Sowol, pale as if she might collapse at any moment, bowed her head and shook uncontrollably. Na Gyeong and Munhee, relieved that they were no longer under suspicion, showed expressions of relief.

Seon, however, looked deeply shocked, her face reflecting confusion and disbelief at the situation.

“I have committed a grave sin, Your Highness.”

“Everyone leave the room except Sowol.”

“Y-Your Highness…”

Unlike Na Gyeong and Munhee, who quickly bowed and left the room, Seon hesitated, unable to bring herself to leave. But when she saw Yeocheong’s determined expression, she bit her lip and finally left the room.

“I heard you almost lost your wrist for stealing cloth in Song.”

“H-how could you possibly know that?”

“So now you’ve found yourself in a position where you could face an even harsher punishment here. How unfortunate.”

“Y-Your Highness, please, have mercy! I was wrong, terribly wrong. I will never make such a mistake again. I must have lost my mind, if only for a moment.”

Sowol pleaded, shaking violently as she bowed her head to the ground several times.

Watching her, Yeocheong suddenly realised the source of the unease he had always felt about Sowol.

“If the Crown Princess were to die early, we’d already be back in Song by now. That’s the deal we came here under. Instead of just wasting away, she should hurry up and die already.”

That was the agreement that brought them here. If Yeocheong were to die, it was only natural that Seon and Sowol, who had come with him, would return to their homeland. There was nothing unusual about such a situation.

But she had explicitly called it “the deal” – as if she had always known that Yeocheong wouldn’t survive here for long. As if it was an inevitable conclusion.

The realisation hit Yeocheong cold. Maybe her purpose in coming here wasn’t just to observe and serve, but something far more insidious. This thought sharpened the cold in Yeocheong’s voice as he spoke next.

“…What did you offer in place of your wrist?”

“…!”

At Yeocheong’s words, Sowol’s trembling increased. How much does he know? She bit her lip and swallowed hard, her thoughts racing.

“I-I made a mistake. I must have lost my mind for a moment because I had a family to feed.”

“Hmm, your family? According to reports, they all perished during last year’s famine. Are there more family members you need to feed?”

When Sowol was caught stealing expensive silk in Song, she really thought her life was over. Losing one’s wrist for theft wasn’t common, but the situation was made worse by the fact that her lies were discovered as soon as the theft was discovered. The authorities had deemed her crime particularly egregious, and the punishment had almost cost her her wrist.

“T-that’s not it. Until last year, yes, but… I was caught smuggling fabric for Mina, and that’s how it…”

“Enough. Whatever the case may be, I have something I need you to do. If you carry it out well, not only will you keep your wrist, but you might even receive a suitable reward.”

The memory of that chilling suggestion replayed in Sowol’s mind as she knelt before Yeocheong, paralysed with fear. She didn’t know if he was aware of the details of her past, but his words made it clear that he was far too close to the truth.

But the lady of the court, who Sowol had expected to punish her mercilessly, made an unexpected proposal. Unable to refuse, Sowol had accepted without hesitation.

Unable to change her ways, she had gone on to commit even greater thefts. Now she faced the possibility of a more severe punishment than the one she had almost received in Song.

Song was far away, but Yeon was where she was currently stationed. Besides, Yeocheong already seemed to be aware of her situation, making it clear that she couldn’t escape scrutiny.

After a moment’s thought, Sowol seemed to come to a decision and opened her trembling lips.

“I have been ordered to report regularly on Your Highness’s movements.”

“You are illiterate, are you not? How can you write reports?”

“I-I can’t read or write classical Chinese, but there are pictograms that servants use among themselves. I could manage to report simple movements…”

Sowol stammered, shaking as she spoke. It didn’t look like she was lying. But one didn’t have to lie outright to hide the whole truth; withholding certain details could achieve the same effect.

“That’s not all, is it?” Yeocheong’s voice cut sharply through the tension.

“…!”

How much does he know? Sowol’s heart began to race. As Yeocheong had hinted, the orders Sowol had received were not limited to mere surveillance.

This was something much more serious than reporting Yeocheong’s movements to Song. It was something that could cost her not only her wrist, but also her life.

‘But then again, it seems like he already knows everything. Maybe he’s just testing me. The Crown Princess isn’t a cruel person, so if I claim ignorance…’

Sowol hesitated, weighing her options, trying to decide what would be the safest thing to say. After a moment of internal debate, she came to a decision.

