Capítulo 29: Chapter 29
And Heonui left. In almost complete darkness, she was driven by a cab driver who always scolded either horses or fate. Through the blizzard and the piercing night wind biting the young cheeks of the Princess, they rode. Through the snowdrifts, which had already managed to fall on the road with their crisp body, they rode.
And all the way, Heonui thought about how she could possibly let any feelings and sympathies into her still grieving heart. And it was so disgusting to her that in front of almost all the servants, she reacted so bitterly to the news of the Princess that they would not come but intended to amuse themselves with hunting that she kept sobbing in her carriage, poor thing, even more angry at that tired road and hard work of a carriage driver.
"You, Your Serene Highness, in vain in such moods, broke down to the papal house," he half-shouted to her, whipping up the horses. "It was about to wait for the Prince. He will be sad; he is so worried about you."
"Ride and do not talk, please!" pleaded the Princess, closing the window from the peasant, through which the night snow flew in and fell on her shawl. She shook it off in disgust and, shuddering a little, closed her eyes, running away from both reality and her own thoughts.
They came in such cold weather with suitcases already in the morning. Li-en's family lived in the family estate that was passed down from generation to generation. At first, it was a fortress, and after a protracted war, it was almost completely destroyed by cannon. During peacetime, King Lee Song's great-great-grandfather, Li-en the Second, has built his estate in that ruined place. Now, it was a three-story manor house with balconies and a fountain, with a huge arch at the entrance, painted with icons and two gyrfalcons on allowances on their marble columns that often cracked and fell in the spring.
In his youth, the King set up a small prayer service in the backyard so as not to travel far to Sunday services because the estate was far away and was surrounded by many lands that the Li-en family had now sold for the debts of the Queen's beloved twin brother, a simpleton gambler. And so, King Lee Song, after such huge possessions, could now walk only along the short, with rare birches, the grove that remained to him, which he loved very much, and kept hoeing it in vain, and sent men there to no avail, because the trees were dying out there, despite all efforts.
Inside, everything was cleaned modestly and properly. Li-ens never exhibited and preferred moderate luxury in their rich times and restrained style in difficulties. At the entrance, everyone immediately got into a wide living room, where everything only hinted and confused whether people with wealth or poor lived here. The sideboards were collecting dust on modest dishes, and the furniture was clean and calm tones in cashmere. In the middle of the hall, there was a reception table, around which were placed numerous chairs for guests. The clock was certainly with a deafening hourly cuckoo, and next to them led the door to the Count's office and then to the stairs to the other rooms. The study had everything a busy gentleman needed—a desk and a library. The half for the women—Heonui's mother and herself—was much more luxurious and more lavishly decorated. Stoles on top of beds, lots of goose feather pillows, wardrobes and towels, bookcases and spindles. The estate had a deep basement and a huge kitchen with a cellar and a washing machine. And the Li-en family did everything so that their estate would not go to strangers for debts.
The doorman from Germany, already quite old and with very haggard shoulders, grumpy and taciturn, hurried to announce the arrival of Miss Li-en to the parent. Surprised but so happy by the arrival of his daughter, King Lee Song, barely seeing her dark, haggard and expensive silhouette, ran out to meet her and burst into tears of joy.
"My dear, my Heonui, how is it possible, indeed! Yes, how is it even possible to see you? Are you here? You arrived! I did not expect you to come!" he hugged her with his strong arms and kissed her.
"Where is Mother?" asked the Princess, following him into the house, where the servants immediately fled, also rejoicing at her arrival.
"Ah, Mimi will be delighted to see that you are at home, dear Heonui!" said the cook, a plump old woman who had cooked for the Li-en family all her life and had been Heonui's nanny from the very beginning.
"Oh, how glad I am to all of you!" bowing as a sign of respect and greeting, Heonui muttered, hugging first one, then another maid, who, one after another, blushed and were embarrassed by her attention.
"Mother is upstairs. Go quickly to her. How happy she will be! Mimi went for firewood. She shall be here soon!" assured King Lee Song, taking away the suitcases from his daughter. "That's happiness!"
Heonui climbed the wide winding stairs to the second floor of her mother's bedroom. The smell in the room seemed strange, wild and stale to her, as soon as she entered. Inside, it was damp and unpleasantly dark from thick curtains that completely blocked the already weak winter sun.
Mother was not lying on her bed, as during her illness, but already on a small sofa and was reading a book — an old one, with shabby, frequent turning of the pages. But what was strange was that she also saw Heonui as if she were that book — she had aged a lot, her eyes had grown dull and outdated so early in an old age, and her illness was worn out more as time treated this literature.
"Mother!" Heonui exclaimed, running up to her mother and leaning on her for a hug. "Oh, how sickly you look, Mother!"
The mother, until that moment immersed not in reading for real but in thoughts about her daughter, was stunned by her presence and at first thought that a ghost was hugging her and kissing her. Pushing her away in horror, she muttered:
"Get away from me, ghost!"
"Mother, it is me! Heonui!" the Princess was frightened that her mother had lost her mind, but the expression on the woman's face immediately changed, and she rushed to hug her daughter.
"My dear! You arrived! What happiness! I was afraid that the disease would kill me and I would never see you before the scary hour!"
"Pooh-pooh on you, Mother, what a dire speech! Father wrote that you are on the mend. Why do you say such things to me?!
"How you have changed! How thin you have become!" Mother, with some pain on her face, examined her daughter and touched her clothes. "The frost may have painted your cheeks, but it will not deceive me that your blush is not real, healthy, that, in fact, your face is white as snow. Oh, Heonui, forgive me! Forgive me for everything!"
The Queen wept heartily as she fell on her daughter's shoulder. It was impossible to see Heonui's mother's tears, but she did not know what to say to console her, and her treacherous tears themselves flowed down her cheeks.
King Lee Song entered the room, knocking softly so as not to frighten the ladies.
"I… um…" he started coughing nervously, "ordering breakfast. I do not know if you will, Heonui, because you have had a long trip home and must be tired. And Mimi is waiting for you downstairs. She came."
Heonui raised her head and, wiping her tears, said:
"I'll go down to the table, with my mother."
"But the mother does not go down anymore..."
"I'll come down today," Queen An Ha interrupted him. "My daughter is back."
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