Spring Snow - Chapter 4 Part 3

“Your Majesty, shall I call the royal physician?”

Lady So, the court lady, asked. She seemed to recall that Eun-hwan had mentioned feeling unwell and needing to leave her seat. Eun-hwan shook her head. Now that she had risen to a higher position, she realized how meticulous the court ladies were. They remembered even the smallest details and took care of her with such attentiveness.

“I want to take a walk.”

“I will prepare for it.”

“No, I’d like to go alone…”

“But it’s late at night…”

“It’s fine. I’ll just walk around nearby.”

“Are you really feeling alright?”

Lady So asked again. Eun-hwan looked deeply at the woman with a concerned expression before parting her lips.

“Lady So, do you know about the changes in my body?”

“Huh?”

Lady So’s eyes widened as she asked in return. It wasn’t yet announced that Eun-hwan was pregnant. But everyone in the palace already knew. It was a moment that made her realize just how many eyes and ears were in the palace. Even the princess outside the palace knew, so of course Lady So would know. Who else could have switched the medicine the Empress Dowager had offered? Eun-hwan smiled bitterly.

“You know, don’t you?”

“Your Majesty, this servant…”

“It’s fine. Even as a concubine, I was of humble origins, so I’m not afraid of being alone.”

The startled Lady So stammered. Eun-hwan passed her and went out to the rear garden. It was a full moon. Unlike the brightly lit banquet hall, the rear garden was dim and chilly. Eun-hwan forgot the cold and gazed at the pond.

The outline of the lotus flowers, obscured by the darkness, was faint and delicate. She tried not to think about anything if possible. Her daily life from now on would be like today. But if she were to drown in sorrow every day, how could she become a mother?

Yes, a mother. She was going to be a mother. There was a baby in her womb, and by next autumn, she would be holding a swaddled child. If she couldn’t live as a woman, she could live as a mother. That would be enough… Even though she couldn’t escape the fate of being a concubine, the Emperor was different from her father.

He would cherish the baby. Didn’t he already call it “our baby” and adore it? Moreover, he said he wouldn’t hold any other woman. Eun-hwan stared at the moon reflected in the pond. Beneath the yellow moon, her slender figure was reflected.

‘Do you believe that, Eun-hwan?’

It felt as if her reflection in the water was speaking to her. Her heart ached slightly. She asked herself if she believed the Emperor’s promises. Eun-hwan didn’t trust the Emperor. There was nothing more foolish than staking one’s life on the words of a man in love. So, she shouldn’t expect too much.

‘In the end, this is how it turned out, Jo Eun-hwan.’

The tears she had shed whenever the Emperor whispered his sincere love had cooled. Even if she lost her reason and cried for the same reasons every time, she would calm down when she nestled in his embrace and felt his warmth. It was even more so after she became pregnant.

Nothing would change. He wouldn’t take a single step back. No matter how much Eun-hwan cried and struggled… He wouldn’t yield anything, not a single thing. No. Thinking from his perspective, it was an issue he couldn’t yield on.

Which Emperor would leave the position of the Empress vacant for the tears of a mere woman? Moreover, Eun-hwan wasn’t from a powerful family that could replace the Empress. So, Eun-hwan’s pain was nothing more than a tantrum.

‘Now that I’m even carrying a child, there’s even less room for negotiation.’

She pondered the princess’s words and looked at the floating moon. Drenched in sorrow, even the moonlight on the water felt fleeting. The wind blew. Just as Eun-hwan, shivering from the chill, was about to turn back, she heard rustling, and a long shadow engulfed her.

***

It was the second cup. Ga-ran flinched at the elegant fingers covering the wine cup. She raised her head and observed the Emperor’s face. His long eyes beneath thick eyebrows were calm. Eyes that couldn’t be read no matter how much one tried. She couldn’t tell what had gone wrong or what mistake she had made.

