CHAPTER~05
At the same time, Secretary Jo’s face turned pale with shock.
“W-what are you doing right now? How could you tear apart the name personally bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?!”
Startled by Su-ryeon’s sudden action, she shouted in panic.
It seemed she had forgotten that the person standing before her was the Empress of this empire.
“It seems to me that you, Secretary Jo, are the last person who should speak of propriety.”
“What…?”
Uncertain of what Su-ryeon meant, Secretary Jo trailed off.
“This may be a hospital, but I am still the Empress. Yet you did not announce yourself, nor did you even bother to knock before entering.”
“……”
“Even nurses who know nothing of palace etiquette do not behave as recklessly as you have.”
At Su-ryeon’s sharp reprimand, Secretary Jo shut her mouth.
Being backed by the Empress Dowager had made her forget her place and speak disrespectfully to the Empress herself.
“B-but that does not mean Your Majesty’s actions can be excused.”
She flinched for a moment, then spoke boldly.
“What Your Majesty did just now is no different from an act of filial impiety.”
“Filial impiety?”
“Yes! Her Majesty the Empress Dowager composed that name out of deep affection for her first grandchild. Yet Your Majesty tore it apart! If the Empress Dowager were to hear of this, she would be furious.”
Secretary Jo spoke with proud confidence. Of course — having the Empress Dowager behind her must make her feel invincible.
“How could you treat Her Majesty’s sincerity like this….”
Secretary Jo muttered in a devastated voice.
Watching her, Su-ryeon let out a hollow laugh.
‘Affection for her first grandchild?’
Back when Su-ryeon had known nothing, she had been thrilled that the Empress Dowager personally bestowed a name.
‘Because my daughter’s name had only one character.’
In the past, heirs to the throne were given single-character names so commoners could not call them carelessly.
Thus, most princes had single-character names — no one knew who would become Emperor.
‘Giving a princess a single-character name meant Her Majesty intended that my child might one day inherit the throne.’
That thought alone had washed away all resentment toward her mother-in-law, who had not visited the hospital.
At least until she learned the true meaning behind the name the Empress Dowager had given.
“I do not believe Her Majesty the Empress Dowager sent this.”
“W-what…?”
“There is no way Her Majesty would curse her newborn granddaughter to die.”
“W-what are you saying?!”
At the word *curse*, Secretary Jo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Su-ryeon answered calmly.
“The character written on that paper can mean ‘outstanding,’ but it also carries the meaning of ‘flower bud’ or ‘flower crown.’ Did you know that?”
Secretary Jo responded as if the issue made no sense.
“And so? A flower crown refers to the very center of a flower. It means she will stand at the center, above all others. What is wrong with that?”
Listening to her, Su-ryeon twisted her lips coldly.
“It seems Secretary Jo has neglected her classical studies despite working in the palace.”
At that, Secretary Jo frowned.
“As you said, ‘flower crown yeong’ refers to the central pistil, stamen, and petals of a flower — meaning one who stands at the center of great people.”
Suddenly, Su-ryeon’s voice hardened.
“But when the character has the grass radical on top, its meaning changes entirely.”
Startled, Secretary Jo quickly picked up the paper from the floor.
As she looked at it, her face froze.
The grass radical symbolized *weed* or *grass*.
Meaning — a flower bud smothered under weeds could never rise to the sky.
In other words, it was a name that cursed a newborn to an early death.
Su-ryeon bit her lip before continuing.
“Names with such meanings have always been forbidden characters. Especially for baby girls — there is a superstition that such a name brings early death and misfortune….”
Su-ryeon’s gaze darkened.
She remembered her daughter drowning at the age of five.
“If Her Majesty the Empress Dowager truly sent this name, then it means she cursed her newborn grandchild to die.”
Su-ryeon’s eyes grew sharp.
“What do *you* think, Secretary Jo?”
Secretary Jo shut her mouth. Answering carelessly could damage the Empress Dowager’s reputation.
Seeing her avoid the question, Su-ryeon asked again.
She intended to hear the answer from the woman’s own lips.
