After the awkward end to the time when the concubines paid their respects to the imperial family due to the clash between the 13th Prince and Lin Hwa.

The 13th Prince disappeared somewhere alone, and the other princes and princesses also exchanged glances before departing separately.

Lin Hwa thought the Emperor would speak to her directly, but the Emperor left with only the Empress.

Lin Hwa was a bit surprised by this.

But soon, several concubines approached Lin Hwa, introducing themselves and greeting her, then asked her to follow them.

In the beautiful garden pavilion where they took Lin Hwa, a drinking table was already prepared.

One concubine quietly informed Lin Hwa.

“The name of this garden is Unhwa Garden, sister. That palace next to this garden is Seonhan Palace. You’ll be living there with the Yuan Fei.”

“Is the Yuan Fei here too?”

At Lin Hwa’s words, that concubine gave a subtle smile and shook her head.

“No. The Yuan Fei went in earlier. She must have a lot to check since you’ll be moving in. She’s the mistress of Seonhan Palace after all. You can greet her this evening or tomorrow morning.”

As the concubines took their seats around the round table, court ladies skillfully poured tea and wine and served plates of snacks.

Wol Mi, the private court lady who followed Lin Hwa, watched the scene with wide eyes.

Though it was fascinating, it was also very awkward, so Wol Mi wished that Wol Chae and Wol Woo, who had also entered as private court ladies, were here with her.

However, Wol Chae and Wol Woo were organizing the luggage brought from home in Uhye Hall of Seonhan Palace where Lin Hwa would be staying.

After a while. As alcohol went around a few times, the awkward atmosphere gradually began to loosen.

Lin Hwa was still tense as she ate, but the other concubines who had entered the palace earlier approached her with more relaxed demeanors.

“Don’t be too upset.”

In particular, Concubine Sun Bi, with her hair elegantly pinned up, placed her long, neat hand on Lin Hwa’s arm and comforted her kindly.

“Yes, sister. The 13th Prince is famous for his nasty temper.”

Concubine Gyeom Bin, with her hair braided and pinned up, also linked arms with Lin Hwa’s other side and spoke as if slightly gossiping about the 13th Prince.

“Is that so?”

Lin Hwa’s heart lightened a bit upon hearing this and she asked back.

“Of course. He grew up almost neglected, with no mother and no maternal family to look after him.”

Concubine Hyeon Gwi In spoke in a somewhat sarcastic tone, as if she found the 13th Prince distasteful.

But Lin Hwa, who had been publicly humiliated by the 13th Prince, rather liked that tone.

However, to avoid appearing too harsh among the concubines, Lin Hwa only wore an embarrassed expression.

“We were worried when we heard a lady was coming from the Yo family. But it’s fortunate that such a virtuous sister has come.”

Pleased with Lin Hwa’s reaction, Gyeom Bin smiled brightly and leaned slightly against Lin Hwa.

“Really? I’m glad you say so.”

Lin Hwa spoke happily and looked around. The other concubines, at least those present, all showed goodwill towards Lin Hwa.

It seemed that due to the humiliation given by the 13th Prince, some concubines had come to pity her.

But even so, it only made her feel relieved, not happy. The shame given by the 13th Prince had not disappeared, and the Emperor had not even glanced at her on her first day in the palace.

This goodwill from the concubines might include sympathy, but there must also be calculations to be wary of Seol Bin, who came from the Taewol Princess’s family and received the extraordinary title and rank of Bin upon entering the palace, so she couldn’t feel at ease.

Late in the evening after the small banquet ended. Lin Hwa, supported by Wol Mi, returned to her quarters and decided to first pay her respects to the Yuan Fei, who was said to be the mistress of this palace.

The Yuan Fei had not attended the welcome dinner for Lin Hwa. She might be weak or dislike such gatherings, but there was a higher chance that she was not a person who felt favorably towards her.

And indeed. When Lin Hwa approached, the Yuan Fei’s court lady immediately refused before Lin Hwa could even mention paying respects.

“Our Yuan Fei is already asleep. Surely you, Gwi In Yo, didn’t come at this late hour intending to wake the Yuan Fei?”

As a result, when Lin Hwa first entered her sleeping chambers, she was so exhausted that she didn’t even have the energy to look around the building.

Finally sitting down on the long chair after taking off her shoes, she let out a sigh.

Wol Woo, who had arrived at the quarters earlier, quickly brought a warm wet towel to wrap and massage Lin Hwa’s feet.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

“Yes.”

“How was the palace entry ceremony? Did the other concubines and royal relatives treat you well? Ah. You’re not ‘agissi’ anymore.”

Lin Hwa turned her stiff neck this way and that before grumbling quietly.

“How could it be fine. Yo Yohwa tripped me up on the very first day.”

Wol Woo asked with wide eyes.

“Young master? But the young master didn’t come here today.”

“Yo Yohwa’s arrogant disciple. He humiliated me, saying this beggar-like outfit I’m wearing was meant for his master.”

“What? What nonsense is that?”

“Exactly. Apparently, Yo Yohwa had shown this fabric to the 13th Prince and said he’d make his clothes with it.”

“What?”

Lin Hwa, thinking about it, got angry and slammed her fist on the chair.

“If such a thing happened, he should have told me earlier! How could he keep his mouth shut…! He must have stayed quiet on purpose to let me have it, since he didn’t like me taking this fabric. Really. Until the end!”

Wol Woo grumbled, exasperated.

“The young master is really too much.”

As the massaging of her feet felt good, Lin Hwa closed her eyes, resting her chin on her hand. She was too tired now to even have the energy to be angry.

Anyway, seeing the attitude of the Yuan Fei with whom she would be living under the same roof, it seemed life here would be quite a headache.

