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Episode 2
The eldest son, Sa-Heum, who had been the pride of Mojinpyeong, was the first to take his own life.
No one knew why.
Unlike Kyo-Heum, who avoided his studies and constantly troubled his parents, his elder brother was a model figure straight out of the classics.
After passing the military examination, he advanced smoothly, becoming the captain of the Royal Guard in charge of palace security.
Everyone praised him, saying he would surely surpass his father as a military officer.
And yet, one day, he hanged himself from the main beam.
Some claimed he took responsibility for the fire that broke out in the palace, while others whispered that he must have had secret troubles.
Nonsense.
All of it was absurd.
kyoheum knew his brother was not the kind of man who would choose death for such trivial reasons. There must have been another reason, one no one knew—not even him.
Perhaps… he had been killed.
That morning, when Sahum hanged himself, kyoheum had run into him on his way to the palace.
He had just returned from a night of drinking with friends.
“So, you’re only coming home now?”
That one sentence sobered him instantly. His bent back straightened, and his hazy eyes regained focus.
“You’re leaving earlier than usual today, brother.”
He had heard rumors: because of the recent palace fire, blame was being cast on Sahum. With people dead, someone had to be held responsible.
kyoheum felt awkward, ashamed that while his brother shouldered such burdens, he was out drinking all night.
But Sahum didn’t scold him.
Whenever their father rebuked kyoheum, Sahum always defended him: “He’ll come around when the time is right. kyoheum is wiser than I am.”
Their father dismissed it as nonsense, but Sahum never lost faith in his younger brother. That was why—though kyoheum defied his father—he could never defy his brother.
“I’m in a hurry. I’m meeting someone.”
“Meeting someone? At this hour?”
Sahum glanced at him, thoughtful, then nodded.
“I’m meeting Minister Jung (the Chancellor).”
“…For what reason?”
Sahum didn’t answer. Instead, he changed the subject.
“I’ll see you later. Father will be leaving for court soon, so go inside before he catches you.”
“…Yes.”
That was their last conversation. Later, kyoheum was told that his brother had hanged himself in his office.
They were ordered to send servants to collect the body for the funeral.
After that, Mojinpyeong collapsed. He never rose from his sickbed and eventually resigned from his post as general.
Their mother never left her chambers, entrusting the household to the servants.
Sister-in-law and nephews returned to her family and showed no sign of coming back.
The house became like a temple, and his parents, like living corpses.
The only one who could turn things around was kyoheum.
So he changed overnight. He abandoned his drinking companions and devoted himself to study.
He passed the military examination and was appointed as a junior officer in the Capital Guard, responsible for city security.
“Marriage to the Chancellor’s illegitimate daughter… So, after killing my brother and driving my father from office, now it’s my turn?”
Mojinpyeong frowned faintly.
“Still with that nonsense? The Chancellor had nothing to do with Sahum’s death. Sahum… he took his own life.”
The way he spoke made it seem as if each word tore something from inside him.
“Then why did my brother say that morning he was going to meet the Chancellor? He never spoke like that before. He must have wanted me to know, to sense that something was wrong.”
“That’s speculation. Besides, this marriage isn’t the Chancellor’s will but His Majesty’s. The message came from the King’s eunuch.”
“And who pulls the King’s strings? Everyone knows—it’s the Chancellor, the man said to shoot birds from the sky.”
“If he’s truly that powerful, why would he want this marriage? What gain could he have?”
“The Chancellor’s illegitimate daughter is a premature weakling. Not even the child of his legal wife. Who would volunteer to marry her?”
“kyoheum…”
Mojinpyeong called his son anxiously.
But kyoheum only smiled, his lips curling with dangerous brightness.
“If the Chancellor wishes to humiliate me, let him. But…”
His eyes gleamed with amusement.
“One day, I will repay every debt in full. Every insult, every slight—I’ll remember them all and return them twofold, threefold.”
Mojinpyeong closed his eyes at last, but kyoheum’s tone softened, almost reassuring.
“Don’t worry, Father. I won’t stand stubborn like my brother and take the storm head-on.”
“Even the proudest tree is the first to be cut down.”
His smile turned cold.
“If I must, I’ll smile and lie. I’ll deceive with a cunning face, calculate with ruthless precision. I’ll bow even to passing dogs if I must. And with these hands, I’ll seize power—the very power you and my brother so despised.”
“Marriage to the Chancellor’s illegitimate daughter, was it?”
kyoheum stood. Mojinpyeong looked up, trembling, and knocked over his teacup.
The pale green tea rippled.
“If he thinks he can mock me by giving me that premature weakling, then I’ll make her the pawn that destroys him. I’ll make him regret today’s choice. We’ll see which of us wins in the end.”
He bowed slightly, then left. Mojinpyeong finally released the breath he had been holding.
“Sa Heum…”
His son’s name slipped out like a sigh.
“The world… never bends to one’s will so easily.”
Rattle.
The door shook. Soran’s head jerked up in alarm, her dark eyes trembling with half-fear, half-hope.
Her parched lips, dry as a rice field, would not moisten no matter how she licked them.
“…It’s just the wind.”
She smiled sheepishly instead of showing disappointment. After all, she had never expected anything.
But at that moment, a sour, musty scent clung to her.
“Liar.”
She realized—she had expected it after all.
That kyoheum would walk through the door. That he would scratch his head awkwardly and apologize for leaving her alone on their wedding night.
“Marriage? You mean… me?”
She had asked, stunned.
But Lady Munhyeon’s shrill voice had snapped back:
“What, are you deaf now, too, half-wit? How many times must I repeat myself?”
“N-no, ma’am.”
Whenever Soran stood before Lady Munhyeon, she shrank like a squid thrown into fire. Unconsciously, she let out a weak laugh.
“Smiling like that—are you happy to marry? Bold little brat. Just like your whore of a mother who seduced her master.”
Lady Munhyeon didn’t even bother to disguise her disgust. Her words pierced Soran like a thousand needles.
It hurts.
But Soran silently swallowed the pain.
“Think about it. Where else would you find someone as compassionate as I? I feed you, clothe you, give you a roof. And now, a marriage.”
Soran bowed her head, lips trembling.
“Th-thank you.”
Though fear tinged the edges of her smile, Lady Munhyeon didn’t notice.
Looking down at the floor, Soran blinked her large eyes.
She had never thought about her future. She had never hoped to escape this place.
She believed she would spend her life as a servant, enduring Lady Munhyeon and Sehwa’s scorn. That this was simply the life given to her.
But… marriage.
Marriage means… a new family, doesn’t it?
Her heart suddenly pounded. A memory from when she was ten flickered across her mind.
