Saying she liked him was certainly a bold move. Unless he’d had secret feelings for her for a long time, it was only natural for him to be nervous.

But was it really necessary to run away in such a panic?

“Am I really that unattractive…?”

Feeling a little discouraged, Woo-hye gently touched her own face.

‘How did I look now?’

Back when she could still see, she’d always chosen to read another letter or examine another luxury item instead of looking in the mirror. Her appearance now came to her only in vague impressions, and for some reason that undermined her confidence.

‘Does Cheong-un have eyes on top of his head or something?’

It had been amusing to tease him, but now she was annoyed, and her voice rose.

“Is anyone outside?”

Hyang-eum, who had been waiting outside, came in.

“It’s me, my lady – ah, no. Madam, you called for me?”

She still seemed unaccustomed to the change in title.

“Is there anyone else outside?”

“No, ma’am. There are so many guests and not enough hands, so everyone else is outside helping.”

“Good. Then bring in Uncle Mok for me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Hyang-eum left to run the errand, Woo-hye slid sideways into bed.

The numerous hair ornaments made it difficult to lie down properly, and her position was awkward.

She muttered blankly.

“Disgusting.”

There was no subject to the sentence.

“Impotent.”

Again, no subject.

It wasn’t like she really liked him. So it wasn’t heartbreak.

Or maybe – it was hard to tell.

It was such a subtle feeling that she couldn’t put a name to it.

‘If he’s planning a divorce, why is he running a business here? And why did he bring seven servants with him?’

It was then that something struck her as odd.

“Wait a minute… Seven? But I’ve only counted six so far.”

There was one she hadn’t met yet—Ilho.

“The situation speaks for itself. And as for the man in black you mentioned, Master—I believe he may also be one of Cheong-un’s men. Cheong-un arrived with a total of seven people, including himself.”

‘Gayu said that when Cheong-un came to Doha, there were seven people in total, including himself.’

Then the guard Hyang-eum saw – the one with his face covered by a black veil – what number would he be?

‘It is strange that Ilho hasn’t been seen. Perhaps he had arrived before Cheong-un entered Doha.’

Then Woo-hye had a new thought.

‘Could Cheong-un himself be the man in black?’

‘But their faces are different.’

While Woo-hye was deep in thought, Hyang-eum returned.

“Madam, Doctor Mok is here. And…”

“I’ve come as well, Master.”

It was Gayu’s voice.

Woo-hye, who had been lying limply in bed, sat up with a bright smile.

“What if someone had seen you on your way here?”

“Of course I snuck in. Doctor Mok helped me. And even if someone saw me, it’s okay – I’ll just say I came because I’m interested in buying Yeonmowon.”

They might scold him for entering the bridal chamber, but as Gayu said, it wasn’t something to be overly cautious about.

Today was a wedding day, filled with guests from all over. Seol Mi-hee didn’t have enough connections to find this particularly suspicious.

So even when she scolded him, Woo-hye couldn’t hide her joy and beamed at him.

“You came at the perfect time. I was just about to share some good news with you.”

Hyang-eum, who had been standing next to Woo-hye, looked a little shy.

Gayu, who seemed to understand already, spoke in front of her.

“Is this about the Seok Cheol-won gang getting what they deserve? I just saw the aftermath myself.”

“That’s good news too, of course. But there’s something even better.”

“Oh? What could be better?”

“As of yesterday, Hyang-eum has officially become a free citizen.”

At this truly joyful news, Gayu’s face lit up with pure happiness.

“Really?! Congratulations, Lady Hyang-eum! This is something we’ve all been waiting for, isn’t it?”

Feeling shy for no reason, Hyang-eum gave Gayu a mocking look.

“‘Lady’, really? Just treat me like you always do! No matter what my status is, I’ll always be our madam’s Hyang-eum.”

Even Mokcheon, who rarely said anything sentimental, smiled faintly at the good news.

“That’s wonderful.”

Hyang-eum, a little emotional, rubbed the tip of her nose and changed the subject.

“The flogging actually helped me in life. I took the full thirty lashes yesterday and passed out. Lady Gye was so busy looking after her daughter that she didn’t even show her face outside.

