As blood flowed from the king’s hand, Chief Eunuch Jang’s eyes widened.

“Oh my goodness. What has happened, Your Majesty?”

Startled, Chief Eunuch Jang barely swallowed a groan.

His gaze fell on the king’s sword lying on the floor.

“This is…!”

While Chief Eunuch Jang was flustered, the captain of the Royal Guards appeared with other guards.

“Your Majesty, I am the captain of the Royal Guards. Are you alright?”

The captain’s sharp gaze swept over the king and the scene in the royal bedchamber.

Having somehow tucked the king’s sword under the bedding, Chief Eunuch Jang forced a calm smile.

“It’s nothing. His Majesty had a terrible nightmare…”

Chief Eunuch Jang blocked the captain’s view with his body.

If it became known that the king had kept a sword in his bedchamber, malicious rumors would run rampant in the palace.

“Chief Eunuch Jang, step aside.”

The captain reached out to push aside Chief Eunuch Jang who was obstructing his view.

At that moment.

“I am fine.”

The king’s voice withdrew the captain’s hand reaching for Chief Eunuch Jang.

“As Chief Eunuch Jang said, I had a nightmare. Now withdraw.”

Despite the king’s words, doubt remained on the captain’s face.

“But Your Majesty…”

“I said withdraw.”

At the king’s firm command, they could no longer remain.

The captain left the king’s bedchamber, taking the guards with him.

The king, who had been watching them intently, turned to Chief Eunuch Jang.

“Chief Eunuch Jang, you may leave as well.”

“How can you send even me away? You are injured.”

“It’s a wound that will heal on its own.”

“You must receive treatment. What if it gets infected?”

Seeing Chief Eunuch Jang’s anxious state, the king gave a bitter smile.

Then he asked.

“Who should treat me?”

“Pardon?”

“Should I call the royal physician? Or the palace doctor? Or perhaps a female physician?”

Only then did Chief Eunuch Jang realize his mistake and smacked his own head.

“This foolish one did not think that far.”

If word spread that His Majesty was injured, they would ask how it happened, and to explain would mean telling the story of that sword.

Finally understanding his own foolishness, Chief Eunuch Jang wrapped the king’s wound with clean silk.

“I will secretly obtain ointment for the wound.”

Tears welled up in Chief Eunuch Jang’s eyes.

“Very well.”

A faint smile appeared on the king’s face as he replied.

At least there is one person in this vast palace who cares for me.

“I will return shortly, Your Majesty.”

With the look of a mother separated from her child, Chief Eunuch Jang left the royal bedchamber.

Left alone, the king leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

The pungent scent of blood along with the smell of metal irritated his sensitive nose.

An assassin had entered, yet no one had seen them.

It was truly a ghostly affair.

Was it really just a dream?

No, it wasn’t a dream. Definitely not a nightmare.

It was an assassin.

It was certainly an assassin.

The movements of those targeting his life were becoming increasingly blatant.

*

“How dare they…!”

Hong Woo Geon’s shoulders trembled with rage.

His clenched fist shaking with anger was clearly visible even in the darkness.

“It’s alright. I’m not badly hurt.”

The king comforted Hong Woo Geon with his injured hand.

“I should have been at the palace then.”

“Are you coveting my position now?”

The king made a light joke towards the unusually serious Hong Woo Geon.

Woo Geon gazed at the king with eyes full of worry.

Regret washed over him like a tidal wave.

He should have found a way to get him out of the palace then.

His chest felt heavy with belated regret and self-blame.

“Someone had to do it.”

“It should have been me.”

“Then the worry would have been mine.”

Seeing the still cheerful king, Hong Woo Geon shook his head.

“Are you really alright?”

“I’m fine. And…”

The king continued, as if making a promise to Hong Woo Geon.

“You’ll make sure I stay fine from now on, right?”

Hong Woo Geon nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“We need to hurry with the plan.”

Hong Woo Geon’s eyes sparkled more brightly than ever as he looked at the king.

[This is the timeline separator]

Three days later.

Early in the morning, two women were walking along the path from Unjong Street to Bukchon.

They were servant girls from a noble household who had gone to buy morning groceries.

The two servant girls were heading to the north gate of the seventh mansion in Bukchon.

It was a small side door used by workers.

The older servant girl placed a basket full of food ingredients bought from the morning market on the younger girl’s head.

The two entered the north gate without hesitation.

However, the young servant girl carrying the basket on her head headed not to the kitchen, but to the inner quarters.

“Is anyone there?”

The servant girl quietly called out towards the inner quarters where the master of the house resided.

“Who is it?”

A sleepy reply came from inside.

“A precious item has been sent from Myeongye-bang.”

The servant girl said as she lowered the basket from her head.

Perhaps from carrying the heavy basket, beads of sweat covered the servant girl’s forehead.

The servant girl took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the sweat from her brow.

The servant girl who had neatly wiped away her sweat.

No, the one pretending to be a servant girl was none other than Kwon Jwa Woo.

It was the result of building a friendly relationship with the servants of this house over the past few days in order to come and go unnoticed.

