Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 55

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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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55.
Within the Royal Palace, one always had to maintain composure and dignity, keeping one’s voice low and being mindful of every step and action. Thus, Chae Mun was well-accustomed to the palace’s stillness.
However, the atmosphere currently enveloping the Queen’s Palace was not one of stillness, but a desolate silence. While they stemmed from the same context, there was a stark difference between them.
It was the difference between keeping one’s own mouth shut and being forced into silence by another.
‘She is trembling far too much.’
Chae Mun glanced at the back of the palace maid leading the way. She was shaking so violently that the collar of her jacket vibrated.
“W-we have arrived. Please wait for a moment.”
The palace maid spoke in a trembling voice and hurriedly walked over to the palace attendants standing near the doorway.
Seeing Chae Mun’s arrival, they began to snap at the palace maid with thoroughly bewildered expressions. This only dragged Chae Mun’s mood further down to the ground.
“Ahem.”
When Chae Mun cleared his throat conspicuously, they became flustered and cautiously approached him.
All three standing side by side were dressed in the attire of a palace maid.
“We beg your forgiveness, Gukgu. Because the Queen’s Highness is indisposed…”
“I have already heard that story. Nevertheless, I requested to be guided here.”
“That is…”
The palace attendants glanced at one another, completely at a loss for words.
The palace maid who had guided him here was merely staring at them, on the verge of tears.
Unable to bear watching the palace attendants stand there hesitating any longer, Chae Mun spoke first.
“By the way, where is the court lady, and why are palace maids guiding the Queen’s guest?”
“We beg your forgiveness. The court lady is also unwell and is currently confined to her bed.”
“Hah…”
It meant that the sole court lady was also bedridden side by side with her mistress.
Chae Mun questioned them once more.
“Could it be that she ended up like that because of what happened when she went out last night?”
“How do you know about…”
The palace attendants looked at Chae Mun with startled faces.
Chae Mun glanced at the palace maid who had guided him. She had turned deathly pale and was shivering uncontrollably.
Sensing that if he revealed he had heard it from her, a grave would soon be dug for that palace maid as well, Chae Mun deflected the question without giving an answer.
“It will not take long. I have merely forced my steps here to see her face after a long time, so go inside and announce me.”
At that, the palace attendants hesitated before finally bowing deeply and cautiously stepping inside.
And after a short while, they emerged with slightly haggard faces.
“Um, Gukgu…”
“May I enter?”
“The thing is…”
The palace attendants, not knowing what to do, lowered their heads deeply.
“She has refused, saying that today is not the day. We are deeply sorry.”
“I have heard things, so I must see her by all means. Go inside and announce me once more.”
It was truly an embarrassing predicament for those caught in the middle.
With the inside refusing to meet and the outside insisting on a meeting, the color gradually drained from the palace attendants’ faces.
Surprisingly, the one who ultimately stepped back was their master’s side.
“She said you may enter!”
After who knows how many attempts, they had finally obtained permission. As Chae Mun nodded, the palace attendants opened the doors wide on both sides.
The moment he stepped inside, he faltered.
“…”
The inside of the room was stiflingly hot with heat.
Even though he had entered, Eun-oh could not even rise from her spot; the complexion of her face as she lay there was as flushed as the blanket covering her.
Eun-oh slowly turned her head.
“For what reason…”
Her voice cracked into ragged pieces.
“For what reason have you come? I told you it was not a situation to meet.”
“Your Highness.”
Chae Mun slowly took a seat.
Initially, he had intended to unleash harsh words the moment he saw her, but seeing her so ill, a wave of pity washed over him.
“How did you fall so terribly ill? Have you seen a physician?”
“They say it is a cold. I should get better after a bit of rest.”
“How could you succumb to such a trivial thing? Is it not because you went out in the middle of the night and caught it in some absurd place?”
For an instant, Eun-oh’s face stiffened.
She slowly closed and opened her eyes.
“From where did you hear that story again?”
“Even if I do not actively try to listen, it can be heard from all directions. Everything from the fact that you buried six palace attendants like government slaves to the fact that you roamed the Royal Palace in the dead of night.”
“That is—”
Eun-oh’s lips trembled violently. A spark of anger flared in her eyes.
