Ha Noon's
CHAPTER 16 - A Banquet For Soldiers
The palace gate opened, the soldiers one by one
get off their horses and enter the main hall with regular steps. Inside the hall, Ha Gungi had been sitting wilfully on his throne, Ha Jungi was sitting one step below his father, staring at the entire military force with an uninterested look. From the beginning, he never agreed to become the crown prince. In fact, he thought Ha Noon was more suited to this position, but his father insisted on elevating him to crown prince just because he was the only male.
Men should hold swords and thrones, while women only have beauty and elegance, things she does not want to keep in her mind. Since childhood, he had seen how tough his mother plowed the fields under the scorching sun, so he never thought that the woman was a weak creature that should be behind the men.
Ring Gilya lowered her body, kneeling firmly in front of the King, “Your soldiers have returned bringing victory, Your Majesty!”
Ha Gungi smiled haughtily as he raised his chin, staring at each face kneeling to him. “Our soldiers have sacrificed their entire lives with boundless devotion, shedding blood and sweat in order to protect our kingdom! In appreciation of their sincerity, tonight, there will be a banquet to welcome the soldiers who have fought!”
The entire minister began to clap, nodding their heads proudly, as if they were the ones who had just won
war by repelling the opposing forces. Ha Noon sighed internally, feeling caught off guard by the arrogance of the superior ministers.
Ha Noon's eyes focused on Ring Gilya who
loyalty kneeled before the king. His eyelids slightly dropped, a thought of inviting Ring Gilya to be a traitor darted through his mind. However, the thought did not remain permanently. He knows how the character of the Gilya Ring, its history and its path until it becomes
Great General who became the royal shield, his loyalty to the kingdom. Everyone knows that the Gilya Ring did not bow its head to the king, but he shed all his blood for the kingdom. He would do anything for the kingdom, even if it had to kill over 1000 soldiers
the enemy. For him, a king is only a leader who fills the emptiness of the throne, but the kingdom is his breath to live. Until, becoming
rebellion is not about dethroning the king from the throne, but undermining the balance of the kingdom.
Ha Noon's pupils shifted on a soldier who
being one step behind Ring Gilya, a young general who kept his head down, as if he had no respect for his own title.
“General Moon,”
Ha Noon gasped at this, he turned to the king who was in a heavy voice calling Moon Juha.
There, Moon Juha's eyelashes trembled hearing her name and title being called. Ring Gilya glanced at Moon Juha with agitated worry.
The king drew his smile, “This is the first time
you're back at the palace, there must be a lot of foreign things you've encountered.”
Right, this thing feels very foreign to Moon Juha
so that made him struggle just to think of an answer to the king.
“Despite his responsibilities from the border, from now on, General Moon and his entire army officially serve in the internal affairs of the kingdom in the military field!” The applause re-echoed throughout the hall. “General Moon has fought 19 years of his life for the sake of the kingdom, nothing
better appreciation than the peace of General Moon, welcome back to the palace.”
Ha Noon narrowed his eyes in astonishment hearing the entire unfamiliar intonation of the king. Even Ha Jungi herself also looked at the king with a questioning look. Ha Noon straightened his head back to look at the soldiers, and all over
his body stiffened even more, looking at the gaze of Ring Gilya who was different from before. Although he was kneeling, but his gaze was very clearly not
explaining homage. That gaze, like a threatening resistance to the king. This was the first time, Ha Noon saw the gaze of Ring Gilya who was so hostile towards the royal leader.
Apple adam Moon Juha rolling, she composed every word in her mind, and took it out in a loud voice, “I am honored for your welcome, Your Highness.”
Hearing Moon Juha's voice, Ring Gilya's gaze weakened slightly, and it concluded the assumption in Ha Noon's head. There was no reply from the king, making Moon Juha lift a little of her eyelashes wanting to see the king's reaction. However, involuntarily his gaze met Ha's brown eyes
Noons. Ha Noon was also surprised by this eye contact. However, he inexplicably did not turn away, as if he had been locked by those glowing green eyes.
The emerald eyes were like making him get lost in a cave filled with emerald green sparkles. It was so beautiful and pure.
“It looks like this meeting need not be extended.
