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Chapter 5
“…Ah.”
The moment she realized it, tears spilled from her eyes.
Drip. Drip.
“So, So-ya?”
I-rim looked at her in panic, unsure what to do.
“I’m sorry. I just suddenly cried… I was just too happy.”
So-ya smiled brightly and wiped her eyes.
Happy. And… overwhelmed.
Since that day three years ago, it was the first time anyone had spoken to her so gently.
It was also the first time anyone had ever congratulated her on her birthday.
Come to think of it… that day—three years ago when her family abandoned her—had also been her sixth birthday.
So-ya swallowed the bitter realization that suddenly surfaced in her heart.
“Thank you so much for keeping your promise.”
She held the jade ornament tightly in her hands.
I-rim looked at her quietly, then held out his hand.
“Give it to me for a moment.”
He took the ornament with the red jewel and attached it to So-ya’s collar.
Then he said calmly,
“It suits you.”
“….”
“It finally feels like it’s found its rightful owner.”
At those soft words, So-ya’s face turned slightly red.
To be honest, the heirloom didn’t match her worn appearance at all…
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
She smiled happily.
I-rim also smiled faintly in return.
“Just call me older brother like before.”
The two of them sat side by side on a flat rock, chatting quietly.
“More importantly… what happened to you?”
he asked carefully.
“You’re very different from what I remember. Can you tell me what happened?”
So-ya hesitated.
It was embarrassing to reveal her shameful past to someone from her childhood, but she didn’t want to hide or lie either.
“I…”
She confessed that she was the criminal who had stolen the young lady’s place.
Listening quietly, I-rim’s brows furrowed.
Something felt wrong.
“But… that can’t be…”
He suddenly stood up.
“Older brother I-rim?”
“So-ya.”
He grabbed both of her hands.
Her small fingertips were rough from hardship. That fact made his heart ache.
The current So-ya had a shadow that the girl in his memory did not.
Without a doubt, her family was responsible.
Remembering how they treated her like she didn’t exist made anger rise within him.
Even if she truly had taken someone else’s place, it was never this child’s fault.
Yet what remained unchanged was her clear, gentle smile.
He wanted to protect that smile. Even if it was too late—he wanted to now.
“I have urgent matters to check in the imperial palace. I must return.”
“…Ah.”
Disappointment flickered across So-ya’s face.
Seeing that expression made it hard for him to leave.
But perhaps in the imperial archives, he could find answers to the unsettling questions forming in his mind.
And perhaps… just perhaps, So-ya…
“Don’t be too sad. I will return soon. And when I do…”
Maybe he could take her away from this place.
“I want to take you to the imperial palace. If you allow it.”
“….”
So-ya stared at him blankly instead of answering.
I-rim smiled and hooked his pinky finger with hers.
Just like she had done three years ago.
And somewhere far away, a pair of eyes silently watched that scene.
The Next Morning
After the prince abruptly left at night, the next morning—
“Be honest. You stole this, didn’t you?”
Lili shouted sharply at So-ya.
In her hand was the jade ornament I-rim had returned to So-ya the night before.
“N-no, I didn’t, young lady.”
So-ya trembled but still insisted firmly.
“It’s not stolen. Please… return it.”
Seeing So-ya speak back instead of obeying as usual, Lili’s face twisted.
“Don’t lie!”
Lili hated So-ya. She had hated her from the very first moment she saw her.
She hated that another girl her age existed in the mansion.
She hated that a mere servant’s child had a more noticeable face than her.
And she hated how her father and brother sometimes seemed unconsciously attentive to that girl.
So Lili had always kept So-ya by her side as her personal attendant, showing her the difference between their statuses.
Sometimes, she even secretly encouraged the other maids to bully her.
Of course, she had to remain the kind, innocent youngest lady—so she did it subtly.
In truth, she had planned to humiliate So-ya yesterday.
She wanted to show the imperial prince So-ya’s shabby appearance and mock her.
How amusing it had been whenever So-ya looked ashamed of her worn clothes in front of her father and brother.
This is her chance to learn her place.
But things had not gone as planned.
From the moment the prince looked at So-ya after stepping out of the carriage, she had felt something unsettling.
And then she saw them together that night.
Though she couldn’t hear their conversation from afar, the sight of the prince patting So-ya’s head and giving her a gift had enraged her.
That fox… whatever she did, I need to drive her away before the prince returns.
So Lili decided to frame So-ya for theft before the prince came back.
The ornament she received from the prince last night was perfect evidence.
Since the prince had left and there were no witnesses, she would accuse So-ya of stealing it.
“If it’s not a lie, then where did it come from?”
“I…”
So-ya couldn’t answer easily.
Lili sneered inwardly.
She knows it. No one will believe she got it from the prince.
At that moment—
“Isn’t that… the late lady’s ornament?”
One of the maids muttered quietly.
“What?”
Lili snapped her head toward her.
The maid quickly shut her mouth, but it was too late.
“…The late lady?”
Lili’s voice trembled.
“Then… this belonged to my mother?”
Her voice shook violently.
“Why… why do you have my mother’s thing?”
So-ya’s face went pale.
Her father’s warning echoed violently in her mind.
Do not let Lili find out your identity. If she is hurt because of you, I will not forgive you.
“Th-that… that is…”
“Speak!”
Lili dropped her gentle mask completely and shoved So-ya.
So-ya fell hard to the ground.
At that moment, Jeok A-yun and Jeok Hwayu arrived.
“Lili…!”
The fragile peace Jeok A-yun had tried to maintain shattered.
Afterward
Lili discovered that So-ya was the fake daughter who had stolen her place.
The shock made her fall ill, and the mansion turned upside down.
The household servants whispered:
How shameless. A thief who stole the young lady’s place. Instead of apologizing, she still dares to exist… poor Lady Lili…
Their words stabbed into So-ya like needles.
“I… I must apologize… I have to admit my wrong… I stole the young lady’s place… I’m sorry…”
So-ya went to Lili’s room.
She had to apologize.
Even if stealing her childhood could never be forgiven, if her apology could ease Lili’s pain even slightly…
Standing before the closed door, she took a deep breath.
Then—
“Please get rid of her.”
So-ya froze.
“I cannot live under the same sky as that girl. If you don’t want to see me die, get rid of her. Before the prince comes back to take her away.”
“…Yes.”
The immediate reply came in Jeok Hwayu’s voice.
