“Shall I put you to sleep myself?”
On Mu-ae’s voice echoed in a low tone, thick with desire.
“Oh, my… Mu-ae… Keep your voice down, the Consort will hear…”
“It’s fine. No need to pay her any mind.”
No need to pay her any mind. Those words pierced Go Gyeong-seong’s heart like a dagger.
“By the way, Mu-ae, this Prince’s Manor is truly vast. Doesn’t that pond over there look a bit bare? How about filling it in to plant peonies—the kind I love?”
The pond. Go Gyeong-seong’s gaze wavered.
Every single one of those ponds had been created specifically for her.
“Do as you wish. Plant whatever you like, Yu’er. It wouldn’t matter if you filled in every pond in this manor. From this day forth, you are another master of this household, so do as you please without feeling the need to ask.”
“Mu-ae, I am truly so happy…”
The voices of the two drifted further away. Yet, they remained agonizingly vivid in Go Gyeong-seong’s ears.
She stood frozen on the spot, as if nailed to the ground. She could not move.
Even breathing felt arduous.
Her hands were clenched into tight fists, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
Blood welled up, yet she felt no physical pain.
The ache in her chest cut far deeper.
Only after a long moment did she slowly turn around to look in the direction they had vanished.
They had already stepped inside the building, completely out of sight.
Before long, her gaze fell upon the pond. The clear water glinted beneath the sunlight.
Lotus flowers were in full bloom, utterly beautiful.
Three years ago, when she first visited the Prince’s Manor, there had not been this many ponds.
Go Gyeong-seong had always been particularly fond of places with water. She loved listening to the sound of flowing streams and enjoyed raising and feeding fish.
Once, she had mentioned to On Mu-ae that it would be wonderful to have a pond.
For her sake, On Mu-ae had summoned craftsmen from all over the country to build beautiful ponds in every corner of the manor’s courtyard—ponds large and small, numbering in the dozens.
At the time, she had not fully realized the sheer effort he had exerted for her.
It was only years later, when she married into the manor, that she learned the truth: he had practically overhauled the entire grounds just because of a single word she had uttered.
That feeling of being cherished so dearly—the days of being loved like a precious treasure held in his arms…
That was the reason Go Gyeong-seong had once been so determined to marry him, despite knowing it was a hasty decision, despite knowing her father opposed it.
In the end, she had chosen him, believing with all her heart that she would be happy by his side.
Yet, after a year of cold neglect followed by the sudden appearance of this woman, Yu Geum-yeon, she finally understood how absurd her decision had been.
How utterly foolish she was.
She could no longer even comprehend what kind of man she had loved all these years. The man inside right now was not the On Mu-ae she had known.
A gust of wind blew past, scattering her hair in the cold breeze.
The silver hairpin glinted softly in the sunlight.
She remained standing there, gazing at the pond, without shedding a single tear.
Early the next morning.
Go Gyeong-seong, having stayed awake all night, stood in the reception hall. Dawn’s light crept through the window, yet her world remained bathed in darkness.
Heavy exhaustion hung under her eyes. Her face was pale, and her lips were drained of all color. She had not cried through the night; she could not. Tears would not even come.
On Mu-ae stepped out, clad in his official robes, fully prepared to head to court.
He saw Go Gyeong-seong, and their eyes met.
Yet, he made as if to brush past her without a word, like a stranger.
Go Gyeong-seong called out to stop him. Her voice was serene—so serene it felt chilling.
“Now that things have come to this, I will no longer question…”
On Mu-ae let out an indifferent, sneering laugh, cutting off what she was about to say.
“What is it you think you can do? His Imperial Majesty has already approved the marriage. Yu’er is now my secondary consort. No one can defy that.”
Go Gyeong-seong glared at him, her calm composure shattering as her suppressed emotions burst forth.
“That is not what I am trying to say.”
Her voice trembled, but she pressed on.
“Mu-ae, I have known you since I was eight years old. Over the past eight years, we grew up together and endured so much side by side. Do you remember? When I was ten and hunted by enemies at the border, you saved me. When we were twelve, we lost our way on the mountain behind the imperial palace, and we kept each other safe through the night.”
Tears welled in Go Gyeong-seong’s eyes, though she refused to let them fall. She continued speaking.
“You swore that you would love only me for the rest of your life. When I was fifteen, by the pond, you took my hand and said you would look only at me—that no other woman would ever catch your eye.”
Her voice rose in pitch.
“So what is this now? Since our wedding, you haven’t stepped foot into my chamber once. You were busy the entire year, yet I never uttered a single complaint because I trusted you. I waited only for your return. Yet in the blink of an eye, you bring back another woman. Just what do you take me for?”
“…Love only you for the rest of my life?”
On Mu-ae suddenly burst out laughing—a loud, booming laugh that gradually morphed into a sneer. Cold and sharp, as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Gyeong-seong, if memory serves, there is something you said to me the first time you saw me at eight years old. At the time, I didn’t quite grasp what you meant.”
He took a step toward her, his gaze icy.
“You said: ‘If a man’s nonsense could be trusted, even a sow could climb a tree.’ Were those not your words?”