“I-I just did what the court lady told me to do. I didn’t even fully understand what it was. I was just following orders…”

She spoke with great difficulty, her words beginning as an excuse. Yeocheong, however, showed no reaction, remaining silent as if waiting for her to continue.

“The… the court lady told me to… prepare tea for Your Highness consistently.”

“What?”

Yeocheong’s voice was sharp, filled with a sudden intensity that made Sowol shrink further.

“She… she said that since you were going to a foreign land, you might miss the taste of Song, so she prepared something familiar. It was ordinary Huayong tea.”

Yeocheong knew of Huayong tea. It wasn’t poisonous; it was a tea known to keep the body warm and strengthen the womb of those with a cold constitution.

Sowol stammered as she spoke, shaking violently. But if it had really been an ordinary tea, there would have been no reason for her to be so frightened.

Yeocheong said nothing, just looked down at Sowol who, unable to bear the silence, added in a voice that barely escaped her lips.

“I-I was just told to brew it with Myungseocheo along with the Huayong tea. I thought it was just a healthy way to prepare it for Your Highness…”

Yeocheong suddenly remembered a moment from the past. When Sowol had seen her reading a book about plants, her face had frozen for a moment. There was a certain passage in the book:

“All plants, depending on how they are prepared and what they are consumed with, can produce effects entirely different from their original purpose.”

Yeocheong’s eyes narrowed as she processed Sowol’s words. This wasn’t just about serving tea. It was a deliberate act.

“Song is also Your Highness’s home. How could the Court Lady recommend something harmful to you? I was just…”

“If you really thought there was no problem…”

Yeocheong cut off Sowol’s excuse. She had once been someone Yeocheong had considered a pillar of support, someone who had helped him through difficult times. Without Seon and Sowol, Yeocheong was sure he wouldn’t have survived those hard days.

But it was Sowol’s own words that had shaken Yeocheong. They had been a turning point, a moment when it became undeniable that no one really cared about him.

But this time, Yeocheong was surprised to feel… nothing. Was it because Sowol no longer held the same place in his heart? Or had he just gotten used to situations like this?

“If you really thought it was harmless, you wouldn’t have hidden it from me.”

“Th-that’s… I didn’t want to hide it. I just didn’t think it was necessary to mention it… I really didn’t know. If it had been a harmful method, it would have affected Your Highness’s health, wouldn’t it? Since nothing happened, I thought it was all right.”

Sowol stammered, desperately trying to defend herself, her voice trembling with fear. But her excuses only deepened Yeocheong’s cold expression.

Sweat trickled down Sowol’s forehead and dripped onto the floor. Her restless and uncomfortable demeanour seemed to betray the lies in her words.

However, as Sowol had pointed out, Yeocheong’s health hadn’t shown any significant changes. If she had done the same thing in her past life and in this one, why was there no effect this time?

‘If my health had deteriorated like it did in the past life, I could be certain. For now, I’ve cornered Sowol enough that she won’t act rashly. The next step is to investigate what effect those two substances have when combined…’

As Yeocheong silently observed Sowol, a sudden wave of pain struck his head, and he pressed his hand to his forehead. A strange sense of déjà vu overcame him, and faint voices began to echo in his mind.

“I thought your condition would worsen gradually, and that you’d return soon. It would have been better for you, and for us as well.”

“If that had happened, we wouldn’t have been trapped here, and you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this. Perhaps it would have been better if you’d stayed unaware of everything.”

“It’s not my fault. It’s just the fate you were born with… It’s not my fault. I only did what I had to in order to survive.”

Had he heard these words before? It was strange. Yeocheong remembered clearly the moment when he had stumbled out of the palace as if possessed, after hearing Sowol confess that she had wished for his death. He had walked aimlessly until he had met Jihyuk, who had confirmed the truth, and then everything had faded away as he had closed his eyes.

“Is my mind fabricating memories?”

Yeocheong wondered.

“But if that’s the case, why…”

Why did the memory of those words cause such a sharp pain in his chest? Moments ago he had felt nothing at all, but now his head throbbed as if it would burst and his heart began to ache unbearably.

“Your Highness?”

Yeocheong’s body swayed violently. Before anyone could react, his unsteady frame tilted to the side and collapsed to the ground.