A Place Called the Palace
I felt an overwhelming urge to give Prince Yeoning a standing ovation.
Had it not been for his swift intervention, the sole piece of evidence in this entire incident might have vanished without a trace.
After gently setting Prince Lee Hwon down onto the padded silk mattress, I rushed over to the court maid and snatched the bowl straight from her hands.
Evidence number one, secured.
Her desperate attempt to spirit away the bowl of porridge was practically an admission of guilt. To make matters worse for her, the sole witness was none other than a royal prince of the realm.
There is no squirming out of it now.
She would be hauled off to the State Tribunal before the hour was out. Now, if only Prince Lee Hwon suffered no lasting harm...
Right at that moment, a sudden commotion erupted outside the door, and the sliding panels burst open.
A woman clad in plain white garments rushed frantically into the chamber. Her face was pale and bloodless, etched deep with the weariness of chronic illness.
“Prince Yeoning-jaga... How are you here...?” she gasped, bowing hurriedly before the prince.
“Suk-ui-mamanim, you have arrived,” Prince Yeoning replied with composure. “The matter appeared exceptionally grave, so I remained behind to keep watch.”
Ah... So that is Royal Consort Suk-ui Bak, Lee Hwon’s birth mother.
According to the history I knew, she was destined to succumb to illness and pass away before long. Having seemingly dragged herself straight from her sickbed, she looked completely disheveled and fraught with panic.
“I caught that court maid attempting to smuggle away the bowl of porridge,” Prince Yeoning explained. “I believe it would be wise for you to interrogate her strictly.”
At his words, Suk-ui Bak nodded her head, her expression brimming with sorrow. “Yes, I shall do so. I am profoundly indebted to you, Jaga. It is solely due to this mother’s lack of virtue that such a terrible ordeal has befallen the young prince... How will I ever face His Majesty...?”
With tears streaming down her pale cheeks, she pulled Lee Hwon tightly into her arms.
“Now that you have arrived, Suk-ui, Bong-bong and I shall take our leave,” Prince Yeoning said in a dignified, reassuring tone. “Our royal father will surely bring the truth of this matter to light.”
I silently agreed with him.
Prince Lee Hwon was fated to become the King’s absolute favorite child.
King Sukjong doted upon his youngest son with extraordinary tenderness. In fact, his affection was so profound that court rumors once whispered that had Lee Hwon not died so young, his presence might have threatened the standing of both the Crown Prince and Prince Yeoning.
To think someone had dared feed tainted food to such a cherished prince?
The King would never let this matter slide. A bloody storm was all but guaranteed.
“Let us go, Bong-bong.”
“Yes, Jaga.”
I offered a deep, polite bow to Suk-ui Bak and followed Prince Yeoning out of the chamber.
Just as we reached the threshold, a voice called out from behind.
“Bombo!”
It was a clear, melodic toddler babble.
“Bobobo! Bombo!”
...Wait, is he trying to say my name?
No, surely not. It was probably just random baby cooing.
“Bombo! Bobo-o! Ooo!”
Unable to resist, I glanced over my shoulder at Lee Hwon, who continued to call out for ‘Bombo.’
Oblivious to the tears spilling from his mother’s eyes, the little prince broke into a brilliant, beaming smile the instant our gazes met.
Strictly speaking, court etiquette forbade an apprentice maid from behaving so casually toward royalty. Yet before I could stop myself...
“Bye-bye,” I mouthed silently, giving him a discreet little wave of my fingers.
Lee Hwon burst into bright, happy giggles from the warmth of his mother’s embrace.
King Sukjong’s fury surpassed all human imagination.
The moment word reached him during his morning audience with the state ministers, the King kicked back his throne and stormed directly over to Sungyeongdang. The sheer terror of his royal wrath was so immense that rumors soon trickled into Chwiseondang of court maids swooning dead away from fright.
Backed by Prince Yeoning’s personal testimony that Court Maid Gwon had attempted to smuggle out the bowl of tarakjuk, the maid was dragged straight to the State Tribunal.
Her confession was now merely a matter of time. For anyone who dared attempt to harm the life of a royal prince, only unspeakable torture awaited.
And once that confession was wrung from her...
All that remained was a whirlwind of blood.
And death.
“Bong-bong. All of this is thanks to your vigilance.”
Late that afternoon, when the tempest at Sungyeongdang had finally begun to settle, the Crown Prince came to find me. His gentle face looked visibly worn.
“I owe you an immense debt. I am truly grateful.”
“...It was nothing, Your Highness.”
“Had you not pointed out that the milk porridge tasted of honey, there is no telling what might have become of Hwon. The mere thought chills me to the bone.” The Crown Prince let out a long, heavy sigh. “The only blessing is that Hwon suffered no serious harm.”
The Royal Physician had examined Lee Hwon thoroughly from head to toe, and fortunately, no ill effects had been found.
“First you saved my mother, and now my little brother...” A faint sheen of moisture glistened at the corners of his eyes.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“I only did what was obvious. I said it tasted sweet because it tasted sweet, and I went to find Hui-bin-jaga because I knew she was trapped inside the burning pavilion...”
“...”
“I merely performed my duty as a palace maid, so please do not say such things. It makes me feel utterly unworthy.”
The Crown Prince stared at me in silence, his eyes overflowing with warmth and tender affection.
“Indeed. It has been a tiring day, and you must rest as well. That will be all for today.” Rising to his feet, he reached down and gently patted my head.
Even long after the Crown Prince departed, I remained sitting in that spot, unable to move.
My mind was a tangled knot of chaotic thoughts. A subtle undercurrent of anxiety and melancholy crept over me in waves.
