#1

Hawoon barely managed to push his heavy eyelid up while feeling a severe headache. His whole body was in pain and heavy, as if he had been beaten soundly by someone then dipped into the water. It was a strange thing since Hawoon, who had gone through a lot of training, had never woken up in such a terrible condition like this.

Was there any fever before I fell asleep? Hawoon suddenly opened his eyes wide as he tried to dig up his memories. It was because he had remembered what happened before he lost his consciousness.

“Your Highness! Have you finally woken up?”

When the shocked Hawoon raised his body abruptly, his surroundings became noisy. Perhaps because he suddenly raised up his body, his vision was spinning for a while. Even this was something that Hawoon had never experienced. When he opened his eyes back after closing it tightly as he massaged his forehead, the scenery in front of him began to come in little by little.

He saw a few court ladies and young eunuchs in front of the bed where he had woken up. They all were people from the Jeongan Palace and were familiar to Hawoon. 

Hawoon quickly asked them, as he had regained his memory.

“Is His Highness fine?”

Hawoon—one of the guards who were protecting Jeongan Palace—clearly remembered that when he did his regular patrol, he found His Highness the Concubine Yeon fell into the pond in the garden.

A long time ago, Jeongan Palace was a newly built palace for a concubine, who was greatly favored by the emperor of the time. The pond as well was built as big as the deep of the Emperor's love, and it was a place known for its big size and deep water level. 

It might be possible for someone who had learned to swim, but for a concubine who had never used his body properly, it was a difficult thing to come out of the pond alone. Because it seemed like among those court ladies who attended him, there was no one who could skillfully swim and pull him out—since they could only scream 'Your Highness' outside, Hawoon felt impatient and jumped into the water to save Concubine Yeon.

That was what happened. 

There was a faint memory that he had a quarrel with Concubine Yeon, who acted as if he didn't want to come out and struggled to push Hawoon out of the water. 

Looking that I can open my eyes, fortunately, it seems like I don't die. Hawoon looked back at those who had somehow turned pale and trembled at his question.

Don't tell me I couldn't save His Highness and came out alive alone? Hawoon opened his mouth and asked once more, while having that kind of thought.

“His Highness… is His Highness also had awak…?!”

“Your Highness! What do you mean by that…!”

However, Hawoon couldn't complete his question properly. It was because the court ladies who were kneeling in front of him howled “Your Highness!”.

I'm sure something must be happening here. There must be something wrong with His Highness. Hawoon closed his eyes tightly. Regardless of His Highness' personality, Hawoon's heart sank when he thought about the young concubine who had to experience such an accident overnight. 

When Hawoon was about to ask about the detailed situation while barely able to grasp his faint senses, a court lady suddenly came to his side and touched his arm while talking with a teary face.  

“Your Highness, is your head hurt? Can't you remember well?”

“Wh-why are you like this?”

Hawoon became more surprised at the court lady's act—suddenly touching his arm. Hawoon quickly tore off the court lady's hand as he raised up from the bed then talked with an austere voice. 

“I know that what happened to His Highness Concubine Yeon is shocking for you, but you can't do this to me. Please calm… down…”

Hawoon suddenly felt an odd feeling from the very start when he heard his own voice. Even though Hawoon wasn't a man with a deep voice, he was a man with a common man's voice that could have quite a weight when he talked in a serious manner like this. 

Then, what about the voice he heard in his ear just now? It was a beautiful voice that no doubt could be called a sweet voice, and Hawoon knew very well who was the owner of this voice.

“Your Highness, why are you being like this? Hey there! Quickly call a doctor now! It seems like His Highness is very shocked!”

Hawoon absentmindedly looked at the court lady, who kept calling him Your Highness with his trembling gaze. As a close court lady to Concubine Yeon, Ahjin was someone who had talked to Hawoon before.

Is this a dream? Am I still can't wake up from a dream? Hawoon lowered his gaze and examined his appearance. He could see the fine skirt covering down the tip of his feet. When he raised his hands, wide, long sleeves slid down gently against his skin. No matter how hard he looked at it, it wasn't the attire of a guard. The hands which came into view were no doubt the hands of someone who had never held a sword in his life. 

“This… What on earth is this….”

The voices of those who were making a fuss around him slowly grew dim. The temperature in the cold water. Concubine Yeon kept on struggling and refusing his help. When Hawoon managed to grab Concubine Yeon and came out to the edge of the pond, once again Concubine Yeon struggled, then Hawoon's foot slipped, and he hit his head against the stone like that. Wasn't that what happened?