Previously in Chapter 16...

Nancy sat in the princess’ room, doodling. Beside her was a sleeping Jane, who’d gone to sleep after all the tiring events which had drained her of any energy she had left.

She was in Princess Dabin’s room, and she suddenly felt warm and fuzzy inside. Her lover had grown up inside this area. This floor, this roof, these walls. Everything was different, yet it had a connection to her. “Yeonwoo unnie has really changed much.” She muttered to herself.

A loud crash sounded from the other rooms, and Nancy immediately got up and ran towards the origin of the noise.

She remembered the room as the eldest, Hyebin’s, room. She pushed the door open.

In front of her was a shocking sight: a bundle of clothes had hanged themselves on the wooden beam, and those clothes seemed to have a person in it. Her feet did not touch the ground, and she was still struggling. on the floor was an overturned chair, and she must have leaped off this chair.

Nancy gasped, and the person went limp. She immediately lifted the person up, as she had basic knowledge on how to save a person. She grabbed a splinter of wood from the chair and cut the person free.

Once she cut the rope, she recognised the person as Hyebin, but she could not even begin to wonder why a princess would want to commit suicide.

She screamed for the servants to send for the royal doctor, and within minutes a chubby woman entered the room.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.” She tutted and began to take out medical instruments leisurely. “What luck that she’s still breathing. Usually the neck gets snapped and their tongue sticks out, like this.” She mimed being hanged, and Nancy started to get annoyed at the woman. With each minute, Hyebin was facing a great danger of losing her life. This was not the time to fool around. Hyebin could easily die because of her antics.

Of course, the doctor was in no hurry. It was not her life that was in danger.

Even in the 21st century, most people are not responsible when it comes to saving lives. Some say that it's man's nature. But really, they are irresponsible for their actions.

Desperate, she looked at the table nearby. It was covered with a long sheet of paper, with ink on it. Curiosity got the better of her, and she took the sheet of paper and started to read.

"I am Lee Hyebin. Daughter of the Great Sejong Daewang, sister to three princesses, and most importantly? Lover of my sister, Jooe.

No one knew about us. I had begun to love her the moment I set my eyes on her. Not as sister-to-sister, but romance. The only thing keeping me from thinking that this was was the fact that Jooe was adopted. But we had failed to notice her feelings. She would feel betrayed, humiliated, shamed.

As a lover, I had neglected her. As a sister, I had betrayed her. As family, I had failed her.

I know that there are others that matter. Others that love me, But can I live each day out, knowing that her pain is my fault? The answer is no. And so, I can only redeem myself in this way. To whoever is reading this, I'm sorry. Tell my parents, my sisters, that I'm sorry. Tell Joo Won that I'm sorry.

Hyebin."

Nancy covered . This was a suicide note.

"She's dead." A maid reported, tears in her eyes. She had been one of the maids that accompanied the princesses to the village. "There was nothing that we could do."

"You!" Nancy screamed, launching herself at the so called doctor. "If you did not fool around, she would have been saved! It's people like you that see other lives as a joke!"

"I did my best." The doctor vainly argued, not showing any hint of apology.

It was then when Sejong finally arrived. He looked at his daughter's face. No words were exchanged. That's because no words could be formed. Not at this moment.

As an emperor, Sejong could not shed tears. It was a sign of weakness. But looking at his dead daughter, neck twisted, pupils diluted and body lifeless, Sejong would have long nights to come.

Horrors indeed.

In the golden tent of the Goryeo army, Squadron 17 emerged from the ground.

They half expected the Goryeo warrior, Jeon Jungkook, to launch himself at them. His silver blade had long since made a name for itself in the battle of Hanseong. He possessed extreme strength, endurance and martial arts, so it was normal for them to feel scared. Heavens, he was like a automaton, slicing through soldiers with no mercy whatsoever.

But this was different. This was more scary.

Sprawled on the ground was a dishevelled figure, with clothes stained with mud and brick-red smudges. Shivering, they crept forward and lifted the person upright. They wanted to see the face. And when they did see the face, they were struck with horror.

It was indeed the heir of Goryeo himself. Jeon Jungkook. Dead. On the floor.

No time for questions or celebrations. Squadron 17 had a more important mission, and that was to find the princess, Jooe. To save her, as their squadron leader had instructed. But you could hardly call this tent 'big', so it was difficult not to find a person here. Supposedly.

However, no matter how hard they looked, they could not find any trace of another person. They heaved a breath and opened the tent doors. At least the battle was over.

The battle was over.

They could finally go home.