After returning home, avoiding my disciple’s frightening gaze. At first, I went about without any thoughts. But as evening approached, anxious thoughts began to bubble up one by one.

‘Does he really know that I’m a woman?’

Before the regression, had my disciple ever seen me as a woman? There hadn’t been even the slightest indication. This time too, there was no indication before the marriage talk came up.

But unlike me, my disciple said he had experienced multiple regressions. Perhaps in one of those many regressions, he might have learned that I was a woman.

However… if he knows I’m a woman, does my disciple need to keep my secret? Just revealing my male disguise would be enough to make me collapse helplessly.

But before the regression, my disciple deliberately took me along on his journey to the throne, keeping me as his teacher. Seeing this, it seems like he doesn’t know I’m a woman…

“Is it because of young lady Lin Hwa?”

As I sat with my chin in my hand, lost in thought, Sugil’s wife brought some savory pickled side dishes on my mother’s errand and asked.

“Ah. That’s right.”

I made up an excuse and ate rice with the pickles Sugil’s wife had left.

Then, before going to bed. As I saw the neat hairpin hanging from the head of my maid Wolseom, who came to arrange my bedding, a good idea occurred to me.

‘Should I bring a woman’s accessory in front of my disciple? If I see his reaction, won’t I be able to tell if he knows I’m a woman or not?’

To carry out this plan, the next morning when I went to greet my parents. I waited until I was alone with my mother and casually asked.

“Mother. Could you lend me that hairpin with the bell?”

“A hairpin? Why?”

“I want to wear it in front of His Highness.”

Mother’s expression changed to one of serious misunderstanding. But it’s fine. She’s misunderstanding anyway, even if I don’t borrow the hairpin.

“Don’t worry. You’re so beautiful. When His Highness sees you without your male disguise, he’ll be too shy to even speak.”

“You’re talking about my disciple, right?”

Mother glared at me once, then went into the room and brought out several pretty accessories.

“You can just lend me anything.”

I waved my hand, as there was no need to be this formal, but mother tried each accessory on my hair one by one and handed me a clean blue hairpin.

“This suits you best. Take this one.”

“Thank you. I’ll return it this evening or tomorrow morning.”

“It’s fine, keep it.”

I carefully tucked the hairpin mother gave me into my bosom. And when I sat face to face with my disciple after entering the palace, while he was opening his book, I took out the hairpin and placed it on the desk.

However, my disciple was busy arranging his books and dipping his brush in ink, not even glancing at the hairpin.

Look here. Look here.

Unable to stand it, I deliberately grabbed the hairpin and shook it slightly.

As the small bell at the end of the hairpin rang softly, my disciple finally raised his precious gaze. Then, discovering the hairpin I was holding, he asked.

“Why did you bring a hairpin?”

I carefully observed my disciple’s reaction. But there was no particular change in his expression.

So I deliberately held the hairpin near my hair and asked, pretending to be excited.

“Does this suit me?”

“I can’t tell like this.”

But my disciple still had almost no reaction. So I rolled up my tied hair, fixed it with the hairpin, then showed the tied part to my disciple and asked.

“How about now? Does it suit me?”

I quickly looked at my disciple’s expression after doing this. However, my disciple still showed no change in expression. His face was as smooth as an egg.

Then, when our eyes met, my disciple said in a tone that seemed to contain not even a handful of sincerity.

“It suits you well.”

It was a tone that suggested he didn’t really think so at all, but was reluctantly answering because I had asked so insistently.

Judging from that reaction, it’s hard to tell whether my disciple knows I’m a woman or not.

I ended up dejectedly removing the hairpin, placing it aside, and opening my book.

“Let’s look at page fifty.”

[This is the timeline separator]

After finishing the lesson. I listlessly gathered the hairpin and tidied up the desk.

Meanwhile, my disciple left somewhere without even tidying his desk. But I wasn’t particularly curious about his whereabouts, so I just finished the tidying I was doing.

However, as I was about to go out after finishing the tidying, the door opened and my disciple came in.

What was unusual was that in my disciple’s hand was a hairpin with a red jewel.

What’s this. Are you bragging that your hairpin is prettier? I looked glumly at the hairpin once and then at my disciple once.

I was unsure whether to say goodbye or make a polite comment about how pretty the hairpin was.

But since I had shown my hairpin first earlier, I pretended to admire the hairpin and said.

“The hairpin is very pretty.”

Then, as I was about to bow and say I would leave now, that hairpin was suddenly held out in front of my eyes.

Thinking he might stab me with the hairpin, I covered my face with both hands, but when there was no attack, I lowered my hands and looked, and my disciple was looking at me with eyes that said I was crazy.

After lowering my hands and looking alternately at the hairpin and him in confusion, my disciple extended his hand towards me again as if telling me to take the hairpin.

“Ah… Should I tie your hair for you?”

Wondering if perhaps he couldn’t use the hairpin by himself, I asked, and my disciple frowned.

Is that not it? As I quickly accepted the hairpin, my disciple immediately lowered his hand and walked to his desk, saying.

“I’ll give it to you. This color suits you better, Teacher.”

“What?”

I was flustered and tried to hand the hairpin back to my disciple.

“It’s fine!”

“Why? Is a hairpin given by your disciple dirty?”

But seeing my disciple’s expression and over-interpreted reaction, I became scared and had to snatch back the hairpin and hug it.

“W-why are you giving this to me?”

