・・・・・
Once called Buyeon and awaiting her ascent to the position of queen, Yuhwa was dragged from her quarters in a pitiable state.
This happened just two days after Yewon woke up from her suicide attempt.
Yuhwa, who had been screaming that she would kill the one who dared lay a hand on her while thrashing violently, fell silent because the king was seated there, overseeing the entire ordeal.
“Your Majesty…”
Yuhwa, who had been speaking in a voice full of rage but now looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment, could not comprehend the situation that had befallen her. The king’s emotionless gaze and the stern faces of the courtiers standing on either side left her utterly dumbfounded.
Just that morning, she had been attended to by her maids as she reluctantly came to terms with Yewon’s awakening.
“Criminal Cheon Yuhwa, listen carefully.”
“Criminal…?”
Yuhwa soon sank to her knees under the pressure of the arms forcing her down from both sides.
“Your crimes are so heinous that they are almost too vile to speak of. You dared to bring into the sacred palace what should never have entered, and, blinded by envy and jealousy, committed acts that should never have been done. Therefore, right now…”
At the words that cut through her like a blade, Yuhwa finally noticed the items placed before her. It was a kitchen knife, a red fortune pouch, and a human-shaped straw doll — planted in the palace to cast a curse, just as the shaman had instructed. From the red pouch, the stench of a rotting chicken neck filled the air, placed atop a drawing she had made herself while thinking of Yewon.
“Ah… no… this is a false accusation. Your Majesty! How could I possibly commit such a horrendous act?”
Staring blankly at what she had done, Yuhwa hunched her body defensively and shouted desperately in denial. If she admitted to doing these things, not only would she be expelled from the palace, but it would also be nearly impossible for her to survive.
“Aha! Now you’re even denying it, despite all the evidence laid out before you. You wretched thing.”
But by the time she was dragged out, it seemed that everything had already been uncovered. At the scolding voice that no longer addressed her as Buyeon, Yuhwa clenched her fists tightly. The only ones who knew of this were her maids and the elderly shaman she had personally brought into the palace.
Who could have dared to report all of this?
No matter how hard she racked her brain, there was not the slightest way out, and Yuhwa’s face grew paler by the moment.
Not only could the Buyeon position vanish in an instant like smoke, but now that the king knew, a death sentence could even be delivered on the spot. In the palace, envy and jealousy were regarded as especially grave offences.
“Your Majesty… this… is a false accusation…”
With no way to respond, Yuhwa only muttered that it was a false accusation, but she was soon lifted back to her feet by the attendants.
“Criminal Cheon Yuhwa, hear this. Your conduct warrants immediate death, but as a woman who once rose to the position of Buyeon, His Majesty, in his mercy, spares your life. You shall now leave this place and become a nun, spending the rest of your days repenting for your deeds.”
“Your Majesty…”
“What are you waiting for? Strip criminal Cheon Yuhwa of her clothes and cast her out.”
“Your Majesty! I have erred. Blinded by jealousy, I committed deeds I should never have. I must have been momentarily mad. Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was only because I admired you too deeply…”
“You brazen wretch! How dare you wag your tongue so recklessly?”
“Your Majesty! I was wrong. Please forgive me. I will never do it again.”
Clasping her hands desperately, Yuhwa pleaded with the king, but he remained utterly impassive. Without a trace of emotion, he simply watched as the fine fabric of her hanbok was torn clumsily. Even in the presence of the grotesque straw doll and the kitchen knife, he remained silent, as if his mind were elsewhere.
“Your Majesty!”
At Yuhwa’s cries, as her life turned upside down in an instant, the king slowly raised his right hand. At that single gesture, an attendant nodded, freeing the arms that had been about to drag her away. Seizing the moment, Yuhwa dropped to her knees with a thud, clasping her hands together in earnest supplication.
Seeing this, the king, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“The reason I am not killing you, but making you a nun.”
“…Pardon…?”
“It’s because if that woman were to learn the truth, she would fear me even more.”
“Your Majesty…”
“If it weren’t for that, you would be dead right here and now. This is not the first time you have done such things, is it?”
“Your… Majesty…”
“Haven’t you tried to kill her twice? Under normal circumstances, I would have punished you so severely that you could hardly recognise your own face. You are alive now solely because of the woman named Yewon.”
“Ha…”
Her face, her grace, even her knowledge of court etiquette — she was far superior in every way to Yewon, who had appeared one day — but the king remained completely unmoved. It was only then that Yuhwa realised, from the look in his eyes as he spoke, that there was absolutely no opening for her.
Even then, it would have been better if she had quietly left the palace. But as Yuhwa heard the words of a courtier who had remained silent until now, she could no longer maintain the mask of composure she had been wearing.
“The father of criminal Cheon Yuhwa shall be stripped of his office, and his property shall be confiscated.”
If her father were stripped of his office and his property confiscated, her family could starve as winter approached. With no chance to take the civil service exams, they would be forced to live a lowly status. Though the king had not issued her a death sentence, the order was effectively no different from condemning her entire family to die. Yuhwa’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
And remembering that all of this had happened in an instant because of Yewon, Yuhwa soon twisted her face into a grotesque smile. Her expression, almost like that of a madwoman, left the courtiers visibly unsettled.
“Th-that!”
She let out a sound, but the king alone stared at her without any expression.
“Even if Your Majesty drives me out like this, you will never win her heart.”
“You brazen wretch!”
“You are so blind to a woman’s heart. Even if you do not kill me, how could that woman, Yewon, face Your Majesty with peace of mind once she learns that I have been cast out?”
“Silence, you wretch!”
“I suppose Your Majesty, like the sangsahwa, will never be able to stay by her side.”
“Sangsahwa?”
It was then that the king’s previously impassive expression began to change. He even rose from his seat.
“Do you know of the sangsahwa?”
Yuhwa hesitated for a moment at the king’s display of interest in the sangsahwa, but soon her face twisted once again into that grotesque smile.
“Is there anyone who does not know of the sangsahwa, Your Majesty?”
“Can’t you keep your mouth shut? Just as expected from the child of a worthless family, only now do you reveal your true nature.”
The king raised his hand to silence the enraged courtiers, then turned his gaze back to Yuhwa.
“Does the sangsahwa bloom even in this country?”
“Your Majesty, until quite recently, whenever one stepped outside the palace, all that could be seen was the sangsahwa. When the flowers bloom, there are no leaves; when the leaves grow, there are no flowers, so they can never meet. That is why they are called 'sangsahwa.'”
“...”
“Your Majesty, the same will be true for you and the woman called Yewon. No matter how much you try to draw near, you will never truly meet her — like a flower that withers when touched. The closer you approach, the more she will wilt away.”
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