“Insolent brat! Mom, why did you invite that trash? Grandfather isn’t even here.”

Unable to contain her anger, Mo Na fumed.

It was unpleasant enough to occasionally encounter him at parties, but now he was her cousin-in-law, which was infuriating.

“That’s why I invited him. It’s easier to keep an eye on him while your grandfather is at the company.”

“Keep an eye on?”

“Yes. I thought that odd fellow might have some ulterior motive, but to think he’s actually after the shares.”

Shares. Just thinking about it again made Mo Na bite her fingernails in frustration.

The deceased aunt, Ko Yeon Hwa, had inherited much more wealth than her younger sister Ko Do Hwa.

As a result, the shares that went to Se Eun after Ko San’s death were at a level that could not be easily ignored.

The mother and daughter had been working behind the scenes for a long time to turn those shares over to themselves.

But suddenly, an unexpected stone had rolled in.

“What could Grandfather be thinking? He’s not really planning to give shares to someone like that, is he?”

“Lower your voice. Now that an outsider has come in, we need to be much more careful. Remember not to treat Se Eun like before in front of others.”

“…I know. I haven’t laid a hand on her for months since the marriage was announced.”

“Be even more cautious. Even such words must not leak out. All eyes will be on them. We can’t advertise that she was beaten and raised by her aunt and cousin, can we? I was startled when he asked to see the room earlier.”

Mo Na chewed her nails nervously with a “tch.”

The cold, dark attic attached to Se Eun’s room.

It had been a secret place where they had always confined Se Eun when tormenting her.

“That habit! How many times has Mom told you not to do that! I’ve said so many times it looks uncouth…”

“Ha. I got it. I said I got it. Why are you making me annoyed too, Mom! I need to go rest for a bit.”

Ko Do Hwa stared blankly at Mo Na as she stomped up the stairs.

Unfortunately, her only daughter was the spitting image of herself. In looks, ability, and personality.

She had lived her whole life in the shadow of her older sister, Ko Yeon Hwa.

Outstanding beauty, exceptional artistic sense, elegant yet gentle personality.

No matter how hard she tried, Ko Do Hwa could not even reach her sister’s ankles.

Their father only kept her sister close, and wherever they went, people only remembered her sister.

At one point, she even suffered rumors of being a child Chairman Ko San had with someone outside.

Perhaps heaven took pity on her. An unexpected opportunity came to her.

The first was when her sister, who had all the expectations, defied their father’s wishes and married a man of no wealth or status.

Even then, though enraged, Ko San did not abandon Ko Yeon Hwa.

The second chance was truly the turning point that changed Ko Do Hwa’s life.

Her sister and brother-in-law passed away in a car accident on the same day.

Moreover, their only surviving daughter Se Eun became lame and unable to function properly.

Ko San’s anger at losing his beloved daughter was entirely directed at his granddaughter Se Eun.

As he grew older, he hated Se Eun more, so they thought it was only a matter of time before those shares would become theirs.

But they didn’t expect Father to pull such an unexpected move.

Thanks to that, they could no longer be as careless as before.

In Ki Sun Woo’s bold gaze earlier, she sensed an ominous sign.

Unconsciously, Ko Do Hwa bit her nails.

“…What are you up to, Father.”

*

[So, you visited the family home?]

“Yes. They called me but didn’t seem too welcoming.”

A hearty laugh echoed through the receiver.

On the third day of marriage, Sun Woo was reporting the situation to Chairman Ko San over the phone.

[The house? No findings yet?]

“Not yet. Well, you’ve probably already searched this house thoroughly, haven’t you?”

[That’s right. But I still couldn’t find it. For 20 years, no less.]

A voice tinged briefly with bitterness soon changed to a firm tone like a thunderous command.

[You haven’t forgotten, have you? The condition of this marriage, what you need to find.]

“I know very~ well. It’s that stone you’ve been desperately searching for all your life, isn’t it, old man?”

[You’re probably the only one who dares to call me ‘old man.’ And the only one who calls the Queen’s Tear a mere stone.]

“I call an old man an old man, and a stone a stone. What else should I call it?”

The sound of clicking his tongue pierced Sun Woo’s ears.

[Well, fine. It’s your freedom to call it whatever you want. So, can I trust that you’ll live up to your boast?]

“Just wait and see. I’ll definitely seduce your granddaughter and open her heart. Whether it’s the Queen’s Tear or the King’s Tear, I should be able to find it in the process.”

[There’s not much time. I’m already well over 80 years old. I’ve tried everything to find it. You’re my last card, so to speak.]

“You know well that no one in the business world can match my speed in seducing women.”

