Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 24

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

24.
Dawn had not yet broken, but lights were already flickering from several mansions in the Capital City since a very early hour.
Although it was a dawn where even the birds had not yet chirped, the mansion of the Chae Clan was already in a bustle. This was because today was the day of the Queen Gantaek.
“We are finished.”
Eun-oh looked at her own reflection in the Mirror.
Having prepared thoroughly since the early hours of the dawn, Eun-oh looked lovely and elegant.
She wore a red skirt woven with silver thread over a cream-colored jacket, and pure white powder was applied to her face, where not a single strand of hair was allowed to fall stray.
Eun-oh felt that her body was lighter and her mind was clearer than ever before.
‘Everything is perfect.’
Eun-oh muttered to herself while gazing at her reflection in the Mirror.
For this day, just how many nights had she endured through tears and resentment?
Eun-oh remembered the countless insults, the comparisons, and the spots where she always had to stand in the back.
“I was anxious until not too long ago, but…”
Eun-oh was certain.
Today, with Lee Yeon absent, she would be the victor.
* * *
She could not remember with what mind she had stood all the way up to this spot.
From the moment she entered the palace in a palanquin, she had no memory of walking into this grand hall. It felt that much like a dream.
The sunlight touching the eaves seemed to shatter into golden shards.
‘This is the palace.’
It was the center of this nation and the home of the King.
In Eun-oh’s eyes, the vacant seat of the King came into view directly ahead. On both sides, officials wearing ritual attire were lined up in a single file.
Everyone was looking at her. She could vividly feel the gazes of the people.
‘But I’m not shaken in the slightest.’
There was nothing to fear. There was nothing to be discouraged by. Confidence and superiority made Eun-oh’s posture imposing.
And a moment later, along with a grand shout and heavy footsteps, the air of the Grand Hall trembled.
“We greet Your Majesty!”
All the officials bent their waists in unison to greet the King.
Amidst that roaring shout, the King, Jinpyeong, ascended the dais.
At that moment, Eun-oh caught her breath.
‘That person is…’
He was the King of this nation.
His neatly combed black hair, the crown embedded with rubies, and his face, which was quiet enough to be chilling, came into her view.
Every single one of Jinpyeong’s movements was the very dignity of a King.
‘Perfect…’
Placing the crown he held casually in his hand onto his head, he looked down below with a bored gaze.
Eun-oh thought that she had caught his eye for a brief moment.
A smile spread across the corners of Eun-oh’s lips.
‘It’s starting now.’
Today was her day. It was the day she was reborn. As a person without defeat, into such a life.
Eun-oh closed her eyes and opened them. At that moment, the name of the first candidate was called.
“Im Su-yeon.”
The selection ceremony was rigorous. The court ceremonial officials, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the officials of the Royal Court judged meticulously.
They read aloud the candidate’s family and virtues, and threw difficult questions.
There were several other women in the venue besides Eun-oh, and Eun-oh was positioned at the very end among them.
Listening to the women before her answering while trembling, Eun-oh looked toward the throne. And then she paused.
‘…Your Majesty?’
She knew the expression he was making.
It was an expression completely devoid of interest. An extremely indifferent face that even conveyed boredom.
‘…That’s only natural.’
Eun-oh nodded her head slightly.
It was natural for him to be cold. Since this was a situation ahead of a major state affair, he had to be that way.
And after a long time, Eun-oh’s name was called.
“Chae Eun-oh, step forward.”
At that moment, countless eyes turned toward her simultaneously.
“Yes.”
The fine silk hem of her skirt brushed against the floor.
A light breath, a decorous stride, and even the soft smile appearing at the corners of her lips—it was a flawless, perfect etiquette without a single point of disorder.
Eun-oh was certain that she was standing at the center of all attention right now.
‘Look at me now, Your Majesty.’
Please contain me within that field of vision.
Though she spoke to him inwardly like that, Jinpyeong was still looking ahead with a bored gaze.
