𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐑 // ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕜𝕠𝕠𝕜

Chapter 38

There were to be celebrations all evening in yeri's apartments. Preparations had started even before the royal party returned from the hunt. So the whole world knew of the hunt, knew who had killed the prey, who was to be lauded upon her return and who to be ignored. Mouths worked busily. Those envious of princess chaeyoung and predicting the demise of emperor's sudden affections for her, those in yeri's camp and these last went to yejin as she woke to tell her the news. That was like this

"So unfortunate. You have put so much faith in princess chaeyoung, and it seemed as though that faith was to be justified. But emperor......" Here there was a sigh, long and theatrical

"He enjoys women who are brave, who can shoot."

That evening, yeri invited Jungkook for dinner in her apartment. Together they had a sumptuous dinner and some casual talks. The two of them sat in the familiar atmosphere, full of discussions and thoughts, smiling at each other until Jungkook rose to leave.

"Will you stay the night here, Jungkook?" yeri asked, her hand on his arm, stopping him from leaving.

"Not tonight, yeri," Jungkook whispered and walked away rapidly, before she could say more.

Yeri said nothing afterwards; she let him go like she did everytime but her fists curled tightly out of affliction. She is not going to beg him for this. In her mind, she watched Jungkook walking to chaeyoung's room. She saw her welcoming him. It had been a frightful evening, full of silences and some feeble conversation. Through all this, yeri was aware that Jungkook had been worrying about chaeyoung. Nothing she had done had taken his attention from her, not even bringing their childhood memories. The moment she had understood, when he gifted his favorite musket to chaeyoung, that whose side he has been. Above all appointing minji was so unexpected. It hurted her at most because minji has been Jungkook's eyes and ears in the palace for years. Minji was not only shrewd and cunning but also very powerful in terms of court-empire matters. If that's the case how powerful chaeyoung became within short span of weeks. Did princess chaeyoung even aware of it ? Yeri left herself in bemusing.

When Jungkook left yeri, he went not to chaeyoung's chamber but to his own room. Even though he strongly desired to, he could not visit chaeyoung that night. He was tired, his head ached from the wine and he had eaten too much at dinner. He had spent five hours with yeri, five hours during which she had not reproached him even once for not coming to her earlier. And the evening was the same as all their evenings had been-with music and dance and a general noise and chatter to drown out all other conversation

So, as they always did, his thoughts turned to the woman who fascinates him nowadays. He hadn't seen her since the hunt in morning, and he realized that he sort of...missed her. Ever since he left her in the courtyard after that hunt, he still can't stop feeling intrigued by her. Witnessing yeri outsmarting chaeyoung in hunting really made him feel uneasy. It was so evident that she has no prior experience in hunting, musket shooting is another case. Even then she showed great interest observing everything and learning a lot of new tips from him unlike yeri who had never held ear to his advices. He was glad for that.