7 Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Cho Shiye was in the garden alone with a violin. She touched the rough edges of the violin with a serene smile, it's been a long time since she last played the violin.

Kim Yun-hee doesn't like the sounds of violins, she doesn't know why, and would often make fun of Cho Shiye's whenever she showed her videos of her playing the violin.

She never thought she would be able to see or touch a violin again after that but seeing a violin in the corner of Kim Hae-yoon's room made her so nostalgic that she immediately took it to play.

Cho Shiye felt embarrassed playing it inside Kim Hae-yoon's room as Kim Hae-yoon might come inside or one of the maid robots would come in and the servants that were waiting outside would be able to see so she ran towards the garden without anyone in tow.

As she gets into position, Cho Shiye felt her heartbeat loudly, feeling nervous as she played awkwardly at first but soon got into it as she eases up.

Kim Hae-yoon was at the corner watching the scene, she never knew Cho Shiye could play the violin. It was never detailed inside the novel and based on the previous owner's investigation, she only knew that Cho Shiye was interested in one when she was young.

She watched the scene and listened tentatively as she got swayed by the soothing violin sounds. Kim Hae-yoon was awestruck and admired Cho Shiye as she looked at the graceful moves of her.

Her heart was rapidly beating loudly as she looked at the gracious smile of Cho Shiye's.

'Ah, I want to protect that smile.'

The music coming from the violin came to an abrupt end when Cho Shiye heard her optical brain ring. Her friend, Kang In-eun, was calling her.

Cho Shiye answered the call while Kim Hae-yoon hid behind the bush in fright.

Soon, a hologram-like half body of Kang In-eun was reflected on her optical brain.

Kang In-eun was a daughter of a baron from the countryside, she has short brown hair and deep blue eyes. She always has a scowl on her face and looks mean but due to her short stature, she was often seen as cute that angers her more.

The two had met in the imperial academy and soon became friends as they often meet during classes.

Kang In-eun observed Cho Shiye discerning without saying a word.

"Did she hurt you?" After a brief silence, Kang In-eun asked.

"No." Cho Shiye shook her head.

"Are you sure? She may be the empress of this land and I'm just a powerless woman but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't hit her if she hurt you." Kang In-eun nagged as she raised her hands.

Cho Shiye chuckled and nodded. Kang In-eun has always been like this, she often acts like a mother towards Cho Shiye and would always reprimand her whenever she didn't tell her she's being treated badly.

Kang In-eun would often rant about how she'll beat up Kim Yun-hee if they met in person even if it meant treason for hurting the royalty after knowing what she's doing with Cho Shiye.

Cho Shiye would always pacify her which angers her more and leaves her helpless whenever she sees the lovesick look on Cho Shiye's face.

"No, it's true, I'm fine. I'm not hurt, see?" Cho Shiye raised her hands and due to this, Kang In-eun was able to see the violin she was holding.

Cho Shiye realized this a bit later as she lowered her hands and her violin. Kang In-eun seemed pleased as she smiled.

"It truly seems like you're fine." She smiled. "But, remember. If that empress or whatever hurt you, I swear I'll break every single bone of her body!"

Cho Shiye laughed as Kang In-eun smiled.

"Are they feeding you well? Have you eaten dinner? Did you have a nice rest?" Kang In-eun continued to barrage her with tons of questions that Cho Shiye answered one by one.

Seeing that the two seemed to be having a nice chat, Kim Hae-yoon scuttled away quietly, looking quite messed up with leaves all over her body and her hair unkept.

Kim Hae-yoon fixed her appearance as she opened her optical brain and called for Park Cheol-seok.

"Yes, your majesty?" Park Cheol-seok responded, Kim Hae-yoon didn't want to video chat with him so a hologram like Park Cheol-seok didn't appear on her optical brain.

"I need you to find an instrument instructor and a craftsman for me." She replied straight to the point.

"As you wish, your majesty." Park Cheol-seok responded as Kim Hae-yoon ended the call.

*****

Soon after the call ended, Cho Shiye ended her call with Kang In-eun. She felt her stomach growling so she was heading towards the palace when she bumped into Kim Hae-yoon outside the entrance of the garden.

Cho Shiye seemed surprised and tried her best to hide the violin behind her back, after all, she took this without permission and the owner was standing in front of her.

"Have you eaten?" Kim Hae-yoon asked with a gentle smile, ignoring the violin peeking out behind Cho Shiye's back.

"No." Cho Shiye responded coldly.

"I see, well, I haven't eaten too so, let's eat together."

Cho Shiye nodded and so, the two walked towards the palace together, side by side. Cho Shiye seemed fidgety and didn't say a word throughout their whole walk back as Kim Hae-yoon reacted the same.

As they were near the room where they usually eat, Kim Hae-yoon coughed. "So, do you play the violin?"

Cho Shiye froze and calmed herself as she looked at Kim Hae-yoon, "No." She replied.

Kim Hae-yoon nodded and didn't push the topic further as the two dined together. The food they were served was hot despite them taking a long time before deciding to eat.

The two didn't speak at the dinner table but Kim Hae-yoon kept giving Cho Shiye cut out parts of meat, vegetables, or peeled fruits and eggs.

Cho Shiye accepted them awkwardly and after they finished eating, she excused herself and left. Seeing the back of Cho Shiye disappear after the door was shut, Kim Hae-yoon let out a deep breath.

'This sure is tough.' She smiled faintly.