<Episode 3>
The Taepyeong Hall they arrived at was drenched in blood and littered with corpses.
Lee Hyul leisurely strolled down the corridor with Gahwa in tow, as though showing her this blood-soaked hallway was a way of flaunting what kind of man he was and what power he held.
Gahwa held her breath.
With each step he took, a wet squelching sound reached her ears, leaving behind clear footprints — crimson footprints.
Urgh.
She barely managed to hold back her gag.
His footsteps, the suffocating stench of blood — they told her exactly what had happened here. Instinctively, fear welled up inside her. The man walking ahead of her was someone who could cut down another human being without the slightest hesitation.
Suddenly, Yeon Soyong’s warning resurfaced in her mind.
Don’t use your head. Don’t speak. Live as if dead, like a halfwit.
Etching those words into her heart, she forced herself to keep walking. She didn’t know how long they walked before his footsteps finally stopped.
Lee Hyul turned and stared straight at her.
“It seems the princess is not afraid of me. Or is it that you do not recognize me as king?”
At that, Gahwa hastily dropped to the ground, prostrating herself. Trembling, she stayed bowed for a long time until she heard the metallic scrape of steel near her head.
Scrape, tap. Scrape, tap.
It was the sound of Lee Hyul’s sword dragging across the floor.
Gulp.
Gahwa swallowed hard. Cold sweat broke out across her body.
Never before had she faced someone who threatened her life so openly.
Each time he stopped near her head, the muscles in her neck tightened. Would he bring that blade down upon her neck right then? Bowed low, countless thoughts ran through her mind.
Her hands grew damp with sweat. She was tense, but she couldn’t make a mistake — her life and her mother’s were at stake.
She must not speak.
Hadn’t Soyong told her? He was cruel, ruthless, and left no heirs.
If he ever found out she had deceived him, she didn’t know what he might do — perhaps cut her down instantly and then go after her mother.
Gahwa bit her lip hard.
“Raise your head, Princess.”
At last, given permission, Gahwa lifted her head — but kept her eyes lowered.
At the edge of her vision, she saw his shoes. She couldn’t tell if they were black from being soaked in blood or if they had always been that color.
He stepped forward.
“I said to meet my eyes. Can’t speak, and now it seems you’re slow-witted too? Or perhaps you’re just pretending to be?”
Thud.
Gahwa bowed again, her forehead striking the floor with a loud sound.
She repeated the motion several times until Lee Hyul clicked his tongue in exasperation.
“Did I threaten you? I have no immediate intention of killing a mute princess. However, I also have no reason to keep you alive without purpose.”
He drew out his words, smiling.
“So let’s do this. If you go alone, I will leave Soyong untouched. She’s not of royal blood, after all.”
Gahwa’s head shot up. If her mother could be spared, she didn’t care what happened to her.
She looked at him pleadingly, and he opened his eyes fully.
“I am not such a cruel man. Still, to gain one thing, you must give up another.”
When she met his gaze with determination, he tilted his head, looking displeased.
“Yet the princess still doesn’t seem afraid of me.”
He grumbled and turned away. As he idly swung his sword, something seemed to occur to him.
“Ah, do you know why I’m not killing you immediately?”
Gahwa shook her head. She waited silently for his answer.
“In a week’s time, the rain-calling ritual will be held to coincide with my coronation.”
Turning back, he studied her face. She looked puzzled.
The giuje — the rain-calling ritual — was, in tradition, a royal ceremony performed by the king to appease the sealed dragon.
As a princess, she had no part in it.
“You, like others, think the rain-calling ritual is just a ceremony. But it is not. It is passed from king to crown prince — no one else knows the truth.”
He paused, raising his sword.
“Do you know? In the streets they say the dragon was completely sealed away. But in truth, he resides in the deepest part of this palace.”
He gave a chilling smile.
“All we managed to do was steal his yeouiju and lock him in the palace. Even then, we must offer him humans to calm his wrath.”
What…?
Gahwa’s eyes widened.
Every word shocked her, but it was his last statement that truly unsettled her.
