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    – You are merely stepping back for a moment.

    This was a phrase often repeated by Ha Gang Seok, the head of the Inbong clan, almost like a habit.

    What it really meant was that you were being subtly asked to make a sacrifice.

    Ha Wol realized this truth when she was about seven years old.

    – You are merely stepping back for a moment. When the time comes, you will be able to return to the main palace.

    Ha Wol’s uncle Ha Jin Myeong stepped down from his official position and moved to the provinces with these words, but he never returned to the capital.

    – You are merely stepping back for a moment. Seize the opportunity, and I will surely rescue you from prison.

    His retainer Seok Jun was imprisoned after taking the blame but he was never able to escape even on the day of his execution.

    In this way, many members of the Inbong clan were dismissed with these parting words and were never seen again.

    And no one in the Inbong clan ever questioned this fact.

    To be dismissed in this manner meant they were pieces who could be discarded.

    Those deemed worthless were naturally weeded out, so to avoid such a fate, one had to constantly struggle to prove their worth.

    For Ha Wol, surviving meant endlessly repeating this struggle.

    Indeed, life was a struggle.

    If you live like everyone else, you will die like everyone else.

    Trample, snatch, grovel, and even beg if necessary to keep breathing and hold on.

    That was what living meant.

    Consort Ha Chae Rim entered the central gate of the White Tiger Palace and a chill permeated the air.

    She was inherently a person whose inner thoughts were hard to read, but today, a particularly cold frost seemed to permeate her presence.

    The fourth consort that was visible from a distance was accompanied by fifteen warriors behind her back.

    They weren’t dressed in the uniforms of the Red Palace guards and that was particularly alarming but it was impossible for her to sit still when Emperor Woon Sung’s wife herself walked in person.

    “What brings the consort here at this hour? It must be quite busy during the Heavenly Dragon Festival…”

    “I have come because there is a matter of great importance.”

    Since it was the day of the festival, it wouldn’t have been difficult for the fourth consort to leave the main palace but the fact that she was accompanied by warriors was concerning.

    And now that they were up close, the White Princess could clearly tell their affiliation. Their faces were wrapped in black cloth and their bodies were clad in dark metallic armor. They were members of the “Ghost Hands”. It was a unit under the direct command of the imperial family.

    Unlike the guards of the Red Palace, they were the secretive black hand of the Emperor.

    Only the imperial family and the top three court officials had the authority to command them directly.

    It was strange for the fourth consort to be leading them. Even as the wife of Emperor Woon Sung, how could she directly command a unit that operated in secret under the Emperor’s direct orders?

    “The Vermilion Princess has collapsed in the stage of the Truth Insight Terrace. Have you heard of this news?”

    “………”

    “A sachet that appeared to contain poisonous herbs was discovered at the scene. Unfortunately, it was said that the sachet was a gift from the White Tiger Palace.”

    The fourth consort looked at the White Princess and spoke as if lamenting.

    She wore a face filled with regret over having to deal with such an incident directly, but the White Princess knew better.

    People from her Inbong clan do not wear such expressions.

    “How could I, a member of the Inbong clan, simply stand by? I rushed to the White Tiger Palace to hear the full story.”

    “…And if I say that we never gifted the sachet, what then?”

    “…Then I will have to investigate further to confirm the truth.”

    The White Princess briefly closed her eyes.

    Her flowing white robe was infinitely beautiful. Whenever she gazed at the pristine collar of her robe that remained untouched by a single speck of dust, she sometimes forgot her origins and felt as if she had become a real noble woman.

    White is the color least befitting her.

    Yet, here she was, bearing the title of White Princess and sitting as the mistress of the White Tiger Palace. There have been many times when she thought this was a truly ironic story.

    But as they say, karma has its ways.

    The karma she built up would inevitably strangle her in one way or another.

    “Take the maids and stay inside, Ye Rim.”

    “…Yes?”

