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0-1. Prologue 1

Gujung Palace (九重宮闕).

As the word suggests, after passing through countless doors that are stacked on top of each other, it is located in the innermost area. In a sense, there is a place more secret and hidden than the king’s bedroom.

Naemyeongbu, also known as Naemyeongbu, is the place where women related to the king stay.

Among the inner halls, the most splendid and precious place is Daejojeon (大造殿). It is a place where the king’s favor is so special that not everyone can stay at Daejojeon, even though it is called Jungjeon.

Just a few minutes before this battle, screams went over the wall. The main characters are the woman’s high-pitched screams trying to overcome the pain of childbirth, and the shouts of medical women inside encouraging the mother.

The current situation is that the shouting stopped as if someone had given an order.

Considering that it was originally an inner hall, this quiet and breathtaking silence is natural. However, strangely enough, the silence contains the horror and death just before a predator pounces on its prey, or just before a wind of blood blows.

“Aaagh!”

“Kaaak!”

“… Save me! Ugh!”

just as expected! ‘Frantic Silence’ finally lets out a scream with a different meaning than before. Not a scream cheering the birth of life, but a scream proclaiming the end of life.

“Again… ! Say it again!”

“Ma, mama… .”

“Hurry!! uh… ha… Come on!!”

The shout was so powerful that it almost took my breath away, and it was filled with blood-vomiting anger and devastation.

“… Cheap, twins.”

Strangely enough, the silence that came after the trembling answer from the judge who bowed his head came at the same moment as the commotion outside died down.

“… Phew.”

Is it because of the aftereffects of childbirth, or is it the sense of deprivation that comes after the incident a little while ago, or is it not that he does not want to believe the judge’s words? The woman’s deep sigh, heard from beyond the dark clouds, lowers the head of the judge in the inner chamber even deeper. Only when I put my forehead on the floor do I stop moving.

“Ma, ma! Lord, please kill me!”

“Okay.”

“… Yes?”

Is it because I got an answer right away? When confessing a mistake in the palace by asking ‘please kill me’, was it possible to use the ceremonial words to convey the meaning of consent? okay. Maybe it’s both.

The judge raises his head in a stern manner or through hidden reflexes that he was unaware of.

“Did you say you were appointed through the introduction of Eonpyeong (彦平; Yun Wonhyeong’s son)?”

“Yes, that’s right. Mama.”

“Okay… .”

Eonpyeong (彦平).

Hongmungwan Suchan (Jeong 5th rank) A woman who can comfortably call Yun Won-hyeong’s person and the king’s wife who is the owner of Daejojeon (大造殿). This queen is the 2nd second wife of King Jungjong, the 11th king of Joseon, and Lady Yun.

She was also a woman who would later be called Queen Munjeong.

Then, how could a bloody wind blow in this early morning in the secret palace where the woman of the king, the owner of Joseon, stays? The reason comes from Queen Munjeong’s mouth.

“Twin birth. They’re twins. Twins… . This me? I, who will produce a prince who will lead Joseon in the future, harbored evil? How dare you say that!!”

“… Ma, mama.”

“Are you outside?”

At the call of Queen Munjeong, the door is carefully opened, and a shadow wearing the clothes of a court lady appears. And without saying a word, he just bows his head deeply.

“This job. No one except Lady Kim should know. Especially young ones who are soft-spoken.”

“… … .”

There is no answer. I simply bow once again politely, as if I were bowing. As if I were dumb.

In reality, she is like a ghost in the internal affairs department called a superior superior, a mistress who exists but does not exist.

She is a woman who handles secret matters in the internal affairs department. Her tongue was cut out, so she cannot reveal secrets, and her right thumb and index finger were cut off, so she cannot write.

Is it because he looks miserable? The hands are so cruel that the law of torturing criminals without killing them until they say what they want to hear or what they need to hear has reached heaven.

Even the rain costume palace appeared.

However, it is clear that twins were not miscarried in the womb and were given birth, which could be problematic. Especially if Queen Janggyeong’s maternal relatives, the faction called ‘Daeyun’, find out… .

“Phew… . What should I do with you?”

“Kill… Please save me! Mama!”

It is not a big deal that court ladies and eunuchs working in the inner palace die. There is no problem with the underclothes women also dying one by one without a word.

‘But. Isn’t this person a judge of the 5th rank? How can someone be a member of the National Assembly!!’

If you want to silence something, it’s better to kill it. Didn’t they call it a killer planthopper?

However, the lawmaker who is trembling beyond the convergence and is begging for help is the judge. If a judge of the fifth rank dies in the palace or even in a civil war, this will bring about greater opposition from the authorities.

“How… . What should I do… .”

Of course, if handled according to the law, it would not be that difficult to cut off both hands, remove the person from office, and send him into exile. However, this is a problem because you have to reveal that you gave birth to twins.

‘Twins! What a disaster! Isn’t this something that will always be caught even if a prince is produced in the future?’

Queen Munjeong, whose thoughts have reached that point, turns again to the trembling congressman beyond the convergence. Then, something warm rises inside me, and my vision begins to spin as I see the swelling.

