Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 13

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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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13.
“You…!”
Half-risen from her seat, Chae Eun-oh’s lips trembled violently.
She had intended to insult Lee Yeon and induce her to provide gossip out of her own mouth, but instead, she had been thoroughly outmaneuvered.
Furthermore, she was forced to say these words to that very opponent.
“……Thank you for your consideration.”
It was an acknowledgment of her defeat.
Yet, she had no choice. Just as Lee Yeon said, if this story got out, she might become known as someone who lacked even the most fundamental manners.
Eun-oh’s lips twisted fiercely.
‘It was always my role to win these wars of words!’
It was only a short while ago that the girl would bite her lips, unable to refute a single word of her sneers, so what on earth had happened for her to speak so fluently now, as if her tongue had been oiled?
‘Surely that rumor from the marketplace isn’t true either.’
Far from raising her voice in front of others, Lee Yeon was someone who whispered even to her servants, so when Eun-oh heard that she had thundered at a usurer, she had assumed it was nothing but a baseless rumor.
However, seeing her like this now, it seemed it wasn’t entirely nonsense.
‘Marrying right before the selection, choosing the Grand Prince over the position of Queen, and even this changed demeanor…….’
For some reason, she felt that the person sitting in front of her was no longer the greenhouse flower she had always known.
‘What in the world happened in just a few days, Lee Yeon?’
Why had that gentle, quiet girl, that completely pliable and soft thing, become so hardened?
‘No, who knows. She must have wagged her tail behind closed doors to win over the Grand Prince.’
Eun-oh gripped her skirt tightly. The fine, peach-colored fabric wrinkled extensively under her grasp.
Lee Yeon continued to speak with an indifferent expression.
“At any rate, that should answer both of your questions. The reason why I did not submit my Cheonyeodanja, and the reason why I was standing with a man.”
When Lee Yeon stopped speaking and naturally turned her head to look behind Eun-oh, Eun-oh instinctively looked back as well. Then she froze.
There, stacks of red chests crafted from cedar wood were piled high. Even the silk seals, a rare sight even within the Royal Family, remained perfectly intact.
Estimating the number of large boxes, Eun-oh’s eyes wavered. When Lee Yeon stood up and opened the door to the adjacent room, that space too was filled to the brim with unopened gifts.
“My beloved dotes on me so much that even after narrowing and reducing his proposals to a half, and then a half again, they still amount to this. Had I not refused him that day, this room would surely have been overflowing with Nabchae.”
It was an answer clarifying that the man she met that night was her beloved—the Grand Prince. She was asking what could possibly be wrong with meeting her own beloved, whether by night or by day.
Left without an answer, Eun-oh’s lips parted slightly before she finally let out a short, hollow laugh. “Ha.”
Even as Lee Yeon closed the door, Eun-oh’s eyes remained fixed on the gifts filling the room.
“Would this be a sufficient answer?”
“……More than enough. At least I have confirmed that you will never become the mistress of the Queen’s Palace.”
“Oh dear, Lady Chae.”
Lee Yeon laughed softly at the voice laced heavily with spite.
“No one knows who the mistress of that place will be. And even if one achieves it, that position—.”
Lee Yeon trailed off slightly, tilting her head. There was more to say, but it was a truth that did not need to be spoken aloud.
‘Whether I say, “Do you think that position will bring happiness?” or “Do you think that position lasts forever?” none of it is a reality I wish to grant her.’
And even if she did say it, Eun-oh was not the type of person to listen. Instead, she would merely scoff or assume it stemmed from jealousy.
So, she decided to simply hold her tongue. Let her remain intoxicated by her own dreams and desires.
Right at that moment, a voice was heard.
“My lady, may I bring in the refreshments?”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
The voices rang out simultaneously.
As if she had nothing left to hear or say, Eun-oh brushed herself off and stood up, her eyes locking with Chohee, who had just opened the door to enter.
Though they had spoken at the same time, the words were heard too clearly to be undone, so Lee Yeon smiled generously and nodded.
“Please do.”
Because this was the place where Lee Yeon’s future husband—the Grand Prince, younger brother to the King of this nation—had sat, today’s refreshment table was laden with food and tea far more precious and luxurious than usual.
These were delicacies that even Eun-oh, who possessed a keen interest in fine dining, could rarely lay her eyes upon.
However, since she had declared her departure herself and Lee Yeon had essentially dismissed her, she could hardly sit back down and say she would eat before leaving.
“……Let’s go.”
Gazing at the refreshment table with wavering eyes, Eun-oh held her head high with forced composure and walked out of the room.
Yet her servant, who had watched the lavish refreshments being carried up the entire time, could not shake off her lingering regret and followed behind Eun-oh, ultimately receiving a harsh scolding.
“You were doing this earlier as well, so why do you continue to act so disgracefully!”
It was a thunderous rebuke targeting the servant’s conduct, but in reality, it was closer to finding a petty fault to somehow vent her twisted rage.
Eun-oh’s back as she climbed into her palanquin appeared proper, but her mouth, visible from her profile, was rigidly set.
Lee Yeon looked down at the sight with a cold face.
‘She will likely chew over the words we exchanged just now, building up anger inside that body of hers.’
Her hatred toward me will have grown even fiercer, and she will be imagining only that moment of revenge when she somehow enters the Queen’s Palace.
‘You haven’t changed a bit.’
It was truly a relief. Had she shown even a sliver of vulnerability, my heart might have softened, but she had gone ahead and stoked the raging embers herself.
Meanwhile, Jain and Chohee seemed more concerned about something else.
“Um, my lady.”
Their gazes were entirely fixed on the refreshment table.
Fearing that Lee Yeon might be criticized for any flaw, they had carefully selected only the most beautifully shaped and vibrantly colored treats among the rare confections to place on the tray, only for it to be instantly spurned.
Chohee asked with a tearful face.
“What should we do with all of these?”
The silent cry of her heart, protesting that it was far too wasteful to simply throw them away, was almost audible.
“What do you mean, what should we do?”
Lee Yeon chuckled and looked at them.
“Those were meant for you two from the very beginning. Eat to your heart’s content.”
Her goal had been to send that woman away before the refreshments arrived. That was why she had intentionally provoked her further and openly insulted her.
As expected, Eun-oh could not contain her temper and stormed out, meaning the small objective had been achieved.
“Really? All of this?”
Lee Yeon smiled a little as she watched them blink with eyes wide as rabbits before bursting into cheers.
“Yes, all of it.”
From the very start, not a single drop of tea was ever meant to enter Eun-oh’s mouth.
For in all things, everything returns to its rightful place.

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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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