(This program is a work of imagination...)
(based on historical figures.)
(It may include fictitious details and psychological description.)
Your Highness.
What is that?
It is a signal kite.
Oh, that is the signal kite.
The signal kite used in a war?
I really wanted to see it once.
Why would you want to see signal kites?
Well, it is to protect you.
When someone commits treason,
I should let you know with this kite.
Then why do you not memorize them all?
All of these kites?
Of course, I will do that.
As your loyal maid,
protecting you is the only thing I have in mind.
When traitors show themselves,
you can always hide behind me.
Are you telling me to hide behind you?
Yes, Your Highness.
That day,
after I parted with you at Consort Yeong's funeral parlor,
I missed you for a long time.
I thought of you countless times.
That painful day...
when I lost my grandmother, that night,
I wondered where the girl who was the only person...
that consoled me was.
"Is she alive and safe?"
"What if she went through a hard time because of me?"
I had so many thoughts.
But I could not try to search for you.
Because I was just a little kid...
who was busy trying to survive.
But I am no longer a powerless child.
And I found you.
Give me an answer.
What should I do with you?
It was a pure coincidence that I met you that day.
I did not even know who you were.
Two children met by chance.
Do you have to attach significance to the encounter?
So,
that encounter means nothing to you?
Yes, Your Highness.
Your Highness, the King has called you.
I...
(Hoesangjeon)
called you?
I am not sure.
Why did I...
call you?
What was it?
We have time.
So you can take your time to think about it.
All right.
I think you called the Crown Prince...
to talk about the trip to visit the royal tomb.
Since you cannot go by yourself,
you probably wanted him to do it for you.
Did I?
Then...
I will visit the royal tomb...
instead of you this time.
Crown Prince.
You said you would present an honorary name to His Majesty...
and hold a banquet at Jibgyeongdang.
If you leave for the trip,
there will be no one who will prepare it.
As His Majesty already refused to receive an honorary name,
all I need to do is prepare a banquet.
I see.
Then do you mind if I prepare it instead of you?
If you do so,
I will appreciate your generosity.
His Majesty.
I will go to Jibgyeongdang and check the condition.
Have a talk with the Crown Prince.
Go ahead.
I would like...
to take this as a chance...
to check the lives of the people outside the capital.
I will take complaints from the people...
and give solutions to their trouble.
(Those in a wrongful situation ask for royal advice.)
So please allow me.
I see.
That's such a good intention.
Go ahead.
Like a king,
leave with a dignified march.
(A royal march to show a king's presence)
That way, the people will trust and follow you.
I'll keep that in mind.
Then I'll be excused.
San.
There was something...
I needed to tell you.
What was that?
The thing is...
Gosh, my head.
Whatever.
Here.
You can mobilize the soldiers in the Capital Defense Command...
with this wooden pass.
(A wooden pass to mobilize an army)
You may not have to use it,
but keep it with you just in case.
And be careful...
throughout your journey.
Yes,
Your Majesty.
His Majesty has already declined it,
so it should be right to keep the banquet small.
Should we call Princess Cheongyeon and Princess Cheongsun over?
No.
Doing that will only burden the subordinates.
The Crown Prince and the people here...
should be enough as guests of the banquet.
What will you prepare, Princess Hwawan?
Whatever I prepare...
is none of your business.
Because I will be the only one...
to prepare for a dish...
out of sincere concern for Father.
How dare she...
She can't leave without showing you any courtesy like that.
I guess she's quite upset...
with His Majesty's illness these days.
I won't mind it,
so please don't keep it to heart.
Yes, Your Highness.
No one worries about my father.
The Queen is just happy that she'll be a queen dowager soon.
And Queen Hong is delighted...
that her son is to be a king soon.
Right, you're the only one who worries about His Majesty.
The heavens will understand how you feel.
Wait.
He will come back to how he used to be.
Just like before,
he will keep his dearest daughter by his side.
Are you sure?
Of course.
Please stop crying.
Gosh.
We better cut ties with Princess Hwawan soon.
Princess Hwawan has already lost the King's favor.
The King's side belongs to the Queen now.
Without his favor,
a mere princess is of no use whatsoever.
Stop funding the princess.
Yes, my lady.
We've wasted too much...
just to please her extravagant lifestyle.
My lady, the Second State Councilor has been dismissed just now.
- What? - His Majesty...
has ordered the Crown Prince to take the throne on the interim...
and the Crown Prince has taken the royal commend.
Oh, no.
Will the Crown Prince end up becoming a king?
What should we do now?
Come closer.
Yes, my lady.