Great soldiers, come back and rest for supper tonight.”
The king's voice shattered Ha Noon's and Moon Juha's attention. Moon Juha lowered her head again.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Ring Gilya wakes up, and
the entire army started following him one by one. Slowly, the packed hall began to quiet down, and the servants began to move to prepare a feast
banquets.
Mom Suri put down the teapot gently after
I poured an empty cup of tea. Ha Noon grabbed the handle of the tea glass, raised it slowly, and took a soft sip. Mom Suri noticed Ha Noon who had finished enjoying a sip of her tea before starting to talk, “It seems that the rumors are true.”
Ha Noon instantly recalled the emerald green scene that pierced his brown eyes, filled with a refined purity. “King is really trying to bind General Agung Ring using General Moon.” Ha Noon again took a soft sip of tea, and again placed his cup on the table. Sighing, Ha Noon brought his gaze out the window, staring at his blue sunken sky
man into happiness. “I can't believe, there is more important than the kingdom for the Great General Ring.”
Mom Suri nodded in agreement, “Will the Princess pull it?”
Ha Noon looked back at his tea, “He has the right
to know. What he will do next, it is his choice.”
“What if he complains to the king?”
Ha Noon smiled knot, “I have a pretty good feeling about this.”
***
Brush the hard hair gently past the shiny black hair. Ri Sa looked at her face in the mirror with pupils
vibrates. Since her family's controversy with Juragan Min, many noble daughters have begun to look down on her. The mini mala will have a large banquet to welcome the soldiers from the border, and in order to fulfill that honor, the nobles are invited to enliven the banquet. Inevitably, Ri Sa had to attend the banquet as a representative of her family.
Her mother could not bear being looked down upon and humiliated, forcing her daughter to meet the nobles and raise Ri's surname.
Ri Sa doesn't care about her surname,
the only thing that was silent in his mind was the unrest of people's gazes when he saw it. The worst was to be ignored, but it would be truly terrifying if they started talking about it and saying some insults right in front of his face. Standing, walking, even when the horse carriage swayed slightly due to a pebble, Ri Sa remained unmoved with empty thoughts and feelings filled with unrest. Staring at the crowd that started to fill the hall, Ri Sa felt she had to run away and hide, she was too afraid to face the demeaning gazes of the
other nobles. However, go or not, both are still bad choices.
A horse carriage stopped behind him, soldier
the palace came to help the nobles who were in it down the stairs.
“Ri Sa?”
This call shatters Ri Sa's daydream, she turns to find Lanju Sara and her two parents who stop right next to her. Someone who called out to her was the noble mistress of Lanju, Ri Sa developed her awkward smile, she stared at every family expression
that noble. However, the one smiling kindly at him was only the noble mistress Lanju. The tourism minister, the head of the Lanju family, looked at him with a flat expression and continued his steps towards the main hall.
The noble mistress Lanju felt this awkwardness, and further developed her friendly smile, “You came here alone? Where are your mom and dad?”
Ri Sa swallowed a mouthful of saliva, “They have affairs, so I'm the one who replaced them representing the Ri.” family With this awkward answer, Ri Sa glanced at Lanju Sara stiffly, but Lanju Sara
avoiding his gaze, making him even more immersed in awkwardness.
The noble mistress Lanju looked at these two noble princesses with stiff pupils. He felt pity for Ri Sa, how could two noble parents let his daughter go alone to get various kinds of lowly gazes from other nobles in order to restore their good name. The noble mistress of Lanju never restricted her daughter from getting along with anyone, but some of her daughter's temperament followed her extremely haughty father. Lanju Sara and Ri Sa had been friends since childhood, and the noble mistress of Lanju herself had no idea how they could be friends, she said, he only knows that one day his daughter brought Ri Sa to play in their mansion's garden.
The noble mistress of Lanju knew that they were good friends, always together wherever they went, even always discussing in advance if they wanted to be close to someone. Seeing how their relationship becomes looser and filled with awkwardness makes it
realize there is no true friendship in the noble world.
The noble mistress Lanju sighed steadfastly, “Ayo
we're in, Sara, the party's about to start.”