She neatly folded her hands after putting away the wine bottle. Sitting demurely, she hoped he would say something. She wished he would find fault with her, just to give her a chance to speak. At some point, she even had the foolish thought of committing a breach of etiquette just to attract his attention.

She bit her lip. Even she thought it was stupid, but she wanted to draw his attention that way. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager, understanding her feelings, had arranged this meeting, but…

“Your Majesty.”

She barely managed to part her lips. It was ridiculous how she was crouching like a mouse before a snake, watching his every move. But the shame was forgotten when she saw his exquisitely handsome face. She was desperate. He was the kind of man who never gave her a glance, which only made her cling more. Carefully, she opened her mouth.

“Does the wine I brewed not please Your Majesty? Or…”

She couldn’t think of what to say next. Seeing the Emperor unresponsive, she glanced at the Empress Dowager. Suddenly, the Emperor’s birth mother sitting beside her caught her eye. The woman, beautiful like a peony, was staring at her like a thorn. Sweat seeped into her neatly folded hands.

She remembered the woman who had sat in this seat, flirting. Her heart pounded. She wasn’t the daughter of a powerful noble or a wealthy family. She was just a lowly palace maid… The daughter of a merchant who tried to buy a government position and his concubine had risen from a noble to the position of a royal consort. It had happened in less than half a year.

The Emperor must have been deeply infatuated. To rise to the position of a concubine after just one night, how vulgar and wicked must her seduction have been? She was no different from a prostitute. Yes, the Empress Dowager had said that Gabi was no better than a prostitute.

Ga-ran was just heartbroken. The relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor was strained. After all, she was his stepmother. The wet nurse from the Empress’s palace had raised him. Yet, the Emperor openly disliked the Empress Dowager. It wasn’t just after ascending the throne; he had been like that since he was the Crown Prince.

There were many reasons, but to Ga-ran, who lived outside the palace, they all sounded vague. But now, seeing the woman sitting like a thorn, something came to mind. The Emperor’s birth mother, the Royal Consort, had a terrible relationship with the Empress Dowager. Could that be why?

The Empress Dowager had said so. Since her days as the Noble Consort Hua, the Royal Consort had been the Emperor’s favorite, and with that favor, she gave birth to a son who would ascend the throne, repeatedly belittling and ignoring the Empress Dowager. Fearing that the Crown Prince, who would inherit the throne, might be negatively influenced by his birth mother, the late Emperor had personally ordered the eldest son to be raised in the Empress’s palace.

Yet, the Royal Consort still looked down on the Empress Dowager, and her eldest son, the Emperor, also didn’t respect her.

‘Ga-ran, you are our only hope. You must become the Empress, restore order to the harem, and strengthen the relationship between His Majesty and the Empress Dowager.’

Her father’s firm voice echoed in her mind. He had said she was their only hope. Even if it wasn’t about hope, Ga-ran wanted to become the Emperor’s woman. Despite the Empress Dowager always belittling her and threatening her father, and despite the Emperor’s cold and indifferent gaze, her heart always yearned for him. The colder and more indifferent he was, the more persistent her love became.

“Your Majesty.”

Ga-ran softly called out to the man who didn’t even glance at her, let alone answer. Suddenly, the Emperor, who had been drinking the royal wine, spoke.

“Minister Yu.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Will you join me in hunting tigers tomorrow?”

Tiger hunting was the highlight of the autumn hunt. The hunt on the final day was the greatest entertainment enjoyed by the noble men of the palace. It was always the Emperor who caught the tiger. He would divide the tiger’s fur and skin among his mother and sisters, and even formally give a share to the Empress Dowager.

Perhaps tomorrow, the Emperor would catch a tiger again. And the finest parts of the fur and skin would go to Gabi. The Emperor would order the skilled artisans to make fur shoes for Gabi. Thinking of that again made her heart burn. Why had the Empress Dowager pushed that woman onto the Emperor? Even if it was all for Ga-ran’s sake, it was frustrating.

