Yunseo slowly bent his knees and reached out his hand. When Huije lifted her head, her eyes were wet and red. Huije carefully took Yunseo's fingertips and rose without putting any pressure at all.

"It is thanks to you that I can renew my friendship with Noble Consort Hyeon like this — I am the one who is grateful."

"If you are grateful to me, then you must recover fully."

"Of course I must."

Huije sniffled, then stole a glance at Noble Consort Hyeon and stepped back. Noble Consort Hyeon was wearing a stern expression. It seemed she found Huije's condition on her gratitude displeasing. But her lips, which had parted as though about to say something, ultimately let it pass without a word.

He was about to smile faintly when another cough tried to rise. Yunseo cleared his dry throat and let out a sigh.

"This person needs to rest now."

"Yes. I will return to the palace, so please take care of your health."

"Thank you."

He sent them off and entered the bedchamber, lying straight down on the bed. He wiggled his fingertips and toes, gauging the strength remaining. He would need to work diligently from here on, but it was good. The fact that there was a road remaining ahead.

"Your Majesty. Why are you lying there without even pulling the coverlet over yourself?"

Yeondeok, who came in through the door, wrapped Yunseo's body in the coverlet. Yunseo was receiving that familiar and dear touch when he suddenly blurted out a single thing.

"I'm happy."

"Pardon?"

"I'm happy."

Without any warning, a full, brimming joy flooded in. The time that had been accumulating within him layer by layer spread a pure happiness. While he was savoring it deeply, Yeondeok's face broke into a wide bloom of a smile.

"Me too."

At Yeondeok's agreement, who had shared such a long time with him, he felt as though his body might float up. Yunseo looked at Yeondeok and laughed brightly.

* * *

Could you forget how to use chopsticks if you went too long without holding them? Yunseo moved his fingers sluggishly, fingers that would not do as he told them, and picked up a single meat dumpling.

Careful not to drop it, he cautiously brought it to his mouth and put it in. Chewing slowly, a taste that was both savory and sweet spread across the tip of his tongue. Yunseo let out a sound of wonder and unhurriedly swallowed the dumpling.

Finally freed from porridge and eating proper food, he was so satisfied he felt tears nearly come. Had he ever been so grateful for the act of chewing something? After rising from the sickbed, there were grateful things to be found everywhere in the world.

"You enjoy it that much."

"It's delicious. Eating food like this, I could drink any amount of medicinal broth."

"We'll see about that."

At the cheeky retort, Yunseo turned his head sharply — and Hwi wiped something from the corner of Yunseo's mouth with his thumb, then licked it clean. At the action that held not a shred of self-consciousness, his chest tickled and his fingertips shrank back.

"Please eat up quickly too, Your Majesty. Seeing you so gaunt is distressing."

"It will take ages for you to put on even a little weight, but a week is enough for me, so don't worry."

"Worrying about you is my job. Don't take what's mine."

At the firm retort, Hwi quietly curved the corner of his mouth and touched Yunseo's cheek softly, as though pinching it. Yunseo giggled like a child and picked up his chopsticks again.

After continuing the meal for some time, Yunseo set down his chopsticks and was greatly dismayed.

"I can't believe it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm full."

He hadn't even emptied half the rice bowl and was full. Yunseo looked forlornly around at the spread of delicacies on the round table, in shock.

"Since you haven't been eating, your stomach won't be able to digest it either. Increase it gradually."

"…Yes."

It was a shame, but since his stomach wouldn't cooperate, he gave up cleanly and instead watched Hwi eat. Just watching was enough to feel full. It was a satisfaction felt not in the stomach, but in the chest.

"When we return, I'll take a walk and practice archery every day. Whatever I do, building up strength has to come first."

It was the day they had decided to return to the palace after nearly a month of recuperation. While he rattled on about his plans after returning, Hwi simply listened without saying a word.

"It seems a visitor has arrived."

After finishing the meal, when the palace servants were clearing the table, Hwi spoke. Yunseo looked toward the doorway, and Hwi rose and kissed Yunseo's cheek.

"I'll go and see to the egg, so take your time getting ready."

"Yes."

Not long after Hwi left, Noble Consort Seong entered. Yunseo opened his eyes wide and went toward her, looking her over from head to toe.

"Seongbin, are you alright? I heard you were quite ill…"

"It was merely a common cold. I am sorry to have worried you."

"No need to be sorry."

"I was concerned about passing it to you, so I could not come to see you until I had fully recovered."

"As long as you are in good health, that is all that matters."

A smile formed at the corners of Seongbin's lips. Perhaps from the cold, she was pale — but she looked more at ease than at any time before. Simply meeting her eyes was enough to feel her heart conveyed, and his chest swelled with a warm fullness.

