Although Sunmi had managed to become the wife of one of the most esteemed noblemen at the royal court, there was no aristocratic touch in her nature and she still felt that she belonged more to the commoner life. She could easily hire seamstresses and have them at her beck and call in the comfort of the mansion that her husband owned. And yet, she found that she still preferred to personally visit boutiques on the streets. Some of the stores she frequented were located not far away from the stage that her late sister’s troupe used to perform at. As such, it was not surprising when she ran into some of the actors who used to work with her sister. They went up to her as soon as they spotted her. They looked absolutely delighted to see her, but that mirth was not reciprocated. There were half a dozen of them, whereas she was only accompanied by one of her handmaids.

“My lady,” they chorused. To put it nicely, it could be argued that their tone was simply lighthearted, but in essence it was mocking. They congratulated her for having become a nobleman’s wife, pointing out again and again that she had acquired more wealth in one go than the troupe could ever dream of earning. On the surface it sounded like praise, but to her it was downright sickening. She could see right through them and their fake smiles, nothing but obsequiousness and rapacity at their core.

“Long time no see! What have you boys been up to?” She asked sardonically. “Apart from gambling, eating and drinking till you pass out, and probably to buy .”

She did not believe herself to be above them in terms of social class — all her life she had been as much of a grassroot as each of them was. Her circumstances only changed because of an arranged marital union. Just that she could never forget the way they made fun of her appearance, and her sister’s, back then. Yet they had the audacity to act as though they had always been on the best terms, because now they saw value in her and realized they could profit from cozying up to her.

It was a rhetorical question and she was not at all interested in knowing how they had been doing. She was certain they wanted some of her money, if not all. Naturally, she was not about to let her bullies have that satisfaction. However, against her wishes, her husband’s carriage showed up. The driver pulled over and handed a bag of coins to those rascals. The passenger lifted the curtain and curtly motioned for Sunmi to enter the vehicle. She did so promptly, not at all eager to spend another moment with those boys. Her handmaiden did not have the privilege of getting seated, but stayed close and walked right beside the vehicle.

Inside, Lord Kwon waited for his wife to pipe up, and she sure did so soon enough.

“Why did you do that?” She asked, evidently very displeased. “They’ll just come for more money next time. I’ll never be able to get rid of them.”

“Let them. Maybe then they'll tell me more about what happened to your sister.”

“I understand that you regard all your interactions as ways to make up for what you weren’t able to do for your late wife, but why care so much about a commoner?”

“I was once a commoner myself,” he stated, but it was not enough to answer her question.

“But why this commoner in particular? She’s my sister; what’s your excuse? Why not care about other commoners too?” She huffed.

“How do you know I don’t?”

“Well, I—” she gulped as soon as she realized she might have jumped to conclusions just now.

“My duties include overseeing judicial affairs. It's part of my job to see to it that justice is served.”

“Oh? And how's that going?”

Upon the realization that what she said came off as much ruder than she had intended to sound, her hand flew to cover . But he shook his head and let her know he did not mind it.

“To be frank with you, it’s not going well. You ought to know that the officials in that department, as with any other department, are corrupt,” he answered. “The fact that they are corrupt does not surprise me — it’s the extent of it that never fails to take me by surprise.”

“Then why aren't you doing anything about it?” She questioned.

“You sure do like to make baseless assumptions about me, don’t you?” No doubt he was not happy about her attitude, but still did not want to snap at her.

“Tell me the truth,” she replied, and then added apologetically, “please, my lord.”

“When I was a teen,” he began somberly. “My grandparents who raised me got killed by an aristocrat, and justice was never served. The system failed us. So when I grew up, I went to the magistrate and worked there, just as a servant initially, only to become aware of all these transactions under the table. I kept my mouth shut, of course, but I knew what was going on. I knew why I would never be able to get justice for them, not unless I become more powerful, not unless I could rise above them.”

“But you are now, aren’t you? Don’t they all have to bow to you and do as you say?”

“It didn’t happen overnight.” He sighed. “Over the years, I've managed to climb up the social ladder, marry a princess, and of course eventually made my grandparents' murderer pay. But what do I do about the hundreds of corrupt officials? The ones who have allowed other aristocrats to abuse people from the lower class, just like me and my grandparents?”

“Punish them, of course!” She declared. “Confiscate the money that never rightfully belonged to them and give it back to the people, to those in need. To people like you and your grandparents.”

He let out an even heavier sigh. “You make it sound so simple.”

“Because it is simple!”

“No, it isn't. It never is,” he insisted, his tone growing sharper