Original subtitles

(All characters, locations, and events in this drama)

(are fictional and not based on real people or events.)

(Production guidelines were followed when filming children and animals.)

Don't do it.

Please, stop.

Oh dear, your clothes are tied wrong.

Crush them to pieces.

(Liquor)

You fools.

Darn you!

Hell!

How dare you glare at me?

No.

So, you truly wish to die, huh?

Very well.

Die!

What are you doing right now?

A woman from a fallen noble house brewing alcohol will have it rough.

Plenty of men must harass you.

Your father must be weeping in heaven.

So be strong.

You become stronger.

I would've won if that old man hadn't played dirty.

You lost, yet you're still all talk.

Ah, seriously.

Thank you so much, my lord.

Yes, if anything happens, come straight to me.

I suppose I'll have to guard him in a cage until he grows up.

Well then, I'm off.

Let me see.

What should we do? This will leave a scar.

Are you really preparing properly for the military exam?

(Janban: A disgraced noble of fallen status) Are you going to spend your life labeled a janban?

You have to pass this time, don't you?

When I pass the military exam and get strong enough to protect you.

Can I

be your husband then?

Pass the exam first, then ask.

(Donhwamun Gate)

Military exam top scorer, Kim Han Cheol.

How much is this hairpin?

One hundred nyang.

Then what about this?

Yes, that's fifty nyang.

The cheapest here is fifteen nyang.

This is for you.

It's a maiden's ribbon.

They say the Marriage Ban Edict will be issued soon.

Isn't it unfair that the top scorer

practices later than anyone else every day?

Your Majesty.

How did you know?

Aren't you working so hard just so I'll notice?

Sit.

Yes.

So,

what is your dream?

My dream

is to become strong.

There's something I want to protect.

Oh?

Then we are comrades. Your dream aligns with mine.

How could someone like me be Your Majesty's comrade?

Sharing purpose makes us comrades.

And sharing food makes us friends.

Your grace overwhelms me, Your Majesty.

This is

a gift for you.

Now, I can finally breathe.

The palace was suffocating enough already.

If I hold a state wedding with Her Majesty's chosen bride,

I'll suffocate to death.

Who are you lot?

Hey, hand over your money if you've got any.

Please step aside for a moment...

Three bites left.

Finish them in three moves.

Your Majesty.

I was the one fighting. Why are you hurt?

Comrades

share pain by nature.

I don't think we should return to the palace like this.

Is there somewhere to get treated?

Please come to my house.

I'll enter now.

She's my neighbor.

Very well,

then

I'll trouble you.

You would give this greenhouse to me?

It's far more than I deserve.

It's repayment for before.

And a bribe as well.

So that you'll look kindly on me.

What do you think?

Don't we make quite a good pair?

I apologize.

Please excuse me as I must take my leave.

You said you wanted to get strong to protect someone, right?

It must be Lady Ji Hye.

But compared to a mere military officer like you,

wouldn't I, the king, be better able to protect her?

And you would never defy me.

Because we are comrades.

Aren't you angry?

How can you just stand by and watch?

His Majesty

will protect you better than anyone.

Because he's the king.

Someone like me can't possibly compete.

He's the strongest man in the world.

I'll blow out the candle.

It is a royal prince, Your Majesty.

A son?

What about Her Majesty?

Is she alright?

Yes, Her Majesty is safe too.

As a mother, I simply cannot ignore that prophecy.

Are you speaking of the Queen again?

What crime has the Queen committed?

A crime can always be fabricated.

Your Majesty,

punish the Queen severely for committing adultery.

The Queen committed adultery?

Please clear Her Majesty of this false charge, Your Majesty.

The man who claims to have committed adultery with the Queen has confessed.

I lost to the Grand Queen Dowager.

You must send the Queen away on her final journey.

How did you get in here?

His Majesty will send the poison tomorrow.

You must escape quickly.

Where am I

supposed to go?

I'll accompany you.

I'll protect you, Your Majesty.

So, please leave with me.

If I run away,

the Crown Prince will be branded for life

as the son of an adulteress.

