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He lost track of time as he held her in his arms.  And breathed in her refreshing scent.  She smelled like fresh soil.  After a spring rain.  Perhaps all that clay had become a part of her pores? 

Whatever it was, he delighted in it.

She felt just perfect surrounded by his strong body.  He realized in that moment that he would very gladly cuddle this woman in his bed.  He did, in fact, wish that he could carry her there with him tonight.  Why hadn’t he proposed to her yet?  How had they not yet to come to an understanding?

It was because he was fairly certain that she was still indifferent to him.

He felt a sudden dart of jealousy bite into him.  To whom had she given her heart?  And was it possible that he could steal it away from that foolish rival?

How could any man who truly knew this woman not adore her? 

She was so cute.  And brilliant.  And she possessed the widest heart that he’d ever encountered.  Including his own mother’s. 

He realized that he had been attracted to Ni Na from the first.  But now he was truly beginning to admire her.  She was pretty enough.  But it was her strength of character and the compassion of her heart that drew him most to her.  As well as that amazing mind of hers.  That could envision a better world and take concrete steps towards making it a reality. 

She possessed a rare courage too.  Not just to pursue that child earlier today.  But to face the girl’s protectors without fear.  And then to take on the care of two dozen street urchins.  After telling him that she wasn’t up for an adventure.  She was far braver than she had believed herself to be.

He shook his head, his nose trailing through the dark strands of her silky hair.  He inhaled again before resting his cheek atop that head. 

“Ni Na?” he breathed after a while.

She was breathing steadily now.  And she’d relaxed completely against him.  He was sure that she was asleep.  He drew a deep breath and held it.  And just…listened.

After a few moments, he was fairly certain that he was the only one still awake in this room.  He shifted to slowly rise to his feet.  With Ni Na in his arms.  It was time to take her to her own bed.  The poor woman was exhausted.  She had endured quite the day today.  As had he.  So why wasn’t he tired?

Holding her close, he instead felt…invigorated. 

He carried her into the next room and leaned over to set her gently down on her bed.  Someone had left a lamp burning in this room.  He was infinitely grateful to them.  He tucked the covers in around her shoulders before sitting down on the edge of the bed.  He sat simply studying her beautiful face for several long minutes.  Dreaming of a different future than he had ever before imagined.

His mother captured the look on his face when he entered the sitting room a few minutes later.

“Have you told her yet?” she queried quietly.

He glanced up at her.  “Told whom what?” he asked, still in a daze.

“Told Ni Na that you wish to marry her.”

He sighed.  “She now has a very different picture of her future, Eomma.  Today changed everything.”

“Does that mean that it has to be changed for the worse?  It seems to me that today simply brought the two of you closer together.”

“How so?”  He drew his eyebrows down towards his nose.

She chuckled.  “Isn’t it obvious?  Today brought you two dozen children to share.  She can’t raise those little ones by herself.  She’s not even out of the schoolroom yet herself.  She’s going to need the guidance of someone older and wiser than she.  And all those boys!  You expect a woman to raise twelve boys to adulthood alone?!”

“Of course, I don’t.  I will be around.  And I’m going to hire several couples to help us.”

Lady Lee smiled at her beloved son.

“Those children don’t need any other couples.  They need Ni Na.  And you.  Not some elderly folks who should be looking forward to bouncing their grandbabies on their knees.  Those kids need two youthful parents who can keep up with them.  If you’re going to adopt them, Beom Sook, you might as well marry the woman they’re all going to be looking up to as their mother.”

“Their unnie,” he corrected her.

“Is an unnie what Dae Hee really needs?” she quizzed him softly.  “Or does that tiny child’s heart crave the love of a mother?  A love that, if I am not mistaken, Ni Na already feels blossoming in her own heart for that little girl.”

“But Ni Na is of the nobility.  And those children were born to farmers.”

“So?  Love knows no boundaries, son.  You should know that.”

His eyes fenced with hers for a moment.  As they both remembered.  His father’s best friend had been from the country.  A simple rice paddy laborer.  The man had nearly died saving his father in the war.  And Appa had always called him brother.

Beom Sook nodded.  “I know, Eomma.  I remember.”

“Don’t you ever forget it, son.  Birthplace does not matter.  The bone rank system does not matter.  Every single life is precious.  Those children miss their parents as much as you would have had you lost me and Appa in a similar fashion.  Their parents loved them just as I love you.  Just as much as – in their position – I would have loved you.  Enough to send you somewhere safe.  Even as I suffered and died. 

“Compassion is not limited to a particular class.  Selflessness can be found among pauper and noble alike.  Both kings and servants love their children.  But a true king loves someone else’s children too.  And that girl is a true queen.  Sheltering not just one man’s children but the offspring of a whole host of people who cannot protect their own anymore.  If you let her get away, you’re more of a fool than I would ever have taken you for.”

Her words echoed in his head.  Long after he’d lain down on his bed later that night.  Even his dreams were filled with his mother’s remonstrances.  And a certain kind girl’s glances.