The first snow of the season slowly melted its way onto the ground, creating shallow footprints as people bustled around going about their work. Not many had the luxury of soaking in the sight, as Minjae did, cocooned in Seung's arms as they watched it, mesmerised.

He traced small, absent-minded circles with his thumb on her waist. "I am supposed to be at work," he said, his breath soft in her ear.

Seung's gaze followed the gentle arc of her neck as she turned, the movement so fluid it seemed to steal his breath for a moment.

Heavens.

"So what's stopping you?" She smiled. Her gaze pulled him in, deep as they were, but it was the twinkle that brought out his chuckle.

"My bride holds too much attention for me to care for much else," he said.

It had been three days since they had let everything that had been buried deep inside them come out. Three days of soul-searching, assurances and love. So much love that Minjae thought her heart would burst.

"I don't know what's so special about her. She wasted so much time -" Minjae didn't finish as Seung claimed her lips, drowning the rest of her words.

"You shall not speak badly of my wife, Physician Kim," he said as they came up for air, his lips still brushing against hers.

"She deserves it. She is the most foolish woman ever to live in Joseon," she teased, but the flicker of doubt in her eyes did not go amiss. Her tone was jestful, but he knew these words came from a place of deep-seated guilt that still lingered in her heart.

Seung felt an ache in his chest. Even now, she couldn't see herself as he did—a survivor, a force of strength. He wouldn't let her drown in self-doubt.

"Aigoo! I know you're only saying that so I can kiss you again," he replied, pulling her closer, hoping that one day, his love would erase the last of her doubts. "But I'm not going to fall for it. I must correct your impressions of her. She is the bravest woman I have ever met. And brilliant. Rich, all with her own hard work. No man in Joseon can claim that," he argued. "And beautiful," he breathed, his eyes searching hers. "A man who sees her never forgets." He dragged her closer. "She is perfect."

"Her mother-in-law hates her." She looked down where her hands rested on his arm that encircled her. "Her sister-in-law will never forgive her."

Minjae remembered Gil-ae's cheeky smiles when she rebelled against Soo Hyun during their first visit to Kim I-On. She was infinitely kind whenever Minjae visited to treat her mother, despite the cold treatment that Lady Ryu always seems to have reserved for Minjae.

Seung understood Minjae was hurting. There was so much they still had to navigate. Reality would soon intrude, and they would have to face the task of restoring her identity without compromising who she had become.

He dropped a soft kiss on the shoulder, where he knew her mole was beneath the fabric of her flaming orange hanbok.

"Give her time, sweetheart. Gil-ae has always loved you. Did you know what she told me once?"

Minjae shook her head.

"That she felt you reminded her of her sister-in-law way more than Soo Hyun ever did. Which is why Soo Hyun was always angry at her."

Minjae's eyes widened. "She did? You think she remembered me?"

"In the back of her mind, she might have, but it's hard to tell. My mother possibly recognised you mostly because you resemble your mother. Back then, you used to have this layer of white powder which obscured your face."

"My stepmother insisted on it. It was something a Japanese official's wife gifted her once, and she always drowned me in it."

"Did you not find it strange that she never put that on herself? I think she wanted to hide what you looked like from everyone."

Minjae pondered on it. "She always wanted me to put it on whenever Father commanded my presence," she said. "Could it be because she didn't want him to be reminded of my mother?"

Her stepmother and Aunt Im Nabi could be cruel like that. Minjae bit her lip at the memory of her stepmother, who had hated her so much that she had revelled in Minjae's pain.

"I recall wondering what you truly looked like beneath all those dreadful layers she forced upon you. Now I know." His thumb brushed her cheek, lingering.

"Do you like what you see?" She teased.

"Let me tell you a story. Your friend Kim I-On apparently wasn't happy when Jo Hee Bong told her you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen," he chuckled.

Throwing her head back against his chest, a smile spread on her face. "She told me too. But she has nothing to fear. He is besotted with her."

"I'm glad. I don't want to go around poking people's eyes out. I am also somewhat glad that back then, you were also much less -" A corner of his lip lifted along with his brow as his hand moved playfully to cup a breast. She gasped, her cheeks blooming in embarrassment, and then tried to pry it away with a "Dari!"

Her elbow hit his midriff, and she ended up rubbing her soft skin. "You have rocks in there," she complained.

He laughed, hooking her hands over her head and pressing her down on the mattress.

