Confronting Nam Dami's obstinacy heightened Seung's agitation. Her cracked lips quivered, a pungent fear radiating from her as defiance flickered in her bloodshot eyes. Innocence was far from her; her motives were tainted by hatred for Minjae, not treason, though her act would count as treason.

"Minjae rescued you from the jaws of death," Seung said to the ungrateful woman.

"She thinks she's too good for us all," Nam Dami snapped.

Seung raised a brow.

"She teased every man in sight without giving them what they wanted. And you're no different — she's led you on too!" she sneered.

Seung dropped to her level, his voice cold. "You didn't deserve to be saved."

Nam Dami had been easy bait, left for dead by her abusive husband until boatmen rescued her and brought her to Minjae. On the island, she fell for Cha Moon-Sik, the village Shaman's son, known for his single-minded pursuit of Kim Minjae, who turned her down. Her chances of persuading him vanished with the royals' arrival. A mysterious man saved her from Royal guards for loitering around Moon-sik's house and coerced her into delivering messages to men aboard Captain Park's ship, threatening to return her to her husband if she refused while promising a new life with Cha Moon-Sik in Barbarian lands.

"That Prince is turning this island into another Hanyang!" She railed. "They need to be gone."

However, she wasn't the one who had smuggled the notes to Minjae's room.

Nonetheless, she had smuggled something else.

"I will arrange for you to walk out free. Tell me. Who asked you to keep the vase in my work chamber?" Seung asked.

Fear filled her eyes, and her facade crumbled.

Ka Min Kyu.

Seung left a distraught woman pondering her options. Sim Junho would take care of the rest. Seung had work to do.

∞

Tossing and turning through the night, Minjae woke up with the damp sheets clinging to her skin, her face streaked with tears and sweat.

It had been the tenth night since the one when Seung had asked her to stop coming to his house. He had made no attempt to contact her since.

Then, she had been called back this morning. This would be her final visit to Seung's house, where she would consult a new physician regarding Lady Ryu's treatment.

Deciding to throw herself into what she knew best—work—she prepared for an early start to her day.

Though she wanted to say goodbye to Se-min before he left the island today, she knew it would raise questions and complicate matters for both of them.

She settled for sending a large batch of medication to him for his injured hand before he left. She stopped by Suji's house, who had been delivering them to her brother.

Suji was still sleeping, but Minjae found her husband, the village butcher, and two of their four kids playing on the floor. Knick-knacks littered the floor. The husband greeted Minjae, lighting a large lantern and holding it by its rugged, curved wooden handle.

"Careful," Minjae said, "the glass panel on this side is broken."

The man noticed the crack. "Suji got it from somewhere recently. Must have broken then."

Minjae nodded and left the medication with him, with instructions to deliver it to Choi Se-min.

Her fingers traced the soft fabric of the pouch, lingering over the delicate stars she had stitched—one for every precious memory they had of the other after they met again, fragile threads binding her to the brother she would soon lose again.

This would be the last time she would collect stars with her brother.

∞

Seung was, at heart, a man who loved to solve riddles. He never realised he was living in one. Assumptions, conjectures, and hypotheses were always reliable when followed with logic, but every deduction could only be proven with concrete evidence. Even the best spies could make incorrect deductions.

Seung wrestled with a storm of contradictions.

What if....his assumptions about Minjae were wrong?

He wanted them to be wrong and yet desperately right.

The quest for proof had taken him to one man who could provide it beyond any realm of doubt.

"Why did you meet Choi Jina at night in your grandmother's house in Hanyang last month?" he asked the unsuspecting brother.

Choi Se-min's eyes widened in fear. "How did you find out?" He paled. "Did she tell you?"

Finally! Seung clenched his jaw and replied, "No."

"Please, don't let Noonim know that you know. I didn't realise she visited Hanyang without your knowledge. She'll think I betrayed her..."

"I will not," Seung said, "but I don't appreciate being kept in the dark."