A journey to visit the royal tomb?
A storm is bound to come before the sunset.
I understand your fear and confusion.
But I'm right here.
Don't worry. I'll make sure to protect...
every single one of us...
from court ladies to young maid trainees.
- Yes, my lady. - Yes, my lady.
Once the Crown Prince becomes a regent,
he will do everything on the King's behalf.
The Crown Prince is going on a trip to visit the royal tomb.
To somewhere away from the King's protection.
Duk Im, you're so lucky to be following the journey.
I wish I can follow them on a horse.
Not everyone can ride a horse.
It must be tough walking all the way there.
It doesn't matter.
I'll get to tour around the palace after a long time.
I'll ride a boat to cross the river.
I'm really excited.
I'd tag along if I were a personal maid.
Just consider yourself lucky to be the Crown Prince's maid.
Why are you so laid back for the King's maid?
What about me?
The Crown Prince has taken the throne on the interim.
So?
Hey, don't you get what it means?
The King's illness is that serious.
You have to leave the palace as soon as he passes away.
Then so be it.
I have a plan for myself.
First off, I'll work for a noble family.
They offer a high salary to former bathing court maids.
I'll save a lot of money that way.
Then I'll buy a house next to Master Hong's...
and live there for the rest of my life.
Hey, a court maid's status doesn't change...
even if she leaves the palace.
You have to serve only the King for the rest of your life.
That is why I love Master Hong.
Tons of women have a crush on him.
I'm just one of them,
but I'll never be lonely or miserable.
It has to be unrequited anyway.
Some might be willing to love court maids.
You're insane.
You could be executed together for it.
- You're especially quiet today. - What?
Are you up to something?
It's just that...
I wonder how it feels to love someone with all your heart.
Such emotion is useless to a court maid.
Safety is the best.
What?
I just thought...
I am lucky to have you.
How beautiful.
- Look. - Here they come.
Hurry up.
We are late. Hurry up.
- Hurry. - I cannot believe it.
- Look at them. - They are beautiful.
They are so pretty.
It has changed a lot.
- I have never seen this before. - This is fun.
It is wonderful.
I cannot believe how pretty they are.
They are called ladies.
They look like angels...
from the moon.
Hey. Stop yawning.
Everyone is watching us.
I packed up and worked all night.
I am so tired.
I thought it would be fun to follow the trip.
What did I tell you?
It is only tiring. It is not fun at all.
I heard the temporary palace is a mess.
As soon as we are there, we have to clean to death.
You better get ready.
Does His Highness know...
that we are suffering so much?
Do you think he does?
No.
Welcome, Your Highness.
You must be tired from a long journey.
I will have the meal ready.
Later.
Duk Im. Lie down here.
Pardon?
Why should I...
Why should I lie down here?
Hey!
It is not what you are thinking.
The fireplace is broken.
Pardon?
This palace has been vacant for a long time.
It was not taken care of.
No matter how much we heat it up, it does not get warm at all.
And we cannot let His Highness sleep under the cold blanket.
- I see. - Lie down here until night,
and warm it up.
Never...
ever fall asleep.
You have to leave before His Highness is here.
- Yes, my lady. - Good.
This is amazing.
I cannot believe I get to enjoy this.
A silk blanket.
It feels nice.
I must not fall asleep.
Never.
Do not fall asleep.
How could I...
never hear about such an important matter until now?
Young girls are kidnapped?
Under the name of the royal family?
I am sorry for being late, Your Highness.
Hello.
What is going on?
His Highness received an appeal from people today.
They complained of a major incident.
Almost over 20 years, young girls kept going missing.
Their parents argue they went to the palace...
to become a court maid.
They thought their daughters were going to become a young maid,
but their whereabouts are unknown?
Yes.
How many girls?
Over 100 girls in the past 20 years.
If we add the number of girls who are not looked for by their parents,
there will be even more.
Your Highness. I dare to say...
it is a major incident that cannot be ignored.
However, for now, you should ignore it...
as if you have never heard about it.
What did you just say?
Ignore it...
as if I have never heard about it?
Yes, Your Highness.
Everyone shall leave except for the lecturer.
Please allow me to tell you the reason.
Go ahead.
Though you rule as regent,
you cannot govern the military or penal administration.
Therefore, you cannot move the army...
or punish criminals.
Only the King can do it.
If you try,
you will have a hard time.
You know well about his illness.
The King cannot do it.
The world does not know.
Your Highness.
Do not provide your political opponents a reason.
Over 100 girls have gone missing.
In order to solve the problem,
you must move Ministry of Law Enforcement and Police Bureau.
