For the first time, Joohyun passed a new law using her queenly authority.

Once Master Kang heard about the new law, he more or less freaked out and had to rush to see his daughter right away. This new law could heavily affect her whole future and there was a very important decision that she had to make. He really wanted to be able to counsel and support her in making the best choice.

Because he was beside himself with worry, he spoke very quickly. As he tried and struggled to explain the whole situation, he jumped back and forth between the details of the law. This left Seulgi flummoxed, but the general idea she got was that the Queen seemed to have established an organization called the Queensguard. It was an elite circle of the greatest, most skilled guards. All of them, no matter their gender, would be in sworn service to the Queen for the rest of their lives.

“You mean to tell me that members of the Queensguard will take an oath where they vow to never get married and never have children, because they belong to the country completely?” Seulgi asked after her father seemed to have calmed down a little.

“Yes, that seems to be the case,” he answered. “Members of the Queensguard will be handpicked from the existing pool of guards in the Queen’s household. As the Captain, no doubt you will be among the likeliest candidates.”

“Well…” she paused, taking a moment to digest all of this information. “What if we wish to get married and have our own families instead? Must we choose between this job post and our personal lives?”

“From what I’ve heard, you can only have one or the other. At this stage, it is still up to you. If the Queen were adamant that you stay, you would not have been given a choice at all.”

She nodded. It made sense to her now, even though her father still looked slightly baffled.

“My daughter, you don’t look surprised at all. How can you not be concerned?” He pressed on. “This is your whole life, your whole future…”

“I understand,” she replied, and proceeded to tell him about what she overheard about the conversation between the Queen and Lord Seo Dowon yesterday. “So, I’m going to leave the Queen’s household and go to Lord Seo’s instead.”

Her father was speechless for a moment. “Are you sure?” He asked, looking more worried than he already was. “Are you absolutely certain? We don’t know anything about this Lord Seo...what if he’s not a good man? What if he mistreats you? I can’t possibly let my daughter marry someone like that...”

“Father, if he tries anything, I’ll probably be able to beat him up,” she said calmly. “I know many courtiers fear him. But he should fear me.”

“Seulgi, how can you still be jesting!”

“I’m not. I don’t make jokes about these matters — if I agree to become Lord Seo’s wife, he will send food to the starving people. They won’t have to suffer and this will solve a pressing problem for the Queen,” she explained. “It will be a personal sacrifice on my part, but is it better for me to turn him down and allow people to continue to suffer under the famine and the drought?”

Master Kang sighed. “I just worry that you will be unhappy as his wife.”

“Please tell me, what’s the protocol for those who wish to resign and be excluded from the Queensguard?”

“I...I didn’t look closely into that,” he admitted. “I didn't have the time to. I came to you right away. Besides, I didn’t think you would actually consider leaving.”

Their conversation was interrupted by knocks on the door. It was a eunuch who came in to make an announcement.

“Captain Kang,” he said to Seulgi specifically, after bowing at father and daughter. “The Queen has sent me to deliver a message to you. Should you choose to resign from your post in Her Majesty’s household, you are required to formally greet the Queen and bid her farewell. The ceremony will be conducted in the afternoon. Should you choose to remain in Her Majesty’s service, your presence is still required at the assembly this afternoon.”

Seulgi exchanged serious glances with her father before turning back to the eunuch. “I understand. Thank you.”

During the assembly, half the guards opted to leave. As was required of them, they bowed to the Queen and bid Her Majesty farewell one by one. Joohyun thanked each of them for their service and made it clear that it was not a shameful thing, just a matter of personal choice that she would not judge.

Master Kang looked on as the queue got shorter and shorter. Until finally it was his daughter’s turn, which made him hold his breath nervously. Seulgi was about to bow and say her lines, but then Joohyun was looking at her so intensely that she forgot what she was supposed to do and say.

“Your Majesty.” It was all that she could bring herself to say as she held Joohyun’s unrelenting gaze.

“Seulgi,” said Joohyun. Unlike the ice cold facial expressions that she usually wore, this time there was a certain kind of warmth in her eyes, and Seulgi picked up on that. When the Queen spoke her name, she got chills. Ironically not the cold kind of chills. Warm chills, if that made sense at all. And that was not the only thing that surprised her — it was probably the first time the Queen addressed her as Seulgi and not something more formal, like Captain Kang. She had never felt such a strong connection before, and to have this kind of connection with someone as untouchable as the Queen gave her a feeling that she had yet to make sense of.

“Come with me,” the Queen added, bringing Seulgi’s attention back from her deep and complex thoughts to the present moment.

Joohyun her heel and went inside her chambers, Seulgi following obediently. Master Kang and the other servants in the courtyard stared in confusion for a bit, but as soon as the doors were shut they went back to going about their daily duties.

Seulgi found herself alone in the room with