Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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12.
She looked so young.
That was the first thought that popped into Lee Yeon’s mind the moment she saw Chae Eun-oh.
‘That youthful face withered so much in the span of five years.’
Her face, tilted upward haughtily as if her neck were in a splint, was thickly painted with white powder and red rouge. Yet, in Lee Yeon’s eyes, she still seemed like a mere child.
‘Though her true nature remains the same.’
Lee Yeon looked anew at Eun-oh. While she must have dressed up to the nines for this, her appearance was incomparably modest compared to how she looked in the palace.
In the palace, Eun-oh always wore lavish garments and adorned her heavy wig with multiple glittering hairpins.
‘Even before she came into view, everyone knew she was approaching.’
Because she went around with norigae made of precious gems dangling from her waist, people always knew she was coming by the sound before Eun-oh even showed her face.
‘Back then, I thought she simply loved to flaunt.’
I thought she just liked dressing up, putting on airs, showing off, and bragging.
However, she, too, possessed a hunger. It was a fierce scratching to fill her thirst for the recognition she had never received with whatever she could find.
And the ultimate target of that clawing was Lee Yeon. Eun-oh wanted to grasp the place where Lee Yeon stood and the things she possessed—no, she simply wanted to grasp Lee Yeon herself.
‘That probably hasn’t changed even now.’
Lee Yeon easily read the childish emotion flickering in Eun-oh’s eyes. It was elation.
‘She cannot hide how thrilled she is.’
At Lee Yeon’s misguided choice, her downfall, and the pitiful sight of her kicking away her own blessings.
Without even realizing that this was the best path she had chosen for herself.
“Lady Seo.”
As the servant who received Eun-oh’s ssugaechima stepped backward to withdraw, Eun-oh spoke with a picture-perfect, elegant smile.
“I came because I wanted to see you. The stories circulating out there were just so tumultuous.”
“My, what a rush. To broach the subject before you even take a seat.”
Lee Yeon glanced briefly at Chohee and Jain. The two of them had been completely tense from the moment Eun-oh appeared. Chohee, in particular, was putting so much strength into her fingertips that her gripped skirt was full of wrinkles.
Jain naturally turned her head, subtly exchanging a glance with Lee Yeon, and nodded.
“My lady, I shall instruct them to bring in the refreshments.”
“Thank you.”
When Jain gently caught Chohee’s sleeve and pulled, Chohee flinched and looked at Jain. Jain shook her head slightly, gesturing toward the doorway with her eyes, and the two of them soon headed that way.
Watching that scene intently, Eun-oh covered her mouth slightly with her hand and laughed.
“My, you really must discipline your underlings. Standing there completely dazed like that when a guest has arrived.”
“They must have been flustered by the unexpected visit. Since they already welcomed a prominent figure earlier today.”
Lee Yeon replied with a faint smile.
“From now on, please refrain from visiting on the same day without notice. It puts many people in a difficult position. I consider it basic etiquette.”
Eun-oh’s face stiffened a bit. She realized that along with the criticism for coming without any prior word, Lee Yeon was subtly pressing her down by saying she had already received a grand guest.
Lee Yeon turned her head and continued speaking.
“And you are the one who truly needs to educate your underlings, Chae Quesu. From whom on earth did that maid serving you learn to stand right on the threshold of a minister’s house?”
Eun-oh’s servant, who was standing as if blocking the doorway, looked back and forth between her own feet and Lee Yeon with a startled face. Her complexion turned completely pale in an instant.
Lee Yeon tilted her head slightly while keeping her gaze fixed on the servant.
“Because of that, the girls serving me still cannot leave. Poor things.”
Eun-oh’s expression froze ice-cold. The hand she had lowered beneath the table tightly gripped the fabric of her skirt.
“……My apologies. Go down and wait immediately.”
The first part was addressed to Lee Yeon, and the latter to her own servant. The tone of voice was starkly different, but the temperature difference wasn’t great. Eun-oh’s lips were pressed into a straight line, as if she was deeply resentful about bowing her head to Lee Yeon.
As Eun-oh’s servant withdrew far below the stone steps, Jain and Chohee let out a long sigh and carefully crossed the threshold as if making a point.
With Jain, Chohee, and Eun-oh’s servant all gone, leaving just the two of them, a brief silence descended. The one to break it first this time was also Eun-oh.