Lanju Sara nodded, she followed her mother and briefly glanced at Ri Sa who was also looking at her with a sad look. However, Lanju Sara did not want her reputation to deteriorate if the other nobles saw her still standing beside Ri Sa.
Ri Sa understood this and just stood there, waiting for the Lanju family to enter the palace courtyard, then continued his steps. It really frustrates him. He was just a regular customer who helped a merchant get more customers, no, he didn't even know anything about the business, everything was arranged by his mother on his father's permission, no, he only bought a few items that he thought were beautiful from the merchant who
same. However, he was also subjected to the hatred of the other nobles just because of the family name that was bound within him.
Stockpiling merchandise is one of the business tricks commonly used by traders. However, in the eyes of the law it is illegal. Juragan Min collected white gold from all over the kingdom, stored it and produced it at a low price, then limit the sale with an alibi that the basic material for making the watch was so scarce that he made a bigger profit than he should have. This trick is clearly very detrimental to other traders, so in the eyes of the law, this business system is not legal.
Therefore, even though the Ri family is not involved and
not knowing anything about this system of stockpiling goods, they had already gained a negative view in the eyes of other nobles because they were the pioneers of the watch, so they indirectly helped build the Juragan Min business. In fact, some royals speculate that their unrelatedness is just an excuse to cover up the truth, so the rumor makes
the Ri family was increasingly looked down upon.
The entire main hall was filled with the pungent and warm aroma of wine, as well as the sweet aroma that came out was spread by the smoke that evaporated out from the several cakes and biscuits that had just come out from the grill. There are also some fresh fruits that are diced and neatly arranged until the invited guests are easy to pick up their snacks. For some sons and daughters of nobles who are still underage, fresh fruit juice is provided with colors that upload tastes.
The soldiers have been enjoying their feast, with
his right hand, watching the entire crowd in silence. The first time he set foot in the palace, he was greeted by a party filled with
the nobility's pleasantries, made anxiety shake his heart. He took his place in the corner of the room so that no one would find him, so he did not need to answer the nobility's pleasantries.
His green eyes watched every expression of the
the nobleman with his emerald green eyes. With just a single look, he could tell that every noble who came to this party were only the king's sycophants. Every night, Moon Juha was always haunted with a feeling of guilt in her heart for having killed over a thousand human lives that became her enemies on the battlefield, letting her comrades-in-arms die, and leaving behind
great warriors dying behind him to bring this victory before the king. However, the military world, the soldiers, is the environment that makes it comfortable. They don't care about each other's backgrounds, they are familiar and become partners because they share a common goal of survival. They lived and fought in the same place, ate in the same place, there was no gap between them.
All of these things are very valuable to
Moon Juha, and the treasure will not be found Moon Juha in the capital. They grew up in a place where many bodies were falling, and every night they would never be able to sleep soundly for fear of whether or not tomorrow they would be able to open their eyes. With just a bottle of wine, the soldiers could sigh calmly even if only for a moment.
This feast was held by the king specifically to appreciate
their devotion, and invited all the nobles of the kingdom to pay homage to their cause. However, that respect never felt sincere. Moon Juha could see that they looked down on the soldiers who had fought just because they enjoyed this party their way. True, there is no elegance, elegance, or noble customs in the
in their pleasure. However, it is still a silly reason to demean others just because they are different.
Ring Gilya who had been tired with all the pleasantries
the nobles also fled and found Moon Juha standing in the corner. Ring Gilya approached him with a delicate expression, as if finding her missing little son in the crowd.
“You don't like your party?”
Moon Juha glanced at Ring Gilya who was standing beside her, “Why should His Majesty the King invite the nobles?”
Ring Gilya also noticed the nobles heard this complaint, then sighed stoicly, “Your Majesty the King only wants to appreciate the struggle of the soldiers.”
“They are only snapper-class sycophants.”
Ring Gilya tilts her head, “I know you
hating such a gap, but His Majesty the King did this for the sake of covering that gap. His Majesty the King does not want the soldiers to feel
low on accepting the fact that the nobles did not care about their struggle. They've been struggling for years to get this pleasure, let them be happy with their alcohol just for the sake of
last night, agreed?”
