There was silence, Eun Chen was looking at him in a queer manner, " this is not about the duel or finding a way to get you out of here, you talk about dangerous matters as if they are nothing , yes I want to win this duel but I don't see the motivation in you telling me you are dying , I am deeply worried about you,.......anytime I fight , anytime I practice all I can think about is that if I win this Eun Chen will safely get out of here unharmed , the spiral marks will be gone, she will be safe , I don't think about the privileges I will get once I enter the palace", said Lee Kwon, he was mad at her, Eun Chen couldn't even say anything as she watched him come close to her, but her feet could not move and for some odd reason her heart was beating incredibly fast, " you aren't the only one who was abandoned, and you aren't the only one that has been pushed to the brick of death", he said his voice more gentle, " so if someone wants to care for you, don't see it as a threat, a payment or a motivation, I am caring for you because I want to, so if you can't bear with it, you have to bear with it, this is no longer about the duel,....this is all for you, so hang on for me", he said , his hand reached for her face and softly carresed it, " I will win for you", he said softly, his voice so gentle,his voice , his touch always did something to her, his longing gaze , how warm he felt anytime he held her close, she shouldn't be remembering all this little details about him, she shouldn't be feeling this way,it was fickle, foolish, they were both using each other, it was more of a loss to gain deal, she couldn't drift away from her duties because of some fleeting emotions. But even with these opposing thoughts , she kept aching for his warm hold and longing gaze , it was hypocritical to forget all her duties for a man.
She smacked his hand away from her face , losing the warmth in return, Lee Kwon wasn't surprised at her move , he sighed and then they both heard a guard yelling in a commanding voice, " your Highness the King and your Majesty the Queen summons young Master Lee Kwon to the palace"," you should be going, I will leave right after you leave", she said turning away from him, Lee Kwon wanted to say something but he held himself, he knew saying something again will put her in an akward situation, he walked away opening the door looking at her for a mere second then he finally closed the door, Eun Chen who had been holding her breath for a long time finally let out a huge gasp of air , she was confused , why was he suddenly being like this , she had not been cared for like this for a very long time, and the last time that care came was from her mother, she was honestly confused too. Why was her heart always beating so fast anytime he came near her, a feeling she had never felt before .
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" You were at the garden yesterday weren't you?", asked the King seriously, Lee kwons hands were clasped together as he looked down, " yes , your Highness", he said bluntly, " do you remember anything that happened at the garden, did you see the assassin's faces yesterday", asked the King again, Lee Kwon raised his head, the whole court was silent, the Queen piercing gaze was intimidating, but his eyes wasn't on her, his eyes searching the crowd it finally landed on the person he was looking for in the first place , it was Han jum, " Han jum eyes locked with his , it was icy cold , the tension could cut through steel, Han jum was quizzical , the way he looked at him you could tell that he knew something, he had something against him, " no your Highness,...I didn't see their faces and out of shock I don't recall anything ", said Lee Kwon , Han jum could feel sweat dripping from his face , he knew something, he told those morons to do everything quietly but they turned it into a huge mess, " if he can't remember, then that maid can answer the question for...", " so ra is still in shock, she needs rest, I am also quite exhausted, if you have nothing more to ask me I will take me leave ", said Lee Kwon about to leave, " you have gotten much bolder, you don't even bow when you want to leave ", said the Queen with a cold and wicked smile. Lee Kwon turned to the Queen, " eventhough I do now , will you acknowledge it?", he questioned, the Queen frowned , Lee Kwon bowed his head, " forgive me for not showing my respects, if I may go rest now , or I don't have the right to rest again?", asked Lee Kwon sarcastically, as he turned around and left, the Queen tightened her first, she looked over at Han jum, Han jum bowed his head, Lee Kwon was having guys these days, he was being to confident, they needed to tie him down.
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Eun Chen was walking out of Lee kwons room when all of a sudden she stumbled upon Min yu, she was startled but she composed herself and bowed her head, she wanted to leave but was stopped, " how are you feeling",asked Min yu, it was ironic for if he knew who she truly was, he won't care at all for her well being instead he will wish for a miserable demise for her, " I am feeling well, the fever wasn't that severe", she said , then she looked up at him confused, wasn't he suppose to be at the court room, " but may I ask my prince, why are you here? , aren't you suppose to be at the court room", asked Eun Chen curiously, " I'm not really needed there , I am still investigating what happened at the garden,...., by any chance do you remember anything that happened that night", asked Min yu, if he was asking her Lee Kwon may have not provided a straight answer, " I'm sorry but I had passed out then, so I could not see anything ", she said, " oh...is that so , it's okay, I will be on my way now", said Min yu, Eun Chen bowed her head as Min yu finally left, she always felt tense when he spoke to her, like he could catch her at any moment, she heaved as she began walking, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, from a distance she saw another woman hugging Lee Kwon and for some odd reason her heart clenched, then she scoffed, it was better this way, but why did it feel like she was burning from the inside , it couldn't possibly be jealousy could it?, no, what was she thinking , she must be crazy , taking one glance back at them she walked away, it was done , every feeling was dissipated.
