Miyoung never thought that something like that would happen to her and her family. And definitely not in that situation. Having your family brutally murdered in the day of her wedding wasn’t a thing she dreamed never in her worst nightmares, but it was exactly the fate Lord Master Shin had traced for her.

She never felt more hurt, lonely and humiliated in her entire life. Lord Shin not only killed her closest family members, he had killed the future lords of Rosegarden and the Riverlands.

What would happen now to the Hwang Estate? To Rosegarden and its people? Wasn’t the duty of the king to interfere and protect the land? Hwang Estate was the fourth biggest province of Joseon and the closest province to Hanyang. Surely, the king couldn’t stand still let a man like Shin Yunsuk run away with such a murkiest scam!

The moment the door was dragged sideways by her Lord Husband, Miyoung felt her heart beat rapidly, afraid of him. A distinctive face of disgust emerged on her face. How he even expected her to lie with him like his spouse was a sacrilege. Miyoung wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t do it. What would Rosegarden say if she open her legs to the man that killed their lords? There is no more shame in the entire world other than that.

When Lord Shin came closer to her, his hand right hand holding a glass of wine, Miyoung stood still in her position, gulping hard. He moved his eyes from Miyoung’s head to toes, and after finishing it, his brows perked up. “You’re still dressed up.” His voice was gritting on her skin. Miyoung’s fists were clenched together that her nails were close to hurt her own hands.

“I will not lie down with you.” She said, firmly.

“Yes, you will. You’re my wife now.”

“I will not allow you to lay a finger on me.”

He lifted a finger, moving it to touch Miyoung’s lips, but before he could do it, Miyoung tapped it away. He chuckled. “You’re old enough to understand how this works, aren’t you?” He asked, his voice lowly. Miyoung did not answer him. “It’s your job to please me…”

“It’s your job to please me too.” She said it back, making him frown his brows.

“You’re my wife, that means you serve to me. Not the opposite.”

“You disgust me.” She left it out. He smiled, turning his head a bit to the side, to drink his wine. Miyoung felt the urge to somehow make him drown with it. But she ended up not doing anything. She would probably end up dead if she tried to get rid of him like that.

“Sorry for the inconvenience of this evening, Darling.” He said, dryly, his voice completely off from any sort of emotion. “I know that is not something beautiful to see, the death of a parent.”

“Why did you kill them?” Miyoung asked, coldly. “They were innocent people.” Miyoung felt her soul fill up with all sorts of emotions there, and a tear fell down from her eyes. Her voice starting to crack. “They were good people! They were looking forward to this marriage! So we could help this region to grow and develop it to something bigger!”

“Help this region?” He placed the glass of wine on top of the table, his steps getting closer to Miyoung. His chubby face on a cold smirk. “I’m not stupid, my darling. You were not looking for helping this region. You were looking for the Red Mountains to be united with the Hwang Estate and Rosegarden.” He spit that name with disgust. “For our gems and minerals! You were trying to get yourselves richer and richer. You care about our terrains or the people of Midsummar and its villages! You care about your fortune, your wealth!” Miyoung stood silent. “You think I don't know the game of your Lord Father? Hwang Minhyuk had his flower heart on something else! And that was the court of the king, isn’t that so?” Miyoung did not answer him. “It makes sense.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Put your daughter to marry the lord of the Red Mountains in the south and unite both lands into one. And now Hwang Minhyuk becomes the Master Lord of the Red Mountains as the region is incorporated to the Hwang’s Province! Hwang Estate then becomes so rich and big, the King definitely won’t turn a blind eye on that. It makes sense.” He repeated, Miyoung looked to the ground. “But Red Mountains belongs to House Shin and we won’t bend our knees to flowery people up in the north!”

“Why did you proposed this marriage?” Miyoung asked, lifting her head. “You were the one offering the marriage proposal, weren’t you? Lord Father wasn’t the one came up with this deal!”

“Your Father wasn’t the only one playing the game.” Shin Yunsuk answered, his head with a smile. “I knew that if I didn’t make my move, another Master Lord would. Marrying the Lady Daughter of Hwang Minhyuk is a prize of its own, darling. I couldn’t lose the race.” He tempted to touch her cheeks, but Miyoung tapped his hand away again.

Miyoung did not know those Master Lords, but the fact they were treating her as a prize of some kind was making her angry. “And so I had an idea!” He giggled happily, Miyoung stepped backwards. “I thought that the marriage could be a blessing! A blessing indeed! Because I could now reverse the situation!”

“Reverse?” Miyoung did not understood what he meant with that.

Shin Yunsuk smiled. “If everything goes according to my plan, Hwang Minhyuk and his first son are no longer Master Lords of the region. As the whole province is united into one and I dispose them both, then I’ll, Shin Yunsuk, become the Master Lord of the Province!”

Miyoung widened her eyes in terror. No. No. No, that wasn’t happening. Please, someone tell her that this wasn’t happening. “Now, being your Lord Husband, and with no male heirs in my way, you know what this means right?”

A tear fell from her eyes. This time, Miyoung did not stop his moves and he wiped it with his finger. “Oh yeah, you do.” He added up, Miyoung’s nails were cutting her own flesh. “It means...As of now, and from now on, I’m officially the Lord of Rosegarden too.”

“Don’t… Don’t hurt them.” Miyoung asked, her guts twisting inside of her. “Please, don’t hurt them. My people. My home… don’t hurt them...”

“If I’m lucky enough…” He continued, ignoring her wishes. “The King might invite me to his council instead. That would be the perfect ending for Shin Yunsuk, wouldn’t it?”

“The king would never allow a traitor such as yourself into his council!” She spoke highly. “The king couldn’t accept this violent act of betrayal and dishonour.”

The man chuckled. “Yes, he could. He did worse.” His smug still present. “He’s schemed against his own brother, eighteen years ago. Don’t you know the story? Jealous of King Jaeyong’s position, he turned the council against the king and affiliated himself with the Japanese in order to make an invasion occur a third time in our history and so the king could being dethroned. King Jaeyong’s reign didn’t last three years. He was exiled in a land by the shore of the Yellow Sea. When his older brother became king, he ordered the military to murder Jaeyong and his wife as well as all his children.”

Miyoug clenched her teeth.

“King Junyong himself is not a bastion of honor, my darling.” He lowered it. “He plays the game. Just like me.”

“Leave them alone, please…” Miyoung didn’t care for a stupid place in the stupid counsil of the king. She just didn’t want the people from Rosegarden to suffer. “Kill me if you want to, but don’t hurt them, please!”

He chuckled. “Kill you? No, darling. I can’t kill you. If I kill you, the Hwang Estate will never recognize me as their Lord, rebelling themselves against me. No, no no.” He shook his fingers negatively. “They will get angry with the deaths of Hwang Minhyuk and his son once the news reach Rosegarden, that’s true, but they will still hold me as Master Lord as long as