The First Night with the Duke- Episodes 7-8
Secrets, Stares, and a Showdown Brewing
Episode 7 of The First Night With the Duke turns the heat up on every front—romance, revenge, and rivalries are all colliding as the palace drama intensifies.
We kick off with the King bursting into laughter after hearing what Yi-beon did to the Queen Mother. Meanwhile, the Queen Mother is faking an illness to cover her humiliation. But her real headache? Worrying whether Yi-beon will spill her secrets to the King.
The King summons Yi-beon to get answers, but the prince stays tight-lipped. Instead of throwing the Queen Mother under the royal bus, he takes the blame like a true stoic lead. The King, not pleased with Yi-beon’s silence, asks him to delay his wedding plans. Yi-beon flatly refuses. He’s getting married and promises to handle everything without troubling the throne.
Elsewhere, the mystery behind Sun-chaek’s sudden fall into the palace pond unravels—sort of. She is pushed in, but Yi-beon dives in to save her. He brings her back to his place, and in a moment of raw honesty, Sun-chaek confesses her love. Cue: passionate night together. The next morning, she cooks him breakfast, which is, according to Yi-beon’s reaction, impressively terrible. But he eats every bite anyway. Love really does conquer all.
Reality crashes back when Ye-wool arrives to drag Sun-chaek home. Her father Ho-yeol is furious, and instead of apologizing, Sun-chaek cheekily suggests he just approve her engagement. Yi-beon soon follows to formally ask for her hand, but he’s met with firm resistance. Ho-yeol flat-out refuses, and her brothers pile on with concerns about becoming servants to a prince. Deok-jeong tries to calm everyone down, but tensions rise fast.
Meanwhile, Hwa-seon is losing it. She realizes she was completely duped by Yi-beon, and her fury knows no bounds. Across town, Eun-ae’s father is also disappointed that the marriage selection was canceled. His reaction stings, leaving Eun-ae quietly focusing on her charity work instead.
Sun-chaek is not letting things go either. She suspects Hwa-seon is the one who pushed her into the pond and confronts her. Hwa-seon denies it, but Sun-chaek warns her that she’s done playing the side character. She’s here to take the lead, and nothing’s stopping her now.
Meanwhile, Su-gyeom drops by to thank Yi-beon for canceling the selection. Their conversation drifts to Prince Seong-hyeon, also known as Lee-gyu, who is apparently back in town. A flashback reveals old wounds between Yi-beon and Lee-gyu, tied to their parents’ deaths. Lee-gyu wanted revenge, but Yi-beon chose loyalty to the King instead. Now that Lee-gyu is back, Su-gyeom worries their old feud might resurface.
Sure enough, Lee-gyu arrives and almost immediately runs into Sun-chaek. Surprise, he’s her childhood friend. She doesn’t recognize him at first, but they even had a childhood marriage pact. Drama alert.
Back in his own head, Yi-beon starts worrying about his engagement falling apart. His servant encourages him to stop stressing and actually enjoy the moment. For once, Yi-beon listens. The next day, he rents out the entire market to give Sun-chaek a dream date. They stroll through the stalls, laugh about the future, and joke about having 12 kids. Yes, twelve. Ambitious much?
Romance is blooming all around. Su-gyeom visits Eun-ae and takes her out for a low-key date. It’s going well until his father steps in behind the scenes and forces Su-gyeom to leave suddenly. Eun-ae is left hanging, disappointed and confused.
Back on the dream date, Yi-beon steps away to buy Sun-chaek flowers. That’s when she runs into Lee-gyu again and ends up saving him from a group of bullies. They reconnect, and just as things get friendly, Yi-beon returns and he is not pleased. He sees the two chatting, and it’s instant tension. The episode ends with Yi-beon and Lee-gyu staring each other down, and you can practically feel the sparks flying.
Let’s just say, a love triangle is officially forming, and this one has sharp edges.
Secrets, Snow, and a Sinister Twist
Episode 8 of The First Night With the Duke starts right where the drama left off, with a tense faceoff between Prince Yi-beon and the newly returned Prince Lee-gyu. Lee-gyu tries to play it cool and greets Yi-beon with a smile, but Yi-beon is not here for small talk. He walks right past him and straight to Sun-chaek’s side. Smooth? Absolutely. Awkward? Even more so.
When Lee-gyu learns that Yi-beon and Sun-chaek are engaged, he swallows his disappointment but the jealousy is hard to miss. Yi-beon cuts the date short and walks Sun-chaek home, dodging all questions about his relationship with Lee-gyu along the way. Their stroll turns romantic until they run into her father, Ho-yeol, who catches them mid-embrace. He immediately puts Sun-chaek on lockdown and demands she reflect on her “shameless” behavior. Classic strict dad move.