Gayu looked satisfied.

“Then it’s a good thing. If Gye had rushed out to beg earlier when Dan Gyu-yeong showed up, who knows how much more chaos would’ve ensued.”

As they chatted and laughed, Mokcheon put down the wooden box he’d brought and checked Woo-hye’s pulse.

“Is it safe to administer the poison needle now?”

The real reason Woo-hye had called Mokcheon was to check how long she could keep her eyes open after receiving the poison needle.

“For now, the limit is two sijin – it is not worth it. In the presence of the Sixth Prince, it would be better to save it for a more important moment.”

“I’ll take your advice, Uncle Mok.”

Meanwhile, Gayu examined the clothes and accessories he’d noticed at the wedding.

“As expected… The quality of the wedding clothes and ornaments is outstanding. I can’t even imagine how Cheong-un managed to get his hands on them.”

“Right? It seems he’s much wealthier than we originally thought.”

“I think so too.”

Hyang-eum chimed in.

“Then that’s even better, isn’t it? It means that a rich man is completely in love with our madam.”

Woo-hye smiled coldly.

“Yes, well… He said he’d treat me well.”

The air around them grew so cold that both Hyang-eum and Gayu immediately pressed their lips together and averted their eyes, pretending to look elsewhere.

‘What is wrong with her?’

‘How should I know?

After finishing the examination, Mokcheon took a small vial from the box and placed it in Woo-hye’s hand.

“What is this?”

“It’s a paralysis pill.”

The name was unfamiliar.

“If you take it in an emergency, you’ll be able to open your eyes for about a sijin (two hours). It works on a similar principle to the poison needle, so when you take it your other senses will be disturbed.”

In exchange for the ability to see, one might temporarily lose hearing, or experience distortions in smell or taste. It was a drug that temporarily disturbed the balance of the senses in order to restore sight.

Woo-hye froze in shock.

Mokcheon explained it casually, as if it were no big deal – but to Woo-hye it was nothing short of revolutionary.

“It was inspired by the recent kidnapping incident. Even after the effects wear off, your vision won’t shut down like with the poison needle – you’ll just return to your normal state.”

“Oh…”

The more she heard, the more astonished she became.

Her heart was beating so fast it hurt. It felt as if she’d already regained her sight – every hair on her body stood on end.

“But if you take it too often, all your senses can be permanently damaged. There’s only one pill in the bottle, so only use it if it’s really urgent.”

“Uncle…”

Mokcheon had never stopped trying to help her regain her sight. He relentlessly studied, learned and experimented to improve the effect of the poison needle while reducing its side effects.

Feeling the sincerity of his efforts, Woo-hye began to cry – big tears rolling down her cheeks.

“This is the best wedding gift I could have received.”

Mokcheon hesitated, looking a little embarrassed, and gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

“Don’t cry. It’ll ruin your beautiful face.”

Woo-hye burst out laughing through her tears.

She hadn’t expected these words to come from Mokcheon of all people.

“Do I look beautiful today?”

“Yes. You’re the most beautiful in the world.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Gayu, who had been watching quietly, was also moved and sniffled before adding a belated compliment.

“You are always beautiful, Master. It’s so obvious that I tend to forget.”

“Are you sure it’s not just that you’ve forgotten?”

“You know, I’ve always been someone who values inner beauty more,” Gayu replied with an embarrassed grin.

Hyang-eum poked him in the side.

“You probably just don’t care unless there’s money involved.”

“Now I sound like someone obsessed with money. That hurts, you know.”

Woo-hye wiped away her tears and laughed happily.

‘Ah… it really feels like I’m surrounded by family.’

She wanted to hold on to this happiness forever.

***

As soon as San-gyeong stepped out of the bride’s room, he grabbed his shoulder as if something had clawed at it and quickly moved away.

“Master?”

Iho and Samho, who had been waiting outside, noticed his condition and followed him with serious expressions.

“Is something wrong? Has something happened?”

They entered a room in the far corner of the main building.

San-gyeong immediately pulled down his robe.

“Check it out.”

Iho and Samho counted the flowers. Their expressions darkened.

“Sixteen blossoms. One more has bloomed.”