Original subtitles

I cannot understand young people.

It was much tougher to become a eunuch back in my days.

Gosh, isn't it frustrating?

He could have passed if only he wrote something.

But he submitted a blank answer sheet, saying that he couldn't find the answer.

Then, when is he leaving?

He will probably leave the court in the morning.

-What was the question again? -Your Highness.

You need to go somewhere right now.

Pardon?

The princess?

I have committed a mortal sin!

I am glad you know that.

Your Highness!

Okay.

I'll give you what you asked for.

Stop.

Your Highness!

If you hold the sword that way, you'll hurt your hands.

Give it to me.

Yeong.

What are you doing?

Take him to Royal Investigation Bureau now!

Yes, Your Highness!

Royal Investigation Bureau?

Most people can't walk out of there in one piece once they are taken there.

You exchanged love letters with a man outside the court.

How dare can he play tricks on them?

We should closely investigate his crime.

Then,

everyone will find out about this.

I will ask His Majesty myself

to punish him severely.

What? To Father?

-Make him stand up! -Yes, Your Highness.

Please withdraw your command, Yeong!

I do not want to make a big fuss about it.

Then,

what about him?

Killing him with your hands

wouldn't make you feel any better.

You are not someone who can harm someone else.

Let us go now.

Your Highness!

I sincerely apologize.

I have not thought

that writing love letters for other people

can hurt someone's feelings this much.

I give...

my sincere apology.

Why do you hide it from him, Your Highness?

He will find out soon anyway.

That's exactly why.

Then, he will become

nothing more than one of my many subjects to me.

I don't think I would like it

if he started to look at me that way.

Well, each palace

sent the evaluation on your answer.

Come and receive it when I call you.

It is all right.

It is all done now.

Everything is under his feet,

and he can get whatever he wants.

However, he seems like he's feeling empty.

"How can I, a lowly subject, fill the emptiness of His Highness?"

Maybe you've never been hungry,

but I bet you've been heartbroken many times before.

Okay.

As the person with the biggest heart in this region,

I'd like to...

give you my affection.

ANSWER SHEET: EUNUCH TRAINEE HONG SAM-NOM

Your Highness, I can just fail him. There is no need for you to check it.

"Pass"!

Your Highness.

Why did you give him a pass when he turned in a blank answer sheet?

I have already heard

his answer before.

What was his answer?

A drumstick?

Fail.

Hong Sam-nom.

Yes.

Pass.

Thank you! Pass...

Pardon?

Did you just say I passed?

Not fail? Pass?

EUNUCH TRAINEE HONG SAM-NOM, PASS

What? Why?

I submitted a blank answer sheet. Why did I pass? Why?

That is what I am saying.

I do not understand what His Highness has in his mind.

Did you just say...

His Highness?

Was this question for a position at the Crown Prince's palace?

Hong Sam-nom, you are assigned to Jipbokheon, Consort Park's residence.

Go there next morning.

You can pass if you hit the target at least once.

However, the arrow you shoot will have to go around me

or go through me.

-Goodness. -My goodness.

-He should not get hurt. -What if he gets hurt?

My goodness.

Shoot!

My goodness.

If all of you fail, you cannot go home today.

Shoot!

-My heart almost stopped. -That is nothing.

You must have not seen him before.

His nickname is "Byeong-yeon the hottie."

I know what you're talking about.

When he went out in disguise with His Highness,

he was wearing a hat and he looked so handsome.

Right. He looks the handsomest when he is wearing a hat.

Byeong-yeon the hottie in a hat!

It is strange.

You tend to organize the training in a way that makes you stand out,

Byeong-yeon the hottie.

That is a misunderstanding, Your Highness.

Your Highness!

Your Highness...

That was a perfect shot!

Your Highness!

Hey, Puppy.

You should bow when your master comes.

Do not come near me. I might bite you again.

I am very upset now. I am dangerous.

Gosh, I am scared.

Please keep your distance.

Where are you going?

To the Crown Prince's palace. I need to talk to His Highness myself.

What for?

To ask him why he’s doing this to me!

Get out of my way!

You can’t just meet him anytime you want.

