The Crown Princess Scandal

Just a little more, just a bit closer, she chanted in her mind, urging her horse on. As the heavy gate slowly creaked open and the men began to enter, Hwayeong’s anxiety spiked, and she shouted.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

‘You owe me an apology!’

She fixed her eyes on them. Finally, one of the men seemed to hear her and turned around, his expression one of mild bewilderment. Then, shaking his head in disbelief, he smirked.

The sight of his dismissive attitude made Hwayeong’s blood boil even more. She pushed her horse to its absolute limit, but just before she reached the gate, it began to close behind them.

Racing toward the closing gate, she was abruptly stopped by the soldiers standing guard.

“Step aside! I’m following those men who just went in!”

She demanded.

“State your identity.”

“My identity? I’m here to catch—”

She paused and glanced around, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. The towering gate and the massive wall it was connected to looked oddly familiar.

‘Where have I seen this before?’

She wondered.

It wasn’t the city gate—she had passed through that not too long ago. And it wasn’t the grand entrance of a noble estate, either; this was far too large.

Besides, the guards were soldiers, and she had never heard of soldiers guarding a noble’s residence. Most of all, the gate and the wall connected to it were so familiar, as if she had seen them countless times before.

‘Where have I seen this dreary, cannonball-colored wall...?’

“Miss!”

As a creeping realization began to dawn on her, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end, she heard a voice she knew all too well. It was a voice she had been hearing for the past ten years, a voice she was utterly sick of.

Turning around, she saw the familiar face of Sohwa, along with the soldiers who had accompanied her to the capital, rushing toward her.

‘No... It can’t be... Please, let it not be what I’m thinking....’

Clinging to a sliver of hope, she waited as the royal messenger dismounted and approached her with a bow.

“We were worried you might have taken a different route, but it’s a relief you arrived on time.”

He said, smiling with genuine relief.

Even then, Hwayeong refused to believe it.

‘It can’t be... This can’t be what I think it is....’

She thought, staring at the messenger, silently begging him to tell her it wasn’t true. But the messenger, still smiling with satisfaction, delivered the final blow.

“Welcome to the Imperial Palace.”

In that moment, only one thought filled Hwayeong’s mind:

‘I dug my own grave!’

* * *

“Damn it! That DAMN BASTARD!”

“Miss....”

“I tried everything I could to arrive late, and yet how did this happen at the last minute? How is this even possible?!”

Now lying on the bed in the palace quarters, having just learned she had run straight into her own grave, Hwayeong thrashed about in frustration. Sohwa sighed deeply.

“That’s why I told you to control that fiery temper of yours. After going so far as to sabotage the carriage wheel to buy time, you ended up racing all the way to the Imperial Palace in a fit of rage?”

“How was I supposed to know that bastard was heading to the palace?”

As Hwayeong vented her irrational fury, wondering why, out of all the places in the vast capital, that man had to come to the palace, Sohwa calmly pointed out the core issue.

“That man was rude, but you were the one who chose to sprint across the city to demand an apology. After lying to those messengers about you not being able to ride a horse, you sped here like a professional jockey! I literally felt I would be embarrassed to death, Miss!”

Even after that, Sohwa kept on nagging about the issue, telling Hwayeong that she had to see the confused looks of those messengers and how she wasn’t even able to look at them properly throughout the entire trip to the Imperial Palace.

“Miss, why do I always have to be the one who has to feel ashamed and embarrassed because of your actions?”

Only then did Hwayeong stop her thrashing and blink, as if recalling the situation.

“...Did I really do that?”

“You did, Miss. Please, you must learn to control your impulsiveness. In Hwacheon, people know you well enough to overlook your wild behavior, but this is the IMPERIAL PALACE. Even if your goal is to be expelled as quickly as possible, you still have to consider your family’s honor. You need to be mindful not to bring shame to your household.”

‘She has a point.’

Hwayeong admitted to herself.

As much as she wanted to create a massive scandal and get kicked out, she knew that would bring disgrace to her father.

She needed to cause just enough trouble to get expelled from the palace—not from her family.

“Alright, alright. I’ll keep quiet... For now.”

“I understand you’re frustrated and all with how things have gone during the past few weeks. But we both know that you have ZERO CHANCE to be chosen as the Crown Princess, so it’ll be wise to just wait for the next six months to pass without causing any trouble, Miss.”

“I know, I know.”