Relief poured over Se-min's face. "I think she just became weak in her resolve and wanted to see me. We met after so long. She is now so beautiful, so confident, nothing like the timid girl she used to be." Se-min's voice was filled with the unmistakable pride of a sibling.

"What will you tell His Excellency about meeting Jina here?"

Se-min bent his head. "I will have to lie because this is what Noonim wants. She fears Father will punish me if he knows I have met her. I also know she is the one who is sending me away from this island." His eyes took a reminiscing look. "So stubborn, always putting others before herself. I will respect her wishes."

Seung swallowed, the lump painful and angry.

"Why did she leave her marriage chamber?" Seung asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

"Are you still angry with her over it?"

"It's not easy to forgive. Your Noonim's actions ruined many lives."

"Please, brother-in-law, don't say that... she didn't leave it for another man, please believe me. Or, at least, not for any strange man."

Seung's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember saving a girl close to the gambling house a few days before your wedding?" Se-min asked.

Choi Se-min knew? Surprised, Seung nodded warily.

Haltingly, with a face flushed with shame and remorse, Se-min narrated the entire incident about how Minjae had gone to settle his debt and met with the tragedy.

Seung's heart twisted for the siblings. "What does my saving her have to do with her leaving the marriage chamber?"

"She—she considered herself ruined because she was touched by strangers," Se-min said, his tone laced with anguish.

"What?" Incredulous, Seung looked at Se-min as if he had grown horns. "What are you saying?"

But Seung knew.

Choi Jina had been lauded as the most virtuous woman of the land.

'I am ruined' - crouched, ruined tunic drawn tight. Legs folded to her chest. Head hidden in her frail arms, wrapped around her knees. Weeping silently, brokenly...... It echoed in his ears, reverberating through his skull until all he could hear was her sobs, as if her agony had a tangible presence.

Seung closed his eyes, his nails digging into the coarse flesh of his palms. It could not be the reason... it could not be... not something so asinine could have the power to destroy their lives even before it began...

"Noonim didn't deem herself fit to be married to anyone. She felt it would be the worst kind of deception. She had tried to tell our parents... but..."

Seung's heart thudded, his stomach bottoming out, dreading what he would hear next. "But?"

"They refused and punished her for the temerity of even mentioning it," Se-min said.

"How did they punish her?" Seung asked, his voice ice.

Se-min took a long pause, swallowing. "Father forced her to hold a-a flaming charcoal."

Se-min's words slammed into his heart with the force of a thousand hammers.

The bastard had burned her hand.

"Noonim eventually agreed, but when she recognised you, she adamantly refused to continue."

"But I didn't even see her face," Seung whispered.

"She later told me you would have recognised her. I don't know how - if you had not seen her, but she was so stubborn about it."

The nail marks on her chest. And she didn't even know about the mole yet... Seung sat still, not trusting himself to break something.

"The first couple of days, Father threatened her into writing reconciliation letters to you, but then I was sent away to school, and when I came back, she was gone." Se-min's sobs interrupted his flow of words. "Joesonghamnida, Brother-in-law. I am so, so sorry for everything."

∞

The house was chaotic. There were several workmen spread over in the women's quarters. A maid ushered Minjae to Seung's chamber. Apparently, ondol workers were working on her chamber floors, so Lady Ryu was spending the morning in Seung's room.

Her calves shook. Would Seung be in there? Seung's hate was exactly like his love - passionate, unrelenting. She had broken his heart, and he had cut her out of his life.

Minjae filled her lungs with the chilly air to calm her nerves and softly knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Seung's muted voice through the heavy hanji doors.

He was there. Did he stay just to see her?

Her heartbeat sped up.

It was his chamber, you fool! It would be normal for him to be there. The nasty voice inside her head chided.

However, the scene that met her eyes was far from normal.

Lady Ryu was sitting on the Yo at the far end of the spacious chamber. Gil- ae sat beside her mother. Seung occupied the space directly from across them with Soo Hyun beside him.

