Hwan was resplendent in white night attire, the untied ties hanging by his side as he stood still, taking in Jay Yi's stiff form.

"You called me, Your Highness," Jay Yi bowed her head. Jay Yi felt her anger raising its ugly head as the words she had overheard earlier in the evening rang in her ears. She focused on the sizeable single lantern lighting up the tent, creating alluring shadows where its light did not reach. A single bed covered with a plush blue quilt sat on the side.

Hwan motioned at the maids helping him to leave and ordered them to tell the guards to stand further away from the tent.

Jay Yi made no effort to move closer to him.

Hwan expelled a breath. His heart hammered at the sight of her, telling him how much he needed this woman. He gritted his teeth. She almost disappeared within the folds of her green tunic, her hat hiding half of her tiny face. He had to harden his resolve, something he was having a hard time with when all he wanted to do was to stride to her and wrap himself around her, to comfort her.

He was not looking forward to the conversation. The mutinous lines on Jay Yi's face were as familiar to him as the back of his hand. The urge to close the gap between them, hold her by the shoulder and assure her that she would never have anything to fear from him was overwhelming.

Tenderly, he looked at her. "Yes, I did. I want to apologize to you for what happened earlier. I know I hurt you."

The silence in the room was deafening.

Hwan shifted his feet. "Are you not going to speak to me, Jay Yi? I said I am sorry."

"You're sorry?" Jay Yi's voice trembled with suppressed emotions. "Sorry doesn't change anything, Your Highness. How could you?" Fury and despair swam in her exquisite eyes.

"Please, please let us talk it out, Jay Yi. Please calm down; you don't have to do anything you don't want. You know I would never go forward with any plans without speaking with you first."

"Calm down? Is this a joke to you?" Jay Yi bristled. "Why would you even give Sargent hope of something I would never agree to?"

"I did not plan it that way. I thought...I thought if Sargent could speak to you, maybe you could rethink your decisions...after all, in all fairness, you have not had the chance to know each other."

"Knowing each other? What do you mean?"

"You know, like... if you know him better, marriage to him might not look like such a bad idea. That is what I thought," Hwan was contrite. "I thought wrong," he added quickly.

He stepped toward her, his outstretched hand a silent plea for understanding. "I am sorry, Jay Yi; my intention was not to hurt you. I just remembered what you mentioned once, and for some reason, I thought you might be all right with it...." Hwan's voice trailed off lamely. She was hurting, and he did not know how to alleviate her pain. How did he mess up like this?

"Since when was 'knowing each other' a part of Joseon marriages?" Jay Yi asked tartly. She jerked her face up, a suspicious thought widening her eyes. "Sargent presented me with a plate of fruits yesterday. Was it a part of this elaborate plan?"

Hwan's guilty look said it all. Hwan could have pierced her heart with a flaming iron rod, which would have hurt less.

Hwan's calm attitude infuriated her. "Did you also tell him about my suggestion of changing our national law so he could try it out?" Jay Yi spit out acidly.

Perplexed, Hwan looked at her. Suddenly the awful realization of what Jay Yi was referring to dawned on him. His outstretched hand fell to his side. "What rubbish are you talking about?" His face darkened.

Undaunted, she threw the gauntlet at him. "Maybe I should be the first woman to give it a try. Who knows? A kiss could change my mind!"

In an instant, Hwan's serene demeanour vanished.

"Watch what you are saying!" he growled, his glorious eyes burning an incandescent flame. Jay Yi could feel his fists clench and unclench. "How can you even think of uttering such foul words?"

"Why do you care! He is my supposed betrothed, isn't he?" Jay Yi was unfazed. The twin glowing embers on her flushed face stared back defiantly at him.

"Stop. Right. There." Hwan's spat each word out, a muscle in his jaw working furiously, every pore of his body seething with rage, his long legs eating the distance between them.

Jay Yi felt a tiny ripple of satisfaction run through her. He was not as unmoved as he pretended. She had at least succeeded in penetrating his stoic armour.

"Then please tell me, despite knowing everything, knowing my heart, why did you want to send me to Sargent? Do my feelings and wishes truly mean nothing to you?"

"You know that has never been true!" Hwan snapped, towering over her.

"Then why?"

He clenched his eyes shut for a moment as if trying to get himself under control. He stepped away as if removing himself from her proximity would make it any better.

