“I thought she would act more like a woman. I expected her to cling to my sleeve and play hard to get, especially since she’s carrying my child.”

Ryu muttered quietly.

He recalled the sight of Yeon, her rounded belly visible as she busied herself with preparing the wedding table.

Her face, flushed with shame, was pale and lovely, like a magnolia in bloom. Her belly had grown beneath her delicate shoulders and ample br*asts, but her waist remained slender.

Throughout the wedding ceremony, Ryu couldn’t stop thinking about the woman who had begged him not to humiliate her.

She was always so calm, her face so clear and composed.

It must have been with that same transparent expression that she cleaned his bed and prepared the rice cakes and wine, wishing him a happy life with someone else.

She did it without realising how wretched it made him feel.

“Your Majesty…”

“You can never be like your sister.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because only she is my woman. Only she is my wife.”

Ryu’s words struck like iron.

Suin, who had just begun to speak — “This humble one…” — fell silent, clenching her fists.

Ryu looked down at her.

Then, Suin cautiously parted her lips.

“Does that mean, Your Majesty, that no other woman besides Lady Sukbi will ever be granted the opportunity to serve you?”

Biting her lower lip hard, Suin felt the weight settle on her eyelids. She slowly lifted her gaze.

From the moment she had heard that Yeon was pregnant, something inside her had shattered.

If Yeon had pretended to be even the slightest bit considerate, Suin might have understood.

Instead, however, Yeon stood before her with that same bright, unreadable face and spoke to her so gently.

What Suin truly despised about Yeon was precisely that. She had been forced to wait so long for the wedding, all because of Yeon.

She had entered the palace as a nanny, yet ended up seducing the much younger emperor and becoming his concubine.

“I’ll always be on your side, my lady.”

It was easy to say anything with your mouth.

Swallowing that delicate, lingering voice, Suin’s lashes trembled.

Lady Sukbi — no, Yeon — had called herself her real sister. Not a half-sister.

Suin had known the truth for some time, but had chosen to pretend otherwise.

Because she was destined to become Empress.

That much was clear.

She and her brothers had been formally registered under their father’s legitimate wife. Yeon had not.

The difference was clear to see. Yeon was the only one born to a lowly servant.

So how could they possibly be related? How could that woman be her sister?

Thinking of the servant whose face she couldn’t remember, Suin turned her gaze to the Emperor.

Through the translucent red veil, she could see that the Emperor was looking at her — and she was afraid. She hadn’t realised that he was also aware of a truth that she had thought only her family knew.

She couldn’t stop the heat rising to her cheeks and the tears beginning to fall.

Had Lady Sukbi told him? That she had also been born to a servant? Had she said, ‘We came from the same womb, so there’s no difference between us’?

It was outrageous. Suin forced a smile.

“But I am Your Majesty’s bride. No matter how much you deny it, I am the only one who is truly your wife.”

Lady Suk was nothing more than a concubine—not a sister, not a true kin.

‘I was the daughter of the master she had served since childhood, and today, I stood as the empress who must fulfill her duties. No matter how much the emperor rejected me, nothing would change. I was the only daughter acknowledged by my father and his rightful wife. Only I bore the title of the Western Duke’s daughter.’

“Your Majesty… Ack!”

The slap burned hot across her face. The force of it was so strong that her ears rang.

She opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut. The red veil had fallen to the ground.

Instinctively, Suin clutched her stinging cheek. Tears streamed down her face. She bit her lip and looked up at her husband.

“Your Majesty…”

“Remember your place, it only takes a few words from me to bring everything crashing down.”

“H-huh…”

His chilling murmur cut like a whip.

Suin couldn’t bring herself to look at the man who had silenced her with a single sentence.

She had never imagined he would treat her this way. She never thought he would use her status against her.

Perhaps that was why Yeon repulsed her instead of frightening her. Because she had never believed that her own position was lacking.

“… Your Majesty.”

“I don’t overlook your arrogance out of pity.”

Suin flinched as she tried to speak.

The Emperor gripped her chin tightly in his large hand, delivering a warning.

Tears spilled from her eyes as she nodded.

“Yes.”

She closed her eyes. His gaze was so terrifying that she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She swallowed her sobs, feeling the warm trickle of blood slide down beneath her nose.

