“Ah…”
The moment she realized it, tears spilled down her cheeks.
Drip, drip.
“So-So-ya?”
Startled, Yi-rim hurriedly looked her over, unsure what to do.
“I-I’m sorry. The tears just suddenly came out… I was just so happy.”
So-ya smiled brightly as she rubbed at her eyes.
Because she was happy.
And because it felt so unfamiliar.
Ever since that day three years ago, when her family abandoned her, this was the first time anyone had spoken to her so gently.
It was also the first time anyone had wished her a happy birthday.
Come to think of it…
That day three years ago—the day her family cast her aside—had also been her sixth birthday.
So-ya swallowed bitterly as another realization struck her.
“Thank you for coming to keep your promise.”
Holding the ruby ornament Yi-rim had returned to her tightly in her hands, So-ya spoke softly.
Yi-rim gazed at her for a moment before reaching out his hand.
“Let me see that for a moment.”
He took the ruby ornament and fastened it onto the front of her jeogori.
Then, in a calm voice, he said,
“It’s beautiful.”
“…”
“It finally feels like it’s returned to its rightful owner.”
At his quiet praise, So-ya’s face flushed red for no reason.
Honestly speaking, she thought her mother’s keepsake didn’t suit her shabby appearance at all…
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
So-ya smiled happily.
Yi-rim gave a small smile in return.
“Just call me ‘older brother’ like before.”
The two of them sat side by side on a flat stone, chatting quietly together.
“But more importantly… what happened?”
Yi-rim asked carefully.
“You’re very different from how I remember you. Can you tell me what happened to you during these years?”
At his question, So-ya hesitated.
She felt ashamed to reveal such an ugly secret to someone she had known in childhood, but she didn’t want to hide or lie to him.
“I…”
So-ya confessed that she was a sinner who had stolen the young lady’s place.
As Tae Yi-rim listened silently, his brows gradually furrowed.
Something felt wrong.
“But… that makes no sense…”
Muttering under his breath, he suddenly stood up.
“Brother Yi-rim?”
“So-ya.”
Yi-rim abruptly grabbed both of her hands.
Perhaps because she had worked so hard all this time, the small fingertips were rough.
That fact made Yi-rim strangely upset.
The So-ya before him—the So-ya he remembered—had never carried such shadows.
Her family must have been the reason she had changed this way.
Thinking about how withdrawn she had looked earlier that day, and how her family had treated her as though she didn’t exist, made anger rise within him.
‘Even if this child truly did take the real daughter’s place, none of it was ever her fault.’
And yet despite the hostility of the people she had once believed were family, one thing about her remained unchanged:
That clear, gentle smile.
Yi-rim wanted to protect that smile.
Maybe he was already too late, but even so… starting now.
“There’s something I must urgently investigate, so I need to return to the Imperial Palace.”
“Ah…”
A trace of disappointment crossed So-ya’s face.
Seeing that expression made it difficult for Yi-rim to leave.
But perhaps, if he searched the imperial archives, he might uncover the answer to the unsettling suspicion nagging at him since earlier.
And perhaps…
Just perhaps…
He could save So-ya from this place.
“Don’t be too disappointed. I’ll return soon. And when I come back…”
He might find a way to take her out of this estate and bring her to the Imperial Palace.
“I want to take you to the Imperial Palace with me. If… you would allow it.”
“…”
Instead of answering, So-ya simply stared blankly at him.
Grinning, Yi-rim hooked his pinky finger around hers.
Just as she had once linked her pinky with his three years ago.
And from afar, a pair of eyes watched the scene unfold.
Late that night, the prince departed in haste.
The following morning—
“Tell the truth. You stole this, didn’t you?”
Li-li shouted sharply at So-ya.
In her hand was the very ruby ornament Yi-rim had returned to So-ya the previous night.
“N-No, Young Lady.”
Though trembling violently, So-ya stubbornly defended herself.
“I really didn’t steal it. P-Please give it back.”
Li-li’s face twisted when she saw So-ya speaking up for herself instead of meekly bowing her head as usual.