    There was no headmaid in the world who didn’t accompany her mistress when she went to greet a distinguished guest.

    However, the White Princess forcibly ordered that all the maids be brought to the White Tiger Palace. As a result, headmaid Ye Rim had no choice but to go in with all the maids.

    As a result, the White Princess was left alone in the dazzling inner courtyard of the White Tiger Palace.

    What a futile thing authority is. Once all the maids who attended to her every move were gone, only a young girl dressed in a somewhat beautiful outfit remained.

    The White Princess spoke with her eyes tightly closed.

    “I always knew my turn would come someday.”

    “What are you talking about?”

    “I thought if I could rise to the position of the crown princess, I might manage to cling to life a bit longer.”

    The White Princess wanted to survive. To do so, she became someone who would not hesitate to use any means necessary.

    To survive in the Inbong clan, she had to become an indispensable piece. She thought securing the position as the mistress of the White Tiger Palace would suffice.

    But how deceitful humans can be.

    Because she knew better than anyone else what the people of the Inbong clan were like, the White Princess could easily envision the situation.

    “It seems the dazing moon incense didn’t take effect. That man called Seol Tae Pyung… Is he more resourceful than expected?”

    “Ha Wol-ah… Are you confessing your own crimes now?”

    The fourth consort smiled faintly with her fan covering her lower face.

    “You’ve thought this through well. It’s truly heartbreaking that such dishonorable deeds were committed, but aren’t you still a daughter of the Inbong clan and the two of us share the same blood? Let’s go together to the Emperor and plead for mercy. Bow deeply and ask for his forgiveness.”

    “When you’re just trying to survive… sometimes, the world can seem so harsh.”

    The White Princess paid no mind to whatever the fourth consort was saying.

    If you look up at the eaves, the moon hangs at their edge.

    The night sky swells with the heat of the Heavenly Dragon Festival. Like always, a night of laughter and chatter seemed to be about everyone else’s story.

    “Did the fourth consort concoct this plan?”

    “……”

    The crown princess consorts were always exposed to schemes and conspiracies. It’s unlikely that such a crown princess consort would casually wear an incense sachet that was gifted to her by just anyone.

    That the Vermilion Princess hung the sachet on the tip of her sword without any suspicion must be because the one who gave it to her was the mistress of the White Tiger Palace. Such a person’s identity was surely trustworthy.

    However, the White Princess had never given the Vermilion Princess such a sachet.

    Someone claiming to be a maid of the White Tiger Palace must have slipped in the gift. Naturally, not just anyone could perform such an act.

    One would need to be able to acquire a maid’s outfit from the White Tiger Palace, be well-versed in the duties of the princess consorts, and oversee all the intermediary processes themselves.

    Consort Ha Chae Rim who frequented the White Tiger Palace during the Heavenly Dragon Festival was perfectly suited for this.

    The problem is, there was no proof. Surely the fourth consort would have prepared several pieces of evidence for herself.

    “Wol-ah. Even if you are cornered, how can you be ungrateful and say such things to me? Don’t you remember how much I’ve helped you during your time as a consort?”

    “Does the head of the family know about this?”

    The White Princess didn’t listen to a single word from the fourth consort. Everything she said was deceitful.

    “He put so much effort into seating me in the White Tiger Palace, I don’t think the head of the family would decide to use me as a discarded piece.”

    “Wol-ah.”

    “… Were you perhaps afraid?”

    The White Princess neither shivered with betrayal nor cried out of fear.

    Instead, she just quietly laughed in a low voice.

    “Are you afraid that someday I will become far more noble than the fourth consort and that I will have a future where I can just depose you?”

    To survive in the Inbong clan, one must continuously climb higher while trampling down anyone who tries to follow.

    One must become the most noble and ensure that no one could ever use them as a discarded piece.

    Life is a struggle.

    Living is an eternal fight for beings such as humans.

    One must reign supreme at the very top and become a person that no one dares to reach out to.

