“Yohwa, no, Lin Hwa. That belongs to Yohwa.”

Mother was so surprised that she mixed up the names. Lin Hwa, who had been happily looking in the mirror, turned to Mother with wide eyes.

Her face showed that she couldn’t understand what she had just heard.

“Did you say it belongs to Yo Yohwa?”

“Yes. So would you like to try on something else? I saw that reddish dress earlier and it looked very pretty.”

Lin Hwa was being pushed towards the side room by Mother when she suddenly seemed to come to her senses. She strode over and sat down in front of me.

As Mother sat down anxiously across from her, Lin Hwa gave me a sharp glare before protesting to Mother.

“Why are her clothes among mine?”

“You already had forty new outfits made. While we were at it, we made one more for Yohwa.”

“While you were at it?”

But at those words, Lin Hwa’s face turned bright red, and she glared at me as if she wanted to kill me. Her voice was noticeably lower when she continued.

“My entry to the palace is supposed to be my day. It’s like a wedding day for women from noble families. And you prepared Yo Yohwa’s clothes along with mine?”

The more she spoke, the angrier she seemed to get, and Lin Hwa’s face grew even redder.

Eventually, her face became as red as a drunk person’s, and she glared at me as she said:

“Until the end, Yo Yohwa is the main character in our family. Even on the day I enter the palace. Can’t you make me the main character even on the day I’m going to the palace?”

Mother quickly reached out and took Lin Hwa’s hands.

“What are you saying? We just made one more outfit while we were preparing. You have forty outfits.”

“The number doesn’t matter!”

I was dumbfounded and interjected.

“Then give me the forty and you take the one.”

After getting smacked on the back by Mother and closing my mouth, Lin Hwa glared at me coldly before starting to cry.

“I’ve lived my whole life being overshadowed by Yo Yohwa. When Yo Yohwa was getting all the expectations as the heir, I was always treated as an afterthought.”

“No, how can you say you were treated as an afterthought yesterday? We cherished you so much!”

“But Yo Yohwa is the one who will inherit the family! And you say you raised me preciously? What does it matter if you dote on me a little in everyday life? In truly important moments, Yo Yohwa is always in front and I’m always behind!”

“Yohwa is the heir!”

“I wanted to be the heir too! What’s the difference between Yo Yohwa and me that makes her the heir and not me?”

As Lin Hwa started sobbing uncontrollably, Mother was at a loss for what to do.

When Lin Hwa acts like this, neither Mother nor Father nor anyone else can handle her.

Our poor Lin Hwa, our pitiful Lin Hwa, our smart Lin Hwa who couldn’t become the heir…

“Once I enter the palace, I won’t be able to see my family’s faces as often as I do now. Elder brother will see Mother and Father every day even after he marries. So until I enter the palace, can’t you prioritize me over elder brother? Please?”

As Lin Hwa started to sob, Mother finally cried along with her and said:

“Alright. Mother is sorry. Mother is sorry for not understanding Lin Hwa’s feelings. Let’s have Lin Hwa take all the clothes prepared this time. Mother will quickly alter the clothes for you. So don’t cry, my child. Okay?”

After watching this scene, I shook my head and just went outside.

Was that what bothered her? When I returned to my quarters and was about to go to bed after finishing my work, Mother came to visit and said with a face that looked like she might cry:

“I’m sorry, Yohwa. But you’ll have to wait a few more years before you can wear that dress, so let’s give in to Lin Hwa this time.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. Do that.”

“…”

“Why are you glaring at me?”

Mother looked like she wanted to smack me on the back again, but this time she couldn’t, perhaps because she felt sorry for me. She sighed and said:

“I’ll get you the exact same one and make it even more splendid and pretty. We can spend more time preparing your clothes.”

“Yes.”

“Stop being sarcastic!”

“If I cry too, you won’t be able to handle it, right?”

“Why are you two on such bad terms?”

I shrugged, and Mother shook her head and stood up.

“Anyway, let’s have you give in this once. Lin Hwa will enter the palace in a few days, and then she won’t be able to stay in her mother’s arms like this. We should let her spend even a few days with peace of mind.”

“Yes, yes. Do that.”

I kept answering with a deflated voice, and Mother, perhaps truly angered, slammed the door shut as she left.

The wind from that made the candle flames dance wildly, causing the shadows of the furniture in the room to waver grotesquely.

I sat on the bed and stared at the wildly flickering candle flames for a moment.

The day of Lin Hwa’s entry to the palace dawned with bright sunshine from the morning. Despite it being midwinter, it felt like a nice autumn morning.

Mother and Father had been hugging Lin Hwa and crying since dawn, and Lin Hwa also couldn’t easily get into the carriage and kept crying.

“Young lady, if you keep crying, your makeup will come off. You shouldn’t enter the palace in tears when there are other concubines entering with you.”

Sugil’s wife kept dabbing Lin Hwa’s eyes with a handkerchief, but she was crying too.

Lin Hwa, overcome with emotion, even hugged me for once.

“Mother will find it difficult to enter the palace, and Father’s high position makes it inconvenient to come often, so you should visit frequently.”

“I’ll see.”

“From now on, you have to protect me.”

Lin Hwa then left various messages for Mother, Father, and even the chief servant and Sugil’s wife before finally getting into the carriage.

As Lin Hwa’s carriage moved forward, the imperial emblem attached to the end of the carriage swayed gently.

Behind it, a line of carriages followed carrying Lin Hwa’s many accessories and personal belongings.

Our parents couldn’t easily leave their spot even after the carriage was out of sight, still sobbing.

I also found it difficult to leave right away.

This was an event that didn’t happen before the regression. I wondered how this would affect our family. What would become of Lin Hwa, who had found ordinary happiness before the regression?

