say? Should she cling to him as she told him that the lives of her family depended on this marriage?

But knowing him, if she begged him to save them, he would refuse as swiftly as the sharp blade of a knife. As she brooded over this problem, a thought suddenly drifted through her head. Her eyes narrowed.

Although she felt that this was a pathetic, cowardly method, it was the only thing she could do.

“I don’t deny the fact that I’ve already been compensated for this marriage. However… I would like you to repay the debt you owe me from that time.”

Heon scoffed at the unexpected mention of the debt. However, she had nothing else she could say to convince Heon. Now that she had to protect what she had been given, she threw out the words that had popped into her head.

‘Of course they didn’t choose just any fool to carry out their nonsense.’

Not only was she stubborn, but she wasn’t averse to using shallow tricks. The more he interacted with MoonWon, the more similarities he saw between her and Consort Yu. However, it was their mistake to choose someone who was just like Consort Yu.

Although he didn’t know which noble family was using her right now, Heon knew that the emperor was the one who was behind it all.

Even if he took her now, this woman was destined to be in the arms of the Crown Prince. He wasn’t going to do what the emperor wanted. He didn’t plan on taking the same path as his father did.

“There’s no need to ruin my whole life over a debt. Isn’t this too high of a price for saving my life just once?”

Before she could elaborate, the part she had been dreading had already come to the surface. The debt could only go so far. To him, this marriage was also a sacrifice on his end.

All the thoughts in her head settled down, and MoonWon closed her eyes.

“I know what my mother did to you.”

Instead of feeling embarrassed for shattering a family to pieces, her mother was proud of what she had done and bragged that she was the one who had raised the Ju family to prominence.

“I know it’s too late. I know that coming here like this will not calm your anger. But I still beg of you…”

The murderous aura coming out of Heon’s body intensified with every word MoonWon spoke.

How could the daughter of that damned Ju family know anything about his rage?

“You’re saying you’re sorry, but you still want my help? Such shamelessness… I guess you are your mother’s daughter.”

“……”

MoonWon lowered her eyes at Heon’s sneer. If they didn’t have any connection to each other, it would have been better. There was no cursed fate such as this. MoonWon went on her knees before Heon.

“If you marry me, I’ll live as if I’m dead. You won’t even notice I’m there, so please help me just this once.”

Heon’s eyebrow twitched.

The more she spoke, the more disgusted he felt.

“Why must I fight like this for a marriage I do not want? I have no desire to ruin a family that has already collapsed.”

“Chief Commander.”

“Get lost. I have no interest in the Ju family.”

MoonWon closed her eyes as she heard his icy reply. She didn’t think she’d gain much from such a short conversation, but this was worse than she’d expected.

Heon stood up and called for a servant. The man who was standing by entered the room. When Heon gestured with his hand to take her away, the man lowered his head to MoonWon.

How could she marry a man who said he’d never marry her? The path she took to save SoYoon was a lot thornier than she’d thought.

The moment MoonWon helplessly opened the door, Heon heard a familiar sound. It was a sound that he shouldn’t have heard in a place like this. When MoonWon paused after hearing it, Heon instantly approached her and wrapped his arm around her hips as he pulled her to his chest.

Startled by the sudden force pushing her back, MoonWon was shocked to see that an arrow was lodged in the spot where she had been standing moments before.

“My Lord!”

“Catch them!”

Before Heon finished barking out his order, a group of men flew towards the direction of the arrow. After looking at the sharp arrow sticking out from the floor, he looked at MoonWon who was pulled against his body.

“Ah!”

If he had been a moment too late, the arrow would have pierced through her heart.

Was this Consort Yu’s doing? Or was this one of MoonWon’s tricks?

If she acted scared and clung to him, Heon was prepared to push her away. However, the moment his arm loosened around her, she scrambled to her feet.

“SoYoon! Father!”

Without so much as a thank you to Heon, MoonWon burst out through the door.

Her pale face and her slightly trembling body in his arms… It evoked a strange feeling in Heon.

When Heon saw her making a mad dash towards the front gate, his brows furrowed.

“My Lord, the man who shot the arrow is dead, but we’ve captured the two who were ready to attack the lady outside.”

The men glared at Heon as they were dragged over to him. It didn’t matter who ordered them to attack.

Unfortunately, there was only one person who would dare do something like this in his presence. Under normal circumstances, after taking care of these two, he would have overlooked it.

“Damn it.”

It wouldn’t matter if he just ignored her. She was a shameless woman who didn’t hide her true motives as she asked him to save her. Heon’s eyes stared at the door she had disappeared through.

“Junghwan.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“There’s a place I need to go. Take care of this until I return.”

