Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 50

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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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50.
Lee Yeon slowly opened her eyes.
Her head throbbed as if it were breaking, and her stomach churned with nausea. When Lee Yeon’s hand moved hesitatingly, Hong Ran, who had been sitting at her feet, rushed over.
“My lady!”
Hong Ran approached on her knees and gently pressed her hand to Lee Yeon’s forehead. A flash of relief crossed her face.
“The fever has completely broken. Are you hungry? Shall I bring you some water?”
Hong Ran chatted away with a bright smile. But Lee Yeon knew that the expression was forced.
“Hong Ran.”
The lips that had been chattering with exaggeration went still. Hong Ran slowly lowered her gaze. Lee Yeon was holding her hand.
“Ran.”
I heard everything. I heard it all.
In truth, she had merely been unable to open her eyes; she had regained consciousness quite some time ago. So, with her eyes closed, she had heard everything Hong Ran said.
‘His Majesty asked me of my lady.’
It was a statement that had left everyone dumbfounded. It was a statement that had brought Juhwa to her knees.
‘He said he wished to keep me by his side. That must be why he referred to me in such a manner.’
Because it was an ambiguous situation where it was awkward to use either casual or honorific terms.
It was shocking enough that Lee Yeon had been returned unconscious after being harshly mistreated by the Queen, but the fact that the King had taken notice of Lee Yeon’s maid, Hong Ran, and asked for her caused no small ripple of shock.
Seo Yeo-ro had spared his words, telling Hong Ran that she should rest as well, while Lady Han, Chohee, and Jain hesitated before following him out of the room.
‘It became awkward in the blink of an eye.’
Hong Ran was just staying still as she always did, but those around her found her difficult to approach. Even when people opened the door to see if Lee Yeon had regained consciousness, they gasped and closed it the moment they saw Hong Ran.
Though her eyes had been closed, she had heard and felt all of it. Even Hong Ran’s wavering emotions.
Lee Yeon turned her head while lying in bed and looked up at Hong Ran.
“Tell me honestly, exactly what is in your heart.”
Lee Yeon bit her lip.
She had hoped that Hong Ran, like herself, would remain ignorant of the palace world. She did not want her to know the atmosphere of that cold, desolate, and barren place.
She wanted to protect that bright, clear smile. She wanted to protect her so that she could keep smiling, doing nothing but smiling.
‘But I broke that.’
She had regretted it the entire time she lay with her eyes closed.
I shouldn’t have asked her to come with me, I should have coldly refused her request by saying she couldn’t enter.
She scolded her unyielding self countless times. Because of that, because of her, it felt as though Hong Ran had been thrust into this destiny.
“If you don’t want to… enter the palace, tell me. Tell me you truly hate the idea. Then I will stop it somehow.”
“…….”
Hong Ran said nothing. Lee Yeon held her hand once more.
“Even if it came from His Majesty, it must be a request, not a command. If you do not wish for it, I will—.”
“No.”
Lee Yeon’s heart dropped heavily at the decisive answer.
Hong Ran shook her head vigorously.
“I don’t want to become a danger to you, my lady. I don’t want to be the cause of that.”
As she spoke, the rims of Hong Ran’s eyes turned red. Fear and determination flickered together on her delicate face. Yet, her gaze alone remained steadfast.
“It was a command, and you cannot refuse it. The moment the eunuch referred to me as ‘that person,’ it was already over. It means I must leave you, my lady.”
“Ran.”
“The King says he wants me. He asked… for me.”
Lee Yeon’s chest tightened painfully. With trembling hands, Hong Ran clasped Lee Yeon’s hands in return.
“What if something happens to you because of me? If you get punished again because of me… my heart would break, and I would die of sorrow.”
Tears pooled in Hong Ran’s pitch-black eyes. Now that she was alone with Lee Yeon, it seemed as though all her suppressed emotions—her sorrow, her anger—were rushing to the surface.
“I was so, so upset. I was so angry. You did absolutely nothing wrong, my lady, but watching you kneel without being able to say a word broke my heart. What did our lady, what did my lady do wrong to deserve that in front of all those people… *Sob, sob*…”
Hong Ran finally burst into tears.
“In that moment, I prayed to Cheonjisinmyeong. I begged them to save you, to stop this punishment. I made a wish that I would do anything if only that could happen. And then he arrived.”
His Majesty the King did.
Lee Yeon could say nothing. She did not know what to say.
It was merely a coincidence, and the King must have come simply to watch her being punished—she wanted to say that, but her throat felt glued shut, preventing the words from coming out.
“I’m scared, I’m so scared. In truth… I’m so very, very scared, my lady.”
Hong Ran shed thick tears, seemingly unaware that she was calling Lee Yeon her lady.
“Neither Mother nor my brother will be able to enter the palace, right? I’ll have to live all by myself in that place without you, right? That terrifying Queen will punish me too, won’t she?”
“Ran.”
Lee Yeon forced herself up into a sitting position with great effort. The more she listened to Hong Ran’s words, the more her heart ached past the point of endurance.
“But I can’t run away. I can’t undo this just because I’m scared. This is something I must endure and bear.”
Hong Ran locked eyes with Lee Yeon.
Her clean face was thoroughly drenched with tears. The hands holding each other trembled violently.
“I’m going, my lady. I will go. And once I’m there…”
Hong Ran took a deep breath.
“I will hold on. I will take root properly. I’ll endure and endure somehow… to help you, my lady.”
The moment she heard those words, Lee Yeon closed her eyes tightly. Hot tears fell in large drops like melting candle wax.
“Ran—.”
“I will grow well so that you never have to suffer such humiliation again, my lady. I will listen well to both Their Majesties. So please, do not worry about me.”
Lee Yeon reached out and pulled Hong Ran into a tight embrace.
Her arms trembled, and her breath shook. Tears fell continuously as her throat choked up. Lee Yeon buried her face in Hong Ran’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for dragging you into a path like this…”
Hong Ran bit her lip hard before letting out a bright, cheerful giggle.
“His Majesty simply took a liking to me. Why is that your fault, my lady?”
Hong Ran tried to act as if it were nothing, but that only made Lee Yeon’s heart ache more acutely.
“I wanted to eat those foods from back then again anyway, so it worked out perfectly. From now on, I’ll be eating only that kind of food every day, so my palate will be thoroughly spoiled. Oh!”
Hong Ran spoke with exaggeration, her eyes sparkling.
“Next time, I will send a Letter to you as well, my lady. We can see each other that way. You must come, all right?”
At that, Lee Yeon finally wiped away her tears. She knew that if she continued to grieve, it would only make Hong Ran sadder.
Thus, she spoke words she didn’t truly mean.
“……You won’t let them make you kneel, will you?”
“Oh my, you’re even cracking jokes now.”
After that, Hong Ran chattered away just like usual, as if she had completely recovered. And Lee Yeon etched that image of her into her eyes over and over again.
Filled with apology, and filled with a gratitude far greater than that.

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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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