Shreya

The crown prince is his real son, the mother is not revealed yet.

ML was waiting for the female lead of the novel he was transmigrated into, so he was waiting for Xie Yong'er.

The ML was waiting for the female lead of the book he'd transmigrated into so technically he was waiting for Yong'er. He didn't know the female lead before but since the story of the novel was about a transmigrator female lead, he figured there would be one, so he was waiting for her.

Xie Yong'er is a 2D character. The novel FL was reading in the real world (and transmigrated into) was about a transmigrator (Xie Yong'er) who went inside the story of a novel and fell in love with Prince Duan, killed the tyrant emperor and did great things. And this is the novel in which ML and FL were transmigrated, so while Yong'er is a transmigrator, she is still a 2D character to the leads.

Ngl the court scenes are my absolute favourite, love seeing Xiahou Dan's antics and how he acts the mad emperor but is actually always very levelheaded and has some underlining scheme.

The boy Yu Wanyin questioned is indeed the crown prince and ML's actual son.
As for why the ML is lying, the FL thinks that both she and the ML transmigrated at the same time and has no relation to the characters whatsoever, that's why she is comfortable with him and trusts him. But if he told her that he had been in this world since he was a kid, that would mean the evil, tyrant emperor who killed so many people is actually him and not just a character setting, and the FL will most likely not be able to trust him anymore, so that's why he's lying.

Yes!

Loved the first ep!

The romance barely started but they're already so cutee together.

It was so unfortunate that Sol died but her character was so positive till the end, and everyone has to die at some point. She had come to terms with her life and death and always did her best in everything, and like Miran pointed out, had chosen her own happy ending.

Oh I really hope so! I think he still has that 2 trillion won. I hope he took that and left the country to enjoy his life in peace somewhere.

My thoughts on the ending - not very satisfactory but rather fitting.
First of all, this may be open to interpretation, but I firmly believe that Seo Dongju did not die. After everything he went through, he may be tired, but Seo Dongju is not someone who'd do something like that. One of my issues with the story was how indifferently SDJ went about the story without processing his traumas, but we can see them catching up with him in the last ep, and I think, bringing the gun and potentially throwing it into the water in the next few seconds not shown, is his way of dealing with his grief and finally starting to heal.

Now why I think the ending is fitting-
SDJ- got his revenge by taking everything from HID and YJS and got out of that toxic environment with potentially enough money to live without any worries. He did not end up with YEN cuz he simply deserves better!
YJS- lost everything he owned and ever wanted and will probably spend the rest of his days in jail.
YEN- got the company she wanted and if she's capable, will probably lead Daesan in the end. She lost SDJ cuz after what she did, she clearly didn't deserve either SDJ or YHC.
HID- died without ever accomplishing anything and leaving no one who loved him.
The Chairman- only ever cared about his son and neglected his daughters and grandchildren, so he got an evil and scheming, son and wife who never cared about him and will most likely spend the rest of his days suffering, unloved and uncared for.
Seonu and his mother- are as incompetent as they come, and sooner or later, they'll most likely end up in jail with no one backing them up.
CGH- was never really evil, so she got her company position and can live happily with her husband who was probably the most decent person in their family.
CTY- Ngl he deserved better but was too naive for his own good. After some point, you can only blame so much on the surroundings. Too bad he didn't have enough courage to stand up for himself and leave when he figured out that both of his parents were murderers.
CDH- ploted to kill two of her husbands, friend and a literal kid to ensure her son was the one leading Daesan, so karma came back to kill her son and landed her in a mental asylum.
YHC- Got out of that marriage, got rid of YJS from his back, became a lawyer and will live a fine life.
So yeah, overall, I'd say fitting.

I really hope there's no season 2 cuz there is no reason for Dongju to come back. Everyone got more or less what they deserved. SDJ got out. YGS lost everything he owned and probably spent the rest of his in jail. Cha Gukhui and Yeo Eunnam were never really evil, so they got their company positions. The Chairman who only ever cared about his 'son', got two evil, scheming people as wife and son who never really cared about him and will most likely spend his old age suffering. Those two in question are as incompetent as they come, so I assume they'll end up in jail sooner or later with no one backing them up. Huh Ildo died without ever accomplishing anything. The only person who deserved better was Taeyun, He really was a good kid but too naive for his own good. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough courage to stand up for himself and leave when he figured out that both of his parents were murderers. But really his death was karma coming back for Cha Deokhui and her ending was very much well deserved.

Idk why people are expecting a season 2, in my opinion - that was the ending. It wasn't very satisfactory but that's how it is. Dongju got his revenge and sought out. He really needed to get out of Daesan and leave everything behind, including YEN (thank goodness). And even though it's an open ending, I very highly doubt he died. After everything, he may be tired, but Seo Dongju is not someone who'd do something like that. In the next few seconds, he probably threw the gun into the water so he can finally let go of his trauma and start healing.

Fr! The more you understand Korean, the more you learn how inconsistent the subtitles are. Simple things like not clearly translating how the characters call each other takes away so much meaning from the conversations. And lately I feel like the subs are getting worse and worse or my Korean is getting better but watching this and when life gives you tangerines made me infinitely grateful that I understood enough of the language to get the subtle meanings and implications cuz the subtitles are not even translating what they are saying anymore.

It's available on YouTube on KBS World TV official channel with subs!