He might even lose his life.

Could you live on?

Please, live on.

Please, live.

Live...

Please, live.

I'm sorry.

Put this medicine into the poison.

There may be some vomiting of blood, but it will stop the poison from spreading.

And administer this antidote as quickly as possible.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, are you alright?

Your Majesty?

Je Woon.

My Je Woon.

Je Woon.

Je Woon.

Your Majesty,

what's wrong?

Who are you?

Your Majesty.

By giving up one queen, I protected many things.

It's a fair exchange, isn't it?

Did you not

love the Queen?

You promised

to protect her,

didn't you?

What I wished to protect

was not a trivial feeling like love,

but the throne.

A powerful royal authority.

A sword was once nothing more than iron.

Iron becomes a blade.

And that blade committed sin

because of love.

(Episode 13 The Reason for the Sword)

The Crown Prince...

The Crown Prince sent Je Woon to Gamaksan Mountain?

Seeing as he returned alone without the Left Guard Officer,

it seems the Crown Princess is at Gamaksan Mountain as well.

Shouldn't we dispatch the royal guards?

The Left Minister is highly vigilant right now.

I'll wait for the right moment to act.

But, is it alright to keep the Crown Princess' family at Unjeonggung Palace?

Yes, please take care of them.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Unjeonggung Palace might be unsafe too, you need to move now.

Well, what about our Dal I?

I heard from the servants that the Crown Prince was captured.

Don't worry.

His Highness sent Prince Je Woon to the Crown Princess.

Where?

Where is Her Highness now?

Well...

Gamaksan...

Ah, no.

Going to Her Highness is too dangerous.

Hey, well...

How long have you been a eunuch?

I entered the palace in the Gyesa Year.

The Gyesa Year.

What the...

How dare you talk back to me when you only just

entered in the Gyesa Year?

As for me,

I entered in the Year of Gyeong'o.

Ah, I see.

'Ah, I see?'

Should I teach him a lesson?

Tell me, where is our Dal I?

We owe our lives to Her Highness.

Please tell us.

I apologize.

But, the Crown Princess said she's going to Qing.

Every path to Qing, including Jemulpo,

has been ambushed by the nameless ones.

Gamaksan Mountain.

I know exactly what you are hiding there, Left Minister.

If I die like this,

His Highness will reveal that secret.

It's different.

Candle wax.

Found it.

My lord, are you sure about going alone?

I'll go with you.

No, deliver this letter to Eunuch Yoon.

Yes, my lord.

Please be careful.

Don't worry.

You know I'm a master when it comes to fighting.

We've located the nameless ones' hideout coordinates from the military book.

I'll return within three days at the latest.

(Location of the mountain stronghold)

Three days.

(Royal Astronomy Bureau: the royal astronomical) It's the auspicious date chosen

(and meteorological bureau) by the Royal Astronomy Bureau.

(Ninth day of the seventh month, Gihye Year)

Two days from now is the auspicious date?

You said you feared not the heavens.

Have you truly decided to become heaven itself?

Do you think I don't know you set this date yourself?

Your Majesty,

do you still believe in heaven?

Time is short.

(Gogi: Announcing the wedding date) Proceed with the royal wedding announcement today.

The king proclaims,

as the heir to the throne takes a spouse,

we have consulted the will of heaven and chosen an auspicious date.

We designate two days hence, the ninth of the seventh month,

as the wedding date.

Was Yeo Ri

buried properly?

Yes.

However, Your Ladyship.

The royal wedding in two days...

Send funeral expenses and medicine

to Yeo Ri's mother.

It's the last thing I can do for her.

Also convey my apologies.

Understood.

Did you also

compile the Great Code of State?

I mean,

even when no one was to be admitted,

you seem to be an exception, Left Minister.

You appear robust.

For someone who sent the deposed Crown Princess to heaven...

I should at least be bedridden with illness, huh? My apologies.

Had I known you were the same kind of man as me,

I would've abandoned you sooner.

It's too late now.

Why have you

returned to the palace?

Where did you hide the deposed Crown Princess?