A treacherous hand prevented the house from falling, but it is a vicious cycle in which irritation leads to anger, and anger leads to irritation again.

‘No matter how much money was paid to buy the seat, how can a member of the royal family find out that they are twins only after the child is born?’

During the Joseon Dynasty, the method used by royal court doctors to check the pulse of the king’s women was by stretching long silk threads, and this was only possible if the skill of identifying the pulse was excellent.

Even so, once you pass the internal medicine exam, it is normal to do that as a standard. It is not about determining whether a child has a disability or not.

However, Ho (峼; later Injong), the son of the deceased first consort, Queen Janggyeong, became the crown prince. Queen Munjeong’s current situation is to be careful and careful, as if walking on thin ice, while experiencing the humiliation of claiming to be the crown prince’s godmother for herself and her family.

He may become the crown prince’s rival in the future.

In such a situation, I could not trust and leave it to the semantics.

‘I know what Daeyun’s group will do!’

It’s a dilemma where you can’t do this or that.

As Queen Munjeong’s worries and worries deepen, the inner war becomes so quiet that even the sound of a pin dropping can be heard like thunder. That was the reason why the two children’s breathing sounds became louder and louder.

The emotion in Queen Munjeong’s eyes as she looks at the two children wrapped in silk swaddling clothes is cold contempt.

It’s like looking at dirty dirt on the street, making you doubt that she is the mother of these fraternal twins.

“Lady Kim.”

“Did you call me?”

This time, Daejojeon’s royal court, who actually takes care of Jungjeon as a close associate, comes in, politely bows down, and waits for orders.

“Send someone immediately to tell Eonpyeong secretly and quickly.”

“Okay.”

“Also, keep the interest locked up in a place where no one knows. If you rebel… . It is okay to maim.”

“Yes.”

“Ma, ma! Please save me!”

He cried out for help until the moment he was dragged away, but he only became quiet when he put a handful of silk cloth in his mouth.

Be that as it may, Queen Munjeong straightens her back so that it can be hard to tell that she is a woman who has just given birth, and gazes beyond the horizon with sparkling eyes. As if he could see his own uncertain future there.

Queen Munjeong’s worries continued until Lady Kim delivered the news in a quiet and confidential voice.

“Mama. I heard from Captain Wonhyeong Yoon.”

“Stop.”

Yoon Won-hyeong, who was hurriedly coming in wearing a red official uniform, is nervous and sees the look on the face of Yoon, the chief minister and his sister, and even walks cautiously.

“Did you find it? Mama.”

“You. I need to take care of these.”

“Yes? If it’s processed… . which… ?”

It was natural for Yun Won-hyeong to ask again, and what Queen Munjeong pointed to as ‘these’ was a newborn child covered in silken cloth.

Two children in their sister’s room. Anyone could see that it was his sister’s child, so Wonhyeong Yoon could not easily understand the idea of attaching the word ‘process’ to such a child.

“Do it with something that has never existed in this world! These things have never been in this world, and neither you nor I have ever seen them!”

The sight of Queen Munjeong speaking in a low but firm voice is like watching ventriloquism.

“Twins.”

“Yes?! Oh, no way… . Are you saying Agi was a twin?”

“Lower your voice.”

“Sorry. then… .”

“Okay. You stopped by today to comfort me, who was heartbroken over the stillbirth of my baby, but you returned without being able to meet me.”

The content of the conversation between a mother and an uncle over a newborn child was devastating.

Early morning that day.

A rumor began to circulate within the palace that Queen Munjeong had miscarried a baby.

Even the ‘ssang’ of twins was not heard at all, and the member of the hospital in charge was removed from his official position for failing to take care of Jungjeon’s child and was suddenly and quickly sentenced to exile.

However, it is reported much later that the unknown lawmaker was killed by thieves on his way to the place of exile.

When Yun Won-hyeong left the palace and arrived at his house, roughly tying his newborn nephews in a cloth as if they were objects, the children were already dead from not being able to breathe.

“Okay. It went well.”

No matter how reckless Yoon Won-hyung was, even though he was the most grateful and feared sister in the world, he was blinded by the thought of what he would do with his own hands to a squirming child, and even his nephew, who was his blood relative.

“Rather. It went well.”

Without even calling a servant, Wonhyeong Yoon buried the child with his own hands. Even though his entire body was covered in dirt and sweat, Wonhyeong Yoon sighed in relief and returned home to sleep for a full day.

It was a miserable and unfortunate incident, but it ended like this and was not even recorded in the annals. However, this was not the only thing that would not be recorded in the Annals.

Two twins, when the twins were born and died before living a day, the souls of the two children united as one and could not find a way to the underworld.

Coincidentally, on that day, a fragment of a soul with great power fell from the sky over Joseon and melted into the souls of the twins, especially the boy’s soul.

People who don’t know the details of this situation said that a white comet appeared and disappeared, so the general’s family fled and the king had to hold his head.

