The First Night With The Duke Episode 10 Recap: Silent Wedding

In The First Night With The Duke Episode 10, aired on July 10 on KBS2. This episode was packed with quiet pain, heavy choices, and small moments that changed everything. Yi-Beon (Ok Taecyeon) and Cha Seon-cheok (Seo Hyun) stood closer than ever, but danger moved with them at every step.

The big scene happened when Yi-Beon opened up about his past. He admitted that years ago, he stood on the king’s side to save his family. This choice caused other people’s deaths. And Seonghyeon-gun never forgave him for it. Yi=Beon called it his shame. He believed that if Seon-cheok found out, he would run away. But Seon-cheok didn’t. He just said, “I would have done the same thing.”

This moment said a lot. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. But it told the viewer that Seon-cheok saw the man behind the title. That kind of loyalty is rare in this story.

Things got more complicated when Jo Eun-ae’s scheme failed. She tried to turn Yi-Beon and Seon-cheok against each other, but got caught. Jeong Su-gyeom confronted her. He showed her a fake letter and asked for the truth. She admitted it all. She tried to defend herself but also exposed a deeper truth — she never felt equal to the others. Her words were bitter, but they made sense. Life treated her differently, and she acted out of that pain.

Then came the bigger twist. Jo Eun-ae told Jeong Su-gyeom that his real father was once a soldier for the Black Death Squad. That group was the same one Yi-Beon fought for years. That means Su-gyeom has ties to both sides of a long war. It was a small scene but full of weight. It makes you wonder what he’ll do next.

Lies, Power, and the Wedding That Wasn’t

Meanwhile, power struggles grew worse inside the palace. The king, Seol-jong, gave a direct order — Yi-Beon had to kill the prime minister. But he didn’t. He spared him once. The second time, he still refused. Instead, Seonghyeon-gun stepped in and killed the prime minister. That was no act of mercy. It was a move to corner Yi-Beon politically.

Because of this, Seol-jong removed Yi-Beon from office. The ministers even asked for his execution. That was the price for choosing mercy over blood. Outside the palace, the prime minister’s family waited for news. When they heard he had been killed, they threw stones at Yi-Beon. Seon-cheok shielded him. It was quick, but it mattered. It showed where his heart was.

After everything — the pressure, the pain, the shame — Yi-Beon and Seon-cheok made a quiet decision. They had no crown. No grand hall. But they held a private wedding under the moonlight. No one else was there. No red dress & no headpiece. Just rings, simple vows, and one kiss. It was all they could give each other.

This scene wasn’t loud. It wasn’t a big set piece. But it was the core of the drama. Two people trying to hold on in a world that keeps pulling them apart.

Yi-Beon still has blood on his hands. Seon-cheok still doubts some parts of himself. But in that moment, they chose each other. That choice might not fix everything. But it gave them something real before the next battle.

This episode didn’t offer peace. It just gave the calm before the next storm. This episode balanced emotions with hidden agendas. The tension didn’t come from big speeches. It came from silence, stares, and choices no one wanted to make. As this drama moves ahead, one thing is clear — love won’t survive without sacrifice. But how much more can they lose?

The next episode might answer that. Or it might just make the questions deeper.

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