"You are my Master's daughter, a noble, virtuous woman who deserves a better life." He rasped. "You gave me a new life. Your family sacrificed itself for this country. It's the right thing to do for you and Sargent too." Hwan swallowed. "You need a family to call your own. I have seen you with children. I know you love them and would want to be a mother in future." He paused. "Mother of legitimate children," his voice dropped almost to a whisper. "I can never give any of that to you. I cannot allow you to waste your life on me."

Suddenly, Jay Yi felt all the anger draining from her, replaced with the sadness of their reality.

"What if I said yes?" Jay Yi locked her eyes with him.

Hwan turned ashen. She wouldn't!

Jay Yi gave a mirthless laugh and took a step towards him.

"Look at me, Your Highness, and say you would be all right if I married him."

Hwan swallowed, icy claws of despair ripping his insides at the thought of her in another man's arms, unaware that his eyes mirrored every emotion he felt, naked grief etching his face.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Jay Yi..." was all he could say; his voice seeped in pain, his unfinished sentence telling her more than he intended her to hear.

"What noble and virtuous woman marries one man while loving another man?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

Another step. Hwan's handsome face went utterly still.

"What noble and virtuous woman lies in her husband's arms while thinking of another man?"

Another step, her face inches away from his chest. She took the ties of his robe in her hand and started knotting them.

"What noble and virtuous woman bears a child to her husband and wishes," she threw her head back as she looked into his eyes, 'they belonged to another man?"

His stormy eyes seared into her, now dark pools of unfathomable depths.

"Knowing I am that woman to you, do you still want me to go to someone else?" She sounded breathless.

Red stained Hwan's face, his breathing heavy.

"If you still insist," Jay Yi continued, pulling one end of the cord expertly through the loop she held around another finger, "I will vanish, and you will never find me again."

"You dare to threaten me?" Hwan caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face back up. His low husky voice sent shivers down her spine.

"You think I cannot do it?" she challenged him, their faces inches apart. Hwan's look melted her insides. Heat rushed to her face, and her ears scorched her.

"I will hunt you down from the ends of this earth," his eyes smouldered.

"And then what?" Jay Yi's heart was pounding.

"I…" Hwan swallowed, "I do not have an answer for you, Jay Yi," Hwan's eyes were turbulent oceans of dark honey. His hand fell away.

"Then don't try to give one!" Jay Yi cried out. "Do you not understand, Your Highness? I will never allow another man to touch me, ever!" Jay Yi's voice broke.

Hwan felt himself go rigid with agony and desire but did not move.

Instantly Jay Yi knew what she had to do, something no woman alive in Joseon would ever dare. But then, she was no ordinary woman. After all, what did she have left to lose?

"I will not go to anyone else, even if you command me," she said. She gave a determined tug to the strings loop in her hand to finish tying the bow. Jay Yi pushed back her hat from her forehead so it skewed toward the back of her head. "So forgive me for being impudent and shameless -"

In a quick motion, she went up on her toes, her hands creeping up to his shoulders, lightly placed her lips on Hwan's, and stepped away. She bowed.

Shock rooted Hwan to the spot.

"I will take your leave, Your….," she didn't get to finish. Hwan caught her arm and pulled her to him.

Jay Yi stared at him as Hwan tugged at the strings tied under her chin, letting the already-skewed hat fall. His hand caught her waist, and the other wrapped around her neck, drawing her towards him. Her hands collided with his expansive chest as her gaze magnetically travelled down to his beautiful bow-shaped full lips.

He lowered them. The time stopped, as did her heart. His mouth closed on hers. She gasped at the unfamiliar sensation of his firm lips against her soft ones. Involuntarily her eyes closed, her heart almost jumping out of her rib cage, a similar rhythm playing under her palms flattened against his chest. Hwan's grip tightened on her, his fingers digging into her waist, pulling her closer as if he couldn't bear to let her go. She felt her body arc as waves of pleasure shot through her, radiating from her mouth to the tips of her toes, making them curl. She started buckling. He caught her as he shifted his weight to embrace her, pressing her nape while crushing her against his large frame, almost lifting her against him. Her hands gripped the hem of his robe around his neck, clutching them as she tried to gain a better balance.

He lifted his head. She gulped in the air, struggling to control the pulsating need engulfing her body. She looked at him, only to find him staring back at her, his unguarded eyes swimming with desire. He tossed the band covering her head. He reached for her bun and twisted it loose. Her lustrous hair tumbled to her waist, framing her delicate face in a silky curtain. He groaned, his fingers threading through her hair, and he lowered his lips again, this time exploring the caverns of her mouth like a thirsty man devouring her.

