Yeon tried her best to avoid him every time. She thought he was just an inexperienced young emperor who was curious about the nearest woman.

Without blushing at all, she pushed away the man who pressed his fingers to her lips. Ryu let out a low chuckle in response to her resistance and wrapped both arms around her waist.

“Your Majesty.”

“Just stay still for a moment.”

By now, Ryu had grown tall and broad — so much so that he reminded her of a mighty war god. He had grown so quickly that she could hardly remember when it had happened. Standing before him, she always felt like a little girl again. Their difference in build was that overwhelming.

When Ryu tried to lift her onto his thigh, Yeon pressed her lips together and gave him a displeased look.

“I don’t like these kinds of games.”

She met his gaze firmly. Whenever Ryu teased her too much, Yeon never knew how to respond. She didn’t want to upset him, but her gentle protests never seemed to have any effect.

“Why can’t you just let it go once? Would it hurt to be a bit nicer?”

‘Your Majesty! How can you say such things?”

“Can I kiss you, then?”

“Please stop. This kind of talk is improper…”

“But last time, you let me.”

Yeon trembled. Ryu let out a soft laugh, pulled her onto his lap and didn’t back down.

Holding her delicate body in his arms as if she were the most precious thing in the world, he kissed her on the cheek.

Yeon clutched at his chest, struggling to contain her frustration and laboured breathing.

Yeon began to think that she might have to report this matter to the Empress Dowager. She had already raised the issue with Princess Sukon once before, but Ryu’s behaviour hadn’t changed. Had she known it would come to this, she would have done so sooner.

In fact, she hadn’t even expected the Empress Dowager to take this stance.

Yeon sat frozen, her face pale with shock and disbelief.

“I know how devoted you’ve been to Her Majesty,the Empress Dowager, that’s why I am entrusting you with his education in s*xual matters.”

“But Your Majesty, I raised His Majesty as my younger brother.”

Yeon’s voice trembled, and truthfully, her nose stung as though she were on the verge of tears. She had never imagined that the Empress Dowager would suggest such a thing.

In fact, she had expected her to be the most opposed to it. Whenever the young emperor behaved inappropriately towards Yeon, the Empress Dowager would severely reprimand him. Needless to say, he never really listened.

“His Majesty needs women who are more mature and beautiful than I am. Your Majesty knows I’m not even knowledgeable in such matters…”

Yeon lowered her head. It was embarrassing, but true.

Other women her age — whether noble daughters or commoners — had long since married and had children.

Yeon had once had such an opportunity, too. From the year she turned sixteen, Princess Sukon had made serious efforts to find her a suitable husband. She had gone to great lengths to find a suitable husband for her.

But even the Emperor’s aunt had failed to separate Yeon from Ryu.

Following the incident involving Song Yeong-ha of the Jeokryongwi imperial knight, however, the subject of marriage was never raised again.

“The young ladies chosen as ceremonial maidens have no experience with men either.”

“…Your Majesty.”

Tears pooled in Yeon’s eyes and finally began to trickle down her cheeks.

Looking at the Empress Dowager, her gaze pleading desperately, she shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. It really couldn’t be happening.

To Yeon, the Empress Dowager was like a mother to Ryu. Others might have considered it presumptuous, but Yeon saw herself as his mother. After all, she had raised him alone.

The Empress Dowager and Princess Sukon — his grandmother and aunt, respectively — only stopped by occasionally, perhaps out of guilt. Not every other day, but perhaps once a week.

They received updates about the young emperor’s well-being from eunuchs and court ladies, but rarely looked after him directly. So the burden of raising him had always fallen to Yeon. Even if Ryu didn’t remember it, Yeon did.

And now…

“How could I possibly stand n*ked before His Majesty? How can I become a woman in front of the boy I raised?”

“That’s enough.”

“Your Majesty, please, you mustn’t do this. I…”

“Silence!”

“H-hngh…”

Yeon cried. She shook her head like a child, unable to stop crying or think about her dignity.

She knew full well how strict the Empress Dowager was and that, once she had made up her mind, she never changed it. But even knowing that, Yeon couldn’t stop crying.

The Empress Dowager turned her head away as she watched Yeon bow until her forehead touched the floor.

