CHAPTER -2
Rather than offering a single word of comfort to a mother who had just lost her daughter, the Empress Dowager rebuked Suryeon.
Yet Suryeon couldn’t bring herself to answer her cold-hearted mother-in-law.
“More importantly, where is His Majesty?”
The Empress Dowager looked around for her son—the Emperor.
Come to think of it, her husband had disappeared some time ago.
“It seems His Majesty is still in the study, occupied with state affairs. Shall I go and summon him?”
One of the palace attendants beside the Empress Dowager asked, but instead of replying, the older woman turned her gaze toward the Empress.
“Tsk, tsk. Even with his own daughter dead, the Emperor remains devoted to his duties.”
Her eyes, fixed on her daughter-in-law, were filled with disdain.
“And yet the Mother of the Nation stands there, vacant and witless… I truly worry about the future of this imperial family.”
Suryeon’s husband had always been consumed by work.
He had even been away from the palace until just before Sehui died.
Suryeon knew that.
She knew she was not merely a grieving mother who had lost her child—she was the Empress of this empire.
She knew it was her duty to support her husband, the sovereign of the nation.
After enduring the Empress Dowager’s scolding in silence, Suryeon slowly forced herself to her feet.
“…I’ll go.”
As though she had been waiting for exactly that answer, the Empress Dowager made no attempt to stop her.
Suryeon’s steps were unsteady as she left Taewonjeon Hall.
The winter wind bit sharply against her skin, but she barely noticed the cold.
She simply wandered forward in a daze, moving toward where she believed her husband would be.
She had been walking aimlessly for some time when—
“Suryeon.”
The familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
She slowly lifted her head toward the sound, and her face instantly stiffened.
“…Lee Heon?”
It had been nearly twenty years since she’d last seen him.
Even so, she recognized him immediately.
He had been her childhood friend…
And once, the man she’d promised a future with.
“How… are you here…?”
After the sudden deaths of the late Emperor Yeonjong and his Empress, Lee Heon had left for Korea.
She had believed he would never return.
For a fleeting moment, surprise overtook her.
Then, overcome by the desperate desire to lean on someone—anyone—Suryeon instinctively took a step toward him.
But the instant she remembered where she was…
The Imperial Palace.
She froze.
Lowering her head, she clenched her trembling hands.
Her tears threatened to spill over.
She nearly forgot the dignity expected of an Empress and almost rushed into his arms, ready to break down in ugly, desperate sobs.
But she couldn’t.
She mustn’t.
“Suryeon.”
Lee Heon softly called her name again as he approached.
She instinctively stepped back.
“Thank you for coming such a long way. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is at Taewonjeon Hall. You should pay your respects. As for me…”
She couldn’t finish another word.
Turning on her heel, she fled.
If she stayed another second, she feared she’d forget every ounce of composure expected of the Empress.
—
She wandered through the vast palace grounds without direction.
Only after what felt like an eternity did Suryeon finally stop and look around.
“…This is…”
She stared blankly.
She hadn’t arrived at the Emperor’s study.
Instead, she stood before Hyangwon Pavilion—
The very place where the Princess had drowned.
Lost in thought, she had unknowingly wandered here.
Bathed in silver moonlight, the dark pond lay eerily still.
Suryeon turned away with a pained expression.
Just imagining her daughter taking her last breath here felt as though her heart were being torn apart all over again.
She forced herself to look away.
I need to go.
She had no idea how much time had passed, but if she lingered any longer, her mother-in-law would surely find another reason to berate her.
Just as she turned to leave for the Emperor’s study—
She heard movement coming from Hyangwon Pavilion.
Suryeon frowned.
“That’s strange…”
“There shouldn’t be anyone at Hyangwon Pavilion.”
Ever since the Princess’s death, both the pavilion and Chwihyang Bridge, which connected to it, had been sealed off.
Even if they hadn’t been…
Who would willingly come to a place where a child had died only days ago?
An inexplicable unease settled over her.
As though possessed, she quietly made her way toward the sound.