He’s the Crown Prince, after all.

I guess you’re right.

A mere subject like me won't be allowed to see the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince ruined everything for me!

What did I...

What did His Highness do?

I don’t deserve to be a eunuch.

But I’m stuck here forever because of His Highness!

Well, then why did His Highness pick you?

I think...

he wants to punish me forever

because of a terrible mistake I made.

I saved his life, but he's accusing me of ruining his life.

What am I supposed to do about that, Chief Kim?

Should I just kill him, Your Highness?

Come with me, both of you.

I never knew the palace was this huge.

Did you say you didn’t deserve to become a eunuch?

Sorry?

Oh, right.

What if someone was born here, and this palace has become their home?

Do you think they deserve to be here?

So the palace is their home?

-What I mean is... -I have never had a place to call my own.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever called a place "My home" before.

I mean, who needs one anyway?

As long as I can lay myself down and rest, I’m good.

Nobody likes living in the palace.

But if you can find someone you can trust with your heart in here,

it becomes much more bearable.

Is that so?

I wonder...

I will find someone like that, too.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty! We should get you somewhere safe.

What is going on?

There's an uprising! The crowd is coming this way!

Wait, stop!

Who are you?

I have never seen you before.

Two thousand.

That's the number of innocent lives that you took!

No, that’s wrong!

They deserved it! They were all rebels!

You took all those innocent lives.

This country will have to pay for what you've done!

-Murderer. -You're a murderer.

-No! -Murderer.

-No, stop! -Murderer.

-Murderer. -Stop it!

JIPBOKHEON (CONSORT PARK'S RESIDENCE)

Your Highness.

I am Eunuch Hong. I will be serving you from now on.

Pleasure to meet you, Eunuch Hong.

Likewise, Your Highness.

Are you okay, Your Highness?

Can you bring my child with you and work on the garden?

PRINCESS YEONGEUN

Yes, Your Highness.

His Majesty’s condition is getting worse by the day.

-Is he having that nightmare again? -Yes.

I have not been feeling very well recently.

And not being to sleep at night does not help.

I am so worn out.

If I could sleep in another room until my morning sickness gets better--

You must never leave his side

especially in times like this.

Things will calm down soon.

Do not be rash with your actions or you'll ruin everything.

Keep yourself contained.

I will,

Father.

SEVEN YEARS AGO

Your Highness!

I was looking for you everywhere.

I'm fine.

Are you sure, Your Highness?

Yes.

If I can’t even endure a little wound like this,

how can my mother rest in peace?

That is right, Your Highness.

You are very strong.

Your Highness,

I have something I must tell you.

It’s a message Her Majesty wanted me to relay to you when no one's around.

From my mother?

What is it?

Her Majesty wanted you to know that it also takes great courage

to express your true feelings.

Her Majesty also told me

to be there for Your Highness

on behalf of her

whenever you need a shoulder to cry on.

Did my mother...

really say that?

Then, Consort Park,

lend me your shoulder.

I am...

in so much pain.

Of course, Your Highness.

This one is really tough, right?

That’s how it survives.

They can grow in a harsh environment

with very little water or sunlight.

They are very different from a delicate flower such as...

I was reminded of someone I know.

He was raised like a delicate flower.

No wonder he is so arrogant and picky.

If only he were as nice as his looks.

Then what?

If he were, I would have...

What are you doing here, Silver Spoon?

What about you?

What are you doing here?

I am working.

But honestly,

what is it that you do, Silver Spoon?

Do you want to know?

Yes, I do.

One day, you were a eunuch, and the other day, you were a guard.

And now, look at you doing nothing but slacking off.

You have to be careful, Silver Spoon.

Of what?

You might upset your masters

if they find out you keep going around and doing nothing.

I'm telling you this as your friend, so keep that in mind.

Goodness.

My friend?

Since when were we friends?

If not friends, what are we?

The master and his puppy.

Come on!

Don't call me Puppy.

I am Hong...

I have a fine name called Hong Sam-nom.

You call "Sam-nom" a fine name?

Then what is your name, Silver Spoon?

Are you awake, Your Highness?

