Original subtitles

You must not do this. Your Royal Highness, no!

Oh, no. Your Royal Highness…

Your Royal Highness.

Gosh…

Why did you do it?

Why did you do such a thing?

I put my faith in you.

Yet, you disappointed me.

You did the right thing.

Your Royal Highness,

you did the right thing.

You are a brave, bold man who can beat up the Chief Eunuch.

I'm sure you can handle this much.

That's enough.

Let me just treat your hand.

This might not be the right time to bring this up,

but I know that you saw me at the guesthouse.

I know I shouldn't have been there, so I'm sorry if that disappointed you.

But I can promise you that

I didn't do anything to disgrace myself.

So in case you misread the situation--

I never did.

I know that

you are not the type of person who would do such a thing.

Then…

why were you so distant toward me during the banquet?

Well…

I didn't want you to be in a tight spot because of me.

That's why.

I feel the same way.

So if you know how I feel,

please don't be distant toward me anymore.

There. It's all done.

EPISODE 8

I'm really fine, Your Royal Highness.

Your hand is hurt too.

I told you not to move.

How beautiful.

Your hair looks beautiful

even when it's short.

I have a chance to get my hair done by you thanks to the Chief Eunuch.

This is truly a blessing.

Your Royal Highness.

The Chief Eunuch's subordinate is here.

He invited you, the Vice Minister of Rites,

and Royal Tutor Jung for a drink.

He did?

Yes. Should I tell them to station some royal guards?

That's all right. I can't afford to use a cheap trick like that.

There can't be any more problems.

I will get going first.

Go and bring Royal Tutor Jung to the guesthouse.

Yes, Your Royal Highness.

It seems the Vice Minister of Rites hasn't arrived yet.

Men can resolve this kind of matter over drinks.

There is no point in bothering other people.

Please sit.

As a peace offering,

I thought I could show you something interesting.

So I asked you to come.

What do you say?

Come on out.

From what I hear,

your bodyguard is the best swordsman in Joseon.

Who do you think will win?

That doesn't interest me.

If this is why you asked to see me, you can count me out.

I will head back now.

Let's go back.

Stop it! What do you think you're doing?

My guard is the best swordsman in Ming.

But he wasn't with me when I was getting beaten to a pulp.

So I thought he deserved a chance to show me he's worth his salary.

Stop this immediately!

Why? You were having fun when you were beating me up.

But you don't want to see your man getting beaten up?

I told you to stop!

Do you think you'll be able

to leave Joseon unscathed if you leave a scratch on me?

Are you all right?

If you put a finger on the Crown Prince…

I will…

kill you.

With my own hands.

Royal Tutor Jung.

Are you all right, Your Royal Highness?

Your Royal Highness!

Your Royal Highness. Goodness.

-Oh, no. -What is going on here?

-Bring a physician. -Yes, my lord!

Oh, no. Are you all right?

This is no fun.

How dare you pull out your sword in front of His Royal Highness?

How dare you do this?

It wasn't my intention, but the fight seems to have gotten heated.

If you are disgruntled, take it up with me.

Leave the innocent alone.

How could I dare to do so?

Well, don't you keep them around,

so they can take your place in punishment

and do your dirty work for you?

Why are you doing this?

-What is it that you want? -What do I want?

Right. There is one thing I want from Joseon.

People like you who were born with a silver spoon

are hypocrites who pretend to care for the people.

And I want to destroy people like you.

I guess we will have to drink next time, Your Royal Highness.

This way.

Put him down here.

Oh, no. What should we do?

Do you think he'll wake up?

Fortunately, he stopped bleeding.

But the cut is too deep. We'll have to observe him for a while.

What on earth happened?

My lord. We have an urgent message from the guesthouse.

The Crown Prince's bodyguard was badly hurt by the Chief Eunuch's guard.

How is the Crown Prince?

Yes. He returned to his quarters just now.

Is the Chief Eunuch at the guesthouse?

What did you say?

How dare you talk about her here?

Please hear me out. I just wanted to say there's no reason to shed blood here.

For that poor girl's sake.

You cannot do this to me!

What did you say?

I will visit you tomorrow night.

So wait quietly.

Yes, my lord.

Goodness.

What brings you here this late at night?

I heard that your guard badly hurt the Crown Prince's bodyguard.

Not only did you cut off the hair of a court lady from his quarters,

but you also hurt his guard.

I would like to know why.

Why are you making such a fuss over your subordinates?

Right. I heard a very interesting story.

Someone the Emperor trusts very dearly

has been stealing offerings to the Emperor.

I heard this person in question is also stealing the Emperor's private assets.

Don't you want to know who that person is?

Are you trying to threaten me

with that groundless rumor?