What kind of nonsense

is that...

I know you're not one to abandon revenge.

That's why I came to say this.

The royal wedding

is in two days.

Then, I shall take my leave.

But one more thing.

Why do you still dream of revenge

when the deposed queen is alive?

She remembers Your Highness

and lives on unharmed, right?

After tearing us apart,

you dare ask why I seek revenge?

Apart...

The royal family

is always greedy.

With the royal wedding in two days, aren't you pushing too far?

I'll go alone.

Let's go.

The Left Minister has left the capital.

Yes, Your Majesty.

We confirmed he exited through Donuimun Gate.

To Donggung Palace.

- Your Highness. - Your Highness.

- Your Highness. - Where are you going?

- Your Highness. - Your Highness!

Your Highness.

- Your Highness. - Your Highness!

You cannot do this under confinement decree.

Ugh, seriously.

Your Highness.

Move! Get out of my way!

Let go!

His Majesty the King arrives.

What are you doing now?

I cannot go through with the royal wedding.

If I can't help, I don't want to be a burden.

Fleeing now ruins everything.

I don't intend to flee.

Prince Je Woon said he'd return in three days, by tomorrow.

He said he would come, so he will.

But if, by any chance,

if he fails to return by then,

I will go myself. Lend me the royal guards.

I've already dispatched trustworthy royal guards.

I must go too.

I can't push others into danger

while sitting here helplessly.

Gang.

Let's just trust Je Woon.

(Chinyeong: Groom fetching bride) If Je Woon does not return by the time

of the chinyeong procession...

then, go to the Crown Princess.

I'll take responsibility for everything afterward.

Thank you. Thank you, Your Majesty.

Please

keep His Highness safe.

Please, look kindly upon me.

Please watch over us.

So I can end everything

and protect Dal I.

I returned late, worried I might be followed.

Very well.

Whether you'd come or not...

I worried whether you'd come. That's what I meant.

Yes, I was very worried too.

Do you know how worried I was when I heard about the execution ground?

You almost got into serious trouble.

Again, again, again.

Why do you look so tenderly at someone else's woman?

Don't do that, okay?

Well...

Was she always this ill-tempered when she was Crown Princess?

She wasn't like this.

Perhaps it's His Highness' influence...

They say husband and wife are of one mind...

I feel like I'm with him right now.

You too?

Same here.

I'm listening to everything right now.

Ah, you heard everything?

I meant for you to hear it. That worked out well.

- You! - Oh, Your Highness.

You must maintain your dignity.

Did you bring the military book?

Oh, right.

Of course, who do you think I am?

Let's go inside to talk.

Finally... we've finally located the mountain stronghold.

We'll move immediately.

Your Highness should wait here.

I'm going too.

I won't be a burden.

(Hanyang)

(Gamaksan Mountain)

Beside Ungye Valley in Yangju's Gamaksan Mountain, cross the stone bridge and you'll find the cordon.

(Ungye Valley)

Over there.

It's the cordon.

Let's go.

If you go inside the cordon,

there's a fallen birch tree with their mark on it.

(Birch tree) My lord!

Follow those markers and the stronghold will appear.

(Nameless ones' stronghold)

This is the base of the nameless ones,

who engage in forging coins,

manufacturing illegal weapons,

loan sharking, and human trafficking...

a vicious criminal organization.

We found evidence that the Left Minister owns the Zhen birds.

But the secret pact suddenly surfaced,

causing this mess, right?

If the Left Minister dies, the secret pact goes public.

He clearly left it in someone's hands.

The most likely suspect is...

(Masked person) That punk, the masked person.

She used the Cheonghye Merchant Group

(Cheonghye Merchant Group) to bring Zhen bird supplies into the palace.

(Nameless ones) Her backer is the nameless ones.

(Mountain stronghold) The stronghold?

Six years ago

at Gamaksan Mountain,

(Woman in white mourning clothes) I saw this woman in white mourning clothes

and the nameless one, right?

Please take me to the palace.

This letter...

(Letter)

Wait.

Woman in white mourning clothes,

letter,

and secret pact?

