Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 26

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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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26.
For a moment, Eun-oh could not say a single word. Her throat stung as if the tip of a blade had brushed against it.
‘What on earth did I say?’
She had merely asked if the Grand Prince was coming; that was all.
Yet, the moment the King’s sharp gaze pierced her, she felt a suffocating pressure, as if her airway were being gripped and twisted.
“That is…”
Eun-oh barely managed to part her lips, but her throat felt dry and her tongue felt stiff.
Jinpyeong’s gaze was cold. Facing those eyes, which even harbored a hint of murderous intent, Eun-oh felt a sense of grievance.
‘This is the first time we’ve met since our encounter at the Grand Hall.’
How could he be so harsh to her?
The sorrow and resentment of not even sharing their first night, combined with the grievance of being humiliated in front of so many palace servants, choked her up.
‘All I wanted was just a tiny shred of attention.’
But she could not show tears in a place like this. Nor could she voice such weak feelings.
Swallowing her emptiness, anger, and even her pride, Eun-oh barely managed to speak.
“The Grand Prince’s concubine is an old friend of mine.”
She wondered if she should even refer to their relationship as friends.
‘An enemy would be more accurate than a friend.’
That expression felt far more fitting to her.
However, there was no need to deliberately bring that up. It was because Jinpyeong showed interest for the first time at the words Eun-oh let out.
The palace servants let out soft sighs as the murderous intent vanished in an instant.
Jinpyeong looked at Eun-oh slowly.
“A concubine, you say?”
In that brief instant, Eun-oh realized that the very words she had just spoken had piqued the interest of this cold man.
Come to think of it, Jinpyeong must also harbor ill feelings toward Lee Yeon. Even though she knew the King’s selection was scheduled, she had gone ahead with her marriage to the Grand Prince.
‘And without even holding a proper ceremony at that.’
Only then did Eun-oh realize why Jinpyeong had not visited her Quarters last night.
The King’s wedding was grand, and the Queen’s attire and gache were so heavy and burdensome that they could practically be called armor. By the time the series of procedures concluded, it was already the middle of the night.
‘He was being considerate of me.’
Thinking that way, her heart melted away in an instant.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Eun-oh replied as she set her spoon down on the table. She had been gripping it so tightly that the spaces between her fingers ached.
However, she felt certain that she was speaking the same language, sharing the same temperature as this man.
“Since Your Majesty has not acknowledged her, she is a concubine.”
Eun-oh smiled.
This man wished for Lee Yeon’s ruin.
Just like herself.
“Whether one calls it a concubine or a concubine, how is it any different?”
“Ha.”
For the first time, a smile bared Jinpyeong’s lips.
It was closer to a smirk that bared his teeth rather than a genuine smile. Yet, even that was enchanting to Eun-oh.
It was the first moment emotion had surfaced on his face, which had been devoid of interest the entire time.
“That is why I asked. My friend will only be able to attend if the Grand Prince comes.”
Eun-oh smiled softly.
Within that smile, Jinpyeong easily detected the malice she had not completely hidden.
In an instant, the expressions of the two became identical.
“I wish to receive her congratulations without fail, Your Majesty.”
Eun-oh’s voice was sweet. Her tone was soft and gentle. But her heart was anything but.
Just thinking about it made her body tremble. Just imagining it brought her ecstasy.
She could automatically picture Yeon, standing before her as she ascended the high dais in a place where everyone could see, bowing her waist to greet her, being humiliated as a concubine.
‘How amusing, how delightful will it be?’
The corners of her bright red lips curled upward.
“Therefore, I request this of you. Please hand down a command to the two of them to absolutely attend my Celebration Banquet.”
If it were the King’s command, there would be no way to avoid it.
Eun-oh felt as though she were shoving Yeon’s head into a deep ditch she had dug herself.
“…”
Jinpyeong stared intently at Eun-oh. And he easily picked out the same light as his own from her eyes and across her face.
Realizing that he and she were of the same kind, a smile similar to Eun-oh’s brushed the King’s lips.
“Very well.”
Jinpyeong replied shortly.
“I shall tell the Grand Prince and his concubine to come without fail.”
“Your Majesty!”
A brilliant smile spread across Eun-oh’s face. She bowed her head deeply.
“Thank you for your vast grace.”
With that single phrase, all the fatigue of the day seemed to fly away.
And that afternoon, Letters stamped with Jinpyeong’s Seal arrived at two separate locations.
The Seo Family Residence, and Jinyul’s Private Residence.
* * *
Inside the Seo Clan, all was quiet.
Yeon looked at the Letter with an expressionless face.
The moment she received the paper, goosebumps broke out over her skin. She did not want anything that Jinpyeong’s hand had touched to come near her, but she could not refuse something delivered directly by the King’s royal messenger.
‘It is an unparalleled honor that you have personally bestowed a letter upon me.’
Ever since she came inside after offering those insincere greetings, she had not laid a single finger on that paper.
It was surely just her own delusion and imagination, but this paper seemed to reek of blood.
Just looking at the spot where the King’s hand must have touched made her stomach churn.
“Have you still not read it?”
At the low voice, Yeon raised her head. Lord Seo was standing firmly, watching her, though she hadn’t noticed when he entered.
As Yeon hesitated and tried to stand up at that, Lord Seo waved his hand instead and sat across from her.
“Why, are you not even curious?”
“Because the contents are entirely predictable.”
Yeon replied.
Lord Seo had spoken that way, but his face also suggested he had guessed the contents inwardly.
Before the official notices were posted, he was the very person who had first conveyed the fact that Eun-oh had been selected to Yeon.
“Since he has welcomed a Queen, he will hold a Celebration Banquet.”
It would certainly contain a command to attend that banquet.
Yeon looked down at the Letter with cold eyes. On the envelope, her name was written in dark ink.
‘Lee Yeon of the Seo Family.’
Thinking that he had written her name made goosebumps break out anew. That alone was disgusting, but thinking about having to face the two of them at the banquet made her feel sick to her stomach.
Yeon suppressed the surging nausea and slowly tore open the envelope. The heavy scent of ink she had smelled once before brushed the tip of her nose.
At the same time, the eyes of the two landed on a single line of text.
[Lee Yeon of the Seo Family must attend the Queen’s Gantaek Celebration Banquet without fail alongside the Grand Prince.]
The Seal stamped at the end of that sentence was as shockingly red as blood.
It was then.
“Yeon!”
Yeon turned her head toward the person who had roughly opened the door while calling her name. Lord Seo naturally looked there too, and Jinyul was standing there.
His face was frozen pale. His gaze landed on the Letter held in Yeon’s hand, and the father and daughter’s gazes also landed on Jinyul’s right hand.
There, an identical object to the one in Yeon’s hand was gripped, ruined and crumpled.
It was the King’s Letter, stamped with the exact same sentence and the exact same red Seal.
“…”
Jinyul firmly clamped his lips shut. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he crumpled the Letter.
All three of them knew.
‘This isn’t just an invitation…’
It was a declaration of war.

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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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