As soon as the candid feeling was let out, Hwi gave a short laugh and tugged Yunseo's shoulder, pulling him toward his side.

"Worship and disparagement go together. There's no need to waver between them. The worldly-wise will predict us no matter what, and some other day they will come back around to offer prayers. The important thing is how the two of us go on from here."

He seemed to understand what Hwi was trying to convey, and he nodded his head several times. The burden that had been pressing down was lifting and it truly was a difficult seat to have taken — and yet. Even so, the fact that Hwi would always come and take his hand and that going forward he could be together with this person — that fact, for some reason, held in it the strength to fill him out. And he wanted to become something that this time could be returned to Hwi as well.

"Now that we've had our fun, shall we go to a good spot?"

"Where is it?"

"Come, sit down."

With a pull on the nape of his neck Hwi lifted Yunseo and sat him on top. Hwi leapt lightly and left the streets behind, and the tiled rooftops crackled underfoot as he moved.

The first time he had been held like this he had kept his eyes tightly shut and clutched his arms and waited, but now he no longer missed the passing scenery as it went by and looked at it. The wind skimming past and the landscape of everyday life receding quickly erased any lingering thoughts and gradually made the inside more clear.

The crowd disappeared completely and when light fell away the quiet came. Before he knew it upon arriving in the woods, Yunseo looked around with curious eyes.

"Was there a place like this?"

"It's removed from the settlements and since animals roam about it's a place only hunters usually come to."

Tall trees sent a lush fragrance drifting. Even as dusk fell, the fresh nature eased the inside of the head. At Hwi's feet leaves and twigs snapped as he walked and the sound too was asking to be told to go away.

"Hold on tight."

The moment Hwi finished speaking he leapt upward. The view rose up in an instant and Yunseo wrapped his arms tightly around Hwi's neck. Hwi gripped his way lightly through the trees and at some point came down. From below it looked as if there was nothing so Yunseo had thought it was a hollow but it turned out to be a platform of sorts. With an upstanding feeling Hwi fixed his clothes before Yunseo and then caught Yunseo in his arms and hooked them around a branch.

"Isn't it too dangerous?"

"It's fine. Look down, look up."

At Hwi's urging Yunseo's eyes full of stars shone and flickered. The straight-stretched branches and the spaces between the twigs spread out like a river of stars spreading out as if laid flat.

From somewhere the sound of an owl's cry rose up, and it continued like an echoing song as the tranquil stillness settled in.

Immersed in the beautiful scenery, something yellow passed before his eyes. He turned his gaze following the light and Yunseo's eyes soon opened wide.

Lights that had begun to rise from below were floating up, drifting around Yunseo. The light that found its path under a single tree was somehow uncannily mysterious. Yunseo stared blankly at the trail of light and asked.

"What is this?"

"They are fireflies. It's better not to touch them."

With his body leaning comfortably against Hwi, Yunseo watched the dance of the drifting lights to his heart's content. He had never seen such scenery in his life. Neither stars nor lanterns — this small light was something he had only ever known as a child and thought was a treasure. Wandering without purpose and by chance coming upon it and discovering it — and just as he had always imagined.

"I didn't know such a thing existed. Being able to see it from this close by…… This sky here is truly endlessly vast. Where on earth are you taking me?"

"Those that pass through here use it as a meeting place, so if the habit of the badgers is learned an accident can occur — I can't help but know."

Compared to the romantic stillness the story tangled with the woods was a little crude. Yunseo snorted with the frown still on his face and let out a short laugh.

Even so, he could not help but feel grateful for that background. Yunseo felt the emotion overflowing, unable to contain it. He wrapped his arms around Hwi's arm resting against him. A sense of comfort and peace came over him.

"I had resolved that once I entered the palace there would be no more time like this."

This too was a privilege that could only be obtained at Hwi's side. However, if a privilege like this were given even occasionally, sometimes going out as an ordinary pair of lovers if things went well — that time felt as if it would make his own roots all the more solid. And he hoped this time could be something returned to Hwi.

"Good, it seems right."

Hwi's voice sounded as if it had dozed off, quiet and low. Yunseo nodded his head greatly while holding Hwi's hand.

"Next time I'd like to go out with Hyeonbi and Seongbin, and that young man too if possible."