But as I didn’t feel right about eagerly accepting the hairpin from my disciple, I had to ask again.

My disciple answered in a voice as perfunctory as when he said “It’s pretty” earlier.

“Your disciple likes the color red.”

What does that have to do with me?

I looked at my disciple, at a loss for words. My disciple raised one corner of his mouth and asked.

“Why? Shall I put it in for you?”

“No! Thank you!”

I was startled, bowed hurriedly, and fled. My disciple had merely given me a hairpin. But strangely, I feel like I’ve lost somehow.

[This is the timeline separator]

Even as I returned home, fiddling with the hairpin my disciple had given me, only the blue hairpin and red hairpin were floating around in my mind.

Mother said blue suits me well… but my disciple says red suits me better. That means one of them has terrible color sense…

Then I arrived home, but the house was in disarray. The servants were working as usual, but they kept whispering to each other with anxious expressions.

Sensing something was not right, I went straight to the main hall. In front of the main hall, Lin Hwa’s close maid Wolmi was stamping her feet anxiously.

Even before climbing the steps to the main hall, I could hear the sound of dishes breaking inside. Wolmi, who had been on the verge of tears, ran to me as soon as she saw me and pleaded.

“Young master. Please help our young lady. At this rate, our young lady will die!”

“What happened?”

“A eunuch came from the palace earlier. Not the eunuch who came before, but a different one. He said they need to make a list of candidates for selecting concubines and asked if our young lady had a fiancé.”

“Already?”

“Yes.”

The sound of dishes breaking came from inside once again.

“But why is father already so angry? Is Lin Hwa insisting on becoming a concubine?”

“The young lady immediately answered that she doesn’t have one.”

“!”

“The eunuch was a bit surprised too when the young lady spoke directly. Usually, people don’t speak up themselves in such matters.”

Wow. This Lin Hwa, she’s gone quite bravely mad. I don’t even know how to react.

Wolmi pleaded with me again.

“Young master, please help our young lady.”

Before I could respond to that, father’s thunderous voice came from inside the room.

“Don’t come in! Go to your room and rest!”

Even while scolding, he seems to be listening to all the conversation.

Wolmi looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“Young master. Please help our young lady.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t want Lin Hwa to become a concubine either. But what can we do? Lin Hwa has already told the eunuch she has no fiancé. Father called Lin Hwa to scold her, not to persuade her, right?”

Even if I go into the room now, Lin Hwa will be more angry because her pride is hurt, and the situation will only get worse, not better.

If Lin Hwa gets angry and lashes out at me, I’ll lash out back, and then father’s anger will explode and he’ll be angry for an hour instead of half an hour.

“Young master…”

“You comfort her later.”

I didn’t enter the main hall and returned to my quarters.

Although my parents will scold Lin Hwa, I was also dejected. I had sent someone to Nangyun, but before the messenger could even reach Nangyun, the official document came out.

‘I expected it to come out quickly, but it’s even faster than I thought.’

[This is the timeline separator]

All night long, the house was constantly noisy with the sounds of father and Lin Hwa arguing and dishes breaking.

Of course, those sounds didn’t reach my quarters clearly. But that atmosphere flowed all the way here, and even the servants in my quarters were moving around so cautiously.

Thus, the efforts of myself and my parents to prevent Lin Hwa’s selection as a concubine crumbled with Lin Hwa’s single word, and finally the day of the concubine selection ceremony approached.

[This is the timeline separator]

Although father didn’t want to see Lin Hwa’s face for two days, it seems he doesn’t want to see Lin Hwa being humiliated by other young ladies at the selection venue while representing the Yo family name.

Father and mother were angry for exactly two days, saying ‘Go wearing a straw mat!’, but in the end, they called merchants to buy expensive silk and mobilized all the seamstresses working for the family and even outside needleworkers to make clothes for Lin Hwa.

Not only that, they brought intricately crafted accessories from various places and matched them with Lin Hwa’s clothes.

As a result, Lin Hwa became as beautiful as a butterfly that had just emerged from its cocoon, at least in appearance.

With such an overwhelming appearance, on the day of the concubine selection, Lin Hwa entered the palace riding the carriage symbolizing the Yo family.

Nangyun still hasn’t come yet.

[This is the timeline separator]

As the concubine selection is an event that outsiders cannot see, I had to go to Wolmugung and teach as usual even after Lin Hwa entered the palace.

But because I was worried about Lin Hwa, I couldn’t teach properly and kept talking nonsense.

Was this too noticeable? After talking nonsense for the tenth time, I felt awkward and started flipping through the book, when my disciple spoke in a perfunctory tone.

“I heard your younger sister is also participating in the concubine selection today.”

“Yes.”

Since it would be strange to hide it, I had mentioned it casually a few days ago. He still remembers, huh. I sighed and confessed.

“I’m worried about how she’s doing.”

She won’t throw a tantrum like she’s taking an exam she doesn’t like, right? She might act like a ruffian at home, but she behaves with dignity at social events where she meets young ladies and married women.

But this is mother’s claim, so I’m not entirely convinced.

I shook my head and unconsciously turned another page. Then, confused about where we were in the lesson, I was flipping through the book.

“Would you like to go and see once?”

My disciple made an unexpected suggestion. I looked at him in surprise. No, I was really surprised.

“We can’t see it, can we?”

Wouldn’t this be the same even for a prince? But my disciple answered simply.