When the culprit is caught, you will have to sentence him.
However,
you do not have any of those authorities yet.
Are you saying...
even though I am aware of it...
I should pretend that I did not see it?
Wait until you take the throne.
Before then,
no matter how many people disappear,
no matter how many more people die,
Duk Ro,
does it not matter to you at all?
If this country, Joseon, loses you,
much more people will suffer.
I do not agree.
The smoldering resentment of the people,
the excruciating pain of losing their children,
if I should be a king who saw it but pretends that he did not,
it would rather be better for me to not take the throne.
Your Highness, it will not take that long.
It could be a month. Or it could be even tomorrow.
If you become a king...
I have no more to say.
As soon as I return to the palace, I will order the Ministry...
of Law Enforcement and the Police Bureau to investigate.
So leave it as that.
You may leave.
Yes, Your Highness.
How many more chances should I give to you...
and how long should I wait...
until you become my person?
Your Highness, I will serve a meal.
I do not need it now.
Someone asked him for royal advice on the way here, which upset him.
- What? - There is a group of people...
who pretend to be court ladies to kidnap young girls.
You do not need to make the bed tonight...
Your Highness, did you call me?
No.
Are you not afraid of me?
You do not know what I would do.
You have no fear.
- Left Wing Guard. - Yes, Your Highness.
Guard this place and let no one enter.
Yes, Your Highness.
(Ten o'clock at night)
Around ten o'clock tonight.
Yes.
I had a good sleep.
Who are you?
Master Kang.
Lady Sung.
When did she...
go in there?
Did I doze off...
while standing?
I am in trouble.
You must keep quiet about this.
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
If the Crown Prince knows about this, I am dead.
Do I have to pack and go back to my hometown?
My widowed mother.
My widowed mother who was so happy when I became a military officer.
What should I tell her?
I was crazy.
How did I fall asleep there?
Running out of food ingredients already?
How can we prepare meals for tomorrow?
We do not really know, either.
Actually, we are not responsible...
for managing ingredients for the royal family's meals.
The Royal Kitchen is responsible.
Fine. I will meet the court lady at the Royal Kitchen.
You do not need to make an effort for that.
The people at the Royal Kitchen would not know either.
If you do not have enough ingredients,
you can just get some from a nearby office.
My gosh.
It will take at least four hours to get to the office.
You should go there yourself.
Go there myself?
Oh, all right.
A court lady should go to get good ingredients from the office.
I will see you later then.
Follow me. You have to do something.
My lady, I thought you were a young maid,
and Wol Hye was a court lady just now.
Why are you so intimidated by her?
If you are going to the office, I will go with you.
All right.
Then I will go and get ready.
Duk Im.
Yes?
I have something to say.
It's time you must know.
(Gunpowder Bag)
Have you...
heard of the name, Gwanghan Palace?
Their palace's name was...
Gwanghan Palace.
Gwanghan Palace...
Does the court ladies' secret society actually exist?
So you knew.
If it actually exists,
who's the leader?
Head Lady Cho.
It's a scary place.
It started with the sole purpose...
of the court ladies' survival.
But as time passed,
they became obsessed with power and authority.
They even changed kings...
for their own safety.
They call it...
the court ladies' authority.
Unbelievable.
How did you keep something that frightening as a secret?
I didn't have the courage.
The Gwanghan Palace members are all my acquaintances.
We joined the palace as maid trainees...
and spent our lives together.
I just...
couldn't betray them.
As if I didn't know anything,
I covered my eyes and ears...
to feign ignorance for a very long time.
Then,
I ended up having my name on their list.
I'm now part of Gwanghan Palace.
My lady.
Don't be too worried.
I'll try to find a way.
I'll make sure to protect you.
Let's do what we can do for now.
- My lady, be careful. - Okay.
- I think we're almost there. - I guess so.
Gosh.
Are you okay? Oh, goodness.
(Gunpowder Bag)
Kid, where did you get this?
I picked it up over there.
My lady, these are...
These are gunpowder bags.
For firelocks, right?
It's wet and useless.
These are from the East Palace.
For the Crown Prince's soldiers.
Why are these thrown out here?
Up there is the Royal Temporary Palace.
A journey to visit the royal tomb?
You should go there yourself.
Duk Im, this is bad.
We must immediately return to the Royal Temporary Palace.
What?
Someone threw out all this gunpowder on purpose.
Think about it. Why do you think they did this?
- No way. - Treason.
We have no time. Let's hurry.
Wait, we might not get there in time.
No matter how fast we run,
it takes more than two hours from here.