Her footsteps became so light that even she could barely hear them.
Then—
A woman’s sobs drifted from inside the pavilion.
“Hic… What should I do, Your Majesty? I never imagined Her Highness the Princess would die like that…”
Suryeon recognized the voice instantly.
It belonged to Jeong-ah, Sehui’s court lady and nanny.
More importantly… ‘Your Majesty’?
There was only one person in the palace who could be addressed that way.
Her heart trembling, Suryeon carefully peered through the slightly opened door.
Then she saw—
“…!”
Her husband.
Comforting the weeping nanny.
What… is this…?
Her mind desperately searched for an explanation.
But the Emperor’s next words shattered every thought she had.
“Don’t cry. It was just an accident. None of this was your fault.”
“B-But… if anyone discovers that I took the Princess to Hyangwon Pavilion so I could secretly meet with Your Majesty…”
…What?
Suryeon wondered if she’d heard correctly.
Sehui… didn’t go there of her own accord?
“I wasn’t planning to bring the Princess that day. But… at the very least, if I hadn’t left her outside by herself, she never would have fallen into the water…”
She had left a five-year-old child…
Alone.
Beside a bridge with no railing.
“So no one can ever find out that we met there that day. Understand?”
“After all, I wasn’t even in the palace.”
“And you were simply playing hide-and-seek with Sehui.”
“Your Majesty…”
Jeong-ah wiped away her tears before collapsing into his embrace.
Watching the two of them, the color drained from Suryeon’s face.
I believed no one was to blame for Sehui’s death.
She’d believed the nanny had only tried to indulge the little princess.
That it had been nothing more than a heartbreaking accident.
She had even blamed herself—
For failing to protect her own daughter.
That was why…
Even when her husband slapped her in front of the palace servants…
Even when her mother-in-law treated her like the woman who had brought death upon her own child…
She had accepted it all in silence.
But Sehui died… because these two were secretly meeting?
Her hands began to shake violently.
My daughter…
Those two killed her.
The rage boiling in the pit of her stomach rose until it burned in her throat.
Then the conversation resumed.
“I’m going to be thrown out of the palace.”
Jeong-ah’s trembling voice was filled with fear.
“They’ll punish me for failing to protect Her Highness… Hic…”
As though reassuring her, Emperor Lee Jun pulled her tightly into his arms.
“Don’t worry.”
“You’re my woman.”
“Who would dare drive the Emperor’s woman out of the palace?”
Then he whispered sweetly,
“That could never happen.”
“I slapped the Empress that day because I was afraid I might end up blaming you.”
“If I humiliated her first, that broken woman wouldn’t dare point fingers at you.”
“Your Majesty…”
“And everyone around the Empress is already on our side.”
“Even Chief Court Lady Jeong—the one the Empress trusts like an elder sister—knows everything about us.”
Chief Court Lady Jeong…
She had served Suryeon ever since Suryeon was Crown Princess.
In this cold palace…
She had been the closest thing Suryeon had to family.
Someone she had trusted like a real older sister.
Suryeon slowly shook her head in disbelief.
“The Empress has no one.”
“So what is there for you to fear?”
“Most importantly…”
“You’re carrying my child.”
“No one would dare lay a finger on you.”
Jeong-ah’s voice trembled with joy.
“I’m so happy.”
“I can finally give Your Majesty the son you’ve always wished for.”
Lee Jun smiled with unmistakable delight and wrapped her in an even tighter embrace.
“Yes.”
“The son I’ve always wanted.”
“My mother will be overjoyed.”
“She wanted a grandson more than anyone.”
Satisfied, Jeong-ah rested her head against his chest.
“I truly hope so.”
“I’m sure this child will fill the empty place left by the Princess.”
Her honeyed voice pierced Suryeon’s ears.
Suryeon’s gaze slowly drifted downward…
Toward Jeong-ah’s stomach.
She’s… pregnant?
With my husband’s child…
The world seemed to collapse beneath her feet.
Her heart sank into a bottomless abyss.