Go Gyeong-seong’s face hardened. Those words… she had indeed said them. In her youth, upon hearing how her mother had been deceived by her father, she had uttered them in anger.
But that was…
She stared at him in utter disbelief.
“So, how could you possibly believe the sweet words of affection a man blurted out in a moment of lost reason and ecstasy?”
On Mu-ae smiled sinisterly. At that moment, he suddenly raised his hand and grabbed her chin, caressing it unnaturally.
Desire flashed briefly through his eyes as he scanned Go Gyeong-seong from head to toe, as if evaluating a piece of property.
“If you resent me for not consummating our marriage over the past year, I could skip court today and fulfill my marital duties with you first…”
The man before her was undeniably the person she had loved most in the world. Yet now, the mere touch of his hand on her chin made her feel thoroughly nauseated.
His hand—the hand that must have groped Yu Geum-yeon’s body last night, the hand that had explored another woman’s voluptuous form—felt disgusting.
It felt beyond repulsive.
Instinctively, Go Gyeong-seong took a step back, dodging his touch as her body reacted before her mind could.
On Mu-ae’s hand froze in midair. He stood dazed for a brief second before glaring at her coldly, his eyes turning as frozen as ice.
“Go Gyeong-seong, you sit in the position of Consort that you so desperately desired. Once I inherit the throne in the future, the position of Empress will surely be yours as well.”
His voice was low and cold.
“You have already gained everything you wanted, so what more could you possibly desire?”
She paused, unable to comprehend what he meant.
“What do you mean?”
Surprise flickered in her eyes—a look of genuine bewilderment.
On Mu-ae sneered mockingly at the sight.
“Stop pretending to be so innocent, as if you knew nothing. You already knew my power was the greatest in Great Ha, and you saw right through my capabilities.”
He took another step closer, imposing and domineering.
“You believed I would surely become Emperor, so you were certain that remaining by my side would make you Empress. That is why your father approved our marriage as well. Prime Minister Go is a man skilled in political calculation, after all.”
Go Gyeong-seong shook her head—slowly, yet firmly.
“No. I never had such thoughts. I loved you, so…”
“How much effort did you exert to secure that seat? Now that you are on the verge of obtaining it all, what is there to be so anxious about?”
On Mu-ae cut her off, as if refusing to hear any more.
“Yu’er is merely a secondary consort; she can never surpass you. No one can shake your position. You are the Consort, and you will be the Empress in the future. So, Go Gyeong-seong, stop playing this hypocritical game of saving face and quietly fulfill your duties as the Consort of Prince Yeong.”
His voice grew colder by the second.
“Cast aside that sanctimonious act.”
Go Gyeong-seong suddenly glared at him, fury blazing in her eyes.
“On Mu-ae! When did I ever say such…”
He stared at her expressionlessly with an icy, emotionless gaze.
“You know best yourself when you said it.”
A heavy silence descended between them.
“Consider yourself warned: Yu’er is already three months pregnant with my child.”
Go Gyeong-seong’s eyes widened. Three months.
The words slammed into her ears.
“If anything happens to the child, I will surely hold you accountable.”
Every doubt, every question that had risen to the edge of Go Gyeong-seong’s throat was instantly snuffed out.
A single sentence from him had shattered everything in an instant, striking her like a bolt from the blue and leaving her mind completely numb.
She could only stare blankly as the man before her flicked his sleeves with indifference and turned to walk away.
Three months pregnant… Three months.
That meant his relationship with Yu Geum-yeon had begun at least four months ago.
Her fingernails dug deep into the flesh of her palms. As she clenched her fists tightly and let out a deep breath, crescent-shaped cuts formed on her palms, seeping blood.
Inexplicable doubts, the longing to uncover every detail of the truth—all of it was shattered to pieces by that single piece of news.
He had already been with another woman—and for a long time.
Looking back, during their year of marriage, he had never once offered her a genuine smile, giving her nothing but formal, hollow expressions.
Was that past love entirely false? Or had it been real, only to change over time?
If she was three months pregnant, his connection with Yu Geum-yeon spanned well over four months. The reason he had traveled to the border so frequently was that the woman he loved was waiting for him there.
Go Gyeong-seong suddenly felt like bursting into laughter, yet no laughter came.
Before long, a bitter chuckle escaped her lips—a lonely, self-deprecating laugh.
That past, that brief time… things that could never have been lies…
The countless moments they had shared together…
The way he had cherished and cared for her as if she were his own body, instinctively pulling her into his arms or shielding her behind his back whenever danger arose… The days they spent holding hands affectionately, looking into each other’s eyes…
None of it could have been false. She wanted to believe he had been sincere at least back then.
The only answer she could arrive at in her heart was that his love for her had simply changed.
For reasons even she could not fathom, his heart had altered. Or perhaps he had used her from the very beginning—all for the sake of the Empress’s seat.
Yu Geum-yeon was carrying his child. Three months.
It would be born soon—On Mu-ae’s firstborn child.
While she herself had not even consummated her marriage after a whole year…