"And somewhere else, too," he teased, pushing his pelvis into her playfully, but he wasn't jesting. His desire for this woman rose with every moment he spent with her. Her mouth went round. She narrowed her eyes with a devilish glint, and she twisted under him. The more she tried to struggle, the more intense he became, until she stopped struggling.

His gaze softened, the teasing fading as something deeper took its place. "To answer your question, I more than like it," he whispered, his voice dropping. "You are everything I ever imagined and more."

Minjae's breath hitched as his hand moved lower, trailing down her shoulder and lingering at her waist. She shifted, her teasing slipping away as his touch sent warmth pooling in her belly.

"Dari..." she started, but her voice wavered, betraying her.

Her heartbeat quickened, her resistance melting like the snowflakes outside their window touching the parched ground, and their playful banter dissolved into something unspoken, the air between them thick with anticipation. His hand, which had been resting on her waist, slid slowly to cup her breast, and this time she didn't pull away.

Seung had not left her side for three days straight, the only exception being the few hours he had to attend the Grand Prince's inner court meetings. News had stopped filtering from the mainland, and there was a strange limbo on the island, a stilted air where everyone seemed to be waiting for something.

Something big.

Something he didn't want to think of right now. He twisted and flipped Minjae on top of him, impaling her. Startled, she looked down at him, her hair cascading all over her bare shoulders and breasts, the tips touching the defined lines of his chest. Her hands rested on the cords of muscles flexing underneath her palms. His hand reached between them; his thumb and finger gently coaxed her core to open up.

Her head fell back, her moans filling the chamber as she moved involuntarily.

He loved every sound, every curve of her body. He loved her essence. Seung wished he could take her away from the demands and dangers waiting just beyond these walls.

To a world where only they existed.

"You would perish from boredom," she laughed.

He gave her a lopsided smile, not realising he had spoken it out aloud. He moved the hair from her shoulder, his hand curling around the nape of her neck. "Speak for yourself," he retorted, breathing hard, trying not to explode before time. He had never felt like this with any woman. He had never felt like this for another human being. What he felt for Minjae consumed him.

"I would find - wild animals to cure, I -" she threw her head back, her sentences coming out in short bursts.

"I'm sure you would," he said solemnly, his pleasure mounting manifold as he watched Minaje reach hers.

What he would not do for this woman.

At that moment, he knew if fate ever parted her from him, he might not be able to live.

His grip tightened on her as he closed his eyes, trying to blank his mind against a fear that suddenly took over him. He lost himself in her cries and felt himself let go, deep within her, as if he could write his name in her womb.

Seung rolled her underneath. "You don't know what you do to me," he whispered against her skin. "It's like I can't breathe without you; like I'm drowning if you're not here. How did I ever survive without this? Without you?'

His fingers trailed along the angles of her cheekbones, the sharp edges of her jaw, the bend of her neck, her shoulder blades, the rounded curves of her breasts, desperate to memorise every part of her as if she could slip through his grasp at any moment. He pressed his lips against her neck, a low groan escaping as her name left his mouth, raw and unguarded.

"Jina-yah.." he whispered, her name a breath as if testing it to feel.

Minjae went still. "You called my name."

His eyes were a brilliant mahogany etched with amber. "Do you want me to?"

She bit her lip, unsure of the answer.

His hips moved against hers.

Her eyes widened as Minjae realised he was starting over.

He was not done. He felt he would never be done. Not even when he could finally claim in front of everyone that she was Choi Jina, his one true wife.

∞

Utensils clanked, and oven fires raged. Someone was stirring a large pot while another folded dumplings with expert fingers. Gil-ae swept her hand across her forehead and then blew into the oven to adjust the fire. She became aware of eyes on her back and turned to find Minjae behind her.

Her lips tightened, but she kept the blowpipe down and bowed.

"You're not supposed to leave your chambers, Sister-in-law," Gil-ae said.

Sister-in-law.

Progress.

"I'm not a prisoner," Minjae said gently.

Gil-ae bit her lip, her eyes glued to the ground. "How can I help you?"

"Can I speak with you?" Minjae asked.

For a fraction of a second, Gil-ae's shoulders tensed, and then she raised her chin, bowed again, and, without another word, walked away.

"Gil-ae," Minjae followed her. "Please listen to me."

In reply, Gil-ae quickened her steps.

"Please, just a few minutes," Minjae said, catching up with her.

Gil-ae jerked her hand as Minjae's fingers brushed her elbow.

