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Chapter : 03
The Butterfly on the Wall (3)
“Ugh… huh?”
“Please wake up and try eating this.”
“What…?”
Before she could even fully come to her senses, the maids came in and suddenly began attending to her.
Being waited on—she had only experienced that briefly when her mother was still alive.
Am I dreaming?
But the porridge the maid offered smelled far too rich and savory to be a dream.
Jo-young absentmindedly ate the porridge they spoon-fed her.
Dream or not, she was glad her hunger faded.
After that, the maids stripped her clothes off again, washed her whole body, and applied medicine to the wounds left by beatings.
So it’s not a dream.
The stinging sensation when the medicine touched her wounds made that clear.
And that only made her more uneasy.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Jo-young asked in a heavily guarded voice.
“We don’t know either. The head of the household ordered it.”
The maids answered coldly and stiffly, then shut their mouths.
Their faces showed clear displeasure at having to attend someone who had long been despised.
So Jo-young didn’t ask any more.
She had no strength to question them, and even if she did, it didn’t seem like they would answer.
She simply let them do as they pleased.
And so, a month passed.
During that time, Jo-young enjoyed luxury with a restless heart.
Eating well and resting properly, even she could see that her face had filled out and color had returned to her complexion.
It feels like I’ve become livestock being fattened for slaughter.
That was when her sense of foreboding kept growing stronger.
“Please change into these clothes.”
“What?”
When the maids entered carrying new clothes, Jo-young jumped in surprise.
They were Ha Jin-hong’s clothes.
She recognized them instantly—she had sewn them herself.
A few months earlier, Jin-hong had bought some expensive fabric and ordered Jo-young to make her clothes. She had threatened to twist her fingers if she ruined them, so Jo-young had barely slept while painstakingly sewing them.
Ha Jin-hong was not someone who ever gave away her clothes. Even the ones she discarded, she would tear up in front of Jo-young’s eyes before throwing them out.
If she wore Jin-hong’s clothes, who knew what false charge would be pinned on her or what disaster would strike?
“I can’t wear this. These aren’t my clothes!”
When Jo-young refused, the maids roughly grabbed her arms and forcibly dressed her anyway.
“Stay still. Lady Jin-hong said she’s giving them to you as a gift.”
“My sister?”
She would never do such a thing out of kindness.
What on earth is she plotting?
A soft pale-yellow jacket and a light-green skirt gently wrapped around her skin.
But to Jo-young, who felt an ominous chill, the clothes felt like thorny brambles tightening around her body.
In the end, her bad feeling proved correct.
Just as the maids finished fixing her hair and powdering her face—like dressing a flower—
The door rattled open, and Ha Jin-hong stormed into the room.
“!”
Startled, Jo-young sprang to her feet.
Jin-hong was always extravagantly dressed, but today she looked especially done up.
Already sharp-featured, Jin-hong looked even more severe with her heavy makeup and flashy jewelry.
As she strode in with a triumphant sneer, Jo-young felt fear creeping in as she watched her approach.
It looked as if she might tear the clothes apart on the spot and slap her.
In fact, that had happened many times before.
When Jin-hong reached out toward her, Jo-young instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders.
“Hng!”
Expecting to be hit, Jo-young instead flinched and let out a sound when Jin-hong grabbed her chin.
Jin-hong turned Jo-young’s face this way and that, looking her over with an arrogant gaze, as if inspecting livestock.
“You’ve put on some weight. You’re passable now, at least. You take after your mother—your looks aren’t completely hopeless.”
“……”
Jo-young slowly opened her eyes, her face stiff.
In the past, she couldn’t say anything even when her mother was insulted.
She had to obey to survive.
But now—was there any need to endure?
She was going to be toyed with by them anyway.
Smack.
“Ah!”
Jo-young forcefully knocked Jin-hong’s hand away.
Startled, Jin-hong exaggeratedly clutched her hand, then glared and slapped Jo-young across the cheek.
Smack!
Prepared for the blow, Jo-young retaliated before her head even finished turning, striking Jin-hong sharply across the face.
“Aaah! You—how dare you!”
It was the first time.
After being beaten every day, fighting back felt indescribably satisfying.
