The palanquin dropped Eunseol off Yeoncheon Palace, the Emperor’s private space where even the Empress could not enter recklessly. 

As soon as she crossed the huge door, she turned her head to the fragrant scent of flowers. There were beautiful flowers and trees in the garden that blended together in a beautiful and splendid harmony which she had never seen before. 

"You can stay here."

“Yes?” Eunseol asked in confusion but the court lady just asked her to call her if she needed anything and stepped back.

This was where the emperor's sleeping quarters was located.

Eun-seol stood in the middle of the garden, unable to bear to go inside, and was lost in thought with a troubled face. 

I thought I was going to have an audience with the emperor right away, but now I'm at his private palace. 

The name of the palace was part of the places in the Imperial Palace on which she had studied urgently. There were several places in the palace and she heard that there were places only the emperor and the empress could use, especially Yeoncheon Palace, a space only for the emperor.

Eun-seol gently rubbed her lower abdomen with her palm as her stomach seemed to pull and clump together. Then she realized a strange part of the beautiful garden.

The flowers and trees were in harmony, but they were nothing they should be. There were no birds or insects that could be seen. There were no cicada cries. It was midsummer, but there was no such thing as a sound that could make your ears hurt, there was nothing but silence there.

"I don't like bugs."

At the sound of a voice coming from behind, Eunseol took three or four steps forward and widened the distance. She didn't feel a sign, when did he come this close?

"Here."

The man reached out and tried to grab her by the shoulder but Eun-seol launched forward, hand held up in the air and stopped him. 

"At your service, Your Majesty," Eunseol said as she knelt down on the stone floor.

"Are you Haewoon's wife?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The emperor gently stroked his smooth chin even though he didn’t have a beard and looked down at the top of Eunseol’s head. In such a quiet space, the fact that she was so alert but she did not notice him meant that the emperor was also unmanned. As it was his private space, the emperor stood alone, perhaps not letting anyone follow. 

Eunseol looked down at the floor with her eyes down.

The emperor's laughter was subtle, full of vigor.

“I was curious. What a great beauty! Now that I see you, I should be able to guess what the princess looks like.”

The hem of his cloth struck Eunseol’s eyes. The emperor’s clothes were familiar to her. It was the same silk cloth with a phoenix embroidered on it that Haewoon wore on the day Eunseol first met him. The emperor had said that he terribly cherishes General Geummun and put on the same clothes as him, which seems to be right. 

A stiff finger held up her chin. "What a strange color."

Was the emperor in front of her around her age? He was as beautiful as Haewoon. The high bridge of his nose was stretched out coolly and his brown eyes were so deep that it was hard to read. His lips drew into an arc. 

“Your Majesty?”

"Would the woman that I'll meet as the Empress have the same eye color as you?"

He's a dangerous man.

Those were the only words that echoed in Eunseol's head.