FBMR Ch 0 (Prologue)

Swoosh-

Torrential rain poured heavily for days.

The rain plummeted to the earth like fierce arrows, as if the heavens were not just sorrowful, but enraged.

People said it was better for the rain to fall like this.

Because the blood that had dyed the royal palace grounds red was being washed away by the downpour.

Seventeen-year-old Seo Mujin resented that his own blood wasn’t mixed in that bloody water.

‘Why am I alive?’

The boy could hide his hot tears thanks to the cold rainwater washing over his cheeks.

But what he longed for was hotter, stickier blood.

Hangeongbu, the capital of Suryuk Kingdom.

The rebellion of the First Prince, Kang Bo, born to the Royal Consort, which had taken place in the royal palace not long ago, changed the world overnight.

Crown Prince Subo, born to the Royal Noble Consort, was murdered by his half-brother Kang Bo the day before his coronation ceremony.

As the heavens shifted, bloody winds blew everywhere.

The First Prince Kang Bo, having succeeded in usurping the throne, began to exterminate countless loyal subjects and their families.

The boy, Seo Mujin, should have been the first to die.

Because he was the son of General Seo Jonghak, the commander of the Royal Guard.

Seo Mujin’s mother threw herself onto the soldiers’ swords.

‘Why couldn’t I do the same?’

At that time, the boy was dragged away by the soldiers, and he couldn’t do anything but scream.

Dragged to the Uigeumbu torture chamber, the boy had to watch his father’s already lifeless body being torn limb from limb.

‘Why couldn’t I gouge out my eyes?’

The boy regretted having witnessed his father’s gruesome end with his own eyes.

His hands were tied, but he could have banged his head on the ground and died.

If he had, he wouldn’t have to suffer from the flames in his chest that wouldn’t be extinguished even by the cold, harsh rain.

Seo Mujin realized that a person could suffer as if burning to death from rage alone.

No, he was in so much pain that he felt like he was dying, wanting to rip his own chest apart with his bare hands.

If only his hands were free.

Around the time his father’s blood had been almost completely washed away by the rain, the boy’s eyes, having lost so much, became empty.

Soon, hatred and resentment filled his vacant pupils.

Even with such eyes, the boy didn’t die at the scene but survived.

Thanks to Privy Councilor Kang Iljun.

No, he lived because of Kang Iljun.

Seo Mujin found Kang Iljun, who had saved him, utterly repulsive.

Kang Iljun, the loyal subject his father had trusted most, the man respected by the people, had betrayed them.

Kang Iljun, who became the most meritorious subject as a reward for his betrayal, had saved him out of supposed generosity and made him a slave, and Seo Mujin felt nothing but humiliation.

Seo Mujin, bound and drenched in the pouring rain, was dragged to Kang Iljun’s house.

“You will regret taking me! I will set fire to your house, just you wait and see!”

Seo Mujin, staring at the back of Kang Iljun seated in the open palanquin, spewed resentment and curses in a hoarse voice.

But Kang Iljun never once looked back.

Dozens of soldiers followed, holding umbrellas over Kang Iljun in the palanquin, their appearance full of authority.

Perhaps the boy’s words, barking like a dog from behind, were drowned out by the rain, or perhaps they were intentionally ignored.

He entered his house slowly, haughtily displaying the power of the victor.

Meanwhile, the world learned what had become of Seo Mujin, the son of General Seo Jonghak.

But, was it because of the heavy monsoon rain?

Was it because they couldn’t bear to see what had become of the good-natured General Seo Jonghak’s son?

There were unusually few people out on the streets that day.

As he stepped into Kang Iljun’s house, Seo Mujin blamed his young age.

Because he was seventeen, he couldn’t help his father.

Because he was seventeen, he couldn’t protect his mother.

Because he was seventeen, he couldn’t die.

He could only feel resentful about his age, nothing else. He couldn’t blame anyone.

It had to be only because of his age.

If it were any other reason, if he had to blame someone else, he couldn’t bear the reality of his helplessness.

There were too many people he had to kill, but he was now so pathetic that he couldn’t even kill himself.

‘I’ll make you regret saving me!’

The boy was not a naive child; he knew too well the people who deserved to die and their sins.

‘Somehow, by any means necessary, I will kill them all!’

Also, the boy didn’t know the world as well as adults did, so he didn’t know how he should live from now on.

From that day, thrown into the torrential rain, the boy had already become a man.

⋆˖🌺°.

Swooosh-

All the household members had been standing in the rain with umbrellas for half a day.

Although night had deepened, the head of the household had not yet returned.

Everyone in the household was anxiously waiting outside.

The fourteen-year-old girl didn’t know much about the world, but she sensed that the atmosphere in the house had been unusual for the past few days.

Somehow anxious, restless, and agitated.

Perhaps because of the rain today, the atmosphere was especially tense.

Creak.

“!”

The eyes of everyone waiting lit up with anticipation.

“Honey!”

“Father!”

Her mother and younger brother ran out first to greet their father.

The girl, Mohwa, wanted to do the same.

But her stepmother was not affectionate, and her father was a distant figure.

Mohwa couldn’t bring herself to run and hug her approaching father, instead, she simply bowed her head in greeting.

“Welcome home.”

Sweep-

The girl’s large, sparkling eyes wavered with disappointment.

As always, her father passed by as if she were invisible.