"There is nothing you can say that will make anything right," Gil-ae bellowed. "I hate you, I hate your family," tears ran down her cheeks. "You took away my father, broke my family, turned my brother against us."

"No-"

"You have brought nothing but bad luck to us -"

None of them noticed the shadow that fell across them.

"Gil-ae, you will apologise to your sister-in-law right at this moment for disrespecting her," Seung's voice boomed from behind them.

Both women turned in surprise.

Seung stared at his sister, his eyes narrow, furious.

Before Minjae could recover, Gil-ae turned on her. "You should have stayed dead."

Minjae stepped back as if slapped.

Gil-ae pivoted and ran, slamming the door of her chamber shut behind her.

For a moment, Minjae closed her eyes. "You should not have intervened, Dari," she said tonelessly.

When she looked up, Seung was still staring at the closed door of his sister's chamber, his face pale as a ghost.

He didn't reply. Instead, he climbed the steps and dragged open the door.

"What did you say?"

Gil-ae turned, not expecting her brother to follow her.

"You heard me, Oraboni," Gil-ae said, her voice cracking with grief.

"Wishing her ill is wishing me ill, Gil-ae," Seung said, fisting his hands to keep them from shaking. "Is that who you want to become?"

"How can you love someone like her? You...Father...I can't..." The young woman stood stiffly, sobbing into her palms.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

He stepped closer, reaching for his sister.

"I know, child, I know..." Seung said, gently patting her head.

Minjae stood a few feet away, watching Seung comfort his sister, feeling a pang of loneliness she couldn't quite shake. She knew Gil-ae's pain was justified, and she understood why Seung needed to be there for her, but it didn't stop the sharp sting of being left out. I'm hurting too, she thought, guilt and helplessness rising alongside a quiet anger she hated acknowledging. As much as she loved Seung, seeing him console Gil-ae while she stood on the sidelines made her feel like a stranger in a family she desperately wanted to belong to. At that moment, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever indeed be a part of their world.

Before Seung could catch her conflicting emotions, Minjae turned and left.

She didn't see the yearning in Seung's eyes as he followed her retreating back.

He found her leaning on the guardrail of their small balcony overlooking the pond. The afternoon sun glowed on her skin, slipping down her lissom frame to sketch shimmering shadows in the water.

"I'm sorry, Minjae," he said. "It's taking her time. She'll get there."

Letting out a sigh, she shook her head but didn't reply. There was so much uncertainty in their relationship. Outside of the walls of this house, no one could know who she really was. Seung was the only one who gave validity to their relationship out of his sheer obstinacy inside of them. Not being accepted by Gil-ae and her mother-in-law was the least of her problems. She forced her shoulders to relax. He'd noticed her pain, her loneliness, even in the midst of consoling his sister. A faint pang tugged her heart—he was still hers, and for now, that was enough.

"Can you come to visit Eomoni with me? If you can check on her..." Seung left the sentence hanging.

This was more difficult than he had expected.

To his relief, Minjae nodded and wordlessly followed him.

In Lady Ryu's chamber, Seung noted with interest that his mother had none of the pallor of the last couple of months. There was colour in her cheeks.

A familiar figure brought in a tray of tea. The woman hunched down to hold the teapot, aiming the snout into the tiny cups. Her eyes strayed and locked with Minjae for a second before she redirected her gaze to pouring the tea.

Minjae felt a shiver of apprehension travel down her spine at the look.

"Please leave us," Seung said coldly.

Soo Hyun's eyes flashed an emotion before she nodded. Leaving the rest of the cups untouched, she bowed and left the chamber, her muted green and lilac hanbok catching the late morning light.

Soo Hyun was no longer allowed to wear silk.

Lady Ryu opened a small, decorated box and extracted a bracelet.

"It's a family heirloom passed down from my great-grandmother-in-law. It goes to the eldest daughter-in-law of the house."

The meaning wasn't lost to any of them. Minjae gasped, and Seung drew a breath that was a mix of so many emotions that he had difficulty identifying them. He did understand one of them. Relief.

Despite Lady Ryu indicating Minjae to come closer, she sat frozen, her eyes locked on the bracelet.

"Minjae-" Seung said.

"Choi Jina-" Lady Ryu said at the same time.

At that, Minjae looked up, her eyes full of unshed tears.

"Please call me Minjae," she said.

Confusion clouded Lady Ryu's eyes. "But I thought you would now prefer to be called by your original name."

"I have wanted my name back for so long. But now, I feel by going back to Jina, I am being unfilial to Aboji. He didn't give birth to me, but he is the father I never had."