It wasn’t that the Emperor had taken her as a concubine. From her perspective, who needed to win even a little of his heart, there was no gap to squeeze into between them. She was biting her lip, trying to suppress what she wanted to say, when…

“Your Majesty. My legs are inconvenient, so I cannot assist you. However, my eldest son, Yu Jung-rang, will serve Your Majesty with all his heart.”

“What a pity. Weren’t you the one who caught tigers multiple times in your youth?”

The Emperor smiled faintly. His calm eyes curved, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly, but a cold light shone in them. Ga-ran held her breath and looked at her father.

“So, it’s not that you’re afraid of tigers. Even if you injured your leg from a fall, it’s not that you can’t ride a horse, is it…?”

The Emperor, having emptied his cup, smiled smoothly. Her father’s face began to harden. Her brother, sitting beside him, was the same.

“Or is there something else you’re afraid of?”

“Your Majesty.”

Yun-hyeok, who had been wiping the surface of the cup that had held the royal wine, asked. Ga-ran, with a pale face, lowered her gaze. She swallowed the royal wine to wash away the bitter taste, but the lingering aroma of the wine was pungent.

“Chancellor.”

“I apologize, but I am old and foolish, and it is difficult for me to understand Your Majesty’s intentions.”

The old man bowed his head as if ready to kowtow and apologize. Yun-hyeok smiled at him. He didn’t provoke further. There was no benefit in provoking him. His mother, sitting like a bare thorn, stared at him. Yun-hyeok stood up and turned his back. The Chancellor’s daughter tried to follow him. He gestured to the eunuch. The eunuch blocked her path. The woman froze, pale. Yun-hyeok, seeing his mother rise to follow him, left the banquet hall.

***

“Are you really going to marry that girl?”

“Didn’t you say you don’t remember?”

“Who said I don’t remember? I remember everything! I remember everything!”

Seol-ran screamed like a demon. Yun-hyeok looked at his mother with pale eyes. She was a woman who had lost her husband and her mind. No, even before that. Even before her husband was killed, she had occasionally lost her mind.

It was probably when Princess Hwa-ye died.

It was understandable, considering she had been violated in front of her daughter’s coffin. But wasn’t the man who had done that to her her husband? If he died before her eyes, she should dance, not wear flowers in her hair. But his mother, with a fierce face, pushed him. The reason for her fierce resistance was that if he married the daughter of Chancellor Yu, she wouldn’t stay still.

“You know that your testimony has no meaning. That’s why the Empress Dowager silenced you. Every time you wake up from losing your mind, you say different things, so it’s understandable.”

“You!”

“Control yourself.”

“Yun-hyeok, please…”

His mother, panting, clung to his arm. Her tear-stained face was still beautiful. It was a beauty that had lost its owner. Without her husband, her beauty was useless. Yun-hyeok looked at her with dry eyes. He pushed away her grasping hand and opened his lips.

“Don’t blow strange ideas into Hwan-a’s mind. I know you’ve been conveying something through In-a.”

Seol-ran’s face hardened. Yun-hyeok was about to turn away from her.

“What did I convey? Do you even know what I conveyed?”

“…”

“I only stopped her from trying to kill the baby in her womb.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“What will you handle? Do you know why she’s trying to kill the baby and still insist on marrying that girl? Do you think she can endure that?”

Seol-ran’s face twisted. Her heart pounded. She couldn’t bear to see that. She couldn’t stand the sight of that woman, the daughter of Yeo Sook-young, entering the palace and becoming the Empress. What kind of son is this? What kind of son did she raise? She didn’t know what she had lived for until now. Had she lived all this time to see the daughter of that woman, whom she wanted to chew to death, proudly take her son? Her heart boiled.

“Did you not see how I lived? Is that why you’re doing this?”

