There was not a more peaceful and contented look in the world than Ji-Sung’s sleeping face after being fed by the wet nurse. Laying in the cradle, he clutched onto the Queen’s toy bear—the entirety of his tiny hand could barely wrap around the arm of the bear—while drool trickled from his lips.

I could not help but grin at the sight. This child was adorable. His resemblance to the Queen had become more striking over time, and I adored it.

As I rocked the wooden cradle, I snuck a few glances at the door, waiting to be summoned back to the Queen. She had wanted to talk to the Marquis alone and had sent me away for the time being.

Lately, the Queen had been swarmed by visitors. Even the Queen Dowager had visited, which, according to the other maids, had been the first time she had ever visited someone other than the King. The older woman had been beside herself with joy about the new baby boy; even while working in the other room, I could hear her hearty laughter and her boisterous voice.

The King had visited too, of course, along with every single concubine—including the Bin Concubine who had brought my sister along. I refused to be in the room whenever they visited. I did not think I could face Seul-Na ever again.

These visits drained the Queen, and she spent the rest of her free time recuperating in her quarters. I barely had the chance to talk to her. Instead, I poured all my time and energy into Ji-Sung, who was more than a handful. Taking care of a baby was infinitely more difficult than I had thought it would be, even after Sanggung’s meticulous preparations, even with a team of maids around to help.

But whenever I saw Ji-Sung’s precious, peaceful face, I knew it was all worth it. And at night, I still got to cuddle with the Queen. There was nothing more I could ask for in life. I was living my dream.

The door slammed open. It was the Marquis.

“Your Highness!” I sat up.

My smile faded when I noticed his furrowed brows. He was dressed in his usual all-black outfit, but the formal outer robe was gone. A sheathed sword hung on his waist. And weirdest of all, a baby around Ji-Sung’s age was strapped to his back.

Did he also have a baby? I did not realize he had a wife.

“Quick, Seul-Ki,” the Marquis snapped, “take Ji-Sung and find the Queen. Hurry!”

He turned and disappeared in a flash.

What?

Panic took over me. I scooped Ji-Sung into my arms and dashed toward the Queen’s quarters.

***

It was the warmest day in winter. Sunlight pierced my eyes as I entered the room. A silhouette outlined the Queen’s poised posture. I blinked, and the darkness dissolved into a mix of red and gold. She was facing away from me, her back to the door. All I could see was her braided hair, her golden hairpin, and a red silk robe with golden embroidered designs.

My breath hitched. This was the robe she had worn on the first day I had met her.

“Your Majesty, my Queen,” I greeted softly, holding Ji-Sung to my chest while dipping my head. He was still sleeping—and still grabbing onto the toy bear.

The Queen turned her head to the side. Strands of hair floated down onto the nape of her neck.

I followed her gaze and noticed a stack of clothes next to her. A maid’s uniform.

“Your… Majesty?” I probed.

We stayed like this for a few seconds before the Queen turned around. Slowly, deliberately, she moved as if time had paused temporarily for her. When she faced me, her expression was… strange. It was as beautiful as ever—as tired as ever—but there was now an extra layer. A layer of emotion that I could not quite pinpoint yet.

“Ah, Seul-Ki.” She smiled as if she did not already know I was there.

“Your Majesty, are you okay? The Marquis told me to find you. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Ah yes, Oppa went to find you.”

“He was carrying a baby as well, Your Majesty. Does His Highness’ have a baby too?”

The Queen chuckled. “No. No, he does not.” Her eyelashes fluttered. She lowered her head, looking at the maid’s uniform on the floor again. “Oppa… well, he went to find you because… he got you a gift.”

“A gift, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, this brand new set of clothes.”

I frowned. We had uniforms made for free by the royal seamstresses, so a new set of clothes was not much of a gift at all.

“Take the clothes, and take this too.” The Queen dug out a bronze amulet from her inner robe. “This is my gift to you.”

I was flabbergasted. Why was I showered with gifts? Was this my birthday? I did not even know when my birthday was. “No, no, Your Majesty, you don’t have to…”

She placed the amulet on top of the clothes and pushed them to me. “Of course I have to. You gave me the best gift ever, Seul-Ki, I have to give you something back.”