"I came to bring something for you."

"What is it?"

Seongbin gestured behind her, and a palace servant came carrying a small chest. Atop it lay a fine cloth of a pale yellow, the color of pine pollen.

"This is…"

"My skill is lacking, but I made and dyed it myself."

Yunseo reached for the cloth as though enchanted. The soft fabric glided smoothly over his fingertips. Its color was so vivid it was like looking at spring blossoms.

'When all of this is over… will you choose the color that suits this person best?'

The few words he had given to Seongbin within a battlefield where he could not see even one step ahead came back now and scattered the fragrance of spring blossoms. Yunseo let the corners of his mouth crumble and held the cloth up beneath his chin.

"Is this the color that suits this person best?"

"Yes. Bright, clear colors suit you, Your Majesty."

"I've never worn yellow clothing before."

"You gifted us with true spring — is it not indeed your color?"

"So this is what your spring looks like."

Yunseo threw the cloth on without hesitation. A palace servant helped arrange the clothing, and when the outfit was complete, Yunseo spread his arms wide to show it off.

"How is it?"

"It suits you well."

"Thanks to Seongbin, I have gotten to wear spring itself. Thank you."

A faint nostalgia passed through Seongbin's eyes. She stared at Yunseo blankly, as though looking back on something already distant. He could only hope that now that nostalgia would become not regret, but a memory occasionally turned over with tenderness.

Seongbin came back to the present. Yunseo took hold of her sleeve as though to shake hands and swung it up and down. She laughed helplessly and bowed her head.

"I am glad that I can return to the palace together with you."

"Hearing you say so makes me happy as well."

Seongbin paid her respects and turned to go. Watching her departing figure, Yunseo drew in a large breath of air. He filled his chest, then released it slowly and let it fall. In the space the breath left behind, something warm and soft and swaying settled into place. Perhaps this was what spring meant.

Yunseo pushed up his cheeks with the corners of his lips and smiled contentedly, toying with the yellow cloth. This color was a little unfamiliar, but he liked it. Wanting to show it to Hwi quickly, he moved his feet.

The door to the room where the egg was kept was open. Before stepping in, Yunseo stuck his head out to look inside.

The warmth hit him sharply because several braziers had been placed inside. Between the light seeping in through the window, dust could be seen drifting. The quiet stillness filling the space settled the atmosphere into calm peace.

In the middle of that peaceful scene, Hwi had his hand placed over the egg and was looking down at it. His expression held a tenderness of a slightly different quality from what he usually showed to Yunseo.

Was it curiosity? Hwi seemed to be curious about the egg. It felt as though the two of them were sharing some kind of communion.

Not wanting to disturb the strange yet heart-easing scene, Yunseo quietly watched him. Hwi moved his fingers one by one and touched the egg as if patting it. Just as a laugh tinged with warmth escaped — he turned and looked back.

The reaction of only now noticing his presence felt unusual. Yunseo smiled faintly and stepped inside, and Hwi looked Yunseo's outfit over carefully.

"I don't know how a baby chick found its way in here."

A chick — of all things. It was a comparison he had never expected. Yunseo deliberately straightened his back and puffed out his chest as he approached Hwi.

"A chick, really. You should watch what you say in front of the child."

"This one probably thought the same."

"…Can you sense what the child is thinking, Your Majesty?"

"It's too early for it to be doing anything like thinking."

"You looked as though you were sharing some kind of communion."

Hwi pulled Yunseo's waist close with one arm and tapped the egg lightly.

"Sometimes it drinks up my sacred energy."

"What? The child does?"

"I think it considers it food, so I let it have some."

Wondering if his own protective star might affect it too, he placed his hand over the egg — but he felt nothing at all. Yunseo looked at the egg closely. He had heard that the child held the characteristics of both Yongrin and Eternal Spring Flower, but no one could predict what specific form that would take.

"What kind of child will this one be?"

"Is it not enough that it is our child?"

"That is a wise answer to a foolish question."

Yes — whether Yongrin or Eternal Spring Flower, it was his and Hwi's child, and he wanted to support it with wholehearted love and trust. Not only this child, but all the children growing up in this land — he wanted them to stand on fertile ground. Beyond mere survival, they would now have to strive to build that kind of world.

He hoped that would ultimately be a consolation to the young Seo Yunseo and Seo Hwi, and to the innocent hearts of those who had had to protect this place.

"Your Majesty. I want to see the Hell's Gate."

At Yunseo's request, Hwi looked at him for a moment, then held out his hand. Yunseo gripped Hwi's hand tightly and went outside.