“Does My Lady recall? When I was young and met My Lady for the first time; the moment my name was made known. My Lady said our names made us sound like we were sisters.”
“Of course.”
“If I had an older sister, it would have been like this.”
“……..”
“Since My Lady did not see me as a mere Lady-in-Waiting, I have no choice but to do this, don’t I.”
She was saying that she wasn’t taking all these risks out of blind loyalty. Yi-Hwa couldn’t speak further upon hearing Woon-Hwa’s headstrong words and shed tears. Woon-Hwa cried and laughed at the same time, even as she wiped away Yi-Hwa’s tears.
“A better day will come. At that time, I, Woon-Hwa, will definitely come back to find you.”
“That’s right. Definitely.”
“Have you taken care of the Vice Minister of Rites’ correspondence?”
“Uhn. I slipped it securely within my bosom when I changed earlier.”
“Then please take leave now.”
“If on the chance you cannot escape this place at night and must confess the whole truth, then you can do so. At the very least, I will only be captured and sent back to the palace. So just stay safe. Please.”
“Stop saying such gloomy and heavy things, and go. Quickly.”
Yi-Hwa bit her lips and then quickly place the head covering(蒙首)* over her head. She arranged it so that only a narrow gap was left and her face could no longer clearly be seen.
[TL/N: It is a head covering made of long, sheer black gauze(羅) and often used by Goryeo women they go out in public.]
“I’m off.”
Woon-Hwa silently gave her a deep bow. Yi-Hwa opened the paper-paneled door and left the room.
Fortunately, the monks were still busy sending out the vegetarian dishes throughout the temple grounds. Alongside the Palgwanhoe(八關會)*, this was the largest festival of the year, and the town was crowded with government officials and visitors. No one was interested in a mere maid moving about.
[TL/N: An annual festival held during the Silla and Goryeo Dynasty where a ritual to worship the local gods takes place in Chongqing on the 15th of October and Seogyeong on the 15th of November of the lunar calendar. The name of the festival reflects the abstinence of ‘eight sins’
and one is to eat ‘jae’ or vegetarian dishes for purification of the body and mind.]
The side palace, where her Imperial Father was residing, caught Yi-Hwa’s attention but she clenched her teeth and moved her gaze away. And then, she smoothly stepped into a gap in the crowd and began her escape.
Her legs shook with anxiety, fearing that someone would grab her shoulders right away. Hurry, quickly, she needed to get out of this place….
“Young miss. Where are you headed?”
Yi-Hwa looked suspiciously at the Imperial Guard who blocked her path as she laboriously tried to appear calm and composed. She couldn’t afford to let her face be known to him.
“You appear to be the Palace Lady’s maid.”
“That is correct. My Lady came and bid me run an errand outside for a moment.”
“An errand? It can’t be that you plan to go back to the palace and come back. There is food aplenty here on the temple grounds.”
The nervous energy was surging up violently from within her stomach at any rate. Her whole body seemed to be burning with it along with impatience. Yi-Hwa quieted herself and calmly spoke in as cold a voice as possible.
“Does the Palace Lady have an obligation to tell the guard about the situation?”
“It is not the Palace Lady I am asking the answer from but rather the young miss.”
“You will heed me and think very carefully about whether you should stop me or not.”
“Of course.”
“And consequently, even if you don’t like this answer, you still cannot do anything about it. Is that not true?”
As Yi-Hwa pressed forward, the Imperial Guard quickly made an embarrassed expression.
“As young miss says, I am currently in a difficult position.”
“I, too, will be in a difficult position if I don’t quickly return. My Lady asked me to do this secretly. Must My Lady now ask the Imperial Guard for permission instead of His Majesty?”
“It’s because I worry for the young miss since it is chaotic outside. Please hurry and come back.”
Yi-Hwa lifted her head and headed to the temple’s towered gate, her hands clutching at the skirts of her head covering. She feared that the Imperial Guard was still observing her from behind. For that reason, she knew she had to walk more naturally, even when she wanted to run away that instant because of her anxiety that she was still being watched.
She barely managed to make her way down from the Bongeunsa Temple with trembling steps. And when she was finally a little farther away from the towered gate, she fled.