Watching Eun Seol’s retreating figure as she hurriedly left, Woon roughly brushed back the hair that had fallen onto his forehead.

For no reason, his chest felt tight and his mood was unpleasant.

Lost in thought, he came to his senses at the sound of So Hyang calling him.

“My lord, this is too much in front of others. I should not be so invisible.”

“Stop with the useless talk and sit down. What brings you here when you usually don’t come even when called?”

“Since you didn’t come, I had no choice but to come myself.”

It was extremely rare for So Hyang to visit the palace.

In any case, she never did anything that would harm him.

She didn’t even set foot there unless it was absolutely necessary, believing rumors of a gisaeng visiting Woon Yeon Palace would do no good.

For her to visit now meant it must be urgent or something special.

So Hyang pulled up a chair and sat down across from him. Unlike earlier, her expression was somewhat darker.

“A few days ago, people from the Left State Councillor’s side visited Eun Wol Gwan. They used the inner quarters, not the main hall.”

“If they used the inner quarters, that means something’s up. Did the Left State Councillor attend?”

“Of course he was present. From what I overheard, it seems certain the Left State Councillor was involved in the late Queen Consort’s miscarriage long ago. And now they’re staking everything on Lady Song’s pregnancy.”

“Of course they are. They desperately need to see a son from their daughter, so they must be on pins and needles by now. They’re probably already preparing contingency plans in case the Royal Concubine doesn’t bear a son.”

“The unbelievable thing is, there are rumors that not only the other concubines, but even the Queen Consort is unable to share the king’s bed.”

“Crazy!”

The curse came out involuntarily.

The tyranny of Left State Councillor Song Moon Sik was getting more and more out of hand with each passing day.

It made his stomach churn that they, who knew better than anyone how difficult it would be for her to conceive again after three miscarriages, were even interfering with the king and queen’s conjugal nights.

“If His Majesty truly has no heir, do you think they will leave you alone? To them, you are a thorn in their side. Even now, they are watching for any weakness.”

“It’s not them who holds my weakness, but you. Isn’t that right?”

“If you know that, why did you cut off all contact right after the wedding?”

So Hyang glared at him not unkindly and snapped back curtly.

He put down the teacup he had been drinking from and laughed awkwardly.

Woon had never once coveted the throne.

He always had to live as if he didn’t exist behind his elder brother, but he didn’t resent such a life.

No one had oppressed him, but Woon realized it himself as he lived.

He shouldn’t stand out, nor should he resent anyone.

He deliberately avoided the love of the former king and queen dowager for the sake of his elder brother, who had lost their mother at a young age.

He was even reluctant to appear in front of people.

Such a life wasn’t unhappy.

It was just lonely and painful to be alone.

Long ago, it was So Hyang who had rescued him when he collapsed after being attacked by an assassin, and treated him for several days.

Through that connection, the two became unrivaled friends and allies.

The dissolute and licentious Prince Jin Heon, a drunken fool obsessed with So Hyang, the head gisaeng of Eun Wol Gwan.

These were rumors So Hyang herself had spread to avoid him being targeted again by the ministers’ checks.

Because of those rumors, he was able to live comfortably and even have the wedding he wanted.

“I’ve been a bit busy lately. Now that there’s no one to be mindful of, I’ll visit Eun Wol Gwan sometime soon.”

“You must not let your guard down. From now on, you cannot afford to be caught by them no matter what happens. Be careful, very careful. To them, you are someone who must be eliminated. You know what I mean, don’t you?”

Woon furrowed his brow as he mulled over So Hyang’s words.

Even though he had lived so quietly, the Left State Councillor would not leave him alone.

“You know that the source of the Left State Councillor’s funds is the Jindo merchant group, right? There are rumors that the Jindo merchants will exclusively purchase all the ginseng this time as well. Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“The Taeseong merchant group has already started working behind the scenes, so don’t worry about that and just wait a little longer.”

For the past few days, he had been meeting with Kim Woo Seop, the head of the Taeseong merchant group, and people from the Song merchants, avoiding people’s eyes.

In any group, there are bound to be those who are dissatisfied and have complaints because their hearts don’t align.

They had many complaints about the Jindo merchant group and Left State Councillor Song Moon Sik, so persuading them wasn’t particularly difficult.

“The merchant group people have been meeting frequently these days. Every time they sit down, they talk about the Jindo merchant group, and they all say it feels like the calm before a storm. It seems like something will happen soon.”

“Is that anything new? Keep an eye on the Left State Councillor’s movements a bit more. If there’s anything suspicious, contact me right away.”

“I will. By the way, are you perhaps angry with the lady?”

“What?”

“Didn’t you call me inside to make the Secondary Lady jealous?”

Woon looked askance at So Hyang, who was staring at him as if she could read his mind.

“You shouldn’t hurt the woman you have in your heart like that. If you’ve obtained the woman you desire, you should cherish her.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I’ve known you for 5 years. And, I’m unnecessarily perceptive. If you want to provoke the Secondary Lady, I can help you. How about it, shall I help?”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, just leave.”

“You always tell me to leave if I have nothing useful to say. You seem like such a tenderhearted person, don’t hurt her. You’ll regret it later.”

“Enough!”

As his expression hardened and his voice turned cold, So Hyang wisely shut her mouth.

Woon felt even more stifled than before, and inexplicably angry.

* * *

Since leaving the men’s quarters, all her nerves had been directed there.

Nothing could hold her attention, and she couldn’t think of anything.

Pacing the courtyard of the inner quarters, Eun Seol let out a hollow laugh.

