Chapter 19

Lord Jo Young.

The moment he appeared, it could be felt that the air around him had shifted.

Seoyeon felt it for the first time.

Until now, the actors around her had been considerate of the child actors. Her fingertips tingled with tension.

Even with her eyes closed, she could clearly sense that the atmosphere on set was different from usual.

“Hmph.”

A short sigh escaped as Lord Jo Young’s fierce gaze swept across Queen Dowager Eun-hye’s chambers. His eyes first met his mother, then turned to Princess Yeonhwa.

“Princess, do you know how long I have searched for you?”

His deep voice, rasping like the cry of a wild beast, sent chills down everyone’s spine. Soon, his piercing gaze returned to his mother, Queen Dowager Eun-hye.

“What did you say about this child?”

Bowing slowly, he continued,

“They cried out that I had forsaken morality. They claimed I had betrayed the grace of the royal family.”

The chuckling sound bubbling up from his throat filled the room. Queen Dowager Eun-hye simply remained silent, her eyes closed.

“Yes.”

It was as if she couldn’t bear to look at her son. Lord Jo Young’s lips twisted.

“I have indeed abandoned morality, the grace of the royal family, everything.”

Not even those who followed him dared to speak. Anyone would have seen that here stood a king—a tyrant who forbade anyone the audacity to lift their heads in defiance.

“But this is my path.”

Forsaking morality, overthrowing the royal family—here stood a man walking a road painted with blood.

“…Princess.”

Keeping his eyes on Queen Dowager Eun-hye, Lord Jo Young spoke.

“Princess!!”

His fierce shout reverberated, causing the lanterns in the chambers to flicker. The flickering light illuminated Lord Jo Young’s face.

Slowly, very slowly, his gaze moved toward Princess Yeonhwa, Lee Hye-wol.

“What will you do?”

Turning his head, then his body, Lord Jo Young looked down at the small princess.

“Will you come with me willingly?”

Until now, Lord Jo Young and Princess Yeonhwa had been close. They had treated each other with smiles, sharing a warm relationship.

“Or shall I escort you personally?”

At the very least, Princess Yeonhwa believed that. But today, she realized it had all been a lie. How foolish.

The emotion of shame could be felt from the bowed head of Princess Yeonhwa.

The camera moved. From Lord Jo Young to Princess Yeonhwa.

Watching this, camera director Heo Jeong-su forgot to breathe, to even blink, as he stared at the screen.

The light flickered, and for fear of missing this crucial scene, he adjusted the reflector, slowly shifting the camera from Lord Jo Young to Princess Yeonhwa.

Actor Yoon Jong-hyuk, who portrayed Lord Jo Young, was a renowned method actor. His villainous performances had always been highly praised, and this was no exception.

The sheer madness in his every breath demanded complete immersion. It was as if he were the only presence on the screen.

“Dangerous…”

Heo Jeong-su knew that this was not a good scenario. Among those who could match this intensity, the only one was Jeong Eun-seon, who played Queen Dowager Eun-hye. But even Jeong Eun-seon didn’t have much dialogue in this scene and wasn’t meant to dominate its essence.

The only one who could turn the atmosphere here was the young Princess Yeonhwa.

But could an child actor manage that?

“Director Gong had mentioned zooming in to capture more of the emotional expressions…”

Heo Jeong-su was an experienced director of photography. If he moved the camera clumsily forward or close up on the actor’s face, it could ruin the moment.

A close-up would expose every subtle emotion—but could Princess Yeonhwa handle Lord Jo Young?

Heo Jeong-su trusted Seoyeon’s talent. He was the reason Seoyeon was chosen in the audition over Jo Seohui. But she was still just a young actor.

Though talented, she couldn’t compare to method actor Yoon Jong-hyuk. Perhaps it would be better to widen the shot, focusing more on the scene rather than individuals.

He glanced at director Gong Jung-tae, but he gave no further instructions, suggesting that he wished to proceed as planned.

‘If this earns an NG, it’ll take a long time to reset the emotion.’

‘Can we reshoot after finishing the long take?’

Heo Jeong-su wasn’t the only one expecting an NG. The other staff were already preparing for a reshoot.

If the actors here failed to match Lord Jo Young’s performance, his own would end up looking overdone and out of sync.

And then—

Princess Yeonhwa, whose eyes had been closed, slowly opened them. Right as the soldiers were about to take her away.

“Let go!!”

The sharp, unexpected shout froze everyone, except Lord Jo Young.

For a moment, a staff member sucked in a breath but quickly covered their mouth.

An oppressive silence filled the room. The dim light from the flickering lanterns barely reached her location. In the darkness, a young girl lifted her head.

Princess Yeonhwa Lee Hye-wol’s lips trembled before biting her lower lip tightly. Slowly, very slowly, her eyes, glowing in the dark, rose.

They were red, reflecting the lantern light—or perhaps for some other reason.

The red eyes stared directly at Lord Jo Young, exuding emotions as powerful as his own madness.

