FIB Ch 12 part 2

PR by neji

Two days later, Heon began to move his troops towards the cities of Yeon.

When a woman told her she’d be allowed to walk around on her own, MoonWon finally left her bedchamber. The cold wind brushed against her skin, causing her to flinch.

With some guidance from the woman Heon had selected to serve her, she walked around the camp.

“Huu.”

She warmed her cold hands with her breath as she looked around cautiously. Other than the surrounding soldiers of SeoMoon, the village didn’t seem any different from before.

“Aigoo, my lady! You’ve come out?”

After having discovered her, the village head ran over to her. Unlike before, he was fawning over her. His strange behavior caused her to lower her head in discomfort.

“Please don’t act like this. I heard that the general from SeoMoon took you in. And out of consideration for you, the village has been left unharmed. Thank you so much, my lady.”

MoonWon had heard the soldiers chasing her say that if they did not fill the quota given by the second prince, they’d be in big trouble. If it hadn’t been for Heon, she would have been one of the many who were taken to the second prince. His thoughtfulness did not only extend towards MoonWon but to the people of the village where she had been living.

After finishing her conversation with the grateful village head, MoonWon let out a sigh as she made her way to where Yeori was staying. Before her hand could even touch the door, it opened and a woman came out and lowered her head.

“My lady, the treatment has not ended yet, so I have come out instead. Please come this way.”

“What do you mean by ‘treatment’?”

The woman smiled at MoonWon’s question. She guided MoonWon into the room. After walking a bit, she saw Yeori with a doctor.

“Yeori! What is… Are you hurt? Or did someone harm you? Why?”

“Mistress, I’m fine.”

Although Yeori tried to soothe MoonWon, MoonWon turned to the doctor and urged him to give her an answer. The doctor smiled and tried to console her frantic nerves.

“The Chief Commander told me to take a look at her legs since it seemed that they weren’t in good condition. There is no need to worry.”

Hearing this, MoonWon looked back at Yeori. As if to give her some peace of mind, Yeori nodded in agreement.

“The Master took Hong-yeom with him and told us not to worry. Hong-yeom told me to let you know that he wanted to go with him and not to worry about him. And they told me that my legs are fine now.”

“Really?”

Shocked, MoonWon glanced at the doctor. The doctor stroked his short beard and nodded.

“She will have to continue to receive treatment, but they will still be fine. But her chi is still weak, so I will prescribe her some medicine. Once she’s taken it, she should be able to return to the way she was.”

MoonWon’s eyes glistened at the unexpected news. Whenever she saw how uncomfortable Yeori was due to her ailing body, it had always pained MoonWon’s heart.

The thing she had been unable to achieve in the past few years was completed by Heon as soon as she met him. No matter how much time had passed, she still depended on Heon.

However, if Yeori could be healed, she could endure this for a little longer.

“Then I’ll leave her in your care.”

“They told me that I can stay with you starting today, Mistress. I’ll come to you soon.”

As if the good news had lifted her spirits, Yeori’s face was bright. When MoonWon went back outside, a large man was blocking her way.

“So you are the Chief Commander’s wife.”

The man spoke in a disrespectful tone right off the bat. MoonWon bit her lips. She didn’t know what kind of situation this was and how she should behave, but she knew who this man was.

JaeHoon’s younger brother. A man who was currently rising to prominence. The second prince.

However, the foremost thought in her head was that this chaotic man was someone who did not distinguish between men and women.

“Who are you, sir?”

“If you had married JaeHoon-hyung-nim, I would have had to call you sister-in-law. I am SeoMoon’s second prince. I will become the next emperor.”

His last remark sounded very flippant to her ears. She didn’t like interacting with this man. However, the second prince showed no sign of leaving.

“I am giving the Chief Commander a lot of help.”

He had successfully occupied a village in Yeon, but that village was only full of old or middle-aged people. He had wanted to take a few children with him, but Heon had warned him against it. Therefore, he was dissatisfied and thirsty for pleasure.

