Marriage

It was eight years ago but Yoshiro remembered it as if it happened yesterday.

The day was the Third Princess Seung-mi’s birthday. He watched as Her Majesty the Queen carried little Seung-mi in her arms. The baby slept soundly in her mother’s arms. She was the third girl in the Royal Family. Though she had brought joy to the Crown Prince, his sisters, and the Queen, it was different for the rest of the country.

Everyone prayed for another prince, not a princess. They were disappointed. Supposedly, there was a feast to be held all over the country. There was to be food for the commoners as well. It was something that never happened. The Southern Royal Family was even invited just to rub their new prince’s birth on their faces but when the news came, everything was canceled.

It was like Sun-mi’s birth all over again. Yoshiro couldn’t understand this at that time but as he aged, he learned why. It was to secure the throne from being taken over. It was in case he dies in battle, there would be someone else with pure royal blood to sit on that throne. It was supposedly a backup prince but the gods have planted a princess in her Majesty’s womb, instead.

He remembered checking the doors, the hallway, and outside of the Queen’s building every minute to see if the King would visit his sister. The King never came.

He remembered the Queen asking him to hold his newborn sister in his hands.

He remembered how soft and warm she felt in his arms---she was like a dream and her Majesty’s joy couldn’t be described.

He remembered smiling, basking in his Mother’s happiness. That was before a tear slipped her eye.

He remembered the Queen trying to explain to him why Seung-mi’s birth wasn’t celebrated. None of her words made sense to him.

He remembered being simple-minded and disappointed over this fact but the gentle springing of a new life overpowered his disappointment.

He smiled.

What a happy prince, the Queen smiled as well, please be always happy. Forever. Keep this promise. She gently caressed her son’s hair with her sweat-soaked hands.

The Prince nodded, confident that he would be always happy forever. He thought it was a simple task to be that way always. The young Prince did not know how wrong he was.

The doors opened but it wasn’t the King. It was Sun-mi. Her face brightened when she saw her young sister. She rushed to them, almost slipping the tray she was holding. The Queen chuckled and helped Sun-mi down. Sun-mi placed the tray in front of her Majesty.

He could remember her laughter in his ears, “You could have asked your matron to bring the tray for you.”

Sun-mi shook her head, “No, I wanted this to be special.” A huge smile painted her lips.

She lifted the bronze bowl and offered it to her mother, “I made this soup, especially for Seung-mi. I took pains to perfect this!”

All of them laughed but young Yoshiro hushed them, “Her Highness, the fourth-born Princess might awaken!”

The Queen smiled; her eyes disappeared by the curve of her smile. She bowed to her daughter, accepted the bowl, and smelled the soup. She nodded, “It smells delicious, your Highness.”

The Princess was shining, proud of her soup. The Queen picked up a spoon but before she could lift it up, she fell. Sun-mi and Yoshiro panicked. Yoshiro quickly called out for help. He no longer minded his voice whether it was too loud or not. The servants came rushing in---they gasped as they saw the Queen and the Princess. They quickly assisted them while others called for the doctors.

Yoshiro glanced at Sun-mi. The Princess couldn’t move. She lifted her eyes to Yoshiro. Yoshiro cried.

*What happened? What did you do? Why did you do it?*

Sun-mi’s face crumpled. She hid her fingers in her sleeves and gripped her dress.

I didn’t do anything! I didn’t do anything! I didn’t---

The next day, the Queen’s cause of death was announced and it was childbirth.

At the Queen’s funeral, the palace and the country’s cries echoed throughout the whole Hosaki. The Crown Prince didn’t believe that. It wasn’t childbirth. He believed that no one should die after childbirth. It was a fact of life for him.

At the Queen’s funeral, Yoshiro glared at his sister, burning holes into her soul. He swore vengeance.

Sun-mi was innocent, whether she was or not. The King’s solution was to hush everything up and to make everyone believe the Royal Family is intact. There wasn’t an investigation for the Queen’s death as he would’ve liked it. It was simply childbirth.

There were rumors someone has placed poison in the soup. They didn’t know that the soup never arrived on the Queen’s tongue. There were others that said the Queen died of exhaustion. There were others that said the Princess has intentionally killed her mother for who-knows-why. Some said that it was the newborn Princess who was supposedly the target since she signaled bad luck.

No matter the version of the rumor, it remained the same. Yoshiro blamed his sister for their mother’s death.

----

“Your Royal Majesty, there have been war plans set by the Southerners to protect Kaisen. It is a war and though we despise sending our Crown Prince---”

Yoshiro snorted too loud. The King, the Prime Minister, and the rest of the officials turned to him. He eyed everyone’s surprise then looked calmly into his father’s disappointed face. He sighed, turned to the Prime Minister, and smiled.

.He nodded his head, “Continue, Prime Minister Wang.”

Wang did his best to hide his irritation then bowed to the King, “We despise sending our Crown Prince to the battlefield, where he could----may the gods forbid----be hurt.”

