Original subtitles

ALL CHARACTERS, PLACES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND INCIDENTS

PORTRAYED IN THIS DRAMA ARE FICTITIOUS

Do you...

know...

who I am?

Go.

I said, go!

Guard Yeon.

What are you doing here?

She was not at the inn, so I was looking for her.

Pardon?

She just ran away.

-I am sure she ran this way. -No one came here.

I will search around here.

So take your troops and go that way.

Okay.

By the way,

why did you not bring any police bureau officers?

Even if you are after a mere girl--

I had to come urgently.

You should hurry off.

Let us go.

Forgive me, Your Majesty.

-We are still searching, so I am sure-- -Forget it.

She is just a little girl. What can she do on her own?

She will get caught soon.

You may leave now.

Do you have more to say?

No, Your Majesty.

I want you to secretly investigate Guard Yeon.

Find out where he lives, whom he meets, what he does,

and about his hometown in the south of the country.

I want to know everything about him.

Let me know right away if you find anything suspicious.

Okay.

GWANGHWAMUN GATE

His Majesty must have left the palace by now.

Yes.

He must be out of the capital, Your Highness.

I see.

Then let us return to the palace, Court Lady Kim.

Pardon?

I must meet him.

Your Highness.

Free him now.

I will take

full responsibility.

Do you have something to say to me?

No, Your Majesty.

Then why do you keep staring at me?

It did not mean anything. Forgive me, Your Majesty.

You do not need to be nervous just because we are outside the palace.

You can act as usual.

Yes, Your Majesty.

What do you mean he is with His Majesty?

After he found out everything,

he joined the trip as His Majesty's royal guard.

"His Majesty's royal guard"?

The chief administrative officer gave me this?

Yes, he is now a royal guard.

Is that so?

How grateful.

His royal guard?

Then the chief administrative officer from that night...

I am a chief administrative officer at the police bureau.

However, I lost my hat somewhere in the palace.

Yes.

He is His Majesty's son whom I saved 20 years ago.

Then why is he with His Majesty even when he knows everything?

That means...

Therefore, you cannot join me.

I will stop him, so stay somewhere safe, Your Highness.

Your Highness, we must leave now.

Be careful.

And this may sound shameless,

but please keep

my son safe.

Your Majesty, do you feel ill?

You must be tired since you have not been out of the palace in a long time.

His Majesty traveled all over the country when he was the Crown Prince.

So you do not need to worry.

During the Japanese invasion,

he even stayed in a thatched cottage on countless occasions.

Am I wrong, Your Majesty?

Of course, I do know that.

I was with His Majesty back then.

He gave great courage and hope to the people in suffering.

Is that so?

Yes, you risked your life to protect the country and people.

Knowing that they were not abandoned helped them through the harsh times.

How could I abandon my people who were like my own children?

I only did what was right.

Therefore,

I must kill

-that boy. -Your Majesty.

He is your son.

You already tried to kill him once, but he survived!

He is your son, Your Majesty!

He should not have lived! He should not have survived!

What are you doing?

I must keep an eye on the outside.

I apologize, Your Majesty, but may I excuse myself?

How dare you act this way in front of His Majesty?

Old stories from aged people could be boring for him.

You may leave.

I miss her so much.

Nok...

Dong-ju.

Have you lost your mind?

How could you leave like that?

Since we will stay here another night,

I had to check the retreat in advance.

I know that, but do you have to do that now?

Anyway,

make sure you are there before 10 p.m.--

I clearly told you that I have everything under control.

Okay. Let us go back inside.

What is the matter?

Is someone here?

Who could be out here?

Let us go inside.

Your Majesty!

Jung Yun-jeo has

escaped from prison, Your Majesty.

How could a sinner escape from prison?

Forgive me, Your Majesty!

It appears that the Queen set him free

and disappeared with him.

What?

How dare they?

Your Majesty.

They are trying to get rid of me and get that brute on the throne.

On my very throne.

Send a messenger to tell them to put more guards around the palace

and find the escaped sinner and the Queen.

I must head to Hanyang right now.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, what about the prearranged ritual?

Which way is the fastest route to Hanyang?

The fastest way is to climb over that mountain.

Then let us go that way.

Let us not waste a single moment.

-Hurry. -Yes, Your Majesty.

Our route has changed.

I want you to take the lead and make sure nothing happens.

-Yes, master. -Yes, master.

Put down your weapon.

Did we not meet yesterday?

I guess we are heading the same way.

You're against the royal troops.

So it cannot be an honorable path.

Talk about yourself.

It seems like you and I are in the same situation.

You had better stop following them.

You do not seem gifted with such skills.

What about you?

Are you a gifted warrior?

I am not here to hurt anyone.

I am here to protect someone I love.

Is that

-the King? -Then why I would

have killed his guard?

Then I do not care what you do.

Just do not get in my way.

What you are about to do is impossible. Do you know that?