It was only natural.
The fire at Chwiseondang and the covert threats from Suk-bin Choe had already made the past few days a tempestuous blur. And as if that were not enough, this palace was now targeting the life of a harmless infant prince.
Feeding raw honey to a baby was no different than feeding him poison.
Poison.
The dark rumors of poisoning that would shadow King Gyeongjong’s reign, and Prince Yeonryeong Lee Hwon’s untimely demise recorded in history as a sudden illness...
Memories of those future tragedies stirred restlessly in my chest, leaving my heart uneasy.
But the real problem... is me.
Yes. That was the crux of the matter.
Where was I even heading?
It had barely been a month since I entered the palace with the single-minded goal of preventing Jang Hui-bin’s execution so that I, too, could survive. I had vowed to put my own self-preservation above all else, yet I was walking a path that diverged wildly from my original plan.
I had saved Jang Hui-bin in an entirely unforeseen manner, rescued Lee Hwon from a deadly trap, and found myself agonizing whenever I was reminded of their tragic deaths...
I had no regrets about the choices I had made so far. Nor would I regret the choices I was bound to make in the future.
And yet...
Haven’t I plunged headfirst into matters far too vast for a child of my age to handle?
A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as I considered the powerful figures who might now view me as their enemy.
...What if Suk-bin was behind this?
The sudden thought struck me like cold water.
Was I merely painting Suk-bin Choe as a villain out of prejudice? But in history, once Lee Hwon monopolized King Sukjong’s boundless affection, Prince Yeoning’s position grew precarious. If Suk-bin was indeed the mastermind behind this poisoning, the irony was staggering—her own son, Prince Yeoning, was the one who had stopped the culprit from destroying the evidence.
I shook my head to clear the thought.
I cannot jump to conclusions without proof. There isn’t a single shred of evidence yet.
In any case, the formal royal interrogation at the tribunal would begin shortly. King Sukjong was not a ruler to overlook an attempt on his son’s life, so it was best to wait and see what the tribunal uncovered.
The following morning brought entirely unforeseen news.
“Have you heard the talk?”
“I did. From the washhouse maids to the water-bearers, everyone is in an uproar over it.”
“Why does misfortune keep striking right from the start of the new year...?”
Court maids were gathered in small huddles, whispering intently among themselves. I quickly trotted over to where Seol-hyang and Sun-rye were exchanging hushed words.
“Hamanims! What happened?”
“Huh?”
The moment Seol-hyang noticed me, her eyes darted around in flustered panic. “H-huh? Oh, it’s nothing at all!”
“That’s right, Bong-bong,” Sun-rye chimed in smoothly. “We were just discussing what to eat for lunch.”
Seol-hyang feigned innocence, and Sun-rye backed her up without missing a beat. It was abundantly clear they had no intention of telling me a single thing.
Just then, I spotted Bok-hee standing a short distance away, discreetly waving her hand at me.
I scurried over and tugged her behind a pillar, safely out of sight of the older maids.
“Unnie, everyone is whispering and leaving me out. Do you know what happened?”
“Yes, I know,” Bok-hee replied, her round face dead serious. “The water maids brought the news when they hauled up the morning water, and the entire palace has been in chaos ever since.”
She leaned in close. “Bong-bong, lend me your ear.”
Terrified that someone might overhear, Bok-hee pressed her lips so close to my ear that it tickled, lowering her voice to a frantic whisper.
“You were there yesterday, so you remember Court Maid Gwon, right? The maid who was hauled off to the State Tribunal for trying to feed honey to the young prince.”
“Yes. What about her?”
“They found Court Maid Gwon dead this morning.”
“...”
My breath hitched. This was something I had never anticipated.
“I overheard some seniors talking nearby... and they said her tongue had turned pitch-black.”
A bone-chilling shiver ran down my spine.
“Bong-bong? Are you scared? Are you alright?”
“Y-yes... I’m okay...”
“Where are you going?”
“Oh... an errand. I’ll be back shortly.”
Muttering a flimsy excuse, I left Bok-hee behind and trudged out of Chwiseondang.
My mind spun in utter chaos, tinged with a prickle of cold dread. I desperately needed to sort through my thoughts.
A court maid is dead.
There was no way a young, healthy palace maid would suddenly drop dead on the very night she was locked inside the State Tribunal. And the phrase ‘her tongue had turned pitch-black’ pointed to only one undeniable conclusion.
Death by poison.
In the end, there were only two possibilities.
She took her own life... or someone silenced her before she could talk.
The terrified gaze of that court maid when I snatched the porridge bowl flashed before my eyes. A bizarre, suffocating sensation twisted in my gut.
I was the one who had exposed the honey hidden in the tarakjuk. Which meant that had it not been for my intervention, that court maid would not be dead right now.
I knew rationally that I had no reason to harbor guilt, but the memory of her petrified face continued to haunt me, leaving a bitter knot in my chest.
“Haa...”
My heart thudded frantically against my ribs. I pressed a trembling hand against my chest to steady myself.
To be honest, I was terrified.
This was a place where spies were planted to watch every move of one's enemies, where schemes and stratagems were standard currency.
A place where people would not hesitate to use poison even against a helpless infant who could not yet speak, the moment that child was deemed an obstacle.
A place where loose ends were ruthlessly severed and buried the instant tracks were uncovered...
That was the true nature of the palace.
This was the world I now inhabited.
At last, I fully comprehended the chilling truth I had naively overlooked:
It was not merely Jang Hui-bin’s future execution that put my life in mortal danger.
Every corner of this royal palace crawled with lethal poison, cutthroat conspiracies, and hostile eyes and ears—all waiting to strike.