She clung to her son’s shoulder, screaming fiercely. Tears burst out again. From the moment she left the banquet hall, from the moment she saw Chancellor Yu, no, Yu Kyung-hyo’s face, her lungs began to twist, and finally, tears seeped out. He was the man who had killed Hui-gang. In front of her eyes. In front of her, he had cut down Hui-gang. And now, Hui-gang’s son was going to marry his daughter? She couldn’t accept it without going mad. It was something she couldn’t live without turning away.

“Go inside.”

Her son, who had been staring at her with dark eyes as if understanding her, recited as he removed Seol-ran’s hand. Seol-ran, who had been crying and panting, slapped her son’s cheek. With a sharp sound, Yun-hyeok’s cheek turned. Even though they were facing each other with the lower servants dismissed, Seol-ran’s behavior was excessively rude and unrestrained. But to her, Yun-hyeok was just her son. Not the Emperor, but my son. Hui-gang’s legacy… So, it wasn’t difficult.

“Do you really not know how your father died?”

“I know.”

“Then how can you do this!”

Seol-ran, driven by anger, shot back. He was the son Hui-gang had left behind. The child she had left in the Empress’s palace, spending nights in tears, missing him. But even knowing Hui-gang’s death, he had such a face. As if it was nothing, as if marrying the daughter of the enemy who killed his father was no big deal… Being treated like a madwoman by her son was nothing.

It really was nothing. But seeing the son she had borne in pain completely ignore his father’s death… Living while watching that was truly unbearable pain. Yun-hyeok, who had straightened his head towards Seol-ran, who was panting, recited.

“Wasn’t he the one who r*ped my mother?”

“You!”

It was a low dagger. The sensation of a cold, sharp needle piercing her heart. Seol-ran trembled and glared at him. Yun-hyeok didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his mother’s wrist as she raised her hand to slap him again and muttered.

“Didn’t you say he violated you in front of your daughter’s coffin? Even in front of your young son, he didn’t hesitate to disgrace his wife. And yet, do you still love him? Do you love him so much that you’d go mad?”

Her face was as if her heart had been pierced. Yun-hyeok let go of the woman clinging to him with a wet face. Seol-ran’s knees gave way, and she collapsed. Yun-hyeok caught her shoulders before they hit the ground and met her gaze. Seol-ran, pale, groped for her son.

It was Hui-gang’s outline. The face of her husband, who had ruthlessly taken away her babies and impregnated her again, was majestic and handsome. So, it might have made her lose even more strength. She thought of the time when she had borne Hui-gang’s children like the Empress’s womb. It was hard to imagine the bloodied newborn when looking at Yun-hyeok, who had grown up so cold.

‘Still, he’s my baby. My beloved child.’

She stared at her son, repeating that flickering time. Had Hui-gang been this cold to his mother? Suddenly, feeling the heartache creeping in, she remembered her son’s childhood. Yun-hyeok was a filial son. Even though the wet nurse was ultimately from the Empress’s palace and wouldn’t have spoken well of his birth mother, Yun-hyeok had always missed her.

From the moment he could walk, he had cried, asking to be taken to the Consort’s palace to see his mother. When they said her separated son had cried for her, it felt like her heart was being torn apart. He was her child, who had only been with her for a hundred days. Each day, bre*stfeeding him and kissing his forehead, was happiness. The son she had been too afraid to look at properly, fearing he would wear out…

The passing time was precious, and the time to part was terrifying. The day the wet nurse from the Empress’s palace came to take Yun-hyeok away was still vivid. The day he toddled back to her was equally clear. The young son who had run to her, calling “Mother” with his baby teeth, overlapped with his handsome face now.

As a child, Yun-hyeok often secretly visited her. Hui-gang had glared at the five-year-old boy, asking if he couldn’t wean himself from his mother’s milk even after being crowned Crown Prince, but Seol-ran had always been happy to see her son’s footsteps, so she couldn’t send him away. No. She couldn’t send him away.

