Stolen Ch 5 part 2

‘Yi-ryung.’

Yi-ryung opened her eyes when she thought he heard a voice calling her name.

When she opened her eyes, the room was already bright.

The man was not beside her.

He was a very diligent person, so Yi-ryung thought he would already be up and about, either brewing medicine, making breakfast, or organizing the luggage that was to be moved.

After she woke up and made the bed, she put on her outerwear and opened the door.

“Snow…”

She was amazed.

The entire yard was covered in pure white snow.

Yi-ryung couldn’t help but be amazed at how the world turned completely white. Not just the yard but also the persimmon trees and the trees beyond the fence were covered in a blanket of white snow.

The world had become so beautiful in just one day.

But there were no footprints of the man anywhere in sight.

The yard was covered in clean, untrodden snow, and there was not a single footprint on it.

“Could he be in the barn?”

Yi-ryung came out onto the wooden platform to put on her shoes.

When she went to put on her shoes, she saw a pair of ankle-length boots.

“Are these mine?”

If she wore her usual shoes in the snow, they would have obviously gotten soaked.

But if she wore these boots, she wouldn’t have to worry about her shoes getting wet when she walked in the snow.

“They fit perfectly.”

The boots fit her feet perfectly as if they were made for her.

The man must have bought these in case it snows.

Yi-ryung wore the boots and came out to the yard.

There was no other place for the man to be except for the barn or the slaughterhouse.

These days, he didn’t slaughter any animals.

He hadn’t brought any new cows or pigs yesterday either.

So he wouldn’t be in the slaughterhouse.

Yi-ryung headed to the barn.

“Are you in here?”

She opened the barn door and looked inside, but the man wasn’t there.

“That’s strange.”

As she was about to close the barn door, she discovered something in the corner of the barn.

That had not been there yesterday.

It looked like a pile of blankets.

And there was a brazier nearby.

“What is that?”

Yi-ryung approached the pile of blankets. She was promptly shocked by what she saw.

“Ja-in?”

It was definitely Ja-in who was lying under the blankets.

The man who had been kicked out of Yi-an Palace with his wrists cut off because of her was now lying in this barn.

“How can this be?”

When she lifted the blanket, she saw that his body was covered in bandages.

The bandages were soaked with blood.

“What should I do…”

She had no idea why Ja-in was lying in this barn with such serious injuries or who had treated them.

And just where in the world did that man Dochi go?

“Did he treat Ja-in’s wounds?”

As of now, she couldn’t think of anyone else.

There was no one to ask until the man came back.

Or until Ja-in woke up.

Yi-ryung had no other choice.

Her heart felt strangely uneasy.

She was anxious because Ja-in was injured, but she was even more anxious because she didn’t know where the man had gone.

The joy that had filled her heart upon seeing the white snow was nowhere to be found, and only anxiety filled Yi-ryung’s heart.

* * *

The man entered the city pulling a cart loaded with slaughtered meat.

The first place the man went to was Yi-an Palace.

Yi-an Palace was surrounded by imperial soldiers, making it impossible for anyone to enter.

Just as he expected.

Perhaps Sadok was taken to the Palace.

Because of the snow, there were fewer people walking around than usual.

No, it wasn’t because of the snow. Rather, it was because of the chaos last night, and people were too scared to come out of their homes.

Since the treason had failed, countless people were sure they’d lose their lives.

The man silently pulled the cart.

No one paid any attention to the butcher pulling the cart loaded with slaughtered meat.

“Stop right there.”

It was one of the soldiers guarding the back gate of the Palace.

The man bowed politely.

The soldier peered at the man’s face before he cleared him and let him enter.

“Can we let him in?”

The soldier who had just become the new gatekeeper asked his colleague.

“He’s a butcher who lives outside the city walls, and he’s mute. It’s okay to let him in because he brings meat three or four times a month.”

“He’s mute?”

“He’s such a big guy, but he’s mute. He can probably hear, but he can’t speak.”

The man entered the Palace as he listened to the soldiers’ conversation.

This was the main gate through which people brought in meat, rice, and various other items into the Palace.

It was also known as the back door.

The man had been supplying slaughtered meat to the Palace for several years now.

Thanks to that, he became familiar with the guards and with the layout of the Palace.

Normally, he would have headed towards the kitchen with the cart of meat.

However, the man hid the cart in a corner along the way and headed somewhere else.

The man’s feet were headed towards the Geunhwajeon, the Crown Prince’s residence.

* * *

“So… Father was taken away?”

When Ja-in had regained consciousness, Yi-ryung heard about all the misfortune that had befallen her father, Sadok. Her face grew pale.

Ja-in explained the whole story to Yi-ryung for the most part.

His injuries were too serious for him to speak for too long.

“I must save Father.”

“My lady, there is no way. Everyone has been captured. The Emperor’s troops are gathering in the city as we speak…”

“How did this…”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She hadn’t cried for a white.

She thought only happy things awaited her now.