Reaching her hand out, she squeezed the toy bear. I lifted the sleeping Ji-Sung towards her while she proceeded to caress his hand and cheeks.

“Has he been good?” she asked with a whisper.

“Very, Your Majesty. Ji-Sung is very well-behaved.” I paused before confessing, “Other than waking me up seven times every night, of course…”

She chuckled. “Thank you for taking care of him.” Her eyes were watery as she looked up at me. “I’ve missed you, Seul-Ki.”

I had never been more eager to reply. “I’ve missed you too, Your Majesty! I missed spending all day with you and sleeping all night with you. But you are so busy now, and Ji-Sung cries every night…”

“I have been quite busy, haven’t I?” She laughed again, lowering her head. “So many people, so much planning, all the politics… It’s so stupid, Seul-Ki. I ended up not spending time with you and Ji-Sung, when that was all I wanted in life…”

Her strained voice stabbed me in the heart. “Your Majesty, is… is everything okay? Have you been resting well?” I asked.

She lifted her hand to my face. Her fingers grazed my skin; I kissed them when they neared my lips. “Tell me, Seul-Ki, what was your favorite activity whenever we spent time together?”

I considered the question. “Hearing you play the zither, Your Majesty. It was always so beautiful. I never particularly enjoyed listening to music until you played for me.”

“I see.” Her hand tilted my chin up as she leaned forward. “My favorite activity is whenever you fuck me from behind.”

“Oh.” My cheeks flushed. I would have pounced at her if not for Ji-Sung in my arms. I cleared my throat. “When… When the wet nurse feeds him, I… I will find you and we can… we can do that.”

Giggling, she closed the gap between us. We kissed as passionately as we could with a sleeping baby in between us. When we parted, the Queen’s expression became solemn.

“Listen, Seul-Ki, go around the building and find a carriage. There should be one waiting at the back next to the well. Take Ji-Sung, take this amulet, and get on the carriage.”

My eyes darted from the Queen to the amulet. I had seen enough of her writing to recognize that the bronze ornament had an imprint of her family name: Bae. This was her family symbol.

“Carriage? What’s going on, Your Majesty? What carriage? Why do I need to get on it?”

“There is no time to explain. Just listen to me, Seul-Ki.”

“Are you coming with me?”

She shook her head.

“Why?” I demanded, fear driving my pitch up.

“I told you, there is no time to explain.”

“I won’t go until you come with me or tell me what’s going on, Joo-Hyun!”

My voice had become loud enough to wake Ji-Sung up. He broke into tears, and I took the next few minutes rocking and soothing him.

“I’m not leaving,” I repeated, softer this time.

The Queen pursed her lips and glared at me. I had never seen her be actually angry at me like this before. But I had also never resisted her like this before.

Ji-Sung’s sobs filled the room, as we scowled at each other. My heart pounded in my ears. Something was going on, and I needed to know. I needed to stand my ground.

The Queen was the first to speak.

“You promised you will be loyal to me, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Joo-Hyun, but—”

“You promised you will take care of Ji-Sung, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but—“

“Then take him and go to the carriage. Now.”

Tears blurred my vision. It pained me to go against the Queen, but I had to. I needed to stand my ground. “No.”

“Seul-Ki.” The Queen’s eyes were both fiery and icy. “This is an order.”

“I promised to be with you forever, Joo-Hyun,” I hissed, rocking Ji-Sung more in anticipation of the fuss my angry tone would bring.

The Queen softened. “You will,” she assured. “I will be coming later on another carriage. This carriage is for you.”

I blinked away my tears. “Really?”

“Yes, I have a separate carriage with Oppa. He is coming for me after he hands his baby to a wet nurse.“

I relaxed. That made sense. The Marquis’ baby must not be comfortable, strapped to his back like that. And the Queen deserved a better carriage than one that was arranged for me. The Marquis would have ensured that. He cared a lot for her.

As much as I still felt uneasy, as much as I still wished the Queen could come with me, I finally nodded.

“Yes… Your Majesty.”