Woman in white mourning clothes, letter, and secret pact?

This letter...

(The meritorious subject during the coup)

Secret pact.

Move aside!

I cannot!

Step aside.

Your Majesty.

One!

- Two. - One.

- Two. - Three.

As you were.

One!

Two!

Three!

The unusually tight security over there is suspicious...

right?

It would be best to get a closer look.

My goodness, what brings you here?

If you stay here, it'll backfire on Your Majesty too.

I've already prepared myself for confinement.

But, what's with that way of speaking?

Well...

I must've picked up Dal I's way of talking.

So Hoon, no.

What happened to the Crown Princess?

I can only pray for her safety.

There's nothing I can do.

Then, I can be of use.

The tragedy of you and Crown Princess

was all because of me.

Pardon?

What do you mean by that?

What does confinement have to do with it,

and how is it Your Majesty's fault?

The Gyesa Year incident

was the Left Minister's revenge.

Revenge for the woman he loved

being taken by the royal family.

Revenge for that woman

being killed miserably.

Are you saying

that bloodshed was all revenge?

Come to think of it,

the methods were far too elaborate

for a simple power grab.

Spreading rumors of Queen Jangjeong's vengeful spirit,

and using those rumors to reinvestigate the false adultery accusations,

even those killed in the Gyesa Year.

All connected

to Queen Jangjeong.

The bigger the Left Minister's crimes become,

the larger my sins grow,

so I must stop him.

So,

please tell me if there's

anything you need.

I need to see Queen Jangjeong's portrait.

That woman in white mourning clothes.

Was she truly the mother of Prince Je Woon?

Mother!

Mother!

Mother!

Mother.

Not now.

Let go.

If you go out now, everything will be ruined.

I know it's hard, but please...

This should be enough to prove this mountain stronghold is an illegal den.

(Chongyungcheong: Central army that defends) Go to the Chongyungcheong

(the capital and its surrounding region) and request reinforcements.

Lady Binssi asked me to pass this to the masked person.

The masked person supposedly has a small scar the size of a fingernail on her lip.

You. You are the masked person, right?

Kim Deok Chun, daughter of Yun Gye Sim.

This is a letter from Lady Binssi.

Your Highness.

Your mother died three years ago.

I will surely

bring down my father.

So, you must flee from my father.

Don't be bound to anyone or anywhere anymore.

Live freely.

Leave.

My mother's life is in the Left Minister's hands.

I'm not going anywhere.

Don't disappoint me again.

Your mother deserves to be free at least once.

Is that true?

I don't know what relationship you have with Lady Binssi,

but Lady Binssi took great risks to deliver that letter.

If you can't trust us, trust Lady Binssi.

The nameless ones

depart for Hanyang tonight.

I will help you, so escape after that.

Why are the nameless ones going to Hanyang?

The royal wedding is tomorrow.

The Left Minister knows you are at Gamaksan Mountain.

Be careful.

You...

do you

know anything about a secret pact?

I don't know if it's the secret pact,

but I think there's something important in that residence.

What is it?

When Leader gets drunk, he always says

an important item was entrusted to a woman who wasn't in her right mind.

He said the Left Minister couldn't understand.

'Not in her right mind'?

I heard that it's been about 15 years.

When she occasionally came to her senses and tried to escape,

I heard she fled carrying that item.

Her Majesty...

If she is the Left Minister's lover,

he will go all out.

No, no.

What if the secret pact isn't there?

No, wait a minute.

No.

Park Dal I,

since when did you become so safety-conscious?

A merchant without guts is as good as dead, right?

Trust me, trust His Highness.

Break through the front!

If what Deok Chun says is true,

the secret pact must be where Her Majesty is.

I will request reinforcements from the Chongyungcheong now.

No.

If soldiers swarm in, we cannot guarantee Queen Jangjeong's safety.

Rescuing Her Majesty comes first.

Crown Princess.

Thank you.

Thank you for not acting impulsive.

And it seems

I must ask one more difficult favor.

If we find the secret pact, could you take it

and go straight to Hanyang?