    Consort Ha Chae Rim was indeed the one who reigned at the very top among the daughters of the Inbong clan.

    Wasn’t she the one who rose to the position of Emperor Woon Sung’s wife and made even the high officials of the main palace bow their heads to her?

    However, time passes. And as the saying goes, “Flowers bloom brightly but only for ten days.”

    Even the beauty that seemed eternal started to tarnish slightly. And Emperor Woon Sung who was her strongest support also started to age.

    Nor had she given birth to a proper son to establish as an heir. She lacked even a son to be raised to such a position.

    Since she had not given birth to a son, her authority as the fourth consort began to wane. Even if she were to bear a son late in life, there was no one to replace Crown Prince Hyeon Won who was now in the good graces of Emperor Woon Sung.

    Then, a girl from the same Inbong clan entered as the crown princess. This girl was Ha Wol.

    With her beautiful appearance and outstanding abilities at such a young age, she had become the mistress of the White Tiger Palace and was steadily building up her authority.

    Her era was coming to an end.

    Time, as always, mercilessly moved on, signaling the arrival of the next generation.

    Resisting and struggling were pointless. Little by little, the fourth consort would become a “discarded piece”.

    “Fourth consort. Even though the situation has turned out this way, I’m not angry with you at all…”

    Though the fourth consort was hiding her expression behind a fan, it seemed like there was a hint of panic in her.

    The fourth consort had expected the White Princess to cry, throw tantrums, or grind her teeth in anger. That’s why she enlisted the help of the Chief Councilor and went as far as forcibly dragging a princess consort in front of the Emperor.

    However, after dismissing her maids, she just looked at the fourth consort with a pitying gaze.

    The emotion in that gaze was… sympathy.

    If someone else had fallen into this situation, they would have been furious and looked hideous in anger but when she looked at the fourth consort, her eyes were filled with pity.

    The White Princess knew that her own fate was not much different from that of the fourth consort.

    She felt wronged, but she didn’t even want to defend herself as innocent because the ugly truth was that she was indeed a schemer who engaged in all sorts of manipulations.

    If the dazing moon incense had reached the White Princess on time, she might not have used it yet but would have planned to use it for her schemes eventually.

    However, that man called Seol Tae Pyeong might have handled it surprisingly well, thanks to his quick wit. If so… the outcome would have been similar anyway.

    – this lowly man… has harbored disloyalty deep in his heart, which a subject should never harbor…!!

    Then she realized that the confession Seol Tae Pyeong had suddenly made was all a lie.

    He had approached her as closely as possible in order to grasp the White Princess’s weakness. He must have realized that she would somehow scheme one way or another.

    How could he have known that? Even the owner of the Golden Hairpin, Vermilion Princes, hadn’t noticed the White Princess’s true nature. The fact that she innocently climbed onto the stage with the sachet on was proof of this.

    Yet, what kind of insight did that man possess?

    Now, it’s all meaningless anyway.

    The White Princess slowly opened her eyes and then spoke softly.

    “If I go to the emperor and tell him everything as it is, I will most likely be put to death.”

    “…I told you not to worry too much. I clearly said I would plead for mercy with you.”

    It was hardly a reassuring statement.

    Ha Wol glanced at the dozen or so warriors around her and, in a flash, summoned her spiritual energy.

    “……?!”

    Ha Chae Rim was startled.

    No one in the Inbong clan knew that the White Princess was skilled in Taoist magic.

    The White Princess didn’t trust the people of the Inbong clan, which was why.

    Of course, her skills were not outstanding. Apprentice Taoists could handle energy better than this.

    However, even basic skills were sufficient.

    Whack!

    A small flame burst forth before it went flying toward the inner courtyard.

    There… explosives prepared for the festival were piled high.

    Ha Chae Rim finally realized why the White Princess had made her maids wait inside the White Tiger Palace. After all, they were her people; there was no need to harm them unnecessarily.

