I completely lost my composure at the mention of the wedding night.

When he directly brought up the wedding night, I felt like the marriage talks with him, which had only been vaguely visible in the distance before, suddenly leaped right in front of my nose.

Somehow. Every time I came to Wolmugung, I kept feeling bothered by how desolate it looked. Was it because I sensed the fate that I would be in charge of this place?

In a daze, I looked around Wolmugung and then fled back home.

For several days after that, things were very quiet and peaceful.

Perhaps because the country had seen the worst-case scenario once. The Emperor and Empress seemed to now view Sun An as a relatively good match.

In my opinion, the imperial couple seemed worried that if they didn’t finalize things when the 9th Princess took a liking to Sun An, the 9th Princess might want to marry me again.

The reason I think so is because, although I tried to match Sun An with the 9th Princess, the imperial family sent Song Taegam to the Sun family faster than expected.

I was reading a book at home when I heard this news from a messenger sent by Sun An and was shocked.

“Is that true?”

“Yes. Young Master An told me to discreetly inform only Young Master Yo Yohwa, so I rushed over immediately.”

“When did the imperial family send someone?”

“Considering the travel time, it was about an hour after they sent someone that I ran here…”

“Ah. I see.”

Then if I go now, Song Taegam might still be there. I gave the messenger from Sun An some money.

“Thank you!”

And as soon as Sun An’s messenger left, I started waiting, checking the time to see when I could go to that house.

I wanted to hurry over and ask Sun An if things were going well.

Then Lin Hwa came to mind, so I left my quarters.

After Lin Hwa first overheard my conversation with Sun An. I tried to talk a few times, but it all fell through. A few times the timing wasn’t right, and a few times Lin Hwa refused and I couldn’t see her face.

But since we can’t live without seeing each other’s faces at all, it would be good to visit again when I have time.

I walked to the inner quarters and went to Lin Hwa’s quarters.

As I approached her quarters, Lin Hwa’s maid Wol Mi, who was walking with a basket at her side, spotted me and immediately ran over to greet me brightly.

“Young Master, you’ve come?”

I gestured slightly towards Lin Hwa’s room inside and asked.

“Is she in there?”

“Yes.”

“How is she?”

“Still a bit… She seems to be in a bad mood.”

Wol Mi answered with an awkward smile.

It must be difficult for her. She’s probably angry at me for the same reason as Lin Hwa. This happened because Lin Hwa secretly eavesdropped on a conversation between me and a friend.

Anyway, I thought I should at least try talking, so I walked up to Lin Hwa’s door and called out loudly.

“Yo Lin Hwa. It’s me. Are you really not going to talk to me?”

How long did I wait after that? The door suddenly flung open and Lin Hwa stood in the doorway, glaring at me fiercely. But when our eyes met, Lin Hwa turned around sharply and said coldly.

“Come in.”

I quickly went inside.

But as soon as I entered and closed the door, a soft pillow stuffed with feathers immediately struck my forehead.

After grabbing and snatching the pillow, I looked at Lin Hwa in bewilderment, and Lin Hwa burst out, on the verge of tears:

“You fraud! Traitor! How can you call yourself my elder brother?!”

“Lin Hwa.”

“Knowing that I like Elder Brother Sun An! How could you try to marry Elder Brother Sun An to a princess? Even if they were to marry, you should have stopped it! How could you!”

“There were circumstances.”

“What circumstances!”

I don’t want to tell her. I’ve already experienced how loose-lipped Lin Hwa can be during the 13th Prince incident.

As soon as I went to see the 13th Prince, she immediately told our parents, and because of that incident, our parents couldn’t actively refuse the marriage talks when Song Taegam came.

But if I don’t say anything now, Lin Hwa seemed likely to treat me completely as an enemy, so I reluctantly started speaking.

“Alright. I’ll tell you. But you must keep this absolutely secret. If this gets out, our entire family could be in danger. Can you keep a secret? If so, I’ll tell you. Because you’re my younger sister.”

Lin Hwa glared at me for a moment but eventually nodded.

“…Alright.”

I sighed and confessed.

“Her Highness the 9th Princess was persistently begging His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress to let her marry me.”

At my words, Lin Hwa’s eyes widened in shock.

“What are you saying? How could you and…”

“I saved Her Highness the Princess when she was in danger once. It seems she took a liking to me then. But when His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t allow it, she even lied about being pregnant with my child.”

“!”

“If I marry the Princess, the secret will be revealed, and that would put our family in danger, right? So I had no choice but to find another excellent man who could win the Princess’s heart. That’s why I asked Sun An. Among my friends, Sun An is the most outstanding.”

Lin Hwa gaped at me. For a moment, it seemed like she was convinced by my words. Did she understand the situation?

I observed Lin Hwa closely.

But soon Lin Hwa clenched her fist, slammed it on the table, and shouted:

“So you sold out Elder Brother Sun An to save yourself?”

“If you eavesdropped on the conversation, you should have heard. I told Sun An honestly and asked if he could do it. Sun An said it was fine, so I proceeded.”

“Anyway, you sold him out with his consent!”

“How can you phrase it like that?”

I couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out. Lin Hwa, as if she had been waiting for this, criticized even more loudly.

“You sold out your friend for your own convenience! You sold out your sister too! You’re a disgusting egoist!”