This time, a seemingly jovial laugh echoed back.

Thinking the old man’s voice was too loud, Sun Woo moved the phone away from his ear.

The final words of caution clung to his ear.

[Needless to say, this must be kept secret from Se Eun.]

“Don’t worry. I’m very tight-lipped about such things.”

After confirming the promise two more times, Chairman Ko San hung up.

It had only been three nights, but his urgency suggested he was quite impatient.

To recruit a grandson-in-law for the ridiculous purpose of ‘finding a jewel,’ even staking massive shares.

Feeling as if that sticky desire and obsession were wrapping around his own body, Sun Woo brushed off his clothes in vain.

“Damn old man. With one foot in the grave, and still coveting jewels.”

*

Clunk! Se Eun startled at the sound of the bathroom door opening.

It was too late to blame herself for forgetting to lock the door.

Raising her head, she saw Ki Sun Woo standing in front of the door. He had flung it open nonchalantly.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t know it was the bathroom. This house has an unusual layout.”

“…If you know now, please close it quickly.”

“Your order of covering up seems unusual too.”

“…?”

Wondering what he meant, Se Eun slowly followed his gaze downward.

Sun Woo’s eyes were fixed not on her fair shoulders just revealed by removing her coat, but on her two legs.

Se Eun finally realized that she had instinctively covered her legs first.

His blatant gaze settled like steam.

This wasn’t the first time she’d faced such a curious look, but she shuddered at the feeling of being helplessly exposed.

Yet Sun Woo asked indifferently.

“Does it hurt?”

“Pardon?”

“That ankle, you limp. I’m asking if it hurts.”

“Ah….”

So that was his curiosity. Se Eun shook her head from side to side.

“It was an accident 20 years ago. There’s no pain.”

As Sun Woo made a “hmm” sound and seemed about to ask more questions, Se Eun turned on the shower forcefully.

Loud enough that any words would be drowned out by the stream of water.

Though he had become her husband through a sudden marriage, Ki Sun Woo was a complete stranger to Se Eun.

She had no intention whatsoever of divulging details about herself to him.

Fortunately, Sun Woo withdrew at that clear signal to leave.

Originally planning to soak leisurely in the bathtub, Se Eun changed her mind.

She thought she should bathe only when alone, as sharing a roof with a man who kept crossing boundaries like that.

“Sigh…”

It was tiring.

Suddenly sharing space with a complete stranger.

The combination of the unlucky outcast granddaughter and the abandoned prodigal son.

Recalling the hundreds and thousands of eyes boring into her at the wedding, she felt her spine stiffen.

Her grandfather Ko San’s mind was beyond her comprehension from the start.

As a sinner, she just had to silently follow whatever his intentions were.

But she never expected him, who had always wanted to keep her hidden from the outside world, to push her out as such a spectacle.

Feeling her thoughts growing long, Se Eun lay down in bed, intending to sleep early.

As she lifted her uncomfortable ankle with her hand to adjust its position, Sun Woo’s gaze fixed on her legs earlier and memories from around the time of the accident simultaneously flashed through her mind.

‘There’s nothing wrong with your ankle, Se Eun.’

The injury to her leg, which had been crushed by the car door at the time, was recovering smoothly.

There was no scar, and only a slight limp remained as an aftereffect from being trapped for so long.

Even that would heal soon, according to Dr. Kang, her mother’s friend who had examined her.

He was pleased, even in his grief, that the only daughter of his friend lost in the accident had her leg intact.

Saying that in just a little while, she would be able to walk perfectly like before.

Se Eun went to tell her grandfather this fact first.

She believed that the reason he always looked at her with a click of his tongue after the accident was because she had injured her leg.

But what she encountered there was an indifferent and cold inner truth.

‘To think she devoured her mother and came back alone, perfectly fine… Every time I see that child, I feel like I’m going crazy with my insides turning!’

‘But Se Eun injured her leg too, Father.’

‘Leg? Yeon Hwa left this world so miserably! How dare you compare that to a mere leg…!’

‘Sob… My poor sister. How could such an accident… Father. I’ll take good care of you in my sister’s place. Please cheer up.’

Her grandfather’s face visible through the study door crack was more terrifying than anything in the world.

It was clearly just a minor bruise.

But the moment she heard their conversation in front of that door, heavy shackles were placed on Se Eun’s legs.

Perhaps it had become an unconscious defense mechanism.

The aftereffects of her limp did not heal even after 20 years.

Looking into those piercing eyes like those of a white tiger, Se Eun instinctively sensed, even at her young age.

That this leg must never heal or become normal.

It was the rightful punishment she had to bear for surviving alone.