Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 25

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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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25.
Eun-oh slowly opened her eyes on the wide bed.
The brilliant sunlight filtering through the window beamed down on her as if urging her to wake up.
Shielding her face from the light, Eun-oh propped up her upper body.
“…….”
The Queen’s bedroom was elegant, serene, and utterly magnificent. Though her own room at her private residence had been luxurious, this place was beautiful beyond comparison.
But there was no one here.
‘Was the palace always like this?’
To think it was a place filled with nothing but silence.
Even the chirping of birds seemed completely absent.
The first night spent in the royal palace was vastly different from Eun-oh’s expectations.
‘I must captivate His Majesty at all costs.’
From a very long time ago, Eun-oh’s father had made his daughter learn the bedroom arts. He had procured various books regarding the union of man and woman, and had secretly brought in courtesans to let her hear in detail how to please a man.
‘This is nothing to be ashamed of.’
To Eun-oh, who had been horrified upon seeing the erotic paintings tucked between the books, Chae Mun had said in all seriousness.
‘His Majesty is also a hot-blooded man. If he develops a taste for you and can never break free, the world will truly be yours. Do you understand?’
In response, Eun-oh read every single book he brought without omission. She received detailed guidance from the courtesans about what was drawn in the erotic paintings.
Thinking she would finally implement in practice what she had perfectly mastered in theory, she had waited, but the King had not visited her even as the night grew late.
‘Why?’
She could not understand.
She was dazzlingly beautiful, her figure was voluptuous, and above all, yesterday was her first day as Queen.
A smoldering sense of disappointment and anger crawled up from the bottom of her heart, questioning why he wouldn’t celebrate it, and why he wouldn’t welcome her.
It was then.
“Your Majesty, have you awakened?”
Eun-oh paused and turned her head. It was a voice coming from beyond the closed door.
Her mood instantly softened at the title ‘Your Majesty.’
“Yes, enter.”
A gentle voice slipped out naturally.
As soon as her permission was granted, the doors opened to both sides and court ladies entered.
At the very end of those bowing respectfully, an elderly woman wearing a dark green ceremonial robe bowed her head.
“Greetings, Queen Majesty. I am Court Lady Shin. I shall serve Your Majesty with all my heart and soul from now on.”
“Very well, Court Lady Shin.”
Eun-oh said with a faint smile.
“I shall remember your name.”
“I am deeply honored. However, Your Majesty.”
Court Lady Shin said, bringing her hands together.
“Originally, the waking hour is three in the morning. Knowing that you were heavily fatigued today, I did not awaken you, but from now on, I shall come to you at three.”
Three o’clock?
Eun-oh raised her head with an expression that doubted her ears. However, the court ladies, as well as the court lady in charge, all bore indifferent expressions.
“Why is it three o’clock?”
“Since His Majesty wakes at the sound of the bell ringing around four in the morning, the Queen Majesty must rise earlier than that.”
Eun-oh’s expression faltered.
Yet Court Lady Shin continued speaking without a single stir.
“Once you rise and prepare yourself, you will proceed to the hall where the ancestral tablets of the past kings are enshrined to offer morning greetings, and then you will go to greet His Majesty. Afterward, you will return to your palace, have your morning meal, and inspect the Internal Court.”
“Offering morning greetings means……?”
“There are thirty-four ancestral tablets in total, and you must bow four times before each one.”
Eun-oh’s expression instantly turned blank. She barely managed to respond.
“Must I do that for each and every one? Surely bowing all at once would suffice.”
“There has not been a single queen in history who has done so.”
It was a polite but firm response. Meaning that it could absolutely not be done otherwise, Eun-oh pressed the back of her neck, which was stiffening.
Court Lady Shin continued speaking with a calm expression.
“During the inspection of the Internal Court, you will examine the food to be served in each pavilion and check on the well-being of the court ladies, ordering relocations if necessary. You will also sign off on the schedule for the Royal Family’s ancestral rites.”
Eun-oh’s pupils trembled.
She had only heard the routine up to the morning, yet it was already more than what she used to do all day long at her private residence.
“And you must verify the food to be placed on His Majesty’s royal dining table. Since the food can only be served on the table once Your Majesty approves it, you must pay particular attention to this.”
It was one mountain after another. It meant the King could only eat his meals once she verified the food.
‘Furthermore, if something goes wrong with the food, the blame will fall on me as well.’
There was no way she could avoid paying close attention.
Even amidst this, Court Lady Shin continued to speak without pause.
