Part II —"Garden of whisper"
The kingdom watched too, murmuring of beauty and power, of secrets and scandals. The queen ruled with grace sharpened by pain, while the king found himself entangled in emotions he never dared feel in youth. He saw her now—not as the girl who chased him through palace gardens, but as the woman who bore the weight of a crown with ruthless elegance.
But the queen's heart was not untouched. Her childhood best friend, now a rising noble, remained by her side—a loyal protector who loved her fiercely, without titles or conditions. And though her heart faltered between past affection and present desire, she stood alone, a queen before all else.
The palace became a cage of secrets, jealousy, and whispered desires. The king, bound by guilt and hunger, edged closer to the woman he once rejected. The queen, torn between duty and temptation, held her crown with bleeding hands.
Queen Kim Maeve's name had begun to bloom across the kingdom—not through politics or propaganda, but through whispered praises from the mouths of commoners. "The Queen who walks among us." "The woman who heals with her own hands." Her good deeds echoed through the streets like poetry. Children sang her name. Soldiers knelt in gratitude. Artists sketched her face, not as a cold monarch—but as a goddess cloaked in humanity.
And among those whispers were murmurs not just of respect—but of desire.
Men from all corners of the land admired her: her cold elegance, her unwavering strength, her hidden compassion. Kim Maeve became a symbol. A dream. A temptation.
King Minjung, already possessive in silence, watched this unfold with growing unrest. Each rumor twisted in his chest like a dagger. It was no longer just Lee Saejong—her childhood best friend—that haunted him. Now, every noble son, every soldier with shining eyes, every merchant who bowed too long was a threat. A rival.
His jealousy became a storm.
One fateful festival night, Minjung saw her again—laughing with Saejong beneath floating lanterns. Her smile, rare and radiant, was something he had not seen in years. It enraged him. That night, he trespassed into her private wing of the palace, unannounced, uninvited. The guards dared not stop him.
"Why must he always be at your side?" Minjung growled, his voice low and sharp. "You are my queen."
Kim Maeve's eyes narrowed. "Your queen by title. Not by heart. You never claimed it."
He stepped closer, too close. "And if I were to claim it now?"
But she said nothing—only studied him, and in that silence, something broke between them. She now knew. He wanted her. He always had. But pride had poisoned his tongue.
From that night, Minjung did what kings do best—he wielded power in shadows. He sent spies, cloaked in common rags, to stalk her path. To learn her secrets. To keep her close, even when she strayed far from him.
Then came the foreign delegation—from the distant and flourishing kingdom of Bloom as Alythra. Among their retinue was Lady Hannah, a noblewoman draped in ocean silks, with eyes like storm clouds and a mind as sharp as obsidian. When she laid eyes on Kim Maeve, something unspoken bloomed within her. Not admiration. Not envy. But love—silent and forbidden in a world that would not understand.
Lady Hannah kept her distance, only offering kind words and sidelong glances. But her gaze followed the queen with longing.
Here comes the Prince Nashimoto Morimasa as cousin of Queen Kim Maeve her mother Queen Cheorin sister and 5th princess Pingyang of the Qian kingdom who married to distance Dai Nippon Teikoku (The Great Empire of Japan) kingdom to strengthening ties and securing peace between two neighbouring kingdom , — and so he was young, ambitious, entitled prince—also noticed Kim Maeve from his childhood till now. But his attention turned venomous when he heard the information through his secret general who went to visit the Queen Kim Maeve to check her condition but he returned with the news that the queen's closest companion was not only a king—but including a mere minister's son and also some commoner in royal robes also approach towards to win her favour made him comes a new wicked idea to pay a visit his lovely cousin sister including with his mischief sister.
Meanwhile, Minjung, boiling in his own madness, began to act.
The king of Goryeo Dynasty Yeon Minjung . He formed a pact—cold and calculated—with Lady Hannah. Public displays, flirtatious banter, shared dinners, long walks in the rose gardens. All performed within sight of Seraphina. A show. A cruel illusion.
Kim Maeve watched, each scene striking her heart like an arrow. She felt it: jealousy. Pain. Longing. Not for Saejong, not for Lady Hannah—but for the king she once thought cold and unreachable but she won't respond to that feeling in action .
And then came the moment.Minjung couldn't bear it anymore.
One moonless night, he walked into Kim Maeve's chamber, alone, unannounced, just as he once had. His voice trembled—not with fear, but with something deeper. "I once loved you but can't express with my family oppression ," he confessed. "Perhaps Now I still do want to love you again from the beginning."
But before ahe could answer—before the storm could shatter into rain—
A scream rang out across the palace.
The foreign princess had vanished.
A royal servant had been found poisoned.
Lady Hannah had disappeared.
And a shadowy message had been scrawled onto the garden wall:
"The Queen's heart is a crown not meant for kings."
Will the queen choose the love she once dreamed of, or the man who finally sees her now— or is too too late?