Eun-oh hesitated for a moment but soon smiled boldly. She was confident that she could definitely draw his gaze to herself, and was certain that he would fall for her before long.
‘If only you would look at me.’
However, Jinpyeong’s gaze did not land on Eun-oh even once until her answer came to an end.
A moment later, the Sangseon presented a scroll to him, and Jinpyeong wrote something upon it with an indifferent expression.
And after a brief discussion, the officials stepped forward and stood solemnly.
“We announce the results of the Gantaek.”
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites announced in a grave voice.
“We proclaim that the King has chosen Chae Eun-oh as the Queen.”
Silence.
It was as quiet as if time had stopped. Everyone gathered in the Grand Hall gasped.
And soon, they bowed their heads all at once. The name of the Queen had echoed in an official setting for the first time.
‘…It’s done.’
Eun-oh took a deep breath. Her entire body trembled with ecstasy.
The fact that the wish she had desperately desired had come true, the certainty that she had finally become the master of the world, and the joy that she had defeated Lee Yeon made her shake.
Amidst that thrill, Eun-oh raised her head and looked at the King.
‘Your Majesty has chosen me.’
She felt like she was flying in the sky from the sense of superiority of being chosen by him. However, Jinpyeong’s eyes were still cold. Forget a smile, there was not a single handful of warmth.
Even so, Eun-oh smiled. She thought it was a majesty that she dared not decipher. It felt as though the colder he was, the more noble her victory became.
‘I am the Queen. I have ascended to that position. Not Lee Yeon, but I.’
Receiving everyone’s gazes, Eun-oh walked forward in front of the King.
Her figure, bowing gracefully and with dignity, was filled with joy. Jinpyeong nodded his head indifferently while watching that sight. Eun-oh’s face, having briefly met his eyes, brightened like the sun.
However, Jinpyeong was already looking elsewhere.
“…Is it over now.”
With a short mutter, he rose from his seat.
As Jinpyeong exited without any lingering regrets, the officials bowed their waists all at once while feeling a bit bewildered, and Eun-oh gazed at Jinpyeong’s rapidly receding back.
‘Your Majesty…’
Eun-oh felt a corner of her heart emptying out as much as the space where his gaze had not lingered.
Because he had not looked back even once.
But she soon shook her head.
‘The person who stands in that place is me.’
Beside the King, the noble throne was her place.
‘Not Lee Yeon, who has become nothing more than a concubine.’
Just as Lee Yeon had said in the past, she had become an existence of a completely different level.
Therefore, Eun-oh forced a smile even while looking at the empty throne.
It was her victory that would be passed down for ten thousand generations.
* * *
“How boring.”
Jinpyeong muttered as he casually untied the knots of his Dragon Robe. The palace maids bowed their heads deeply and arranged his clothes.
As the palace maids touched his garments with hands soaked in incense, Jinpyeong felt that the scent spreading at the tip of his nose was dreadfully sweet.
Jinpyeong gazed indifferently at the palace maids who were bowing their heads, then turned his head away.
“It is all the same.”
In Jinpyeong’s eyes, all women looked exactly the same. Whether they were triangular, elongated, or round, even if their shapes were different, in the end, they were the exact same lumps of stone.
Among them, he had picked the stone that caught his eye the most, but no matter how much one painted a stone, only the color differed; it was what it was.
‘If Lee Yeon had been in that position, it might have been different, though.’
At the thought that arose without his knowledge, Jinpyeong’s face hardened. The edge of the Dragon Robe fabric gripped in his fist was crumpled into a mess.
‘Lee Yeon.’
She was a mere woman, so why did she weigh on his mind so much, and why did she catch his eye all this time?
‘It must be because of the lingering regret for what I could not possess. It must be because of the disappointment over what I almost had but missed.’
It was the anger resulting from something that had almost entered this palm but was snatched away. That too, by Jinyul.
The world rejoiced at the birth of the Queen, but the royal palace was merely quiet.
Both the King’s residence and the Queen’s residence.

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