A rush of emotions clogged Seung's throat. While he had slowly become aware of how much Minjae wished she had never been born to Choi Si-wan, Seung didn't realise how deep her hatred for her birth father ran.

A small silence followed, and Minjae didn't move.

"I need you to come here so I can give it to you," Lady Ryu said.

"Have you forgiven me, Eomoni?" Minjae asked. Even though it looked like that, she needed to hear it.

"There is nothing to forgive, child. Why do you think I never gave this to Soo Hyun? We all have wronged you. I just wanted to push the inevitable a little longer. I am ashamed that I was so afraid," Lady Ryu said.

"Eomoni-" Seung interrupted.

His mother held up her hand to silence him.

"I raised my children to be good human beings, Minjae. Fear makes us do things we regret. I am very proud of how Seung has handled this. But I am even more impressed with how you carved out a life out of despair and no hope."

"I had help," Minjae said.

Lady Ryu shook her head. "I had the choice, too. I knew from the beginning Lord Choi played us. There were so many things Soo Hyun did not know about her own home. She had never met your grandmother." Lady Ryu's eyes met Minjae's moist ones. "Your grandmother was like a mother to me when I was growing up. When I was pregnant with Seung, I lost my older son to a disease. If it wasn't for your grandmother, I might not have made it. The days I spent with Im Yoo Joo at her home were some of my best. I always knew," Lady Ryu's voice was whisper soft. "Yet when faced with the choice to do the right thing, I reacted badly and threatened you."

Seung stir beside Minjae. His knuckles were white.

Lady Ryu turned to her son, her gaze filled with sorrow. "I know you are not ready to forgive me yet, Seung. The thought scares me—that you will never see me in the same light again. But more than that…" She hesitated, her eyes welling with the weight of years gone by. "I fear facing Yoo Joo and her mother in the afterlife. I do not think they will ever forgive what I did to their child. Your father will never forgive me either."

That evening, Seung and Minjae watched the sun setting from her chamber, the bracelet glinting a rainbow of colours in the pink and orange hues of the rays on her wrist.

Seung dropped butterfly kisses along her neck. "I'll need to go back to the village sooner than later," Minjae said.

"Only for a day. Then I'll bring you back, this time with everyone's knowledge that you're now a permanent resident here. You are mine."

"I technically cannot be your concubine, you know that," Minjae laughed. She leaned back into his hard chest, feeling it rising and falling evenly. Comforting her.

"I have never believed in the classist world we live in, but when it comes to you, I like throwing some weight around. I have yet to know an officer who has had to state the title of the woman he loves and wants to live with. Let everyone think what they like," Seung said.

"That's been your plan all along," she laughed. "It's going to tear my reputation to shreds."

"No one will dare raise a brow. No one crosses Lee Seung and gets away with it," he said, the touch of arrogance drawing a reluctant chuckle out of Minjae.

"I have applied for a transfer," he said. "No one knows you outside of this island. You will come with me as Choi Jina when we leave this place. And I will open the biggest apothecary you have ever seen and give you a free hand. Like your grandfather."

She had once only dreamed of becoming a skilled healer, to make something meaningful out of her life despite everything. But now, hearing him talk about their future, she realised how much she wanted to build that life with him, to stand beside him not only as a healer but as someone cherished, someone loved.

A new place where they could heal together.

Minjae looked at him sideways. If she had doubts about how much this man loved her, they washed away like flecks of dirt under a cascade of waterfalls.

∞

Though her entire world had changed when she had left her thatched home in the village a week ago, time seemed to have stood still. People crossed her, nodded, and stood to catch up on her 'temple trip'. Neighbours called out greetings, and a couple craned their necks, as usual, trying to see if they could get some gossip out of it.

Pyo Yeri came skipping and hugged her. Kim Seo Jun was away treating patients.

Kim Dabom dragged her to a chamber and shut the door. "You never told me you were royalty!"

Minjae rolled her eyes. "Unnie, that'll cost you your neck if His Highness hears it."

"It's close. Chief State Councillor Choi Si-wan is your father! I can't wrap my head around it."

"My father's name is Kim Seo-jun."

Da-bom's face softened.

"Now I can never have you serve at the inn," Kim Da-bom lamented while making a wry face.

They burst out in laughter.

Kim Da-bom patted her back and asked her to check on their ailing grandmother.

Minjae had missed them.

She was going to miss them all.

