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Chapter 6
“…Ah.”
The moment she realized it, tears fell from her eyes.
Drip. Drip.
“So… So-ya?”
I-rim panicked, unsure what to do as he looked at her.
“I’m sorry. I suddenly cried… I’m just so happy.”
So-ya smiled brightly and wiped her tears away.
Happy. And also… overwhelmed by how unfamiliar it all felt.
Since that day three years ago, it was the first time someone had treated her with such kindness.
It was also the first time someone had congratulated her on her birthday.
Come to think of it… that day—three years ago when her family abandoned her—had been her sixth birthday.
So-ya swallowed the bitter realization.
“Thank you so much for keeping your promise.”
She held the jade ornament tightly.
I-rim quietly looked at her, then reached out.
“Let me see it for a moment.”
He took the ornament with the red jewel and pinned it onto her collar.
Then he said calmly,
“It suits you.”
“….”
“It finally feels like it’s found its rightful owner.”
At his gentle words, So-ya’s face turned slightly red.
Honestly, the ornament didn’t match her worn appearance at all…
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
She smiled happily.
I-rim also smiled faintly.
“Just call me older brother, like before.”
The two of them sat on a flat rock and talked quietly.
“More importantly… what happened to you?”
he asked carefully.
“You look very different from before. Can you tell me what happened?”
So-ya hesitated.
It was embarrassing to reveal her disgraceful past, but she didn’t want to lie.
“I…”
She confessed that she was the one who had stolen the young lady’s place.
I-rim’s expression slowly darkened as he listened.
Something felt wrong.
“But… that can’t be…”
He muttered, then suddenly stood up.
“Older brother I-rim?”
“So-ya.”
He grabbed both her hands.
Her fingertips were rough from hardship. That realization made his heart ache.
The current So-ya had a shadow the girl in his memory did not.
Without a doubt, her family was the cause.
Remembering how they treated her as if she didn’t exist made anger rise in him.
Even if she truly had taken someone else’s place, this child was not at fault.
Yet what remained unchanged was her gentle, clear smile.
He wanted to protect that smile. Even now, even if it was too late.
“I have urgent matters at the palace. I must return.”
“…Ah.”
Disappointment flickered across So-ya’s face.
Seeing that made it hard for him to leave.
But perhaps in the imperial archives, he could find answers.
And perhaps… just perhaps…
“So-ya…”
“I might be able to take her away.”
“Don’t be too sad. I’ll come back soon. And when I do…”
He hesitated.
“I want to take you to the palace. If you agree.”
“….”
So-ya stared at him silently instead of answering.
He smiled and hooked his pinky with hers.
Just like she had done three years ago.
And far away, someone was watching.
The Next Morning
After the prince left in the night—
“Tell the truth. You stole this, didn’t you?”
Lili shouted at So-ya.
In her hand was the jade ornament from the previous night.
“N-no… I didn’t.”
So-ya shook, but still resisted.
“Please… give it back.”
Her unexpected defiance made Lili’s face twist.
“Liar!”
Lili had disliked So-ya from the very beginning.
She hated that another girl her age existed in the mansion.
She hated that a servant’s child looked more beautiful than her.
And she hated how her father and brother sometimes seemed drawn to that girl.
So she kept So-ya close as her servant, constantly reminding her of their difference.
Sometimes she even subtly encouraged the maids to bully her.
Always carefully—so she would still appear kind.
Yesterday, she had planned to humiliate So-ya in front of the prince.
But things had gone wrong.
The prince’s gaze had turned toward So-ya.
And then… she had seen them together at night.
The prince touching So-ya’s head… giving her a gift.
Lili burned with rage.
That fox… I must get rid of her before the prince returns.
So she decided to frame So-ya for theft.
The ornament was perfect evidence.
Once the prince left, no one would protect her.
“Then where did it come from?”
“I…”
So-ya couldn’t answer.
Lili sneered.
At that moment—
“Isn’t that… the late lady’s ornament?”
A maid whispered.
“What?”
Lili turned sharply.
“…The late lady?”
Her voice trembled.
“Then… this belonged to my mother?”
“Why… why do you have it?”
So-ya’s face turned pale.
Her father’s warning echoed in her mind.
Do not let Lili discover your identity.
“Th-that…”
“Speak!”
Lili dropped her mask and shoved her.
So-ya fell hard to the floor.
Just then, Jeok A-yun and Jeok Hwayu arrived.
“Lili…!”
The fragile peace shattered.
Afterward
Lili learned that So-ya was the “fake daughter” who had taken her place.
The shock made her fall ill, and chaos spread through the mansion.
The servants whispered cruelly:
A thief who stole the young lady’s place… how shameless…
Their words stabbed into So-ya like needles.
“I must apologize… I must confess…”
So-ya went to Lili’s room.
She had to beg forgiveness.
Even if it could never be forgiven, she wanted to ease Lili’s pain.
She stood before the door and took a breath.
Then—
“Get rid of her.”
So-ya froze.
“I cannot live under the same sky as that girl. If you don’t want me to die, get rid of her before the prince comes back.”
“…Yes.”
A calm voice answered immediately.
It was Hwayu’s voice.