Minjae looked around awkwardly, feeling like an intruder, before her gaze fell on another mattress rolled up neatly by the wall close to the main bed. Minjae's heart twisted at the implication. What did she expect? She was the one who had given Soo Hyun the elixir.

The image of them together made her nauseous.

Her eyes met Seung's. His eyes narrowed, a mocking half-smile playing on his lips as if he could read what was playing in her mind.

She lowered her eyes, focusing on the hem of her hanbok, aware all four pairs of eyes were trained on her. There was no sign of any other physician.

Lady Ryu was the first to speak. "We are having a private conversation, Physician Kim. You can wait at the servant's chamber. I will call you when I am ready to receive you."

Lady Ryu's fingers rested stiffly in her lap, the tips trembling ever so slightly, though her face remained a mask of calm authority.

Minjae felt numb. She wordlessly nodded.

"Wait, Physician Kim," Seung said. His jaw relaxed, the only sign that betrayed the tumultuous emotions beneath.

She paused, wondering if anyone else could hear the painful thumps of her heart.

"Mother, there are questions I must ask of Physician Kim as well. I request that she be permitted to remain for a short while," Seung said.

"This is a family matter. Outsiders cannot be privy to it," Lady Ryu said. Minjae didn't miss the emphasis on the 'outsiders'. "Whatever you have to say can wait."

"I am afraid it cannot wait, Mother," Seung said. The subtle shift in his expression signalled that this was not merely a request but a command. He motioned her to enter. Minjae padded softly and took her position by the wall to their right, her fingers clasping her hands under her sleeves in a death grip. Soo Hyun's eyes flickered toward her briefly before darting away, her compressed lips betraying a strange tension.

"So, Mother, as I was asking, what is it that my honourable Father-in-law promised Father?" Seung waved a letter in his hand.

Lady Ryu's face darkened.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Oraboni!" Gil-ae interrupted. "It is not appropriate to discuss such delicate matters openly."

He turned to his sister. "You are the one who has been sneaking those talismans under my bed, aren't you? Maybe you should think twice before spreading tales about your brother openly."

Gil-ae didn't seem perturbed. "It's only to make Eomoni happy. There is nothing wrong in praying that the reasons that keep my brother-in-law and sister-in-law apart vanish completely."

Seung tilted his head. "Rest your worries, Gil-ae. Looks like your talisman is working wonders."

Each word fell on Minjae like a whiplash. She closed her eyes, wishing herself anywhere but here.

"Mother?" Seung prompted.

"It's a piece of land that Lord Choi promised if your marriage with Choi Jina was successful," Lady Ryu said.

"I see. I find it strange that it took you so long to say it,' Seung said.

"What did you have to ask that girl?" His mother motioned at Minjae with her head.

Seung turned his head and looked at Minjae. Morning light streamed around her, making the hollows under her eyes more marked. Her full lips looked dry as she dragged the tip of her over her lower lip to moisten it.

She looked pale, frail, and so beautiful that it physically hurt him to look at her. For a moment, he almost faltered. But Seung reminded himself of his goal, forcing the surge of emotions back into place.

Seung picked up a packet from beside him and took out the blue and purple dress.

"Physician Kim, thank you for bringing this over. Why did you not tell them you had it with you all this time?" He asked, his gaze mocking her.

Startled, Minjae stared at him. Why would he expose her in this way? She thought with trepidation.

"Oraboni-?" Gil-ae's voice broke the silence, her brows knit in confusion, then suddenly cleared as she said, "How can that be? You gave this to her? I thought you said you didn't know the girl you were helping."

Seung gave a humourless chuckle. "I thought so, too. But I accidentally learned about it in Hanyang," He rose, stepped closer to Minjae with the dress, and said, "It appears our physician has a talent for lying."

"Hanyang? What do you mean, Oraboni?" Gil-ae asked.

