Chapter 7

Samcheon achieved Mokseo Palace’s first management goal in just one day.

Early the next morning, attendants from Yeonhwa Palace arrived without warning. They set down the wooden chest they had carried with them and opened the lid.

“This is three times the amount of household funds that were previously allocated.”

The chest, which had taken two men to carry, was filled to the brim with gold ingots of identical size.

Three times…?

Samcheon’s heart pounded.

“I’ll count it.”

“If anything is missing, you may come to Yeonhwa Palace.”

After showing her the contents, the attendants turned around and left without even offering a farewell.

Awakened by the commotion, Gyesan emerged from her room, rubbing her messy hair.

“What’s going on?”

Still staring blankly at the chest, Samcheon answered,

“They returned the household funds.”

“Threefold.”

“Does that mean we can eat meat every day now?”

“I think… we can have meat with all three meals.”

Interested, Gyesan walked over and peered inside the chest.

The amount exceeded even her expectations.

Her eyes grew round.

“So… we’re rich now?”

“I think we are.”

“We’re rich!”

Grinning from ear to ear, Gyesan scooped up a handful of gold.

Then, with a proud expression, she turned toward Samcheon.

“Hold out your hand.”

Without thinking, Samcheon extended her palm.

Gold pieces poured onto it.

She stared blankly at the glittering pile.

It’s real gold…

Gyesan grabbed another handful and placed those on top as well.

Forced to cup both hands together to hold it all, Samcheon looked up, waiting for instructions.

“You can have it.”

For a split second, her eyes flashed.

“Really?”

“It’s mine now?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“It’s yours.”

The moment permission was given, Samcheon tightly closed her fingers around the treasure.

“Thank you.”

It was the first gold she had ever owned.

She giggled with delight.

Watching her, Gyesan couldn’t help smiling as well.

When lunchtime came, servants sent by the Grand Queen Dowager prepared their meal.

She had promised to provide simple meals until Deoksim returned to the palace.

Instead…

The table overflowed with delicacies from land and sea.

Not only Gyesan, but Samcheon also received meat.

It was the first meat she had eaten in half a year.

She chewed every bite carefully, savoring it.

The moment she finally put down her spoon, however…

A strange sense of unease settled over her.

The back of her neck felt cold.

The tip of her nose tingled, as if she were about to sneeze.

Is it because everything is going so smoothly after suffering for more than half a year?

Something feels wrong.

Looking up, she squinted into the bright sunlight.

Even that somehow made her uneasy.

I’d better keep a low profile today.

Having made up her mind, Samcheon never left Mokseo Palace.

The day passed peacefully.

Just as she began thinking all her worries had been unnecessary, dinner arrived.

After finishing the meal, she noticed the large water jar had run dry.

“I’ll go fetch some water.”

Today would be the last day she had to do so herself.

Starting tomorrow, an outside servant would be assigned, and all the menial chores would finally become someone else’s responsibility.

Carrying the water bucket, Samcheon stepped out of Mokseo Palace.

Suddenly…

She sensed a chilling presence behind her.

Turning around, she found someone standing directly at her back.

Before she could react, they snatched the bucket away.

“What are you—”

A blanket was thrown over her head.

Someone seized her.

She was dragged away.

Everything was pitch-black.

The storage room they’d brought her to was dark enough already, but with the blanket still covering her head, she couldn’t see anything at all.

Whether from fear or the suffocating cloth, breathing gradually became more difficult.

“You failed to serve Princess Gyesan properly.”

“Because of you, our lady has been put in a difficult position.”

The voice wasn’t unfamiliar.

There was no surprise.

The people who had kidnapped her were attendants from Yeonhwa Palace.

Rough hands forced her shoulders downward.

So that’s why I felt so uneasy…

Now she finally understood.

She simply hadn’t expected to be taken so completely by surprise.

Here…

There wasn’t even the slightest protection.

They had brought her here with a blanket over her head.

There was no chance they intended to scold her gently and send her home afterward.

A terrifying thought gripped her.

I might die here…

Another muffled voice spoke from behind her.

“Honghwa was thrown out with both her legs broken.”

Hidden beneath the blanket, Samcheon’s body trembled.

Honghwa was only a commoner.

There would be no way for her to receive proper treatment.

She would spend the rest of her life unable to walk.

Lady Hae, who had given the orders, would continue living comfortably.

Only Honghwa, who had obeyed those orders, had paid the price.

Someone tapped Samcheon lightly on the head.

“This is all your fault!”

“Hurry up and beg!”

Samcheon pitied Honghwa.

No matter how much she had hated her, she had never wished for her to lose the use of her legs.

But…

None of it was Samcheon’s fault.

They were forcing the blame onto her.

Though resentful, she decided it would be wiser not to argue.

She clenched her lips shut.

Then another thought crossed her mind.

Even if I stay quiet… will they really let me go unharmed?

Did they truly not realize how unreasonable this was?

No.

Of course they did.

They simply couldn’t vent their resentment toward their mistress.

So they had chosen someone weaker.

Someone else kicked her.

Wrapped in the blanket, Samcheon tumbled across the floor and landed hard on her backside.

Pain shot through her tailbone.

Her eyes widened beneath the blanket.

Then she answered in a suppressed voice,

“If you have any brains at all, you’d know none of this is my fault.”

“You think we’re a joke?”

“How dare you speak to us like that!”

“You’re just looking for someone to take your anger out on.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do whatever you want.”

The words were out before she could stop herself.

Perhaps because she had spoken the truth, angry breathing echoed from every direction.

“Well, look at this little brat.”

“Fine.”

“If that’s what you want…”

Several voices overlapped.

Then the kicking began.

Samcheon curled into a ball, covering her head with both arms.

Thinking the blanket would lessen the pain was a mistake.

The blanket wasn’t there to protect her.

It existed only to soothe the attackers’ pitiful scraps of conscience.

She groaned in pain.

But…

She never screamed.

It was the only resistance she could offer.

Her mind slowly drifted away beneath the relentless blows.

Then…

“Hey.”

“Don’t kill her.”

The kicking slowed.

Then stopped.

“Tough little thing.”

She heard a crowd of footsteps retreating.

Someone seemed to spit before leaving.

The door slammed shut.

Silence filled the storage room.

Even after every sound disappeared, Samcheon couldn’t get up.

Not because she was being cautious.

Her body simply refused to move.

It hurts…

Every inch of her burned as though on fire.

Only the cold seeping up through the wooden floor kept her conscious.

Blood from her nose had run across her face.

She didn’t even have the strength to wipe it away.

Lying alone in the darkness, a face she hadn’t thought of in a long time surfaced in her mind.

Mom…

Before closing her eyes forever, her mother had held Samcheon’s hand tightly and whispered:

“Eat well, sleep well, and keep smiling. If you do, you’ll find happiness. Understand?”

Perhaps…

Her mother had feared that one day Samcheon would go hungry.

Lose sleep.

Become unhappy.

But…

Right now, she was okay.

Ever since entering the palace and becoming Gyesan’s attendant…

She had smiled often.

So I’ll become happy.

I absolutely will.

By the time the cold made her teeth chatter uncontrollably, she forced herself upright.

“Ugh…”

Not a single part of her body was free from pain.

Still…

She had to hurry back to Mokseo Palace.

If I’m gone too long… Her Highness will worry.

Slowly, she untangled the blanket wrapped around her body and wiped at what was surely her battered face.

Finally managing to stand, Samcheon looked around the dark storage room.