FIB Ch 13 part 1

PR by neji

Located at the southern gate of SeoMoon.

It was a small town, but due to its location at SeoMoon’s border, it was well known for its flourishing trade economy.

However, the reason for the firm foundation of the southern gate wasn’t just because of the trade.

“You mustn’t do this! The Chief Commander is in charge of… Aagh!”

A man punched the person blocking his way before looking around. A group of soldiers followed the man, and they suppressed all the townspeople with sheer military force.

“From now on, His Highness the second prince will be in charge of this place. Leave all your things and scram!”

Eighty percent of trade at the southern gate occurred in this town. Therefore, Heon used the profits gained from this town to maintain his private army.

“We haven’t heard anything about this from the Chief Commander! If this is an imperial order, please show us proof… Ugh!”

Before the man could finish speaking, he was quickly whipped. Screams began to ring throughout the town, but the man who led the soldiers didn’t even flinch.

As if he weren’t satisfied by the sight of the soldiers overpowering the defiant townspeople, the man pulled out his sword from its sheath and yelled out.

“What are you doing? We must take Daewoon and Yiseo by the end of the day! Hurry!”

Daewoon and Yiseo were towns that weren’t very far from here. It was under the protection of Heon’s clan, and they were also the location of Heon’s northern headquarters as well as a training camp for newly recruited soldiers.

The second prince had bared his teeth at Heon. Heon must be informed as soon as possible.

A man bit down on the soldier’s kicking legs.

“Aagh!”

As the soldier staggered, the man stood up and quickly ran to the door. However, as soon as he opened it, a soldier blocking the exit pierced the man’s chest with his sword.

Blood dripped down to the floor as the man began to sway from side to side. When the soldier pulled his sword out, the man fell to the ground.

The leader of the soldiers didn’t even glance at the collapsed man and cried out.

“We mustn’t let one person leave this town until we have cleared it! Finish everything within two hours!”

If things didn’t go as planned, he would have to give up his own life. A frantic light gleamed in his eyes as he leaped into the chaos.

* * *

“Ahaha, thanks to you, duke, everything has progressed easily.”

“Isn’t this all due to Your Highness’s quick thinking?”

The duke bowed as he enjoyed some liquor with the second prince. The gisaeng was just about to fill the second prince’s cup when the duke gestured for her to stop. He took the bottle of liquor and personally poured it into the second prince’s cup.

Before he could enjoy the fragrance of the liquor, the second prince emptied his cup.

Whether it was women or good liquor, the second prince did not discriminate and partook of them greedily, not seemingly worried about whether they were laced with poison or medicine. Therefore, he would be the perfect pawn in the duke’s hand.

“Now that we have taken away half of the Chief Commander’s influence, we must now focus on getting rid of those who have bared their teeth to you, Your Highness.”

The second prince grinned at the duke’s remark. Just when he had been unsure of the duke’s allegiance, the duke showed his true motives now that they had agreed to an alliance.

With the needed support from the duke’s troops, the second prince had obtained five regions that had previously belonged to Heon. Possibly due to how quickly they had progressed, Heon hadn’t been able to make a move.

Heon should have heard about what had happened by now, but it was already over. He was of no use to him anymore.

“I will slit his throat as soon as he arrives at the capital. That wicked bastard.”

“But he has served you for a long time. Would it be okay to do something like that?”

“That wicked bastard dared to bare his teeth to me! And did he not play you for a fool with the position of prime minister? Especially for your sake, I will make sure his head flies for what he’s done.”

Before Heon had left for Yeon, the controversial position of prime minister was given to an obscure noble instead.

From the outside, it seemed like a move to curtail one faction’s powers and keep them in check. However, when the duke found out that the noble was recommended by Heon’s supporters, he realized that he had been played for a fool.

“Now that we have brought half of the Chief Commander’s supporters to our side, you will definitely gain enough support to shine in His Majesty’s eyes.”

When the duke spoke such sweet words to him, the second prince burst into satisfied laughter.