The second prince’s eyes quickly looked her up and down. MoonWon began to tremble under his gaze.

“I have prepared a small banquet in honor of the Chief Commander. What do you think? Would you like to go with me and take a look?”

“I’m fine, Your Highness. It is a banquet prepared by Your Highness, so my humble eyes do not have to see it in order to know that it will be magnificent.”

“Don’t be like that…”

The moment the second prince stretched out his hand towards MoonWon, someone approached them and grabbed it.

The hand was covered in blood and wounds. The stench of blood tickled their noses and made them catch their breaths.

His face was covered in blood, and a drop fell to the ground.

“I believe I told you to behave yourself, Your Highness.”

“Ch-Chief Commander. About this… that is…”

“It is not Your Highness who is helping me. I am the one who chose you.”

The Heon who had always lowered his head to the second prince was now baring his teeth as he glared at him. The second prince narrowed his eyes in disbelief. But the following words proved to him that this was his reality.

“I have other options. So be obedient and go back.”

“Y-You dare!”

“If you don’t want to do that, why don’t you show me the prestige of a royal prince in all its glory? But do you think it will be applicable in this situation?”

Although he was filled with rage from head to toe, the second prince knew that he could not ignore Heon’s threat.

If he let go of Heon’s reins here, then it wouldn’t be JaeHoon who would collapse first. It could be himself. He grit his teeth at Heon’s disrespectful behavior.

After seeing the second prince shake with rage, Heon grabbed MoonWon’s hand. She didn’t ask him where he was taking her and merely let him drag her away.

* * *

Whenever he used to drag her away like this, he’d always end up angry and raise his voice as he told MoonWon not to do something.

“Do not go near the second prince. He uses his title as a royal prince to get whatever he desires.”

Now he did not raise his voice or get angry. He no longer looked at her with his cold gaze. Instead, he spoke in a calm voice as he turned his back to her and he wiped away the blood on his face.

“Preparations will take a few days, so avoid him until then. I’ll tie up any loose ends, so…”

“Why do you always fail to take care of yourself?”

She saw Heon’s blood flowing from his wounds, and she couldn’t look away.

Now that their relationship was over, she could have just looked the other way…

Even though she knew she had no right, she couldn’t help but worry when she saw Heon in such a state.

“Why do you continue to make enemies you don’t need?”

When she saw how he had charged after everyone around him in order to protect her, she felt anxious and afraid, so she left. She was afraid of watching him disappear as he continued to make enemies.

But nothing had changed.

“I am grateful for your thoughtfulness, but I could have sufficiently taken care of that situation on my own.”

Whenever she met him like this, she felt pained and overwhelmed.

But instead of avoiding her, he never seemed to leave her sight.

It might have been better if he’d hated her when they reunited.

Her heart sank in her chest.

“Thank you for helping Yeori. I’m sorry to say this, but Hong-yeom…”

“I’m tired of enduring everything with you gone.”

Sometimes, whenever she saw Heon, she felt strange.

As if the flow of time had stopped.

Trapped in his frozen world, MoonWon couldn’t do anything.

“I’ve never dissolved our marriage.”

Bristling from Heon’s words, MoonWon was about to make a rebuttal when Heon spoke up first.

“Even though I know I’m forcing it, that’s the only thing I can hold on to.”

Even though she knew she should run away, she was frozen to her spot.

What should she do?

What should she say?

“You are not the type of person who holds any lingering affection once you end a relationship. I know that.”

She knew she should cut him off, but she couldn’t. Before she could grab him and ask him to stop, he finished their conversation with a declaration.

“I know it might not be half the efforts you put towards me, but I’m going to try that much harder.”

The firmly latched door of her heart began to shake.

* * *

“Damned bastard!”

He didn’t even want to drink the liquor that the maiden was pouring him. The second prince threw the liquor cup across the room in a fit of rage. His body was shaking with anger.

