Phases of the moon

Part 12

It has been a few days since Byulyi and her company arrived in Manwol. It also has been a few days since the royal physician specifically told Byulyi to rest and avoid any strenuous activities to let her wounds heal after stitching her up. Yongsun remembers in toto what he said, Your highness, you must refrain from walking because it might reopen your wounds and get it infected. And so, Yongsun expects to have her lying on her bed obediently and making herself comfortable so that her body can rest and heal properly but now, the real question is... why is there no traces of Moon Byulyi on their shared bed?! She clenches and unclenches her fists, trying to dissipate the bubbling anger inside her chest. Inhale. Exhale. She repeats the cycle and smiles when she feels that she is finally calm, however, the moment she stepped inside the room, she remembered the times where she has seen Byulyi making her escape from their room. Her blood boils once again. What an obstinate woman!

"Where is she?" she asks, inwardly patting herself for appearing as calm as possible.

"A-about that," one of the court ladies squeaked in surprise when Yongsun whips her head so fast that she is afraid that she might have hurt herself a bit. Now, the physician might have to tend on two patients if this continues, "Princess Byulyi told me to keep it a secr-"

Yongsun cracks her knuckles and glares at the poor girl who was just caught up in a mess that was not hers to begin with, "So, you were saying?"

Byulyi carefully moves her arm, trying to ease the barely-there pain on her shoulder, and sighs. She could have already moved around the place if only the royal physician did not insist on making her take a few more days of rest just to make sure that her wounds would not reopen. She could not help but scoff at the thought. Who do they take her for?

It is not like she does not know her own body. She swears she can now freely move around. Her wound has stopped bleeding and there is no more poison left in her system. She does not feel nauseous anymore. She has insisted too many times that she is fine now but her pleas has only pass through from one ear to the other.

And Yongsun...

At the thought of the black-haired beauty, Byulyi sighs, defeated.

It did not help that Yongsun guards her like a predator watching its prey. Any suspicious movements will only agitate her and then the nagging begins. Byulyi really had to sit through a 3-hour long lecture just because Yongsun saw her in the middle of running away from their room.

She relents and heeds Yongsun's warnings and nagging. Instead of using her right arm, she will just use her left arm. She smirks inwardly. No one told her not to use her uninjured shoulders. She is just fortunate that she is dexterous. It is not always, but there are times that she wields two swords at the same time. Byulyi, despite being dexterous, does not always use it. Not because it is not a common practice but because of its disadvantages. One reason is that a person can only use two swords if they are able to use it effectively which is highly difficult to do so. Second, it can be impractical and inconvenient. It requires refined coordination and balance, immense strength, and speed.

She expertly takes a sword among the pile with her left hand then starts to swing it around to warm her body up. It only has just been a few days of getting bedridden but Byulyi feels like it has been years since she has moved her body like this. She just could not help it. It is inherent in her nature to move around. Being productive is who she is. She feels that her body is going to rust away if she does not move around. Even the tedious hours in her study are like a punishment to her but of course, she has no choice but to do it. The reason being is that she is the Hand of the King. She does not only raise her sword for the King, but she also takes part in politics, economy, state of affairs, etc.