Lee Woon was out of his mind.

He couldn’t think straight after hearing that Yoon Eun Seol had disappeared.

The person who said they were going to the Queen’s quarters still hadn’t returned.

He recalled what Geum Ok had told him while he was searching frantically. She had said that Yoon Eun Seol had recently received a letter from someone.

“It was probably a letter from Vice Minister Kim Hee Gyeom.”

Yeori, who was standing nearby, said in a trembling voice.

“Why would the Vice Minister send her a letter? Did she not mention what it said?”

“She, she didn’t say, so I don’t know. The lady was suspicious of that letter. So she told me to go and find out if it really was from the Vice Minister.”

“So, did you meet with the Vice Minister? What did he say?”

“I couldn’t meet him. I went right away after hearing the lady’s words, but when I got there, no one was home.”

Growing anxious, he rushed straight to the inner room after hearing Yeori’s words.

He searched through the drawers and cabinets in the inner room and found the letter sent by Kim Hee Gyeom.

After that, he went straight to Kim Hee Gyeom’s house with the letter in hand, but he wasn’t home.

His uneasy feelings turned into fear as time passed.

Lee Woon thoroughly searched around Yongcheon Village and then called for Seo Yeom.

“Yeom, stop by the Minister of War’s house and check once more if she has returned home. The letter clearly stated they were to meet somewhere around here, so she might have gone home.”

“Understood.”

“The rest of you, search this area thoroughly and check once more if the Vice Minister has come.”

Lee Woon sent Seo Yeom and the servants away and searched for places she might have gone.

He needed to find the secret place mentioned in the letter, but he had no idea where it could be.

As he looked around searching, he ended up at the tree where he had fallen from his horse and gotten injured in the past.

His heart was racing madly. He took a deep breath to calm his rough breathing and gathered his thoughts.

“Yoon Eun Seol, where on earth are you?”

He searched all the possible places around the tree, but he couldn’t find any trace of her anywhere.

If it was a secret place, Kim Hee Gyeom would likely know, but he still hadn’t returned home.

He came back to the tree and slumped down, leaning his back against it.

He couldn’t stand how pathetic he felt, unable to do anything.

It shouldn’t be too late, but he was afraid of finding her late again and making her cry.

“Yoon Eun Seol, I’ll come find you, so don’t be scared and wait. Please… don’t cry and wait.”

This was no time to be sitting around in a daze.

As he rubbed his face with both hands and tried to get up, his hand touched something on the ground.

The familiar sensation made him pick up the object and examine it.

“Ah, Yoon Eun Seol!”

His body sprang up from where he was sitting. Then he looked at the object in his hand once more.

A jade hairpin.

It was the jade hairpin he had first given her as a gift. An unforgettable hairpin.

Even if there were tens of thousands of identical hairpins in the world, he was certain this was Yoon Eun Seol’s.

Why was this hairpin, which she cherished so much that she rarely wore it, lying here?

He quickly gathered his thoughts while looking around, wondering why the hairpin was here in such a place.

For the hairpin to have fallen, it must have been either a very urgent situation or deliberately dropped – these were the only two reasons.

Whatever the case, it meant Yoon Eun Seol was in danger now. And it also meant she was not far from here.

As he anxiously scanned the surroundings, he noticed a hill path behind the tree.

He didn’t understand why he hadn’t noticed that path before.

His slow steps gradually quickened. The fact that she had dropped the hairpin meant she hadn’t lost consciousness.

If so, he thought she might have left another clue.

Lee Woon quickly climbed the hill while carefully examining the ground as he went up.

After climbing for a while, a small thatched house came into view.

As if no one lived there, dust and cobwebs filled every corner of the house.

Just in case, he opened every door, but not even an ant was to be seen.

There wasn’t even a trace of anyone passing through.

He sighed without realizing it. There’s no way she could be in a place like this.

Then, where on earth could Yoon Eun Seol be?

With increasing anxiety, he turned to go back down.

That’s when he noticed an old, dilapidated shed behind the thatched house.

It was strange that there was a latch on the door handle of an old, empty house where no one lived.

His hand trembled slightly as he pulled on the latch.

He felt uneasy, even though he knew Yoon Eun Seol couldn’t possibly be in a place like this.

The eerie creaking sound from the old wooden door resonated unpleasantly.

The stale smell of mold and dust stung his nose through the opened door.

As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, the inside of the shed began to come into view.

As he slowly moved his steps to look inside, he saw Yoon Eun Seol collapsed in a mess.

“Yoon Eun Seol, Seol-ah!”

Along with the damp earthy smell in the air, the pungent smell of blood reverberated in the narrow shed.

No matter how much he called Yoon Eun Seol’s name, there was no response.

His shrill voice came out trembling uncontrollably.

It felt as if someone was choking him, making it impossible to breathe.

Hoping against hope, he put his ear close to her face.

He could hear faint breathing. It seemed dangerous to leave her like this.