Either way, he had gained what he could from Heon until there was nothing left. And Heon had also obtained power through his influence. Therefore, there was no need to feel sorry about Heon’s death.

The only one who could bring JaeHoon down and sit on the throne as the next emperor was him.

“I will never forget your help, duke.”

“If I could be of any help to you in the coming days, Your Highness, that is enough for me.”

“Rather than a duke, don’t you think it would be more apt to call you the Imperial Father-in-law?”

The duke lowered his head at the second prince’s audacious remark and smiled. Although he hadn’t brought it up, this slow-witted prince had just promised to give him what he wanted.

The term ‘Imperial Father-in-law’ made the duke shiver with delight. Although he could try to obtain favor and power from the Emperor himself, placing a figurehead on top of the throne and controlling the political sphere from the shadows wasn’t a bad idea.

If it was for the sake of such a perfect future, he didn’t mind giving his precious daughter away to a fool like the second prince. 

“Once we have taken care of the Chief Commander, I will bring up the topic of marriage between Your Highness and my daughter to His Majesty.”

“As expected, I really like how you think, duke. Now that you mention it, where is Lady SoHee?”

When he saw the blatant look of lust on the second prince’s face at the mention of SoHee, the duke’s brows twitched imperceptibly.

Due to her protests that she would not marry anyone other than the Chief Commander, the duke had SoHee locked up in her room. But it didn’t matter. After all, a daughter was only there to bring honor to her family.

But who knows? It might have been better to have her live a life of an empress rather than marry a daredevil of a man like Heon who would leap into fire any chance he got. The only unfortunate aspect of this marriage was that her emperor counterpart would be a bumbling fool.

But even so, it was a fair price to pay in order to earn the honor of becoming an empress.

He would deal with his disobedient daughter. There was no need to inform this buffoon of the specifics of this marriage arrangement.

“My lacking daughter has claimed that she is too inadequate to meet with Your Highness, so I did not bring her with me. She is currently doing her best to become a suitable wife to Your Highness, so please let her off the hook this one time.”

The second prince was disappointed to hear that SoHee had not come, but he did not disagree with the duke’s answer.

Either way, she was a woman whom he would soon embrace. He could always wait and endure not holding her for a little while.

“Although he is currently in a position that I will soon take as my own, I would like to give my hyung-nim one last job as the Crown Prince. Once all the preparations have been made, I will meet with my brother and ask him to take care of the Chief Commander.”

As someone who hated Heon with a passion, JaeHoon would be more than willing to take that matter into his own hands.

Once Heon was eliminated, JaeHoon would be next. The second prince believed that SeoMoon would soon be his, and there was no need for the both of them to exist in the future he envisioned.

As for the opposing factions, they could easily be removed. For starters, he needed to show his power by eliminating the arrogant beast that dared to bare its teeth to him.

“Let us start by getting rid of the Chief Commander.”

The duke burst into laughter at the second prince’s declaration.

Liquor continued to pour and the sound of women’s laughter rang in the harmonious scene.

Satisfied by the way everything was going according to their plans, the two of them talked long into the night as they discussed what was left to be done.

* * *

“They say that the second prince and the duke have begun to move.”

“Mm.”

Heon’s gaze remained calm as he received the report that two of his key strongholds had been taken by the second prince. Although he needed to move quickly, Heon seemed unfazed. Seeing this, Junghwan lowered his head.

He needed to continue, but his lips would not move. However, he couldn’t stop here, so he continued his report.

“The second prince is saying that negotiating a ceasefire with Yeon was a humiliating defeat, and he is placing all of the responsibility on the Chief Commander’s shoulders.”

Heon’s dazed eyes turned to look in another direction. MoonWon got out of the carriage with Yeori’s help. Their eyes met. MoonWon lowered her head to look away from his gaze.

“What about MoonWon’s residence?”

Although the matter regarding the second prince needed his immediate attention, his first thought was to take care of MoonWon. Was there some sort of plan already in place that Junghwan was not aware of? However, because Heon didn’t bring it up, Junghwan could not ask.