What should we do then?
- Here. - Thank you.
What is it?
- It's taffy. - Taffy?
- How appetizing. - It's mine.
- No, it's mine. - It's mine.
Forgive me, Your Highness.
I'll take responsibility and resolve this matter.
If you get involved,
the kidnapped children will...
get to go back to their parents as soon as possible.
I won't disappoint you.
Your Highness, that's a signal kite.
It means...
"The enemy has shown up."
"Fight against them."
All the bowstrings are cut off.
All the gunpowder bags are missing too.
The guns are missing too.
Your bow's safe because I kept it separately.
How many arrows do we have left?
Five, Your Highness.
We have 14 from my guard...
and 28 chiefs under their command.
- It's less than 50. - What?
We have hundreds of soldiers for your protection.
Have them guard every corner of the Royal Temporary Palace.
And close the gate for defense.
Then we won't be afraid of whoever we're up against.
That's when the enemy is outside.
We don't know if they're inside or outside.
We must never close the gate.
And it's no use having hundreds of soldiers outside.
The only soldiers I can trust...
are my guards.
This pass can mobilize the Capital Defense Command.
Bring the soldiers...
as soon as possible.
I will not waste any moment.
I promise to return on time.
Thank you.
The wind has stopped.
We must hurry up, my lady.
Now, we have to run.
The Crown Prince might not have seen the kite.
Yes.
My.
My lady.
- My lady. - My goodness.
Are you okay?
Duk Im. I cannot go.
You should go first and inform the Crown Prince.
- Yes. - Go. Now.
Hurry.
Who are you?
I am the Crown Prince's personal maid.
What brings you here?
I am here to ask when he wants to have dinner.
What is that?
It is the glass His Highness will use for the ritual tomorrow.
(The man who hands the glass during the royal ritual)
Open it.
You may go in.
Your Highness.
I have brought a glass for the ritual.
You are not the court maid of East Palace.
Who are you?
You are asking for death.
Tell me.
Who is behind this?
Now!
Who are you?
Messenger. You must get here immediately.
I have brought the Crown Prince's message.
(Raise up an army)
- Gather all soldiers. - Yes, sir.
We will begin...
the royal hunting.
Your Highness!
Your Highness, are you all right?
Yours is not strong enough as it is a ceremonial sword.
- Use mine. - What about you?
You know it.
Anything I grab becomes a weapon.
Left Wing Guard!
Thank you, Your Highness.
Do not move.
It is a rare gun.
I saw this kind of gun only once...
when an envoy from another country came.
Who is behind you?
You must know.
That there is no bullet in the gun.
I can tell you work at the palace.
The person who can order someone who works at the palace,
order an interpreter to smuggle,
and have a private military force consisting of over 100 soldiers.
It would not be that hard to find who it is.
It is amazing that you got a bowstring.
It took some time. I am sorry I am late.
I almost died.
It might be late already.
I might have lost him already.
Your Highness!
Your Highness.
- Are you all right? - Yes.
They fired a flare.
More enemies will come.
Bury the dead.
Yes, Your Highness.
Get ready to bury the dead!
Your Highness.
Promise one thing.
When you become a king,
please lift the ban on drinking.
I am dying to have a glass of alcohol.
I will give you a glass of wine.
By any chance,
if I am alive,
will you drink with me?
Thank you for your generosity.
Everyone, protect the Crown Prince!
I received your order...
and came with soldiers.
Thank you.
I am glad you were not late, Master Hong.
Take care of the injured soldiers.
Yes, Your Highness.
Let us go.
Did you see my signal kite?
You saw, right?
Yes, I did.
See?
I said I'd protect you.
You're busy protecting this nation,
and I'm busy protecting you.
I wonder who's busier.
You or...
Stop being stupid and get some rest.
Here?
It'd be dangerous though.
I'll protect you.
Then I'm sorry,
but I'll get some rest.
I'm very exhausted right now.
When I saw that signal kite,
I knew it would be you.
It had to be you.
When I thought I could die,
I was reminded of someone.
I desperately prayed...
to see her face...
at least one more time.
It was you,
Duk Im.
(The animal scene was filmed under professional assistance.)
(The Red Sleeve)
You should be believing me,
but you're rather seeing me with doubtful eyes.
The temporary envoy will come back soon.
Time will give us a solution.
Do you think I'll sit back and do nothing for those 10 days?
Did you cry?
Are you not hurt?
You have no time to care for a lowly court maid.
Come back to your rightful place.
I cannot feign ignorance anymore.
If you feel the same way as I do...
- Please. - What I want to say is...
that I...