Later in the afternoon, Minjae made her way to Kim I-On's chamber. She felt sore and tired. The previous evening, Seung had brought her over to Jo Hee Bong's place, and the four of them had reunited and rekindled their unique, though hidden friendship away from the prying eyes. Jo Hee Bong and Kim I-On gushed in happiness and gifted them a rare book.

Minjae had felt overwhelmed, though she had not cried and had not said much.

"If we have a girl, can we name her I-On?" She had asked instead.

Kim I-On had collapsed into a puddle, and Hee Bong held her, chuckling through it.

When they came back, Seung had taken her in his arms and had shown her how much the evening had affected him.

Lee Seung didn't sleep, and she was glad she was quite used to not sleeping. However, she needed a bit more stamina to keep up with his physical demands.

"You have to make up for the last five years, Physician Kim," he had growled in her ear. It continued till morning, and while she could barely put one foot ahead of the other now, she could only smile.

Healing others had given her life meaning—but Seung had given her heart a home. In his arms, she could have both.

Inside I-On's chamber, both women sat and stitched, reminiscing their childhood.

Time flew. Minjae could see herself getting comfortable in this dual role. Truthfully, everyone gossiped, but few cared. In all honesty, many loved her for who she was, and she would always be grateful for that.

∞

Minjae returned to the village in the evening, only to find Seung with Kim Seo-Jun in the waiting chamber, playing a game of 'gonu'. Minjae stifled a smile. Now that her 'secret' was out, everyone seemed to be welcoming Seung as if he belonged.

"He is not staying the night here," Kim Seo-jun said without lifting his eyes from the board.

Or maybe not.

Seung looked unamused, though he knew better than to comment.

It was rare for fathers-in-law to dictate terms to their sons-in-law. More often, they'd do whatever it took to accommodate the daughter's husband. Yet Seung was not like most sons-in-law, just as Minjae was anything but an ordinary daughter.

"You can speak with her in private if you want; remember, only we know your real relationship, and I do not want gossip to taint our home. You must leave before midnight. Once you carry her away, I shall not intervene. Unless you hurt her." Though the words came out as a grunt, and his face was impassive, the streak of hardness that lined Kim Seo-jun's face was unmistakable.

Kim Seo-Jun was the opposite of her birth father in every way. He rarely held her back, even letting her go out at night when it was long considered improper for women. Yet everything he allowed was done with her safety and well-being in mind.

Seung picked up the gat that was sitting beside him in his hand and said, "I will cut off my sword arm before hurting your daughter, Father."

Seo-jun nodded and motioned for them to leave.

Seung did not need a reminder. He followed Minjae into her chamber and closed the door behind him.

She turned to invite him in but instead fell on his chest as he pulled her, tilting her head back for a kiss. The gat in his hand framed the middle of her back.

"It's two hours to midnight," he whispered against her lips.

"Dari! No, nothing is happening here," she pushed at him.

Seung sighed and stepped back, his fingers rubbing his forehead. "We shouldn't, right?"

Minjae nodded, unable to stop a small giggle. Sometimes, she could only sigh at how beautiful this man was. His flawless skin glowed in the yellow lights of the lantern, the pale shadows highlighting his cheekbones that could cut ice. His sculpted jaw moved, and the mahogany flecked with amber eyes went dark as he looked at her.

If he stepped forward one more time, she would not be able to resist. Suddenly nervous, she focussed on the strings of his hanbok. "Should I get some tea, Dari?"

She watched his swallow move down his throat. "Yes," he said.

He didn't want to leave until he had to, so they went over the mystery that had destroyed their lives.

"You still haven't told me how you contacted Ko Yoon in Hanyang? I still can't believe you went there by yourself," Seung was still peeved about it.

"If I didn't, we would not have had that month," she coloured.

"I refuse to be distracted, woman," Seung quirked a brow though the memories softened his eyes. "Minjae, I will never hurt him."

She nodded, looking at her lap.

"There is a shop where I was supposed to leave a letter with a code and a yellow norigae. It's something only I have. It belonged to my mother."

Seung vaguely remembered seeing it among her belongings at the inn.

"The code being a secret between you two?"

Minjae laughed. "It's the name of the brew I make when my close ones are hurt. And only I know it because Ko Yoon made the name up."

"And what would that be?"

"Akchwi naneun banggwi mulyak," Minjae said sheepishly. Stinky fart potion.

A bark of laughter escaped Seung. "Wouldn't that be right!"

Minjae laughed with him, her cheeks colouring prettily.