“I sent someone to prepare it. By the time Mistress arrives at the bamboo grove, it should be ready for her.”

“I’ll send some soldiers to the capital in my stead. I’ll be going back to the bamboo grove. I’m sure the consequences of the ceasefire must be addressed.”

“Pardon?”

Startled, Junghwan asked back, but Heon didn’t bother giving him an explanation. Although it wasn’t as cold as the winds of Yeon, SeoMoon’s winter weather was still chilly. He needed to bring MoonWon back to the bamboo grove before it got any colder.

‘You’re quite calm for a guy who is trying to turn SeoMoon into a sea of blood.’

Doyoon’s words rang in Heon’s head.

Although SeoMoon would be plunged into a sea of blood, it did not have anything to do with him. The only love he held for this country was solely based on the fact that it was MoonWon’s homeland and nothing more.

He no longer held any loyalty to protect this country. However, he was owed something.

And that debt was now being repaid.

“Send someone who is quick on their feet to the bamboo grove ahead of us. It will soon be crowded with people who have managed to escape the border gate. Make sure to take them all in.”

“What do you… Ah!”

Junghwan gasped, having finally understood what Heon was trying to do. After sorting his thoughts, Junghwan lowered his head to Heon. Once he left, Heon’s eyes went back to MoonWon.

Yeori must have said something to her because a faint smile stretched across her lips.

If he had been alone, he would have charged like a moth to a flame. This was the revenge he had dreamed of for so long. He never thought he’d ever give the reins to someone else.

However…

If it meant that he could be together with MoonWon, he could always give it up.

He was itching to have his revenge and sneer at the ones who had fallen into his trap. However, his first and foremost wish was to be with MoonWon.

“Master, I have brought the child called Hong-yeom.”

Heon’s eyes turned away from MoonWon. Although it was impossible for someone to change overnight, the boy that had first approached Heon that fateful day had a different aura about him now.

Although he had heard that the boy wasn’t too bad, in Heon’s eyes, he saw more flaws than strengths.

“Everyone leave except this child.”

Everyone except Hong-yeom left, and Heon approached the boy who was crouched on his knee.

“The way you are now, you are capable of barely protecting yourself. But if you want to be a respectable soldier, you are still far from it.”

Hong-yeom bit his lips when he heard Heon’s piercing words.

Rather than being of help to MoonWon, his life had been spared thanks to her. As if he were sneering at Hong-yeom’s inability to live his life like a man, Heon held out his hand and offered his help.

Rather than his sense of pride, his earnest desire to grow stronger was a lot more powerful. Even within the midst of hellish training, he continued on with the desire to learn more.

For a moment, he heard others tell him that he had gotten a lot better than before, but he wanted to be acknowledged by Heon more than anyone else. However, he caught a glimpse of his cold reality through Heon’s remark.

“I understand.”

“Although you are far from being able to return to her side, I believe it will ease her heart if you are near. However, your life will not change just because you have returned to her. You will continue to receive the training that has been planned out for you.”

“I will do as you say, sir.”

Heon wasn’t happy with sending Hong-yeom back to MoonWon. However, Hong-yeom had still done a lot when he stayed by Yeori and MoonWon’s side. Now that Hong-yeom was looking more like a man, Heon felt a bit nervous about letting him near MoonWon, but he decided that he’d rather deal with it than let MoonWon have a hard time.

Once Hong-yeom was sent away, Heon was left all alone. His brows furrowed.

Heon hadn’t forgotten, but it seemed that the duke and the second prince had.

And that simple fact would make all the difference.

The only way to be sure was when the result had finally come to fruition. Heon tamped down the exhaustion that crept up his throat and took some time to gather himself once again.

* * *

Entering the Crown Prince’s palace, the second prince looked around and clicked his tongue.

After becoming the crown prince, he would soon come to live here. He wanted to see if he liked anything here, but from the worn columns to even the old eunuchs, he did not like any of it.