Panic overwhelmed her. She was losing control of her body, with waves of pleasure rolling through her. She shivered. She could not take it anymore, yet she did not want him to stop. She broke the kiss and turned her head to the other side to relieve the sensations assailing her, only to have him nuzzle her cheek, leaving a burning trail behind as they moved to her nape. He grazed her neck before blazing a fiery path to her ear. Sensations she had never dreamt possible shot through her.

She cried out as she folded to the ground, sliding out of his hold. She grabbed at him, the ties she had just worked on coming loose in her hand. He caught her in his arms, going down with her. She rested on his knees as he gathered her close.

"Jay Yi.." he whispered. His mouth returned to her. She caught his face, caressing his strong jaw, causing him to gasp against her mouth. His left arm enveloped her against him as she half sat on the ground, her back against his knee, his right palm on her midriff. She felt his hand moving restlessly against her waist. She arched, needing something more, not entirely understanding what it was. He held her closer, his hands leaving an imprint on her as they gently explored her.

"My beautiful woman….," Hwan's voice was throaty. "I need you so much." He buried his head in her hair. Hwan tried to stem the tide of desperate need coursing through him. It would be so easy to give in to the clamour of his body.

Jay Yi looked at him shyly, passion making the orbs on her exquisite face droopy. It made him delirious and petrified him at the same time.

He seemed to be constantly breaking the cardinal rules of Joseon's morality around her. But this time, his reckless actions could curse her to a life she was unprepared for. He had to stop. Hwan inhaled a shuddering breath, the faint lavender of her hair filling his senses. Summoning all the willpower he possessed, he forced his hand to go still against her.

He wrapped it around her head, bringing her against his chest, resting his chin on top of her head. He was breathing so hard he felt his rib cage would burst.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to take it this far." He straightened her clothes.

Eyes still glazed with need, Jay Yi focused her attention away from the tremors still running through her body. "You cannot ever send me to anyone ever," she gasped with fierce determination, her breathing uneven.

Hwan held her hand tenderly. "I promise."

Their eyes locked in a silent conversation between two hearts entangled in a complex web of duty, desire, and undeniable love.

Noises from outside jolted them both.

A guard called from outside, "Your Highness, Royal Guardian wants an urgent audience with you."

It was like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on her. Jay Yi scrambled up, trying to adjust her clothes quickly.

Hwan helped her up. "Shh. It's all right." He cupped her face in his palms. She looked at him, her face in flames, and nodded apprehensively. He dropped a soft kiss on her forehead.

He bent and picked up her headband. She tied her hair up in a bun, and he slid the headband into position. He pulled her in his arms, enveloping her, before adjusting the hat that she had picked up on her head.

"Son Dol! Why are you not serving your Crown Prince?" his eyes twinkled.

She broke into a demure smile as she nodded, quickly tying the ribbons of her hat to secure it before tackling the knot of his robe she had untied only minutes earlier.

"Have him enter," Hwan's royal voice rang out in the night.

How she loved this man! Jay Yi's heart felt whole.

Royal Guardian entered and came to a dead stop as his eyes fell on Jay Yi, focused on the twines of fabric in her hands as if her life depended on it. She looked at him sideways, bowing to him as a greeting before turning back to burrow her burning face into Hwan.

Royal Guardian chortled. Hwan frowned at the amused observer. Jay Yi sneaked a sideway peak at his smirking face, and she turned away, bent over the ties a little more. She felt like a thief in a sweet shop.

"What brings you here, Kanga?"

"Your Highness, the messenger from Hanyang arrived just now with the papers." Tae Kang's voice took a serious tone. "As you had ordered, I had left a message at the headquarters to send him here as soon as he arrived. The rain delayed his arrival, it seems."

Tae Kang extended his hand toward Hwan, holding two distinct envelopes.

"Jay Yi, if you keep at it any longer, I am afraid those ties will come off my robe," Hwan's voice was gentle, but his eyes shone with amusement.

More colour flooded Jay Yi's face. "I am sorry, Your Highness, I am almost done." She pulled the last string to make a neat bow and stepped away, gracefully bowing her head. "I will take your leave, Your Highness."

"Wait," Hwan ordered.

Surprised, Jay Yi stopped. Hwan took the envelopes from Tae Kang's hands and opened the first one. He sighed with relief, and something else, like happiness, lighted up his beautiful face.

He gave the letter to Jay Yi. It was stamped with the King's seal. Overwhelmed, she lifted her tear-filled eyes to Hwan. He smiled at her, his eyes suspiciously damp. "I am free, Your Highness," a sob escaping her, "I am free!"