It wasn’t intentional.

Mohwa, flawlessly beautiful from birth, became even more radiant as she grew older.

Yet, he showed no interest in his only, lovely daughter.

“Haha. There’s no need for you to come out and wait.”

“Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

Jo Miryung, Chu Seongun’s wife, clung to him and whined.

“It’s all over, only the aftermath remains. What’s there to worry about? Honestly.”

The girl could understand the meaning of the adults’ conversation.

Her father had participated in the coup, and he had succeeded.

The girl learned of her father’s participation in the coup late.

However, unaware of the outside world, she believed that since her father was involved, it must be a righteous cause.

In her small world, her father was heaven.

So, the only thing that mattered to her now was when her father would finally acknowledge her.

Inside the room, Lieutenant General Chu Seongun was busy boasting about his achievements to his wife, Jo Miryung.

“I am now a General. I have finally ascended to the rank of Senior Second Rank General!”

To Chu Seongun’s excited words, Jo Miryung responded with an equally thrilled voice.

“You finally did it!”

“I almost didn’t reach that position in my lifetime, to think I’d achieve this at forty! And as the most meritorious subject, too! Hahahaha!”

In truth, even the position of Fourth Rank Lieutenant General was more than Chu Seongun deserved, given his incompetence.

The problem was that he was unaware of his own ineptitude.

He believed he was simply unlucky and envied and was jealous of others.

He had managed to climb to the rank of Lieutenant General by framing his targets or acting as a lackey for powerful figures who would back him.

And finally, he had succeeded in biting the hand that fed him, betraying General Han Cheolhu to become a General.

“I always thought you should have become a General much earlier.”

“General? Hahaha. It sounds so good when you call me that. Hahahaha!”

The couple hugged each other and laughed warmly.

The sound of their laughter drifted outside the door.

Mohwa felt that since her parents were in a good mood, they might finally acknowledge her.

She wanted to congratulate her father on his success using the embroidered handkerchief she had made for him as an excuse.

It was at the moment she mustered the courage to open the door.

“Oh, right. Now that the matters outside are settled, we should also deal with the nuisance in our family. What are you going to do about that Mohwa child?”

Mohwa flinched as her mother mentioned her name.

“What do you mean, what am I going to do?”

“Get rid of her quickly. We’ll be much wealthier now, and I can’t stand the thought of even a small portion of our assets going to that girl who isn’t even your blood.”

“!”

Mohwa was so shocked that she almost dropped the handkerchief.

Her hands trembled.

‘I must have misheard.’

Contrary to the young girl’s hopes, her father’s following words were even more blunt.

“If I get rid of her, wouldn’t it be a waste of all the food and clothing we’ve provided her? I can’t do that.”

Every word she heard was shocking, tightening her chest.

“How much money do you think that girl will cost us in the future? Do you know how much it costs to educate and clothe a high-born daughter?”

“With everyone watching, where could I send her? Not unless I plan to tell everyone that she isn’t my daughter!”

“Send her to a temple. We’ve shed a lot of blood in this incident, so if you say that your daughter is dedicating herself to the Buddha to appease the vengeful spirits, people will look up to you. You’d be a saint. How can you continue to harbor a child born from your wife’s affair? Tsk tsk.”

Mohwa’s legs felt weak, and she wanted to collapse.

She now understood why her father had never treated her warmly.

She knew that her mother was her stepmother, but she hadn’t even dreamt that her father wasn’t her biological father.

“Actually, I have a better idea. Wouldn’t it be profitable to raise her well and marry her off to a good family?”

“Come to think of it, you’re right. There’s nothing better than marriage for increasing a family’s power.”

“So, it’s better for us if that Mohwa girl remains as Chu Seongun’s precious daughter. You raise her well and increase her value. The girl takes after her mother in looks, so she’ll fetch a good price.”

“I don’t particularly like it, but alright. This is all for our Jaesung, anyway.”

It was a horrifying conversation.

Although young, the girl vaguely understood what it meant to strengthen their position through marriage.

Being treated like livestock, bred to increase their wealth.

Nothing more.

And such words came from the mouths of the adults she had considered her parents.

She felt like throwing up.

Mohwa, drained of all color in her face, stepped back, one foot after the other.

It was a terrible time to learn the secret of her birth.

Fourteen years old.

She wasn’t so young as to be completely naive, nor was she old enough to be indifferent to such things.

The young girl, at that awkward age where her heart was not yet fully matured, felt disillusionment with the world and disgust towards herself.

‘Mother… such a…!’

A cold fire ignited in her chest.

Her mind was in complete turmoil.

All the girl could do now was run away.

This must be a dream.

When she woke up, she would realize it was just a nightmare.

Clinging to that hope, she ran, eventually losing her footing on the rain-slicked path and falling into the rain.

The blood flowing from the girl’s knees and palms stained the handkerchief that had fallen with her.

“Sob, sob… hiccup!”

Her knees didn’t hurt at all.

But the girl mixed her sobs with the sound of the rain, washing her tears away with the rainwater.

She remained there, crouched down, crying and crying for a long time.

The next day, the gloomy and lingering rainy season ended.

There were no tear stains on the girl’s face as she greeted the morning.

Along with the tears, her innocent expression had also disappeared.

Perhaps because she had cried too much the day before.

The girl had withered too soon.