Ignoring the head courtesan, who stood there with a stunned expression, unsure how to respond, Jeha rose to his feet and faced the guard.

“Madu.”

“Yes, Master.”

“If anyone seeks that girl…”

Jeha’s voice was calm.

“K*ll them.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I’ll handle whatever comes afterward.”

The shock in Hwa-won’s eyes deepened.

Yet neither man seemed concerned by it.

As though nothing out of the ordinary had been said, Jeha turned away and disappeared into the pale dawn mist.

His broad figure gradually faded from view.

***

“Jeha!”

There was no doubt about it — it was him.

He was walking towards her from the depths of the darkness.

His tall frame.

His lean figure.

The long, effortless strides that had always seemed so free and unrestrained.

No matter how deep the darkness grew, she would have recognized him instantly.

Overwhelmed with joy, Gayu hurried towards him, calling out his name.

At that very moment, the moon emerged from behind the clouds.

Silver light spilled across the world.

But beneath that pale moonlight stood a man she did not recognize.

His eyes were red, as though stained with blood.

His lips bore the same crimson hue.

Looking directly at her, he smiled.

It was so cold that it sent a chill through her soul.

“Well, now.”

The man tilted his head playfully.

His dark eyes glittered in the moonlight as he gazed down at her. There was a hint of detached amusement in his expression.

His smile terrified her.

Yet Gayu could not retreat.

She had finally found him.

There was no way she could turn away now.

“It’s me. Gahee.”

“Surely not…”

“Pardon?”

“Are you really Jin Gahee?”

“…”

“That can’t be right…”

He lowered his face towards hers.

His black, obsidian eyes pierced straight through her heart, bringing with them the chill of a winter wind.

And that was it.

After looking at her for only a moment, he walked past her as though she were invisible.

He kept walking.

Startled by the sight of him leaving, Gayu opened her mouth to call after him.

But no sound came out.

Not even a whisper.

Grabbing at her throat, she ran after him.

Yet when she reached the spot where he had been standing, there was nothing there.

Only darkness.

Endless, empty darkness.

It rushed into her throat and filled her lungs until she could no longer breathe.

“Miss!”

She could hear someone calling her name.

Something cool touched her forehead.

These sensations hit her consciousness all at once.

Gayu slowly opened her eyes.

Gradually, her blurred vision cleared.

A familiar pair of eyes came into view.

They were clear, light brown eyes filled with worry.

The moment she recognized them, a wave of relief and disappointment washed over her.

“Juju…”

“Are you all right?”

She didn’t know what that question even meant anymore.

Nor did she understand why this child was beside her now.

“The Master of the Garyong Merchant Guild left at dawn. After that, your fever became so high. I was really worried.”

Ah!

Only then did the missing memories come rushing back.

The endless night she had spent in his arms.

The night when pain and overwhelming sensations had consumed her so completely that she could not think of anything else.

The last thing she remembered was him leaving her side after she had become too exhausted to move.

And the sound of the door closing firmly behind him.

Perhaps that memory was the trigger.

The pain that she had previously been too numb to notice suddenly crashed over her, sweeping through her body and dragging her down as though she were falling into a bottomless abyss.

“Does it hurt a lot? Should I call a physician?”

Juju asked as she replaced the cloth on Gayu’s forehead with a fresh, cold one.

A physician.

For someone like her?

Even through her dazed thoughts, a faint laugh escaped.

“The Master specifically instructed us to give you anything you need before he left. So don’t worry. If necessary, we could probably summon twelve physicians.”

“…What?”

The word barely escaped her dry lips.

Juju placed a bowl in front of her.

Come to think of it, the scent that had been drifting beneath her nose all this time must have come from this.

“The head courtesan said you should drink it. She said it would help you feel much better. Afterward, you should have some rice porridge too. Oh, and they’ve prepared mugwort soup as well.”

Perhaps it wasn’t only her body that felt dizzy.

Everything Juju was saying sounded impossible to understand.

Slipping an arm behind Gayu’s back, Juju gently helped her sit up.

Her feverish body ached everywhere.

“You haven’t eaten properly for several days, so that’s probably making it worse. If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me. We can get it right away.”

“Juju.”

The moment Gayu called her name quietly, Juju seemed to understand exactly what she wanted to ask.

She nodded enthusiastically.

“I think he must have liked you very much.”

Her eyes sparkled.

“This is incredible luck, Miss. Even the kitchen staff couldn’t believe it. They said they’ve never seen anything like this before.”

She paused briefly before adding happily,

“Oh, and starting today, I’ll be serving only you. I’m so happy about it.”

“…”

A personal maid for a government courtesan?

What in the world was happening?

Failing to notice the color draining from Gayu’s face, Juju bounced to her feet and strode to the door.

She threw it open.

Outside stood the broad back of a massive man.

“Brother Madu!”

At Juju’s call, the man slowly turned his head.

She looked vaguely familiar.

The man bowed respectfully toward her.

“The Master left him here to protect you, Miss. So no one can harm you.”

Ah.

Only then did Gayu remember him.

She had seen him occasionally in front of Jeha’s bookstore.