Even if you succeed, you will not survive.

Do you still wish to do it?

I am doing it because I must.

I promised my last mother

that I will take revenge for my family.

You promised your mother that you would kill someone?

Yes.

So just turn a blind eye on this.

-Please. -You are lying.

No parents would wish that upon their child.

What?

No matter how wrongful their death was,

they would never ask their surviving child to kill someone for revenge.

No parents would do such a thing.

-What do you know? -I know well enough.

I am a parent myself, and that scares me the most.

I am scared

that my son might waste his precious life on mere revenge

and that he might ruin himself.

I am sure your family

wanted at least you to lead a happy and peaceful life,

rather than living in misery for revenge.

That is what parents are like.

Wake up.

Wake up, Eun-seo.

Stay alive.

Promise me.

You must...

You must stay alive and...

Mother.

Do not be sorry.

And do not be sad

for too long.

Forget about this terrible tragedy.

Forget about it all

and stay alive no matter what, my baby.

Mother.

My baby.

My Eun-seo.

Mother.

Mother!

Mother.

She told me not to be sorry

and forget about everything.

But how?

They died right before my eyes.

They all left me behind.

How can I possibly live happily?

How?

What am I supposed to do?

I am sorry.

I should not have been too nosy.

But I hope you ponder upon what I said.

Think if you really want to do this.

-Your Majesty. -What happened?

The bridge leading to the village suddenly collapsed.

So most of the subjects and soldiers are taking a detour around the mountain.

Since the sun will set soon, and it is also raining,

it will take them more than a night.

Thus, you must sleep here tonight.

Whatever the case, I will get going the moment they arrive.

Yes, Your Majesty.

You broke the bridge to trap him inside the village?

You came up with a clever idea.

It would not have been possible

without the guards you brought to keep an eye on me.

So I should thank you.

Anyway, you must hurry.

We must abduct the King before the rest of the group arrives.

Leave it to me and just send word to Hanyang.

Tell them to proceed as planned since I will be there in time.

That darn little...

I am sure your family

wanted you to lead a happy and peaceful life,

rather than living in misery for revenge.

That is what parents are like.

He knows nothing at all.

Wait.

Why did they tighten the security at the palace?

Are you afraid?

No, that is not it.

It is time for you to man up now that we have come this far.

Do not worry.

Our plan will go as planned.

What is that?

We have a situation.

-Open the gate. -Pardon?

This is treason. There are soldiers outside.

It is a reformation.

I also took part in planning this reformation.

Whoever wishes to risk their lives to protect the current King

will have to step forward and kill me first.

Is the King really worth your life?

Open the gate now!

Why did you have to be born

on the 19th of November?

Why does it have to be today?

You are here.

I heard you asked for me, Your Majesty.

I wanted to drink with you.

Have a seat.

Drink up.

One drink would not hurt.

No, I cannot.

I suppose I did the right thing to choose you as my royal guard.

Did you send word to your family?

You passed the exam and even got promoted.

No, I did not yet.

Your father must be very stubborn

seeing that you are still hesitant.

He is also

very benevolent and warm-hearted.

I am nothing but an undutiful son,

but he is still always...

It is pleasant to see

how you and your father are fond of each other.

I envy you.

I was always scared of my father.

Since it felt like walking on thin ice,

I always held my breath

and stayed on my toes.

I thought I was scared

that he might abandon me.

Come to think of it,

I was simply

trying to find favor in his eye at least once.

At least just once.

I know.

I do not deserve to say this.

If I had never found out

and had lived with my son growing fondness for each other...

Do you

regret it?

The ice shattered long ago.

I have already been struggling enough in freezing water.

It is useless to regret it now.

I should get some rest.

At this rate, the royal troops that we barely threw off

will arrive here soon.

Are you getting second thoughts?

You must have gotten cold feet since your father--

Who says he is my father?

If I could do things my way, I would kill him now.

But I am barely holding it back.

Unless you wish to die instead, keep your mouth shut.

Are you crazy?

The King must arrive at the palace alive. Are you trying to ruin this?

If you want to succeed in your revolt using the absurd pretext of yours,

just stay still.

"Stay still"?

What will you do if I do not stay still?

What? Will you really kill the King here?

You must be out of your mind.

That little...

Your Highness.

Let us go.

The soldiers are on our side now, and we stopped the messenger from leaving.

We also brought the Queen Dowager to the palace.

Now, as soon as your brother to do his job,

this country will see a new king.

Once you become the King,

will you keep the promise you made me?

That is also up to your brother.

If Nok-du does his job, and the revolt succeeds--

I will kill him.

As I told you.

What is wrong?

Does that bother you?

No.

You just need to keep your promise.

Your Majesty. This is Officer Baek.

Yes.

Come in.

What is it?

Well...

-The thing is... -Tell me.

Did you find the sinner and the Queen?

No, that is not it.

It is regarding Guard Yeon.