The moment he became the crown prince, he would change everything. He looked at the eunuch standing in front of the door and gave him a command.

“Announce my arrival.”

The eunuch did as he asked, and JaeHoon’s answer to let him in was heard through the door. The doors opened, and the second prince entered as he slowly looked around the room.

Just as he expected, everything was the complete opposite of his tastes.

“Are you not enjoying your women anymore, hyung-nim? I personally brought a few girls for you to play with.”

“Didn’t you say you had something to tell me? I need to go and meet with His Majesty soon, so quickly say what you came here to say.”

“Why are you so cold? We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

JaeHoon shook his head as he stared at the second prince’s grin.

JaeHoon called a eunuch outside. A few moments later, a eunuch entered with a small table of liquor and placed it between them.

When JaeHoon filled his cup, the second prince tilted his head in confusion.

“What wind has blown through these halls for you to offer to share some liquor with me?”

“Didn’t you personally come all the way here to tell me something? I’m sure it’s something that will be of value to me, so I need to pay the price.”

The second prince smiled at JaeHoon’s remark.

If JaeHoon already knew, it would be easier to have this conversation. If he wanted to oust JaeHoon from his seat, he would need to completely eliminate Heon first. Therefore, it wasn’t a bad idea to form an alliance with JaeHoon for now.

“It seems that you already know about it, so I’ll get straight to the point. The Chief Commander’s wife is alive. She is on her way back to SeoMoon with the Chief Commander.”

JaeHoon’s fist clenched. The sheer joy that evaded him ever since MoonWon had disappeared began to swallow him whole.

JaeHoon’s dark, sunken eyes began to gleam.

“Are you saying that both of them are making their way up here together?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d say they’re ‘together’.”

When JaeHoon narrowed his eyes in confusion, the second prince shook his empty cup. Seeing his arrogant behavior, JaeHoon’s eye twitched for a moment. However, he lifted the bottle of liquor and filled the second prince’s cup.

The second prince threw back the liquor in one gulp and began to speak in a giddy tone.

“I’m not sure what they were like in the past, but it seems that the Chief Commander is the one clinging onto her while the woman who is said to be his wife is avoiding him. She is quite cold and haughty. That nasty Chief Commander is very intimidated when it comes to that woman.”

JaeHoon suppressed the laughter that threatened to bubble out of his throat.

It seems that the heavens had finally given him an opportunity. It sounded like MoonWon had completely erased Heon’s existence from her heart.

The place where she needed to be was in the Imperial Palace of SeoMoon. By the side of the Crown Prince, JaeHoon.

“I seem to have received some accurate information thanks to you.”

“Isn’t this why they say it is nice to have brothers? Of course, this is the case even though your mother and mine are not the same, hyung-nim.”

When the second prince clapped his hands in laughter, JaeHoon’s lips stretched into a smile.

He placed his cup down on the table and glanced at the second prince. When he saw the shadow on the other side of the door, he filled the second prince’s cup once again.

“Seeing as how you mentioned our brotherhood, I will say this now. Let me ask you one more thing.”

“Ask away, hyung-nim.”

“There is a rumor going around that you have allied yourself with the duke and are trying to drag me out.”

The second prince’s hand froze as he lifted the cup up to his lips. His eyes trembled for a moment, but they quickly settled down as he burst into laughter.

“Your jokes are quite scary, hyung-nim.”

“Haven’t you already promised to marry the duke’s daughter? After you overthrew me, you were planning on having the wedding. Am I wrong?”

JaeHoon spoke as if he had personally overheard his conversations with the duke. The second prince swallowed his breath. If he made one wrong move here, everything would end before it even began.

“My marriage is something that is prepared by our Imperial Father, isn’t it? It seems that you have misunderstood something, but how can I dare draw a blade to your throat as your younger brother?”

“But you’ve already posted soldiers and supplies at the gate as well as Daewoon, right?”

“As you may also know, that is all the Chief Commander’s…”

“But didn’t you snatch it away from him? Now it belongs to you.”