“Do you truly believe Her Majesty intentionally gave such a name to harm her grandchild? Or… did Her Majesty simply not understand the meaning of the character?”
“T-that…”
Secretary Jo bit her lip, caught in a dilemma. Claiming ignorance would imply the Empress Dowager lacked basic knowledge. Claiming intent would imply malicious harm.
It was checkmate either way.
After struggling, Secretary Jo bowed her head.
“I-I apologize, Your Majesty. It seems there was some mistake.”
She finally lowered her tail.
“There were two envelopes on the desk at the time. I must have mistakenly brought the wrong one instead of the name Her Majesty intended.”
It was a ridiculous excuse.
Who in the palace would write a name using a forbidden character?
Su-ryeon inwardly scoffed.
She was only protecting the Empress Dowager’s image.
Even so, Su-ryeon could not press the matter further.
If Secretary Jo insisted this much, demanding proof would only make her look unreasonable.
Organizing her thoughts, Su-ryeon looked at Secretary Jo with a calmer expression.
“Then this mistake is yours — and it is a very grave one. Do you admit that?”
“…Yes. I am sorry. I will be more careful in the future…”
“Is caution enough? In the Joseon era, your head would have fallen for such a mistake.”
Even if it were a mistake, today’s incident was tantamount to attempting to harm the newborn imperial heir.
Yet, afraid of tarnishing the Empress Dowager’s name, Secretary Jo took the blame entirely upon herself.
One wrong word from her, and she would be expelled from the palace.
‘She must expect me to say “just be careful next time” and let it go….’
But Su-ryeon shattered that expectation.
“This is not a matter to be decided only within the Inner Court. I will report this to my father and have your disciplinary action discussed at the Imperial Council.”
“W-what?”
“Return to the palace and wait quietly until your punishment is announced.”
At the Empress’s order, Secretary Jo jerked her head up in shock.
The Imperial Council? She had never imagined things would escalate this far.
“B-but…”
Just as she opened her mouth to salvage the situation, Su-ryeon spoke coldly.
“You may leave now. I am tired — the shock must have worn me out.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
With Su-ryeon claiming fatigue, Secretary Jo could no longer speak.
She had no choice but to leave the hospital room.
* * *
As soon as the door closed, Su-ryeon released the breath she had been holding.
“Ha….”
The tension drained from her body, and she stared at her lightly trembling hands.
“I did the right thing… didn’t I?”
She had never spoken so boldly to someone serving the Empress Dowager.
In her previous life, she had feared falling out of the Empress Dowager’s favor and had watched her words and actions carefully.
She had obeyed every order, never going against her will.
And in return, she obtained only neglect, cruelty, and misery.
That path ended with her daughter’s death — and her own.
Su-ryeon clenched her fists tightly.
The trembling stopped. The more she recalled the past, the hotter the anger churned in her chest.
“It was like this before, too.”
Back then, she had been joyful, believing the Empress Dowager had given her daughter a “good name.”
But when she learned its true meaning, the shock had been devastating.
She had fought desperately to change her daughter’s name — and had been criticized for making a fuss.
But what parent could accept a name that foretold their child’s early death?
Even now, remembering it made her tremble.
She stood and lifted her sleeping baby from the cradle.
The warm, soft weight in her arms made every fear vanish.
“Sahee… my little princess….”
By royal custom, a child was not officially called “Princess” until she turned five, and no one was allowed to use the title casually.
And Princess Sahee’s name had not even been formally registered yet.
Su-ryeon whispered softly, so only her baby could hear.
She smiled at the tiny bundle wrapped in blankets.
Now she was certain: she had truly returned to the past.
She did not know why or how.
She could only believe the heavens had shown mercy to her and her daughter.
“In this life, I will protect you no matter what. And…”
As she murmured, faces flashed before her: Jeong-ah, the palace maid who had been her daughter’s nanny; Lee Jun, her unfaithful husband; and Empress Dowager Min.
The very people who had destroyed her child — and her.
“I will never forgive you.”
Her chilling voice echoed softly through the quiet hospital room.
