Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 33

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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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33.
They said it looked like a wedding dress.
That it seemed so at first glance, and wearing it now, she looked like a flawless, beautiful bride.
“My lady.”
Lady Han wept the entire time she dressed her, and Jain and Chohee also had tears welling up in their eyes. The one who tailored the clothes could only gaze upon her with a deeply moved face.
And Seo Yeo-ro…
“……”
…did not say a word. He merely gazed at her for a long time with profound eyes. “Go on ahead to the carriage,” he muttered, giving her one firm embrace before turning his steps toward the Queen’s Palace.
However, everyone knew that his steps and his expression had become significantly lighter.
Because the event prepared to humiliate Lee Yeon would instead achieve the exact opposite.
“Lee Yeon.”
Lee Yeon slowly raised her head while smoothing down the hem of her skirt. Jinyul was holding out his hand to her.
He smiled brightly.
“Would you like to take my hand and step up?”
Lee Yeon suddenly felt that those words meant more than just holding a hand; it felt like an invitation to hold onto him and rise above.
Confronting the King and the Queen was a difficult and terrifying task to face with her strength alone. There was an abundant risk of crashing down after colliding with an endless wall.
‘But if I have this hand.’
If this hand held her, and if they did not let go of each other, it was possible.
Just as she could easily step up onto those stone steps holding this hand, no matter how heavy the garments she wore.
Lee Yeon reached out and grasped Jinyul’s hand. He grinned, then laced his fingers through her slender ones, adjusting his grip to interlock their fingers tightly.
“Let us go, my wife.”
With those words, the doors swung wide open to both sides.
* * *
The two walked into the Grand Hall, where even the air seemed to hold its breath.
One step, and then another. Watching the two walk slowly side by side, All Officials instinctively held their breath.
Eun-oh looked down at the sight with a smile plastered across her entire face.
‘You’ve finally arrived.’
Her heart pounded rapidly with anticipation. Her cheekbones ached from how high the corners of her mouth were raised.
‘Show me, Lee Yeon. What kind of wretched state did you come in?’
She was certain it would be a shabby and plain appearance. She did not doubt it would be a sight utterly unsuited for this occasion.
Thus, she planned to cast her out after insulting her to her heart’s content. She would laugh and scoff at her collapsing form, which would look incomparably pathetic next to today’s protagonist.
Eun-oh widened her eyes and stared at them. And—
‘What is this?’
She froze completely on the spot.
Lee Yeon, stepping out from the sunlight, was different from anything Eun-oh had anticipated. No, rather than being different, she was the exact opposite.
‘How…?’
Lee Yeon did not look shabby. On the contrary, she was more beautiful than ever before.
The pure white fabric, woven with a subtle golden hue, gleamed elegantly. At the edge of its hem, plum blossom embroidery stitched with red thread bloomed like real flowers.
With every movement Lee Yeon made, the layers of her garments glided gracefully.
‘How could she have such clothes…’
Eun-oh bit her lips, which were painted with red rouge, severely. She felt a sharp throb of pain, but she could not contain the surging rage within her.
‘I confiscated everything.’
She had summoned every single renowned artisan to the palace. She had seized every valuable fabric, not leaving behind even a single bolt. Yet she could not comprehend at all how Lee Yeon could come dressed in such attire.
Eun-oh had no choice but to admit it. Though it infuriated her, Lee Yeon was wearing something far superior to the Ceremonial Robe she herself wore.
‘A mere concubine…!’
She hated seeing her looking so confident, as if she had won. Eun-oh’s face gradually contorted.
Meanwhile, she was not the only one shocked. Jinpyeong could not take his eyes off Lee Yeon.
‘That woman…’
From the moment Lee Yeon entered the Grand Hall, he could not avert his gaze for even a single second.
Her manner of walking step by step was the same as Eun-oh’s, but a loftiness and dignity of an entirely different dimension emanated from her. Elegance flowed from her entire body.
Everything was perfect, from her hair as black as ebony and the silver hairpin embedded with a blue jewel, to the pure white ceremonial robe draped over her lithe body.
‘—Was she always that radiant?’
It was when Jinpyeong was staring at Lee Yeon as if he would seize her with his eyes. The person standing beside her took Lee Yeon’s hand. Jinpyeong instantly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.
“……”
Jinyul took Lee Yeon’s hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Lee Yeon offered him a bright smile. Watching that sight, the blood in his entire body seemed to run cold.
‘Jinyul.’
Jinpyeong’s face hardened rigidly.
Instead of his usual grand prince attire, Jinyul wore a coat of a similar hue to what Lee Yeon was wearing. He was walking straight toward him with a neat and confident posture.
Neither a single step ahead of Lee Yeon nor a step behind, but side by side.
‘…Side by side?’
Jinpyeong stared at the two with a completely frozen expression. In his field of vision, the sight of the two standing side by side entered clearly.
In Jinpyeong’s eyes, it looked like an act of defiance against him.
As if saying it was useless no matter how much he refused to acknowledge them.
‘How dare they.’
Jinpyeong clenched his teeth tightly. His heart felt as if it were boiling. In the eyes looking at Lee Yeon, regret, greed, and fierce hatred blazed together in a tangled mix.
And Eun-oh was watching that Jinpyeong.
“……”
The direction he was looking, the place where his gaze lingered, was occupied by Lee Yeon, not herself.
She had desired this so much, and she thought she had finally grasped it. She believed she had finally defeated Lee Yeon, but the moment she saw Jinpyeong’s gaze fixed upon her, all her certainty collapsed like a sandcastle.