His Highness has arrived.

What are these doing on a man's head?

Everything you do is strange.

I don't like it.

What do you...

If you don't want to tell me, just say so.

Oh, dear.

Look who it is.

Long time no see, Princess Yeongeun.

You came all the way here yourself.

I would feel bad refusing.

Your Highness, His Majesty is expecting you.

Please tell him I wasn't here.

I'm usually away from my palace anyway.

Yes, Your Highness. I am aware of that.

I was here with His Majesty

two nights ago.

What?

Did he have something to scold me for?

That morning,

His Majesty saw you

walking away from the executive office without coming in.

Your Highness, please forgive me,

but The Analects of Confucius says,

"The father conceals the misconduct of the son,

and the son conceals the misconduct of the father."

Your Highness,

will you and His Majesty turn away from each other forever?

Did you ask for me?

I think I am going mad.

The ringing in my ears never stops.

I can't even tell

what happened yesterday

was only a dream or not.

Prepare yourself.

Soon,

I will order you to succeed the throne.

I refuse.

This is not

a matter of choice.

You are not just my son

but the Crown Prince of this country.

Crown Prince.

Yes.

I had no choice but to be the Crown Prince.

However,

I can choose

what kind of crown prince I want to be, Your Majesty.

This is a letter for His Majesty.

Give it to the Eunuch at His Highness' palace.

Yes, Your Highness.

Eunuch Hong, you must give that letter to my father.

Of course.

Do not worry, Your Highness. I promise.

What is this, sir?

Can't you see? It is His Majesty's reply. It's the royal letter.

I am sorry?

How could His Majesty write a reply

before he even read the letter?

Haven't you heard already?

What do you mean, sir?

The best way to do this job

is to pretend to do it.

All His Majesty sends back is a blank sheet of paper,

so we prepared it in advance to save time.

Just pass it on.

I don't understand, sir.

I'll just take it back, sir.

How dare you?

Do what you are told to do. Do you think I have time for this?

What is with all this noise?

So, how is Consort Park's health?

I do not know for sure, but she suffers from frequent coughing.

But she still has enough energy to write letters.

Pardon?

Come closer.

Pregnancy makes me feel

constantly tired and on edge.

I will not repeat this, so you'd better listen carefully.

Shut your mouth and take what the eunuch gave you.

Go.

Go.

Sir.

Eunuch Hong, have you got some time?

I'd like you to come with me.

To where, sir?

You will see. Let's go.

Why did you bring me here, sir?

Why would you...

There is no reason.

Living inside the palace can get tough.

When that happens,

take some time off here.

Are you telling me to shirk my duty, sir?

I think you need to do that right now.

Sir,

you always show up when I am down or in trouble. It is strange.

There's a simple way to put it.

You can just call it fate.

Do you know what I am most thankful for you, sir?

I know.

You do?

I pretend I do not know the truth.

Isn't that it?

You are right.

When a lady does not want to say something,

it is a man's duty to pretend he does not know about it.

Are you calling me a lady?

Also, keeping another man's secret

is a man's duty.

Anyway, thank you

for not asking me anything, sir.

Let us take a rest for a while.

Enjoy this moment

even if we can do this only for a short while.

I can only be off my duty after relaying this to His Majesty.

Shall I just do as I was told?

Are you all right, sir?

-What is wrong with you? -I am so sorry, sir.

These are letters of appeal addressed to His Majesty. Goodness.

I am sorry...

Your Highness, I was told that His Majesty spent a lot of time writing his response.

Is that true?

It is, Your Highness.

The letter even has a pleasant scent.

Your Highness.

Now,

I should stop tormenting His Majesty.

I believe that is what His Majesty wants.

I think His Majesty wanted me to acknowledge that through this letter.

Does that mean

the letter is...

I am sorry, Your Highness.

It is not your fault.

You can leave now.

Eunuch Hong.

Can I ask you a favor one more time?

I still have lingering feelings.

I do not think I can do it myself.

Can you take these

and burn them for me?

Your Highness.

What are these?

These are the letters

that Consort Park asked me to get rid of.

Are you the messenger in Consort Park's residence?