The dog he had raised dared to bare its teeth at him.

He was burning with the desire to kill him right this instant, but he still needed Lee Heon’s support.

“Your Highness!”

“Didn’t I say no one was allowed to enter?!”

Just thinking about what had happened filled him with rage, and the second prince began to grow even more violent. The eunuch looked at the mess of a room and gasped. He managed to avoid another cup that was thrown at him and approached the second prince.

“Are you also looking down on me and ignoring my order?”

“Not at all, Your Highness! It’s just that we’ve received reinforcements from the duke, and the duke’s daughter, SoHee, has arrived at the campsite.”

The second prince’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the duke.

When his expression softened somewhat, the eunuch held out the letter in his hand.

“And the duke has sent a letter to you.”

The second prince hurriedly opened the letter and began to read. A smile stretched across his lips.

The heavens had finally come to his aid. The duke had bowed when the impudent Lee Heon had bared his teeth, but now he was reaching out to the second prince for a possible alliance.

“Bring the duke’s daughter to me.”

The second prince set the letter on fire with a satisfied smile.

* * *

Yeori had returned, but Hong-yeom did not.

On a particularly cold day, she saw Hong-yeom and asked him if he was alright. He merely told her not to worry and that he’d be serving the Chief Commander for the time being as he bid her farewell.

Heon wasn’t the type of person to harass Hong-yeom, but MoonWon couldn’t help but worry.

“Let’s go back after walking a little more.”

When the wind blew, Yeori tried to convince MoonWon to return. MoonWon nodded at her and turned around to head back to her room. However, she saw someone that made her stop in her tracks.

“Mm?”

Heon wasn’t looking at her, and she saw a familiar woman she had seen once before standing by his side. She couldn’t remember her name, but she knew that the woman was the duke’s daughter.

The woman tried to catch Heon’s attention as she grasped her skirts, following Heon around with quick steps. She was smiling.

“I’ve been seeing her around lately.”

“Really?”

“The rumors say that she’s… engaged to be married to the Master.”

A fierce ripple traveled through her tranquil heart when she heard the unexpected remark. She clenched her fists in an attempt to calm down, but her trembling heart would not settle.

Her heart seemed to calm when she got a look at Heon’s face.

“It probably isn’t an engagement.”

“Pardon?”

The Heon that MoonWon knew was not one to lie. And he definitely wasn’t the type of person to lie to her when there was nothing to gain. 

The whispers of a marriage were merely rumors. They were definitely not coming from Heon.

As Heon continued to walk away, the woman gradually gave up and let out a strained breath.

Suddenly, their eyes met.

“I didn’t want to get involved in this…”

“Mistress, what do you mean by…”

Her slender physique seemed to bring out a man’s protective instinct. Her face was beautiful and would catch anyone’s eyes. She seemed so different from MoonWon.

She seemed to contain all the light that MoonWon did not have. But rather than feeling envious, MoonWon wanted to avoid her.

“Hello. We met at the Palace before. My name is Han SoHee.”

“Hello.”

“I never thought we’d meet again like this. Aren’t the ways of the world so mysterious?”

“Yes, they are.”

SoHee’s eyes were bright, but her smile was stiff.

MoonWon had seen that smile before. She couldn’t remember who it was, but her expression hardened when she saw it.

She didn’t want to think about it, but she could see the face of the Consort as SoHee smiled at her.

“My marriage to the Chief Commander is being prepared. Once this war is over, we will be married.”

“Is that so?”

SoHee’s brow twitched at MoonWon’s calm response. She was unhappy to see her in a place like this, but she was even more annoyed by her confident answer.

She needed to make Heon waver, but he was unshakeable. Instead, the second prince seemed to be making advances on her.

With every passing day, the probability of being married off to the second prince was increasing, and it made her feel nervous and scared.

