Original subtitles

The Blade and Petal

For the first time in my life,

I took another man's life.

In this house, there is no place for you.

We are recruiting palace guards.

I have been appointed as your new guard, Your Highness.

Two kinds of paths exist in this world:

One you should take, and one you shouldn't take.

I thought you had nothing to do with me?

Who sent you to the palace?

Did General Yeon Gaesomun send you?

Who on earth are you?

Say it.

I said hurry and say it!

Even though you knew me,

you pretended not to know me all this time?

I'm not General Yeon Gaesomun's spy.

General Yeon Gaesomun is...

my father.

He is my son.

He is of my blood,

but he's never been part of the Yeon family.

He's just an illegitimate child without a name.

He assassinated the attacker of the Crown Prince and the Princess.

I thought that case was closed already?

If he acted as a spy, he should be punished accordingly.

However, I've never asked him to be a spy, and there is no evidence that he worked as a spy.

What?

After cutting off the relationship between me and him, he was just going on his own path.

If he must be killed

just because he's my son...

Now that he's revealed as the assassin of the attacker, he can't be allowed to live any longer.

The criminal will be executed

in the town square of Pyongyang.

Episode 4.

He is my son.

Would you trust me?

Don't expect

forgiveness or kindness.

I will not forgive you.

I will not show any kindness to you.

Don't expect that your head may be spared,

that you may not be killed.

Your head will be cut off

and you'll die.

My mother was a slave.

For my father, who is perfect in everything,

my mother and I were

not acceptable.

Are you saying that he abandoned you

just because you were slaves?

Then,

did you want to prove yourself to him

by assassinating that attacker?

Even though I'd been waiting for decades, there was no other way to see my father.

The sole purpose of my life had been to see my father.

With such desperation in my heart,

I had to do anything

I could to see my father.

I had no reason or composure to consider

whether it was right or wrong.

If you finally got to see your father,

why did you try out to become a palace guard?

Although I longed for my father,

he did not share my sentiments.

After being rejected by my own father,

there was no hope for me.

Becoming a palace guard...

was the last bit of hope I tried to grasp.

Just as the Yeon family has rejected me,

I wanted to get rid of my fate

as an illegitimate child of a slave.

That's why...

I wanted to create my own destiny.

Do you have any

last words?

Is fate really

something you can't escape from?

Even though I wanted to quit my fate as an illegitimate child of the Yeon family

and start a new life,

I suppose

the biggest reason for my death

would be the fact

that I am the son of Yeon Gaesomun.

After all, I couldn't get away from my fate.

Aren't you afraid of death?

I'll be dying as my father's son.

I have no regrets.

Just...

the fact that I ended up hurting the feelings

of Your Highness. After all your trust and support,

even though it was not my intention,

is unforgivable.

What? An illegitimate child of Yeon Gaesomun?

And the Princess was so into him without...

What do you mean?

It's nothing.

I suppose Yeon Gaesomun sure is something.

I mean, I knew he was bold,

but I didn't think he'd send a spy to the palace, none other than his own son!

He deserves to die! Death!

But then, why is His Majesty only executing his son?

The mastermind that sent the spy is Yeon Gaesomun himself.

Slave or burglar, he's of the blood of the Yeons.

What difference does it make?

All those Yeons need their heads cut off!

If Yeon Gaesomun is beheaded,

there will be a civil war in Goguryeo.

The point of executing just his son

is first to prevent the domestic division

and second to show the authority of the royal family to Yeon Gaesomun and other nobles.

That's what His Majesty's intentions are.

Tomorrow at noon,

the spy will be executed in the town square of Pyongyang.

Yeon Gaesomun and his men might try to do something,

so we will have to securely watch

the secret passage to the palace.

I could not forgive His Majesty for stealing the position of Prime Minister from us.

Besides,

I couldn't just watch that idiot become the future master of Goguryeo.

Hence,

I did it for the future of Goguryeo

and to pay them back for what they did to you, General.

It wasn't supposed to fail like that. I'm deeply sorry.

General, I deserve to die.

