By Zephyria 
The pain in my lower abdomen grew steadily. I let out a short moan as the tightening sensation in my gut intensified.
“Grand Imperial Concubine, are you alright? Does where you were hit hurt? We should get you to the medical center immediately…”
“No. I’m staying here to hear this. Hyun-wook, I’m not leaving until I hear everything.”
As I whispered to Hyun-wook in a small voice, my grandfather, who had been watching me, didn’t bother hiding his sneer and began to shake Joo Min-hyeok in earnest.
“Just look at the state of that child. It’s obvious he’s not okay. Since you saw and heard everything, did you see that as well? I was the one who made him like that. Even if there were no cameras, you couldn’t have been unaware, could you? Wasn’t this expected?”
I bit my lip at his devilish questioning.
“Why are you saying nothing? If Your Majesty had seen through my plans as you claim, you must have anticipated that I would lay a hand on that child. Yet, you took no action to prevent it.”
“…I didn’t expect the Prime Minister to make the Grand Imperial Concubine look like that. No one knew you would dare touch his body in such a manner.”
“No. Your Majesty certainly expected it, and he neglected the boy. He knew this would happen and just left him be. There must be a clear benefit to be gained through the Grand Imperial Concubine, so he left him alone to get what he wanted.”
“Watch your tongue!”
With a grinding sound of teeth, Joo Min-hyeok shook my grandfather once. Right. No one would think a person would be beaten like this. But you knew, Joo Min-hyeok. You say you didn’t, but you definitely knew.
Just as my grandfather said, you anticipated it, and you just watched while I was being hit. Because the evidence was in the conversation between my grandfather and me. Joo Min-hyeok didn’t help me so that he could hear it.
Ha… I don’t know when or where he installed the cameras, but it’s certain that he stood by and watched me get beaten for the sake of his goal. What was he thinking while watching? Did he think I was pitiful? Since he needed definitive evidence, did he hope I would be hit more?
Or did he not care that I was being assaulted and only focused on my grandfather’s words? Whatever it was, it was miserable. It was miserable to have shown that side of myself. Even in that pain, I struggled and endured, trying to find you, but it was all in vain.
“His Majesty had no choice.”
An unexpected voice came from the direction of the door. I struggled to lift my head, and through the soldiers surrounding us, I saw a face I had seen once before. Isn’t that the Omega from back then? I don’t know his name, but he’s the friend of Joo Min-hyeok that Han Hee-sung said was a recessive Omega.
“It was painful, but it was for the greater good. At a critical moment when the crime of rebellion had to be captured, definitive evidence was needed, so His Majesty had no choice. Furthermore, he wasn’t in a location close enough to rush over immediately.”
What on earth is this? So, this was a plan that everyone except me knew about. They excluded me, shared everything among themselves, and watched this situation unfold. I was the only one who knew nothing, agonizing and worrying just to find Joo Min-hyeok’s body, which I thought was dead. I was scared alone, didn’t know what to do and had no choice but to take the beating, feeling the fear and terror of being left alone in the world.
The bleakness of the reality I had to endure alone was a greater fear than being beaten by my grandfather. But it seems Joo Min-hyeok wanted that picture. A situation where I, knowing nothing, clung to my grandfather. That way, my grandfather would feel reassured seeing me like that.
“Don’t interfere, Lee Si-yoon.”
“I’m just trying to correct a misunderstanding. You don’t know how hard His Majesty has worked to catch this treasonous plot. It broke his heart regarding the Grand Imperial Concubine, but he endured it for the greater good. Because more definitive and decisive evidence had to come from the Prime Minister’s own mouth, he had no choice but to wait…”
“Lee Si-yoon!”
At Lee Si-yoon’s continuing words, Joo Min-hyeok roughly let go of my grandfather and shouted at him. Ha, thank you. Thanks to you, I now know for sure that Joo Min-hyeok watched and stood by. To you people, watching someone get beaten is something you can just overlook for the ‘greater good’? Is that how it is?
Everyone except me knew about this plan, and they even watched me get hit along with Joo Min-hyeok. How funny must it have been? I couldn’t have felt more pathetic. I couldn’t believe that Joo Min-hyeok was alive.
It was because it was too unbelievable to feel joy. And now, the relief that he is alive and the sense of betrayal that he used me are mixing together, making my head feel like it’s about to explode.
“…Your Majesty.”
In contrast to Lee Si-yoon’s clean voice, a cracked voice came from my throat. Hearing me call him, Joo Min-hyeok turned around quickly. I looked up at him with a face exhausted by fatigue. How do I look to Joo Min-hyeok right now? I must be a complete mess. It would have been better if I hadn’t known.
“Your Majesty, did you really plan all of this on purpose? Then, did you see me getting hit too?”
To my meaningless confirmation, Joo Min-hyeok remained silent, his lips tightly shut.