“How dare you lie!”
Li-li hated So-ya.
From the very first moment she saw her.
She hated that there was another girl around her age in the estate.
She hated that a mere servant child stood out more than her with such a pretty face.
And she especially hated how Father and Older Brother seemed to unconsciously pay attention to that girl.
That was why Li-li had deliberately kept So-ya by her side as her maidservant, constantly dragging her around everywhere—to remind her just how different their positions were.
Sometimes she even subtly encouraged the other maids to bully So-ya.
Of course, Li-li had to remain the kind and gentle youngest lady, so she made sure never to show it openly.
Truthfully, Li-li had intended to humiliate So-ya yesterday.
She had wanted to show the shabby-looking girl before the noble prince from the Imperial Palace and thoroughly embarrass her.
The way So-ya always looked ashamed of her ragged appearance in front of Father and Older Brother irritated Li-li to no end.
‘This should teach her to know her place.’
But things hadn’t gone according to plan.
From the moment the prince stepped down from the carriage and looked toward So-ya, Li-li had felt an ominous sense of unease.
Then last night, she witnessed the two of them speaking together intimately.
She couldn’t hear their conversation from a distance, but seeing Yi-rim stroke So-ya’s head and even give her an ornament filled Li-li with blazing fury.
‘That fox-like girl must have done something. I need to drive her out before His Highness comes back.’
So Li-li decided to frame So-ya as a thief and expel her before the prince returned.
Conveniently, the ornament So-ya had received from the prince the night before served as perfect evidence.
The prince had already left, meaning there were no witnesses. Before he returned, Li-li intended to accuse So-ya of stealing it and dispose of her.
“I-I’m not lying. It’s true.”
With tears pooling in her eyes, So-ya trembled as she pleaded.
“If you didn’t steal it, then where did it come from?”
“Th-That…”
So-ya couldn’t answer easily.
‘I know it too. Even if I say the prince gave it to me, nobody will believe me.’
Just as Li-li sneered inwardly—
“That… isn’t that the late Madam’s ornament?”
One of the watching maids muttered quietly.
“What?”
Li-li whipped her head around.
The maid who had spoken gasped and immediately shut her mouth, but Li-li had already heard.
“The late Madam’s… then that means this belongs to Li-li’s mother?”
Li-li’s voice trembled violently.
“Why… why do you have my mother’s belonging?”
At the sharp question, all the color drained from So-ya’s face.
[Make sure Li-li never learns your identity. If she is hurt because of you, I will never forgive you.]
Her father’s warning thundered through her mind.
“If… if that happens, I won’t forgive you.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Answer me!”
Throwing away her mask of kindness, Li-li screamed hysterically and shoved So-ya hard.
The small girl crashed violently onto the floor.
At that exact moment, Patriarch Jeok A-yoon and Second Young Master Jeok Hwa-yu arrived and witnessed the scene.
“Li-li…!”
The false peace Jeok A-yoon had desperately maintained shattered in an instant.
Li-li learned the truth—that So-ya had been the fake daughter who stole her place.
The shock caused Li-li to collapse sick in bed, throwing the entire estate into chaos.
The servants whispered endlessly about So-ya.
“How shameless. A thieving girl who stole the young lady’s place…”
“She should be begging forgiveness from the young lady immediately.”
“Ah, our poor Lady Li-li…”
Their words stabbed into So-ya’s fragile heart like needles.
“I-I have to apologize… I need to beg forgiveness no matter what. I-I have to say I’m sorry… sorry for stealing the young lady’s place…”
So-ya went to Li-li’s room.
She had to apologize.
Stealing the young lady’s childhood was an unforgivable sin.
But still…
Even so…
If her apology could ease Li-li’s pain even a little…
Standing before the tightly shut door, So-ya took a short breath.
Then—
“Please get rid of that girl.”
The voice from inside made her freeze.
“Li-li absolutely cannot live under the same sky as her. Unless you want to see Li-li die, get rid of her before His Highness the Prince returns for her.”
“Very well.”
The answer came immediately.
It was Hwa-yu’s voice.
