Yeoul, who was waiting for Tae at the temporary palace, came out to get some fresh air.

She wore her jacket inside out, thinking that someone might recognize her.

After walking for a bit, she arrived at the marketplace.

At the marketplace, there were various people such as peddlers, women shopping, and scholars with long pipes in their mouths.

Yeoul had never been able to roam freely, whether at her family home or after marriage.

Yeoul wandered around the marketplace, enjoying the rare freedom and the scent of people.

As she was preparing to return after sightseeing for half a day, a man’s voice called out to her.

“Yeoul…?”

When Yeoul turned around, she saw a familiar face.

“Elder Brother Sang Jin…?”

“Yeoul… it really is you, Yeoul!”

Sang Jin had a face full of emotion and pulled Yeoul into a tight embrace.

The startled Yeoul tried to break free from Sang Jin’s arms.

“El- Elder Brother. People will misunderstand!”

“What does it matter when I’ve met you again like this!”

Sang Jin showed no intention of letting go of Yeoul.

Only when he felt the surrounding gazes did Sang Jin release Yeoul.

Sang Jin held Yeoul’s cheeks and examined her with a worried face.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Not feeling ill? Did anyone treat you badly?”

Yeoul seemed to have lost some weight, but she was still beautiful.

“You’re still beautiful, so I’m glad nothing seems to have happened. So, where have you been and how have you been living?”

Yeoul’s heart felt as if a heavy stone was weighing on it.

Nothing happened? After all the hardships she had gone through.

He didn’t show up at all when times were tough, but now he appears belatedly to express concern.

Suppressing her accumulated sorrows, Yeoul spoke.

“I was pointed at and accused of having an affair with a lowly man. I was even hit by thrown stones.”

“What? Who dares…!”

Sang Jin’s mouth gaped open.

But it was still too early to be surprised.

“After being kicked out of the house, I barely managed to feed myself each day. I boiled porridge with vegetable scraps discarded by vegetable merchants and wandered from village to village, begging for sewing work to earn money.”

“Kicked out? By Father, you mean?”

“Yes.”

As if telling someone else’s story, Yeoul continued in a calm tone.

“I was almost raped by an unknown man. I was falsely accused of murder and imprisoned.”

Yeoul looked at Sang Jin’s pale face.

“Have you been well, Elder Brother?”

“I, I…”

Sang Jin twisted his body.

His face was filled with guilt, and his hands trembled.

“I didn’t even know you had been kicked out.”

“You didn’t know?”

“Yes. Father only said that after you left the bureau, your eyes met with a man’s, and you left the house…!”

Sang Jin muttered, “Oh my, oh my,” while rubbing his face.

Then he grabbed both of Yeoul’s hands.

“I’m sorry. I will never leave you alone again.”

Yeoul quietly looked at her hands held by Sang Jin.

‘Elder Brother didn’t even know I had been kicked out. That’s why he didn’t come looking for me.’

She had no idea that Han had lied to Sang Jin.

Yeoul raised her head and looked at Sang Jin.

Sincerity could be felt in Sang Jin’s eyes, filled with affectionate concern.

‘Elder Brother cares for me like this. There’s no way he would have ignored me.’

Sang Jin was indeed the good elder brother Yeoul knew.

Hearing Sang Jin’s circumstances, her resentment towards him somewhat subsided.

Still, holding hands felt embarrassing, so Yeoul quietly pulled her hands away.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Elder Brother. I might soon have a husband.”

“You mean Gang Seong Dae Gun?”

The softness in Sang Jin’s voice had turned sharp.

“You heard from Father.”

“Do you even know what kind of man he is?”

Sparks flew in Sang Jin’s eyes that had been gentle.

His voice also gradually sped up, and his volume increased.

“He’s a man who habitually commits vile acts. He’s someone who doesn’t hesitate to commit murder. He belittles the value of people and treats lives as trivial as ants. Do you think you’ll be happy marrying such a man? You’ll be miserable. I will persuade Father…”

“Elder Brother.”

Yeoul interrupted Sang Jin’s words.

“When I was falsely accused, not a single person believed me. When I was almost raped and about to be framed for murder, Gang Seong Dae Gun was the only one who helped me.”

Yeoul’s calm voice had a hint of determination.

“He was the only one who believed me in that situation. He was also the only one who saved me then.”

Yeoul spoke firmly, putting strength into her intentions until the end.

“So I hope you will also respect my decision, Elder Brother.”

Sang Jin looked at Yeoul with a dumbfounded face.

It was the first time he had seen Yeoul so resolute.

Sang Jin urgently grabbed Yeoul’s arm.

“I believe you. I know better than anyone that you’re not that kind of child. You didn’t roll around with a lowly man. But not Gang Seong Dae Gun!”

Yeoul removed Sang Jin’s arm.

“Thank you for your concern. But I will find my own way to survive.”

Sang Jin bit his lip hard.

If he let Yeoul go like this, she would return to Tae’s arms.

He couldn’t let that happen.

“Let’s go home. Pretend you never heard about Gang Seong Dae Gun.”

Sang Jin grabbed Yeoul’s arm again.

His grip was so strong that Yeoul frowned.

“It hurts. Please let go, Elder Brother.”

“No. You’re trying to go back to Gang Seong Dae Gun, aren’t you?”

