Marriage Talks
In the patriarch's chamber of Daehyeongung, Wang Inho was leisurely sipping his tea. He had even set aside his duties for a short while to steady his mind and body.
It was something he would never have done under ordinary circumstances, but today he had no choice. The clan council, convened once a month, was being held on this very day.
What was more, this session had run well past midday, and the fatigue had piled up all the more. Understandably so — a most extraordinary agenda had been laid before them.
Mujin, of all people, being involved with Seolha like that. Who would have thought.
Was the boy already showing an eye for women? The thought worried him deeply. But what troubled him even more was Wang Yeomsu.
Mmm.
Wang Inho let out a rare groan. The marriage talks between Mujin and Seolha had passed with unanimous approval the moment the agenda was raised, so there was no problem there.
Wang Gohu, the Great Elder, had approved on the grounds that the clan's legitimacy would be preserved, and as for Wang Yeomsu — his own daughter marrying the young lord was something he could only approve of, never oppose.
The masters of the other pavilions and Moyong Hu, commander of the Royal Sword Brigade, likewise showed no trace of objection. Wang Inho himself judged that no better match could exist.
And yet, one thing gnawed at him.
It was the worry that Wang Yeomsu's authority might grow too great. The man was already his own cousin, and moreover the master of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, one of the two pillars of the Four Gods Pavilions.
If he were to become the patriarch's father-in-law on top of that, the question was whether Mujin could withstand that pressure.
No matter how loyal Wang Yeomsu might be to the clan now, circumstances change, eras change, and men change with them. That is what it means to hold power.
And of all such men of power, the one who had changed the most was Choe Chunghon, the tyrant who had swallowed the nation whole. With such an example before him, Wang Inho could not place unconditional faith in Wang Yeomsu.
Draining the last of his tea, Wang Inho turned his thoughts elsewhere.
Choe Chunghon.
Hadn't word come recently that he was plagued by assassination threats? According to the Azure Dragon Pavilion's investigations, nameless corpses had been turning up near Gaegyeong for the better part of a year.
It made plain Choe Chunghon's intent to tear the threat out by the roots once and for all.
It's about time I opened talks with the other great clans.
Should an assassination attempt within the royal palace fail, Choe Chunghon would surely seek to replace the king himself to shore up his authority.
He would need to be checked before that happened — and the Wang Clan alone could not manage it. For that, they would need the strength of the Shin Clan, which had produced royal bodyguards for generations.
Having resolved to send a letter to the Shin Clan before long, Wang Inho rose from his seat. But first, he meant to settle the matter of Mujin's marriage.
Why are you here? No — wait, you're the pavilion master, of course you'd be here. Then how much did you see? Don't tell me you saw it from the very beginning.
My brain kicked into overdrive. This situation, the words I'd said to provoke Wang Ojong — everything that had just happened flashed through my mind in rapid succession.
After a brief moment, I realized something had gone very wrong.
Ah. This is extremely open to misunderstanding, isn't it?
Just as I'd feared, Wang Seolha had already gotten entirely the wrong idea.
"So it's true... you have been pining for me?"
True? What on earth is she talking about now. Does she think I've been in love with her this whole time?
I'm going insane.
A misunderstanding had given birth to another misunderstanding. Wang Ojong thought I was romantically involved with Wang Seolha, and now Wang Seolha thought I had feelings for her.
To think a single act of blind rage would snowball into all this. Just as I resolved to curb my impulses from now on, Wang Seolha — her face still burning crimson — began edging slowly toward me, hesitating all the while.
"Come here for a moment."
"Huh?"
Then she grabbed me by the sleeve and bolted!
What is even happening?
Still dazed, I meekly followed Wang Seolha until we were well out of sight of anyone. By the time I finally came to my senses and looked at her, her ears had flushed red to their very tips.
This girl. Don't tell me — no, surely not?
"I saw your duel with the vice-commander."
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah."
Wang Seolha kept her back turned as she spoke.
"There's... one thing I'd like to ask you. May I?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"What you said to the vice-commander earlier. Was it the truth?"
Ah. This situation. Call me ignorant about women all you like, but even I couldn't pretend not to understand something this blatant.
The nape of her neck turning red all the way up to her ears, the way she kept her back turned because she was too embarrassed to look at my face — it wasn't nine out of ten, it was ten out of ten. The girl liked me.
So what answer should I give? The answer was already decided. Our marriage was a fait accompli anyway; there was no need to blurt out the truth here.
The only thing that bothered me was having to tell a lie.
I'm sorry.
Offering Wang Seolha a heartfelt apology in my mind, I spoke.
"Yeah."
Jolt.
Wang Seolha flinched hard and pressed her lips shut.
"......"
"Wang Seolha?"
"......"
What was I supposed to do about this awkwardness?
She wasn't answering no matter how I called her. Just as I was starting to wonder if we'd have to stand there like that forever, Wang Seolha whirled around as though she had finally steeled herself.
It was the first time today I'd faced her directly, and against her white hair, her already-flushed face somehow looked redder still.
"What you said — about wanting to court me. Was that true too...?"
"It was."
That part wasn't a lie. I'll say it again — if we were going to be married anyway, courting her as the rumors claimed was the better path.
Wang Seolha kept asking questions one after another, and every time the word "true" left my mouth, her whole body trembled.