“But wasn’t your marriage to him dissolved? Why are you in a place like this and making the Chief Commander’s heart waver, my lady?”

“……”

“You don’t even have a family to support you anymore.”

Her words were a lot more aggressive than the first time they’d met. MoonWon was angered by her cruel and venomous words, but she knew why SoHee was acting this way. So instead of confronting her, she decided to avoid her.

“I never had a family supporting me from the beginning.”

Although MoonWon knew she had a difficult life, she realized that Heon was also having a hard time. It seemed that people like SoHee were always around him.

After leaving Heon, MoonWon managed to get back up on her feet. But what about him? No matter how much she tried to avoid him, she kept seeing the emptiness within him.

“If it isn’t a marriage that the both of you want, then please reconsider.”

“I’m saying this in case you don’t want it, my lady. We’ve already made all the preparations for it, and we have the potential to get better. I have the confidence to work harder than you ever did.”

“Please do not confuse selfishness with love.”

SoHee was at a loss for words when she heard MoonWon’s unexpected warning. Whenever she tried to provoke MoonWon, she’d react calmly and directly, so it made SoHee feel even more nervous.

This woman didn’t have anything to her name, so why was she so confident?

“Are you trying to lecture me?”

“……”

“Don’t you think it’s wrong to be blocking his way like this? I don’t know why you think you can speak to me like this, but this isn’t something that can be stopped by your words. You’re not so foolish as to believe something like that, are you?”

If Heon had someone he loved by his side, MoonWon would not have been kept here like this. However, Heon had not found closure in his heart, and he would not let go of MoonWon’s hand.

“Both you and I do not have a right to own or claim someone else’s heart. I just ask that you take care of yourself and those around you as much as you desire him.”

“What?”

“The reality of losing everything is a lot more unbearable than you think.”

As MoonWon continued to talk, anger began to bubble up within SoHee. Did this woman think that her powerful family would fall just like the weak attendant’s family? Even though she had nothing to her name, she was trying to place a poisonous curse on her family.

“How dare you…”

Unable to endure her rage, SoHee raised her hand. However, before her palm landed on MoonWon’s cheek, MoonWon grabbed her wrist.

“Aah!”

“I have not done anything to deserve to be hit. Therefore, there is no need for me to take it. Since both you and I are at fault for our conversation today, why don’t we just let bygones be bygones?”

MoonWon let go of SoHee’s wrist and turned around as she began to head back to her room.

Feeling as if MoonWon was looking down on her, SoHee’s body began to shake with anger.

* * *

Laying down in her bed, MoonWon eventually sat up. She silently gazed at Heon, who was sitting on a chair with his back to the window. 

Even though she told him to leave, he came into her room and fell asleep on the chair. She told him to go back to his room and rest comfortably, but he was a stubborn man of few words. 

‘What should I do?’

According to the servant attending to her, they were to tie up any loose ends within the week and prepare to move on to a different location. She didn’t want to leave the village she had lived in for the past six months, but Hong-yeom had not yet returned, and she could not covertly escape the outpost.

She cautiously got off the bed so as to not wake Heon up. She carefully put on her cape that had been next to her and drew nearer to Heon.

‘What am I to do about you?’

Although she knew that they were over, the small selfish desire would not loosen its grasp on her heart. She had suppressed her feelings with all she had so that SoHee would not notice them, but like black ink dripping into a clear stream, MoonWon’s heart began to waver.

MoonWon couldn’t stop her hand from stretching out towards Heon. It froze in midair.

‘What are we… supposed to do now?’

As one thought led to another, MoonWon’s mind began to race.

Heon came to MoonWon’s room and ate a meal and drank some tea once a day. Although she didn’t receive him with open arms, he didn’t say a word and spent time with MoonWon as if he wasn’t bothered by her reaction.

Because they continued to see each other like this, MoonWon found it harder and harder to ignore him.