Just as JaeHoon finished speaking, the doors opened, and a group of soldiers entered the room.

Before he could make a rebuttal, the second prince saw that he was surrounded by soldiers. Although Heon had the clan and the military power necessary to act, he remained strangely silent.

“H-hyung-nim? This is… This is all a misunderstanding!”

He had believed that the heavens were on his side. Everything had been going so smoothly, but it had all been a mistake.

“The Chief Commander… No, that bastard! This is all his trickery! He is trying to drive a wedge between us, hyung-nim! Hyung-nim! Please give me, no… Please give this servant another chance! Hyung-nim!”

When JaeHoon got to his feet, the second prince crawled on his knees and clung onto his leg.

Looking down at the second prince, JaeHoon sneered. He had already received all the information he needed.

“Hyung-nim! You must not fall for that bastard’s trap! Are you planning on… Do you plan to kill your younger brother?”

JaeHoon quite enjoyed seeing the second prince’s face twist up in fear and despair.

As the son of a concubine, he dared to go after JaeHoon’s position and his life.

“For starters, you must disappear so that the Chief Commander can no longer play his tricks through you. You won’t suffer for long, so do not worry.”

“Hyung-nim!”

“The duke will follow you very soon, so do not be so upset.”

As soon as the second prince fell into the Chief Commander’s trap, JaeHoon made his move.

If JaeHoon was making his move, then it was obvious who was behind it. The second prince’s hands trembled as he clung onto JaeHoon.

“Please save me.”

“Why should I?”

“Please save me, hyung-nim.”

JaeHoon kicked the second prince’s hands off of the hem of his pants. The second prince rolled on the floor from the impact. Then he quickly went back on his knees and clung onto him once more.

“What are you all doing? Drag him out immediately!”

“Hyung-nim! Please save me! Hyung-nim!”

The soldiers pulled him away by force as the second prince struggled to hold onto JaeHoon’s leg. His cries for mercy rang on and on, but no one stretched out their hand towards the second prince.

“What about the duke?”

“We’ve sent the soldiers, Your Highness. They will bring him in soon.”

“We must take care of this before the sun rises.”

The second prince had swallowed up Heon’s powerful ties, and once he and the duke disappeared, Heon would fall. With Consort Yu still in confinement, nothing would block his path other than an Imperial order.

‘You’re next.’

He would not let anyone stop him from having MoonWon any longer.

JaeHoon only wanted one thing.

To have MoonWon as his crown princess, no… To prepare her to become his empress. Even if the beginning of these plans were drenched in blood, he did not care.

If those sacrifices needed to be made in order to bring her here, he would do it.

* * *

“Your Excellency! You must escape!”

The servants cried out to the duke when they saw the incoming soldiers. With the help of his own men, the duke stood as his hands trembled.

Even as recently as a few days ago, he had his mind set on making the second prince the new crown prince. 

However, now he was being charged with insurgency… He never dreamed this would happen. Even though they all told him he needed to escape, he couldn’t move.

Something had definitely gone wrong.

“Ahahaha.”

“Y-Your Excellency?”

He had thought that he was too concerned about his missing wife to notice. But that man had secretly prepared for this, and now he had realized it too late. He had been too careless.

He had fallen into a trap that was slowly suffocating him.

It wasn’t that Heon couldn’t make his move. The truth was that he didn’t move.

The Emperor would not abandon the son that had been born from his empress. The Emperor put the security of the nation first and foremost. Therefore, compared to the second prince, JaeHoon was the lesser of two evils.

Heon knew that small fact, and the duke had forgotten it.

“I was the careless one.”

“Father!”

SoHee approached the duke with a pale face. Seeing her on the verge of tears, the duke burst into uncontrollable laughter.

He had believed that the second prince had merely been a way for Heon to get back at JaeHoon. However, it turned out that Heon’s target had actually been him all along. He had underestimated Heon, but it was obvious that he was the one who had been played.

“He has been charged with treason! Get him!”

“Your Excellency! You must escape!”

