Thief of Twilight

Part Two: Chapter 44

The palace had become so full of life since Lady Abedayo woke up. Every night, the servants would stay up and talk to one another about the future. Many of them wondered what their wedding would be like. Others wondered how the relationship between Lady Abedayo and Emperor Kang would grow.

Min-ji separated herself from the gathering and sat on the grass near the banquet hall. In her hands, was a cup filled with honey tea. She was very pleased that Lady Abedayo was back. She happily held her cup of tea to her lips and drank. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head to see Beom walking along the stone path toward his bedroom. Min-ji sat up before clutching the cup of tea to her chest.

"L-Lord Kang!" she called out to him.

Lord Kang looked in her direction.

"Lord Kang!" she waved her hand in the air.

"...Min-ji, what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be asleep?" he crossed the grass to where she sat.

"I couldn't sleep. Plus, everyone is still so excited that Lady Abedayo is back. It's kind of hard with them talking about their hopes for the wedding and all that."

Lord Kang looked down. "Oh."

"H-How are you feeling?"

Lord Kang pursed his lips.

"Are you still upset with her?"

"...I don't know..." he said. "I want to be upset with her but I can't be. She apologized which I am thankful for but..."

Min-ji looked down at her tea.

"I just wish that she could have told me that she was going to do that. Well, I know that she couldn't have told me but..." Lord Kang balled his hands into fists. "I just...wish that..."

Min-ji stood up.

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past. I'll get over it. I just need some time."

Mi-ji nodded her head. "I understand."

"But...I want to thank you."

"...What did I do?"

"You cared for  me when I was wounded. Granny told me that you were the one who stayed by my bed for several days until I was healed. So...thank you." he gave her a warm smile. "I want to thank you for that."

Min-ji looked down with flushed cheeks. "Y-You're welcome."

"You don't have to call me Lord Kang." he said. "Please call me Beom."

"...I would prefer-."

"Call me Beom."

"...Yes...B-Beom..."

Lord Kang smiled softly before continuing down the stone path. "Don't stay out too long. You need to rest." he waved at her with a gentle smile. "Goodnight!"

"G-Goodnight!" Min-ji watched as Lord Kang walked past her. Holding the cup of tea to her lips, her face began to turn red. "Goodnight...Beom..."

___

Everyone was pleased to see that things were returning to normal. With the days getting warmer, Elder Kang was busy putting together a list of medicinal herbs for Zurine's recovery. She was aware that Zurine has regained some of her strength but her recovery was alarmingly slow. Elder Kang wondered if it was due to the elixir.

Could it have harmed her body much more than she originally thought? She began to wonder how long the elixir had been in Zurine's body.

Sitting at her desk, she scribbled down a list of herbs that she knew would be easily obtained in the city. Two servants sat on the opposite side of her desk waiting patiently for her command. Both were new to the palace but came from families who studied both herbology and botany. She felt that they were best suited for this task.