The court lady of the 9th Princess brought two cups of tea brewed with tea leaves given by Lin Hwa.

The 9th Princess received the teacup, smelled the aroma, and laughed brightly.

“The fragrance is really nice. It’s a bit similar to the scent coming from Yo Yohwa.”

“Elder brother likes that tea the most. He collects the leaves that can’t be used for tea separately and hangs them in the room and puts them in the closet.”

Lin Hwa picked up her teacup and blew on the rising steam.

“Yo Yohwa is truly a wonderful man.”

The 9th Princess’s cheeks puffed up like dumplings when Yo Yohwa was mentioned.

“If only our elder brothers were half as good as Yo Yohwa, I would have had a better relationship with them.”

Lin Hwa didn’t respond and just drank her tea.

Wolmi gently fanned Lin Hwa while constantly observing her expression. She was still shocked by the sight of Lin Hwa crying and ranting about Yo Hwa and the Emperor.

She was anxious about what Lin Hwa might say, especially since the 9th Princess had come right after that incident.

The 9th Princess swung her feet back and forth while drinking tea and asked.

“How does Yo Yohwa live at home?”

Lin Hwa shrugged her shoulders.

“He lives normally.”

The 9th Princess shook her head and moved to sit closer to Lin Hwa, saying.

“I’m curious about that ‘normal’.”

As the 9th Princess moved closer, Lin Hwa leaned slightly to the side and smiled.

“You seem to have a lot of interest in my elder brother.”

“Because he’s my benefactor!”

“But if you keep showing interest in my elder brother, Young Master Sun An might get jealous.”

At Lin Hwa’s pointed remark, Wolmi’s heart sank to her feet, knowing the Princess’s feelings for Sun An. Her fanning hand kept trembling.

However, the 9th Princess, oblivious to this, just laughed brightly.

“That would be nice too.”

Wolmi was amazed at how refreshingly innocent the 9th Princess was. Weren’t all palace people supposed to be skilled in intrigue?

The 9th Princess seemed even more unfamiliar with intrigue than ordinary noble people. Was it because she was the Empress’s own daughter?

The 9th Princess put down her half-empty teacup and asked.

“By the way, what did Yo Yohwa want to tell me?”

Lin Hwa started with defensive words in the gentlest voice possible.

“I hope you won’t be upset.”

“What could there be for me to be upset about?”

“Your Highness has been so kind to me… and this is something difficult for my elder brother to say directly… so I decided to step up, even though it’s a difficult position.”

The 9th Princess, who had been smiling all along, now looked bewildered.

“Does Yo Yohwa have a message for me?”

Instead of answering directly, Lin Hwa signaled to the court ladies. Wolmi quickly put down her fan on the table and left.

Seeing this, the 9th Princess also instructed her court lady.

“You go out too.”

After even her close court lady left, the 9th Princess urged.

“Now tell me. What’s this about?”

Lin Hwa clasped her hands together and hesitantly asked.

“Um… Your Highness said my elder brother is your benefactor, right?”

“Of course. If not for him, I would have been badly hurt. Plus, thanks to him, I met Young Master Sun An.”

“If this gets out, it will be really bad for my elder brother. So you’ll surely keep your promise, right?”

Lin Hwa lowered her voice even more.

“What is it that’s so serious?”

The 9th Princess also lowered her voice, but then straightened up, moved back to her original seat, and changed her words.

“No, nevermind. Don’t tell me.”

“!”

“Is it something you absolutely must tell me? If not, it’s better if I don’t hear it. It’s best not to tell anyone secret stories.”

The 9th Princess held a noble position, but above her were two elder sisters favored by their mother, and below was her childish younger sibling.

Like many children stuck in the middle, the 9th Princess had her own rules for how to conduct herself in that position.

“Hwa Rin!”

The 9th Princess called out loudly for her court lady she had sent out.

“Elder brother said to tell you.”

Lin Hwa immediately cut off her words.

There was a clattering sound at the door.

The 9th Princess raised her eyebrows and asked.

“Yo Yohwa?”

“He said he feels very uncomfortable.”

The 9th Princess couldn’t understand why Lin Hwa was twisting her words and dragging things out like this. The 9th Princess didn’t like such roundabout ways of speaking.

Still, since Lin Hwa said Yo Yohwa had a message for her, the 9th Princess reluctantly asked.

“What is it?”

Lin Hwa asked again.

“You’ll keep it a secret, right?”

The 9th Princess muttered, worn out.

“I’ll keep it, but… I don’t really want to hear it.”

“My elder brother is actually a woman.”

The 9th Princess, who had been grumbling, opened her eyes wide.

“What do you mean…”

“Elder brother said it’s hard to keep deceiving both Your Highness and Young Master Sun An since you’re both close to him, but it’s difficult for him to have a separate conversation with Your Highness, so he asked me to pass on the message.”

The 9th Princess couldn’t respond and just blinked slowly.

Lin Hwa asked with a worried face.

“Are you angry?”

The 9th Princess didn’t answer this time either and just stared at Lin Hwa as if looking at a strange person.

“Please don’t be angry.”

Lin Hwa spoke with a sad expression. Then, after watching the 9th Princess’s reaction, she gently added.

“Actually, it was really hard for my elder brother too. How shocked must he have been when Your Highness, not knowing he was a woman, asked if he was pregnant and such?”

“!”

“But thanks to that, he ended up bringing together Young Master Sun An and Your Highness, who are closer than even I am as his real sister and who stick together every day. Isn’t it fortunate that everything worked out well in the end?”