MoonWon took off her cape and draped it over Heon’s body. The cold nights of Yeon could not be endured with mental fortitude alone.

‘It is already too late for you and me to return to the way things were.’

If they went back, what would be different? She would still be alone, and Heon would still be sharpening his sword against the Consort and JaeHoon.

If she made the wrong decision because of a moment’s hesitation, it would be catastrophic.

Having made up her mind, MoonWon turned around. However, before she could take a step towards her bed, a hand snatched her back.

“Ah…”

The eyes she had believed to be asleep were now staring calmly at her.

If only she could not see… If only she hadn’t seen the desperation in those eyes, she would not have felt so conflicted.

“I can’t fall asleep if you are here. Please go back.”

MoonWon hid her truth behind cruel words as she tried to pry Heon’s hands off of her. However, he pulled her towards him and brought her into his arms.

When she felt his warmth swallow the chilly air of Yeon, MoonWon gasped. She needed to push him away, but she was powerless against his racing heartbeats.

“Huu.”

She could feel the incredible pain in his strained sigh.

However, MoonWon couldn’t help him. Just as SoHee had said, MoonWon couldn’t do anything to help him in any way.

“Let’s stay like this for a little bit.”

“Let me go.”

“I can’t hear you.”

Ignoring her request, Heon buried his head against her slender shoulder. With each successive breath, MoonWon’s heart trembled, but she did her best to ignore her reality.

She was and always would be a stumbling block for this man. Even though years had passed, nothing had gotten any better. Instead of wrapping her arms around his back, they remained limp at her side.

* * *

That night, and the following night, Heon fell asleep in the same chair inside her room.

Like that, a week passed by. As their departure drew near, Heon grew busy with preparations, and MoonWon was busy secretly preparing for her escape as well. 

Hong-yeom had disappeared, and she knew she shouldn’t be doing this when Yeori was currently in the middle of receiving treatment for her leg, but she could no longer stay here.

“Huu.”

She had already planned which path she’d take, and the darkness of the night would come to her aid. All she had to do was make her move.

She could not stay by Heon’s side any longer.

“I need to leave.”

Even though time had passed, nothing had changed. Heon’s heart was still pining for MoonWon, and he would still wade through any danger for her sake. Even though enough time had passed for him to begin hating her, Heon continued to spend his days searching for her.

And even though nothing had changed, they still crossed paths.

“What was done once can always be done again.”

MoonWon tried to push away the memory of Heon collapsing after having shed bloody tears. If she left this time, Heon would let her go completely. And it would be better for her to leave alone instead of bringing Hong-yeom and Yeori with her. She didn’t want them to suffer anymore.

Having made up her mind, MoonWon quietly exited the room. She tiptoed around the soldiers and made her escape.

“My lady?”

When MoonWon had almost made it out of the camp, a village maiden approached her. She was in charge of serving MoonWon her dinners when Yeori was away receiving treatment.

“If you feel any discomfort, you can always tell me. You do not have to leave your room like this and…”

The woman glanced at the baggage that was in MoonWon’s hand and froze. MoonWon tried to remain calm, but the tension did not leave the air. The woman took a step back and was just about to scream, but MoonWon moved faster.

“Over here… Ugh!”

“I’m sorry.”

MoonWon dragged the unconscious woman to a place where she would not be discovered and wiped away the sweat on her brow. She only had about four hours to make an escape. She avoided the soldiers standing guard and made her way over the wall. She didn’t look back. She only looked forward and ran with all her might.

* * *

Heon gazed at MoonWon as she opened her mouth in shock. A bitter taste spread throughout his mouth.

When MoonWon neither approached him nor avoided him, Heon began to feel anxious. And that anxiety had become a reality when he received the report that MoonWon had disappeared.

“How?”

Heon did not listen to his subordinates who claimed that MoonWon had probably gone towards Yeon. Instead, he began to make his way towards SeoMoon.

“Everyone told me that you would be heading for Yeon’s capital.”