How could she send away the child who picked wild flowers to please his mother? How could she scold the child who secretly brought her delicious snacks during the day and fed them to her? To Seol-ran, her eldest son was always a heartbreakingly sorrowful presence. But when had he become so cold?

“Go back.”

Yun-hyeok called back the dismissed attendants and spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

The court lady from Janyeong Palace approached and helped her up. Seol-ran stared at her son for a moment before opening her lips. Yun-hyeok, who seemed about to turn away, looked back at her.

“Yun-hyeok.”

Her voice, beginning to tremble, was terrible. Before she could show an even uglier sight, Seol-ran continued.

“The wounds you received because of your mother and father… I know how much poison they must have been to you. I’m truly sorry. But now, please forgive your father. For my sake…”

Yun-hyeok turned his head. Seol-ran began to cry. It was sickening. Her mother crying… It was a tedious and exhausting affair. Her mother, crying in her father’s arms. Her mother, crying while holding her sister. After her father’s death, she had lost her mind and cried in her own arms. No matter how sorrowful those tears were, Yun-hyeok couldn’t help but find them tiresome. Yet, even as he felt disgusted, his strength drained away.

So, he hated it even more. He felt even more disillusioned. The reason he hated seeing Eun-hwan cry was also because of that. It was like seeing his mother. Not just because she resembled her mother. Not just because she cried like her mother… It was as if he had become his father, who had made his mother cry in those days.

He didn’t want to live like that, but it felt like he was wearing his father’s skin and tormenting Eun-hwan. He turned away. He didn’t want to live like Ju Hui-gang. No matter how much the people had prospered under his reign, he was a terrible man. His mother’s words, screamed in a fit of rage, came to mind.

‘Did you not see how I lived?’

He laughed. He couldn’t possibly not know that humiliation. Unless he was as young as Princess Hwa-ok or Prince Wan, who were only ten or so years old, he couldn’t not know. How cruelly the late Emperor had loved her. But what about his mother’s eyes? She had gone mad, losing her mind to a man who impregnated her before her belly had even healed.

He didn’t want to make Eun-hwan like that. He didn’t want to love Eun-hwan like that either. But even as his mother cried, apologizing to him, her eyes said that he would become like his father. Her eyes chanted that he couldn’t possibly live any other way.

If he enshrined the daughter of Yu Kyung-hyo and the Empress Dowager as Empress, surely he would live like that. But Yu Kyung-hyo’s daughter was nothing more than a pawn. A pawn to sever Yu Kyung-hyo and the Empress Dowager’s limbs. So, if he wanted to avenge his father, he had to accept her.

Even though she was the one who could testify about the late Emperor’s death, hadn’t she been dismissed as the ramblings of a madwoman because she had lost her mind? The Yu family’s power was that overwhelming. There were too many of Yu Kyung-hyo’s people in the court to remove. That was why, even after committing a crime that angered heaven and earth, they couldn’t be cut down.

But if he took Yu Kyung-hyo’s daughter as Empress, things would change. The Empress’s father could not hold a government position. He would have to reduce the number of private soldiers to a certain level and donate a portion of his land and wealth to the royal family. Although Yu Jung-hyun, the adopted son and a mid-ranking officer, would rise in rank, his influence in the court could be curtailed.

It was Yu Kyung-hyo who had killed his father. His mother had definitely seen his face there. Although her testimony changed every time, one thing was clear. Yu Kyung-hyo, who had followed his father to assist him during the hunt, had killed him in front of her.

His mother, who had barely survived, had tried to remember his face and bring him to justice, but Yu Kyung-hyo’s influence had infiltrated the court. To remove it, Yu Kyung-hyo had to be taken down. So, Yu Ga-ran had to become Empress.

‘Those traitors will fall when they reach the highest point.’

As he chewed over Yu Kyung-hyo’s face, Yun-hyeok arrived at the annex and saw the round window, bright with light. His eyebrows narrowed. The faint, almost disappearing shadow was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Eun-hwan?”