I cannot leave my mother behind.

Someone must deliver the secret pact to His Highness, right?

Please trust me

and entrust Her Majesty to me.

Yes.

Once we rescue Her Majesty,

please go to Chongyungcheong, and summon the troops, Shin Won.

I'll escort Her Majesty

to the hut on Bulgoksan Mountain where we hid before.

After clearing the mountain stronghold, let's reunite at Bulgoksan Mountain.

It's dangerous for just the two of you to go.

I'll escort you.

As a wanted criminal, going to Chongyungcheong with you would be more perilous.

We'll use the ferry port, so don't worry.

Will you be alright?

To depart directly from the ferry port, you'll need more people.

Why are you all...

You darn girl!

Who told you to butt in?

Who asked you to save us?

You're literally the death of me!

No.

- How did you know this place... - How did I know?

I beat it out of that round-faced junior.

And why are you talking like that?

Speak properly.

Thanks to Dal I, I got five more years, maybe even six.

Oh, seriously.

I've never seen such ingratitude.

That's like saving someone from drowning,

only for them to grab you by the collar and ask why you saved them.

Why is she acting like this again?

A word

with you, please.

Just the two of us.

What's going on?

As you can see.

Don't tell me you've switched bodies again?

I did it intentionally.

It seemed safer for her to be in the palace.

Are you saying you can switch bodies at will?

That's how it turned out.

Then,

switch bodies with Her Highness right now.

We'll protect Her Highness.

It's not something I can do alone.

And

even if I could, I wouldn't.

This is

the revenge

of Dal I and me.

Is that Her Highness' will as well?

Then,

I'll help too.

I'll do anything.

Clear the table now that I've finished eating.

Yes, Your Highness.

Wait a moment.

I'll clear this.

I must meet Lady Binssi.

Prepare a eunuch robe for me.

You've all worked hard.

His Highness is asleep, have some of this while you work.

Try some.

Stop right there.

What is this?

Ah, yes. It's liquor.

Let me verify.

Prepare a jar with wet straw bundles sprinkled with chili powder.

Oh, dear.

It's very spicy, isn't it?

Mabi poison.

Who are you?

Dear, it's alright.

Don't cry.

Mother.

Your Majesty.

Your son has come.

Je Woon is here.

It's okay.

It's okay, don't cry.

Mommy is here.

Please.

Dear!

Mother, please!

Look at me.

Not that pillow.

I am your son.

These eyes,

this nose,

these lips...

From my fingertips to my toes,

all were given by Your Majesty.

I am your son.

Mother.

Crown Prince.

Je Woon?

Is it really you?

Yes, it's me, Mother.

My Woon.

Mother.

How have you been all this time?

Is your health alright?

Your Majesty.

Forgive me, but do you recall the Left Minister entrusting you with anything?

Like a letter...

A letter...

Forgive my rudeness.

We must search the room.

How did you get here?

I've come to discuss a difficult matter.

Prince Je Woon has gone to the nameless ones' mountain stronghold.

When he returns, he'll likely bring his mother.

Whom do you mean by 'mother'?

Queen Jangjeong.

Prince Je Woon's birth mother.

So the Gyesa Year incident was revenge for Prince Je Woon's mother?

In love with my father...

What an absurd combination.

It seems Queen Jangjeong

is the Left Minister's greatest vulnerability.

So, I think we can stop the royal marriage tomorrow.

He will come.

He'll definitely come.

But if

Prince Je Woon hasn't arrived by the royal marriage,

I plan to drive a blade into the Left Minister's weakness.

(The meritorious subject during the coup)

Finally.

I leave it to you.

Understood.

Hurry. People are coming.

- Move out! - Yes!

Mother, are you alright?

There! Over there. They went that way.

Crown Princess, escort Her Majesty to the ferry dock.

Mother, I'll follow shortly.

It's a secret, but your son is actually a master fighter.

No.

How could I go alone?

I entrust Her Majesty to you, Crown Princess.

We must go, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty!

Capture them! Don't let them escape.

I'm extremely angry, you know?