“What? M-My Lord!”

Junghwan shouted out at Heon as he walked away, but Heon didn’t answer and merely got on the horse another servant had prepared for him.

Junghwan frowned at Heon’s abnormal behavior.

He felt that he’d seen something different in Heon, who was never prone to any change. Was Heon’s frozen life slowly changing?

Junghwan’s eyes flashed with excitement as he stared at the spot where Heon had disappeared.

As she frantically ran, MoonWon’s legs tangled up in her skirts, and she stumbled to the ground. Her knees were bleeding, but she staggered as she got up and ripped the hem of her skirts.

She loosened her elegantly coiffed hair and took out all the splendid ornaments. She took the strips of cloth from her skirts and used them to tie her hair up.

Thinking that her conversation with the Chief Commander would drag on, she had made the mistake of sending back her carriage. She had thought that the distance was short enough for her to walk back, but why did it feel so far away now?

“Father.”

She didn’t know why she was so short-sighted.

She thought that everything would be over the moment she decided to follow the Imperial decree. How narrow-minded could she be?! To some, this marriage would be welcome news. But to others, it was something that needed to be stopped.

Her misjudgement had put her whole family in danger once again. She didn’t have the courage to go through it again.

“Ah!”

Startled by the horse that had suddenly appeared beside her, MoonWon felt herself being lifted off the ground and put on top of the horse. MoonWon’s body began to tremble when her eyes met the man’s cold ones.

“Where is it?”

“What?”

“Weren’t you on your way home?”

Momentarily shocked by Heon’s cold gaze, MoonWon quickly returned to her senses. Now wasn’t the time to be shocked by the man’s fierce eyes.

“That way!”

Heon guided the horse in the direction she taught him.There were many people, but Heon avoided them with ease. The horse seemed to act as his arms and legs. When she saw her seemingly faraway house with her own eyes, the remaining blood drained from her face. She saw smoke rising from her house.

“Please stop here!”

When she was right in front of the residence, MoonWon slipped off the horse without Heon’s help and began to run. Her eyes were anxious as she left Heon without giving him her thanks.

“Father! Yuhwa!”

Judging from the smoke in the house, this wasn’t an ordinary fire. As she slipped through the line of soldiers, MoonWon burst through the doors and entered inside. 

“SoYoon!”

“My Lady.”

“What about Father? What about the others?”

“My Lady, calm down!”

MoonWon grabbed the servant in bewilderment. She urged the servant to speak with a pale face.

“Assassins did intrude, but no one was hurt.”

MoonWon did not relax at the servant’s words. Were they lying to calm her down? Letting go of the servant’s arm, MoonWon turned to start making her way to YongUn’s room.

Suddenly, she heard Yuhwa making a fuss as she approached MoonWon.

“My Lady.”

“Yuhwa!”

After discovering Yuhwa, MoonWon ran over to her. Yuhwa must have been very shocked because her hand was ice cold as it grasped MoonWon’s. Yuhwa wrapped her hand around hers as if to soothe her.

“It’s alright. Nothing happened.”

“But the assassins!”

“Nobody was hurt.”

“……”

“The master and SoYoon are all safe. It’s alright.”

“Are you all really alright?”

“Everyone’s fine.”

After hearing Yuhwa’s reassurance one more time, MoonWon collapsed to the ground. MoonWon earnestly thanked the god whom she had searched multiple times today.

As if all of her fears had poured over her at once, MoonWon’s eyes began to fill with tears. As she tried to calm down and wipe them away, she burrowed deeper into Yuhwa’s embrace and burst into tears.

“I really thought something bad had happened. I thought the same thing would happen again.”

Yuhwa gently stroked MoonWon’s back.

After seeing MoonWon burst into tears with Yuhwa, Heon looked around with calm eyes. When a soldier approached him, asking who he was, Heon showed him his Chief Commander’s badge. Then he walked over to the captured assassins.

“Do you want to live?”

The assassin lowered his head at Heon’s question. Seeing this, the edge of Heon’s lips curled up.

“Even if you keep your mouths shut, I’m sure your master isn’t the type of person to save your lives. I can’t tell if you’re foolish or pathetic.”

The assassin flinched. As if he were no longer interested in them, Heon turned his eyes back to MoonWon.

Consort Yu wasn’t the type of person to make such a fuss just because of his marriage.

Heon’s eyes traveled from the assassin to the crying MoonWon.

A woman’s cries were just as annoying as the sound of her laughter. She didn’t even have the power to protect her own family, but she acted all high and mighty. In Heon’s eyes, she was merely a fool.

“S-Save us.”

Swallowing her tears, MoonWon’s eyes flashed to Heon.