    She had planned to send all the maids out through the backyard gate beforehand. If they crossed through the White Tiger Palace, they could quickly exit through the door at the back.

    Before Ha Chae Rim could say anything, the world turned blindingly white.

    Boom! Boom!

    Whizz! Sssssss!

    Soon, a huge fire enveloped the courtyard of the White Tiger Palace.


    Kaaaaa-boom!

    Clatter! Clatter!

    Crackling!

    The sound of wood burning filled the area.

    The explosion was so sudden and massive that it would not have been surprising if everything had been blown away.

    However, the imperial guards quickly protected Ha Chae Rim from the explosion and arranged a formation to minimize the shockwave.

    But the rising smoke clouded their vision and the heat hindered their movements.

    As the smoke cleared slightly, the White Tiger Palace began to come into view.

    “This, this is madness… Wol-ah…!”

    Whoosh!

    The flames that started in the courtyard were now spreading to the White Tiger Palace.

    Soon the fire continued to spread and reached the main building.

    The dark sky began to redden, even though the sun had not risen.

    “She escaped! Find the suspect!”

    “Search the inner parts of the White Tiger Palace! The maids must have all fled through the backyard gate!”

    “Find the White Princess, Ha Wol!”

    “Cough, huff… ugh! cough!”

    White Princess Ha Wol who was covered in ashes opened her eyes amidst the flames.

    She seemed to have been thrown from the impact of the explosion and smashed through a paper door before crashing into the inner chambers.

    “Huff…! Huff …”

    She brushed off the flames that had caught on her robe and it felt as if her whole body was screaming.

    “Co, Cough…!”

    The shock was too great for her frail body.

    Was it from the explosion or from the fall? Blood was trickling from one of her ears.

    Her pure white robe was smeared with soot, presenting a ghastly sight.

    She managed to straighten her robe and tried to stand but each step brought agonizing pain, causing her to slip and fall back to the ground.

    However, staying put would mean burning to death.

    Ha Wol ran toward the opposite side of the courtyard. It was clear that if she went towards the courtyard, she would be captured by the guards.

    The guards did not know the interior layout of the White Tiger Palace well. She could dash inside, climb through a window on the opposite side, and ran towards the backyard gate.

    Then she would have to somehow dodge the guards protecting the inner palace, evade the soldiers patrolling the outer palace, bypass the soldiers guarding the Great Star Gate, and escape to the imperial capital.

    Next she would need to somehow arrange for a carriage on the imperial capital to escape the city. The valuables she carried could sustain her for a few months.

    Crash!

    She tripped over her own legs while running along the porch and fell to the ground.

    “Ah, ugh…! Is that even possible…?”

    It was difficult to even control her body.

    Escaping to the outskirts of the imperial capital in her condition seemed impossible.

    However, Ha Wol lifted her head and forced herself to stand.

    If there was even a slight chance of survival, she would grit her teeth and struggle to live.

    Life is a struggle. To survive, you must continually struggle.

    “Do I… Do I look like I’m going to die here…?!”

    She leaped through the burning porch while bleeding.

    Once she got outside the inner palace and mingled among the main palace buildings, there might be a chance.

    There was no one to ask for help.

    The maids would only die trying to help Ha Wol. With the situation as it was, the guards would cut down anyone who tried to interfere in their pursuit of her.

    It’s not that there is no hope…!

    If she could somehow make it out of the inner palace, she might stand a chance. If the heavens were on her side, she could survive.

    First, she needed to think about getting past the guards. Fortunately, Ha Wol knew the inner layout of the White Tiger Palace far better.

    I just need to dash across the porch, open the kitchen’s back window, and escape through the backyard…!

    Crash! Crackling!

    A burning wooden pillar fell on the White Princess.

    Somehow, the White Princess twisted her body to take the hit with her back. However, she was forced to roll on the floor and shake off her clothes as her court robes caught fire.

