Waking from an afternoon nap, he felt groggy. It seemed as though a hazy mist had settled in his head, but his body was light and his mood was good. He got up and opened the window, and the afternoon sunlight poured in. Yunseo breathed in the fresh air with his eyes closed, then turned around.

"Did you wake up?"

"Yes. I want to go to His Majesty."

As soon as he left the sleeping quarters, a palanquin was ready. He thought about walking as a bit of a stroll, but at his current physical strength he would probably arrive at the main hall panting like an overheated puppy. Being a little out of breath was fine, but he didn't want to make Hwi worry.

He boarded the palanquin, and Court Lady Jo wrapped a *pyo around Yunseo's neck. The wind was cool but the sunlight was warm. It was early spring, when sprouts were beginning to push up here and there.

The early spring imperial palace held both the bleakness of winter and the coziness of spring at once, which gave it a quietly captivating charm. Yunseo looked anew at the scenery passing by with fresh eyes, then arrived at the main hall and stepped down from the palanquin.

Since Hwi had said there was no need to announce Yunseo's visits, the eunuch only greeted him as a courtesy. Yunseo guessed that Hwi had already sensed his presence and knew of his arrival — but deliberately went up on his toes and quieted his steps anyway.

Slipping quietly inside, he could see Hwi sitting at the writing desk. Seeing him made a smile steal out. He crept toward Hwi, and Hwi did not raise his head and continued writing something.

"Boo!"

Slamming both hands on the writing desk and raising his voice, Hwi finally turned to look at Yunseo. His expression showed not a trace of surprise — but instead the corners of his lips softly crumbled. Yunseo rolled the smile inside his mouth and asked.

"What were you doing?"

"I was writing a letter to my little Yunseo."

Hwi pulled Yunseo's waist in and sat him on his knee. Yunseo scanned the neat handwriting on the paper but did not read it properly. It was because he wanted to read it when Hwi gave it to him after it was finished.

Hwi occasionally wrote letters like this and delivered them. There was nothing particularly eventful in them. They were simply about that day's weather and what he had been doing before writing the letter, followed by how curious he was about what Yunseo was doing, and a request to do something together in the afternoon.

The letters always ended with Hwi's name — and Yunseo would spend a long time touching the characters of his name that Hwi had written. It was because he liked the name that ought not to be written in any private document being stamped like a seal on a love letter.

"I don't use the character for 'small,' 小."

He deliberately teased him, and Hwi put on an expression of feigned surprise and stroked Yunseo's cheek.

"My goodness. Was that so? I've been thinking all this while that it was."

He shot Hwi — who took it even further — a glance with laughter in his eyes, and Hwi pressed his lips to Yunseo's cheek. At the ticklish sound of lips parting, his shoulders hunched up.

When Hwi put down his brush, Yunseo took Hwi's hand. It was enjoyable to touch each one — the neatly trimmed fingernails, the firm knuckles of each finger, the calloused palm. Hwi curled his fingers to hold Yunseo's hand, then let go, teasing him.

Laughing, Yunseo was tickling Hwi's palm by turning his hand over when his movement stopped. He noticed a faint line crossing the palm diagonally and tilted his head.

"What is this?"

"A palm line."

It was not a part where the flesh folded, and it was not connected to any other line — it was out of place. Yunseo narrowed his eyes as he stroked along the line.

"Isn't this a scar? Did you get scratched somewhere?"

"This body does not leave scars."

Hwi took his hand away from Yunseo. Following the withdrawing hand, he asked calmly.

"Since the topic of names came up — how would you like to name the child?"

"Ah…"

When the child came out of the egg, he planned to give it a name and immediately name it Crown Prince. He hoped it would be a good name that felt like love when the meaning was turned over in one's mind. A name that glows… Yunseo, having been lost in thought, looked up with a flash of his eyes.

"I'd like it to have a name that means light. Your Majesty's name is like that too, and the child glowed."

Hwi nodded and spread a piece of paper, writing several characters on it. Yunseo looked over each character one by one and raised a finger.

"What about this character?"

"耿 — Gyeong. That's good."

"…But. Won't we be unable to call it by name once we give it one?"

The child was a dragon-descendant and would be immediately named Crown Prince, making it impossible to call its name publicly. Even if they gave it a good name, not being able to say it aloud — wasn't that a shame? Yunseo toyed with the character with a sullen face, reluctant to let it go, and Hwi kissed Yunseo's cheek.

"We can give it a childhood name as well."

"Ah! That's right."

"What about this character?"

Checking the character written on the paper, Yunseo's expression became complicated.

"That's… the character for earthworm."

"If you attach a character meaning light to it, it becomes the form in which you first met the child."

"…Will it be happy with a name that means earthworm?"

"Since it saved its father in that form, of course it should be proud of it."

It was persuasive, but he felt a little conflicted. To him it had been a beloved earthworm, so having that meaning included in the name would be endearing — but he was worried about what to do if the child found it disagreeable when it grew up.

"Even if it dislikes it, that's fine. It will be a good opportunity to learn that there are things in this world one cannot have one's way with."

"You're strict."

"It will grow up in an environment where everyone defers to it. Keeping it centered will be our role."

He hadn't known Hwi was thinking this deeply about it. Yunseo still didn't quite feel the reality that he would have to raise a child, and right now his greatest interest was simply wondering who the child would take after.