Even though she allied herself with the Deputy Secretary General, nothing had changed. At this rate, everyone was going to die before the wedding.

“My Lady!”

She didn’t know where this strength came from. Her mind was completely blank. All she could see was the man standing in front of her right now.

Bursting out of Yuhwa’s arms, MoonWon grabbed Heon’s leg.

“Please show us mercy just this once. Please… I’m begging you!”

Heon calmly looked down at the woman grabbing onto his leg. He was tired and annoyed, and he didn’t have the motivation to fulfill her request.

However, the moment the assassins came, all Heon could think about was Consort Yu.

There was definitely something going on here. Something that neither he nor MoonWon knew. Although he didn’t like the fact that she was just like Consort Yu, seeing how the Consort was so fixated on this marriage, Heon felt that this might be a rare opportunity.

An opportunity to slowly wring the Consort’s neck.

An opportunity to grasp the Ju family, who had cursed his own family, and completely shatter them.

No matter how this had come to be, it was an opportunity to pay back all the suffering his family had received.

“All you’re going to do is breathe?”

Still holding onto Heon’s leg, MoonWon lifted her head. She could feel the rage in his cold, sharp eyes. One end of his lips had curled up. Seeing this sneer, MoonWon almost lost her breath, but she bit her lips and endured.

“It might be fun to land a blow on those who are against our marriage. However, this won’t be an easy path to take.”

“……”

“Do you still want to try?”

Heon stretched out a hand to MoonWon.

The maiden was trying to marry in order to live, and, laughably, the man was only doing so in order to put her in danger.

If this was truly a marriage proposal, then it was a gruesome one.

“My Lady!”

MoonWon felt like she heard Yuhwa’s voice, but she never took her eyes off of Heon.

A corner of her heart was screaming that she mustn’t grab his hand, but by the time she realized it, she was already holding it.

* * *

“Let me go!”

“Your Highness! You mustn’t do this, Your Highness!”

Escaping the eunuch trying to hold him back, JaeHoon entered the emperor’s palace.

The Chief Commander, who had refused to obey the Imperial decree, had changed his mind. Because commoners and nobles alike would not be able to marry until half a year had passed after the Crown Prince’s own royal marriage, the Chief Commander’s wedding was going to take place as soon as possible.

He had trusted that Heon would refuse this marriage until the very end because he hated women so much. However, this news came as a shock, and JaeHoon’s mind was numb.

“Inform His Majesty of my arrival!”

This was the first time he’d done something like this in his life. And it may be the last.

He could still so clearly see MoonWon’s figure as she gathered her hands together in prayer in front of the pagoda. His future with MoonWon was so close he could almost touch it.

Just that one time, he had lost her. But JaeHoon had never given up.

“Your Highness, you mustn’t do this. Please go back.”

The Head Eunuch standing in front of the emperor’s bedchamber lowered his head. JaeHoon’s eyes blazed with anger as he glared at the eunuch. He was SeoMoon’s Crown Prince, and he was going to be the emperor in the future. As the sovereign’s son, how was it that he could not obtain the one woman he loved?

“Move!”

“The moment you open that door, you will lose everything.”

JaeHoon’s body stiffened when he heard the emperor’s voice through the door. The Head Eunuch and the other eunuchs quickly lowered their heads towards the bedchamber.

“Father Emperor!”

“The moment you open that door and make your presence known to me, you will be able to obtain what you wish. However, you will have to give up everything else.”

The emperor’s voice pushed down on JaeHoon. With trembling eyes, he stared at the closed door.

If he just opened this door, MoonWon would become his again.

However, he’d have to let go of everything he had.

“I…”

MoonWon was marrying Lee Heon.

It was an Imperial decree. Even though he knew that there was nothing he could do, he couldn’t accept it.

If he could just open that door in front of him, his greatest wish would be fulfilled. JaeHoon grasped the door and hesitated.

“Your Highness.”

His hand trembled as much as his eyes.

He couldn’t hear the eunuch calling him.

If he only opened this door.

Just this door.

He could not imagine a future where he was not the Crown Prince. If he wasn’t the Crown Prince, what else could he do? If MoonWon did not accept him, and if he wasn’t the Crown Prince, what would become of him?

JaeHoon’s hand let go of the door.

“…I’ll be going back now.”

His stubborn behavior had disappeared.

Without receiving the Head Eunuch’s bow, JaeHoon turned around. He had come to request a little of the emperor’s mercy, but now that was gone as well.

A dark shadow cast over his eyes.

Three and a half months later, the wedding ceremony of Chief Commander Lee Heon and Lord Ju YongUn’s daughter, MoonWon, took place.