“After finishing your meal, you may rest until the evening meal. Usually, you would practice embroidery or recite the scriptures. If His Majesty seeks you out, you may also share a tea discussion.”
Eun-oh’s face brightened just a tiny bit. At least there was some leisure time. It was truly a relief.
“And once the evening royal meal is concluded, I will present all the reports of the day to you. After listening to them, you may sign off and retire to your bedchamber.”
“Then…….”
Eun-oh hesitated slightly. Because raising the topic of the bedchamber in front of so many people was momentarily embarrassing. But soon, she spoke with a dignified face.
“Then, what of the days when His Majesty enters this Daehee Palace?”
Court Lady Shin replied expressionlessly.
“He will send word in advance. When he does, I shall make the preparations, so Your Majesty does not need to worry.”
It meant he wouldn’t just come blindly, but would send notice beforehand.
‘Well, that way I can make my own preparations too.’
The day was far too long. It was a continuous cycle of state rituals. It was considerably different from what she had imagined, which came as a bit of a shock.
Court Lady Shin looked at Eun-oh with a slight smile.
“Then, since the time is already much delayed, let us begin the preparations. I shall guide you to the ancestral tablets.”
It meant that today was no exception.
“……Very well.”
Eun-oh barely managed to pull up the corners of her mouth.
“Let us do so.”
* * *
After completing a total of 136 bows, Eun-oh held her aching waist. She couldn’t feel any sensation in her trembling legs.
‘I have to do this every single day?’
To think people could be this inflexible. It would have sufficed to stand in the center and greet them all at once, yet she had stood before each individual ancestral tablet and bowed four times.
Her legs hurting was one thing, but the time that had slipped away was also extraordinary.
‘It feels like it must be around lunchtime.’
At the end, she had offered her bows while practically being supported on both sides. Her clothes, drenched in sweat, clung to her back.
To her, Court Lady Shin said politely.
“I believe you may skip the inspection of the Internal Court today. Before any more time is delayed, the royal dining table must be served to His Majesty, so let us go to verify that first.”
It meant it was time to eat lunch. Eun-oh felt a fierce hunger the moment she heard those words.
“Specially for today, His Majesty has ordered to convey that he wishes to dine together with the Queen Majesty. Therefore, it would be best to change your garments after verifying the food.”
“His Majesty, together?”
Eun-oh looked at Court Lady Shin with an expression that doubted her ears. Court Lady Shin bowed her head, answering that it was so, and Eun-oh nodded with a face that grew bright as the sun.
It felt as if the immense suffering of the morning was being rewarded.
However.
“…….”
Eun-oh subtly glanced at Jinpyeong, who sat across from her. Although it was a place where they were sharing a meal, there was literally no conversation whatsoever, and they were simply eating.
Only the sound of chopsticks and spoons grazing the bowls echoed, and not a single human sound could be heard.
Eun-oh coughed slightly in the silence that felt stifling. At that, Jinpyeong’s eyes shifted.
“Have you perhaps caught a cold?”
Eun-oh’s eyes sparkled at his very first words.
‘He worried for me.’
He hadn’t listened to even her small cough in vain.
Eun-oh said with a smile.
“No. It is just that I am not accustomed to the silence…….”
“Then it is a relief. I intended to have you dismissed immediately if there was something wrong with your body.”
A flash of bewilderment crossed Eun-oh’s countenance.
It was true that he was concerned about a body, but it was not her he was worrying about, but Jinpyeong himself.
Eun-oh nodded awkwardly.
“Yes.”
Eun-oh racked her brains as she watched the dishes gradually being emptied.
‘What should I say first?’
There were so many things she wanted to say.
The words thanking him for choosing her, the question of why he hadn’t visited her quarters last night, and the curiosity about whether he was originally this wordless—all scrambled together and tightly blocked her throat from swallowing the food.
So, after agonizing in her own way, Eun-oh barely managed to pick her words.
“By the way, Your Majesty.”
“Speak.”
“I heard that a banquet celebrating my selection will be held.”
Court Lady Shin had told Eun-oh so when she was drenched in sweat and low in spirits. Having gained strength from that, she had been able to finish her bows until the end.
Eun-oh looked at Jinpyeong and asked.
“Then, will the Grand Prince also be coming to that banquet?”
Bang!
No sooner had those words fallen than Jinpyeong slammed his spoon down on the table with a loud noise.
He looked at Eun-oh with cold eyes and asked.
“Why does the Queen ask about such a thing?”
In an instant, the temperature of the room turned as freezing cold as midwinter.

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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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