The day after Lin Hwa entered the palace. As soon as I went for the morning greetings, my ears were about to hurt from my mother and father’s nagging.

“When you enter the palace, make sure to find out if Lin Hwa entered well. Understood? The 13th Prince must have seen Lin Hwa yesterday.”

“If you can see her, take a look and come back.”

I answered that I understood and then escaped into Wolmu Palace.

And then I went to the room for lessons… The air inside felt ominous from the moment I opened the door. When I opened it, the disciple who appeared had a murderous look in his eyes.

Moreover, usually when I come in, he pretends to be reading a book. But now he was glaring at me even before I entered.

“……”

After hesitating, I slowly closed the door again. Then as soon as I took two steps back, the door opened with a bang.

Tucking my neck in as much as possible, I turned around to see the disciple who had opened the door looking down at me with cold eyes and asking.

“Where are you going?”

Would it be too pathetic if I said ‘to the outhouse’ here? I quickly shook my head and hurried back.

I approached right in front of him and imitated the expression of a cat with dilated pupils, and only then did the disciple flinch and turn around to go to his seat.

‘I’m lucky my eyes are pretty.’

Relieved, I quickly went to my seat and sat down. But even sitting in his seat, the disciple still stared at me with ominous eyes.

In the end, unable to bear the silent glare, I flipped through a few pages of the book and asked.

“Why are you glaring at your master like that from the morning?”

“I’m curious.”

“What are you so curious about that you’re glaring?”

“Whether our master is being mistreated by his family, or if master’s younger sister has more power than master so she takes away even one outfit out of forty, or if master is only harsh to this disciple but actually a fool who can’t even raise his voice to others, or if master takes this disciple lightly enough to casually break a promise made with him.”

“What? You’re calling me a fool?”

“…Is that all you heard?”

Well, the other words were at a level I couldn’t understand at all.

I stared blankly for a moment and then asked honestly.

“Why do you… imagine other people’s family matters so complicatedly?”

The disciple frowned as if he had done nothing wrong, despite being the one who had strangely described someone else’s family first.

‘Sigh, he’s turning the tables. What’s going on?’

Unable to understand, I stared blankly back at him, and the disciple tapped the desk a couple of times before opening the book in front of him and saying.

“Let’s just have the lesson.”

This brat. It feels like he’s cleverly insulting me and moving on.

After the lesson ended. As I was bowing and about to leave, the disciple rummaged for something and handed it to me.

“What is this?”

When I received and looked at it, it was something wrapped in pale yellow silk. Seeing that the inside was soft and wobbly, it wasn’t a knife at least.

The texture felt just like clothes, but there’s no way this guy would give me clothes…

“Is it an octopus?”

When I asked suspiciously, the disciple frowned and said coldly.

“It’s your mental state, master.”

What?

“Make sure to hug it tightly and open it when you get back.”

I walked out of Wolmu Palace and as soon as I was out of the disciple’s sight, I immediately opened the bundle.

If it’s something strange, I shouldn’t take it home!

But what came out of the bundle was snow-white silk that looked too delicate to touch.

Looking at the amount, it seemed to be for clothing, and the edge of the silk had beautiful gold patterns.

‘This… looks quite similar to my fabric that was taken by Lin Hwa?’

As soon as I had that thought, the nonsensical questions the disciple had been listing earlier flashed through my mind.

Ah. Could it be that he saw Lin Hwa wearing that fabric at yesterday’s palace entry ceremony?

No, but how did he know that fabric was chosen by me? There could have been two similar fabrics from the beginning, right?

Moreover, what does he mean by a promise?

‘Ah. Come to think of it, my parents told me to find out if Lin Hwa was doing well. I forgot.’

Well, if anything had happened, the disciple would have told me anyway.

I hugged the fabric back in the outer silk and looked back towards Wolmu Palace.

It seems the disciple thought I was a fool who couldn’t even protect one piece of fabric, so he gave me this fabric.

Well. Even before the regression, the disciple didn’t like it when I was disrespected somewhere.

That’s because, whether we liked each other or not, we were treated as a pair of master and disciple externally. I guess he was upset about it this time too…

‘Still, since he gave it, I should accept it. But wait, how did he get this at this time when he doesn’t even have money?’

But it was when I was walking with lightened steps, hugging the bundle.

As the 6th Prince was walking this way, I quickly bowed, but the 6th Prince skipped the greeting and abruptly pulled me to the side of the road.

“Your Highness? Your Highness?”

Though puzzled, I followed along, and only then did the 6th Prince release my arm and ask in a low voice.

“Foreign Instructor Yo. Do you know about yesterday’s incident?”

“Yesterday’s incident? I don’t know as I didn’t enter the palace yesterday, Your Highness. Did something happen?”

“Your sister…”

I asked urgently in surprise.

“What about Lin Hwa? Did something happen?”

Since the disciple hadn’t said anything, I naturally thought nothing major had happened. My heart was pounding at the 6th Prince’s words. Yo Lin Hwa, surely she didn’t reveal her temper and get caught by those above?

The 6th Prince looked at me with a subtle expression and answered in a meaningful voice.

“The thirteenth gave your sister, no, Gwi In Yo, a piece of his mind.”

“What? The 13th Prince did?! What did he say?”

I was even more shocked, my heart about to fly out. Yo Lin Hwa, when you should be crawling flat before the 13th Prince, what trouble did you cause on the very first day!

“According to the thirteenth, Gwi In Yo took away an outfit that he and you had chosen together while pretending innocence.”

“!”

So… that’s why the disciple mentioned a promise earlier! No, more than that, what on earth is this situation. No, what should I do about this. No, what kind of family disgrace is this!

The 6th Prince asked with curious eyes.

“Is it true?”

He seems to have been waiting for me to ask this.

“Huh?”