A rumor she’d once heard in the palace flashed through her mind.
It was said that from time to time, the dragon would appear and take members of the royal family. Back then, she’d thought it was just a tale made to frighten young maids.
But from Lee Hyul’s words, it seemed the rumor was true. She clutched at her skirts.
“You’ve realized it, haven’t you? Why I’m keeping you alive. The one offered to appease the dragon must be of royal blood.”
Still toying with his sword, he lifted the blade toward her.
“Yes. I intend to offer you. At the coronation of the new king, no less. So you will have to attend.”
Gahwa stared quietly at the tip of his sword.
If giving up her life would save her mother, she would do it. She would accept whatever came, even becoming a sacrifice.
But it burned.
It burned that she had no power. She had only wanted a peaceful life, yet even that small dream was too hard to grasp.
She lowered her head and asked for brush and paper.
“Give it to her.”
At his signal, a eunuch brought paper, brush, and ink to her.
She wrote each character with firm strokes — this was her condition to secure her mother’s life.
When she finished, she handed him the paper.
Tonight, send my mother out of the palace. No one is to follow her. Stamp this with the royal seal and leave it with me. Then I will offer myself as the sacrifice.
She straightened her back and met his eyes. Again, he looked dissatisfied.
Tapping the floor with his sword, he seemed lost in thought. The sharp metallic sounds faded, and he gave a short laugh.
“Very well. But Soyong will only leave the palace on the morning of the rain-calling ritual. Is that acceptable, Princess?”
That timing was fine — she would also be leaving the palace then.
Still, she needed a firm promise. She wrote again:
Then stamp it with the royal seal here and now.
Lee Hyul laughed incredulously and then pressed the royal seal onto the paper.
Thud.
Gahwa bowed in thanks — but footsteps approached, and suddenly her hair was seized, her head yanked back.
Gasp!
She bit back a cry of pain and surprise. Her heart pounded and her palms sweated.
Lee Hyul studied her face carefully, his gaze lingering on her neck — where a large scar lay.
Seemingly pleased, he arched his brows.
“Do you know? Not one royal offered to the dragon has survived more than a day. Those irritating eyes of yours won’t be around much longer.”
Snap.
With those words, he released her.
She bent her head forward, releasing the breath she’d been holding. Through her disheveled hair, she saw his feet moving away.
Several days had passed since Gahwa had been moved to Changbi Palace.
During that time, she had bathed in rose water, leaving her skin soft and fragrant — a luxury she had never enjoyed in Yeonhwa Palace.
But no matter how fine the clothes, how delicious the food, or how warm the bathwater, it was all a fleeting dream.
At the edge of her vision, she saw a butterfly alight on a flower bed.
There was a time she had wished to be that butterfly, to soar freely over the palace walls.
But such a dream was vain.
And her mother, Soyong, was still confined to Yeonhwa Palace, unable to meet her.
Gahwa plucked one of the hairpins from her head. Using it, she lured one of the attending maids.
It wasn’t the proper way, but in the current unrest of the palace, it was effective.
Indeed, it worked — she was able to enter Yeonhwa Palace, where her mother was imprisoned.
Fortunately, though confined, her mother was being treated with great care.
“Gahwa!”
Clad in a fine silk gown embroidered with flowers and adorned with an elaborate headpiece, Yeon Soyong ran out barefoot the moment she saw her daughter, cupping Gahwa’s face in her hands.
“Thank goodness you’re unharmed. I had no idea what was happening outside.”
Only after confirming Gahwa was alive did she release her embrace — but she looked so relieved that standing seemed to sap her strength.
Gahwa, assuring her she was fine, led her to the farthest corner from the door — a bed covered in soft silk blankets.
Once seated, Gahwa spoke.
“Mother, we have little time.”
The maid had given her only one gak (about fifteen minutes). She had to say everything within that time.
She smiled brightly as though nothing was wrong.
But Soyong, instead, looked ready to pack and flee the palace immediately.
“Yes, you’re right — there’s no time.”
Gahwa quickly reached out and pulled down her mother’s collar—
