Your Meaning

Episode 27: Jealousy is My Middle Name II (2)

TL: thursdays 

PR:  altacco

Dayeon was heavily scolded by the emperor and treated like an ill person just because she went out without any attendants at night, but she had gained something from this, too. Last night, the wary mare, Ruri, opened her heart to Dayeon’s sincerity.

「 Something sharp is embedded in my mouth. Every time I try to eat, it hurts so much that I can’t stand it.」

‘I see. As expected, she’s hurt. Ah, what should I do?’

As the horse opened her heart, Dayeon heard the story she had never heard until now. When she heard Ruri’s story, Dayeon felt as anxious as if she had been injured, too.

She must have been in so much pain.

The doctor would have looked at her more if she went on a rampage, but Ruri was so patient that no one noticed.

「 Where is my friend? 」

The horse also called the prince a friend. Dayeon recalled the large, gentle eyes of the horse that was searching for her friend In the midst of her pain, and her heart was resolved.

She had to help her quickly.

“Marie. Where is the prince of Sarman staying?”

Marie wore a foreboding expression at Dayeon’s sudden question. She looked from side to side, as if in disbelief, and asked, “You can’t be planning to go find him, are you?”

“I am. I have something to tell him.”

“…Just tell me. I’ll deliver the message right away.”

“Mm, well. It’s something I have to say myself.”

Marie looked at Dayeon with a very pitiful face. She seemed to be preparing her mind, and then she asked, “Must you go in person?”

Why are you so determined?

Dayeon looked at Marie’s determined face as if wondering if she had eaten something strange.

Why were there so many things she couldn’t do in the palace?

She frowned.

The news that Dayeon had requested to visit the prince of Sarman actually spread through the mouths of the courtiers much faster than the emperor’s confession had. People were going wild.

Hey, everyone, gather around! Popcorn’s about to pop! Oh wow, what a twist in the drama!

People were inwardly thinking that the emperor was too good for her.

The emperor was already the number one in the empire just by the position of his birth. However, even disregarding his background, he was a man who was more than good enough. With his handsomeness and skill, he drew people’s attention even if he stayed still.

In comparison, no part of Dayeon stood out to others, in appearance or personality. All she had was one thing—the revelation of the temple and her political value.

But what could they do when the emperor liked her so much?

The people who expected a rather dull and obvious outcome began to consider new possibilities for the first time.

What if Dayeon-nim doesn’t accept His Majesty’s confession in the end? At this rate, she’ll leave.

Of course, the emperor was informed about this situation. And he quietly and silently burned up by himself.

Dayeon didn’t know what kind of jealousy she had sparked in the emperor’s heart.

Actually, if only Mikhail had known a little more about Dayeon’s character, he wouldn’t have been that jealous.

Even though he said he knew what type of person she was, the emperor didn’t really know her.

It was natural.

A relationship is the process of getting to know someone from the beginning until the end. Even if you love someone and date for years, you discover new sides to the person. That is what a relationship is.

And Dayeon was not someone to show her heart easily in that respect. Even though he was struggling because he couldn’t fully open Dayeon’s heart, the emperor scarcely ever realized that.

In fact, only a direct person like the emperor would not be concerned by Dayeon’s strong iron wall. The emperor was a very self-centered person who had lived his whole life armed with self-satisfaction and a “my way” kind of spirit.

From one perspective, it was selfish and arrogant, but that was why it was possible. Had it not been for that straightforward personality and steadiness, he would not have been able to create a pool of water in her dried-up heart.

Daeyeon was fascinated by the emperor as a person. And she was too lazy and tired to share her heart with multiple people.

“It really is here.”

The doctor who had been summoned was more surprised than the prince.

Inside the black horse’s mouth, in a corner that could not be seen well, was a blunt bit of iron.

Oh dear, how did you eat something like that?

“You punk. If something like this is stuck, you should have let me know, even if you had to cause some trouble.”

The doctor clicked his tongue at the horse that tamely lowered her eyes.

Asanka’s expression was serious, and Dayeon looked hurt, as if something was stuck in her mouth as well.

The affected area was not in a good condition, so preparations for the surgery took a long time. The bit of iron and skin that had been stuck for a long time were tangled together like one.

Prior to the removal, a healing priest was called to help with the bleeding and pain. With this sort of treatment, it was as if Ruri was the most noble horse in the world.