Yeoul struggled, trying to remove Sang Jin’s arm.

But Sang Jin didn’t budge.

Rather, he started dragging Yeoul by force.

“I said let go…!”

Yeoul’s feet were being dragged on the ground.

Sang Jin’s grip was so strong that she felt pain in her seized arm.

It was the first time she had seen Sang Jin use force.

Yeoul started to become afraid of Sang Jin.

“It hurts, Elder Brother!”

At that moment, an arm suddenly appeared and grabbed Sang Jin’s arm.

Yeoul looked up at the owner of the arm.

Her eyes widened at the familiar face.

“Dae Gun…”

Recognizing Tae, Sang Jin stiffened his expression.

“Please stay out of other people’s family matters.”

“Others? I’m hurt. We’re about to become brothers-in-law.”

Tae smiled brightly and naturally removed Yeoul’s arm from Sang Jin’s grip.

Yeoul, freed from Sang Jin, stood close to Tae’s side.

Seeing that, Sang Jin’s expression turned even fiercer.

“Who says we’re brothers-in-law?”

Tae approached Sang Jin closely.

He sniffed near Sang Jin’s neck, causing Sang Jin to take a step back.

Tae smiled at Sang Jin.

“You didn’t drink alcohol today?”

Sang Jin frowned.

He was already displeased with Tae’s sudden appearance. And now he’s talking about alcohol? What nonsense was this?

“What are you talking about in broad daylight? Seeing you spout nonsense, it seems you’re the one who had a drink, Dae Gun.”

Yeoul looked back and forth between Tae and Sang Jin with anxious eyes.

The atmosphere between the two was unusual.

“Yeoul, come here.”

Sang Jin reached out his hand towards Yeoul.

“No.”

At Yeoul’s refusal, Sang Jin’s expression hardened.

Yeoul had always trusted and followed his words.

It was the first time she had defied him.

It was clear that being with the ruffian-like Gang Seong Dae Gun had tainted Yeoul.

Sang Jin cleared his throat again and urged in a pressing tone.

“Come here quickly.”

The moment Sang Jin tried to approach Yeoul, Tae blocked his way and smiled brightly.

“Didn’t she say no?”

As if treating Sang Jin like a harmful person, Yeoul stuck close to Tae’s side.

That sight must have been shocking, as Sang Jin’s breath trembled unsteadily.

“Yeoul…!”

“Please go back, Elder Brother.”

At Yeoul’s firm rejection, Sang Jin’s lips quivered.

“Yeoul, how could you…”

Yeoul showed no sign of moving away from Tae’s side.

Sang Jin gazed at the sight dejectedly, then turned his back and went his own way.

When Sang Jin was out of sight, Yeoul exhaled the breath she had been holding.

“Haa…”

It was the first time she had rejected someone so coldly.

Her heart was beating like crazy, and her weakened legs were trembling.

“Your elder brother is quite obsessive.”

“Ah…”

Yeoul came to her senses belatedly.

“But… he has a good nature.”

“You still say that?”

“You don’t know Elder Brother well, Dae Gun.”

To Tae, who was clearly being sarcastic, Yeoul calmly revealed her story.

“The person who found me unconscious by the river and brought me in was Elder Brother Sang Jin. If it weren’t for him, I would have been dead on the spot.”

Tae narrowed his eyes.

He felt a strange sense of déjà vu from Yeoul’s story.

An unclear feeling, neither curiosity nor uneasiness, settled in Tae’s mind like fog.

To find the source of this distant feeling, Tae asked a question.

“What did you do before that?”

“I don’t remember my previous memories, so I don’t know.”

“You lost your memories?”

“Yes. All memories from when I was young.”

Yeoul had lost all memories before becoming Han’s adopted daughter.

So she didn’t know where her hometown was or who her birth parents were.

Yeoul was grateful that the Han family had taken her in despite not knowing her roots.

“Anyway, Elder Brother Sang Jin is the savior of my life.”

Today’s unexpected behavior from Sang Jin was not what Yeoul was used to.

But it seemed he was shocked by the news about Yeoul, so it was understandable.

“So please don’t speak badly of him.”

Tae raised one eyebrow.

Yeoul’s request not to speak badly made him feel even more unpleasant.

He wasn’t sure if it was because he disliked Sang Jin or because he was displeased with Yeoul’s attitude of defending Sang Jin, but it was clear that the very existence of Han Sang Jin was irritating to him.

Unable to pinpoint the source of this unpleasant feeling, Tae felt bothered. Then Yeoul continued.

“By the way, what brings you here?”

“I had something to take care of.”

Tae replied gruffly.

For some reason, he didn’t want to be kind to Yeoul.

Yeoul probably wouldn’t care the slightest bit.

Instead of a detailed explanation, Tae took out a golden toad from his bosom.

“I got this from a trafficker in stolen goods at the marketplace.”

When he flipped the golden toad over, a seal engraved on the bottom could be seen.

Yeoul recognized that seal.

“It’s Father’s golden toad… The seal is my family’s seal.”

“The lowly man said he received it as payment for a rumor from the client.”

Yeoul’s face turned pale.

“…Are you saying the person who framed me is from my family?”

Yeoul felt dizzy.

It was as if she had been hit on the back of the head with a solid rock.