Seung couldn't help but smile, but he was aware that the laugh hid a pain that he could not even begin to fathom.

Her father had technically killed her, and yet this woman was still brave enough to go up against him and find the truth behind it all.

He sobered at the thought.

"What do you think he was searching for at your grandmother's house?"

"It has to be the letters, though I don't know what could be in them to be so incriminating."

Seung picked up the teapot and poured the tea gently into their cups. Minjae's eyes widened at the role reversal, but she didn't say anything. "Tell me everything again, and don't leave anything out," Seung said.

Minjae found herself relating everything in detail all over again, including her visit to Hanyang. The shadows on the wall grew longer. The pot ran out of tea.

No matter how long ago it was, the pain of being cast away never went away. She had a new family and a husband who loved her perhaps more than she had ever loved herself. He filled her days with laughter and secured her nights with dreams of hope. Yet her heart craved for one answer - how had her father never felt anything for her? His firstborn. Weren't firstborns supposed to be special?

She didn't realise when her tears slipped. Neither did she protest when Seung took her in his arms, gently rocking her. "Don't," he said huskily.

He pushed the small table away, dipping her back on the mattress. His hands soothingly travelled from her shoulder to her waist. His mouth pulled at the strings holding her jeogori together. Hooking his fingers into the binds of her chest, he pulled them down, his mouth following his fingers. His knee parted her legs. He went back to lick the tears away and softly kissed the corner of her mouth, collecting the teardrop on the tip of his tongue.

"Don't leave me, Dari, please don't leave me," she begged. She gripped him, her earlier resolve to keep him at an arm's distance in her modest village home forgotten. The pleasure he gave could make the pain go away and replace it with hope, love and the promise of a better tomorrow.

"I won't. Ever."

∞

The next morning, when Lee Seung's family palanquin came to take Minjae away, the indomitable Kim Da-bom cried. Her grandmother patted her head with her frail hand, not truly understanding what was happening except that a daughter of the house was going away to make her own family.

The old woman had stopped recognising people. She never realised her own granddaughter had died long ago, and the woman she was blessing had helped heal that loss for everyone in the Kim family.

The old neighbour couple gifted her two cups of rice as a blessing. The shy new bride of the neighbouring farmer came forward with a rooster as a parting gift.

Pyo Yeri cried, holding onto Minjae's waist. "I am going to be in the village and I will come see you as much as possible," Minjae said gently.

"This house is always open for you, Kim Minjae," Kim Seo-Jun said.

Kim Minjae performed a series of bows - ones that only high-born women were taught from the day they could walk, to say farewell to a family who had given her a loved and secure world. She didn't care that her neighbours gawked at her.

She was technically a divorcee, so she was not allowed the perks of being someone's woman. Most people considered her an outlier, so they weren't as surprised that she was going to become a part of Lee Seung's household.

However, they were shocked that despite her status, Lee Seung still sent an impressive marriage chest to Minjae's home.

Many had seen him chase her for a very long time, and some were genuinely happy for her.

"You have to tell me everything that happens," Im Ji Won said fiercely. "I am going to come see you every day."

"You have to. You are my assistant, silly," Minjae said. "Moreover, now Cha Moon-sik will be forced to pay attention to you," Minjae teased as Im Ji-won coloured.

None of them mentioned Nam Dami, who had not been released from prison yet.

"I am so honoured to have been able to call you Aboji," Minjae said to Kim Seo-jun. Tears pushed, and Kim Seo-jun patted her back gently before placing her hand in Lee Seung's hand.

"She might not have my blood running in her, Lord Lee, but I will fight for this child till my last breath. Tell me how I can help bring that bastard down. I want him to hang for what he did to her." Kim Seo-jun's gigantic frame shook with a rare rage as the words, low and controlled, rolled off his tongue.

The ceremony to welcome her officially into the Lee Household was small but warm. Seung's eyes overflowed with emotions as he watched his mother and his wife sit side by side while they prayed at the ancestor's altar. His mother smiled as Seung and Minjae exchanged wine cups in her presence. Gil-ae sat on the side, quietly, unmovingly, before leaving the chamber quietly.

Lady Ryu In-ah sighed. "Please forgive Gil-ae. She has always been a stubborn woman. I want to ask for forgiveness for my past behaviour. You are a part of this family now, and I want you to take over the reins as soon as possible."

"Minjae, all channels that snitched to Lord Choi have been snuffed. You need not worry. Welcome home, my sweet wife," Seung said, his eyes soft.