It had been a day since the incident in the garden and Soojung had still not woken up. Her body was feeling extremely warm and she would whimper in her sleep, sometimes crying out as she flailed her arms in the air as if she was gasping for air. 

Strangely how the other consort chose to stay in her place when Soojung was unconscious. She had not stepped out of her room at all. 

Jinri and Sojin were taken out of the palace, back to their hometowns for proper burial. Meanwhile, Moonbyul was taking up the job as a servant to attend to Soojung when Jinri was no longer around. The other servants in Soojung's house were devastated to know that Jinri was no longer alive and that Soojung almost drowned. 

Moonbyul decided to stay closely to the queen since she confirmed that it was an assassination. She saw it with her very own eyes that someone wearing all black pushed Soojung into the pond from the back, she had no time to run after the woman and she just dove into the pond to save the queen who was on the verge of losing consciousness. 

"Unnie, her majesty's medicine." A servant came into the room and put the bowl on the table beside Soojung's bed. Moonbyul nodded and stood up from her seat, walking towards the bed. "Do you need help?" The girl asked and Moonbyul shook her head. 

Moonbyul took the bowl of medicine and sat down quietly on the queen's bed, mixing the content well. She bit her lip as she tried to feed the queen, it was a tough task since Soojung's lips were closed and her teeth were clenching. 

It scared the royal guard when the queen suddenly had a cough attack, she immediately put the bowl away and only stared at the queen in panic because she did not know what to do. It would not be appropriate to touch the queen and if someone saw this, her head would be gone. 

She blinked rapidly when the queen slowly opened her eyes, wincing in pain as her eyes adjusted slowly to the brightness in the room. 

Moonbyul hastily got off the bed and knelt in front of Soojung. "Your Majesty." She greeted lowly and Soojung struggled to sit up, so Moonbyul got up and assisted the queen. 

Soojung gave a thin smile at Moonbyul and pushed the guard's hand off her shoulder weakly. Moonbyul retreated her hand as if she had touched the hot pan and she bowed her head lowly. 

"Where's Jinri?" Soojung asked, her voice was very faint. 

Moonbyul frowned. "She... is dead." 

Soojung shuddered as she recalled the incident back in the garden. "Where is she?" She asked, staring into the blank space in front of her. She felt like something was missing within her when Jinri was gone.

"They are sending her body back to her hometown, your majesty." Moonbyul replied. 

Soojung nodded with her eyes closed. She did not even get to see Jinri for the last time. She should not have asked Jinri to bring her a chair. She should not even have gone to the garden. Maybe Jinri would have been alive. 

"It's all my fault." Soojung whispered, feeling a hot tear trickling down her cheek. 

It surprised Moonbyul and she was panicking again when Soojung hid her face in her hands, bursting into tears. 

"Y-Your Majesty." Moonbyul called out, eyeing the queen worriedly as the queen was still weak from recovering. Soojung ignored the guard and continued to cry her heart out until her eyes stung. 

"Do you know who did that?" Soojung sniffled and looked at Moonbyul with her red eyes. 

Moonbyul felt her heart clenching tightly at the sight of it and she shook her head. "I... I only saw a woman wearing all black who pushed you into the pond." 

Soojung jolted when Moonbyul reminded her of her drowning incident. Her lungs felt like they were burning again as she recalled that very moment when she was kicking the water to no avail. "You... were the one who saved me?" She asked, eyeing the guard. 

Moonbyul nodded once. 

"Thank you." Soojung said, her face was still expressionless. 

"It is my duty. I failed to protect you." Moonbyul said. 

"What's the point of saying this now." Soojung sighed, then she suddenly looked back at Moonbyul. "Did you inform the Empress?" 

"Officer Choi did." Moonbyul replied. 

"You shouldn't have! Her Majesty is stressed enough!" Soojung reprimanded weakly and pinched her nosebridge. She did not want to burden Seulgi at all. She knew that the girl would definitely come back earlier than expected even though it was already the fifth day of the trip. 

"I-I am sorry." Moonbyul bowed quickly. 

Soojung exhaled heavily and shook her head. "Where is Sana?" 

"Lady Sana is sick." Moonbyul answered. 

"Sick?" Soojung blinked in confusion. 

Moonbyul nodded. "The physician said she has stomach flu." 

"Stomach flu..." Soojung mumbled to herself. "So you're the one who has been looking after me?" 

Moonbyul nodded again. 

Soojung looked down and noticed that her clothes were changed. "Did you..." 

"I... tried to not look." Moonbyul rubbed her nape, her cheeks were burning, so were Soojung's. 

"Okay. I-I will call you when necessary." Soojung dismissed her quickly. 

"You have to take your medicine." Moonbyul reminded, taking the bowl on the table and passing it to Soojung. 

"Ju-Just leave. I will drink it." Soojung took the bowl in her hands and stared at the medicine. Moonbyul bit her bottom lip together and bowed before she left, leaving the queen alone in the room. Soojung could not blame the guard for undressing her since it was necessary to get her out of the wet clothes. Jinri was not around and even though the other servants could have done it, it was still the same as the guard. "Moonbyul..." she mumbled to herself before drinking the medicine. 

An image of a black figure hovering on top of her suddenly flashed across her mind and she shook her head to clear the thoughts. She should not be feeling this way. It was wrong. 

"What does it say?" Joohyun asked softly, kneading Seulgi's tensed muscles on her shoulders. She could read a few words but she could not make out the content of the letter. 

Seulgi dropped the letter onto her lap and sighed loudly. "Soojung almost drowned." She said calmly enough to tell Joohyun what the content in the letter was. 

"What?" Joohyun exclaimed in shock. "How is she now?" 

"Officer Choi said that she is unconscious now. We have to get back as soon as possible." Seulgi said, her tone was still calm. 

"Why are you so... calm about this?" Joohyun questioned in disbelief as she moved away to look at Seulgi. They were sitting on the bed and Seulgi arched an eyebrow at Joohyun. 

"Then what should I do? There is nothing I can do now." Seulgi only said, but deep down, she was worried sick. It was true that there was nothing she could do now. She should remain composed and not freak out because she was the Empress, she was trained to handle things calmly. "Yoon Ah!" She shouted. 

"Yes, your majesty?" Yoon Ah bowed, catching her breath. 

"Prepare