CHALTER~03
Su-ryeon’s hands trembled as she listened to the two speaking.
She doubted whether she had truly heard what she thought she heard.
How could a person do such a thing?
Her own child had died, yet the lunatic protecting his mistress was the emperor of this nation.
And that man was her husband!
It felt like she was trapped in a horrific nightmare.
The shock was too overwhelming, and Su-ryeon staggered.
As she struggled to keep herself from collapsing, she ended up making a sound.
Perhaps they heard it.
Their voices suddenly stopped, and hurried footsteps approached rapidly.
Then, through the door pushed open with force, Lee Jun shouted.
“Who’s there?! I clearly said no one was allowed in he—”
But when he saw Su-ryeon standing before him, he closed his mouth.
Lee Jun’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of his wife.
“Why are you here…?”
“Y-Your Majesty, the Empress…!”
Jeong-ah, who saw Su-ryeon behind him, gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
“How could the two of you… do this to me…?”
A violent sense of betrayal made Su-ryeon’s eyebrows tremble.
She had believed that even if there was no love between her and her husband, at least there was loyalty.
Su-ryeon had trusted Jeong-ah as well, since Princess Sahee adored her so much.
Yet those two not only deceived and mocked her but even caused her daughter’s death.
As Su-ryeon’s long–suppressed tears began to fall, Lee Jun approached her.
“Su-ryeon, this is a misunderstanding. I’ll explain everything.”
He reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away.
“A misunderstanding?”
She let out a hollow laugh, as if the words were absurd.
“Fine. Go ahead. Explain. That so-called explanation of yours.”
Su-ryeon’s lips twisted coldly.
“Explain who the father of that woman’s child is. Explain why, while Princess Sahee was drowning and struggling in the water, you were busy fooling around with her!”
Su-ryeon’s enraged voice echoed through Hyangwonjeong.
Lee Jun’s expression shifted as he gritted his teeth.
“Keep your voice down! What if someone hears you!”
Even in this moment, he was afraid of people overhearing — it was ridiculous.
“I won’t let the two of you get away with this.”
Her clenched palms felt as though they were bleeding.
“I’ll make sure everyone learns what the two of you did!”
With those final words, Su-ryeon stormed out of Hyangwonjeong.
“Su-ryeon!”
Lee Jun’s voice called out behind her, but she did not stop.
Just as Su-ryeon, running without end, reached Chwihyang Bridge—
Lee Jun, who had chased closely behind, grabbed her arm.
“Listen to me!”
“Let go!”
“You’re worked up right now. Let’s go back and talk—”
“I said let go of me!”
Su-ryeon struggled to escape from his grip.
But his hold only tightened.
Just as she attempted desperately to pull her wrist free—
A savior-like voice rang out.
“What is this commotion?”
“M-Mother.”
“Your Majesty!”
Lee Jun immediately released her, and Su-ryeon seized the moment, rushing to Empress Dowager Min.
“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you!”
She pointed straight at Lee Jun and Jeong-ah, who had followed him out of Hyangwonjeong.
“Those two murdered our Princess Sahee!”
Su-ryeon’s voice trembled with desperation.
“The palace lady brought Sahee here so she could have a secret meeting with my husband, and she left her alone by the water — that’s how Sahee died!”
“Yun Su-ryeon!”
Lee Jun yelled at her to stop, but her mouth would not close.
Su-ryeon knew Empress Dowager Min did not favor her.
But she believed the Empress Dowager would not overlook those who caused her granddaughter’s death.
Even if she forgave her son, she would surely punish Jeong-ah.
But that, too, was Su-ryeon’s mistake.
“My daughter was killed by—”
Smack!
Her head whipped to the side, cutting her words short.
More shocking than the stinging pain was the fact—
“Silence. How dare you raise your voice here?”
—that the one who struck her was her mother-in-law.
“Your Majesty…?”
Su-ryeon looked at Empress Dowager Min, unable to understand.
The Empress Dowager muttered coldly.
“Empress. Conduct yourself properly. Do you not know where you are? What if someone hears you?”
Mother and son spoke the exact same words.
More than being caught cheating, more than the truth behind Princess Sahee’s death—
These two feared their disgrace being exposed.
A chilling sensation washed over Su-ryeon.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
She spoke again with great effort.
“…Not only did they commit adultery, but they caused Your Majesty’s granddaughter to die. And you feel nothing?”
“You’re making a fuss over the death of one girl.”
Empress Dowager Min spoke as if it were nothing.
Su-ryeon exhaled a devastated breath and stepped backward.
She looked back and forth between her husband and mother-in-law, shaking her head.
“You’ve all gone insane.”
It felt like the entire world was deceiving her.
Putting distance between herself and the Empress Dowager, Su-ryeon pointed at all three.
“All of you are insane!”
She was furious and heartbroken.
She could never forgive those who killed her daughter.
“I won’t let this slide.”
She would expose every last one of their sins.
“I’ll never let you—”
Her cheek snapped to the side again — this time by Lee Jun.
The man who moments ago claimed it was all a misunderstanding now wore an icy expression.
“You should be grateful I took in someone defective like you.”
The slap rang so hard her ears buzzed.
“You’re second-hand goods touched by my brother. You should be groveling.”
Su-ryeon froze at his words.
“Second-hand goods touched by his brother.”
He was referring to the past — when she had once been engaged to his older brother.
That single line revealed what her husband had always thought of her.
‘Ah… I see.’
All this time, he had looked at her that way.
Not as a person — but as an object.
Tears streamed down Su-ryeon’s face.
She had comforted herself, believing it was just a loveless political marriage — that he was indifferent for that reason.
But the reality was far more miserable.
She had been slapped in front of his mistress and mother-in-law.
Even after losing her daughter, she was treated as the criminal.
Her overflowing tears would not stop, and her eyes hardened.
She would no longer endure like a fool.
“You crazy bastard…!”
Unable to hold back her rage, Su-ryeon raised her right hand.
Just as she was about to slap him—
Lee Jun grabbed her wrist.
“How dare you raise your hand at me?”
Then he shoved her with force.
Su-ryeon lost her balance.
The four of them stood on Chwihyang Bridge — a bridge without railings, with a deep pond beneath.
Once her body tilted, the result was obvious.
Splash—
Su-ryeon fell into the pond.
It happened in an instant.
The pitch-black, icy water swallowed her whole.
“H-Help… help me…!”
The cold pierced her skin like needles.
But worse was the realization that her feet could not reach the ground — and her heavy, soaked clothes made escaping impossible.
She flailed, reaching toward her husband with a trembling hand, pleading silently.
Only then did Lee Jun flinch as if waking from a daze.
His uncertain eyes turned to his mother.
“M-Mother…”
Empress Dowager Min, just as shaken moments ago, regained her composure.
Her eyes showed a firm resolve.
She stepped closer to her son and spoke calmly.
“It’s fine. This is merely an accident.”
“She dared raise a hand against the emperor’s face. Just like the deposed Consort Yun once did.”
“T-Then… Su-ryeon…?”
“Let her die.”