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Lee kwon was enjoying a soothing bath, the steam of the water and essential oils were soothing to his skin, his door opened and Eun Chen came in with two buckets of water in her hands, holding it steadily, Lee Kwon looked at her quite astonished , she just recovered from her fever now she was carrying two filled up buckets of water, " didn't I ask you to rest , Maidservant Park can do that or even one of the court ladies, why do you keep stressing yourself", said Lee Kwon seriously, Eun Chen paused licking the inside of her cheek, she dropped the two buckets of water on the floor using her hand to beat her shoulder and her leg, " I didn't lose an arm and I didn't lose a left, what is keeping me from working, and besides I don't want the other court ladies to think I am receiving special treatment due to an unethical relationship", said Eun Chen frankly as she poured the bucket of warm water into his bath, " tsk....., what answer was I expecting from you, you and your dedication,.....I was just worried about you", said Lee Kwon, " stop worrying about me, I told you I can handle myself", said Eun Chen , something was off he knew she was usually sarcastic,blunt and insultive, but her tone wasn't giving that vibe , she felt colder than usual.
" You didn't ask me if the assembly went well, if I had said something off", said Lee Kwon looking up at Eun Chen who was dropping more essential and fragrant oils into the bath, " Min yu met me today, he asked me if I recalled the events of last night , I told him I had already passed out, if he had asked me that question then you didn't mess up", she said, " and I will probably not be here preparing warm baths for you and you won't be here enjoying it right?", she always had a logical and well summarized answers to all his questions , but she was still blunt, he knew he had put her in an akward situation this morning, " stop being too casual with me ", said Eun Chen, Lee Kwon looked back at her, his hands resting at the edge of his bath, she was kneeling on one of her knee looking straight at him, he tilted his head quizzically, " have you ever seen a pupil refer to his master with his name , or have you ever seen a young master refer to his maid with her name, let's be formal with each other from now on", said Eun Chen frankly.
Lee Kwon tilted his head quizzically, he must have really put her in an akward situation, " I don't want the court ladies to gossip", she said as she wanted to leave , but Lee Kwon didn't want her to just go like this , he held her by her hand and unintentionally tugged her into the bath, " oh....., oh Eun Chen, I'm sorry, are you okay, are you alright?, did you hurt yourself ,huh?,....tell me ", he said, checking her, his hand franantically on her face then her shoulder, he was deeply worried about her, she could see it, he was sincere, he truly cared for her. Lee Kwon looked at her, water dripping from her silky black hair, and well chiseled face, looking at her with peering gaze , it was quiet but this moment was sizzling , his once worried eyes had melted away, it looked like something more of affection , could she stop deluding herself that those eyes were that of her mother, she knew that whatever emotions that were in those eyes were much more than that if affection , his hand was still on her face while his other hand was flat palmed on her back , Eun Chen realizing herself quickly smacked Lee kwons hand away, breaking him from his trance , " Eun Chen are ....are you okay", he asked reaching out to touch her , but she flinched before his hand could reach her causing him to reluctantly retract his hand, she gave him one menancing look before she attempted to go out of the bath which she did , Lee Kwon also came out of the bath, his lower body was wearing a bathing trousers, he was a defined testament of unspoken glory, she knew that he was well built , but it looked like he had buffed up more with the intense training he had been receiving day and night, his alluring gaze, well chiseled jaw, his flawless skin , apart from the marks on his back, but that exuded more of his majestic and seductive aura, his went hair clinging on his back and some one his neck, was he always this mesmerizing.
Let's get you something dry to wear , just...", " it's okay , I don't need it", she said interrupting him before bowing her head , leaving her wet from her hair to her dress, she was entirely soaked, as soon as she opened the door to leave she saw Maidservant Park standing there, she was about to say something but her mouth feel seeing the two of them in this state, " it was a little accident ", said Eun Chen slightly bowing her head before she left holding her dress up, Maidservant Park looked at Lee Kwon who also looked like he wanted to clarify the situation before Maidservant Park will have any bad thoughts thinking they were doing something, but with the scene that was presented it did clarify her made up thoughts, Lee Kwon sighed in frustration putting his hand in his waist and bowing his head, this was really frustrating.
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Eun Chen was walking down the hallway , her whole body still dripping wet, she couldn't help but think about the bath incident, she must be really crazy, all of a sudden she felt someone tap her shoulder, startled she turned back and saw it was Seugh min, she immediately bowed, "my prince", she said, " good bumping into you here.....", he paused looking at Eun Chen, Eun Chen noticing his gaze understood as she covered her chest with her hands, " um...there was a little accident with the young master, said Eun Chen, thank goodness she wore a dark color today, Seugh min chuckled softly before removing his coat, " Lee Kwon can really be a hassle , it must be difficult serving him day and night", said Seugh min as he drapped his robe on her, " but you have no choice but to do it", said Seugh min with a hint of sympathy in his voice , " he is my young Master what choice do I have", she said, Seugh min smiled, then his gaze shifter to his front, his lips gave a wide smile, " oh...you are here", said Seugh min, Eun Chen turned around and saw a beautiful woman in front of them, her skin was as pale as the snow, her hair was dark brown, her eyes were light brown, all this came together in a perfect collision to form a pretty face, and she had the warmest smile, " Seugh min .....", said the woman with a more broadened smile.