She had assumed he was simply another customer who loved books.

But he had been Jeha’s man all along.

“Heh…”

A hollow laugh escaped her trembling lips.

What had either of them truly known about the other?

“Miss?”

Alarmed by the sight of Gayu laughing while her fragile shoulders trembled as though they might shatter, Juju hurried toward her.

Gayu reached out and grasped Juju’s hand.

“Juju.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Could it be…”

Her voice shook.

“Could it be that I’m dreaming right now?”

“Pardon?”

Perhaps the anxiety in Gayu’s eyes was too obvious.

Juju immediately clasped her hands tightly.

Looking at the girl staring at her with such concern, Gayu asked again.

“That man… no, the Master of the Garyong Merchant Guild.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“The fact that he came here… that wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“Miss.”

“I’m not dreaming, am I, Juju?”

Perhaps she was trying to convince herself.

Seeing tears gather in Gayu’s trembling eyes, Juju hurriedly nodded.

“Absolutely not.”

Her answer came without hesitation.

“I saw the Master myself. He stayed here until dawn. Everyone in the pleasure house saw him.”

Juju pointed toward Madu standing outside the door.

“He’s proof too.”

“Ha…”

Only then did some of the anxiety seem to leave her.

Still holding Juju’s hand, Gayu slowly leaned back against the bed.

Her small body sank heavily into the mattress, as though every bone had turned to waterlogged cotton.

“Juju.”

“Yes? Would you like some porridge?”

“I…”

Her eyelids lowered.

“I want to sleep.”

“But…”

Juju hesitated.

Gayu had not even managed a spoonful of porridge before closing her eyes tightly.

After standing there helplessly for a moment, Juju finally sighed and rose to her feet.

“Then get some rest.”

Her voice softened.

“But when you wake up, please call for me.”

“Mmm.”

Juju left.

Silence settled over the room.

For a while, only Gayu’s quiet breathing could be heard.

Then, gradually, it began to grow uneven.

The small body lying on the bed started to tremble.

Her shoulders shook.

“Hhk…”

As though something she had been suppressing for far too long had finally burst free, broken sobs escaped her lips.

“Hic… ngh…”

It was the first time.

Even after speaking the cruelest words she could to him and walking away.

Even after her family had been destroyed overnight and she had been reduced to a government slave and sold into a pleasure house.

She had never cried.

“She’s stubborn. Look at her—not even a single cry.”

“Someone that stubborn would have shamelessly tried to become queen despite being the daughter of a traitor.”

“The fact that she didn’t kill herself and became a courtesan instead tells you everything. She’s the most ruthless kind.”

“With that pretty face she used to try to captivate His Majesty, now she’ll make a living captivating men instead.”

“The wealthy men at the marketplace are already fighting over who gets to have her first. How disgusting.”

The courtesans had been whispering to each other that day.

It was the day the government branded her as a slave by burning a mark into her shoulder.

She gritted her teeth and endured the searing pain without making a sound, her mouth filling with the taste of blood.

They called her heartless.

They said she was a stubborn woman who could withstand anything without shedding a single tear.

They mocked her endlessly, unable to comprehend why someone destined to become queen would cling so desperately to such a wretched life.

But they could never have understood.

How could they?

They knew nothing of her reason for wanting to survive.

They knew nothing of the desperate wish she had held onto through every humiliation and unbearable day.

But now—

Now, she could finally cry.

The wish she had prayed for throughout her suffering had finally been granted.

“Hic…!”

A broken sob escaped her.

Then another.

And another.

Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop.

The sorrow she had buried for so long poured out of her endlessly.

Outside the room, Madu stood silently at his post.

Hearing her weeping from beyond the door, he bit down on his lip.

***

“Master Wi, welcome!”

The moment Jeha stepped through the Grand Central Gate, a middle-aged man approached him in a hurry.

Jeha nodded politely in greeting.

The man was Joo Mun-gyeong.

The head of the Joo family.

He had risen to unparalleled power after crushing the Jin family, who were once destined to become the royal in-laws, and branding them traitors overnight.

Joo Mun-gyeong was also one of Jeha’s business partners.

“It has been a long time, Lord Joo.”

“I had something I absolutely wished to discuss with you, which is why I sent word.”

A practiced smile rested at the corners of Joo Mun-gyeong’s eyes.

“I hope I haven’t troubled the busy Master Wi by summoning you like this.”

Jeha slowly shook his head.

“No matter how busy I may be, if Lord Joo asks to see me, I should come.”

The two men climbed into a beautifully crafted pavilion and took their seats across from one another.

As though she had been waiting, a woman approached carrying tea.

Judging by her luxurious silk garments, she was clearly not a servant.

“My niece.”

Joo Mun-gyeong gestured toward her.

“I see.”

Jeha inclined his head politely.

“A very elegant lady.”

It was unexpected.

Usually, guests would be served tea by attendants.

There was no particular reason for a niece to be given such a task.

The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties.

Her hair was styled in the manner of a married woman.

After acknowledging her with proper courtesy, Jeha turned his attention back to Joo Mun-gyeong and waited for him to speak.