Yi-beon is devastated when Wool-yi fills him in on Sun-chaek’s house arrest. Meanwhile, Lee-gyu drifts into a flashback, remembering his childhood bond with Sun-chaek. Apparently, he is not just back for political reasons, he thinks Yi-beon is unworthy of her love.
The next morning, Yi-beon makes multiple attempts to sneak into Sun-chaek’s compound, but her brothers and father have turned into human security cameras. Sun-chaek, equally desperate, tries to escape and fails. Their solution? A string telephone. Yes, it is adorable. Yes, it works. They whisper sweet nothings and make plans to win over her family.
At the palace, Lee-gyu meets the king and pretends the past is behind him. He claims to be broke, lost, and ready to move on. The king, clearly suspicious but amused, invites him to the upcoming royal gyeokgu match, hinting that a little competition between princes could be entertaining.
Yi-beon, determined to charm Sun-chaek’s family, starts with her brothers. He bribes them with drinks and gifts, and they repay him with tips on how to win Ho-yeol’s approval. The next day, he gifts Ho-yeol a fancy bottle of mountain ginseng wine. Too bad it turns out to be fake. Ho-yeol is insulted and unimpressed. With no ideas left, Yi-beon goes full K-drama hero and camps outside their home in the snow. Classic romantic suffering.
His persistence finally pays off. Ho-yeol brings him inside for a talk. He still has concerns, mostly that Yi-beon has too many enemies and cannot keep Sun-chaek safe. But he agrees to let them date, under one major condition: no more sleepovers.
While all this is happening, Sun-chaek sneaks out to visit her usual shaman. Except she has no memory of being a regular client. The shaman, now possessed by a deity, warns her that she is standing at a crossroads and needs to choose her next path carefully. Naturally, Sun-chaek buys a love talisman to make Yi-beon even more obsessed. The instructions? Place it under his bed. Unfortunately, when she tries to do just that, Yi-beon sends her away since it is too late at night.
Back at his home, someone leaves a threatening letter. That same night, Jang-ho gives Sun-chaek the full history of Yi-beon and Lee-gyu’s falling out. During the gyeokgu match, Yi-beon’s team dominates, prompting Lee-gyu to cheat. The match gets heated enough that Yi-beon nearly strikes the king with his polo stick. Post-game, Lee-gyu casually admits to sending the threatening letter and also takes care of the bullies who attacked him earlier. The shaman later crosses paths with him and immediately senses something dark, bloodthirsty spirit dark.
Back in her love life, Sun-chaek grows frustrated. Ever since Ho-yeol approved their relationship, Yi-beon has been avoiding her to keep his promise. Su-gyeom, however, is ready to make his move and plans to gift Sun-chaek a ring. But he also starts getting suspicious of Eun-ae after spotting her talking to a mysterious man.
Then the trap is sprung. Sun-chaek receives a letter from Yi-beon, asking to meet at Cheonggyecheon. She goes. It is not from Yi-beon. She is kidnapped by the man Eun-ae was seen with. He reveals that he plans to kill her on orders from his boss.
By the time her family and Yi-beon realize what has happened, she is gone. And the mastermind? Prince Lee-gyu himself. Turns out, he is the rebel leader and out for revenge on the royal family.
Cut to present-day Sun-chaek, reading the newest update of the web novel. The author ominously writes that the death of one main character could allow another to live. As she ponders this, she notices an unfamiliar artifact on her table.
Back in the book world, Yi-beon finds Sun-chaek’s bracelet alone, with no sign of her. The epilogue reminds us of the promise he made to Ho-yeol: to protect her no matter what.
This episode gave us romance, rivalry, rebellion, and one seriously evil twist. The love triangle is fully ignited, danger is closing in, and Sun-chaek’s life hangs in the balance. Buckle up. It looks like the real war for the crown and her heart has just begun.
DramaZen's Opinion
These episodes were wild in the best way. Episode 7 gave us swoony romance, family drama, and a face-off that had me holding my breath. Yi-beon camping outside Sun-chaek’s house in the snow just to win over her dad? I was kicking my feet. The man is committed. And Sun-chaek using a string telephone to talk to him? Adorable. This couple stays chaotic and sweet.
Then episode 8 comes in and flips the table. Suddenly we have a jealous second prince, a fake letter, and a kidnapping. I knew Prince Lee-gyu was sus, but I didn’t expect him to go full villain mode so fast. And the twist with Sun-chaek being in real danger? My heart dropped. The tension is through the roof, and I can’t stop watching.
These episodes had everything—flirting, betrayal, secret pasts, and a love triangle with teeth. If this is the middle of the season, I’m not ready for what’s coming next.