"Yes, Hanyang. Remember last time when I went? Minjae and I stayed in an inn for a month."

A horrified cry tore out of Soo Hyun, and his mother as Gil-ae's mouth went slack.

Minjae wavered, stepping back as mortification painted her scarlet. "Why... why are you doing this?" she murmured, her eyes wide with disbelief. Seung's expression remained unreadable, yet his eyes glinted like black ice, frigid and unrelenting.

For a moment, the room felt stifling.

Then, Lady Ryu's voice cracked with fury. "How dare you let a shameless creature like her sully our ancestors' sacred space?"

"Shameless, Eomoni?" Seung clenched his fist around the fabric.

But before Lady Ryu could say anything more, Minjae straightened, anger overcoming her humiliation.

"You can't force me to be your concubine!" Minjae burst out.

Seung stepped closer, his jaw clenched.

"Physician Kim," he enunciated each syllable as if it offended him, "My wife is the epitome of virtue and grace in this land. Why would I lower myself to take you as a concubine?"

He was giving her exactly what she'd asked for, yet it hit Minjae with the force of a slap. The air between them crackled with animosity.

"You are here because I have one more task for you," he said, his tone casual. He walked over to the chest beside her and opened the top drawer. He took out something large.

A ragged doll.

"I want you to patch this up with your fine stitching skills," Seung said.

He watched Minjae intently as her colour washed away. She gingerly took the doll as if it were a precious piece of jewel she had found buried in the dirt.

"What is the meaning of this, Lee Seung?" Lady Ry asked.

"Oraboni, this is so confusing and strange. Why are you behaving like this? Why is this doll important?" Gil-ae compressed her lips in annoyance.

"You don't remember, Gil-ae? Choi Jina gave this doll to you one time when you were crying. Remember?" Seung said.

Gil-ae's brows furrowed while his 'wife' looked blank.

"Strange, none of you remember it." Seung didn't move his gaze from Minjae's face. "But it looks familiar to you, Physician Kim., does it not?"

She looked up.

Their eyes locked, his eyes glinting with a challenge that twisted Minjae's heart into knots of dread.

He knew. Minjae knew Seung had somehow learned the truth with the certainty of an avalanche about to descend, unstoppable and merciless.

Minjae tried to summon words, but none came out. Her throat hurt as if a rope was wound around her neck.

Seung's mouth curved into a knowing smile, deadly in their intent.

He calmly extracted a rolled scroll from his hanbok.

"Lord Choi Se-min left this gift for you," Seung pulled out the rolled scroll, his movements deliberate, and handed it to Soo Hyun, who watched him with confusion and unease.

"I-it's pretty," she said lamely.

"Do you recognise them?" Seung asked.

The woman blinked, her eyes flickering in confusion and fear. She understood it was some kind of test and that she was failing it.

Lady Ryu was frozen as if caught in an invisible web, unable to move.

"Looks like Mother, you recognise them. So can you tell me why the woman who calls herself my wife cannot recognise her own grandmother she grew up with, while," he turned to Minjae while the imposter ashened, "a woman living on this island stares at it like she has seen a ghost?"

Suddenly, his fake wife was galvanised into action. "I-I recognise this now. It must be - no I mean, it is my grandmother." She tittered a nervous laugh.

Seung lifted a brow, his icy stare full of contempt for the foolishness before him.

Without answering, Seung walked to the door, slid it open, and bellowed at his manservant. He returned and took his spot in front of Soo Hyun, his hands locked behind his back.

Everyone waited with bated breath suspended between disbelief and anticipation as if trapped in a surreal dream, one so fragile they feared to move lest the unseen axe fell.

When Woo Sari came in and bowed, her face was a study of uncertainty and fear, and a ripple of emotions thickened the air.

"Why did you bring her here, Dari?" Minjae found her voice. He had no right to jeopardise Woo Sari's secret. "She is innocent."

Woo Sari bowed and said something incoherent, her hands wringing under her sleeves anxiously as she looked at Minjae.