“That happened at dawn today, so it must have leaked from inside this very palace.”
“What does it matter where it leaked from? In the first place, if you had not acted that way, rumors would not have circulated.”
Chae Mun said, striking his knees.
Though it was a refined and slow motion, it was laced with rage and condemnation.
“If you are the Queen, you must conduct yourself like the Queen. Roaming outside in the middle of the night? Even a young lady from a respectable family would not behave in such a manner. Did I raise Your Highness to be this way?”
The tips of Eun-oh’s fingers trembled faintly. Her face was no longer flushed simply from the fever alone.
The humiliation that had persisted since yesterday stabbed ruthlessly at her throat once again.
Chae Mun continued with a stern face.
“Where on earth did you go in the dead of night? There must absolute be a reason that required you to go out at such an hour.”
“I am the Queen!”
Eun-oh shrieked out loud.
Her eyes burned textually with scorching heat.
“I am saying this because you still seem to view me as your daughter. Do you think using honorific language makes everything acceptable? How dare you interrogate the Queen!”
“It breaks my heart even more that you view this as an interrogation. You acted while fully knowing that what you did was wrong, did you not?”
“I had no choice!”
Eun-oh pushed herself up and sat on the bedding. Her hair fell into disarray.
“Since His Highness does not come, I have no choice but to go. Since he will not grant me an audience, I have no choice but to wait. What other method is there for me!”
Eun-oh’s eyes became bloodshot. She clenched her fists tightly and glared at Chae Mun.
“Yes, I am still a virgin. We still have not been able to achieve the Consummation. Are you satisfied now?”
“…!”
Chae Mun was momentarily struck speechless.
He never imagined she would speak so openly, nor did he expect her to be so brazen. At the very least, she ought to know shame, yet the way she held her head high and spoke left him utterly flabbergasted.
Only after a long while did a voice emerge from his tightly shut lips, small and low.
“Is that something to boast about?”
Chae Mun looked coldly at Eun-oh. Her fever-flushed face no longer seemed pitiable in the slightest.
“Is it such a grand triumph to shout about, having failed to accomplish the greatest duty one can perform in a woman’s body? Your Highness’s voice could probably be heard even outside these palace walls.”
“…”
Eun-oh bit her lower lip hard. Her expression showed deep regret for raising her voice without realizing it.
However, it soon shifted into venom.
“How can you blame me for His Highness not seeking me out? Is that my fault?”
“It is a fault. A fault a hundred times, a thousand times over. You should have made him seek you out by any means necessary.”
He paused for a moment before speaking like a sigh.
“When all you had to do was bathe, dress lightly, and simply sit there… To think you could not manage even that one thing and let matters reach this state.”
Eun-oh’s face hardened drastically.
“Father!”
“I have told you repeatedly since before the Gantaek. The first night is the completion of the Gukhon, and everything is decided in that single instance; I instructed you countless times that a man’s heart is settled in the night—”
Chae Mun’s voice was not loud. On the contrary, it was so small that one had to strain their ears to catch it.
Yet to Eun-oh, it sounded like a thunderclap.
“To hear that he would not meet you even when you sought him out is truly disastrous. Truly…”
Chae Mun swallowed his words.
He did not utter the next sentence, but it felt as though it rang clearly in Eun-oh’s ears.
‘You are pathetic. I am greatly disappointed.’
Feeling as though her heart was sinking, Eun-oh could not utter a single word and merely bit her lip.
Chae Mun looked coldly at Eun-oh before speaking.
“Far from embracing her subordinates, rumors that the Queen is cruel and ruthless are already rampant throughout the Royal Court and the public. Surely you cannot be ignorant of this.”
Tutting briefly, he stood up. Then, brushing down his crumpled robes, he turned around.
“You must shake off this illness and rise quickly. There must be a great deal of work for you to do. If you cannot find a purpose to fulfill.”
Chae Mun turned his head coldly.
“There would be no reason for you to occupy this seat, would there?”
Unlike the way he had repeatedly requested an audience, he swept out without leaving a single lingering attachment.
Tears finally spilled from the bloodshot eyes that had been staring only at his back until the door firmly closed.

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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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