I hear that the Emperor has high expectations for you.

The higher they are, the harder they will fall.

Unless you want there to be a big scandal,

I advise you to behave for the remainder of your trip here.

How ridiculous.

I don't see why you would want to do this to me.

I'm afraid you're mistaken.

I have many reasons why I must.

"It is why traitor Kang Hwa-gil will hereby be executed by beheading."

Don't move. Your wound is severe.

I'm sorry, Your Royal Highness.

I have failed my duty to protect you.

Do not say that.

I have failed to protect you too.

What is it that infuriated and saddened you this much?

To the point that you were suffering even in your dream.

You still need to recover.

You shouldn't move. Just rest up here.

Hyun.

Is your bodyguard all right?

Yes. He passed a critical moment.

The people at my quarters are suffering because of me.

And I feel burdened by that.

You're not to blame here. The Chief Eunuch is at fault.

He's dangerous.

So if there is a problem with him, you should tell me right away.

If you're hurt, I'm hurt too.

So don't feel burdened.

You have me, Your Royal Highness.

Thank you, Hyun.

You saw someone suspicious in the Chief Eunuch's chambers?

That brings me to my next point. I need your help.

Double our tribute?

Did the Chief Eunuch demand this too?

-Let me talk with him. -There is no need.

I'll take care of this.

You are not to get involved any further. You can leave now.

I can't do that.

I will resolve this problem between the Chief Eunuch and me.

Please put your faith in me one more time.

Please…

give me a chance, Father.

Why does the Chief Eunuch keep causing trouble?

He ought to help us since he's from Joseon.

Sometimes, your own people can be even worse.

What do I want?

People like you who were born with a silver spoon

are hypocrites who pretend to care for the people.

And I want to destroy people like you.

Royal Tutor Jung is close to the Vice Minister of Rites, right?

Yes. That's what I've heard.

I must look into the Chief Eunuch.

Goodness.

Tail the Chief Eunuch tonight,

and you'll be able to find out who that man is.

Royal Tutor Jung wasn't at the royal institute.

What business does he have at the guesthouse?

Goodness. Your Royal Highness, over there.

-You stay here. -What?

Wait. Your Royal Highness.

Gosh. What's going to happen this time?

I'll go alone from this point on. You can wait here.

Yes, my lord.

Kill him!

-How did you… -Be careful.

Goodness.

If you ever use her to blackmail me again,

I will cut off your head.

Of course. Don't worry. You will never see me again.

We've been followed. You must get out of here now.

What?

Are you all right?

Stop!

This way!

Arrest everyone who has caused a disturbance here!

-Yes, my lord! -Yes, my lord!

-Catch them! Stop them! -Get them!

-Royal Tutor Jung. -Let me pass. I must go.

-They already got away. -I have to find out something.

Why are you so reckless?

The cut is deep.

We should get this treated first.

I'm okay. Are you all right, Your Royal Highness?

You have another cut?

And here too?

Where else? Are there any more wounds?

Your Royal Highness.

Why on earth did you do this?

You can lean on me.

-Pardon? -How can you walk with those injured legs?

You can lean on me to walk.

Be careful.

What brings you here in the middle of the night?

I wanted to visit a few places as I haven't been in my hometown for so long.

-Is there anything wrong with that? -I see.

Interestingly enough, we received a report about suspicious movement around there.

I was concerned that you might be the target of an assassin.

As I'm in charge of the reception, I couldn't stop worrying about you.

But you have nothing to worry about. Call off your men.

I can't do that.

I must make sure that there won't be any more incidents.

So until the day you leave Joseon,

security at this guesthouse will be strengthened.

I'm sure his secret ledger must be somewhere around his quarters.

Watch his every movement.

Yes, my lord.

I heard that the Chief Eunuch met with a suspicious man.

So I was tailing him.

The Chief Eunuch?

But still. This was reckless.

I'm sorry, Your Royal Highness.

I wanted to be of help.

Do the wounds still hurt?

No.

By the way,

were you that worried about me?

I understand. If something happens to me,

you won't be able to find a good replacement to take my position.

I get why you were concerned.

How can you joke right now?

Your Royal Highness. I'm really hurt.

Royal Tutor Jung. Are you all right?

Sorry.

Let's go.

Your Royal Highness.

Are you all right? Why are you…

Hyun, I can't believe you.

You didn't even tell me.

Well…

I…

So what is your plan now?

Let me join you. I would like to be a part of this.

Why are you looking for this man?

Well, I like to collect rare objects.

And I hear that his collection is very extensive.

I will pay you handsomely for the introduction.

It's a very handsome sum of money, indeed.

He already left the items with me.