In the past, Heon would have followed everyone’s advice.

However, he had been chasing MoonWon for three years. The MoonWon he knew would be a step ahead of everyone else. He was filled with rage and apprehension, but he quickly recovered his senses and got on his horse.

Thankfully, the heavens had not completely forsaken him. He was now standing in front of MoonWon.

“Let’s go back.”

When she heard this, MoonWon took a step back. Heon’s brow twitched at her rejection.

“Please, I’m begging you.”

She no longer had anything left. She had even seen Consort Yu’s image on SoHee’s face.

And Heon had not changed at all.

If everything had remained the same, that meant it was possible for the events of the past to happen once more… She did not want to collapse and watch Heon get hurt again.

“For my sake, please let me go.”

“You once told me that after time passes by, all the wounds will disappear as if it were all a dream.”

These were the words MoonWon had told Heon before she had left. Heon looked into her eyes and flashed her a helpless smile. Rather than the fact that MoonWon might reject him, he was even more terrified of the possibility of her disappearing from his sight once again. 

“You will never disappear from my life.”

“……”

“I need to get ahold of you no matter what.”

“Please don’t do this.”

“I understand where you’re coming from. But I want to live now.”

Unlike MoonWon, who was feeling her heart waver, Heon remained steady.

If she had only hated Heon for killing her father, she would not be suffering like this.

The moment she was met with his unconditional love, the locked doors of her heart began to rattle.

She had decided not to remain as a stumbling block in his path. She could not let her decision crumble like this.

She had paid the cost of this shockingly incompatible marriage.

“So please let me go just this once.”

“If you leave, I will slit the throats of Hong-yeom and Yeori.”

“What… What are you saying?”

Her breath caught and her heart stopped beating. Heon was never one to keep secrets or lie. When she tried to ask him what he meant by that, Heon approached her.

Drip, drip!

“Ah!”

Heon grabbed MoonWon’s dagger. The sharp blade pierced through the bare skin of his palm. MoonWon cried out when she saw his hand turn red with blood.

“They are precious to you, but they mean nothing to me.”

“L-Let go! You’re bleeding!”

Heon’s hand remained clenched around the dagger. Not only was he using Hong-yeom and Yeori’s lives as hostages, Heon was now creating more wounds on himself. How could she push him away?! She tried to get him to relax his grip on the dagger, but she was no match against Heon’s strength.

As the blood dripping to the ground turned into a puddle, MoonWon finally cried out.

“I’ll go back! I’ll go back, so let go!”

After hearing her answer, Heon dropped the dagger. MoonWon took out a handkerchief from her breast pocket and began to press down on Heon’s wounds. When she saw the handkerchief turn red with his blood, she began to yell.

“Why can’t you just let me go?!”

The amount of time they had shared together wasn’t even that long. He could have easily forgotten about her. Their past was riddled with wounds and suffering. How could he possibly hold any lingering attachment to those times?! 

“You couldn’t let me go either.”

“……”

“That day, you called me ‘Husband’.”

In the past, Heon had always spoken in a cold voice and rejected her.

But now, this same man was hanging onto every word that left her mouth. He was baring his open wounds before her eyes so that she’d take pity on him.

“If something happens to Hong-yeom and Yeori, I will never forgive you.”

“I won’t do anything. While they may mean nothing to me, I know they’re precious to you.”

“……”

“I just thought I’d be able to create an opportunity if I brought them up.”

This man had just used her weakness against her to suppress her. But now he was once again lowering himself before her, hoping she’d go easy on him.

Heon himself knew he was being pathetic, but he still wanted to catch MoonWon even if he had to behave this way. Even though he knew he was giving MoonWon a hard time, he still continued to charge at her with all he had.

He wanted to be the only one in her world. He knew this was selfish and petty, but this was the best he could do.

“Let’s go back.”

MoonWon had come back into his world.

Now it was his turn to enter hers.