MESSENGER: SOMEONE WHO CONVEYS THE LETTERS

It is too bad of His Majesty to do this, isn't it?

His Majesty has been sending Consort Park blank letters as his response.

This is not from His Majesty.

Consort Park's letters never get delivered to His Majesty anyway.

It is different this time.

His Majesty directly ordered me to convey this letter to Consort Park.

If he were going to send the same blank letter anyway,

why did His Majesty specifically choose me to be the messenger?

I really can't understand.

How did His Majesty get the letter?

Well,

I secretly put it between the letters of appeal.

Still, she got the blank letter.

Is that true?

Yes, it is.

Now she has lost all hope

because of you.

Consort Park's health is not good.

Please visit her at her residence.

I will send her a royal physician.

I can do that myself.

It would not help her enough even if I visit her.

She will feel much better if she can at least see you.

That is what

only you can do.

The Queen is pregnant, so she is very sensitive.

I will wait for the right moment

and consider visiting her.

What are you afraid of?

What are you so afraid of that you cannot do anything?

To be exact,

you are not doing anything.

You didn't do anything

when Mother passed away.

Father!

Why did Mother pass away suddenly?

Your mother passed away due to an unknown illness.

That is all.

I heard the court ladies talking about it.

They said she didn't pass away from an illness!

-Who tried to harm Mother? -Crown Prince!

You should never say such a thing ever again. Do you understand?

Father, please uncover the truth.

Please find them!

Please get those who harmed Mother.

Crown Prince!

You could not do anything.

You did not do anything, and it was right here

where you told me to wait.

It might not have been different if you had come forward.

It might have been meaningless.

Still, you should have done something

instead of hiding like this, shuddering with fear.

After all,

you are the King of Joseon.

Would it be wrong for me to keep it

since Her Highness asked me to burn it?

What is holding you back? It’s not even yours.

I know.

Its pleasant scent makes it hard for me to burn it.

Is the paper scented?

Yes.

It smells like sweet apples.

JIPBOKHEON

What brings you here late at night, Your Highness?

I told you I would come every day until your coughing gets better.

What if I am not getting better

because I enjoy Your Highness' company?

I have thrown away

all the blank letters.

Seven years have past

since I have last seen His Majesty

and since I have started to send letters.

I should have stopped

a long time ago.

Seven years ago,

you comforted me when I was in distress after losing my mother.

You have grown up so fast, Your Highness.

Would you allow me to stay by your side

like you have done so for me?

Oh, my!

I told you to just say it if you have...

What? How is this possible?

It’s written with apple vinegar. The letters appear when it’s heated up.

Awesome!

I will think of you as my brother from now on!

I will not allow that.

Hey, don’t be like that.

You are practically my brother now.

Silver Spoon! I figured it out!

The blank letters from His Majesty

were not actually blank! They were secret letters!

-What? -Anyway,

I'll talk to you later!

Hey!

Your Highness, may I come inside?

-Who is there? -It’s Eunuch Hong, Your Highness!

Let him in.

Please hurry, Your Highness. His Majesty is waiting for you.

What are you talking about? Tell me what's going on.

Consort Park.

I am writing this letter with mixed feelings.

As much as I want you to read this, I don't want you to at the same time.

I am an incompetent king,

a helpless husband, and a cowardly father.

Forgive me as this is my only way to express my feelings.

Waiting for the day when you finally get to read this letter,

I go out every night

to the Aeryeon Garden where we used to take a stroll together.

It might have been meaningless.

Still, you should've done something

instead of hiding like this, shuddering with fear.

After all,

you are the king of Joseon.

I cannot do anything!

I should not!

This is the only way

I can protect you.

When I tried to do something as the King,

two thousand innocent people lost their lives.

I lost the Queen because of my actions!

I lost everyone that I cared for...

all because I tried to be the King.

The only thing

that I can do

to protect my people...

is to do nothing.

Absolutely nothing!

Now, Consort Park will know how His Majesty really feels.

I'm glad.

I wonder...

why His Majesty had to be so secretive.

His Majesty is an almighty king who rules this country.