“Father! We need to run away!”

The servant shouted out as he stabbed a soldier with his sword. As the blood flowed out of the collapsed soldier’s body, the sound of clanging swords rang throughout the residence.

He couldn’t fall like this. Just as the duke began to move, a group of soldiers surrounded him.

“Make a way!”

As long as he made his way out of the residence, he’d find a way.

Even if he lost all his authority, Consort Yu still held some power. As long as he used all his remaining wealth to cling onto her, the greedy Consort Yu would always take him in.

As his men created a path through the group of soldiers, the duke moved quickly. As long as he could make it to the secret escape tunnel, he’d be able to get out easily.

“Haa. Haa.”

SoHee panted for breath as she followed after him, but he didn’t have any time to worry about her. The men protecting him bled and collapsed, but all the duke could see was the open door to the secret tunnel.

He needed to run away from here.

He had endured everything and gotten this far. He could not let his life end in vain!

“Your Excellency, please go inside. Quickly!”

The space was wide enough for two people to go at a time. As soon as he entered inside, a servant closed the door. They could hear someone ordering them to open the door, but they did not have the courage to look back.

“Haa.”

Their strained breaths echoed in the air. The cave was damp, and it was so dark that they could not even see their hands in front of them. They could hear someone’s roar from somewhere close by, but they did not even think to look back.

“Aah!”

When he heard SoHee’s cry, the duke stopped walking. SoHee had tripped, and he could see the blood flowing out from her knees.

“F-Father!”

The duke hesitated when he heard SoHee’s voice. SoHee tried to get up, but her eyes narrowed from the pain.

“G-Get up quickly!”

“My legs… hurt.”

Now wasn’t the time to act like a crybaby! She needed to get back up on her feet and run, but she had burst into tears from the pain instead. With a frustrated heart, the duke approached SoHee.

Rumble.

The duke could hear the sound of vibrations coming closer. The moment they both realized what the source of this sound was, their eyes met.

“F-Father! No!”

In the past, he would look upon her with warmth. However, the moment he saw the torchlight behind her, he lost all semblance of fatherly love.

“Let’s go!”

He wasn’t so reckless as to retrieve his daughter right now. He needed to survive in order for the clan to survive. That was the only way he could bring his daughter back to her original place.

“Father! Aagh!”

He could hear her repeated cries, but the duke did not look back. He couldn’t waste any time just because of one daughter. He continued to comfort himself. He ran down the tunnel with all his might.

‘Once this is all over, I’ll make sure they all pay for this.’

The foolish JaeHoon and that senile Emperor. And the wicked Heon who had put him in this situation in the first place. He’d make sure they all paid with their lives.

“We’re almost there, Your Excellency!”

When the man leading the way yelled back to the duke, the duke’s face regained some color.

He felt as if his lungs would burst, but he didn’t mind. They had successfully escaped the soldiers.

When they exited the dark tunnel, the duke was just about to let out a sigh of relief when a sharp blade was pulled up against his throat.

“Eek!”

“I was waiting so long that I almost fell asleep, Your Excellency. You should have come out a lot sooner.”

The servant who had been leading the way had been completely suppressed. The duke looked past the blade and glanced up at the admiral on the horse. He grit his teeth.

“Park Yoon.”

“I have come here to escort Your Excellency by order of the Chief Commander, ah, I mean, His Majesty the Emperor.”

The man that Lee Heon trusted the most was here by imperial decree. When he saw the insidious Yoon, the duke suppressed the boiling rage in his stomach.

“Were you already here from the very beginning?”

“Well, the imperial order would have come either way.”

“If His Majesty finds out about this, how would that make the Chief Commander look?”

Yoon smirked at the duke’s question. He glanced at the soldier holding the blade up to the duke’s neck. The soldier thrust his sword at the duke.

“Ugh!”

The duke collapsed to the ground as blood poured from his forehead. The surrounding soldiers began to whip and kick him.

Once the duke had been beaten to pulp, to the point where it was almost hard to believe that he was at the pinnacle of power just a few days ago, the violence came to an end.

