If You Claim the Fallen Heiress - Chapter 82

Ten days had passed.

With her tension released, Yuseol slept like the dead from all the accumulated fatigue. Then days of waiting for Geon, who had disappeared again, repeated.

The women’s quarters she occasionally visited were more lively than usual. It was thanks to her putting out gold coins for the women.

The women bought silk thread, silk fabric, and accessories to their heart’s content. Yanghui also filled her storage box with cosmetic materials and tools.

Peaceful days continued. Yuseol was making plans for the future. She was thinking of preparing to leave this place soon. She should secure new lodgings at the foot of a mountain close to the capital and search for her sister.

When she met her sister, she wanted to hold her hand tightly and sleep on the first night. And from the next day, she wanted to talk about the future. Since they couldn’t hide and live as criminals for life, they needed to find a way. How about quietly building a new foundation with her sister while preparing for revenge?

There might really come a moment when they would rise in rebellion. However, if she could only reveal the unjust suffering of her family members and her own grievances, she wasn’t afraid of rebellion. She was starting to fear dying without a sound more. How fortunate it was that she could live thanks to eating chimanocho on the day she received the death poison….

The weather had been good for all ten days. Spring really seemed to be coming.

She could see the servants who had gone to receive supplies in light clothing pulling carts back one by one. Myoyeon, who was standing in front of the main gate, said to Yuseol.

“The servants seem to be running out of strength because we’ve been bringing in supplies so much lately. We shouldn’t make dinner and should prepare seed hens instead.”

Yuseol looked toward the main gate. The servant Mansik was running breathlessly with his large body hardened by miscellaneous work. For some reason, the atmosphere wasn’t ordinary. It felt like he had urgent news to tell Myoyeon.

When Yuseol’s face was colored with puzzlement, Myoyeon went out to the main gate. Mansik stood in front of her, caught his breath, and held out two notes.

“I went to receive supplies and received two letters. One is from Byeori at the palace, and one is from the Royal Secretariat.”

Myoyeon opened the letters one by one. A heavy silence lingered for a while.

Yuseol swallowed her tense breath. She couldn’t know the contents of the letters, but she felt an impulse to run away. For some reason, she had a bad premonition.

Myoyeon read the letters again and again. That was all—his lips didn’t open easily.

A humid wind blew from the forest. Myoyeon put the letters inside his sleeves and only stared at the ground. A dark shadow fell on the fresh-faced boy’s face. Her two hands, clasped together in tension, trembled subtly.

“Is there something wrong at the palace?”

Only then did Myoyeon, who looked at Yuseol, hesitate before answering.

“The first note contains information that Han Yusil, the eldest of the Han family, was captured by the capital’s constables and transported to the palace. And in the letter from the Royal Secretariat… there’s content that His Majesty invites Lord Mu-yeong and the lady to the palace.”

Crack. The edge of a fingernail she had unconsciously bitten was sharply cut and pierced her lower lip. Blood began to flow, but Yuseol was only staring at Myoyeon with unbelieving eyes.

Dark clouds gathered thickly in the sky.

***

Drip, drip. A shower began to fall.

Yuseol, who had been walking aimlessly, stopped in the pine forest above the inner courtyard.

When she came last time it was a snowy field, but in the suddenly warmed weather, the snow had half melted away. It was quite miraculous for a place where sunlight didn’t reach to regain stability.

Someone had said that it was the way of the world for everything to change according to the flow of time. But Han Yuseol’s life alone seemed to always walk in similar places. A life of losing what she had and even losing the people she loved was now frightening. Yuseol closed her eyes deeply, colored with anguish.

The raindrops grew thicker. The new clothes she had received as gifts from the women became miserably soaked.

She wiped the rainwater flowing down her forehead and bowed her head again. Myoyeon’s voice continued to circle in her ears, leaving no time to feel cold.

…At last, he was trying to completely cut off the lifeline of Han Yuseol and her sister.

Everything before her eyes was pitch black. She also felt like she was trapped in a prison with dense iron bars. All the long efforts to escape Kim Seon’s suspicion seemed to have been in vain. She felt like an utter fool for thinking everything would end once he returned to the palace.