Then we'd like to buy them too.

I'll double the price.

Well, this is quite a large sum you're talking about. How…

As you can see, we're nothing without our good looks

and wealth.

Here.

He became quite a gambling addict.

He was arrogant because his daughter became an imperial concubine in Ming.

So I definitely remember his face.

My goodness. This is quite a rarity.

I hear the Emperor adores your daughter. I guess what I heard was true.

But you didn't believe me before.

Just get me a good price for that. Okay?

He got a large sum for the items the Chief Eunuch gave him.

So he'll check this place out first.

-Are you serious? -Come on.

If we catch the imperial concubine's father,

we'll be able to find out why he threatened the Chief Eunuch.

And that will be the Chief Eunuch's weakness.

NINE, NINE

Come on.

My goodness. I feel awful about taking all this money.

It looks like I won this round, brother.

Come on! You're ruining my day.

Hold on. Are you leaving?

Can't you see that I lost all of my money?

Come on. I thought you knew better.

If you leave now, we won't be able to play anymore. Right?

Exactly.

Come on. Sit down. I'll lend you some money.

I'm not a heartless person, you know?

Gosh. Where did you get this rare item?

What? This is…

What? Do you know what it is?

It's really rare.

That's from Ming.

Of course, I know.

I sold this.

Gosh. Really?

Goodness. I guess we were meant to cross paths.

I've been looking everywhere for you!

The soldiers are here!

-The soldiers are here! -The soldiers?

That way!

I'm so sorry, my lord! Please forgive me.

I was trying to make money to buy medicine for my sister.

What? Who are you?

Well, that's none of your business.

I need you to come with me.

Don't come close.

Just drop the dagger. You'll just end up getting hurt.

Hey, my arm hurts. You're going to break my arm.

Goodness. This isn't even a tight hold. Stop exaggerating.

How about now? Is that better?

Damn it.

-Don't follow me. -Come on. We can talk it out.

Seriously. We can talk about it.

Come on, hurry. Go get him!

Go!

Take him with you. I'll handle them.

Are you sure?

Of course.

Go straight there. Don't lose him.

Wait. No.

Hey!

Your Royal Highness.

Can you handle them alone?

Of course, Your Royal Highness.

Sorry, we're late.

No, you are right on time.

Had you been a moment late, I wouldn't have been all right.

-Get on the horse. -Yes, Your Royal Highness.

I appreciate it.

You never listen.

I told you not to get hurt.

I'm sorry.

You sure make it sound painful when the wound is minor.

What? That's not true.

You saw my wound.

It hurt a lot.

Others would have made a fuss about it.

Thank you…

for enduring the pain.

And…

for helping me.

I would like to continue to do so by your side.

That is only if you will allow it, Your Royal Highness.

Oh, my goodness.

Please spare me.

All right. Tell me.

What is it that the Chief Eunuch is hiding?

Well…

What's all this?

Why the long face?

Please take a seat.

We could have easily resolved the matter over drinks.

Perhaps, I was too rigid.

As a peace offering,

I would like to show you

something interesting as well.

You are indeed audacious

to have coveted the Emperor's wealth.

Records of your management of the Emperor's private assets

are in this ledger.

How did you get that?

We will not be able to comply with your tribute request.

And if the Emperor were to find out, you would be in a tight spot too.

Wouldn't you?

Is this why you wanted

to see me?

Why?

I guess there are more secrets that you're hiding besides this one.

I will keep this safe.

You worked hard to build your reputation away from home.

So it would be a shame to destroy it so easily like this.

So you told the Crown Prince everything.

He was going to kill me otherwise.

What should we do now?

If your relationship with her is revealed,

it will be the end for all of us.

Please help my daughter. Take pity on her and protect her. Please?

You threatened me with her life before.

Now, you're worried?

Goodness.

I told him to leave quietly.

But he must have gone to see you.

What are you plotting?

You found something bigger than the book. Why pretend you didn't?

I didn't pretend anything.

I didn't need to use your heartbreaking love story.

I already had the ledger that proved that you stole from the Emperor.

I just wasn't interested in your story.

Right.

I must say I was a bit surprised.

Not only did the father of a concubine sell off his own daughter,

but he also bargained over her life while threatening to expose you for money.

Despite that, you were able to put up with him.

Is that how much you love her?

A concubine of the Emperor?

Don't you dare talk about her.

If you ever go after her,

I will make you pay for it!

I will use everything I have

to take revenge on you and Joseon!

Revenge?

I heard that your parents received

a mere bag of rice when they sold you off.

By the time you crossed the border, your feet had blisters and were chapped.

But because you were a foreigner,

you were probably beaten up.

