Chapter 19
Kim Hae-yoon wrapped up her work early, letting those who didn't get to present their report to only send the details for her to check. She looked at the time and smiled.
She still has time to spend with Cho Shiye but before she could even get to their palace, she was stopped by Park Cheol-seok.
"Your majesty, princess Yun came to have an audience with you." He spoke as Kim Hae-yoon frowned, princess Yun was the royal title of Kim Yun-hee and hearing that name leaves a bad taste in her mouth.
"Deny her entry." She ordered coldly as Park Cheol-seok bowed and accepted her orders.
Kim Hae-yoon went towards the garden to cool off, feeling angry that Kim Yun-hee even dared to see her. As she walked towards the garden, she remembered what she and Cho Shiye had talked about before.
'Daffodils, huh?' Kim Hae-yoon noticed the gardener tending the roses with a delightful smile on his face.
That man is named Jang Do-geum, he's an alpha who's been working for the palace for the last 30 years. He's called uncle Jang by everyone and even Kim Hae-yoon called her that when she was young.
"Uncle Jang!" Kim Hae-yoon smiled as she rushed towards Jang Do-geum who looked back at her with a delighted smile as he stood up and bowed his head.
"Greetings, your majesty. May you live a long life!" He greeted Kim Hae-yoon. "May I ask why your majesty came for me?" He asked soon after he fixed his posture.
"Are there any daffodils planted in the garden?" Kim Hae-yoon asked as uncle Jang looked through his optical brain and nodded.
"Yes, your majesty. It's planted in the garden of the western palace." He replied.
Kim Hae-yoon and Cho Shiye stayed at the side of the main palace and while they have their own garden situated at the side of their palace near the forest, Kim Hae-yoon had never seen any daffodils there except the traditional sets of flowers and trees planted throughout the empire.
"I see, then, plant some daffodils on the main palace." She ordered as uncle Jang nodded.
*****
Kim Hae-yoon went towards her palace to get ready for the evening, she saw that Cho Shiye was quietly reading a book and decided not to bother her but sat next to her quietly.
She took a book out and decided to read. She had read almost every book inside this library but this was the first time she had seen this book before.
'Is this hers?' Kim Hae-yoon decided to flip open the book and read what her wife is into. The smile on her face disappeared as she blushed and closed the book in a frenzy a few minutes later.
'She's interested in books like these???' Kim Hae-yoon looked at Cho Shiye and noticed the calm and collected look on her face, seemingly unbothered by Kim Hae-yoon's presence and stares as she stroked the page over.
Cho Shiye is immersed in her book that Kim Hae-yoon, despite the embarrassment from what she had read, admired her and captured that moment discreetly using her optical brain.
Her optical brain beeped as it reminded her of her dinner appointments with her uncle as she stood up.
"Shiye, I'm going out with my uncle. We might be out for hours, so be sure to eat and rest early and don't wait for me, alright?" Kim Hae-yoon spoke as Cho Shiye looked at her direction and nodded before directing her attention back to the book.
Kim Hae-yoon sighed and smiled as she tried to lean closer but stopped and left in a hurry.
*****
Kim Hae-yoon arrived at JBC bar, one of the finest exclusive bars in the capital that people of nobility and rich second generations frequent to have a party.
Alphas, betas, and omegas are allowed inside as long as they have the invitation or reservations that the bar sent only to respective VIP members of their bar membership.
Kim Hae-yoon didn't wear a disguise as she was escorted by a few guards, the security of this place is very tight but, as the empress, she still brought hers as per the regulations.
The bouncer let them in as he bowed, a waiter escorted them to the room reserved only for Kim Hae-yoon as the music stopped and everyone inside bowed and saluted the empress.
Kim Hae-yoon used to be uncomfortable with this but as her visit became frequent, she didn't bother with it anymore as she continued on her steps towards the room after exchanging greetings with everyone.
Upon arriving, she left her guards outside as she opened the door and saw her uncle drank quite a few bottles of hard liquor as he perked up and smiled upon seeing Kim Hae-yoon.
"My little niece! You're finally here!" He shouted as he patted the seat next him, urging Kim Hae-yoon to sit as she followed suit. "What took you so long?" He asked as he offered her a glass.
"Well, I had a lot of work to do." Kim Hae-yoon replied as she took the glass from him and gulped it down. It tasted sour as usual.
"A lot of work to do my ass, you just don't want to part with your wife." He snorted as Kim Hae-yoon chuckled and nodded.
"Well, you're right." She smiled and poured alcohol on her glass and drank it down.
"Well, what are your plans?" He asked as Kim Hae-yoon poured alcohol for him.
"What plans?" She asked curiously.
"For your concubines." He replied as Kim Hae-yoon sighed.
"Uncle, I already told you, I have no plans on getting married again." She replied as she poured another one for herself. "You know that I would only marry her and only her, I already told you that long before." She added.
"I know, I know, you've been in love with her for like 14 years but, you know that you have duties as the empress, right?" He stated that it made Kim Hae-yoon pause and sigh. "You need to find at least 3 concubines to maintain order and power of the empire and its people." He added.
"Uncle." Kim Hae-yoon said sternly as she looked at Kim Dong-cheol coldly.
"Look, you need to understand. September is right around the corner and the kingdom's delegates would come and send their tributes." He explained as Kim Hae-yoon slumped her body against the soft sofa and frowned.
"The Cho family would never be enough to fend off against whomever the kingdom would send and you know what would happen if they forced you to take their tribute." His words made Kim Hae-yoon quiet.
"My niece, Hae-yoon, I know you don't want to do this but you need to." He pleaded as Kim Hae-yoon didn't say a word which Kim Dong-cheol took as an affirmative answer. "Then, I'll arrange a meeting between you and Duke Lee's eldest daughter." He smiled as Kim Hae-yoon finally spoke.
"No." She replied as Kim Dong-cheol frowned.
"You don't like her? You two grew up close together though, like childhood sweethearts." He muttered. "Hmm, then, how about Duke Seo's 7th son, I heard he's quite good looking and has a great personality. Duke Seo is very supportive of you too so I'm sure he'll approve of you taking his child as your concubine." He continued.
"Oh, and there's also…" Kim Dong-cheol spent 2 hours introducing every bachelor and bachelorette omegas from the 10 major families, explaining their traits and characters as Kim Hae-yoon continued to drink to the point she felt dizzy.
"Well, have you found anyone that piqued your interest?" He asked as Kim Hae-yoon nodded and he seemed pleased with this answer. "Oho, who?"
"The daughter of the Cho family." Kim Hae-yoon replied with a calm smile as Kim Dong-cheol looked at her in confusion and rummaged through the long list on his optical brain but couldn't find anyone from the Cho family on the list.
Realizing who Kim Hae-yoon was referring to, he frowned. "Hey!" He shouted as Kim Hae-yoon burst out laughing and stood up. "Where are you going?" He asked as Kim Hae-yoon looked at him and smiled.
"I'm going out to get some fresh air." She replied as she put on her coat and left.