Seung ignored Minjae. Instead, his eyes focused on Soo Hyun. "Do you know her?" He asked mildly as he pointed at Woo Sari.

"I-yes, I met her at the apothecary; she is a servant there. I mean, I went there to get some medication.."

Seung smiled. He turned to Woo Sari. "You can go. Just do what Sungmin asks you to." His voice was gentle and kind, bringing a lump to Minjae's throat. Woo Sari nodded, and, throwing another anxious glance at Minjae, she followed Seung's faithful manservant out.

Seung's hands clenched into fists on his sides. "No, she's not a servant at the apothecary. She was Choi Jina's childhood companion, and her ownership was transferred to me after marriage," Seung informed with relish.

Soo Hyun blanched, her wide eyes betraying the panic clawing at her insides. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Minjae closed her eyes, numb to the chaos around her.

Seung, however, felt alive in a way he never had before—his pulse quickened, his breath sharp, the rush of adrenaline so potent he could almost taste it.

Gil-ae jumped up. "Oraboni, what are you saying?" Her voice was shrill. Scared. "Sister-in-law, she is your companion maid? Why did you not recognise her?"

"Hmnn Gil-ae, I also wonder," Seung said, his tone deceptively light, as if he were observing the weather. "She does not recognise her own doll that she stitched herself, does not recognise her grandmother, and does not recognise the woman she grew up with. I wonder why...."

"Dari, I-was-" Soo Hyun was white as a sheet.

"Shut up," Seung barked.

He took the scroll out of Soo Yoon's numb fingers and walked towards Minjae, holding it high by one end, letting it unfurl in front of her face with a 'swish'.

"Do you still want to keep lying to me?" His words came out in a low, menacing whisper, daring her to defy the fury barely held in check.

Minjae stumbled back, clawing the wall behind her for purchase.

Seung stepped closer, the toe of his stockinged feet almost touching her, voice dropping further. "Or should I drag Lord Se-min here too? He does not leave until noon," his smile never reached his eyes.

Minjae flinched, shrinking from his words.

She squeezed her eyes shut, the hot tears spilling unchecked down her cheeks. "I am sorry." Her voice trembled, almost inaudible.

"Don't!" The word shot like an arrow from Seung's gut, blistered with raw fury. "Don't you dare!" He threw the scroll on the floor and grabbed her by her arms.

"Did you really think I would never find out?" He asked.

Strands of hair came free, falling across her face, as she shook her head, and then went limp in his grip, her body wracked in sobs.

Gil-ae grabbed Seung's arm. "Oraboni! Please tell me what all this is about. What are you accusing Physician Kim of? Do you think she stole something?"

Seung let go of Minjae as abruptly as he had held her. "She threw away something that I can never get back."

"You are making no sense!" Gil-ae was frustrated, helplessly turning her head to look at her mother and then back to Seung and Minjae.

"Five years, Gil-ae. Five long, miserable years." His voice turned icy. Then, with deliberate cruelty, he added, "Kim Minjae—oh, forgive me—shouldn't I call you Choi Jina from now on?"

Gil-ae stepped back, her hands covering her mouth. She looked at Soo Hyun, who was sitting as if a boulder had dropped on her.

But Seung didn't stop. Even though his chest shrivelled at the sight of Minjae sobbing, he had to get it off his chest. He gripped her chin and turned it up, forcing her to look at him, and said, "You decided to play judge and executioner. You destroyed everything we were. Our past. Our future. Our marriage," his voice broke, "even the children we never had."

She covered her face, sobbing. "I am sorry, I am so sorry."

"That's enough!" Lady Ryu was standing. "I do not know what madness this is, but Physician Kim, leave this chamber right this moment."

Seung relaxed his hold on Minjae but didn't release her. "You don't, mother? You want to pretend that you have not been trying to get me together with an impersonator? That you didn't know Minjae was my wife, Lord Choi's daughter, your best friend Lady Yoojoo's child?" He was done being played by the women in his life.

