A suspicious diet, extortion in the palace from a lowborn, my perfume and my chosen companion of all people was targeted today and she has been for months now. Someone was surely working against me in the palace as soon as I had made my retune and I had failed to secure an acquaintance here. I felt nothing but ominous vibes as I left the palace in my carriage; it was as if my luck had truly ran out by now and my identity as my father's daughter had come to an end, even if it was just for now. I could have sword that someday was trying to sabotage me in some way or another, but I just couldn't figure out who is was exactly and I needed to before this same person went after my family that I had been trying to protect for decades now. My family, my babies, my reputation…I couldn't make heads or tales of anything that I had gained or lost and it was seriously beginning to mess with my head. Who did I even know in this kingdom apart from my close ones? I wasn't close to anyone else and neither was my husband…apart from some of his old male concubines…no, it couldn't be. I barely met any of them and they knew not to cross paths with me and my family on the orders of my husband. He barely even sent them any silvers or materials in order for the rest of the world to remain oblivious to his same sex tendencies, so what were they really after? I knew that since my husband placed me in charge of all of our finances and these relationships were the kind that men paid the price of with their lives. But just because I wasn't vigilant with them, I guess it did not mean that it was the same story for them? They could have been watching me for years and I hadn't even considered it at all and that was clearly a mistake on my part despite all the usual precautions I took to protect everyone else but myself…
"Driver? Could you please turn around and go into the village instead? There is somebody I wish to meet up with quickly before I return home to my husband." "Are you sure Mistress? You know that your husband is not a patient man, and nobody likes to see him when he gets angry…" "I shall take all responsibility, don't you worry about that." "Mistress, I do have to tell you that…" "Has anyone approached you yet?" "Yes, some men have approached me to ask about my family background since they have never seen me in the kingdom before." "Well, it looks like my journeys here are well and truly over, someone has made sure of that." "Mistress?" "Could you stop off the nearest brothel please? The person I am waiting for is surely there and I do not have a lot of time to meet them elsewhere." "I cannily spare you a few minutes since your husband did strictly express that I bring you home as soon as possible…" "Then I shall obey his wishes; by the way, you wouldn't happen to know if he has gotten close to any of our maids in my absence would you? You know, the kind of fragile yet egotistical girl that he could use to spy on me?" I took my driver's silence as an answer to my question as I began to formulate a plan of what was potentially waiting for me back home even though I had my husband's permission to be here without him in the first place. He wouldn't withhold the twins from me because they were barely ole enough to crawl yet let alone walk or even speak yet. He may keep me from my brother for a while, but that couldn't last long since the village depended on my help on a daily basis alongside him and everything that I owned was bought by my husband, so he could easily snatch those things from me, but that was nothing to me compared to my family…
"…Ah, look who it is; how does The Madame Seo just swiftly make her way through a brothel, so soon after birthing The Lord's son?" I was instantly greeted by a man who looked to be around my brother's age…and his height…and a similar face shape to him…even his wavy hair was not entire dissimilar to my brother, specially with that sharp jaw line of his…
"…the woman who accepted his good, his bad, the intensity of his love and hate, his nuclear distinction between gratitude and grudges, who made his icicle of a heart melt…" "Be careful that you do not give yourself away now, you sound rather jealous for a man who is…taking note of his 'friend' in so much description, and in public as well. And what exactly did you mean by 'unclear distinction between gratitude and grudges?" "Do you seriously have no idea how he treats you?" "Do you have any idea how he treats me?" "He treats you like..a delicate jinx if I must say so myself; it is rare for a woman such as yourself to overcome so many obstacles without your husband and yet here you are in your bright red apparel and marital jewellery." "Red clothing and marital assets for an unfit bride; are you suggesting that I will the cause of my husband's destruction?" "Din't you already know that? If he didn't meet you…yes, he would never have been as successful as he is now, but he could be a lot more…!" "Evil? Tyrannical? Power-hungry? He isn't anything like his father…" "Yes he is and you know it; he is even a well-crafted version of him and you know it. It was your mistake to show him the little humanity that he had in him, educate if it wasn't for that, then he would have had the palace in his hands by now." "And to what end?" "Excuse me?" "Let us say that he gets what he wants when he has everyone in the palm of his hands; then what? He would have more officials to deal with who are attached to The Royal Family, all these people who have needs and desires and their families who also have needs and desires and what about their friends? Their families? Their alliances and even their enemies? Do you really think one single man can handle all of that pressure? Because we both know he isn't capable of trusting anyone, he doesn't even trust his male concubines to bring them into our home? You didn't think about that, did you?"