But why did this happen?

Why did the Emperor, who she thought was a caring uncle, arrest her father? And why did her father plot a rebellion against her uncle?

She was scared that something she didn’t know was happening.

Why didn’t anyone tell her the truth?

And how on earth was the man Dochi involved in all this?

“Master prepared for failure just in case. If the operation succeeded, he planned to take you back, but since the operation failed, you should forget everything that happened before and live with Heewon. You must survive, my lady.”

“Heewon?”

Doubt filled her eyes at the unfamiliar name.

Who was Heewon?

“Who is that person…”

“He is the one who is protecting you right now, my lady.”

“His name is Dochi…”

“His real name is Heewon. The character ‘hee’ is for ‘happy’.”

“Heewon…”

His real name?

So why did the man use a fake name?

“But if the operation was successful, you said I was going to be taken back. What do you mean by that?”

There were many things she didn’t know.

Why were both of Ja-in’s hands intact?

Why weren’t his wrists cut off?

“Miss, what happened to you was something the Master planned in order to protect you.”

“Something my father planned?”

Yi-ryung was confused.

What on earth was her father up to?

“That night, I was the assailant. I knocked you unconscious, but I most certainly did not touch your body. I just made it look like that…”

“Why on earth did Father do that to me…”

“Because you shouldn’t have known. You shouldn’t have known what was going on, and we had to keep you safe in case something happened…”

“I…”

What was Ja-in talking about?

“Because of the rebellion?”

“No, my lady.”

Ja-in shook his head.

“Not that. The rebellion was one of the reasons, but the main reason was to protect you from the Emperor.”

“But His Majesty dotes on me…”

“He wanted you.”

“What?”

Yi-ryung was shocked by Ja-in’s words.

This was the first time she was hearing of this.

However, Yi-ryung knew better than anyone that Ja-in was not the type of person to speak nonsense.

“The reason he arranged your engagement with the Crown Prince was to prevent you from being married off to another man. Master knew that he planned on having you for himself all along. That’s why he took you away. In order to get you out of the Emperor’s sight, he had to pretend you were dead. That’s the only way the suspicious Emperor would believe it.”

“How could that…”

“My lady.”

Ja-in continued as gasped for breath.

He was not in a position to be speaking like this, but he tried to continue talking.

No, there were things that he had to tell her.

“The Mistress’s death nine years ago… was also his doing. The Emperor’s.”

Suddenly, Yi-ryung’s heart sank.

She still vividly remembered what happened that day.

The screams that pierced her ears, the smell of blood that tickled her nose, and the sound of footsteps trampling through the house.

“You must not come out from here. Understand?”

She still vividly remembered the last moments of her mother as she hid her under the floor.

It was the Emperor’s way of finding out what the Master was hiding.”

“What was my father hiding?”

“The Emperor’s… weakness.”

“The Emperor’s weakness?”

What was that?

Why did her father hide something like that?

“The Master wanted to avenge his wife, and the Emperor’s wickedness had reached its peak. So this rebellion had to succeed, but there was a chance of failure. If it failed, the Emperor would take you without any hesitation, so the top priority was to protect you.”

“What is the Emperor’s weakness that my father has hidden? You must tell me what it is so that I…”

“My lady.”

Ja-in was breathing heavily.

“You must avoid all this. At the very least, you have to survive…”

Ja-in suddenly started coughing up blood.

Wiping the blood from his lips, Yi-ryung stopped him from speaking any further.

Of all the things that were happening, not a single thing made any sense.

But she knew one thing. A man named Dochi, or rather Heewon, was involved in all this.

And the fact that he was not here now may also be related to her father.

She wondered if he was okay.

She hoped he’d come back safely.

Although she was worried about her father’s safety, Yi-ryung was even more scared because she didn’t know about the man’s safety.

She was scared of all these terrible things happening around her.

She was afraid that everyone she loved and cared about would leave her.

What would she do if she lost everything?

“I’ll look for more medicine.”

That man must have tended to Ja-in’s wounds.

She didn’t know when he’d come back, so until then, she needed to take care of Ja-in.

While searching through the drawers to find the remaining medicine, Yi-ryung found something strange.

Up until now, there hadn’t been a need for her to open the drawers.

Because that man had provided everything she needed.

Yi-ryung found them hidden in the deepest part of a drawer under old clothes.

They were things that did not seem to fit in with this old, shabby, thatched house.

A knife.

A knife in a splendid sheath, not a butcher’s knife.

And golden swaddling clothes.

A few books.

There was no way a butcher would know how to read or write.

But why were books hidden in a place like this?

They were books on proper etiquette and military strategy.

* * *

The man entered Geunhwajeon and walked towards the bed.

The curtains were drawn around the bed.

Even without having to pull back the curtains, he knew what was lying inside.

As soon as he stepped foot into the bedchamber of Geunhwajeon, the smell of rotting corpses permeated the air.

Lying on the bed, covered with a blanket, was a corpse.