But had I actually done anything worth liking? I racked my memory, yet nothing came to mind.
Our first meeting had been two years ago, when she got caught spying on my training. After that, I picked up her fallen hair ornament for her, and our acquaintance had grown from there.
Hm?
Come to think of it, hadn't I never given that ornament back? And with things having turned out this way, there was no longer any need for the duel we'd promised two years ago.
I fished the lotus-shaped hair ornament from my pocket and held it out to Wang Seolha.
"This is..."
"It was yours to begin with. Take it."
Wang Seolha accepted the ornament from me and fastened it into her hair at once. Then she fixed the second one in place as well and asked,
"Do they... suit me?"
"You look beautiful."
And it was no flattery — she truly did. Perhaps because of her snow-white hair, the ornaments stood out all the more strikingly.
We were just settling into one of those unspoken, charged silences when I sensed something sprinting toward us from far off.
"Young lord!"
A voice I knew well. Drawing on my inner sight for a moment, I identified the runner — it was Ansong, my bodyguard.
He'd been assigned to the Flag Bearer Corps alongside me, and I'd assumed I wouldn't see him for a while. What could this be about? While I stood there staring blankly at the approaching Ansong, Wang Seolha spoke up with a trace of displeasure in her voice.
"Someone you know?"
"Ah, right — my bodyguard. Though I have no idea why he'd come all the way out here."
From the way he was running, something urgent must have come up.
"The Patriarch has arrived!"
"Huh?"
"The Patriarch — he's come!"
Here? Why?
According to Ansong, the matter of my marriage to Wang Seolha had already come up at the clan council. And to top it off, it had passed by unanimous vote.
I knew it'd turn out this way, but honestly — they're just drumming and clanging away at their own little parade, aren't they?
My head spun at the sight of a marriage proceeding on its own, with nary a thought given to the wishes of the two people involved. But then, this was the way of royalty, I supposed.
For a clan to endure across the ages, tradition had to be maintained. That was simply how it worked.
By the time Ansong finished explaining, we had barely managed to slip back into the hall before Wang Inho's arrival.
Naturally, that did nothing to stop the pointed glances being thrown our way.
"Ahem."
We had, after all, gone running off without sorting anything out. I had nothing to say in my defense.
Thinking of how someone else had been left to handle the aftermath — treating Wang Ojong, covering for the absent pavilion master — a flicker of guilt stirred in me as well.
And there was yet another person waiting for us. None other than Wang Yeomsu.
"You've come, I see."
Goodness, that startled me.
Why did people keep popping up out of nowhere these days?
Wang Yeomsu gave the flustered me a once-over, then offered a faint smile.
"Come this way for now. Seolha, you as well."
"Yes, Father."
Following Wang Yeomsu, we were led to the instructor's quarters in the annex. Since Wang Yeomsu served as an instructor himself, I guessed that was why he'd brought us here.
Not that he'd taught any of us new recruits — myself included — a single thing yet.
The instructors of the Flag Bearer Corps were drawn from the masters of the Four Gods Pavilions, but the trouble was that those masters were all so hopelessly busy that they could hardly fulfill the role at all.
That was why, even though quite some time had passed since I joined the corps, nothing much had happened beyond self-directed training.
"Wait here a moment, and the Patriarch will be along shortly."
With that, Wang Yeomsu plopped down onto a seat himself.
You're staying here too?
When I showed a flicker of discomfort, Wang Yeomsu waved his hands as if to say, don't misunderstand.
"There's no need to be so tense. I have no intention of derailing the two of you's marriage."
No, that's not it — it's the fact that you're here at all that's uncomfortable.
Wang Inho's presence alone was suffocating enough; with Wang Yeomsu added to the mix, I felt like I might bolt out the door at any moment. Of course I couldn't say that aloud, so I could only manage an awkward smile.
"Haha. Thank you."
Screech.
Just then, Wang Inho strode into the room. Everyone present, myself included, dropped to one knee in salute.
"Patriarch."
"Yeomsu. So you were here as well."
"I am. As Seolha's father, I wished to hear how you would decide, my lord."
"The matter of the marriage was settled at the clan council, was it not?"
"The final word rests with you regardless, does it not? Whatever decision the council reaches, it means nothing if you, the Patriarch, say no."
How should I put this. It had the feel of a standoff. From what I knew, the two of them were supposed to be on decent terms.
A brief silence fell, and then Wang Inho took his seat at the head of the room.
I moved to follow suit, but Wang Seolha was sweating buckets and showed no sign of sitting down at all.
Wondering what was wrong, I whispered my question to her.
What's the matter?
It's just... it's my first time meeting the Patriarch, so I'm a little nervous.
Fair enough. Within the Wang Clan, the Patriarch Wang Inho was as good as the king himself. No — he was the king in all but name, so her nerves made perfect sense.
To help her relax, I took her hand firmly in mine, then guided her to a seat.
Tremble, tremble.
This girl. She was so tense her legs were shaking. She'd had plenty of backbone dealing with me, the young lord, yet couldn't so much as lift her head before Wang Inho — which made me see anew just how weighty the position of Patriarch truly was.
Only after Wang Seolha was finally seated could our conversation begin.
"Have you given any thought to when you intend to hold the wedding?"
Excuse me, we're not even of age yet?