Episode 5
It was Cheongyeon’s voice.
Hae-na jumped up from her seat and rushed toward the door.
“Yes!”
She answered brightly and struggled to slide open the large wooden door. Through the opening, her eyes met a startled Cheongyeon.
“My lady. How could you open the door yourself? You need only summon me for such a task.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
Hae-na quickly closed her mouth again.
In truth, it was unthinkable for a servant to address her attendant so politely. But she simply wasn’t used to it yet.
Among the servants of the Yeon household, there was no one Hae-na could speak informally to.
Noticing her hesitation, Cheongyeon smiled gently.
Etiquette was important, yes—but it seemed the newly arrived young lady needed time to adjust.
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for. I simply wish for you to feel at ease around me.”
Cheongyeon carefully took Hae-na’s hand, checking if she had been hurt.
“Please speak in whatever way is comfortable for you, my lady. However, may I open the door next time? I worry you might hurt your hands—it is quite heavy.”
Her voice held no reprimand, only warmth. Hae-na nodded blankly.
“I thought you might be tired, so I didn’t wake you. Now then—you must be hungry, yes?”
With that, Cheongyeon guided Hae-na to a chair and began setting dishes on the table one by one.
Soon, a neatly arranged meal was prepared. There was steaming soup in fine brass bowls, glossy white rice, seasoned greens, and even sliced grilled beef.
Her mouth watered instinctively.
It reminded her of last night’s meal, which she had barely tasted amid everything that had happened.
“Please, eat, my lady.”
Cheongyeon placed a spoon into Hae-na’s hand.
Hae-na wanted nothing more than to start eating immediately, but there was something she needed to ask first.
“Um… Lady Cheongyeon.”
At her cautious address, Cheongyeon’s expression darkened.
“Would you… please just call me Cheongyeon? ‘Lady Cheongyeon’ feels a bit too distant…”
Her voice sounded so dejected she looked as though she might cry at any moment.
Startled, Hae-na hurriedly corrected herself.
“Y-yes! Cheongyeo—no, Cheongyeon!”
At that, Cheongyeon immediately smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened.
Completely unaware she had been skillfully led along, Hae-na smiled back.
“Yes, my lady. What is it?”
“I have something I’d like to ask. Is that alright?”
“Of course. What are you curious about?”
At her gentle tone, Hae-na glanced down at the table. The food looked deliciously prepared.
In the Yeon household, even a simple bowl of mixed grains with a few vegetable side dishes was considered fortunate.
But what the children in the underground had been given was far worse.
Because of that, most of them were always starving.
Hae-na had shared her portion with them, but it was never enough.
“Those children… the ones in the basement…”
She muttered softly.
Cheongyeon nodded, indicating she understood.
Hae-na looked at her anxiously.
“Are they all safe now? Some of them were sick… and they all wanted to go home.”
At that, Cheongyeon gave a bitter smile.
“Yes. All of them were identified and returned to their families. The sick children are now receiving treatment from the royal physicians by order of His Majesty the King.”
Hae-na’s face brightened instantly.
Cheongyeon smiled back and urged her once more to eat.
Only then did Hae-na lift her spoon. The child eating eagerly looked genuinely happy.
But as Cheongyeon watched, her eyes grew dim.
What she said was not a lie. However, there was one thing she had not revealed.
Most of the kidnapped children were commoners without heavenly blood, or at most carried only a faint trace of starlight.
Because of that, they did not suffer severe rejection from the forcibly implanted energy.
Most of their conditions were nothing more than malnutrition from prolonged neglect.
But one child was different—the Fourth Prince.
He had been mistaken for the child of a noble family while traveling incognito and was kidnapped by Yeongimun’s faction.
If the prince were returned now, everything they had planned would be exposed. Realizing this, he had accelerated his efforts to complete the experiment before the court discovered the Fourth Prince’s location.
The Fourth Prince had received the largest amount of energy, and it violently clashed with his own, causing severe internal injuries.
When the child judged he could endure no longer, he attempted escape.