He turned to the court lady and asked.

“She went out for a walk alone.”

Yun-hyeok raised one of his narrowed eyebrows. The court lady fidgeted nervously, watching his expression.

“Did you just stand by and watch that?”

“Your Majesty, that is…”

“Do you still see my woman as someone beneath you, to be ordered around?”

Yun-hyeok’s cold rebuke cut through the air like a sharp blade, each syllable honed to a razor’s edge. The court lady fell to her knees and cried out.

“I have committed a grave sin, Your Majesty!”

Just as Yun-hyeok glared at the trembling woman with icy eyes, the sound of rustling footsteps was followed by a heart-wrenching scream.

***

“Up close, you really are beautiful, Gabi. Like a fairy descended from heaven.”

“…Your Highness, Prince Gang?”

In the dim moonlight, his outline was faintly visible. The man in hunting clothes was thoroughly drunk. Without realizing it, Eun-hwan took a step back and clasped her hands over her chest. Even though the man wasn’t trying to undo the fastenings of her robe, she felt the need to adjust her clothing while hunched over.

“Ah, you recognized me at a glance. Haha. It seems you couldn’t forget me.”

She had no idea what nonsense he was spouting. She recognized him because of his voice. Earlier in the day, before the hunt, she had seen him chatting with the Empress Dowager. Eun-hwan frowned and stared at him. This was the Emperor’s bedchamber. Since Ju Yeop-myeong, the founding emperor of Oh, had started as the governor of Henan, the governor’s residence in Henan held special significance for Oh.

That’s why they went hunting in Henan every autumn. The governor vacated the annex every year to await the Emperor’s arrival. So, if Prince Gang were in his right mind, he wouldn’t have come here. But judging by his unsteady steps, he didn’t seem to be in his right mind.

“You seem quite drunk. Shall I call the eunuch for you?”

Eun-hwan cautiously asked. Prince Gang raised his head. His glistening eyes were sinister and repulsive. Sensing danger, Eun-hwan tried to step away. But at that moment, her wrist was abruptly grabbed. Startled, she opened her eyes wide and stared. The blurry outline of his figure felt cold.

“Your Highness!”

“You were in the inner palace, weren’t you? How could someone as beautiful as you escape my notice? Hmm? I may not be able to make you my queen, but I can certainly take you as my concubine.”

He let out a dry laugh. He seemed insane. Eun-hwan struggled to free her wrist, but the more she resisted, the stronger his crude grip became. Her pulse raced, and a chill ran through her. With each breath he took, the stench of meat grease and alcohol filled the air. Just as she clenched her teeth in horror and tried to push him away, Prince Gang pulled her closer by the waist. Eun-hwan screamed. How dare he, without fear, harass the Emperor’s concubine? He had truly lost his mind.

“Your Highness! What is this!”

If she screamed, people would surely gather, but she didn’t want rumors spreading that the Emperor’s concubine had been harassed by a prince. Eun-hwan bit her lip hard and tried to push his hand away. But the more she resisted, the bolder Prince Gang became, groping her butt*cks and chest.

His hands clung to her like leeches, making her nauseous. Even his gr*in was visibly bulging. Disgusted, she shuddered. She pushed at his chest and swung her fists, then raised her hand and slapped his cheek. The sound of the slap echoed as the drunken man’s face turned.

“Ugh…”

Her breath, soaked in tears, came out ragged. The man’s face, which had turned to the left, slowly turned back. A shiver ran down her spine. His eyes, hidden in the late-night darkness, glinted sharply. Eun-hwan trembled as she spoke.

“…Come to your senses.”

“You insolent wench. Just because you have a pretty face, you dare…!”

Prince Gang flipped the hem of her undergarments. Eun-hwan froze in shock, pressing her thighs together. But his rough hand pried its way in, trying to touch her most intimate area.

