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"Why are you here?"
The moment his low, gentle voice reached my ears, my heart lurched.
It didn't even take a second for me to recognize it.
"...Gowon."
Before I realized it, I had spoken the Crown Prince's name aloud.
Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly covered my mouth.
Perhaps he hadn't heard me.
Or perhaps he had chosen not to acknowledge it.
He simply continued looking at me.
"Lady Hong Yeonhwa wished for me to accompany her."
I could feel his slow gaze.
It traveled from my eyes down over the brilliant crimson dress I was wearing, lingering briefly on the scarlet ribbon heels before lifting again.
I saw his brow tighten ever so slightly.
"It seems you have no idea just how vulgar your behavior appears."
He looked at me without another word.
His expression remained calm, yet beneath it lay a faint trace of displeasure that was difficult to describe.
Was he angry?
If he was, I couldn't understand why.
The only thing echoing inside my mind was the word vulgar.
Then my eyes dropped to the luxurious dress and jewelry covering my body.
For some reason, they only reminded me of Lady Hong Yeonhwa.
An unreasonable irritation rose inside me.
An equally unreasonable sadness followed.
It felt as though even these clothes did not belong to me.
"I have done nothing that deserves to be called vulgar."
"Then do you truly believe walking around dressed like this is appropriate?"
"What exactly is wrong with the way I'm dressed?"
He fell silent.
In that brief pause, I remembered the way his eyes had swept over me only moments earlier.
"Oh... Is it because someone like me doesn't belong in a dress this extravagant?"
He let out a quiet sigh.
"No. That's not it. Those shoes..."
At that very moment, familiar figures appeared ahead of us.
The same men who had been speaking about the Crown Prince earlier were walking in our direction.
I immediately lowered my gaze and started walking away.
I felt his fingertips brush lightly against my sleeve, but I continued forward without stopping.
I couldn't allow those men to begin talking about him again.
At the very least, I couldn't bear the thought of him becoming the subject of more ridicule because of me.
I searched until I found somewhere quiet.
A terrace where the music reached only as a distant murmur.
Alone, I rested against the railing and looked out into the darkness beyond.
Though I stood in the middle of a magnificent banquet, in that moment I felt like the only person left in the world.
The autumn breeze lifted my black hair.
It wasn't particularly cold.
Yet somehow it carried a chill deep into my heart.
Everyone has someone to stand behind them.
When something unfair happens, there is family to become angry on their behalf.
When they are wronged, there is someone willing to share their outrage.
Someone who offers a shoulder even when they've done nothing wrong.
Someone who remains on their side even after the rest of the world has turned away.
Slowly, I closed my eyes.
But I had never had anyone like that.
I had known that since childhood.
A father who was always drunk.
A mother who had been my entire world... until she disappeared.
I had always been alone.
There was no one who would come running if I called.
No one who would embrace me before asking why I was crying.
No one.
When I was treated unfairly, I endured it alone.
When I was hurt, I endured that alone too.
I had come this far without ever learning what it meant to rely on someone's protection.
The wind blew again.
The corners of my eyes stung slightly.
I lifted my face toward the night sky.
The endless darkness above only made me feel lonelier.
Just then—
I sensed someone quietly stop behind me.
"Excuse me."
A gentle voice brushed past my ear.
I turned.
A man wearing a mask stood there.
Moonlight reflected softly off the golden mask covering his face.
Clad in a spotless white uniform, he looked like a prince stepped straight out of a fairy tale.
Golden hair.
Features carved with almost impossible precision.
A familiar voice.
The sweet, creamy scent of vanilla drifting toward me.
Brown eyes that glowed like polished amber.
Eyes that seemed capable of enchanting anyone they looked upon.
They blinked slowly.
Then, without warning, he leaned closer.
His gaze carefully examined every part of my face left uncovered by the mask.
The corners of his lips curved upward ever so slightly.
"Why are you here?"
The man behind the golden mask was none other than...
Go Chaeha.
English Translation — Part 2
"Lady Hong Yeonhwa asked me to come with her."
"Hong Yeonhwa...?"
"Yes."
"She dressed you like this?"
He seemed lost in thought for a moment.
Then a faint, amused smile appeared on his lips.
"She's left irresistible bait in plain sight."
"…What?"
"She really is a dangerous woman."
"I don't understand what you're talking about..."
"I'd better get you out of here before someone else decides to claim you."
Before I could react, Go Chaeha effortlessly lifted me over his shoulder.
"W-What are you doing?!"
As I struggled, my mask nearly slipped off.
I hurriedly caught it with both hands, leaving me with no idea where he was taking me.
Click.
The sound of a door closing echoed behind us.
In the end, I lost my grip on the mask.
The white mask slipped from my fingertips and fell helplessly onto the marble floor.
It struck the stone with a clear, hollow sound, spun halfway around, and came to rest.
Go Chaeha moved with the quiet persistence of a snake.
Before I realized it, he had seated me gently on a sofa, surrounding me with his presence.
His hand drifted naturally downward, stopping near my ankle.
He silently admired the shoes before carefully loosening the ribbon tied around one heel.
Tap.
The shoe slipped to the floor.
"A pair of deep crimson stilettos, finished with satin ribbons. They're beautiful."
"..."
"Who was it that put these shoes on you?"
"…Why does that matter?"
He removed the other shoe just as carefully.
"To someone as reckless as I am... they carry a rather dangerous meaning."
"What are you talking about?"
At that moment, I remembered Hong Yeonhwa handing me those shoes.
Only now did I understand why the look she had given me had unsettled me so deeply.
It hadn't been caution.
It had been certainty.
The certainty that I was never truly someone she considered her equal.
"I should go."
Picking up my fallen mask, I walked toward the door.
I grasped the heavy golden handle and turned it.