The powers of the stars were all incompatible in different ways. Among them, the royal family’s solar power was especially hostile to lunar energy.
The Fourth Prince escaped the mansion on a night of the full moon.
Barely reaching the palace, he reported the mastermind behind his abduction before collapsing.
His already damaged body was further destroyed by the lunar energy’s resonance under the full moon.
Seowan was currently under severe criticism for harboring a member of a traitorous family.
If the Fourth Prince died, it was uncertain whether Seowan would be able to continue protecting Hae-na to the end.
More importantly, Hae-na had said she worked in the basement.
Seeing her ask first about the children meant she had grown attached to them. Cheongyeon did not want to tell her that one of them was in critical condition.
“It’s delicious…”
Cheongyeon, lost in thought, was pulled back by a small voice.
Hae-na was staring at the grilled beef with sparkling eyes.
She had taken such a small bite it looked as if something had gnawed it.
Cheongyeon let out a quiet laugh. The newly appointed young lady was quite adorable.
“Eat as much as you like, my lady. The cook prepared plenty for you.”
Cheongyeon picked up a new pair of chopsticks, cut a large piece of meat, and placed it onto Hae-na’s spoon.
The hesitant child smiled shyly.
“I’m full…”
After the meal, Hae-na walked through the garden, patting her slightly swollen stomach.
She had eaten everything served because she didn’t want the cook to be disappointed if she left any behind, and now she felt like she might burst.
Cheongyeon, satisfied, had changed her clothes and sent her out to take a walk.
Hae-na sighed repeatedly as she walked, though her expression was bright.
‘They’re all safe.’
It felt shameless to worry about others when she had only just worried about saving herself, but she truly had been concerned for them.
‘That child probably made it home safely too, right?’
Walking through the neatly kept Yeon estate garden, she fell into thought.
Two days before the royal guards stormed in, one child had escaped the basement.
He had been the weakest yet strangely the most resilient.
The one who always glared at her with fierce eyes had eventually fled.
When Yeongimun discovered this, he had been furious.
It was also because Hae-na had been caught hiding in the storage room and helping that child escape.
Not even two days after the escape, the royal guards had arrived.
So he must be alright.
Hae-na smiled faintly as she looked around the garden.
Between towering trees and a small pond, summer flowers bloomed beautifully.
What kind of flowers are these?
When she had been at the Yeon estate, she had never had the chance to enjoy a garden. She had been forbidden from even stepping outside the mansion grounds.
The only flowers she knew were clover, from which the man used to make her flower rings, and azaleas used for making pancakes.
Everything here was unfamiliar—and beautiful.
Lost in thought, she stopped in front of the pond.
As expected of a pond belonging to the water-manipulating Yeon family, the water was crystal clear.
A few large carp swam beneath the surface.
Her reflection looked unfamiliar.
After blinking a few times, she crouched down.
The owner of this estate—Seongnyeong Seowoon Yul Seowan.
He was supposedly her blood relative. Her older sister.
Hae-na’s cheeks flushed.
Sister.
Family.
Something she had never had in her eight years of life.
The children in the basement had often cried, saying they missed their parents, siblings, or brothers and sisters.
She had always felt pity for them, while also feeling a quiet sadness that she had no one like that herself.
But now she did.
It felt more precious than expensive silk or a lavish feast.
‘Still, I shouldn’t just go looking for her.’
She held a high military position; she must be very busy.
It would be improper for her to disturb her.
‘But maybe I’ll run into her by chance?’
If they did meet, she wanted to greet her properly as “sister.”
Hae-na opened her mouth hesitantly.
“Si—sis…”
Ugh.
The word she had never said before wouldn’t come out easily.
She sighed and clenched her fist.
“Sis… ter. Sister. Hello, sister. Sis, sister.”
She practiced repeatedly, as if rehearsing.
While she was murmuring to the pond, footsteps approached from behind.
“Why are you calling like that?”
“Eek!”
Startled by the sudden voice, Hae-na fell backward onto the ground.
Turning around, she saw dark blue clothing.
As her gaze lifted, she met sharp blue eyes.
It was Seowan.