    Her situation was utterly miserable yet there was no one around to witness it.

    She managed to extinguish the flames amidst searing pain, but her back was covered in burns. Blisters were already forming and even walking brought intense pain.

    “Ugh, huff…”

    The White Princess bit her lower lip tightly.

    “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. Crying will only drain your energy…!!”

    With that, she staggered into the kitchen door. However, the interior was completely engulfed in flames and it was impossible for her to approach.

    The White Princess clenched her teeth and hurriedly climbed the wooden staircase next to her. Jumping from the second-floor storeroom might allow her to escape to the backyard.

    She rushed toward the storeroom while breathing heavily amidst the heat.

    As she flung the door open, she saw the inside of the storeroom ablaze with fire. Still, it was much cooler than the kitchen.

    She knew she had to make a quick decision before the flames intensified.

    The White Princess crossed through the fire to barely reach the window on the storeroom side. She ignored the burns that covered her body and climbed onto the windowsill.

    It was high enough to risk a fall, but with her frail body, she couldn’t guarantee her safety. A single broken bone could end her escape and that must not happen.

    The White Princess clenched her eyes shut and dropped to the ground below.

    Crash!

    Crunch! Thud!

    “Aaah, huff!”

    She rolled on the dirt floor and struggled to regain her senses. Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t hurt badly enough to be immobilized.

    However, this did not mean her pain had vanished. Enduring the pain that filled her entire body, she got up and once again dashed across the backyard.

    She managed to keep running to the backyard in a condition fit enough for escape.

    After crossing the moonlit backyard, the White Princess clenched her teeth.

    How many times did she fall and roll on the dirt floor?

    But as long as her body allowed, she had to keep moving.

    At this rate … At this rate…. I’ve escaped quite fast! I need to get to the main palace now! The heavens… the heavens are helping me…!

    She muttered to herself as she crossed the backyard…

    Unfortunately… the heavens were not on the White Princess’s side.

    “……!”

    As she staggered through the backyard as if half-drunk, the White Princess caught sight of a man who had just opened the backyard gate and was entering the White Tiger Palace.

    The man’s eyes widened in shock, and so did those of the White Princess.

    And the moment she recognized who the man was… the White Princess closed her eyes and thought to herself.

    In the end… even the heavens have forsaken me…

    It was a night with a bright moon hanging high in the sky.

    Under a sky turned red by the blazing lights of the White Tiger Palace, a figure approached from beyond the backyard.

    His name was Seol Tae Pyeong.

    He was the discarded piece the White Princess had planned to use to depose the Vermilion Princess and then abandon.

    By this time, Seol Tae Pyeong would surely be aware of this fact. He would clearly understand that the White Princess had used him to kill the Vermilion Princess and that he himself had nearly died as a result.

    Here and now, if he were to cut down the White Princess in his fury, no one could blame him. The heavens had sent him as the final executioner to strike her down.

    The White Princess had committed acts that warranted such a fate. Though she had not personally carried out the plan, it was likely that it would have eventually happened.

    It was all over.

    She had risked everything in one last attempt to flee but what she had feared might happen, indeed happened.

    In the first place, even if she had managed to escape the inner palace, she had no way to flee as far as the capital. She had only struggled in vain while clinging to a thread of hope.

    The White Princess lowered her head and accepted her fate.

    Now… she no longer had even the strength to flee.

    “White Princess.”

    Seol Tae Pyeong stood under the moonlight in front of the collapsed White Princess.

    The moonlight was so dazzling that the White Princess could not clearly see his expression.

    Is life not a continuous struggle? It was time for that long struggle to end.

    The White Princess closed her eyes tightly and accepted death.

    However, the response she received shattered all her expectations.

    “Let’s first get out of the inner palace.”

    “…What…?”

    “I will help you, so give me your hand”


    TN: Okay, I jumped to conclusions. Wang Han only predicted that this would happen apparently.

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