Gil-ae's face was frozen in shock. "I-I don't understand. Who are you then?" She asked Soo Hyun.

Soo Hyun was shaking like a leaf. She bent over double, knowing the game was up.

"Is all of this true, Mother?" Gil-ae asked, her distraught gaze fixed on her mother.

"Cease this madness this instant, Lee Seung!" Lady Ryu's authoritative demand was laced with fear and desperation.

"Eomoni, do you want me to travel to Hanyang right now, challenge Lord Choi, and tell him how his deception is over?" Seung snarled.

"No!" Minjae's voice cut through like a sharp knife.

"Why not? Because that is what you thought I would do, didn't you?" Seung banged the wall above her head, his face so close that she could see the furious irises of his wing-tipped eyes.

The noise reverberated, and Minjae turned white, her fingers clutching the doll to her chest.

"You cannot do this, Lee Seung," Lady Ryu stood up, her voice shaking. Pointing a trembling finger at Minjae, she said, "That woman - she is a tramp. She ran away with another man on her wedding night. She ruined my daughter's life. If anyone needs to be punished and disowned, it's her! She has no virtue, just like her father!"

"Has no virtue?" Seung clenched his hands so tight his knuckles turned white. "She had so much virtue to spare that she decided to drown all of us in that sea. She'd rather have her father burn her hand with charcoal than marry a man because a few strangers left scratch marks on her. Her virtue dictated that she not deceive the man she saved from death just days ago before her marriage. Her damned virtue made her choose death over living and fighting for us. Mother, you should submit our family's name for that chastity belt. This woman has no rival."

The room bathed in pale daylight, the distant sunbeams unable to pierce the thickening unease as Seung retold how he had met Minjae before marriage, keeping the facts to barebones but enough to fill the chamber with gasps of horror and disbelief.

Minjae clenched her eyes shut, shaking her head helplessly, unable to meet his eyes that carried something deeper than betrayal, something almost sacred in its devastation.

"But Im-Nabi said...." his mother's voice shook.

"Lady Im Nabi, lied. It was all part of a plan to saddle me with someone none of us would respect, so we would never try to dig deeper into their deception. Which brings me to the question, mother, why did you agree to this marriage? Do not try to lie. Why did you not tell us the truth? You made me the son-in-law of my father's murderer!" Seung's jaw clenched, his breathing shallow as the anger simmered just beneath the surface.

Gil-ae sank to her knees. "No!"

"I had no choice," his mother whispered. "Your father arranged everything, knowing Choi would come after him, ensuring Choi had to honour the marriage agreement with Jina."

"What does he mean by this letter?" Seung asked.

"He alluded if I didn't accept -" Lady Ryu paused and gestured towards Soo Hyun, "her, he would have no reason to keep any of us alive. I believe the accident at the gangplank when we arrived was staged."

Lady Ryu's statement was met with a mixture of fury and fear.

"You should have told me. Why is this marriage so important?" Seung asked.

"The success of your marriage is tied to something Choi wants, though I don't know what, but it kept you safe and ensured he wouldn't harm you.," Lady Ryu said.

"Right. Only disfigure and kill his own daughter so he could get his hands on what he wants," Seung said, his rage coiling tighter, threatening to spill over. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"Did you tell your father about the attack?" He asked Minjae.

Minjae paled and trained her eyes somewhere on his chest.

"Is that why.." he whipped you? Seung could not bring himself to finish the sentence. His eyes dropped to her neck, and Minjae knew he could see the scars in his mind.

Minjae turned her head away, hot tears scalding his hand as he held her chin to turn her to face him.

"Talk to me, damn it!" Seung exploded.

"No, he did it because he was angry at you for refusing to accept me, and to prevent me from going to His Majesty," Minjae whispered.

Seung paled and closed his eyes. His swallow moved noticeably.