“My disposition is transparent, so I cannot beat around the bush. Therefore, I shall speak frankly.”
Her tone was clear and elegant.
“I came to confirm whether the rumors spreading through the world are indeed true. No matter what, we grew up hearing each other’s names until we were sick of it, so I thought it only proper to perform at least this much confirmation.”
“I do not know for whose sake that propriety is meant, but I shall answer your question.”
“Is it true that you are not submitting your Cheonyeodanja?”
Eun-oh waved her hand slightly. A wealth of amusement was laced in the tips of her fingers.
“No, let me rephrase the question. Is it true that you have become unable to submit it?”
It was a question of the same nature, but the nuance had subtly shifted.
‘Not submitting’ versus ‘becoming unable to submit.’ Since the former was an impossibility from the start, she spoke out of absolute certainty that it was the latter.
‘You’re asking if I’ve already lost my virginity and therefore dare not step forward, and if I’m trying to crawl into the shadows while rejecting the heavens, aren’t you?’
And if she were to answer yes to that question, rumors would spread rampantly through the marketplace within tonight, let alone tomorrow.
‘The false rumor that the daughter of the Seo Family had an affair before marriage and carries a seed in her womb.’
It didn’t matter whether it was true or not.
Whether Lee Yeon’s belly swelled or not, she would be branded in people’s minds as a wicked, devious, and lustful siren who degraded the dignity of a precious family. Because the downfall of a high and mighty minister’s daughter was a topic that would serve as gossip for a long time, regardless of high or low status. On top of that, the counterpart was a Grand Prince.
‘It would probably become an unquenchable ember, burning the entire time.’
Even though it was five years ago, how could it be that not a single shred had changed?
Lee Yeon muttered with an expressionless face.
“How pathetic.”
Eun-oh blinked her eyes rapidly a couple of times. It was an expression of someone who momentarily failed to comprehend the words she had just heard.
“What did you just say?”
“I said you are pathetic. For a question coming from someone born into a Sadaebu family who dreams of becoming the master of the Queen’s Palace in the future, it is so below standard that I doubt my own ears.”
“Lady Seo!”
“Instead of answering a vulgar question, let me ask you in return. What are the conditions for someone to submit a Cheonyeodanja?”
Eun-oh faltered.
Instinctively, she realized it was a trap—or rather, it definitely was. However, failing to answer here would be even more of a problem, so Eun-oh opened her mouth with a proud face.
“There must be a guardian recognized by the Royal Family, and there must be no grounds for disqualification in the family.”
“And?”
“There must be no issue with one’s status as well.”
Eun-oh deliberately paused before continuing naturally.
“There must be no blemish upon one’s virginity. Not only physical purity, but rumors and reputation are also important. —From what I hear.”
The corners of Eun-oh’s crimson lips curled up wickedly.
“There is a rumor that Lady Seo was alone with a man in the dead of night.”
“Since the most important condition has not been mentioned, I cannot answer that question.”
Lee Yeon spoke slowly with a serene expression.
“One must be in a state where they are not even betrothed. Even in cases where one is already married or in a common-law relationship, it cannot be submitted.”
“…….”
“For someone so well-versed in worldly rumors to fail to grasp even the most important and primary condition of the Gantaek. If you had known this clearly and plainly, you would not have been able to ask such an insolent question.”
Lee Yeon shook her head slightly.
“Bringing up the topic of whether or not to submit a Cheonyeodanja to someone who already has a fiancé is an insult in itself, Chae Quesu.”
Lee Yeon clicked her tongue and looked out the window. She could see Chohee and Jain walking busily away.
“Imagine if the underlings had been present here and the conversation we just had leaked outside. What on earth would the worldly people you care so much about say to one another?”
Lee Yeon knew what kind of words Eun-oh hated the most. She also knew very well what kind of words made her react most violently.
Because she would be no different now than she was back then.
“Wouldn’t they say we aren’t even of a level to face each other?”
“Lady Seo!”
“So behave yourself.”
As Eun-oh halfway rose from her seat, Lee Yeon spoke with a chilling face.
“Dismissing the underlings was my consideration for you. However, if you continue to be insolent to me, I will no longer bestow it.”
Eun-oh’s face repeatedly turned pale and then flushed red.
“You must have understood that this is not advice, but a warning?”
It was a sarcasm that had never existed before, but though Eun-oh was furious, she could say nothing.
It was a complete and irreversible defeat.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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