FBMR Ch 1

A decade passed after the heavens shifted once.

The changed sky wasn’t as clear as before, and the lives of the people were filled with only dark clouds.

The First Prince, Kang Bo, who succeeded in the coup and became emperor, was merely a puppet of the meritorious subjects.

The people shed tears of blood under the tyranny and oppression of the officials, continuing their hopeless lives.

Ten ominous years dragged on tediously.

Then, once again, the heavens shifted overnight.

The First Prince, Kang Bo, who had reigned as emperor for ten years, was beheaded.

The Crown Prince, born to the Empress, who was said to have died of illness at a young age, returned alive, bearing the late Emperor’s edict.

Moreover, he returned from the house of Privy Councilor Kang Iljun, along with Kang Sahee, Kang Iljun’s son, and Seo Mujin, the son of General Seo Jonghak, who had become a slave.

People were not just shocked but awestruck by the fact that Kang Iljun had secretly raised an army for ten years while bearing the false accusation of betraying Seo Jonghak.

Kang Iljun’s son, Kang Sahee, had relentlessly tormented Seo Mujin, who had become a slave.

Kang Sahee treated Seo Mujin like an animal, to the extent that everyone knew about it.

It was astounding that all of it had been an act of villainy for this very day.

They, who had endured the harsh years, cleared their names and regained their statuses.

And now, the rebel group, once called meritorious subjects, had to pay for their crimes.

The people cheered, throwing stones at the carts carrying the criminals into the palace.

The Chu family was dragged to the Uigeumbu execution grounds, just as Seo Mujin had been ten years ago.

The difference was that Seo Mujin’s father, Seo Jonghak, had been brought in as a corpse and torn apart there, but Chu Seongun had escaped alive.

Because General Chu Seongun had fled to save his own life, abandoning his family, those who remained couldn’t even die peacefully.

The enraged Crown Prince, Jin Yubo, had Chu Seongun’s family and remaining subordinates bound and tortured.

The pretext was to force them to reveal Chu Seongun’s hiding place, but it was nothing more than simple venting.

His escape was a shock and a betrayal to those left behind, and they had no way of knowing where he had fled.

The life had drained from the eyes of Mohwa, now twenty-four and beautifully grown.

Mohwa, kneeling with Chu Seongun’s wife, Jo Miryung, had to witness the hellish scene of the execution grounds.

Jo Miryung screamed and wailed as she watched her son Jaesung’s limbs being crushed, only to be trampled by the soldiers.

Mohwa, on the other hand, made no sound.

She knew she could avoid the beatings if she remained silent, so she simply wished for a quick death.

‘In the end, I die as Chu Seongun’s daughter.’

Ever since Mohwa learned she wasn’t related to Chu Seongun by blood, she had vowed to leave this house someday.

She didn’t want to marry and enrich them as her fake parents wished.

But in the end, she couldn’t escape.

If she had been determined, she could have run away.

Her body had become accustomed to the comfortable life she led as the Chu family’s puppet.

She was afraid to abandon the comfortable bed, the full meals, the life of lacking nothing, and run away. She was afraid of how she would live.

Hesitating like that, she had ended up here.

In a truly terrifying hell.

‘What if I reveal that I’m not Chu Seongun’s biological daughter? Could I live?’

That thought briefly crossed her mind, but she dismissed it, thinking no one would believe her.

“S-Save me! I, I, I’m, I’m not Chu Seongun’s real son! Please save me!”

At Jaesung’s cry, her stepmother, who was about to faint, lifted her head.

A sudden silence fell over the execution grounds.

Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

“A father who abandons his family to save himself, and a son who denies his father, there’s no difference between them.”

At Crown Prince Jin Yubo’s words, chuckles erupted here and there.

“N-No! It’s not true! Mother! Mother, please say something! Waaaaah! Mother, please save me! Mother!”

The spoiled brat, who had acted so arrogantly with his father’s power behind him, now wept and pleaded abjectly.

Jo Miryung couldn’t bear her son’s agonizing cries.

“It’s true! It’s the truth! Our Jaesung is the child I had from an affair! He’s not of Chu blood, so please spare him!”

A mother confessing her infidelity to save her son.

Regardless of the truth, her maternal love seemed genuine.

But no one here was moved by her love.

In the silent execution grounds, Jin Yubo suddenly burst into laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The laughter, devoid of any sympathy, made the mother and son’s hearts sink.

After laughing for a while, Jin Yubo abruptly stopped and called for Seo Mujin.

“Seo Mujin. What do you think? Should we spare him, as they say he’s not of Chu blood?”

At the sound of Seo Mujin’s name, Mohwa raised her head.