“Ugh. Cough, cough.”

“I don’t think this is the time for you to be worrying about catching the Chief Commander. You should be worried about your own well-being. Take him away!”

The duke was drenched in his own blood as two soldiers grabbed him from both sides.

Behind him, SoHee and the rest of his family followed.

* * *

“The second prince and the duke have been taken into custody?”

Awoken from her sleep, Consort Yu burst up when she heard the news. Court Lady Yeo bowed and hurriedly continued.

“Not only his family but even all the noble families that were associated with him were taken as well. By imperial decree, the family has been branded as treasonous, and no one is to go near them. Soldiers have completely surrounded the residence.”

The Consort began to tap her fingers against the table.

The Consort had discouraged the duke from making an alliance with the second prince. Of course, the duke did not listen to her. He had even gone as far as to ridicule her for being demoted to a woman who had been confined to the back rooms.

She didn’t care about the downfall of the second prince or the duke. However, she found it unexpected that the Emperor and the Crown Prince had acted in one accord.

“His Majesty followed the Crown Prince?”

After MoonWon disappeared, the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Emperor had turned sour. The Emperor had not given up on the Crown Prince as he was the fittest heir to the throne, but the Crown Prince plunged himself into debauchery as if to spit in the face of his father’s expectations.

Was it because the second prince was going after his throat?

However, the Crown Prince wasn’t the type of person to make a move before everything had occurred. That was the Emperor’s way of doing things.

“If the two of them have decided to work together, things may move in my favor.”

Although she had been dismissed by the Emperor, one’s first love was a scary thing. She was bothered by Consort Yeong, but that girl had no power in the end.

If JaeHoon had made his move, that meant MoonWon had returned.

“It seems that the heavens have not abandoned me completely.”

Either way, the girl’s marriage to Heon had been dissolved. That girl had no family to lean on, and using such a person was such an easy thing to do.

“I must go and see His Majesty.”

“Your Highness, it is late. Why don’t you try and ask for a morning audience tomorrow…”

“Do you think he’s been sleeping properly after catching the duke and the second prince? He is not the type of person to scold me for greeting him and stopping by for a small chat. Lead the way.”

The moment Consort Yu got up from her seat, the peaceful palace was plunged into chaos. Just as the court maids began to murmur about why she was acting like this, the doors opened.

“Do you know who I am?!”

A palace guard entered with a eunuch, and the Consort glared at them with trembling eyes. The opportunity she thought she had just a moment ago transformed into apprehension.

“Please take a look at this. The Imperial Palace expects an explanation within one week, Your Highness.”

As soon as the eunuch handed her a letter, the soldier placed a few pieces of paper in front of her. The Consort held the pieces of paper in annoyance. When she saw its contents, she began to stagger.

“Your Highness!”

Court Lady Yeo supported the Consort.

They were letters that should have disappeared a long time ago. In order to keep them from ever entering the Palace, she had asked the attendant’s wife to destroy them. But the letters were here, right before her very eyes.

“This… This is…”

‘If you would like to find out what my wife has left behind, then continue to behave as you are now.’

Heon’s warning from when she had tried to push a marriage between him and SoHee flashed across her mind. What MoonWon had left behind before she disappeared… She thought it would be detrimental, but nothing like this.

Heon was the one who had found MoonWon. Now that he had found his wife, her own son was starting to cut down people who were in his way.

“I… I am your mother.”

She remembered how he had sneered at her as he told her he had forgotten about that.

Even though Court Lady Yeo tried to support her, it was not enough. Consort Yu collapsed to the ground.

“The Consort will be confined in the Palace. Neither the Consort nor any of the court maidens inside her residence will be allowed to leave.”

At the eunuch’s order, the soldiers began to surround the residence.

Shocked, the court maids began to call out to the Consort, but even she could not think of a way out of this.

It wasn’t the Emperor nor the Crown Prince. No, the one who aimed the sharpest blade at her was none other than Heon.