“Did you know I would end up like this?”
The look in Joo Min-hyeok’s eyes wavered. The fact that he couldn’t answer was likely because he had no excuse. Because my words weren’t wrong. Still, I wanted to hear him say it wasn’t true. That he didn’t know.
“Did everyone know except me? Did you perhaps not trust me? Because I’m the Prime Minister’s grandson?”
I wonder what you were thinking when I was being beaten by my grandfather, begging you to save Your Majesty, saying I’d do anything. Did you cheer inwardly that things were going as planned? Since Lee Si-yoon said you were waiting for decisive evidence, did you cheer me on to hang in there a little longer?
Truly… it’s absurd. It’s so absurd that I want to laugh. While watching me get hit with them, you probably only thought of the greater good. I resent you for sharing my ridiculous and shameful state with them while waiting for the right timing. You told me to trust you. And so, I trusted you. This is the result of that trust.
“Cha Hae-joo. Even if you confirm it, nothing will change. You were foolishly used and deceived. In the end, you were abandoned. You’re the only one who didn’t know what everyone else knew, acting like a fool.”
“Prime Minister!”
I can’t stand the nonsense of this crazy old man or the hypocrisy of the selfish Joo Min-hyeok.
“Shut up! Just shut up, please just shut your mouth! You’re both the same.”
Whether he was surprised by the command to shut up or shocked by the statement that they were the same, Joo Min-hyeok couldn’t bring himself to approach me. Regardless, I slowly pushed up my body, which was sore everywhere and wouldn’t move.
Hyun-wook rushed over and supported me. His face was already bright red, and tears were welling up in his eyes. Only Hyun-wook was truly on my side here. The moment the hesitating Joo Min-hyeok approached and grabbed my arm as I stood up, I violently shook him off.
“Don’t touch me! Don’t put your hands on my body!”
“Hae-joo.”
I no longer felt pity for Joo Min-hyeok, who looked at me with sorrowful eyes. He was loathsome and uncomfortable.
“Stop calling my name and stop looking at me with those eyes. I’m glad you achieved the goal you wanted. So, don’t be greedy for anything else.”
“First, calm down and talk to me slowly. I’m begging you.”
As I leaned on Hyun-wook to leave, pushing him away, Joo Min-hyeok tried to separate me from Hyun-wook. Please, I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted to get out of this place. I hated that I had become such a mess, and I hated that there were so many eyes watching.
“Let go! I said don’t touch me! Ah.”
It was the moment I screamed with all my might. Suddenly, a terrible pain, like sparks flying, was felt in my lower abdomen. That pain traveled up from my stomach to my spine.
“Aaaagh!”
“Grand Imperial Concubine? What, what’s wrong?”
“Cha Hae-joo!”
Joo Min-hyeok and Hyun-wook caught me simultaneously as I collapsed, clutching my lower abdomen. As I fell holding my stomach, even my grandfather approached with a frown, looking confused, and the surrounding soldiers, startled, called for a doctor.
“Palace Lord, where does it hurt? Why your stomach, Hae-joo!”
“Hyun-wook, my stomach, my stomach feels strange. Aaaagh…! My stomach, my stomach… huh?”
Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation below. Something hot, sticky, and fishy flowed between my legs. W-what is this? A hot, dark red liquid flowed down my legs. The liquid flowed faster and faster, covering my legs entirely.
Horrified by the sight of the blood, Joo Min-hyeok couldn’t close his mouth and called for a doctor. Pale with shock, I could only lean on Hyun-wook and stare blankly at the flowing blood. Why is there blood… this is a miscarriage?
“Hae-joo! Why, what’s happening! I’ll call a doctor.”
As I began to bleed, Lee Si-yoon went to call a doctor on Joo Min-hyeok’s orders, and Joo Min-hyeok took me from Hyun-wook and held me in his arms. I had neither the energy nor the capacity to struggle with Joo Min-hyeok. I stared endlessly at the hot blood pooling below. My lower abdomen kept hurting, and did I… did I perhaps?
“You’ve dropped the child.”
My grandfather’s mocking words pierced my ears sharply. With a look of contempt, my grandfather looked at me with cold eyes.
“You threw away your family and your grandfather because you were crazy for an Alpha, and now you’ve even dropped your own child. You’re doing a wonderful job. You stupid thing.”
In an instant, Hyun-wook could no longer endure it; he screamed and threw a punch toward my grandfather’s face. A commotion broke out as the surrounding soldiers restrained him. But even seeing Hyun-wook’s actions, I couldn’t react.
The shock turned my mind into darkness. I had a miscarriage. Because of my ignorance, I didn’t even know there was a child, and I failed to protect the child who had been enduring alone. The pooling blood seemed to resent me. I stared at the blood and then lost consciousness.