"I'll kill him," he said with a finality that froze the room.

His mother stepped forward. "Don't be a fool! Come to your senses, Lee Seung. We have to make the best of it. Let Minjae leave," his mother said.

Seung let go of Minjae, walked over to his mother, and said, "Her name is Choi Jina. You will call her by her rightful name."

"No, Seung, I will not allow it. We will all pretend this morning never happened," his mother was pleading now.

He shot a disgusted look at the grovelling imposter at his feet. "I will destroy every person who dared to rob me of my life with Minjae." The menace in his voice sent shivers down the spines of everyone present.

"You don't understand. There are people who-" Lady Ryu said.

"—who kept Choi updated on our home, Mother? You allowed it?" His jaw locked, hard as granite. "It was your head maid and the stablemaster, both planted by Choi after our own were killed in the attack."

Lady Ryu's gaze fell to the floor, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I was never sure, but even if I was, I had no choice. Please, forgive me, son."

"There was one more - this imposter's maid. Both the maids are going back to the mainland with Choi Se-min. They will report how all is now in order at the Lee household and that the Lord and Lady share the same chamber for the night," he said. His gaze darkened, a merciless smile flickering at the corners of his lips, as he finished with, "As for the stablemaster, he's grateful I spared him a heel. From now on, he'll only send the reports I choose for Choi."

He dropped to his hunches before Soo Hyun. "Soo Hyun. Choi Si-wan's slave. Formerly the daughter of Soo Jung Sun - the corrupt minister killed during the purge of Northern Factioners. As for you..."

"I am your offender, Dari. Forgive me. I was forced under the threat of death. Please believe me," Soo Hyun said quietly, only the trembling of her fingers splayed on the floor, betraying her terror.

"And you thought you would live after you were discovered? Killing you would be easier than smushing a bug," Seung said nastily.

Soo Hyun raised her panic-filled eyes to him before she bent further into the floor.

His voice dripped with venom as he said, "A freak accident could take care of -"

"No!" Minjae burst out. "I beg you, Dari, please forgive her. She is telling the truth." The plea in her voice was unmistakable.

Seung looked over his shoulder, raising his hand to silence her, and said coldly, "I do not want you to utter the word 'truth' ever again." Turning back to Soo Hyun, he said, "You will now serve my mother as her personal maid and stay under confinement until I figure out how to dispose of you."

The woman closed her eyes and nodded, though except for the paleness of her face, it was expressionless.

He stood up and faced his mother. "Omoni, you will be confined to your chamber until I decide otherwise. You will not receive guests or meet anyone without my explicit permission," he bowed. "Please go to your chamber, Mother."

Lady Ryu's eyes widened in shock, but she wisely kept quiet. Seung wiped his hand across his face as his mother left the room, followed by a trembling Soo Hyun.

"Oraboni! You can't do this to Mother!" Gil-ae said, rising from her stupor and turning her fury on Minjae. "Wasn't it enough that your father destroyed our family? Did you have to trap my brother in this selfish relationship? Have you no shame?"

Minjae's chest tightened with each accusation, her heart aching painfully. She trembled but remained silent, her gaze reflecting quiet sorrow for both the injustice she faced and Gil-ae's evident pain.

"Gil-ae, come here," Seung soothed his sister.

Gil-ae's focus shifted sharply to Seung. "Oraboni, you must punish-" she pointed a trembling finger at Minjae, "her!" She sobbed. "I will not accept her. I cannot forgive her. And how do you know all this? You never saw her face! Maybe she ran away with a man and is making up stories now!" She sobbed into her palms.

Seung rested a hand on her shoulder and said gently to his grieving sister:

"It's been a shock. Go rest in the east guest chamber; we'll talk later."

"What will you do with her?" Gil-ae asked between hiccups.

He turned to look at Minjae, the banked fire in his molten eyes so intense that Minjae felt it would incinerate her. "I promised Eomoni a grandchild. My wife has duties to fulfil."