Worry about your own head first.

This way, please.

- Search the area. - Yes!

I'll draw their attention. Go ahead first.

It's dangerous for a woman alone.

Ah, technically speaking, I'm not exactly a woman.

Just a little further,

there'll be one man and two women at the dock.

They will assist Your Majesty.

But how can I leave alone...

Think only of your son.

You must not get captured, nor lose consciousness. Do you understand?

Here!

Seize her!

Woon... my Woon...

- That way. - After them!

Yes!

More are coming.

Over there. Capture them!

It's the royal guards. His Majesty must have sent them.

Attack!

My apologies.

We got lost on the mountain path and arrived late.

It's alright.

You, go to the Chongyungcheong

(Hobu) and bring back troops.

Aren't we going to the stronghold?

With our current numbers, we can't confront the nameless ones at their stronghold.

And you, go to Her Majesty at Bulgoksan Mountain.

I'll go to Hanyang and deliver the secret pact to His Highness.

I'll go with you.

You?

We don't know how many nameless ones are in Hanyang or along the way.

If I go, we can evade the nameless ones' surveillance.

Okay.

Let's go.

Tomorrow, before the ministers and all the people,

if you reveal the truth of the secret pact,

Your Majesty will suffer for staging a coup without justification.

And His Highness won't escape guilt by association.

Worrying alone won't change anything.

There is no best option left.

Only the lesser evil remains.

So the blade...

During the royal procession,

I'll falsely claim troops were sent to Gamaksan Mountain to rescue Queen Jangjeong.

Father won't stay idle.

We don't even know if the prince is alive...

That's the point.

Then, the Left Minister will surely rush to Queen Jangjeong.

And we can pursue the Left Minister with the royal guards.

Let's go together then.

Are you worried about me?

We're on the same side, aren't we?

Allies help each other.

If the Left Minister falls, you will be arrested too. I can't let that happen.

If by any chance this goes awry,

you go to the prince.

I'll confess to the Sinjusa Temple incident to stall my father.

Please go and save my prince.

Since you shattered me, Father,

these broken pieces

can only pierce you.

He'll come.

He said he would come, so he will.

If he doesn't,

I'll just go.

The daughter of Left Minister Kim Han Cheol

is hereby invested as Crown Princess.

Your Highness, you should get out now.

Oh.

Yes.

Oh no!

- Your Highness. - Your Highness, are you alright?

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

What on earth is happening?

- Summon the royal physician. - Yes.

Your Highness.

- Your Highness, why are you like this again? - Why so suddenly...

So what now?

Open the gate.

Remove the hull.

- Pardon? - Hurry.

Yes.

If by any chance this goes awry,

I'll confess to the Sinjusa Temple incident to stall my father.

Please go and save my prince.

We must end this royal marriage.

Call the royal physician.

- Your Majesty! - Your Majesty!

Gang, Gang.

Summon the royal physician.

Call the physician!

Gang.

Your Highness, are you alright?

Are you truly alright?

♪ All but a dream ♪

♪ The rain sounds like your voice ♪

♪ The wind hums like your song ♪

We must go.

♪ Oh, will my love return to me ♪

♪ Oh, how futile all becomes ♪

The mountain stronghold is surrounded!

Find the leader.

- Yes. - Yes.

Your Majesty.

Arrest the traitor Kim Han Cheol,

who murdered the late king, the crown prince,

and the queen consort in Gyesa Year!

♪ Oh dear, oh dear, what a mess ♪

♪ Oh dear, oh dear, what a mess ♪

♪ Oh, will my love return to me ♪

♪ Oh, how futile all becomes ♪

♪ All but a dream ♪

Apprehend the traitor.

The Left Minister's era is over.

Where's Dal I? Did you not see her at the stronghold?

There was no one inside the quarters.

You should withdraw for now.

There's no way I'm going to ruin the prince.

Let's go.

They say the Left Minister breached Soeuimun Gate.

There's no time.

We need to find Dal I.

Are you saying you'll walk the path to ruin together?

Let's slip out the back door.

Huh, what?