By Zephyria 
Many people are seated around a wide, lavish dining table made of rectangular marble. Every single one of them wore a bright expression, attentively tending to the Emperor and the Queen Mother; they were the Emperor’s maternal relatives.
Comprised of the Queen Mother’s kin, this group had the worst relationship with my family. Despite knowing this full well, the Queen Mother’s act of summoning me here was a textbook example of the horrors of dealing with one’s in-laws.
Just as I expected, they all turned their backs to me to focus on the Emperor and the Queen Mother. Thus, an invisible wall stood between them and me. Quite excited to be dining with the Emperor, they appealed their presence to Joo Min-hyeok by boasting about their daily lives and how they had been faring lately.
I had no intention of joining the conversation, but since I didn’t know the context, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. The vacation spots they had visited together or the memories they shared were things I knew nothing about, so they were all irrelevant to me.
Come to think of it, I’ve never actually been on a trip, have I? In my previous life, I was too sick to overexert myself, and here, the only times I’ve gone out were for occasional external schedules, so I’ve never had a trip entirely for myself. Now that I’ve met Hyun-wook, maybe I should go somewhere? Jeju Island, Busan, or maybe Japan? I wonder if I’d be allowed to go.
I blankly watched their affectionate interactions. Even the Queen Mother, who was always expressionless when looking at me, could smile like that. I suppose everyone is kind to their own people. While that was only natural, it felt strange.
Thinking about it, why is everyone so angry with me? I haven’t done anything, yet everyone is cold toward me. The Imperial family hates me because I am the Prime Minister’s grandson, and my grandfather is always angry with me, claiming I’m not to his liking despite being his own blood.
There is no one here who loves me. It’s not that I want to fit in among them; I just felt a wave of sorrow for my own existence. I don’t know why I had to be the Grand Imperial Concubine. If I had been born into an ordinary family and met a normal husband, I wouldn’t be living like this.
I don’t know the exact reason why the Queen Mother called me here, but perhaps she invited me as a warning—to let me know that no matter how hard I try, I can never blend in, so I should just live quietly as if I were dead. No matter how quietly I behave, my family itself is a threat, so she cannot help but keep me in check.
‘I hate all of this. I’d rather the Movie Palace appear quickly so the Emperor will let me go.’
Since the flow of the story here is already completely different from what I knew, it wouldn’t be strange even if his appearance was a bit early.
I am surrounded by enemies, so I feel incredibly lonely and anxious. It was miserable to have to feel these emotions even at a dining table, unable to be at ease. While I quietly observed their world of constant affection, my eyes met those of Joo Min-hyeok, who had been watching me without any expression. Hmm, this is awkward. Just then, the main course—steak—was served, and I decided to just focus on eating.
“Does the Palace Lord user have any memorable travel destinations?”
As I was cutting my steak, an unexpected question reached me, and I turned my head toward the source. The one who asked was a young Alpha sitting right next to me. Is he Joo Min-hyeok’s cousin? The boy, who looked to be around high school age, spoke to me in a casual conversation, his eyes sparkling.
“Travel destinations?”
“Yes. I’m curious. Where was the place the user enjoyed visiting the most?”
In his polite question, asked with blushing cheeks, there was no sign of wariness. He seemed to be asking out of pure curiosity. But it wasn’t a matter of whether it was memorable or not; I simply hadn’t gone anywhere. I gave a bashful smile with a slightly troubled expression.
“I’ve never been on a trip, so there’s nowhere memorable.”
“You’ve never traveled? What did you do during your overseas schedules?”
“I just stayed in the hotel after completing the schedules. I couldn’t go around alone, and there was no one to go with.”
Whenever I went abroad, they told me there was no one to accompany me and that there were too many risk factors, so they forbade me from going outside, leaving me stuck indoors. If the Palace Lord were to suffer an accident in another country, it would put everyone in an awkward position; furthermore, everyone was too busy to look after me separately.
“Brother—no, Your Majesty—what did you do? Did you not go around with the Palace Lord user?”
“Yes, His Majesty was busy.”
We just went our separate ways. We were only together for official events, and once the work was done, Joo Min-hyeok would go to his lodgings or attend to his private schedule. I didn’t answer and only curled the corners of my lips, and the young Alpha looked at me with pitying eyes. Did I look that pitiful? I still ordered lots of delicious food and got plenty of rest.
“Then have you traveled domestically? Busan or Jeju Island are quite nice.”
“…No.”
“No way! User—no, what have you been doing all this time without even visiting places like that?”
“…I just stayed in my Imperial Pavilion.”
“Ah, no, I mean why! If His Majesty didn’t take care of you, you could have visited many great places with your friends.”
“I have no friends because I’ve only been in the palace.”
“My goodness, Palace Lord user…”
The young Alpha raised his voice as if he couldn’t bear how pitiful I was, asking truly innocent questions befitting his age. An Imperial concubine cannot just go anywhere.
Even if I wanted to travel, the procedures were tedious, and I would have needed permission not only from the Emperor and the Queen Mother but also from my grandfather. Thus, I had reached this point by thinking it would be better not to go than to go through such complicated processes.
It was then that I suddenly realized the surroundings had gone quiet. Those who had been absorbed in conversations about memories had, at some point, been quietly listening to the conversation between me and the young Alpha. The Queen Mother was the same. This is incredibly embarrassing.
I would have rather said, ‘I’m not interested in travel. I hate crowded places and don’t want to be entangled with insignificant citizens.’ I might have seemed mean, but I wouldn’t have looked so pathetic. Just like the original Grand Imperial Concubine’s personality.