***

She opened her eyes. Yeon clutched her lower abdomen, which had ached dully since midnight. She wasn’t sure when the pain had worsened.

‘It’ll pass…’

At least, that’s what she hoped. She couldn’t call for the court physician.

If it got worse by dawn, she planned to quietly ask Yeongji to arrange a check-up. She wanted to check on the baby’s condition without Ryu finding out.

But…

“Haah… haa…”

She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Biting down on her lower lip, she curled up into a ball. A faint, stinging cramp kept pulsing through her belly.

Panting, she whispered.

“Please…”

How long until sunrise? Maybe she should have listened to Yeongji and called the physician.

No — she couldn’t.

If word spread that a physician had been summoned to Hwain Palace, the entire imperial court would be stirred up. She was the only consort among the Seven Palaces to conceive a royal heir.

Even the Grand Empress Dowager, who had not welcomed Yeon’s pregnancy, would occasionally ask how the baby was doing.

Although she had insisted that the throne should pass to Suin’s child, the baby was still her great-grandchild and a source of joy for the imperial family.

Yeon couldn’t afford to cause a scandal at such a time.

But…

“Haa…”

Yeon slipped out from under the covers, wheezing softly. She needed medicine.

Thankfully, she had kept a mild sedative on hand that was safe to take during pregnancy. It might not do much, but it was better than nothing.

She held back the sobs that kept trying to escape. Her hands were slick with sweat and her legs trembled.

Struggling to swing her legs out of bed, she collapsed onto the floor. She simply didn’t have the strength to stand.

“Hh… uugh…”

Yeon clutched her belly. She wasn’t sure whether she was crying out of pain or fear for the baby. She lay on the floor for a long time, trembling as she crawled.

Then she saw it — just the faintest hint of a shadow. In her blurred vision, it hovered faintly, and she stared at it in silence.

“…Your Majesty.”

Yeon’s lips moved. Her tear-streaked face trembled. She tried not to let her shoulders shake. Then, a quiet voice echoed in her ears:

“You’re a pitiful mother.”

Ryu knelt down. He gently pulled Yeon, who could barely hold herself up, into his arms.

Unlike her burning skin, his touch was cool.

Yeon collapsed into his embrace. Burying her face in his familiar chest, she let out a faint sob.

Instead of the scent of rage she had anticipated, all she could smell was dry grass.

She bit her lip. His large hand gently cradled her head.

She lost consciousness shortly afterwards.

***

Upon hearing that Lady Sukbi had lost consciousness at dawn, the royal physician and palace medics were summoned to the Imperial Palace before sunrise.

Sukbi had always been naturally frail. Since childhood, she had been small and slow to grow. It was said that her mother had been similarly delicate and unwell.

When the Grand Empress Dowager heard from a court lady that Sukbi had started to bleed during the wedding ceremony, her expression hardened.

She remembered that pale, delicate face, faint as a crescent moon.

“Why wasn’t the royal physician summoned immediately?”

The Grand Empress Dowager shouted, her tone sharp with anger. The young court lady, trembling with fear, bowed her head low and stumbled over her words.

“Her Ladyship said it was the wedding night of His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress, and that we mustn’t cause a disturbance.”

The frightened girl’s voice quivered.

The Grand Empress Dowager bit her lip at the thought of how serious Sukbi’s condition seemed. Even though the child was born to a concubine, they would still be the Emperor’s heir. She couldn’t help but worry, especially since Sukbi had had an abortion of her own choice in the past.

“Please calm yourself, Mother.”

Suddenly, Princess Sukon, who had been standing beside her, spoke gently, her expression composed.

The Grand Empress Dowager pressed her forehead and sighed deeply. She dismissed the court lady from Hwain Palace with a wave and told her to leave. She then closed her eyes.

What had happened at Yanmyeong the previous night was also weighing heavily on her mind.

She hadn’t expected Ryu to accept Suin so easily, nor did she imagine that he would react so badly.

And yet…

“I must go to Hwain Palace.”

“Lady Sukbi is at Yanmyeong.”

“What?”

“His Majesty took Lady Sukbi to Yanmyeong.”

Princess Sukon murmured these words in a quiet, subdued voice.

The Grand Empress Dowager’s face turned pale.

As if choking back a sigh, she swallowed hard and slowly rose to her feet.

Sensing her mother’s dizziness, Princess Sukon moved to support her as she staggered slightly.