“Don’t you ever get help from friends in your life? Why are you interfering in something Sun An agreed to? Are you Sun An’s parents?”

“But I’m your sister! The sister you arbitrarily sold out!”

“When did I sell you out? Are you really twisting words? I didn’t sell you out, you snuck in like a mouse and eavesdropped, you little filly!”

As our voices grew louder, it seems the maid outside called for mother. Just as I was about to say more, the door flung open and mother came in, shouting.

“Why are you fighting again! Why again! Stop it right now!”

Lin Hwa pressed her lips tightly and glared at me.

I was so angry at Lin Hwa this time that I didn’t even make a forced apology and glared back.

Lin Hwa hates me because she thinks I get all the benefits while dressing as a man.

And I dislike Lin Hwa because she hates me for something that wasn’t my choice, and moreover, for something that has as many disadvantages as advantages.

I, who dress as a man, will become the family heir, but our parents have already firmly promised to send half of the family fortune as Lin Hwa’s dowry when she marries, for the sake of ‘poor’ Lin Hwa.

Yet Lin Hwa always acts as if she’s being harmed because of me, as if I’ve taken many things that should have been hers.

If they had known Lin Hwa would be born, our parents would have expected that the second child might be a son, so they wouldn’t have made me dress as a man. Then Lin Hwa would have grown up dressing as a man.

I think I was harmed in this aspect, but Lin Hwa always thinks she was harmed in this aspect.

“What on earth are you doing! I hear other families’ siblings help each other, but why do you two fight every time I see you!”

Mother, how can you say other families’ siblings help each other? The 13th Prince killed almost all of his siblings to ascend to the throne. And if the 13th Prince hadn’t done so, the other siblings would have done the same to him.

But if I say this, I’ll be scolded alone while we should be scolded together.

As I stayed quiet, mother continued nagging for a while until Sugil the old maid cried out, “Madam! Madam!” as if about to cry, and only then did mother grab the back of her neck and close her mouth.

But her appearance of breathing heavily showed that her anger had truly risen to the top of her head, so neither Lin Hwa nor I could fight anymore in front of mother.

After escorting mother to her quarters.

I was debating whether to talk more with Lin Hwa or not, but I decided not to go for now, thinking it would be better to wait for that temper to calm down.

‘If I go now, it will only lead to a second round anyway.’

Then mother would grab the back of her neck once more. Maybe even father who had returned from court.

So instead of going to Lin Hwa, I went to visit the Sun family. Song Taegam should have left by now, so it would be good to ask Sun An if things went well.

But really. I’m so angry. Lin Hwa, that little filly! There’s another man who’s truly perfect for her.

If she had married Sun An and lived well in her previous life, would I have involved Sun An in this? No, that’s why I didn’t!

But in her previous life, although there were marriage talks between Lin Hwa and Sun An, they eventually fell through.

In other words, even without this incident, the possibility of Sun An and Lin Hwa getting together is very small. Even if they did get together, they might not live well.

While grumbling, I had already arrived in front of the Sun family residence.

The gatekeeper let me in as soon as he saw my face.

As soon as I entered, I immediately felt the bustling atmosphere pervading everywhere.

Everyone was whispering in low voices, but I could hear words like ‘what happened’ or ‘why from the imperial family?’, so it seemed they knew that the imperial family had sent a eunuch here.

I quickly went to find Sun An.

But to my surprise, not only Sun An but also Sun An’s parents were inside.

“Hello.”

I greeted them in surprise and quickly said to Sun An.

“I’ll come back later.”

But Sun An’s parents told me to come into the room, and after I entered, they firmly closed the door and said with grateful faces:

“We heard that Young Master Yo helped our An meet Her Highness the Princess? We’re truly grateful.”

“That our An has such a friend as you, he’s truly blessed. Thank you for taking good care of An.”

No, Sun An helped me. As I looked at Sun An in bewilderment, Sun An shook his head and smiled sheepishly.

It seems he had claimed that I selflessly helped him get together with the Princess.

Sun An’s father even went so far as to hug me and pat my back heavily.

As I was in the position of having asked Sun An for help, I felt my face flush with embarrassment at their pure expressions of gratitude.

After being held by Sun An’s parents and hearing various compliments for a while. It was only after nearly half an hour that I was able to escape from there.

But thinking it would be better to let Sun An spend time with his parents, I declined when Sun An’s parents offered to leave and quickly went outside.

As I was leaving, I saw several people walking hurriedly with cold expressions. They were completely different from the excited servants.

When I looked over reflexively, I couldn’t see the faces of the others who had already gone into rooms, but I could recognize one of them.

It was Sun An’s cousin and the young master of the Sun family.

‘Does he dislike Sun An marrying the Princess?’

Come to think of it, Sun An did say that his uncle and cousin disliked him. Is that why?

The marriage talks between the 9th Princess and Sun An continued to progress smoothly after that, and they safely exchanged the Four Pillars.

Seeing the Emperor rush the engagement, it seemed the 9th Princess had done something again, like when she had pressured the Emperor with the pregnancy story, but now I couldn’t know what it was. It was no longer my business.

All the gossip-loving people living in the capital heard the news that the eldest son of the second son of the Sun family would marry the 9th Princess, who was the daughter of the Empress, and everything seemed to be going well.

Then I heard shocking news.

“What do you mean? Sun An’s former lover appeared with a child?”