Among the Soyun clan that follows Queen Munjeong, one of them is accused of treason and is exterminated.

In some ways, it can be seen as a retribution, but strangely, due to the uproar over the ‘traitor’, the twin incident of Queen Munjeong was not mentioned by anyone.

And then an instant of time passed.

Now, so much time has passed that there is no one alive who remembers the tragic deaths of those children.

An ordinary summer day.

If it weren’t for the man who suddenly appeared in the sky of Joseon, it was a day when so much time had passed that even the souls of the twins involved would have forgotten what happened.

“Ha… . found. You were here.”

The man who appears in the sky above the Joseon royal family stands with his feet in the air and grumbles while looking at a place where no one is present, as if he were not human.

It was invisible to people, but even if someone had seen it, they would have thought he was crazy.

“Let’s go.”

– no way… . Are you talking to me?

– That can’t be possible. There’s no way we can be seen.

“I don’t have time to be like this right now.”

– Is what you are saying to us true? Should I go? Uh huh! No, it doesn’t work. If we go now, this country will be in trouble… .

– I have no interest in the troubles of this country that abandoned us as soon as we were born, but what are you? The Grim Reaper, something like that?

“The way he talks is just right. How can you be so shamefully attached to a baby’s soul… … .”

– you. I don’t know who it is, but could you please wait for a moment? I see a great tribulation coming to this country. I’ll just block that and that.

– Oh my. I’m not going.

The face of the man floating in the air, still unrecognizable to people, turns red, and thick veins pop out on his forehead.

Did you notice the man’s suddenly changed mood? The souls of the two children who were talking to the man quickly tried to escape, but as soon as the man waved his hand in the air, they were unable to move and were frozen in the air like ice.

“Because now I am not a supreme being, but just a soul. Even if I treat you a little harshly, I believe you will understand. No, I believe it.”

– W-what are you doing!

– What kind of understanding is this! What, what if you can’t do it?!

“Even if you can’t do it, it would be better to force yourself to understand. As I live in this world, there are many things I don’t understand.”

– How… .

– bad guy!

“Ah, I think I misunderstand, but you are not.”

The man points to the soul who uses a girl’s voice and speaks like an adult, and says, ‘That’s not you.’

“Over there. Just that kid.”

And on one side, he points to a spirit speaking in a boy’s grunting voice.

– Oh, no!

– Sheesh. okay. let’s go. It would be better for my sister to stay here than for me. In many ways.

“Hoo?”

The man lets out an exclamation that means it is unexpected. The soul of the grumbling boy sacrificed himself? Of course, there is that part as well. However, where the man was looking, there was the soul of a girl with a despairing expression and not knowing what to do.

“You know, right?”

– What, what do you mean?

Have you realized your true situation? As she stutters, she slowly stops approaching her sister’s soul and answers.

Meanwhile, I was unable to make eye contact with the man I was seeing for the first time, and for some reason I found it difficult.

“Your younger brother’s soul is special. And if your brother is gone, you won’t be able to do the things you’ve done. To put it bluntly, you will become just another soul, unable to do everything you have done with the power of your brother’s soul.”

– no!

The moment the soul of the girl, who had been polite and courteous up to now and was like the head of a well-mannered family, screams while speaking informally, the color of the soul, which was a gentle white light, turns black for a moment but gives off a sharp force.

“That’s it. I didn’t say that because I wanted to hear your excuses.”

The man who had spoken up to that point grabbed the air as if refusing to continue talking, and the size of the boy’s soul gradually decreased, transforming into a bead shining in five colors.

-How! What should I do? How is this country… … ! Do you have no pity! You vicious one! I will curse you!

“You’ve been saying things that don’t even belong to a child!”

For the first time, anger appeared from the mouth of a man who had always been playful. Accordingly, the intimidating feeling and brilliance that radiated around the man was something that a soul that survived for only one day could not even dare to look at.

– Bwaaa!

“What a living person does is different from what a dead person like you does. As soon as he was born, he was abandoned by his mother and died at the hands of his maternal uncle. There’s nothing you can’t say! Disappear to the underworld immediately!”

– ah… … . No! Please! why… ! Until now, the gate to the underworld has never been opened… … ! ah! Everything, you!

As if the man’s shouting was a wizard’s spell, a black hole appeared around the girl’s soul, as if it could even suck in light.

The moment she is sucked into the open gate of the Underworld and a part of her soul touches the Underworld, the girl’s soul seems to have recognized the man’s true nature, is surprised and no longer resists, but accepts her situation.

“Don’t worry. Hey kid. There is still hope left in this land.”

The man looked at the spot where the girl’s completely disappeared soul was, and while talking to himself, he looked out towards the southern sea in the distance for quite some time. As if hesitating about something.

That year, the hesitating man disappeared, and the two British spirits who had been protecting the country that had abandoned him in the gloomy skies of Joseon, one as a soul bead in the man’s hand and the other disappeared into the underworld.

1592, i.e. April of the year of Imjin.

Busanseong Fortress falls to the Japanese army from Japan.