Chapter 30
The deafening sound of Eun Jung’s racing heart made the journey to Prince JiangSu’s library nearly unbearable for her. Although, she desperately wanted to believe that everything would be fine, Eun Jung instinctively knew that no good could come from her impending encounter with General Seok. Since the uneasy expression on Eun Jung’s face had not escaped his attention, General Seok asked her, “Princess Soo Jin, are you feeling ill?” Despite being startled by his sudden inquiry, Eun Jung still managed to shake her head and reply, “No, I’m not feeling ill. I’m just anxious to hear the message that you want to relay to me.” To acknowledge her response, General Seok slightly nodded his head and declared, “I’m quite anxious to impart the message as well.” Given that Eun Jung and General Seok had nothing more to say to one another, the remainder of the trip to Prince JiangSu’s library was made in silence.
When they finally arrived at their intended destination, Eun Jung tentatively opened the library doors and walked into the spacious study. Once she had reached the center of the room, Eun Jung turned around and watched as General Seok made his way from the closed doors to where she stood. Before she could utter a single word, General Seok grabbed a hold of her wrist and asked angrily, “Who exactly are you?!” Eun Jung was completely shocked by General Seok’s sudden assault and tried to pull her arm away, as she pleaded desperately, “Please let go, you’re hurting me.” General Seok was too furious to concern himself with Eun Jung’s well-being, and tightened his grip on her before exclaiming, “I know that you aren’t Princess Soo Jin. She’s not allergic to any type of shellfish, nor is she right-handed.”
While she was struck with the realization that her ruse could no longer continue, Eun Jung simultaneously felt an excruciating surge of pain through her arm, which caused her to cry out in agony. Fearing that he would soon break Eun Jung’s wrist, General Seok quickly casted aside her arm and ordered gruffly, “Tell me who you are right now and do not attempt to lie to me.” Despite knowing that she could no longer remain by Prince JiangSu’s side, once she told the truth, Eun Jung was still relieved to finally be rid of her constant sense of guilt. As she focused her attention onto General Seok’s intimidating features, Eun Jung inhaled sharply and finally admitted, “My name is Yoo Eun Jung. I’m just an ordinary girl from the Precious Life Orphanage, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
General Seok was unsure of what to make of Eun Jung’s confession, and quickly proceeded to ask, “Who sent you here to impersonate the Princess, and where is she now?” After carefully contemplating General Seok’s inquiries, Eun Jung truthfully answered, “I guess I sent myself here to impersonate Princess Soo Jin. And while I don’t know her current location, I think that she’s probably off somewhere happily married to the person she loves.” Although, Eun Jung’s nonsensical response seemed to pose more questions than it helped to answer, General Seok was still able to glean that there was much more to the story than he had originally imagined. Since he was fully intent on uncovering the entire truth, General Seok ordered Eun Jung to take a seat and to recount everything that had happened. As she glanced down at her bruised wrist, Eun Jung was reminded of General Seok’s volatile temper, and promptly sat down to comply with his orders.
Once she had given a full account of everything that had occurred, Eun Jung found that her story had rendered General Seok completely speechless. As he tried to regain his composure, Eun Jung abruptly knelt down in front of General Seok and requested tearfully, “Please let me be the one who tells Prince JiangSu about my deception. He’ll be devastated if he hears about it from anyone else.” General Seok was amazed to discover that Eun Jung’s primary concern was still Prince JiangSu, even during a time when she herself was in so much trouble. Before he could make a decision regarding Eun Jung’s request, General Seok heard Kwang Sun boisterously call out to him. Upon looking towards the direction of his son’s voice, General Seok was surprised to see that both Kwang Sun and Prince JiangSu had entered the library.
The unexpected sight of Eun Jung kneeling on the ground, with remnants of tears still present on her face, instantly alarmed Prince JiangSu. After he made his way over to her, Prince JiangSu helped Eun Jung up and held her in his arms, as he asked worriedly, “Are you okay.” Upon seeing Eun Jung nod her head to indicate that she was fine, Prince JiangSu turned his attention to General Seok, and glared at him before asking, “What did you do to make her cry?!” Having dealt with his fair share of cunning women, General Seok thought that Eun Jung would take this opportunity to protect her secret by creating a rift between himself and Prince JiangSu. Much to the General’s astonishment, Eun Jung did the exact opposite by admitting, “General Seok didn’t do anything. I’m crying because I’m such a horrible person.” Prince JiangSu was utterly confused by Eun Jung’s declaration and asked, “Soo Jin, what are you talking about?”
As she gazed into Prince JiangSu’s eyes, Eun Jung tried to work up the courage to tell him the truth and finally said, “I’m not really …” Before she could continue her confession, General Seok suddenly interrupted Eun Jung by saying, “The Grand Princess Consort isn’t really sure how to ask your highness if she can go home to her kingdom.” Taken aback by General Seok’s statement, Prince JiangSu asked him in an exasperated tone, “Now what are you talking about?!” After he briefly glanced at the perplexed expression on Eun Jung’s face, General Seok turned to Prince JiangSu to say, “I apologize for being unclear, let me start from the beginning. When I informed the Grand Princess Consort that her eldest brother was very ill, she told me that she felt like a horrible person for not being there with him. Princess Soo Jin also indicated that she wanted to go home to see him, but was worried that your highness would be angry at her for making such a request.”
Thinking that he finally understood why Eun Jung was so upset, Prince JiangSu asked, “Do you really want to go home?” Since she was too dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, Eun Jung remained silent. When he saw her unresponsiveness, Prince JiangSu thought that Eun Jung wanted to go home but was too afraid to say yes. Hoping to put her at ease, Prince JiangSu proclaimed, “If you want to go back to your kingdom, I’ll take you there myself.” Before she could protest, General Seok asked Prince JiangSu, “But doesn’t your highness need to start attending the war council meetings?” Upon being suddenly reminded of his current obligations, Prince JiangSu replied honestly, “I completely forgot all about that.” As General Seok focused his attention onto Eun Jung, he proceeded to say, “Princess Soo Jin, I think that it would be best for you to remain here with Prince JiangSu while he assumes his new duties.”
Without allowing Eun Jung to respond, General Seok continued to say, “If you’ll allow it, I can go back to your kingdom and try to take care of everything with regards to your royal family.” Eun Jung was completely taken aback by General Seok’s proposal and asked, “You would really do that for me?” With a sincere smile, General Seok replied, “Since your highness is so important to the Crowned Prince, I must do everything in my power to help you.” Prince JiangSu was grateful to General Seok for offering to assist Eun Jung and said, “My wife and I really don’t know how to thank you.” After taking a hold of Kwang Sun’s hand, General Seok looked at Eun Jung and replied, “You can thank me by enduring all future hardships together for the sake of everyone in Korea.” Eun Jung understood General Seok’s hidden meaning and nodded her head solemnly to promise that she would do her best to assist Prince JiangSu in the future.
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