“Ahhh!”

Finally, a scream erupted. Prince Gang’s other hand covered her mouth. Determined, he spread her thighs and pressed his lips against her chest, inhaling the scent of her skin. His erect member pressed against her thigh. She writhed and twisted her entire body, struggling.

“No, let go! Ahhh!”

Just as she felt his tongue touch the hollow of her chest, as if a centipede had settled there, disgusting and repulsive, she gasped and squirmed. But then, the movement of him licking her chest stopped.

“Get up.”

A cold command followed, and a sharp hiss reached her ears. The weight pressing down on her disappeared. Eun-hwan opened her eyes. The pale moonlight flowed over the long blade. It was a dizzying flash. Prince Gang, who had been on top of her doing unspeakable things, suddenly sprang up and then fell backward.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

He didn’t call him “brother,” but “Your Majesty.” Unlike his younger brother, Prince Wan, and his other siblings, Prince Gang trembled and showed extreme deference. He curled his body, preparing to kowtow, but when he saw the sword, he let out a sharp hiss. Pathetic. How dare he, trembling like that, try to covet the Emperor’s concubine? Eun-hwan watched them with tear-filled eyes. The court lady, who had arrived late, wrapped a robe around her shoulders.

“Your Highness. Are you alright?”

She couldn’t possibly be alright. But she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she barely managed to nod. The court lady, on the verge of sobbing, fussed over her shoulders and cold hands. Eun-hwan, looking dazed, was helped up, but then turned her head at the sound of a scream.

“Ahhh!”

The long sword pierced Prince Gang’s hand. The man screamed and grabbed the blade. It was the hand that had groped Eun-hwan’s most intimate area. The court lady tried to turn Eun-hwan away so she wouldn’t see, but she couldn’t leave.

“Your Highness, please return to your chambers.”

The plea was desperate. But Eun-hwan’s legs had gone weak. It seemed as though the sword was slicing off Prince Gang’s fingers one by one. Eventually, it looked like all five would be severed. It was a grotesque sight. The screams were so horrifying they were hard to listen to.

“Please, spare me… Your Majesty.”

The sword that had been tearing through his hand stopped moving. Prince Gang, trembling, looked up at him. His eyes, filled with blood, streamed with tears. Servants and the governor’s family began to gather at the commotion. Eun-hwan, curled up, breathed heavily. Despite the growing crowd, the Emperor still hadn’t sheathed his sword. After a moment of catching her breath, Eun-hwan moved as if to crawl toward him. The court lady, understanding her intent, supported her.

“H-He was drunk. So, he didn’t realize she was Your Majesty’s concubine… I swear, it’s true. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lady Gabi… Ahhh!”

The sword finally severed the last remaining finger. The mutilated hand no longer looked human. Prince Gang, seeing his hand torn apart, wailed like a beast. The Empress Dowager and Prince Yeon rushed over and stared at him.

“Your Majesty, what is this!”

“Brother! Please spare me! Please…!”

Prince Gang, wailing like an animal, cried out to Prince Yeon. The Empress Dowager, her face stiff, looked between the brothers and then at the Emperor.

“What is the meaning of this?”

The Emperor didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at the Empress Dowager. It was as if nothing entered his eyes. Someone had to intervene. The sword that had torn through his hand was pulled out. Blood dripped down the blade. The tip of the sword touched the wailing man’s throat.

“Y-Your Majesty. Please, spare my life…”

Prince Gang, his face red, begged for his life. It truly seemed as though his throat would be slit. Eun-hwan approached him and grabbed his arm.

“Your Majesty…”

She shook her head and pleaded earnestly. Not now. Especially not here… Eun-hwan whispered in her disheveled state, her voice barely audible. The Emperor’s gaze shifted back to her. She buried her face in her arm, her shoulders trembling. She moved her lips just enough for only him to hear.

“…My womb hurts.”

***