“Yohwa. You should go in and prepare to enter the palace too! Don’t you have a lesson with His Majesty today?”

“I was told I don’t have to come today because they’re greeting the newly entered concubines and royal family members.”

It was a day when three concubines were entering the palace simultaneously.

Having three enter at once wasn’t particularly rare, but what was special this time was that one of the entrants was from the Taewol Jang Princess’s lineage.

As a result, the officials in charge prepared the welcoming ceremony thoroughly, if only to avoid being looked down upon by Taewol, and Lin Hwa benefited from this.

“Wow… It’s really beautiful.”

Wolmi, who was entering the palace with Lin Hwa as a concubine from a noble family, couldn’t close her mouth as she looked around.

Thin silver threads were strung between the high roofs, and slender golden papers praying for blessings hung from the silver threads, fluttering endlessly in the wind.

On both sides of the path where the concubines would greet the Emperor, musicians stood at intervals, playing music without interruption.

This level of preparation wasn’t usually done for ordinary concubines, but Lin Hwa and the newly entered maids wouldn’t know that.

Following the decorated path, they came to a wide open space.

Around the artificial square made of well-trimmed grayish-white stones, eunuchs and court ladies in neat attire stood surrounding three sides.

Seeing this, Lin Hwa stood blankly, wondering what to do next, when a nearby eunuch approached and asked.

“Are you one of the concubines entering the palace today? May I ask your family name-”

“I am Lady Yo.”

As Lin Hwa proudly stated, the eunuch nodded in understanding and pointed to the right.

“Ah, Lady Yo. Please come this way.”

As soon as Lin Hwa stood there, the young lady from the Dan family, whom she had briefly seen during the concubine selection, came and stood on the left, leaving the center empty.

Lin Hwa glanced at the Dan beauty who had entered with a lower rank than herself and gazed at the central position.

It seemed they would place the princess from Taewol in that center spot.

After about half an hour, a woman in a bright pink dress appeared and stood in the center.

Her face was half-hidden by ornaments, so her appearance wasn’t clearly visible, but she was taller than expected.

Shortly after, pairs of concubines dressed like celestial maidens and those presumed to be royalty gathered one by one, then stood divided on the elevated steps in front, as if to observe them.

Lin Hwa had heard many times about the fierce competition among concubines, so she just wore a shy smile, careful not to appear provocative by observing them.

Then Lin Hwa recognized the face of one of those gathered in front. It was the 13th Prince, her elder sister’s disciple.

But feeling it was awkward to acknowledge him, Lin Hwa just kept her eyes lowered.

As a result, Lin Hwa didn’t notice that the 13th Prince frowned upon seeing her.

“Your Highness.”

“…”

“Your Highness. It would be better not to stare too intently at just one of the newly entered concubines, as it could lead to misunderstandings.”

Unusually, Sim Haga, the 13th Prince’s lazy eunuch, offered seemingly sensible advice. He appeared frightened as the 13th Prince kept staring at Lin Hwa without averting his gaze.

However, the reason the 13th Prince was staring at Lin Hwa was not what Sim Haga imagined.

“That dress.”

“Pardon?”

“It should be my teacher’s dress.”

“Excuse me? Lady Yo’s?”

“Why is that person wearing it?”

“Oh my, Your Highness. How can you refer to your future stepmother as ‘that person’?”

Sim Haga jumped in surprise at the 13th Prince’s words. But the 13th Prince continued to stare at Lin Hwa with narrowed eyes.

He couldn’t feel good about seeing someone else wearing the outfit his teacher had said she would wear ‘after getting married’.

It wasn’t that he had expected his teacher to come wearing that dress. But just because he hadn’t expected it didn’t mean he wasn’t upset that the promise had been broken.

Even as the Emperor and Empress appeared and received proper greetings from the three new concubines according to the proper procedures, the 13th Prince continued to stare at that dress.

Finally, when the entry ceremony ended, the existing concubines took turns giving words of blessing to the three newly entered concubines.

The princes and princesses also approached their new stepmothers in turn to welcome them. As they greeted in order of age, the 13th Prince’s turn was near the end.

However, while others mixed in poetry or pleasant words in their greetings, the 13th Prince continued to stare at the dress, searching for something.

Finally, when it was time to face Lady Yo. As soon as he found the trace he had been looking for, he asked without hesitation.

“Why is Lady Yo wearing a dress made from my teacher’s fabric?”

The royals and concubines who had been pretending to be friendly family members just for today all looked at the 13th Prince in shock at the same time.

Lin Hwa’s face also turned peach-colored as she looked up at the 13th Prince in confusion while exchanging greetings.

“Pardon? What do you mean by that…”

“My teacher said she would make a dress with that fabric, so I helped her with the needle threading. I accidentally left a needle mark then, but I pretended not to know because I was afraid my teacher would get angry. That mark is still there.”

“!”

Lin Hwa’s face turned bright red.

The 6th Prince standing next to him, feeling more embarrassed himself, elbowed the 13th Prince.

“Aren’t Lady Yo and Lady Yo siblings? Lady Yo must have given it up since her sister was entering the palace.”

“My teacher said she would make a beautiful dress with that fabric and wear it for me.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

‘What?!’

“I was looking forward to that.”

‘Even looking forward to it!’

“So what do you mean by giving it up, Sixth Elder Brother? Are you saying my teacher deceived me?”

The faces of the poor two new concubines went blank. In their minds, the typical image of a prince’s teacher appeared. An old man with long white beard.

Then they imagined that white-bearded teacher examining soft and delicate fabric with his strong adult disciple, promising ‘I’ll make clothes with this and show you’ and the disciple replying ‘Please do, teacher’.

They reflexively looked at each other and shook their heads. They couldn’t understand. What kind of situation was this?