The sun had barely set when word reached Han Ji, the King of the realm, that Kim Yunxi had said he would talk. The boy had insisted—begged—to meet him the moment his feet touched the capital's soil.
Han Ji had expected this.
So when he emerged from his private chambers, armor still clinging to his broad shoulders from the recent battle, he found Yunxi already kneeling in the cold marble corridor.
He didn't speak.
He simply walked around him once, bootheels clicking softly against stone, circling his prey like a predator deciding where to bite. Yunxi's head remained bowed, body stiff, trembling only slightly under the weight of silence.
Finally, Han Ji stopped in front of him. He raised a gloved hand, fingers gripping Yunxi's chin and forcing his face upward. Their eyes met—one pair cold and sharp as steel, the other wet and reddened from unshed tears.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
"Look at me," Han Ji ordered, voice low and dangerous.
Yunxi flinched but did not obey immediately. His lashes fluttered, his lips trembled, but his gaze stubbornly remained lowered. Only after a beat, painfully slow, did he blink up at the king, eyes glassy with tears.
"Give me a name," Han Ji said, voice like the edge of a sword. "Do that, and you will not be harmed."
"I… I don't know," Yunxi whispered, hoarse, as the first tear slipped free. His body shook as he tried to breathe. "I swear it. The rice cakes—they were meant for—"
"Yunxi."
His name, spoken firmly but softly, cut through him like lightning.
The king's face hovered close, his eyes steady, almost gentle—but it was a dangerous gentleness, the kind that promised cruelty if denied.
"I didn't ask for excuses," Han Ji continued, calm but pressing. "You didn't buy cakes like you said and I know you also ate one of them, to hide your guilt. So..I want a name. The one who gave them to you. The culprit."
"I can't."
The words fell from Yunxi's lips like stones. He shook his head violently, tears dripping to the floor. He couldn't betray his father—even after everything. Even after seeing the way his father had sat in silence in the jail cell while his family spat venom at him, blaming him for the ruin of their house.
"Ah…" Han Ji's lips curved—not into a smile, but into something darker. "You'd rather die than speak, is that it?"
He reached out then, almost tenderly, wiping away one of Yunxi's endless tears with the pad of his thumb.
"Fine," the king murmured, still crouched before him. "Then let's make a deal."
Yunxi's brows knit in confusion. His breath caught. "A… deal?"
Han Ji tilted his head, eyes gleaming like a wolf's. "Yes. I will be… soft-hearted."
Yunxi's lips parted in shock, disbelief painted across his tear-streaked face.
"Who," Han Ji's tone shifted, suddenly razor-sharp, "are you protecting so fiercely? Who is he?"
"No one—"
"You don't think…" Han Ji's smirk widened, cruel now. "No. No, don't tell me you're still clinging to that pathetic belief in your father's innocence."
Yunxi jerked at the accusation, tried to rise, but the king's hand shot out, shoving him back to the floor with humiliating ease.
"My father would never kill Her Majesty!" Yunxi cried, desperate. "He liked her, they—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Han Ji's eyes narrowed in satisfaction. "Go on. Finish that thought."
Yunxi swallowed hard, realizing too late what he'd nearly revealed. He looked away, shame and dread burning his face.
"I thought you would misunderstand," Yunxi mumbled. "Everything—the rumors about the Queen…" His voice broke. "I thought you'd think it was my father. That's the only reason I—"
Han Ji cut him off with a cold laugh. "That's why you hid when Jian saw you that night. The night you smuggled poison into the palace. That's the only explanation? is it?"
Yunxi's head snapped up in shock, but words failed him.
"My father may have believed the lies that quack of a doctor spun," Han Ji said, leaning close, his breath warm and threatening against Yunxi's ear. "But I know everything. The doctor. The poison. And you knew him too, didn't you?"
Silence.
Yunxi's shoulders trembled. His lips pressed tight.
Han Ji chuckled darkly. "Whatever you know, and whatever you think you've hidden, I already know, Yunxi."
Yunxi shivered violently at those words, tears streaking unchecked down his face. Finally, his voice cracked through the suffocating tension:
"What… what are you going to do to the killer? If it's not my father—if—how will you take it back? The humiliation?"
Han Ji's eyes glittered with cruel amusement.
"Take it back?" He laughed once, sharp. "Do you want mercy, little fox?"
"Let us go," Yunxi whispered, meeting his eyes at last with sudden resolve. "I'll prove it. I'll find the real killer. Just… just get us out of those rat holes. My grandmother deserves a grave, not a pile of dirt in a prison yard."
Han Ji studied him silently for a moment, then leaned back slightly, intrigued. "You want to be on the investigation team?"
"Yes," Yunxi said firmly. "I won't hide anyone. Trust me, just this once."
"Trust you?" Han Ji repeated softly, then laughed again, the sound sharp and cruel. "Tell me, Yunxi… if your father is guilty, and you have proof… will you hand it over to me?"
Yunxi hesitated—but only for a heartbeat. "I know it's not him, Your Highness."
"Fine," Han Ji said suddenly, straightening to his full height. "I'll let you have your chance. But hear me well, Yunxi."
His voice grew louder, carrying through the corridor like a sentence passed:
"If your father is guilty, I will tear every title from your house, slaughter every last relative, and chain your descendants as slaves until the end of time. There will be no mercy. No plea. No escape. Do you still wish to take this deal?"
Yunxi's breath hitched. His head tilted up, defiant despite the tears streaking his face. "And if my father is innocent?"
For a moment, Han Ji's expression softened. Then he smirked—cold, victorious.
"If by some miracle you prove him innocent," he said smoothly, "I will apologise to you, formally. I will never speak of my mother's death again. But," his hand shot out, gripping Yunxi's chin in a vice, forcing him to meet his eyes, "I will still take your father's head. Do you know why?"
Yunxi's voice cracked. "Why…?"
"Because you'll never find him innocent," Han Ji whispered, cruel satisfaction dripping from every word. "And when the day comes, you, Yunxi—you will be the one to bring me his head."
With that, the king shoved him back, released his chin, and turned on his heel.
"Release them," Han Ji ordered the guards as he strode away. "House arrest until further notice."
The doors slammed shut behind him, leaving Yunxi kneeling alone in the echoing hall, tears still falling—but now mingled with something new.
Resolve.