However, my allegiance to you is utterly pure and true.

General, please consider General On's sincerity!

Please, consider our cause

and forgive him this once.

If you do something so reckless again,

your whole family will perish.

His Majesty's decision will not change.

Do you seriously think

that my son is a spy?

He assassinated the attacker that offended the royal family.

That's enough evidence.

If he was a spy,

he wouldn't have tried to save the lives of the Princess and the Prince.

He thinks that I instigated that plot.

Even though I coldly rejected him,

he's risking his own life to protect me

and is not divulging about the scheme.

What do you want from me?

Are you going to report to His Majesty that there was a plot to assassinate the Prince and the Princess?

Who is the one in charge of the royal family?

Your own life will be in danger.

Your father

did not lack in any way to become a king of Goguryeo.

He could have become king,

but he stayed behind the shadow of his brother

and lived a lonely life all his days.

Since your father has passed away already,

only you can lift up his name.

How come a proper member of the royal family

is wasted as just a palace guard?

You have mercy, but are not weak, and you know pleasure, but are not given to it.

You are the one and only member of the royal family of Goguryeo that has both literary and military skills.

The throne is

only for those with qualifications to sit!

I did not hear anything today.

Destiny is something you choose.

I, at least, would never mock you.

The attacker is dead and the assassin got away?

How can you call yourself a royal of Goguryeo?

On the last evening of the Dongmyung Festival,

there was a plot to assassinate the Prince and the Princess.

I hear that you saved their lives.

Is that true?

I promise you on my very life.

If it's true,

I'll save your life no matter what.

Tell me the truth.

Nothing like that happened.

He rejected you as a father.

How come you're still trying to protect him?

Is it just the law of nature?

What is it?

Brother, I know this sounds weird, but he is not a spy.

I think it is true that he came to the palace after cutting off his relationship with the Yeon family.

So I'm thinking about meeting with General Yeon Gaesomun.

Illegitimate child or not, he's still his son.

If General Yeon himself pleaded with His Majesty, maybe father will change his mind.

It won't work.

He had given up on being a palace guard and was about to leave Pyongyang, but then I made him stay.

If only I hadn't done that, this wouldn't have happened.

Everything is my fault.

Yet, there's nothing I can do for him.

Princess,

actually...

So he did it to save me and my brother...

If father finds out about this, would he spare his life?

Why not? He is a loyal subject that saved me and my brother!

The truth cannot make everyone happy.

He kept it from His Majesty not only to protect his own father,

but also because he knows that you don't want conflict between His Majesty and General Yeon.

He thinks that that is the only thing he can do for you, Princess.

Then... why are you telling me this?

Because it's the truth.

Is that all?

There is nothing else I can do.

Father, are you really going to have him executed?

I heard that you were very much interested in him.

It was immature of me. However...

Your kindness was repaid in betrayal.

You must have learned hatred.

Father, he did assassinate the attacker, but

I don't think he came to the palace to act as a spy for Yeon Gaesomun.

Besides, do you really think that

it was just a misunderstanding that he

interrupted the masque performance?

That night, there was an attempt to assassinate me and my brother by one of the noblemen under General Yeon.

He jumped to rescue me and my brother.

If he hadn't done that, we would be dead already.

Father, you must spare his life, he is a loyal subject.

Take this chance to interrogate Yeon Gaesomun and the nobles and exact retribution.

There will be no further

investigation of the assassination plot.

Father.

Once General Yeon Gaesomun leaves to oversee the construction of the wall,

he will be isolated from the politics here.

I won't do anything further to provoke him, but surely send him off to oversee the construction.

Then, what about the loyal heart of

saving me and my brother?

Even before he came to the palace, he had already killed the man who attempted to assassinate royalty.

Since he'd already committed that crime, he shall be punished for it.

It doesn't matter whose son he is.

Punishing criminals

is what protects the dignity and order of Goguryeo.

I'll take care of the plot of Yeon Gaesomun and the nobles.

It won't do any good to uncover it now for the royal family or for Goguryeo.

Father.

However, Yeon Gaesomun's son has to die no matter what.