If you’re born as an animal, you have to be born as the prince’s horse at least in order to live comfortably in this rough world, thought Dayeon.

“Thank you,” Asanka said suddenly, as if it had just occurred to him to say so.

She had asked him not to ask how she found out, but… If he asks, what should she say?

While Dayeon was thinking about that, the prince bowed to her at his waist.

Dayeon scratched her neck, embarrassed by the unexpected situation. When she compared to his usual appearance, she could see how grateful he was. So, she bowed back at him.

Holy power could heal wounds, but it could not remove iron from a mouth. It was the doctor’s duty to cut into the skin. When he removed the foreign substance from her skin, the patient horse frothed at her mouth and whinnied.

Immediately, a noble blue power flowed from the priest’s fingertips. Over and over again.

Holy power was a finite energy. This referred to not only its range but also the total amount that could be used at any one time. A priest who exerted a lot of power in a short time had to rest for an adequate period. So, most priests did not use their power to their limits.

However, the priest felt the silent pressure from the prince, a born warrior, and he had to use his healing power on the horse until he nearly fainted. The beast was higher than the man.

Really, if she was born again, she wanted to be a prince’s horse.

The horse, who hadn’t fully recovered but had at least her wounds healed, looked at Dayeon. And with her eyes, she expressed her affection.

She was such a marvelous and pretty horse. Dayeon, feeling better, extended her arms wide and embraced the black horse.

Meanwhile, the emperor, who was watching this spectacle from the window of his office, was engulfed in the flames of hell.

“…Grand Chamberlain. Am I seeing things now?”

What is that? What’s she hugging now?

The emperor was so heated that the servants couldn’t bear to raise their heads, and they began to whisper.

The grand chamberlain could not answer the emperor’s question properly. The sight was clearly visible not only to the emperor, who had good eyesight, but also to the middle-aged eyes of the grand chamberlain. The grand chamberlain bowed his head in apology.

The emperor was very annoyed, and he showed it.

“Horses, again? I’m truly sick of horses and dogs now. Is Hergonia some sort of animal-loving country? And why is she hugging another man’s horse?”

Even though he kept doting on her, calling her pretty. Really, she was a gentle brute.

The emperor grumbled his feelings out loud.

The faces of the aides who were listening soured.

So is she pretty or not? Is she gentle or is she a brute?

The emperor’s anger was actually very irrational.

Dayeon was just hugging the black horse.

Of course, the horse belonged to another man. It was a horse the man cherished very much, riding it to the battlefield and even to this foreign nation.

But still, it wasn’t like she was hugging that man by hugging the horse!

At this moment, however, no one here had a rank high enough to point out the emperor’s strange, illogical behavior. And apart from the grand chamberlain, the attendants and knights were young men, and they could understand the emperor’s mind to some extent.

Of course he’d get frustrated.

Seen from up close, the scene was one of blood and frothing mouths, but from a distance, the atmosphere seemed friendly and warm due to the sunlight.

The emperor was just annoyed with everything right now.

It was annoying that Dayeon was hanging around another man; it was annoying that they kept meeting up by chance when he had to snatch pieces of time to meet her; it was annoying that they were sticking to each other’s side; and it was annoying that the weather was good.

The emperor’s office, which was hit by an unexpected disaster, was cold as if a blizzard had come.

The aides also breathed silently, fearing that the emperor’s anger would spread to them.

The elderly minister of justice who came to the office with a report heard that the emperor was in a bad mood at the door. He suddenly said that he had some troubles at his house and left as quickly as a young man.

“But hey, isn’t this much an invasion of privacy, even if he is the emperor?” asked the guard stationed at the hallway outside the office, raising an objection.

“I’m not sure. Dayeon-nim didn’t do anything wrong, yes, but from my point of view, His Majesty has more than enough reason to be upset.”

As the crayfish sides with the crab, some of the aides shook their heads and sided with the emperor.

Are they dating or not?

Whether or not they are, it was a waste.

So will they get married or not?

The public opinion in the imperial palace moved as it wanted, but the first to set the tone and attitude were the emperor’s closest aides.

Just date her quickly and live together.

For them, as could be expected, the mood and everyday peace of the one they served were of the utmost importance.

The attendants sighed as the emperor sat down. His endlessly handsome face still looked very upset as he flipped through some reports. 

Love, they thought. He’s in love.