Yeon Su

is dead?

Yes.

His family must not have known

since they lost touch with him.

But he died of an illness a long time ago.

Then

what about my royal guard?

Who in the world is he?

Since he seemed suspicious,

I looked into Yoo Yeon-gyeong and his family.

As I looked into his surroundings,

I came across a name.

Nok-du?

Did you just say "Nok-du"?

Yes, Your Majesty.

He was called by that name.

-So my royal guard is-- -I think he is your son

who was raised by Jung Yun-jeo.

No way.

That is impossible.

-Your Majesty. -I must see him.

I must ask him myself.

Bring him here.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Something seems to be on your mind.

Yes, there is.

There is something I must find out

but do not wish to find out at the same time.

And I am scared I might actually find out.

-Come on. Hurry. -My goodness.

We are close enough to ignore the customs of the palace.

Is that so, Your Majesty?

Why

are you crying?

No, Your Majesty.

I trusted him

with all my heart.

How could he?

How dare he?

How dare he fool me when he is staying by my side?

But...

Your Majesty.

We cannot afford to delay any longer.

Let us take the King ourselves.

Kill Guard Yeon the moment you see him.

And kill everyone who gets in our way.

Let us go.

Chief Royal Secretary.

Yes, Your Majesty. It is me.

It is very late.

You should not be somewhere so dangerous.

It is none of your business.

But who are all these men?

It is my business.

Because I must take you to the palace without anyone knowing it.

By tonight.

What did you just say?

Chief Royal Secretary, is that you?

Your Majesty.

It is me.

You...

You are Dong-ju.

What are you doing here?

And why are you dressed like that?

Will you please

throw that sword down the cliff?

What?

What are you talking about?

Please.

Then I will answer your questions.

If not...

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Keep looking.

Okay.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

There.

Now, tell me why you are doing this to me.

First of all,

my name is

Yoo Eun-seo.

"Yoo Eun-seo"?

Not only did you kill my entire family for committing treason,

but you even dug up their graves.

Yoo Yeon-gyeong?

Then are you

the only survivor of his family?

Yes.

He was my grandfather,

who always told me

to do everything I want despite my gender.

You lost your family at a young age.

So you must have lived a tough life.

Thanks to you, Your Majesty.

Who knew I would have to make my own arrow and shoot it.

So you could kill me?

Yes.

So is that why you approached me just like him?

Tell me.

Did you collude with him to get rid of me?

What are you saying?

Do you think I killed your grandfather even though he was innocent?

No. If I had not killed him,

he would have killed me and replaced me with a new king.

That was

the kind of world your grandfather and I had to live in.

Look who is after my throne!

It is my own son!

My son whom I thought was dead!

What did you just say?

Nok-du is whom?

The person who killed your family

and completely ruined your life.

The darn king

whom you loathe and desperately wish to kill!

He is...

He is the king's son.

So I am going to set things straight.

I must protect my father.

Do you think I will not let that happen?

I will kill him first. It cannot be hard.

There is no reason not to kill him twice.

You will kill your own son?

Yes.

I will kill every single person

who tries to steal my throne.

Does Nok-du also know

that you think of him this way?

I am sure he knows it very well.

While he secretly approached me and aimed at me,

he saw and heard everything.

You are crazy.

Yes.

That is the only way to endure the throne.

For the longest time,

I dreamed of killing you.

I thought I would feel relieved and unburdened.

But I was wrong.

I cannot believe wasted all these years

and even hurt him

just to kill a brute like you.

What did you just say?

You may be the King

who has everyone at your feet.

But you are already dead inside.

You trust no one,

and no one trusts you.

You are nothing but an empty shell.

You do not

even deserve to die.

Have you seen His Majesty?

He went out looking for you.

I have something to tell you.

Your Highness, we have a situation.

Prince Neungyang is trying to usurp the throne?

His Majesty fell down the cliff,

and the palace has been seized by the rebel forces?

Yes, while people search for His Majesty,

I must head to the palace to get there in time

along with you and the rest of the soldiers.

Right now, our priority is to find His Majesty and stop the treason.

Send a messenger and tell them to gather soldiers nearby.

You must do it as fast as possible so they can arrive at the palace

-while we buy time. -If this is all true,

the soldiers we have here are nowhere near enough.

I know.

We will do our best to hold out.

Good work.

What do you think you are doing?

I am here to get rid of all the traitors.

Whoever regrets your choice, come forward now.

I promise I will show you mercy.

No one?

Well then, so be it.

Come inside.

I am sorry.

I had no idea you were alive.

How can they serve a king with an unknown past?

Did you not spend most of your time at the kisaeng house?

Father, I do not want to live in hiding again.

Let us leave the palace. If we stay here--

Father!

Why would you come here?

I will follow wherever you go

even if it is a battlefield or a fiery pit.

I told you.

I can no longer live without you.

Subtitle translation by Ja-won Lee