As the door opened, I caught sight of two familiar figures through the narrow gap.
Gowon.
And Hong Yeonhwa.
My heart pounded violently.
The hand gripping the handle froze.
Without a word, Go Chaeha quietly closed the door again.
I swallowed, trying to keep the sound of my racing heartbeat from reaching him.
"So conspicuous that wearing a mask hardly matters... Your Highness."
Beyond the closed door, I could hear Gowon and Hong Yeonhwa talking.
Go Chaeha and I stood close together, listening to their conversation through the thin barrier between us.
"You're here alone?"
His question sounded almost as though he were searching for someone.
Hong Yeonhwa answered in her usual calm, gentle voice.
"Oh, I did bring a friend with me. But she seemed to be enjoying the party so much, chatting with one gentleman after another, that she disappeared somewhere. Since the Moon Shadow Banquet doesn't come around often, I decided to let her enjoy herself."
"I see."
"Still... I'm glad it gave me a chance to be alone with Your Highness."
Her soft laughter reached my ears.
For some reason, imagining that elegant smile directed at him made something inside me quietly burn.
"To be continued…"
A brief silence followed.
Then Gowon's calm voice reached us.
"From their perspective, it's only natural."
His answer was composed.
Steady.
Hong Yeonhwa smiled softly.
"But it must still be a burden for you."
"It is."
Gowon answered without hesitation.
"But I understand."
Something inside my chest tightened.
"You're always like this, Your Highness."
"What do you mean?"
"You never say you dislike something."
I lowered my eyes slightly.
Then I heard Gowon reply.
"Because there has never been a reason to."
Hong Yeonhwa let out a quiet laugh.
"Then... may I take that as a favorable answer?"
For a brief instant—
my breathing stopped.
"You're free to interpret it however you wish."
The words struck me like a weight falling into my chest.
The shoe I had been holding slipped from my hand and hit the floor.
Go Chaeha caught the other shoe before it could fall as well.
Hong Yeonhwa's smile brightened even further.
"You do say dangerous things."
"I'm only stating the truth."
"Then if I misunderstand, it'll be Your Highness's responsibility."
"That may very well be."
Their laughter mingled lightly together.
Then Hong Yeonhwa spoke again.
"Still... I'm relieved."
"About what?"
"That Your Highness doesn't find me uncomfortable."
Silence lingered for a moment.
Then Gowon's voice drifted through the narrow crack of the door.
"Why would I?"
Such a natural answer.
So ordinary.
Yet somehow...
It hurt.
The conversation I had overheard earlier came rushing back.
The Hong family.
The Empire.
The future of the Crown Prince.
Everything connected.
Slowly, I stepped backward.
I didn't want to hear any more.
No...
I felt that I shouldn't.
But it was already too late.
Their words continued echoing inside my mind.
As I backed away, I stepped on the shoe I had dropped and lost my balance.
I fell hard.
The loud crash echoed throughout the room.
Outside, Hong Yeonhwa's voice rang out.
"Oh my... It seems we've interrupted someone. Perhaps we should continue our conversation elsewhere."
Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Go Chaeha finally spoke.
"So...
you ended up overhearing something you were never meant to hear."
His quiet gaze settled on me.
Reflected in his eyes was my own figure, collapsed on the floor.
He had seen it.
Seen how pathetic I truly was.
"Please give me back my shoes."
Pretending nothing had happened, I snatched the shoes from his hands.
"I don't think you should wear these anymore."
"Please give them to me."
"Don't go."
I shook off his hand, but he stubbornly caught my wrist again.
Silence stretched between us.
Whenever I looked at Go Chaeha...
I thought of Gowon.
And whenever I thought of Gowon...
Hong Yeonhwa came to mind.
My fingers tightened.
"Let go! I don't want to keep being played with by either of you!"
Without warning, Go Chaeha pulled me into his arms.
"You're the one who toyed with me!"
His long, slender fingers brushed lightly across my back, almost like a feather tracing my skin.
My body tensed instinctively.
"With someone this sensitive... imagining you with him makes me furious."
As though speaking only to himself, Go Chaeha continued pouring out the thoughts he had kept buried.
"I've never been in love before. I don't even know what love is... But this feeling... it's the first time I've ever experienced anything like it."
Something changed in his eyes.
"When you're with Gowon... I become angry. Restless."
For the first time, Go Chaeha's true emotions surfaced.
His face remained as flawless as ever, sculpted almost too perfectly.
But his eyes were different.
There was nothing gentle in them now.
Only a longing so deep it was impossible to put into words.
Simply meeting that gaze made it difficult to breathe.
"Seonmi... was I never enough for you?"
"Please... stop. I don't want to hurt you."
"And if I told you... I'd still accept that?"
"Master Chaeha..."
He looked at me with eyes that were already wounded, shimmering with unshed emotion.
"You're allowed to hurt me."
Do you truly believe this feeling is love...?
With effort, I freed myself from his embrace.
"You're only looking for me to fill the emptiness inside you. Please... let me go now."
"I can't."
His answer came without hesitation.
"I can't do that. I can't give up on you."
Even then, he continued holding gently onto the tips of my fingers.
At that moment—
an old memory surfaced.
I remembered my mother's fingertips slipping away as she turned her back on me.
The last touch of her hand disappeared between my fingers as effortlessly as grains of sand.
I looked at him.
The way Go Chaeha suffered, unable to let go...
looked painfully similar to myself.
Slowly, I reached out and took his hand.
Without realizing it, tears welled in my eyes.
"Is any of this... normal?"
Go Chaeha quietly closed his eyes.
He pressed a gentle kiss against my forehead before speaking.
"Seonmi..."
"There isn't a single normal person in this palace."
The tears that had gathered finally slipped down my cheeks.
He gently wiped my tears with the tip of his tongue.