"I will make an opportunity."

Hwi reached out and interlaced Yunseo's hand with his own. His lips came down from above and fell gently and then a sideburn strand caught on a twig and his lips found his face. Yunseo raised his head to meet him and Hwi kissed him softly on the lips. Into it he welcomed the tongue that pushed in and took it in deeply, holding it.

Through the downward-falling eyelashes the yellow rippling currents wavered. The sound of fireflies grew more distant one by one and with the meeting of Hwi's and the forest's fragrance they mixed together as if igniting and his body went limp and crumbled.

---

Josangung's young man brought out tea. Yunseo suppressed his flustered feeling and looked down at the teacup placed before him.

Whenever he went to greet her, Taehu would ask after him in a formal manner about things in the palace and after saying a few words take her leave. Today too he had thought the ceremonial procedures would be over and she would let him go, but tea had come out — he had no choice but to assume there was something she wished to say.

"I am not holding up your busy affairs."

"Not at all. I was just parched as it happens…… The tea here is extraordinarily good."

Throughout drinking the tea the gaze continued. Taehu, not showing even a hint of being out of composure, sat with her neck and waist held straight — before her Yunseo was always tense and as a result his nape felt stiff. Setting down the teacup, he wanted to stroke his taut neck but he held back that urge with his fingertips and bit down.

"I am preparing a performance for my birthday."

"Yes, that is so."

"I have heard how you are preparing it."

"Ah, is that so."

He had hoped she would be pleased to see it on the day itself, so hearing this made him feel somehow embarrassed. Yunseo straightened his waist even more upright and asked carefully.

"If there is something that ought to be changed I would be glad to receive guidance."

Taehu traced the rim of the teacup with her fingertip and took a sip of tea. The languid movement suited her, and on the other hand she kept looking as if Hwi came to mind — he kept looking over at her sideways against his will. Yunseo lowered his eyes slightly so as not to look as if he were staring at her.

After a little while Taehu set down her teacup and sent her gaze out through the open window.

"If you decorate with wisteria it would look beautiful, but wisteria is the flower Yeonhwegwitaebi particularly cherished above all flowers — I think it would be better to leave it out."

Yunseo looked at the Taehu's profile and tried not to show any reaction. Yeonhwegwitaebi was the Seonjae's most beloved consort, and though she was not the Empress Consort she had yearned to become Empress Consort — he had heard that story before.

Taehu and the Emperor Hwang had been hostile to Yeonhwegwitaebi at the time — their relationship on the surface had no problem, but Taehu's heart must surely have been different. That she ought to be careful about things that reminded her of her — that was the lesson he was receiving from Taehu.

But then to decorate the banquet with the flower Yeonhwegwitaebi loved as the reason to stay away……

"This person has no bond — but a fox always has its den."

Taehu turned her gaze and looked directly at Yunseo. The fact that she had no bond seemed to be true as her eyes were at first glance expressionless to the point of looking ruthless, and Yunseo searched her face for traces of Seongbin.

"She will try to use that as a basis to find fault with the Empress Consort."

"……"

"There is no need to sour her by buying her contempt."

Only then did Yunseo understand why Taehu had been holding him back and offering tea. This was both counsel and concern from her. As the first banquet she herself was hosting after entering the palace, she had wanted to listen in advance and look over the preparation process for him.

Taehu had always maintained a cool attitude so from Yunseo's perspective he had no choice but to conclude that he did not sit well in her heart. Of course this counsel could also have been something he had no choice but to pass along for the sake of the Emperor's dignity. Even so the feeling of having taken another step forward came and his chest felt full.

"Yes, I will take heed. I am grateful for the guidance."

"His Majesty's sacred vessel has been reported to be greatly improved. It is all thanks to the Empress Consort."

"His Majesty is so sturdy and strong — the young man had little to do."

"Go on taking good care of His Majesty."

Advice coming before him, Seonjae's counsel settled deep in his heart and spread out warmly. Yunseo, with a composed smile on his face, gave a full and proper response.

Breathing in a relaxed breath and drinking a single comfortable sip of tea, as Taehu took the teacup in her hand again the bracelet hanging on her wrist caught his eye. Two dragons summoned facing each other's tail in opposite directions — an object that looked like a cup he had drunk from before.