The French Naval s.h.i.+p has arrived in South Korea and stayed anch.o.r.ed farther from the port. Irvine Williams now stepping out from the smaller boat and meet the guy who will accompany him around upon his visitation to the country.

"Welcome to Korea, young Master Irvine Williams. My name is Chung-Hee, pleased to meet you."

"Thank you," Irvine answered.

Chung-Hee brought him to the Imperial Palace and introduced to the King of Joseon. After a merry meeting and welcoming feast for the arrival of the French, Irvine excused himself to take an early rest for him to visit the Chen Family the next day.

He inquired if General Dae-Hyun was in the Capital but said, he leads the army in North-West border against the Chinese Empire.

Irvine is currently writing in his journal when a knock on his bedroom. He wonders who was it this late at night.

"Young Master, the king sent you a present, the king wishes for you to have a good night."

Irvine's lips twitch on the side, he has an idea what it is.

"Tell his Majesty that I am pleased, but he doesn't have to be this generous. Chung-Hee, please tell his Majesty that I am already sleeping."

"But young Master! They are the king's best concubines!"

Irvine lit off the lights on his bedroom. Chung-Hee scratches his head seeing the room is now dark. He sighed and shoosh the women he is with.

Everyone in the palace desired all the King's concubines but he was astounded how their French guest refusing the King's exemption. He just shook his head in regrets. If he were, he will immediately grab the opportunity of sleeping with the King's women!

"Ouch!" Chung-Hee stumbles on the ground upon making a wrong step on the stairs. The women laugh at his recklessness.

Inside the guest room, Irvine continues writing in his journal with the faint light from the moon. The night sky is beautiful tonight. He admired the view from the top window and so he decided to walk outside of the room he stays.

Meanwhile, at the House of Chen. . .

HwYoung watches the stars in the sky. She was lonely and cannot help no to feel this sadness inside her. It is not because her husband has gone for several weeks and she misses him, in fact, she felt relieved that Dae-Hyun hasn't come back yet.

Because if Dae-Hyun were here, she has to force to offer her body to him all over again until he will be satisfied. HwYoung held back her tears.

She decided to walk around her garden, the scent of the flowers is soothing to her nostrils while the night breeze giving her a soft touch to her skin. This cold air is better than from the burning touches of her husband that breaking her apart greatly.

HwYoung notices the fireflies playing around her garden, it was her favorite lilies. She is wis.h.i.+ng to be free like them.

She wishes that she can go outside from this wall like a normal person can do an adventure. She found interesting things from her grandfather's library. It was records of their expedition and journals of their stay in another country.

HwYoung wishes to experience that as well. Meet new people and have good friends. However, the fear she lived for twenty-three long years still a nightmare for her.

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She is afraid that people will find out the marks on her back and be called a monster, a person who carried a cursed.

Dae-Hyun who blindly accepts her and never judge her with these marks but treating her like the most beautiful woman on her eyes.

However, for her that cannot return his love, she suffers from this marriage both mentally and physically during their intimate moments.

HwYoung holds tightly to her skirt. Can she ever become like her great grandmother Marivella? She never meets her as she died early but the photos her grandfathers they were keeping are very wonderful and looks exciting to be there.

Living in a foreign land and spending time with friends. . . those people in the photos, she thinks how awesome to be free.

She found herself entering her grandfather's library and open the box where she found the old photos and journals. There are also portraits of her great-grandma Marivella.

She looks at the photos one more time. What took her attention most, is she looks exactly like her great-grandma Marivella. She was also intrigued by a certain man in the photo who was glancing at her instead of looking at the camera.

• • •

"Madam HwYoung, you were told to be present for tonight's dinner with the French guests," Lady Han informed her.

She forcibly opens her bedroom door due to her excitement. "Is that true, Lady Han?"

"Yes, Madam. . . they were paying a visit for the death of the late Minister Chen."

She doesn't understand but her heart beating so fast. She can finally meet people like the ones in the photos.

"Can you help me prepare my clothes, Lady Han?"

Lady Han glance at the maids standing behind her. For so long, they never saw their Mistress be this happy. Barely they saw her smile or get excited.

"Of course, it's our pleasure, Madam Chen." The maids responded.

In the evening, HwYoung is all ready for the dinner gathering organized by her uncle who now is also her father-in-law. They understand how important this meeting because they often heard an endless story from the mouth of their grandfathers about their friends in France.

HwYoung decided to walk around her garden while waiting for her to be summoned. She was stunned seeing a huge purple b.u.t.terfly resting on top of a pink lily.

She slowly walking closer to the flowers and silently squats on the ground and stared at the beautiful b.u.t.terfly. She observes it sucking the pollen. She smiled and admired how free they were.

She wishes to be like a b.u.t.terfly and fly where beautiful flowers grow. After a long moment, the b.u.t.terfly flew away towards a tree when a man falling from this tree and suddenly took off his s.h.i.+rt.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" he yells.

Shockingly, HwYoung's eyes grew wider staring at the half-naked man who trying to reach his back and scratching.

HwYoung realizes that she was staring at him for a longer time and so she immediately covers her palm to her face.

"Why did you suddenly undressing in front of someone else's wife? Have you known it is disrespectful and against the law?" She yells at him while peeping a little between his fingers.

"Ah, am sorry mademoiselle. Ants biting my back so I want to find them and kill them."

"What?" She is a bit confused but realized that this foreign man spoke her language. "Oh, are you?"

She was dumbfounded. The man in front of her looked exactly to the man in the photos of her grandfathers. How could this be?

"Do we meet before?" He asked her.

She stayed speechless, hanging her mouth open in the air while staring at him unbelievably.

"Ah, that facial expression you have, it is also beautiful." He giggles. "I can draw that too."

"What?" HwYoung came back to her senses. "Draw? Don't tell me that you--" she saw him picking up a pencil and his sketch pad.

HwYoung s.n.a.t.c.hes the sketchpad from this foreign man's hand. She flips the pages and found out, he has been sketching her garden. And the last drawing he sketches is none other than but her while watching the b.u.t.terfly.

"Is this really me?" She was astounded seeing how beautiful she was on the drawing.

"Yes. You should smile often. You were very beautiful when you do that."

He said and she thinks, his voice is s.e.xy. HwYoung was shocked to herself for having a thought like this to a man. She blushed and turned around.

She traces her own portrait and was still amazed at how she looked beautiful. She glances at the foreign man and smiled at him when a loud voice yelling her name.

"HwYoung!"

* * *

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