It was because her current behavior seemed so ridiculous.

She didn’t know by what right she was on edge about who the prince was meeting and what he was doing.

How much time had passed?

She saw So Hyang coming out of the men’s quarters and walking towards the inner quarters where she was.

So Hyang’s footsteps seemed light as she walked, looking around. Entering the inner courtyard, So Hyang approached her while surveying the surroundings.

“The inner quarters seem to have changed a lot. It looks like the prince put a lot of effort into it for the Secondary Lady.”

So Hyang’s footsteps were natural, as if she visited Woon Yeon Palace often, and she looked around leisurely.

Something welled up inside her, but she tried to appear calm and swallowed a sigh.

“I heard the prince is especially fond of you.”

“Hmm, the prince isn’t the type to say such things… Perhaps you heard the rumors circulating?”

So Hyang kept smiling at her with her eyes. It didn’t seem like a question that particularly expected an answer.

“I’m not sure if ‘fond’ is the right expression, but isn’t it natural for a butterfly to seek a fragrant flower?”

“……”

“But you know what? The butterfly finds a fragrant flower and just sits there doing nothing. You’d think it would be intoxicated by the fragrance. I wonder if this butterfly sat because it liked the flower?”

So Hyang, who had thrown out the question, fixed her gaze on her and continued speaking slowly.

“That butterfly didn’t need the fragrance or nectar of any other flower. Aren’t you curious about the reason?”

“……?”

“The butterfly that already had an owner never gave a glance to anyone else. No matter how much others tickled its wings, it didn’t budge. It was a butterfly with quite remarkable fidelity.”

So Hyang, who had been telling this incomprehensible story, raised her head over her shoulder and nodded in greeting to someone.

Following So Hyang’s gaze, Eun Seol turned around and met eyes with the prince walking towards them.

He was wearing a dou-po instead of his usual military uniform.

She was the first to avert her awkward gaze.

So Hyang approached him as he stopped and smiled brightly.

“Are you ready to leave?”

“Let’s go.”

His flat, subdued voice sounded colder to her than ever before.

In his cold back as he turned away, there was no trace of lingering attachment to her.

Watching the two of them walk away, her chest ached.

She didn’t know why this moment hurt more than the beatings she received from Soon Young in her childhood.

When would she be free from these things?

The problem was that her desire to just not be driven out of this place kept sprouting seeds of greed.

At first, she thought it would be fine wherever the prince’s heart was as long as he just helped her escape from Soon Young’s abuse and her hellish home.

But as time passed, she craved his heart, his love.

It was pathetic that she couldn’t let go of him in her heart when he never gave her a warm glance or a kind word.

She shook her head to shake off her thoughts.

Then she stopped for a moment, took a slow deep breath, and slowly made her way to Dowon Pavilion.

The sky had been cloudy since morning and was darkening as if it would rain, but it didn’t matter since she wouldn’t stay long.

Sitting on the steps of the pavilion, watching flower petals blown by the wind fall to the ground, her chest felt inexplicably heavy.

“Sigh… Everything will be alright.”

This much pain was not unexpected, and she would endure it well.

Just as she had until now.

She stared at the pond where flower petals were falling for a long time.

The white petals covering the water’s surface were moving with the gentle waves.

As the surroundings gradually darkened, rain suddenly began to pour along with a cool breeze.

Seeing the dark clouds gathering heavily, it didn’t look like the rain would stop soon.

The ominous rain seemed like it would soon bring flashing lightning and thunder.

She needed to leave before it poured harder, but her feet wouldn’t move.

She looked around anxiously.

Her already unfocused eyes shook uncontrollably.

There was no one around and nowhere to take shelter.

She had to go back.

She needed to run through the rain to a safe place, but she couldn’t move a step as if someone was holding her ankle.

Her whole body was shaking and her heart was pounding as if it would burst.

Her breathing was rough as she couldn’t exhale her increasingly rapid breaths.

“Don’t be scared, just run.”

Muttering to herself as if in a trance, she took a step forward, but her already stiffened body wouldn’t move.

“Please move. I said move!”

She mercilessly punched and clawed at her legs that wouldn’t budge.

Tears rolling down her cheeks blurred her vision so she couldn’t see properly in front of her.

She covered her ears with both hands and closed her eyes.

Just as she was about to take a step forward, hoping desperately that at least there would be no thunder, all her thoughts came to a halt.

Thunder and lightning began to strike through the downpour.

The thunder that had been rumbling overhead struck straight down to the ground with a deafening boom.

At that moment, she covered her ears and lay flat on the ground, her whole body trembling.

“Is anyone… there? Eom Sang Gung, please… Ahh!”

Her voice was drowned out by the lightning and thunder striking before her eyes, sinking into the ground with the rainwater.

A terrifying fear pressed down on her chest as tears flowed endlessly from her eyes.

She needed somewhere to hide.

She crawled on the ground into the darkness where she couldn’t see an inch in front of her.

Looking out at the darkened rain, she cried as if wailing without realizing it.

“…Prince, please take me away.”

She couldn’t breathe properly. It felt like her heart would stop at any moment.

She curled up tightly, trembling in fear at the intermittent sounds of thunder.

In her fading consciousness, she kept calling out for someone.

“Mother… please save me.”

Why is it that in moments like this, she thinks of the mother whose face she’s never seen?

She wished her dead mother would just come take her away like this.

“Please stop. Please…”

Despite her desperate cries, the rain, wind, and thunder only grew fiercer.

Her voice faded into the sound of rain, and her consciousness gradually blurred.