The dead person was on the bed. It was in a state that made it difficult to tell how long he had been dead.

The man sat on the bed and looked at the dead man.

“I’m sorry.”

The man murmured quietly.

“I’m sorry I’m the only one who survived.”

The name of the dead person was Rakwon.

The ‘rak’ of his name meant ‘joy’.

Their father was the one who had named them Heewon and Rakwon, telling them to live happily and joyfully.

They were born as twins.

If the shaman had not warned the Emperor about them when they were born, the pair of brothers would not have been separated.

“One of the twins will kill Your Majesty.”

Their father, who had blind faith in the shaman, believed everything she said.

Following the shaman’s words, he killed the previous empress and appointed the twins’ mother as the new empress. Following the shaman’s words, he also killed loyal subjects and changed the country’s laws.

For such a father, the shaman’s words were absolute.

Moreover, the shaman’s prophecy that his son would kill him was enough to frighten their father.

“Twins are inauspicious. And one of these inauspicious twins will kill you, so you must kill one of them to fool the heavens into thinking the twin was never born. Only then will Your Majesty’s reign continue forever.”

There was only one way to make the twins who were already born into the world to appear as if they had never been born.

To kill one of them.

Just before the shaman killed one of the twins, someone intercepted and snatched one of the twin princes.

It was the Seventh Prince Sadok.

During the chaos in which the Emperor killed his brothers, Seventh Prince Sadok was the only one who survived. He succeeded in hiding one of the twins without being caught and raised the stolen twin prince in a place no one knew about.

Without anyone knowing.

And that twin was the man Dochi.

He abandoned his real name, Heewon, and grew up under the name Dochi, learning the trade of a butcher from a young age.

Sadok probably thought that if he hid him in the most obscure place, the Emperor would never find out.

It seemed to work, but several years ago, the Emperor began to suspect Sadok.

The Emperor continued to search for the missing twin, and he finally found a clue that led him to Sadok.

So he raided Sadok’s palace to threaten him and find out the twin’s whereabouts, but Sadok had luckily not been there at the time, so only his innocent wife was killed.

From then on, the rift between Sadok and the Emperor grew wider.

The ice that had already cracked began to break.

However, neither the Emperor nor Sadok showed any overt hostility toward each other.

Both of them were probably just waiting for an opportunity to strike the other.

And Sadok struck the Emperor first, and the Emperor counterattacked.

In the end, the one who lost was Sadok.

The wisest thing Sadok ever did was to hide his daughter, Yi-ryung, in advance.

Yi-ryung was originally supposed to be the Crown Prince’s wife, but the Emperor had no intention of giving her to the Crown Prince.

After dealing with Sadok, he would deal with the Crown Prince, and then he would take Yi-ryung as his concubine.

Although Yi-ryung may have accepted the Emperor’s attention as a show of his goodwill towards her, the Emperor’s goodwill was actually greed.

Even Sadok would not have known that Prince Rakwon was this sick.

The man was told that Sadok hadn’t been able to see the Crown Prince for several months.

This was the reason.

It could have been a result of poison.

The Emperor might have even tried to pass the blame for the Crown Prince’s death onto Sadok.

If the blame was placed on Sadok and he was killed, there would be no more threat to the Emperor.

And if the Emperor never found the other twin whom he has feared his entire life, at least the Crown Prince was dead, so the Emperor had nothing to fear anymore.

“I have to steal your name.”

The man muttered quietly.

“I must steal everything you have.”

The man continued speaking calmly in front of the corpse of his twin brother whom he had never seen face to face before.

“I will take your life. I will live your life in your place, with your name, with your face. With the woman who should have been your wife.”

He escaped, but his younger brother remained.

His brother died, and he lived.

And he had obtained the woman who should have been his younger brother’s wife.

Now, as if that weren’t enough, he was going to steal his brother’s name, his identity, and everything else.

“I will pay for this sin later when I die.”

He knew this was a wicked deed, but there was no other way.

There was no other way to save everyone and live with Yi-ryung.

The man pressed his hand against the corpse’s chest before standing up.

Then he went in front of the dressing table and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

His hair was still tied up as Yi-ryung had left it.

The man took a small knife out of his pocket and started cutting his beard.

The thick beard that he had grown for a long time was difficult to cut.

Clumps of hair fell at the man’s feet.

It was Yi-ryung who had suggested shaving his beard.

The reason he couldn’t show her his shaved face was because his face was identical to his twin’s.

Yi-ryung had seen the Crown Prince before.

If she looked at his face, she would immediately realize that he looked exactly like the Crown Prince.

His voice and his face were exactly like the Crown Prince’s.

Everything was identical.

The man shaved his beard and looked at his face in the mirror.

This face looked unfamiliar.

It was his face, but it didn’t feel like it was his face.

The man opened a chest and took out the dead man’s clothes.

And when he changed into them and left the Geunhwajeon, he was no longer the butcher Dochi.

He was Crown Prince Rakwon.