"Yes. Then shall we use the character 煐, meaning 'to shine'? It's similar to Your Majesty's childhood name too."

"Let's do that."

The child's childhood name was written without hesitation on a fresh piece of paper. 煐䏰 — Yeong-in. Yunseo turned the child's name over silently in his mouth, and then his chest suddenly swelled with emotion and he threw his arms around Hwi.

He could not be a perfect father, but he would give abundant love so the child never felt lonely. He would share every one of those moments with Hwi — and with only joy rising up, he felt as though the tips of his feet were floating.

Hwi put strength into the arm holding Yunseo and pressed his lips to every part of Yunseo's face. Warmth bloomed wherever his lips touched and lifted away, and his body melted. A smile rose of its own accord, and when he laughed, Hwi caught even that sound as though taking it in his mouth and bit down on Yunseo's lips.

At the end of a mellow and tender kiss, Hwi slowly stroked down Yunseo's back and asked.

"Once the weather warms up a little more, shall we make a royal progress?"

"A royal progress?"

"Once the child is born there will be many things to attend to, and afterward, while the Yongrin Guard and the Flower Guard are being reorganized, it won't be easy to leave the palace. So let's go on an outing before then."

To be able to tour this country again together with Hwi. Just imagining it made his face bloom with a smile.

"Yes, let's!"

Nodding vigorously, Hwi looked at Yunseo with a satisfied expression and then flicked his chin. Yunseo, without a moment's hesitation, pressed his lips to Hwi's. Through the gap, Hwi's low laugh flowed out.

* * *

"The sky is truly beautiful."

At Yi Sowon's exclamation, Yunseo glanced at the scenery outside through the open window. The day was clear and bright, but it was a sky that had nothing particularly special about it. It seemed Yi Sowon's mood was likely influencing his impressions. Unable to conceal his excitement, Yi Sowon wore a face that was unmistakably that of a boy his age.

Yunseo looked anew around the inside of the carriage. Since the interior was spacious, it was not cramped even with four people occupying it. The faces of Noble Consort Hyeon and Seongbin sitting across from him also held a soft light.

Strictly speaking, it was proper for the Empress to ride in a separate carriage — but he had insisted on riding together. Thanks to that, the picnic atmosphere could be savored like this, which was wonderful.

"Seongbin, before entering the palace, did you ever go out like this with friends?"

"What we did could only be called an outdoor excursion in the area around the village at most."

"Ah, then this is your first real picnic."

"That is so."

The corners of Yunseo's lips rose pleasantly. It was an outing he had pushed forward thinking that if he delayed any longer, it would be put off forever — and everyone seemed satisfied, which put his mind at ease.

Though calling it an outing, they were on their way to Suhwa Palace, a detached palace in the outskirts. In truth, the original plan had been to bring Hwi along. It was because he had worried that going on a picnic with only members of the inner palace might draw unpleasant attention. But unexpectedly, Yi Sowon had come out against it.

'His Majesty is coming along too? Was this not meant to be an occasion to deepen fellowship among the inner palace? If His Majesty joins, the atmosphere will be something to behold indeed.'

Yunseo had to check the reactions of those around him at Yi Sowon's frank and sarcastic remark, which held not a shred of embellishment. Noble Consort Hyeon looked as though about to say something and then thought better of it, and Seongbin only murmured quietly, 'Speaking from both sides of one's mouth…'

Yi Sowon's disappointment had been no small thing, which weighed on him — and when he had quietly broached the subject with Hwi, it seemed Hwi had no intention of coming, so in the end they had decided to go with just this group. Having come out like this, he was sorry to Hwi — but the picnic mood was all the more alive for it, and Yunseo had found himself caught up in the excitement too.

Before long the carriage came to a stop. The moment the carriage door opened, a wave of brilliant yellow welcomed the four people.

"Oh…"

Yi Sowon looked around with his mouth hanging open. Yunseo restrained his expression to maintain his composure, but looked about with sparkling eyes.

The scenery of a pond surrounded by cornelian cherry trees in full bloom was simply magnificent. Above the pond, which held a blurry reflection of the clear sky, yellow petals were falling in a cascade — it was like looking at another world entirely.

The air was thick with a sweet fragrance. It was almost enough to make one flower-sick, and he had to hold his breath for a moment. A breeze blew and the hems of Noble Consort Hyeon and Seongbin's skirts fluttered. Taking one step back to take in the scene, it felt like looking at a single painting.

"Why have we never come to such a lovely place before?"

"It seems that beautiful things are always close by, yet difficult to notice."

Warm sunlight settled in the corners of Noble Consort Hyeon's eyes. She sent her gaze far away, as though reflecting on something. Yunseo took a step closer toward Noble Consort Hyeon.

"Noble Consort Hyeon was always looking north — so of course it would be."

In a situation where no one knew when the Hell's Gate might open again, no matter how many beautiful things were scattered about, it would not have been easy to spare them a glance. All the more so for Noble Consort Hyeon, who had been overseeing the Flower Guard.

"Now let us look at them together."

At Yunseo's warm words, Noble Consort Hyeon smiled with gentle warmth and gave her assent.

* * *

*(pyo: a kind of scarf/muffler)