She had met him five years ago when he was still a slave.

It was when she had gone to his house because of the proposed marriage between him and her.

“A doll, you say? Well, you’re wearing a pretty mask. If you’re going to wear a human mask and imitate a human, at least do it properly. Like father, like daughter. Vile creatures.”

She hadn’t been able to say anything in response to the slave’s insults.

He was beaten nearly to death for uttering those words, but she had ignored him.

At that time, he was a stranger to her.

His resentment and hatred were directed at the Chu family.

But she had thought she was different from them. She wasn’t.

Here she was, kneeling before him with the Chu family.

Mohwa clearly remembered the shabby slave, Seo Mujin, from five years ago.

But now, Seo Mujin looked so different that she doubted her own memory.

Clad in silver armor, he stood out among the others.

A taller-than-average physique and a cold yet striking appearance.

Even the handsome Kang Sahee standing next to him couldn’t compare to Seo Mujin’s strong features.

Seo Mujin, having shed his slave’s clothes and regained his status, finally seemed to be wearing clothes that fit him.

‘How does it feel?’

How much had he sharpened his blade during those ten miserable and humiliating years, all for this day?

Mohwa became curious about how it felt to finally wield that blade.

“!”

His gaze swept over her, brief but intense.

Despite the fleeting moment, Mohwa shivered, her previous curiosity vanishing.

‘He didn’t look at me intentionally.’

A cold gaze grazed her body, like a chilling wind.

A sense of foreboding crept up from her toes, sending shivers down her spine.

His tightly closed lips seemed to form a cold sneer before he spoke.

“Whether or not this wretch is Chu Seongun’s true son, everything he’s eaten, worn, and enjoyed came from Chu Seongun’s shadow. Chu Jaesung, emboldened by Chu Seongun’s power, has been at the forefront of committing atrocities. Whether or not he shares the same blood is irrelevant when it comes to paying for his sins.”

At Seo Mujin’s cold words, Chu Jaesung and Jo Miryung wailed, repenting their sins and begging for their lives like madmen.

But hearing their cries, Mohwa’s mind cleared.

‘Everything I’ve enjoyed. I see. He fed and clothed me. The comfortable bed I couldn’t leave was obtained with Chu Seongun’s ill-gotten wealth.’

Mohwa was able to accept this hell.

Thanks to that, she felt no resentment.

She was also a sinner, having failed to reject the illicit wealth and enjoying it alongside them.

She was guilty of turning a blind eye to the wrongdoings, dwelling on her own misfortune, and pretending not to see the greater misfortunes and suffering of others.

‘What if I hadn’t ignored Seo Mujin when he was being beaten that day, what if I had helped him?’

Would the look in his eyes have been different?

“Execute the entire Chu family and hang their heads outside the city gates to show the fleeing Chu Seongun the horrific consequences.”

“!”

Even though she had steeled herself, her heart plummeted at Seo Mujin’s words urging execution.

She was afraid.

She wanted to live.

She hadn’t done anything wrong enough to be beheaded.

She hadn’t felt resentment a moment ago, but now that fear consumed her, she felt wronged.

No one in the execution grounds cared about her resentment or fear.

They all echoed Seo Mujin’s words, pointing fingers at her, saying she deserved to die.

Mohwa, losing her mind to fear, could no longer hear anything.

She just wished for a swift death, an escape from this hell.

How long had she been like that?

“AAAAAAAGH—!”

Mohwa, dazed and lost in thought, was jolted back to reality by a gruesome scream that tore through the air.

Chu Jaesung’s head rolled before her knees.

She didn’t pity the sight of her younger brother, his eyes wide open, having died while crying pathetically.

‘You should have died a long time ago.’

Hadn’t countless people died because of him?

Mohwa, too, had suffered from Jaesung’s torment for a long time.

When they were young, it had been simple, childish bullying, but at some point, Jaesung began looking at Mohwa with lewd eyes, harassing and trying to assault her.

It was clear that he would grow into a despicable human being, so she didn’t feel any sorrow for his death.

But seeing this, she felt even more wronged to die the same way as this wretch.

Beside her, Jo Miryung screamed like an animal, clutching her son’s head.

Soon, her head fell just like her son’s.

Mohwa trembled in fear as she watched the deaths of the two people she hated.

Splash, splash.

The sound of footsteps approaching her, treading on the blood-soaked ground, sent chills down her spine.

Unable to lift her head, she felt something cold and sharp touch her neck.

“!”

The blade, dripping with blood, forced her to raise her head.

Seo Mujin’s eyes, devoid of excitement, were chillingly cold.

“Only you remain.”

His short, indifferent words struck her like lightning.