I don't think I can just let you go like this.

Knowing your heart

is enough for me.

It's not enough for me.

I know that you're very fond of him.

Which probably makes it worse for you.

I have heard from father once that there is a secret passage

from the prison to the outside.

I thought you were coming back on the 15th?

Ah, yes, something came up for that day,

so I've come early.

By the way, I saw your wife downtown the other day,

and was appalled to see how she was dressed!

You could almost see through!

Hyungnim, here.

Buy her some new clothes.

Thank you as always.

You're the best.

One, two, three...

five, six...

Oh...

Miss!

What's the butterfly...

I have heard from Father once

that there is a secret passage from the prison to the outside.

If you follow that passage,

you will get to the prison.

Forgive me, but

I'm starting to wonder if killing him is the best choice.

I'm thinking that there might be a different way

for you and General Yeon Gaesomun to sustain Goguryeo.

That is only your ideal.

Indeed, the goal of politics

is always idealistic.

However,

the road towards that ideal

is dirty, ugly, and

sometimes vulgar even.

Are you afraid of that road?

I'm thinking that there might be another road to take.

There is no

other road.

You must have grown quite fond of him.

I don't know General Yeon Gaesomun very well, but

I felt I could communicate with his son.

A friend you can communicate with.

That's good.

Nevertheless, you'll have to find a new friend.

Did your sister send you to me?

No.

To see you come to me so late

to worry about the fate of a spy,

I guess your sister is greatly distraught.

Yes, but

I'm sure she will get over it.

You can't do anything great

if you're swayed by emotions like she is.

I'll have to see her.

But Father... !

She's probably in bed by now.

I see.

It is late.

Go back to your quarters.

♫ To love on my own ♫

Move the inmate to a different cell.

♫ To wait for you only ♫

♫ There's no place for me to stay ♫

♫ Some day, when I miss you ♫

♫ When I miss you so much, ♫

♫ Will you finally come? ♫

♫ To a place with no more sad memories ♫

♫ My love, obstinate love ♫

♫ Love, leave me behind ♫

♫ Piercing my heart like a stake ♫

♫ Is our irreversible love ♫

♫ Love, my love ♫

♫ Piercing my heart like a stake ♫

♫ is our irreversible love ♫

♫ Our irreversible love ♫

Father!

Where did you go?

Father!

No!

His crime of killing the attacker doesn't have to be punished by execution!

There is no evidence that he worked as a spy!

He is a poor soul that was rejected by his own father.

For someone who was never loved by his own father,

to die because of who his father is...

is too unfair!

That father

is Yeon Gaesomun.

But their relationship is over!

A king must be able to cut off all personal feelings

or relationships. That's what a king is.

Father!

I love your passion.

However,

I can't let the dignity of the royal family be damaged by your passion.

He will be executed at noon tomorrow.

His Majesty does not wish to see you.

Please return my son's body in one piece

so that I can give him a funeral.

I want to see my son.

Many people will be watching you die.

If you are a Yeon,

keep your head high in dignity.

Your last meal is special.

Why do people love to watch someone die?

Who knows? Gosh, it's hot.

It is His Majesty's order

to hang him.

Hey!

Let go! Let go!

Buddy!

Ah, let go! Why are you there, buddy?

Buddy! Please, spare him!

Just let go of me! Buddy!

Buddy! Buddy!

Why are you up there?

Buddy!

♫ To love on my own ♫

♫ To leave... ♫

♫ on my own ♫

♫ Only you ♫

♫ I wait for ♫

♫ There's no place for me to stay ♫

♫ My love, obstinate love ♫

♫ Love, leave me behind ♫

♫ Piercing my heart ♫

♫ like a stake ♫

♫ is our irreversible love ♫ -How can they do this to your son?

If you can't forgive them, what are you going to do?

You said

that destiny is something you choose.

I guess you had no heart for your son

at all from the beginning.

Goguryeo will

face a new history now.

♫ To stare mindlessly ♫

♫ To turn around without words ♫

♫ No matter how much I blame, there's no place for me now. ♫