What is there for His Majesty to hide and worry about?

I've realized it just now.

Despite the crown on his head,

he is a loving husband.

And to me, he is my one and only father.

“You cannot do that, Your Majesty!”

Every direction that I suggest to go,

you all just say that will only lead to a dead-end.

All you do is sit in front of me

and disapprove of everything I say!

-Your Majesty. -Your Majesty.

It is not the ideas I suggest

that you don’t approve of.

It is the very person who is speaking! Am I wrong?

-That is not the case, Your Majesty. -That is not the case, Your Majesty.

I think

Premier Kim, who is well-respected by every official and people of Joseon,

should take the throne.

Your Majesty,

please be calm.

Why? Do you not approve of this either?

Then...

Minister of Taxation, how about you?

Your Majesty!

What about you, Minister of Public Administration?

Your Majesty!

That's right!

The Crown Prince! He is smart and capable!

Great!

Chief Eunuch!

Yes, Your Majesty.

Bring in the Crown Prince to the executive office immediately!

Oh, my Crown Prince. You're finally here.

As you may all know,

this country is suffering

because of my incompetence.

I deeply regret it.

I will order the Crown Prince

to be my regent.

What are your thoughts?

Your Majesty.

He is hurt and begging for consolation. Let's give him what he wants.

You must not, Your Majesty.

Historically speaking, there hasn't been any king

who appointed a regent in his forties.

Your Majesty, please revoke your royal command.

-We beg of you, Your Majesty. -We beg of you, Your Majesty.

What do you say, Premier Kim?

If His Highness is willing to,

this could not get any better.

Tell me what you think.

This is so sudden that I do not know what to do, Your Majesty.

Although I may look like an adult in this formal attire,

I am still a little child.

Why do you lay such a burden on me

when I am still afraid to leave the nest, Your Majesty?

Oh, my.

Like father, like son. Look at him shaking.

He has been acting tough all along. I feel sorry for him.

However,

on second thought,

I do not think there is any reason...

not to obey your command, Your Majesty.

I will

happily,

delightfully obey

your royal command.

They are mad.

They are both mad.

I need to tell you something, Your Majesty.

I will share

Your Majesty's burden.

Appoint me as your regent at tomorrow's morning meeting.

But there is something I need.

Of course.

What is it? Go ahead and tell me.

A father to lean on...

when I am weak...

and afraid.

Yeong.

You are assigned to the Crap Prince's palace.

You should have done better at Consort Park's residence.

-Hong Sam-nom. -Yes?

You beat off ghosts in Jahyeondang where everyone runs away from.

Why are you so surprised?

I could not beat off all the ghosts

so I made friends with a few.

That is what I wanted to hear.

You're exactly the one we have been looking for.

First, take these books to the library in the backyard.

Keep quiet for His Highness is reading.

Yes, sir.

Wait, Eunuch Jang. His Highness is there?

I can't...

Silver Spoon.

What are you doing here?

What about you?

I'm running errands.

Have you seen His Highness?

-I heard he is in here. -What?

No, I haven't.

Thank goodness.

I was so nervous.

What are you doing there?

This library is for His Highness only.

Get out at once if you are done.

Yes, sir.

Silver Spoon.

Did you hear that? Let's go.

This place is off limit except for His Highness.

What are you doing?

We have to leave.

Let's go before we run into His Highness.

Why do you hide it from him, Your Highness?

He will find out soon anyway.

I'm telling you this as your friend, so keep that in mind.

My friend?

Since when were we friends?

If not friends, what are we?

Then what is your name, Silver Spoon?

Hey.

You asked me what my name is.

Lee Yeong.

That is my name.

You may treat me as your friend whenever it's just the two of us.

No, I command you to do so.

What are we?

Two people who share a secret.

Are you suggesting that we get them to fight each other?

A power tripping envoy and the Crown Prince with a temper.

For the solo dance in the end... I will leave it to Ae-sim.

The Royal Banquet is important to His Highness.

He's probably having a hard time

because so many are trying to bring him down.

The solo dance is supposed to start soon, but the dancer is nowhere to be found.

What?

Isn't this Ae-sim's costume?