Our crown prince’s attraction to our heroine increases by the day. And it isn’t unreciprocated, though, as our leading lady is also drawn to him. Now he isn’t the ice-hearted, arrogant crown prince, but a sweet person making her stay in the palace more delightful.
Picking up where we left off, Hwan and Jae-yi reminisce about their first encounter. We get a flashback of what happens after a “shameless” young thief; not only robs Hwan and Sung-on of their money but also gives them the wrong directions.
After roaming around all day, Hwan and Sung-on finally reach lord Min’s house, and on their heels is a particular thief who has stolen not only their money but her family’s belongings as well, but it is all to save a young boy from being sold as a slave after his parents’ death.
It is funny how Hwan seems quite jealous when Jae-yi tells him she fell for Sung-on at first sight as he was the more handsome between them. Also, can we get a scene of Jae-yi helping Hwan put on his robe each episode, especially the belt part?
It doesn’t take long for Jae-yi to run into her handsome ex-fiancé. While playing a Joseon equivalent golf game, Myungan almost hits Jae-yi with a stone, but luckily Sung-on shows up just in time to block the stone. Despite being a pro at the game herself, Hayeon asks Sung-on to train Myungan. It looks like the princess’s heart lies with Sung-on. Who knows, them getting together might progress the plot in a way we didn’t expect.
For now, our focus shifts to the autopsy of the dead messenger (the one Hwan sent with the wedding gifts). Regarding autopsies, no one can surpass Myung-jin. Thus, Hwan sends the body over to Myung-jin. Poor Jae-yi is exhausted to death, pulling the wheelbarrow all the way, with Tae-gang acting petty and refusing to help her.
We first get a sweet reunion between Jae-yi and Ga-ram, who recognize each other at a glance. The reason for which Hwan makes Jae-yi tag along is to check if she identifies the messenger as the one who delivered the wedding gifts. But neither Jae-yi nor Ga-ram has seen him before. Through a small test, we learn the messenger was killed because of poison, not the arrow wound, as everyone assumed. That poison is the same as the one used to attack Hwan before.
Back at the palace, Jae-yi and Hwan exchange the information they gathered, figuring out that the messenger was killed on his way to Jae-yi’s house. The murderer then took the wedding gifts, put the secret letter, and delivered them to Jae-yi’s father. For now, Jae-yi doesn’t remember the murderer’s face, but one thing is for sure, the scheme wasn’t to reveal Hwan’s secret.
If the murderer wanted everyone to hear about Hwan’s secret, he wouldn’t kill Jae-yi’s whole family after delivering the letter since that resulted in burying that secret, not exposing it. Above all, they should figure out the murderer’s intention. Anything else will come after that.
As for the cases, Hwan asked Jae-yi to look into, they will be discussed in his upcoming lecture. The catch is the one presenting them in Sung-on. Will Jae-yi be okay facing her ex-fiancé like that? For now, Jae-yi’s utmost goal is to catch the one who killed her family and solve the mystery behind the ghost letter, which are definitely related. If she has to run into Sung-on to reach that goal, then so be it.
Unbeknownst to both, Sung-on’s men find traces of Jae-yi staying in the cave. Hence, Sung-on believes she is alive, not dead, as everyone thinks. It also turns out that the pair of shoes Jae-yi wore that day were Sung-on’s gift for her to wear on their wedding day. Unlike the rumors, Sung-on can’t bring himself to think that Jae-yi wore those shoes to run away with another man.
The lecture day is finally here, and Sung-on eloquently presents a serial murder case that he assumes is connected to cardinal points. While Jae-yi agrees with him on some issues, she believes the murder isn’t related to cardinal points but to the characters carved on the bodies. The second body might seem to have no characters engraved on it, but Jae-yi argues that a re-check of the body will provide them with a new clue.
Both plead their cases earnestly. But instead of picking one side, Hwan gives both of them equal chances to prove their points. Although he doesn’t explicitly say it, Hwan is amazed by Jae-yi’s skills. After the lecture, Hwan calls Jae-yi to the library under the pretense of bringing him a book. But it is all so she can find the sweet apple he left her, along with a letter of compliments.
Just like Hwan never misses a chance to boast about his achievements, he never forgets to compliment others’ good work. While enjoying the sweetness of the apple, Jae-yi’s impression of Hwan changes from the cold-hearted crown prince to a sweet person, making her stay at the palace pleasant and comfortable.
Can’t we shut our eyes to the curse and the palace politics and stick to the budding romance? I am getting “Love in the Moonlight” vibes and can’t wait for our leads to fall for each other.
As for the blood droplets incident, we learn the chance of Sung-on’s father being the mastermind was a red herring. But the critical issue is why Sung-on kept the truth from Hwan and confronted his father about it first? What if his father was really guilty? Would he bury the truth and turn a blind eye?
I don’t think Hwan doubts Sung-on, for now at least, but if he does, it won’t be because of Hwan’s arrogance but because of Sung-on’s questionable actions. Sung-on’s father hints at Hwan distrusting Sung-on despite being best friends, but it is the other way around. Sung-on is the one who doesn’t trust Hwan.
One thing I genuinely like about this arc is that they didn’t portray Sung-on as a righteous person who will turn evil later on, blinded by jealousy, but as a suspicious person since the beginning whose actions have nothing to do with his love for Jae-yi.