"Nam Seon-Ho…" "Seo Seon-Ho." "Nam Seon-Ho; the husband, lover and the perpetrator of your hostage situation to a woman with ominous birth pillars…" "That are not unique to other villagers in this kingdom, but nice try." "Do you think that I do not have any more tricks up my sleeve Seo Yeon?" "You can have all of the tricks in the world and my husband would still choose me over you, and that is Madame Seo to you." "So you can overcome astrological signs? What if I had someone attack you right now…and you are the person who survives? Your the daughter of Seo Geom after all and pinning a death on you shouldn't't be too hard…" "And with what motive? What weapon in my hands? What plan? Sure, I could use any ornament here like your jade vases or a hairpin of mine, but I have just been related form the palace and evenly husband saw that I did not have any weapon in had as soon as I left, so what else is next?" "I can frame you for having an affair with love letters…" "My husband specifically taught me calligraphy that is very similar to his own, and what grade of paper would you use?" "Does that matter when you frequent brothels as much as you do?" "It does matter because despite my noble status, I do not always act accordingly, do I? I have the resources to use the finest of things and yet I do not always use that, so what else?" "Well…" "Why did you set me up in the palace? And how did you even know what I was going to do?"
"I worked with your husband, how else did you think I have all of those connections in the palace?" "So you approached my husband to climb up the social ladder in your career?" "No, I approached your husband who took on both of my brothers as lovers and then killed them after he was done with them; the first one being in the last war that he ever fought in and my other brother in the residence of The Fifth Prince." "So, you are telling me that you have proof that my husband killed both of your brothers and you didn't hand him in; instead you pursued a relationship with him instead?" "A relationship? What relationship? What relationship can that man have with other men other than the physical kind?" "He can! He isn't that adjusted into himself because of his intense focus on his work, but…" "No he hasn't lost a damned thing, he is keeping his edge well hidden from your sight so that he can pass it onto your son and his son and so on and so forth. Do not get me wrong; being a part of The Seo Clan is one of the highest honours of this kingdom and the man has even given up his clan to start a family with you. But that does not mean that he won't infiltrate that family with his own personality traits, especially with that disgusting temper of his…that just manages to suck you into what little romantic side he has in him, isn't that right? He lords that temper all over you and makes you think that he is fighting for you, doesn't he?" "He did fight for me…" "No he didn't; he knew that the orphan in you would eventually lean on him as long as he kept showing up in front of you, no matter how long it took. The typical rules of romance are to be adhered amongst strangers but… you both are far from that and you always have been, and that is why he does not hide his possessiveness from you." "Just answer my question; why did you set me up in the palace?" "So that I could kill the woman who keeps our man away from all of us; or is it that for a man with a status like his, we all just follow his words no matter what he decides?" "You were ok with deciding to kill the mother of his children, no matter what that meant for him and our family?" "If we cannot have him, why should we let him live a lie with a woman who will always get to have him despite the fact that he likes men!" "Be careful, if you say that any louder then you both get to be beheaded in this damned kingdom that you men cherish so much." "Would you really let that happen to him?" "If I cannot have him alone, what makes you think that I am willing to share him with anyone even for a single day?" "And yet you indulge in his affairs?" "Indulge in his affairs? I myself know that I cannot keep up with his…intimate energy due to my own medical condition, so I have no choice but to let him satisfy that energy elsewhere…" "As long as it is not with a woman? A woman who can be prettier than yourself? Healthier than yourself? More fertile than yourself? Even more experienced in bed? Really?" "Even if it took you a thousand ways to secure your relationship with my husband, surely you knew that you would always be in second place to myself." "I may be second place in your husband's heart, but not in this place." He told me as he proceeded to pour a jug of milk all over me without the slightest bit of hesitation; I could already sense just how much he hated me, but doing the behind my husband's back warranted him a little reprehension in my mind. Just what was this man capable of exactly?