The 9th Princess, who had been quiet all along, swallowed dryly and slowly asked.

“You say they’re always together…?”

“Yes. You wouldn’t believe how close they are. It’s better now, but before, they spent even less time apart, you know?”

Lin Hwa spoke as if reminiscing about happy past stories, then shook her head and smiled as if to say ‘what’s the use?’

“Ah well. Anyway, I feel relieved to have finished this difficult errand.”

“…”

The 9th Princess, who had become quiet again, stared at Lin Hwa, who seemed relieved on her own.

Lin Hwa picked up her teacup, then put it back down as if startled and asked.

“Oh my. Your Highness? Are you alright?”

“…”

“Are you perhaps angry? I’m sorry. Since my elder brother said he had a friendship with Your Highness… I didn’t think you’d be angry. I’m sorry.”

As Lin Hwa tried to say more with an anxious face, the 9th Princess immediately called out, “Hwa Rin!”

The closed door opened right away and the 9th Princess’s court lady entered.

“Yes!”

Lin Hwa was startled by how quickly the 9th Princess’s court lady entered. How did she come in so fast? Was she standing right outside the door? If she was that close, she might have heard the conversation.

The 9th Princess, without even looking at Lin Hwa, instructed.

“Lady Yo says she’s leaving, so see her off.”

“Your Highness…”

“Thank you for the tea leaves, Lady Yo.”

After leaving the 9th Princess’s chambers, Lin Hwa quietly walked along the path leading to Seonhangung. When there were no people around, she casually asked her court lady Wolmi.

“Could you hear my conversation with Her Highness from outside the door?”

Wolmi immediately denied it.

“What? No. It wasn’t audible. I was standing at a distance from the door. Since you asked us to leave, it wouldn’t be right to stick right next to the door.”

“What about the others?”

“It’s similar for everyone.”

At Wolmi’s firm answer, Lin Hwa tilted her head.

“Is that so?”

Lin Hwa recalled the door opening without delay as soon as the 9th Princess called. Did that court lady quickly run to open the door then?

It’s probably needless worry. Lin Hwa focused on walking, thinking she was being too anxious.

When Lin Hwa returned to Woohyejeon and entered the inner chamber, Wolmi went to get hot water so Lin Hwa could wash her feet.

Wolmi lifted the lid to take out water that had been drawn from the well and stored in advance, and went to find a dipper.

As she transferred several dippers of water into a large pot, Wolmi suddenly thought about Hwa Rin, the 9th Princess’s court lady.

At first, Hwa Rin had stood primly in a position similar to Wolmi’s. It was as if she wanted to show that her situation was completely different from Wolmi and the other court ladies, even though they were all court ladies.

But when the 9th Princess called out “Hwa Rin!” once, she quickly ran to the door.

However, judging that the 9th Princess hadn’t called her to come in, she just stood there without entering.

Only when the 9th Princess called her name again did Hwa Rin finally open the door.

Should I have mentioned that too? Wolmi closed the pot lid, lit a fire underneath, then squatted in front of the stove and pondered.

“Young Master, Young Master Sun An has come to see you.”

As I was lying on the bed, relaxing with my whole body limp, the male servant Wolgang approached and informed me.

“Oh, alright. Tell him to come in.”

As I forced myself to get up and speak, Wolgang left and Sun An entered.

“Oh, you fool.”

As soon as he saw me, Sun An spat out harsh words, then approached my bedside and slapped my forehead.

“This is no time to be like this.”

What’s with this guy? I jumped up and slapped Sun An’s forehead back.

He hit me first. Sun An rubbed his forehead and got angry.

“You violent thug! How dare you hit my forehead when I rushed all the way here?”

“What are you talking about? Did I hit your forehead or the back of your head?”

Sun An opened his mouth wide then closed it again, and made a hand signal for me to be quiet. And he’s the one doing all the talking.

Then he went to the door, put his ear against it, came back, and lowered his voice.

“Do you know what the 9th Princess said in an urgent letter she sent me?”

“How would I know that?”

“She asked if I knew you were a woman.”

I was so surprised that my mouth fell open. She didn’t ask ‘Is Yo Yohwa a woman?’ but ‘Did you know Yo Yohwa was a woman?’ Isn’t that a question assuming I am a woman?

“Why such a sudden question?”

“Your sister, ah, Lady Yo, came and did that. She said you asked her to reveal to the 9th Princess that you’re a woman.”

Sun An paused for a moment, then asked with a frown.

“I try not to badmouth other people’s families, but is your sister crazy?”

“Right. Is she crazy?”

I mumbled along with Sun An. But a storm was raging in my head. Lin Hwa told the 9th Princess I’m a woman? Lin Hwa?

Lin Hwa was a child who kept boundaries even when her emotions raged like a storm towards me. But Lin Hwa did this?

I recalled the glare in her eyes as she clutched the magnolia ornament given by the Emperor. Could Lin Hwa possibly… possibly… be misunderstanding that I’m showing interest in the Emperor?

“Yo Hwa?”

Sun An called me.

“Are you alright?”

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

Sun An patted my arm and said.

“I told Her Highness that your sister was talking nonsense and not to worry about it. But it might be better to go to the palace once and scold your sister sharply. She needs to know how to joke properly. What on earth did she say to make the 9th Princess ask me such a question?”

Sun An seemed to naturally assume I was a man and that Yo Hwa had told an excessive lie.

Then Sun An looked at my expression and his face suddenly turned pale white as he gaped.

“You…? You…? Perhaps…? No way…?”