Chapter 11
¨Huibi-¨
¨I am sorry, please don´t kill me!!¨
Rose came out of her makeshift hiding and kowtowed to the queen dowager. The king immediately stood up, his body standing tall next to his mother.
¨No! It's not her mistake. Huibin was looking at the flowers with so much concentration so I thought of you know to surprise her. I.. like.. snuck up on her...from the back and then….well she got surprised... so.. she pushed me away and then I fell and hit a rock. It was my mistake I shouldn’t have….I mean of course she would push me away and I couldn’t keep my balance.”
Ha-Eun intervened before Huibin could mess up Joonwoo’s lie.
“He can get the sling removed in a week, mother. There is nothing to worry about.”
Joonwoo sat back down, relieved that his wife backed him up.
“So for one week he will not be coming to the court?”
“Actually we can use this in our interest mother.”
“How so?”
“We can say the king got injured while helping a maid. The words of his great deed will spread like wildfire.”
“True we need to improve his reputation, the people have been uneasy for sometime.”
Even though Rose wasn’t really a fan of manipulating the situation like this….it was a way to keep her head attached to her neck. Behind her, Dan-Bi legit stopped breathing. Oh yeah she is the only maid here. Rose perked up when a brilliant idea entered her head.
“Aera can make the statement. She was there with me and Do-Yun can vouch for her.”
“Why would anyone need to make any statement?”
Rose slowly retrieved back to her place. Well yeah it wasn’t the modern world, they don’t have the press. 'The patch’ would have a field day with their family drama. `Nation’s heartthrob Joonwoo was rushed into the hospital this morning. Doctor Sang-ki has refused to comment. Stay tuned as we work to learn more.’ Rose made a mental note to apply for an internship in `The patch’.
“Not to go to the extent of making a statement in the court but we can ask Aera to start the gossip and of course Do-Yun can back her up.”
Hearing Ha-Eun push forward her idea, Rose moved to the front again.
“Okay Ha-Eun, you handle that and Huibin, could you come to my palace tomorrow.”
“Mother…”
“Is there a problem Ha-Eun?”
“No.”
The queen took a small step back looking dejected. Personally Rose did not like the idea of being alone with the queen dowager. Actually being alone with any of them was uncomfortable, except Sang-ki because even though she wasn’t fond of Seo-yeon, she wouldn’t go to the extent of killing her. Dan-Bi would definitely hate her if she did anything to Seo-yeon. The point is this whole family was not safe but for the sake of the story Rose will have to take risks. At most what will happen, she will die? She knows she will just come back to life here.
`Does your dumb ass not know that you will still feel the pain of dying?’
`Oh my god who the f-?!’
`Answer the queen dowager will you?! She is already planning your funeral with those glares.’
“Yes?”
“By what time can you come?”
“I..um..10..10 o’clock?”
“....”
“By... no when...the sun...is in the east...but not too much in the east, somewhere between being in the east and over the head.”
“So in the morning?”
“Yes...in the morning…”
“Fine.”
She turned to leave but stopped in front of Sang-ki.
“When will you grow up and stop playing house with the low lives?”
“She is more noble than you could ever be, that's why for me, her status has and always will be, way above yours.”
“Don’t come to me crying when your play date goes wrong!”
“Why will I come to you?”
The tension in the room could be cut by a knife. Yeah things are not good between them.
Dan-Bi slightly tugged on Sang-Ki’s skirt to stop her from doing anything to worsen the situation. The queen dowager threw one glance at her and stormed out of the infirmary.
“Huibin, why did you agree to meet her?”
“Oh my great Highness, was I presented with a choice?
Joonwoo stood up to leave but sat back down when a new character emerged through the door. The day just keeps getting better.
“I heard our mother’s voice and decided to hide until she left. How are you brother?”
“Now does everyone know I got hurt?”
“I am not quite sure about that. I saw you being rushed here on my way to the library. How did this happen?”
“His Highness got hurt while saving Aera.”
“Wow, my brother has always had a big heart! I am so proud of you…...so who is Aera?”
“Huibin’s maid. Huibin and him were taking a troll in the garden this morning. Aera was her attending maid that time, suddenly she twisted her leg and His Highness saved her from getting seriously hurt but he hit a rock which resulted in him injuring his shoulder.”
“Did they go like….rolling down together or something.”
“Nothing of that sort. Huibin was quick to catch Aera but due to disbalance His Highness fell.”
Both the husband and wife were such smooth liars, it made Rose more cautious of them.
“A true king offers a hand to everyone regardless of their status. Splendid! As expected from my brother.”
“I am grateful for your help, Your Highness. I will take my leave now and have a speedy recovery.”
Dan-Bi got up immediately and stood behind Seo-yeon. Sang-Ki whispered that she would drop by later. The queen got up too, most probably thinking of leaving too.
“Sure.”
“You must be Huibin.”
Rose blinked several times trying to comprehend the situation. The man in front of her was definitely the one she met on her first night here and she clearly remembers him addressing her as Huibin. His actions too were as if he knew Huibin well. Why was he pretending not to know her?
“Yes she is.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Cheung Eun-Seo, Joonwoo’s elder brother.”
“Nice...to meet you too?”
“We are really sorry but Huibin and I will have to take our leave. We have something important to discuss.”
Ha-Eun bids farewell to Sang-Ki and reassures Joonwoo that she would come to check on him soon before taking Huibin with her, Dan-Bi following them closely.