As he stood up holding Yoon Eun Seol, he noticed red bloodstains.

The bloodstains started from the floor and had completely stained her skirt red.

Thinking something was terribly wrong, Lee Woon shouted at the unconscious person.

“Open your eyes. Who’s the bastard that did this to you!”

Suddenly his heart started pounding terribly. He was scared that she might never wake up like this.

Lee Woon took off his overcoat to wrap Yoon Eun Seol’s body and lifted her up.

For a moment, his gaze turned towards the void.

Thick teardrops rolled down his face, which was expressing deep resentment.

A cold wind blew through the open door. Seo Yeom’s face, who had arrived late, turned pale.

“My lord, what has happened here?”

“Go prepare a palanquin and call for a doctor from the palace.”

“The palanquin is ready. I will go fetch a doctor.”

“Hurry!”

* * *

Eom Sang Gung, who had been waiting in the main quarters, collapsed to the floor as soon as she saw Yoon Eun Seol.

She finally broke down in sobs at the sight of her mistress in such a wretched state.

Lee Woon’s face was as fierce as his cold voice.

“Eom Sang Gung, make sure to keep the household staff’s mouths shut tight and bring some water to clean this person.”

He went straight into the room without waiting for an answer.

His hands trembled as he removed her blood-soaked clothes.

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

“You must have been so shocked and in pain. How scared you must have been, being so timid. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner.”

He was afraid her faint breathing might stop at any moment.

“Please open your eyes. It’s alright now, so don’t be scared and open your eyes, Eun Seol.”

His shoulders shook as he held Yoon Eun Seol’s face.

“Please… open your eyes. Don’t leave me.”

It was the first time in his life he had felt so afraid and terrified.

He was scared she might leave him like this.

Listening to her breath that seemed about to break, Lee Woon called Yoon Eun Seol’s name like a madman.

Not long after, the doctor arrived.

The doctor took her pulse and examined Yoon Eun Seol’s condition for a long time.

After a while, the doctor sat down with a devastated expression, hanging his head like a criminal.

“Why is this person still not waking up? Don’t just sit there, say something.”

When he pressed for an answer, the doctor finally spoke with difficulty.

“Your Highness, did you know that the lady was with child? I’m sorry to say this, but… she has miscarried.”

“You’re saying this person was pregnant? That child I didn’t even know existed… died in the womb?”

“I’m sorry. The child was miscarried due to the poison spreading in her body. If we don’t detoxify now, she may never be able to bear children again.”

“What, you just said poison? Are you saying this person drank poison?”

He couldn’t believe it.

It was shocking enough that she was pregnant, but who would dare to do this to the Deputy Minister’s wife?

The doctor instructed the man who came with him to prepare a decoction and carefully began to speak.

“If we had been a little later, it could have been disastrous. Fortunately, her life is not in danger, but the lady’s energy has weakened greatly. It’s partly due to losing a lot of blood, but the emotional shock will make it worse. When she wakes up, please let her rest and recover.”

“Is there no other… problem? Is she not waking up because she took some harmful medicine?”

“If she knew about the miscarriage before losing consciousness, it must have been unbearable for her.”

Lee Woon looked down at the sleeping Yoon Eun Seol with a shocked face.

Her lips showed absolutely no will as she lay there with a pale face.

“When she wakes up, please make sure to stay by her side. She will be in a lot of pain. Once we remove the poison, I will prepare a tonic to boost her energy. The fortunate thing is that we discovered it early enough to detoxify. If we had made a mistake, she might never have been able to have children… Ahem, I hope that won’t happen.”

“Please hurry. And be careful not to let this reach anyone else’s ears.”

“How could I not? Don’t worry.”

The doctor left, saying not to leave Yoon Eun Seol alone under any circumstances.

Lee Woon held Yoon Eun Seol’s hand. It was still cold. His expressionless eyes turned cold.

“Is Eom Sang Gung outside?”

Eom Sang Gung’s face was pale as she entered.

Her voice was hoarse, as if she had cried a lot.

“How on earth did this happen? She left perfectly fine, why… Do you have any idea? Could it be the Minister of War’s household again this time?”

“I don’t know anything yet. I will definitely find out who dared to touch the Deputy Minister’s wife.”

“I’m worried about how shocked she’ll be when she wakes up.”

“Eom Sang Gung, please take good care of this person. I’m counting on you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll go prepare some rice porridge now.”

Lee Woon sat still without moving and fell into thought.

The letter.

He remembered the letter said to be from Kim Hee Gyeom. He took out the letter he had put in his breast pocket and read it again.

“What story did you want to hear that made you go there?”

Then he quietly asked, knowing she couldn’t answer.

He had told her not to move alone like that, but what was she thinking, trusting just one letter and going out fearlessly? His heart burned with worry.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll just check and be right back.”

His voice was calm, but his eyes were cold enough to be frightening.