The Crown Prince saw through the Minister’s words but he smiled as if he liked the concern.

“If anything happens to him---“

Yoshiro cut him off, “It won’t happen again.”

Wang couldn’t help but sigh then he continued, “The Royal Line will be cut off. We suggest that the King should take a new Queen,” he paused, “since the Crown Prince has someone in mind already.” He smiled coyly. He eyed his friends in the court officials and saw that they smiled, too.

The King twitched----not about the hair again---and asked Yoshiro as if they didn’t talk about this, “Is this true?”

Yoshiro scoffed at the Prime Minister then turned to his father the King with a sweet smile. He said, “Your Majesty, I will accept anyone deserving to become my wife. However, now, I see no one who is but if your Majesty has chosen someone in mind, I will gladly marry.”

“Your Royal Highness,” one of the lower-ranked Ministers stepped forward and bowed, “the Prime Minster has a daughter worthy of the Crown Prince’s affection.”

“Oh, not her.” Yoshiro thought and was filled with disgust. He loathed the girl’s materialistic nature. Having her as a Queen would bankrupt the country and besides, having a Wang descendant as Queen? Catastrophe. Rules of marriage weren’t the same way the previous generations did it. Back then, someone within the family---say, a cousin or a relative---was preferred to be the spouse of a King or of a Crown Prince. This was to keep to themselves the share of power, throne, and riches. However, the way it was done now was completely different. Whether the future Queen’s blood was pure or not, as long as it benefitted the Royal Family in the end, it didn’t matter.

He smiled, “Like all other candidates, she must pass the screening then I’ll decide if she is worthy of my affection.”

He turned to Prime Minister Wang, just to spite him. Wang stared straight into his eyes even though it was impolite to do so to a Royalty.

He bowed, “Then, the most fitting candidate will win.”

Yoshiro scoffed.

----

The sound of the gayageum echoed throughout the gazebo. The sun, despite the many screens placed around the windows, still shone through and warmed the room. He gazed upon the lady whose hands gently gave life to the beautiful melodies. When the servant lady raised her eyes to meet his, she lowered her head while her cheeks turned pink. He stifled his chuckle and that was when he felt his father’s eyes on him.

He gulped, corrected his sitting position, and bowed his head, “Forgive me, Father---“

“I wish you wouldn’t have to fight.”

His eyes widened but he quickly regained his composure. He simply smiled, folded his sleeve, and poured his father’s cup with wine, “But it was the rules of the game our god, Daiki, the Great One, imposed.”

Once done, he gently slid the cup to his father.

His father laughed, “You have quite the nerve to treat the Southerners’ Crown Prince that way.”

Yoshiro laughed as well, “He deserved it, Father.”

“But he was simply doing his duties as well.”

His son remained silent.

“Though our god had commanded that rule, I wish there were a way to send someone else instead of you. You are too precious for me to lose, Yoshiro.”

Yoshiro’s hands started to shiver. He gulped and kept his hands in his sleeves. He wasn’t used to being called by his birth name. He bowed his head and smiled, “Father, that is,” he paused, “a really nice thing of you to say.”

Jaesook smiled, “What would you think of me getting married?”

Yoshiro stiffened and couldn’t hide his glum expression. He simply avoided his father’s eyes and drank from his cup.

“Yoshiro, I know that you hate to discuss this---“

“I do. Another outsider to infiltrate into our family---of course, I hate it.”

Jaesook took a deep breath, “But think about it: the more wars you are sent to, the more endangered the Royal Family gets put into. The last time you went missing for a week, rumors of a coup d’état rose but all that was crushed when you returned.

Now, think of our situation again. I’ll either be dethroned or I could marry someone from a powerful family---or you could marry someone.”

Yoshiro sucked his lower lip and bit into it. He let out a heavy breath and refused to look his father in the eye.

“Yoshiro---“

“We had this conversation already. As much as possible, I’d like to marry someone I want to. I’d like to have a happy marriage like you did.”

The music stopped as the lady sharply gasped. When the King and the Crown Prince turned to her, her whole face went red and with shaking fingers, she continued to pluck the strings.

Yoshiro rolled his eyes, “Not you.”

The lady pretended not to hear though her eyes began to moist and the music turned slow until it became sad. The King and Crown Prince’s conversation stopped as the atmosphere turned dark and bit awkward. Annoyed, the King dismissed the servant musician. She quickly took her to leave.

“Crown Prince, this is why you are not allowed to choose. For all we know, you would bring dirt---“

“I won’t stoop that low.”

“And you can’t pay attention to every woman you see. They will think you admire them----“

“I don’t. Not the slightest. I just like to look at them.”

Another silence fell between them. Though the words weren’t the words his son wanted to hear, Jaesook said it, anyways.

“Crown Prince, allow me to marry instead. In that way, you have time to choose who you want as partner and Queen of this nation.”

Yoshiro closed his eyes and clenched his fist. In a soft but defiant voice, he mumbled, “Then do it without me having to witness the marriage.”