‘Why…’
The corners of Eun-oh’s mouth stiffened. It felt as if her entrails were being mercilessly twisted.
‘He should be looking at me, all of this is for me, so why is everyone looking at that wench.’
Eun-oh felt as if she were standing in a shadow. It felt as if no one even knew she was here.
Palace Attendants, All Officials, Jinpyeong—everyone without exception was staring only at Lee Yeon. Every single person in this place, including Eun-oh herself.
Eun-oh gripped her fan tightly.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
In fact, this was better. She just had to make her kneel before her while everyone was watching.
‘I’ll show them that no matter how good the clothes she drapes herself in, the substance inside cannot be changed.’
She intended to make it crystal clear that she was nothing but a concubine regardless.
Eun-oh forced a smile. For a brief moment, Eun-oh’s gaze locked with Lee Yeon’s.
And Lee Yeon smiled.
‘…She’s smiling?’
Eun-oh doubted her own eyes. For a moment, she could not utter a single word.
The brief smile she flashed, as if she already knew exactly what she would do, did not belong to a loser.
Rather—
“Insolent.”
Eun-oh abruptly looked to her side. All the thoughts in her mind vanished instantly.
Jinpyeong was glaring at Lee Yeon with a displeased expression.
“Your statuses are clearly different, so how dare you—”
—advance side by side.
Those unpoken words seemed to ring in the ears of everyone present, including Eun-oh.
However, Jinpyeong had not finished his sentence. It was because Jinyul had taken a large step forward.
“I sincerely congratulate you on welcoming the mother of the nation. As your subject, I pray for ten thousand years of prosperity for the Queen and Your Majesty.”
“We pray for ten thousand years of prosperity!”
Following Jinyul’s words, All Officials shouted in unison.
Amidst that grand congratulatory roar, Jinpyeong tightly pursed his lips. With that single phrase, Jinyul had not only cut off his words but also blocked the attack aimed at Lee Yeon.
‘How dare he interrupt me?’
The words “Do you wish to die?” surged right up to his throat. He wondered if his arrogance had soared so high that he no longer knew his place.
However, it was unbecoming to bellow in anger at someone who had just offered words of congratulations, so Jinpyeong merely glared at Jinyul while gnashing his teeth.
And just as he was about to single out Lee Yeon once again.
“On this joyous day, before offering a congratulatory gift to the Queen, I would like to make a request to Your Majesty.”
Jinyul’s voice was low and firm.
At the mention of a request from the Grand Prince, something that had never occurred before, everyone inside the Grand Hall listened intently.
Eun-oh felt uneasy for some reason.
‘Something… is strange.’
The moment he stepped forward, it felt as if the board had flipped. It felt as if another curtain had pulled back behind the stage she had prepared.
Suppressing her anxiety with effort, Eun-oh glared at Jinyul with a displeced face. She then whispered to Jinpyeong.
“Your Majesty, making a request so suddenly. This occasion is for me. Tell him to make his request next time and—”
“Did you say a request?”
Eun-oh shut her mouth. Her face turned pale. Jinpyeong had completely ignored her words.
But Jinpyeong found Jinyul more bothersome than Eun-oh. Jinyul had never once requested anything from him until now.
‘I merely wish to live quietly; I desire no other reward.’
That was what Jinyul had always said whenever he tried to bestow a reward to praise his achievements.
The fact that such a man was proactively making a request rubbed him the wrong way.
‘Moreover, he has not achieved any merit at this moment, has he?’
On the contrary, it would be more fitting for him to receive a reprimand for marrying without his permission.
Jinpyeong’s eyes narrowed.
“Speak.”
Jinpyeong slowly crossed his legs.
Whatever it was, he could simply reject it.
Looking up at him with a calm face, Jinyul spoke.
“There is a grace Your Majesty bestowed upon me a long time ago.”
Jinpyeong furrowed his brow.
“Grace?”
An abrupt sense of unease surged within him. It was because he heard words he had never anticipated.
The people once again focused on Jinyul’s mouth.
“Yes. I am speaking of the Wish Token that Your Majesty personally bestowed upon me. It was the reward I received when I captured and offered the five-headed tiger.”
At those words, a stir ran through the Grand Hall. The ministers whispered among themselves in surprise.
That incident was one of Jinyul’s outstanding achievements that was still talked about to this day within the Royal Family and among the public.
‘I’ve heard about this from my father.’
Eun-oh also knew that story.
It was said that while capturing that monstrous beast, Jinyul was severely injured, but he squeezed out his strength until the very end to sever all five heads.
‘And it was said that he hovered between life and death, unable to get up from his bed for a while.’
They said the King bestowed a reward upon Jinyul when he finally shook off his illness and arose a few months later.
‘But to think that was a Wish Token?’
Her heart felt as if it were sinking once again.
Jinpyeong looked down at Jinyul with cold eyes.
“I do not recall such a thing.”
At that, Jinyul smiled softly.
“Anticipating that you might not recall, I received it in writing at that time.”
With those words, he drew a single piece of pure white paper folded in half from his robe. Clearly stamped upon it in crimson ink was the King’s seal.
“……!”
Upon confirming it, Jinpyeong’s face hardened rigidly. He never imagined he would bring that item all the way to this place.
Looking up at Jinpyeong, Jinyul spoke with absolute clarity.
“I will use this Wish Token now.”
Jinyul turned his body toward Lee Yeon. Then, without a shred of hesitation, he declared firmly.
“Please officially recognize this person, Lee Yeon of the Seo Family, as my legal wife.”

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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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