Chapter 3
The unease Shinbi had felt when she first greeted the Crown Prince had not been a false alarm.
Exactly ten days after she began going in and out of the Eastern Palace, she finally grasped the situation.
“…I bring your medicine.”
Shinbi quietly entered the inner chamber.
The attendants of the Eastern Palace only opened the door for her. Not a single one tried to follow her inside. In fact, they hurriedly shut the door, as if afraid she might ask them to come along. Normally, no one would leave a noble master alone with someone of low status—but this place was different.
Today as well, she stepped forward prepared for another confrontation.
The Crown Prince sat in complete silence. Wearing his inner robe, he was half-upright on the bed.
His pale face and red lips, despite lacking vitality, gave him a fragile, almost pure beauty. His looks remained striking regardless of his illness.
If he stood properly, he would probably be very tall. He had grown thin from lying in bed, but his shoulders were broad and his build solid.
Yes—his outward appearance alone was worthy of generous praise.
“…You truly never listen.”
Unfortunately, he had a serious flaw where it mattered most.
“I told you I don’t need it. Take it away.”
This made it exactly the tenth time he had flung away the bowl of herbal medicine.
The reason such a lowly female physician had been assigned to care for the Crown Prince was clear:
His temperament was utterly terrible.
Was that too irreverent?
Considering how many eunuchs and court maids had fled after serving him, it was an accurate assessment.
“You must take it, Your Highness.”
Shinbi calmly wiped the medicine that had splashed onto her face.
Patients often failed to consider others’ feelings when they were in pain. As someone born a palace slave, she was used to this level of disregard.
And if a man who had been pampered since birth threw tantrums while bedridden, it was almost understandable.
“This medicine will aid your recovery and ease your pain.”
For the tenth time, Shinbi repeated the same explanation.
“…Get out.”
The Crown Prince responded with eyes blazing in anger—an emotion Shinbi could not fully understand.
Yet mixed within it was something she did understand.
Pain.
“Pain can be eased with medicine.”
Moved by pity, Shinbi urged him again.
“Enduring it alone is not the only answer.”
“…I told you to leave.”
The reply was just as harsh.
Until yesterday, she had retreated at such words.
But today, she decided not to back down.
“Please allow this humble one to help you.”
Once more, Shinbi tilted the medicine bowl toward him.
“You must take the medicine to recover.”
The Crown Prince had to drink it. What Shinbi saw with her own eyes was far worse than what she had merely heard.
Splints had been set so that his two broken legs could heal properly, yet he still could not move at all.
Worse still, his right hand was completely immobile. He could not even bend a finger—it looked almost like paralysis.
Without assistance, he could not even support his own body.
“You want to help me?”
The Crown Prince stared at Shinbi. The anger and pain vanished from his eyes, replaced by something else entirely.
“There is no one in this world who will help me.”
His gaze was quiet and sorrowful.
“In the end… I’m alone.”
The words trailing from his twisted lips were faint.
In that moment, even the Crown Prince himself seemed different.
The essence of a noble heir vanished.
Instead, he looked like a cracked jar—no matter how much water was poured in, it could never be filled.
Lonelier even than a broken crock abandoned in a poor shack.
“…And you think someone like you dares to help me?”
Perhaps because she had observed him too openly, he noticed her gaze. He instantly read the confusion and sympathy reflected in her eyes.
He did not welcome it.
In fact, it only angered him further.
“I told you to get out.”
Fortunately—or unfortunately—his left hand was still functional. He snatched the medicine bowl from Shinbi and slowly tilted it over her head.
The hot herbal liquid soaked her scalp and ran down her face, her neck, and into her collar.
“That is the punishment for making me repeat myself.”
The empty bowl rolled away across the chamber.
There was nothing more she could do.
Shinbi wiped the spilled medicine from the floor, gathered the bowl, and withdrew.
Throughout it all, the Crown Prince turned his head away, refusing to even look at her.
“Oh dear, he refused again today?”
Chief Court Lady Baek fussed when she saw Shinbi come out, drenched like a drowned rat.
“You look terrible!”
“He is ill. I understand.”
Shinbi was used to patients lashing out, yet Lady Baek still wiped her face with a rough cloth, trying to remove the bitter smell of the medicine.
“I’m really fine, my lady…”
Overwhelmed by the kindness, Shinbi twisted away awkwardly.
“Even if it’s hard, please endure it a little longer.”
Lady Baek lowered her voice.
“Even the royal physician, the eunuchs, and the close court ladies have all given up long ago.”
So that was the reason for the kindness.
“If His Highness ends up driving you away too…”
Lady Baek sighed.
“The servants of the Eastern Palace will receive a hundred lashes for failing to serve their master.”
Even within the deep palace, a court lady’s life was hardly any better.
“Don’t worry,” Shinbi said.
“What?”
“When people act like that, it only makes me more stubborn.”
She had once endured even Manduk’s coldness—enough to make that frigid woman call her a friend. Shinbi was confident she could withstand any mistreatment.
Still, to approach someone properly, information was necessary.
“By any chance… was His Highness always this bad-tempered, even before he fell ill—?”
She quickly corrected herself.
“Ahem! I mean—was his temperament always rather… difficult?”
“No. He was originally cheerful and active.”
Lady Baek replied.
“After his health declined, he became quiet and prone to tantrums.”
If he threw another tantrum, she felt like pouring the medicine straight down his throat.
“Perhaps because he was once so active, he simply cannot accept his current condition.”
Lady Baek sighed deeply.
“I heard it was an accident…?”
“Yes. He fell from his horse.”
“I understand the broken legs, but…”
Shinbi frowned.
“Why is his right hand paralyzed? It wasn’t broken. It’s almost as if he was afflicted by a poison that attacks the nerves—”
“Hush! You must never speak of poison carelessly in the palace!”
Lady Baek snapped.
“I only meant it as a comparison—”
“Even comparisons must be chosen carefully here!”
Fearing an outburst, Shinbi shut her mouth.
“…We don’t know the exact circumstances either.”
Lady Baek said more gently.
“His Highness was very masculine in nature and loved horseback riding and archery.”
She chose her words carefully.
“That day, he went riding with Prince Cheolseong and met with disaster. He was known to handle animals well, so the palace was thrown into chaos.”
“Who is Prince Cheolseong?”
“His Highness’s younger brother.”
Lady Baek continued,
“Thinking back, His Highness did mention feeling unwell after coughing that day…”
Her expression darkened.
“In any case, his condition was far more critical right after the accident.”
“More serious than now?”
“Leaving the broken legs aside, he couldn’t move his face or upper body at all.”
After hesitating, she added,
“…It was as if he were completely paralyzed.”
She rubbed her lips, as if trying to cleanse herself of the ominous words.
“So his upper body was affected even though it wasn’t injured in the fall?”
“Yes. He couldn’t even open his mouth properly, so giving him medicine was difficult.”
“And then he gradually improved?”
“After a few days, his face and left side began to move again.”
Lady Baek sighed.
“But there’s still no improvement in his right hand…”
The fact that the heir could not use his writing hand was deeply troubling.
“…Something doesn’t add up,”
Shinbi murmured, piecing together the details. It didn’t seem like the result of a simple riding accident.
“I told you—don’t speak carelessly in the palace.”
“But—”
“His Majesty is deliberately keeping the Crown Prince’s accident quiet.”
The implication was clear.
“Hide your curiosity and focus only on nursing His Highness.”
Lady Baek said firmly.
“First, you must correct his habit of refusing medicine and food. Do you understand?”
There was no room for argument.
“I will do my utmost.”
Without fully understanding the situation, Shinbi could only give her promise.