Now all that was left was to deliver the secret letter from the ‘Myeongye-bang Hwa Seop-ja’ to the master of the house.

Jwa Woo called out again, emphasizing the word ‘Myeongye-bang’.

“I’ve come from Myeongye-bang.”

Finally, the window opened with a clatter and an expectant voice was heard.

“Did Myeongye-bang really send you?”

“Yes. They said it’s something the master of this house desperately needs. Please accept it.”

“Is that so? If they insist…”

A hand suddenly extended out from the window.

“I’ll take it.”

It was a large man’s hand with unusually long fingers.

But…

Jwa Woo, who was about to hand over the secret letter to the hand that came out of the room, hesitated.

The hand protruding from the window was younger than expected.

If it was Lee Jang Hyung, the master of the seventh mansion in Bukchon with the high gate, he should be well over fifty.

But the hand before her eyes seemed to belong to a man in his mid-twenties to early thirties at most.

“Who are you?”

Suspicion crept into Jwa Woo’s voice.

Instead of answering, the owner of the hand poked his head out of the window.

“Huh?”

A questioning voice escaped Jwa Woo’s lips as she confirmed the face.

“Why are you here?”

Beyond the window was a handsome man.

It was Hong Woo Geon, who had kidnapped Jwa Woo not long ago.

The corners of Hong Woo Geon’s mouth stretched into his signature long smile.

With a mischievous grin, he made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

Then, pop.

He flicked Jwa Woo’s forehead visible through the window.

“Not ‘you’, but ‘this righteous scholar’.”

“Ouch!”

Jwa Woo clutched her forehead.

Glaring at him not unkindly, she said:

“Have you forgotten the proper etiquette between classes?”

Jwa Woo indirectly asked him to maintain proper decorum between men and women.

As if he had been waiting for this, Hong Woo Geon replied:

“Since when is there a rule about maintaining distance from a servant employed in one’s house?”

“…!”

Oh right, I forgot I was pretending to be a servant girl.

Still, that’s no excuse.

Jwa Woo looked up at Woo Geon with stern eyes.

Woo Geon, who had been looking back at her, suddenly turned his head and shifted his gaze.

“Did you see? I told you I’d make her come to me this time.”

His servant looked at his somewhat smug master with an exasperated expression.

Ignoring Bo Jong, Hong Woo Geon turned back to Jwa Woo.

His eyes focused clearly on Jwa Woo beyond the window.

[This is the timeline separator]

Hong Woo Geon stared intently at Kwon Jwa Woo before him.

Suddenly, it felt as if time and space had disappeared.

Why was it?

Whenever he saw this woman, he inexplicably wanted to tease her.

He was curious about what other expressions might be hidden beneath that elegant face.

So he kept making jokes unintentionally.

Every time, Jwa Woo would respond without backing down, and he quite liked that.

No, to be truly honest, he enjoyed it.

That’s why today too, he provoked Jwa Woo with a playful voice.

“I’ve finally found it.”

“Found what?”

“Evidence that you are the Hwa Seop-ja of Myeongye-bang.”

Hong Woo Geon gestured towards Jwa Woo, as if her very presence was proof.

Haa, Jwa Woo sighed softly and replied.

“I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

“…!”

Struck at her core, Jwa Woo hesitated for a moment.

Then she quickly turned her body away.

“Where are you going?”

Jwa Woo responded nonchalantly to the question that followed from behind.

“My father taught me not to go where there is no path, and not to speak where there are no words.”

“What? Are you saying my words are not words?”

“…”

“I guess it really is so?”

“…”

Jwa Woo didn’t answer and took a big step forward.

Somehow, imagining Hong Woo Geon trembling behind her, a smile crept across her face.

Unaware of her inner thoughts, Hong Woo Geon raised his voice again.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

It wasn’t the expected “Stop right there” or “I won’t let you go”, but it didn’t matter.

There was no reason to stay here any longer.

She was curious about why that kidnapper was here, but.

Well aware that too much curiosity is bad for one’s health,

Jwa Woo set aside her curiosity and interest and moved her feet.

That’s when Hong Woo Geon’s voice pulled at her heels again.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t bother hearing about that day through someone else’s mouth.”

The word “that day” stuck firmly in Jwa Woo’s ear.

She unknowingly turned towards Hong Woo Geon.

“What do you mean by that?”

She took more steps than she had taken to get there.

Approaching close to the open window, she stared at Hong Woo Geon with wide eyes.

“What do you mean by that day? What do you know?”

“That day… Aren’t you trying to find out what happened on that day 8 years ago?”

“How did you know that? No, more importantly, what happened on that day?”

Jwa Woo countered Hong Woo Geon’s question with another question.

Jwa Woo’s eyes deepened with tension that seemed to constrict her body.

Meeting that deep and profound gaze, Hong Woo Geon’s red lips parted.

As his light pink teeth showed, a low voice leaked out.

“On that day…”

Waiting for his next words, Jwa Woo gulped.

Her heart began to race wildly.