Eventually, exhausted from crying endlessly, Yeon left Gyeongin Palace.

***

The night of consummation was set.

Yeon had no way of refusing.

Now that the Empress Dowager had made her position clear, there was no point in pleading with Princess Sukon. She was a devoted daughter who had never gone against her mother’s will. Crying and running to her would be meaningless.

It would be better to hope that Ryu would change his mind himself.

That evening, Yeon looked at Ryu as he returned from his official duties. He must have been informed of everything. Yet his expression hadn’t changed since that morning.

He must have heard from the eunuchs how much she had cried at Gyeongin Palace and how her cheeks had flushed red with tears streaming down her face. And still, he looked the same.

In other words, his face was unreadable. It was so flat and emotionless that she had no idea what he was thinking.

“I heard you didn’t finish your meal.”

“Yes.”

The first thing he said was to check on her well-being, having noticed that she had barely eaten.

Yeon answered slowly, without turning to look at him.

“I didn’t think you’d hate it that much.”

“How could I possibly be happy about it?”

She bit her lip, still unable to face him. She felt like she might cry again. Since she hadn’t been given her own room, Yeon had to live with Ryu every day.

She woke him in the morning and slept beside him at night. She wasn’t even his nanny anymore. In fact, nanny were usually given their own rooms once their charges turned eight.

Yeon had planned to do the same when Ryu turned eight. That was the year she turned sixteen. Princess Sukon was the first to raise the idea, and the Empress Dowager agreed that it was only proper.

Ryu wasn’t a baby anymore. He could sleep alone, eat properly, and had stopped throwing tantrums. However, Yeon couldn’t bring herself to leave him.

“I just can’t understand it. I truly can’t.”

She trembled. She was overwhelmed by a mixture of shock, disbelief and horror.

How had things turned out this way? How had it all become so twisted?

Yeon couldn’t understand why Ryu saw her as a woman.

Was it a mistake to insist on leaving the palace all those years ago? Should she have stood her ground and demanded her own quarters, no matter how angry Ryu became?

Regardless of his reaction, she should have left Yanmyeong Hall. She now felt that their situation was the inevitable result of her failure to do so.

Yeon and Ryu had spent far too much time together. Despite being eight years older, Ryu still saw her as a beautiful young woman. She had overlooked that fact.

Suddenly, she remembered the night she had started her period for the first time. Her lower belly had ached dully since morning. Trying to hide it, she had spent half the day lying down in discomfort.

That night, she had stained the blanket with blood. She and the young emperor had shared a foot warmer, so he had seen it, too.

“This is…”

Yeon panicked. Despite being sixteen, she hadn’t realised that she was capable of menstruating.

Princess Sukon had been concerned that Yeon had not yet had her period, but she remained naïve. Although there were many girls her age in the palace, she wasn’t close to any of them.

Consequently, she was unfamiliar with the bodily changes that came with womanhood.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Yeon broke into a cold sweat, terrified, as Ryu moved closer to her. The look he gave the bloodstained bedding was not that of an eight-year-old child.

Yeon hurriedly tried to cover it up.

“You’ve had your first period.”

He said calmly, his youthful voice betraying no emotion.

Startled, Yeon turned towards the young emperor. He inspected the bedding thoroughly, looking for any other bloodstains.

Panicking, Yeon struggled to hide the stains on her underwear. Watching her, Ryu let out a soft laugh and opened his red lips.

“Congratulations.”

“Your Majesty. It’s not like that.”

Yeon shook her head. Her throat felt tight and she didn’t know what to say. Standing before the smiling boy, she stammered and bit down on her trembling lips. He was only eight, yet there was a maturity about him.

Compared to the runny-nosed boys who ran wild through alleyways, Ryu was remarkably grown up. Even so, her face burned with embarrassment.

Royalty matured quickly in all things: marriage, coming-of-age ceremonies and s*xual education. As emperor, Ryu’s experience was even more accelerated.

According to Chief Eunuch Bong, he had already started receiving lessons on gender distinctions from the senior eunuchs.

Over time, palace ladies handpicked by the Empress Dowager would attend to him at night. So it wasn’t strange that Ryu reacted the way he did.

Yet Yeon was so flustered that she couldn’t find the words to respond.