“Then is there anywhere you want to go?”
Perhaps because he was young, he seemed unable to read the room, continuing to ask questions despite the atmosphere. Still, thanks to him, my tension eased a bit, and I even felt grateful that he was talking to me.
“Hmm, I want to go to Disneyland. If not there, I want to go to an amusement park.”
“Oh, really? I love amusement parks too! Let’s go together, Palace Lord user. I’ll guide you. Disney World is great, and Universal Studios is good too.”
Wow, he’s kind. He’s so unbiased. While the rest of his family looks at me with narrowed eyes to keep me in check, it’s been a long time since someone treated me so hospitably, and I unconsciously beamed a bright smile.
“Thank you.”
I knew we could never actually go together, but I was grateful for the words alone. It was the first smile I had shown since coming here. And perhaps because of the smile I showed, or perhaps because of my thanks, the young Alpha stared at me blankly with blushing cheeks before scratching his head.
“Ahem, it is quite embarrassing that the Palace Lord could not even take a comfortable trip. I feel sorry that we were sharing such stories without knowing that.”
A middle-aged Alpha woman sitting next to the boy cleared her throat, expressing her embarrassment. Not that I asked for an apology.
“It’s alright. I can just go out later.”
“Right! Go with me, Palace Lord user.”
The young Alpha’s tone rose, seemingly genuinely excited. I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. That’s how the Imperial laws work. An Omega, especially an Imperial concubine, cannot do anything with an Alpha other than the Emperor.
“I am here, so why would the Palace Lord go with you?”
A cold voice drifted from the far end. Joo Min-hyeok rebuked the boy with a displeased face. Why take your anger out on the kid for no reason? I’m grateful he talked to me.
“Even if we can’t actually go together, he was being considerate of me. Isn’t his heart so kind?”
I carefully looked after the boy, who must have felt embarrassed. At that, the young Alpha’s face, which had been pouting, brightened.
“I have been too indifferent. I was so busy that I failed to take care of even such a thing. Let’s make a plan before the weather gets colder. Getting you out is no trouble at all.”
Regardless of the boy’s reaction, Joo Min-hyeok expressed his apology while looking at me. Because of his apology, the atmosphere of the gathering became very solemn.
“Palace Lord.”
Piercing through this solemn atmosphere, a heavy voice flew into my ear. The Queen Mother called me as she set down her water glass. Why, why… so scary.
“As a mother, I am sorry for not noticing such a thing.”
“What? Ah, no. Queen Mother, it’s not like that at all.”
I waved my hands in surprise at the sudden apology from the final boss.
“But why do you not realize that speaking of such things in a setting like this smears the Emperor’s reputation?”
“…Mother?”
I knew it. What apology? And it’s not smearing his reputation, it’s a fact, so what?
“The position of Emperor is not one where one can attend to such trivial matters. Especially for a mere concubine, not even the Empress. If you were a grown adult, you should have been able to handle your own travels… It’s uncomfortable that it feels as though the Emperor is being blamed.”
A mere concubine. From that phrase, I could tell how the Queen Mother usually thought of me.
“Queen Mother. The Palace Lord user was simply answering the question I raised. I believe there was no intention to put anyone in an awkward position.”
“That is also a problem. Because he answers a question from a seventeen-year-old child so literally and without flexibility, the atmosphere becomes like this. When in such a position, one must know how to observe their surroundings to some extent.”
Wow, she’s twisting it again. I kept my mouth shut without answering the Queen Mother. It was obvious that no matter what I answered, she would find something to nitpick.
“Looking at you, the Palace Lord is so blunt that he lacks any fox-like qualities. Being so bear-like, what Alpha would like that?”
“…Mother, there are many eyes watching, so stop there. What becomes of the Palace Lord’s dignity?”
Calling a person a fox or a bear—I’m not some animal. Joo Min-hyeok’s deeply sunken voice resonated lower than usual. At that reaction, the Queen Mother’s sister carefully dissuaded her.
“Queen Mother, the user does not know what to do. It is embarrassing for us to watch. Since it doesn’t seem like he did it on purpose, please let it slide even if you are displeased.”
“Embarrassing? It is the truth. This is why he hasn’t been able to capture the Emperor’s heart, and why talk of selecting a formal concubine is coming up.”
“Mother!”
Joo Min-hyeok raised his voice, striking the table with his hand. Surprised by the violent reaction, the Queen Mother’s eyes widened as she looked at the Emperor. Because of that, the atmosphere of the gathering began to plummet toward total destruction. Everyone held their breath and looked between the three of us.
Damn, the atmosphere is ruined, and there’s no way to fix it anyway. Then I can’t just stay still either. Since she wants to see a fox-like side of me so badly, I should show her. I lowered my head for a moment and gathered all my concentration to pull together my emotions.
“I am sorry, Queen Mother. Because of me, the atmosphere is…”
Then, with eyes filled with tears and a cowed expression, I looked up at the Queen Mother. The important thing here is that the tears must not fall too quickly. I had to bite my lip and keep the tears pooled in my eyes. That is how the beauty of fragility shines.
A wrinkle formed between Joo Min-hyeok’s brows upon seeing me, and I didn’t miss the chance to let the pooled tears fall. The moment the tears flowed, I pretended to be startled and quickly raised my hand to wipe the tears from my cheek.
As I did, the wide, soft silk sleeve of my blouse slid down, clearly revealing the bruise on my wrist caused by my grandfather’s grip.
How is it, Queen Mother? The fox-like side of me that you wanted so much.