Anger, hatred. The emotions were raw and cutting.

Was this emotional acting?

No, Heo Jeong-su realized—it was method acting. It was as if Seoyeon had become one with the character.

Until now, Seoyeon’s emotional acting had been exceptionally good for a child actor—among the best Heo Jeong-su had ever seen.

But in this moment, the qualifier “for a child actor” disappeared.

“Yes.”

Breaking the small cocoon of her emotions, she stepped into the vast ocean. This was the very moment.

“I understand.”

Her voice trembled, but it carried a deep and dark anger, far beyond what one would expect from a child.

“By my own feet, I will leave.”

Turning away from Lord Jo Young, she faced the door guarded by soldiers, her back to Queen Dowager Eun-hye.

“With these feet, I will walk out.”

“Princess….”

A faint voice whispered from Queen Dowager Eun-hye, but Princess Yeonhwa didn’t spare her a glance. Her trembling body gripped her hands so tightly that blood dripped from her palms.

Soldiers who met her gaze retreated a few steps, startled.

The only one who could withstand her glare was Lord Jo Young, whose white teeth showed as he grinned.

“Yes, that’s the way it should be. That’s why I like you, Princess.”

Lord Jo Young’s laughter echoed. As Princess Yeonhwa turned her bloodshot eyes toward him, her face contorted, her lips twitching.

She wanted to shout something—right there—to declare that she would come back, no matter what.

Instead, biting her lips, she walked away, alongside Lord Jo Young’s soldiers.

And then…

The door to Queen Dowager Eun-hye’s chambers slammed shut.

“…CUT!!”

The shout of director Gong Jung-tae broke the boundary between reality and fiction, and everyone who had been holding their breath finally exhaled.

No one had expected to pull off the entire one-take without a single NG.

Among the most surprised was Yoon Jong-hyuk, who played Lord Jo Young. The child’s performance carried emotions that seemed beyond her years.

“Gifted, I heard she was gifted, but…”

Suddenly, the reason the difficult Jeong Eun-seon paid so much attention to her became clear.

Right as he thought this, Yoon Jong-hyuk noticed Jeong Eun-seon standing beside Seoyeon. A few staff members who had been about to express admiration froze, reminded of an earlier incident.

“…”

Jeong Eun-seon bent towards Seoyeon, who was still catching her breath, and noted the tears in her red eyes, the blood on her clenched hands, and the emotional toll this performance had taken.

She sighed softly.

“Breathe deeply.”

Inhale, exhale. Then slowly, she began to unclench Seoyeon’s small, tightly gripped hands. The deep grooves where her nails had dug into her palms revealed drops of blood.

Jeong Eun-seon’s brow furrowed.

“What on earth are you people doing? Why haven’t you disinfected her hands and applied a bandage?”

At her reprimand, the staff scrambled.

“Ah, yes! Yes, yes!”

“Was there really a wound?”

They had assumed it was merely a prop. No child could grip something so tightly that it would cause bleeding.

“That’s why…”

Jeong Eun-seon hesitated, biting her lips before standing up. First things first, the wound needed treating, and she had nothing more to say after witnessing such a compelling performance.

After all, it was clear how much practice Seoyeon had put into this very moment.

“You shouldn’t do something like this too often, but still…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jeong Eun-seon addressed Seoyeon,

“That was an excellent performance.”

She delivered the compliment and handed Seoyeon over to Sua, watching them briefly before walking away.

Sua, who had been anxiously waiting, finally relaxed when she saw her daughter’s successful performance.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes…”

Honestly, she wasn’t. Seoyeon wiped her tears, avoiding Sua’s worried gaze.

Emotions, especially ones so intense, were unfamiliar to her.

Looking at her palms, she noticed several small wounds already.

“Practice is different, after all.”

She sighed. It was difficult to detach herself from such heavy emotions.

Perhaps her young age made it even harder. That’s why the caution against overuse of emotional acting wasn’t without reason.

“Well, you certainly gave me a shock.”

At that moment, actor Yoon Jong-hyuk approached Sua and Seoyeon.

“To be honest, I’ve heard about you, but I’m blown away. You’ve only been acting for a year, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll be a great actress in the future. Even difficult Jeong Eun-seon couldn’t find anything to say, could she?”

Emotional acting should be restrained during childhood.

But her performance had silenced even those who often repeated that mantra.

“Well, still… it’s better to be more restrained for now. You’re a child, and your emotions are very sensitive.”

“I understand.”

Satisfied with Sua’s response, Yoon Jong-hyuk chuckled as he gently tousled Seoyeon’s hair.

“Now, let’s go see how the footage turned out.”

With that, Seoyeon nodded slowly. This was likely her first true emotional performance.

So naturally, she was curious to see it.

Until now, whenever Seoyeon reviewed her performances, she would think, “Hmm, that much?”

But this time, if it didn’t turn out well, she might be secretly disappointed.

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