Moon Juha shook the wine in her hand, staring at the thick color of blood filling the glass, making her remember the hell that had been
the soldiers on the battlefield. “Hmm.”
Ring Gilya smiled proudly, her hands raised
patting Moon Juha's shoulder.
“Hey, isn't General Moon very handsome? You
see the color of his eyes? Very beautiful.”
Ring Gilya smiled amusedly heard that whisper
praising from these noble girls, he glanced at Moon Juha who only let out a flat face while sipping her red wine. “Building a family with some pretty girls is pretty good, right?”
“I'm not interested.”
Ring Gilya laughs amusedly, “Don't do that. You know, you know,
several noble family heads came to me, asking for your status. Why are you just standing here, see which girl caught your attention.”
“If uncle have time to accept their proposal,
why don't you just find an uncle's wife?”
“Are you mocking me? Who wants to be with this old man?”
Moon Juha smiled cynically, “What is a proud uncle to be an old virgin?”
“See this child, who taught your mouth to
talk like that?”
“Uncle must diligently see the mirror.”
Ring Gilya couldn't bear to not laugh amusedly, though,
his elbows lifted to nudge Moon Juha. Moon Juha felt uneasy and shifted, but Ring Gilya followed her and again bothered her.
Some noble girls who are interested in
moon Juha's appearance stole a glance towards him while whispering a few words with a sweet voice and an unstoppable smile.
Lanju Sara took a glass of wine and approached the group of noble girls with curiosity, “What a very
interesting?”
“Ah, Miss Sara.” A few of the retreating girls opened a path for her, and one of them glanced back at Lanju Sara, finding Ri Sa who was standing not far away from them while sipping wine with a tense feeling.
Lanju Sara realized this and clucked small, “I
it's impossible to be with someone who helps a criminal, right?”
The girl stopped glancing and started to smile stiffly,
“Yes, Miss Sara. How could a noble turn a blind eye to something wrong in the eyes of the law?”
Lanju Sara smiled haughtily, “So, what are you guys
talk about it so it's interesting?”
“Ah, we are talking about General Moon.”
Lanju Sara frowned, “General Moon?”
“Did Miss Sara still not hear it? A soldier who had been appointed General when he was 17?”
Lanju Sara narrowed her eyes brainwashing, “Yes, I've heard the news.”
The girl who shared the story is getting enthusiastic, “Man over there,” Lanju Sara follows the girl's gaze, “He is General Moon, isn't he very handsome? Look at his skin, so glowing even though he's a soldier. And his eyes, so beautiful to look at. Just imagine looking at it with such beautiful eyes. If it was me, I would have fallen.”
Lanju Sara smiled as she nodded in agreement, “Yes, you're right. He's very handsome.”
“If we manage to establish a relationship with him,
don't you think our reputation will get better?”
Lanju Sara thought of these words, and some ideas
it's starting to pop up in his sneaky brain. It may sound difficult, but it's worth a try.
The group of noble girls continued their conversation accompanied by a glass of wine and some sweet biscuits. Their eyes looked for another handsome man they might be able to sneak into the palace garden amid the bustle of people in the middle of the party.
Lanju Sara felt very superior hearing the various flattery these noble girls poured, making her not pay attention around, and a maid accidentally spilled some splashes of red wine on her dress.
Lanju Sara looked fiercely at the waiter who accidentally spilled the wine, “Are you blind!?”
That shout made the entire room stop
their conversation, all attention was on Lanju Sara who stared angrily at the servant who just lowered her head hearing Lanju Sara's snaps. In fact, Ring Gilya and Moon Juha are already comfortable with hiding places
they, too, were watching this commotion.
“I'm sorry, Miss.”
“Are you paid to spill wine on my dress? I wear this dress for
giving proper respect to the soldiers, how could you destroy this honorable party!? You won't be able to pay for this dress for the rest of your life!”
“I'm really sorry, Miss. I'll clean it.”
“What is this?” This light, authoritative sound changed the atmosphere throughout the room. All the nobles, the soldiers, even the king himself turned their attention to Ha Noon who was walking calmly towards Lanju
Sara and the waitress. With her satin dress in black patterned grey, Ha Noon smiled gently at Lanju Sara.