More than anything, seeing Jin-hong scream and tremble in rage made Jo-young want to laugh.
“You’re laughing? Ha! You stupid bitch—do you think being fed and dressed well has changed your standing? How dare trash like you lay your filthy hands on me! You crazy wench!”
Jo-young sneered at the furious Jin-hong.
People who wouldn’t hesitate to kill others for their own desires—how dare they call anyone filthy?
“You’re still laughing? Hey. Do you know why I’m holding back? I could tear your mouth apart and still not be satisfied, but I’ll let it slide today.”
Jin-hong, who seemed ready to explode, suddenly calmed herself and sneered.
“Today is your matchmaking meeting. You need to look as pretty as possible. You—add more powder to her cheek. Make sure the mark doesn’t show.”
“What are you saying…! Marriage?”
Jo-young was so shocked by Jin-hong’s words that she could hardly believe her ears.
“Be grateful. My brother considers even a half-sister a sister and is sending useless trash like you to a wealthy household. We go to such lengths for you, and you dare strike me?”
That couldn’t be true.
Her brother would never sincerely look for a marriage match for her sake.
“Th-then… where is this ‘good match’?”
“Curious? Don’t worry. We’re on our way to see your husband-to-be right now. That’s why we dressed you up like this. He’s already here, so you’ll see him soon. Heh—don’t you think the two of you make a perfect pair?”
Jin-hong laughed shrilly, then spoke without hiding her contempt.
“Oh, right. Don’t worry about the match falling through. He just wanted to see his future wife’s face. Even if you looked like a dog or a pig, he wouldn’t cancel the agreement. He just said that since he’s paying for goods, he ought to inspect them in person.”
Only then did Jo-young understand what was happening.
She wasn’t going to a respectable marriage.
She was being sold—to a man who would put a price on the woman he’d take as his wife.
And right now, she had no power to stop it.
The hand that had so boldly struck Jin-hong now trembled in shame.
In a spacious, luxurious room adorned with gold and jade, a beautiful young woman let out a sigh.
Each time she released a fragile breath with a gloomy, lonely expression, the lamp flickered violently.
Her eyes, fixed on the trembling lamp, began to waver as well, until tears welled up in her jewel-like pupils.
Drop. Drop.
Just as the tears fell onto the back of her hand—
“Your Highness, the Princess. Her Majesty the Consort has arrived.”
Hearing the palace maid’s announcement, Princess Shin Hye-ok hurriedly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
But it was already too late to hide them with a hand that was soaked.
The Consort entered and gently caught the princess’s hand as she wiped her cheek.
“My child. My princess.”
“Mother…”
“I lack the power to protect you. I’m sorry.”
“No, Mother. This is something His Majesty asked of me. I simply wanted to grant his request.”
“Why would you have resolved yourself to this, if not for all of us? If your mother had more power… I would have stopped this marriage for your sake.”
“Lord Kang is a great general, handsome, and a loyal subject of His Majesty. As a marriage partner, he is more than sufficient. His Majesty did his best not only for all of us, but for me as well. So please don’t grieve too much, Mother.”
“Don’t try to comfort me. How can you console me when you can’t even steady your own broken heart?”
Consort Im and Princess Shin Hye-ok were too gentle and soft-hearted to withstand the harsh, cold tempests of the imperial court.
Because of that, they were not heavily targeted by the Empress, but they lived as the weakest figures in the palace, constantly watching others’ expressions.
The Consort wished to marry the princess off as soon as possible and send her out of the palace, and as she hoped, the twenty-two-year-old princess was set to leave the palace tomorrow to marry the lord of Bisan Fortress.
Yet the Consort grieved as if this marriage were a tragedy.
Because the princess already had a lover to whom she had pledged herself.
Jeong Jae-in, the youngest son of Scholar Jeong Jin-hak, had studied literature alongside the princess since childhood.
They were the same age and had grown up as close as siblings, but over time, their feelings for each other as man and woman had deepened.
After realizing this, the Consort had begun preparing a marriage between the princess and Jeong Jae-in.
However, the Crown Prince had already concluded talks with Kang Yeon-ho and decided on the princess’s marriage first.