And you probably spent every single night of your entire life,

resenting your parents for selling you off

and resenting Joseon for giving away innocent people.

I get why you wanted to take revenge.

And you must have been disgusted to see people trying to flatter you

after what you achieved.

However,

you shouldn't have behaved that way.

I doubt you went through all that trouble, so you could be like one of them.

Get off your high horse.

To me,

you are just like them.

You are right.

I am no different from them.

No.

You must resent me even more as I'm the Crown Prince of Joseon

that gave you away.

Shut your mouth.

I don't need your pity.

This isn't pity.

I just wanted…

to apologize to you

as the Crown Prince of Joseon.

A long time ago,

you were forced to leave without proper clothes or food.

I apologize.

I will take your secret affair to my grave as well.

You two must have gone through a lot of pain to protect your love.

I think…

I can somewhat relate to that.

Feeling wronged?

-Don't look at me like that. -You stole it, didn't you?

Answer me. If you don't, I'll have you killed.

Get lost. Just go back to your homeland.

Bastard.

Are you all right?

It hurts a lot, right?

Look at all this blood.

You don't know…

when you'll be back here.

You should look around a bit more before going back.

After all, this is your homeland.

Homeland, my foot.

I am indebted to both of you.

You too. You were very helpful too.

Come and have a drink with us tonight.

Sit comfortably.

All right. Everyone, if you have a drink,

let's clink our glasses. What do you say, Your Royal Highness?

Cheers.

Cheers.

Since when did you become so loyal to His Royal Highness?

You of all people.

Well,

you know that I'm nothing without my loyalty.

Right, Your Royal Highness?

Sure.

Yes. I guess so.

Your Royal Highness, are you serious?

You're really hurting my feelings.

I get it. Calm down. I just have something to tell him.

Come on. I must talk to His Royal Highness.

Your Royal Highness. How can you laugh now?

Your Royal Highness, I cannot let this slide.

You are hurting my feelings right now.

Why don't you just sit down?

Come on, Lord Jaeun. Help me out. Did you mean that, Your Royal Highness?

All right.

Your Royal Highness.

Why don't we have just one more drink?

Just one more.

Come on, move.

I'm asking if he wants to have one more drink.

Let's have one more drink.

Gosh.

Can you escort Royal Tutor Jung?

I'll escort the Crown Prince.

Lord Jaeun. I'm not drunk.

Lord Jaeun. Your Royal Highness. Wait.

Can't we have one more drink? Just one, please?

My arm hurts. Can you hold on a moment?

Wait. Please wait.

Hold on. My arm hurts.

Listen. Hey.

I'm not drunk.

I told you I'm not drunk. Why are you so…

Come on. Talk to me.

Gosh.

Just one drink. Please?

Do you want to have one more drink with me?

I always felt that there was a brotherly bond between us.

You felt it too. Right?

Not really.

Gosh. What a heartless man.

I have to talk to him. Gosh.

Come on.

Why can't I stop smiling?

I can't stop smiling?

Why? Why can't I stop…

Your Royal Highness.

Royal Tutor Jung.

What are you doing here all alone?

Well…

I was surprised.

That girl and I are the only ones who know about this place.

I see. Are you talking about the court maid from before?

I saw fireflies and followed them.

And I stumbled upon this place by chance.

The door… I found the door.

Did you set this place up by yourself?

This? Yes.

That's why you had the flowers at the tavern.

But…

why do you have so much liquor here?

Well…

I couldn't sleep.

And everyone said no to more drinks.

I was just getting started, you know.

Is that why

you are using the palace as your private tavern?

Only sometimes…

I am. I can't deny that.

That is typical of you.

Please don't smile like that.

-What? -Pardon?

I mean… Well, I meant to say…

Right. I wanted to ask you a question.

Did you not expose the Chief Eunuch

because you really believe the imperial concubine lives

for the Chief Eunuch?

Their lives were determined by other people's decisions.

So they had to hide their love.

And that broke my heart.

You intrigue me sometimes.

When I first met you at the courtesan house,

you were as cold as ice.

But deep down, you seem to be tenderhearted.

You should slow down.

You already drank a lot earlier.

Well, I was thirsty.

Someone I know got drunk

and kissed the cheek of the person next to him.

Does he like that person?

Sometimes, you see and hear things.

You're lovesick!

No! That can't be.

I deserve to die, Your Royal Highness.

You seem to be from a noble family. Why are you here in the palace alone?

The selection of a princess?

We must hold a royal marriage, so he can produce an heir.

The Crown Prince is getting married?

Have you ever loved someone, Your Royal Highness?

I have a favor to ask, Your Royal Highness.

Please give me a hug.

Subtitle translation by: Won-hyang Son