With steady yet quiet steps, a tall man, hidden beneath a wide black hat, entered through the large wooden gates of the only place in the city where red lanterns burned brighter than the cheeks of a bride on her wedding night.
He walked straight to the room he knew so well, slipped inside, and closed the door swiftly behind him so no one would glimpse the woman waiting there in her black skirt and mauve top.
"So, you have updates. The man in the other room finally made a move?" asked Lee Sun, fixing his sharp gaze on Madam Moon.
Whenever Madam Moon needed to inform the Prince of something, she would meet one of the palace kitchen girls—placed there by Madam Moon herself, believing the girl too clever to be wasted in a house of fleeting pleasures. They would meet at the market. The signal was simple: a handful of dill. The Prince would immediately know who sent it—he despised the herb.
"Strange things have happened since your last visit, Your Majesty. The very night you left, he asked me to prepare a girl. You know he never asks for girls while he stays here," Madam Moon whispered, her eyes flickering toward the door.
"That does not seem particularly strange to me," Lee Sun replied, slightly annoyed.
"No, Your Majesty. It is strange because he had… specific requests."
Lee Sun leaned forward, interest sharpening his expression.
"He asked about the tattoos my girls bear. You know every girl receives one when she begins working here. And he requested that the tattoo not be visible on the girl entering his room."
"Perhaps it is merely one of his fantasies," Lee Sun said with a dry laugh.
"I do not believe so. Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I think he did not want the girl—he wanted something else. The girl I sent him is… unstable. Her mind is not sound. Whenever a man touches her, she causes a scene. No man has been able to lie with her until now. I keep her only for household tasks. After Minister Jang left, I entered the room. She claimed he was rough with her—but I swear to you, he did not touch her as a man would. Nobody can. She is not like the others."
Lee Sun fell silent.
Perhaps Madam Moon was not exaggerating.
Perhaps Minister Jang was hiding something far darker.
"When was he last here?" the Prince asked, narrowing his eyes.
"This occurred five nights ago. Two nights ago, he returned as usual—met with merchants and gentlemen. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Very well. Keep watching him—and that girl. Inform me immediately if anything unusual happens."
"Of course, Your Majesty. I will not accompany you out tonight. I shall send word soon."
Pulling the brim of his hat lower over his face, Lee Sun stepped out into the dark alleys.
Late July nights were usually warm and still, but that evening the air was sharp and restless. A cold wind rustled through the trees, drowning out the crickets with whispering leaves.
He quickened his pace, wanting to reach the Palace before the rain began. He was alone—without his guard—and did not wish to complicate matters inside his quarters. The streets were nearly empty. With each step, another oil lamp flickered out, and the moon faded behind thickening clouds.
A sudden gust of wind struck his face, filling his eyes with dust. They stung and watered instantly. As he rubbed them and forced his vision forward—
Thud.
He collided with someone.
"Watch where you—!" Lee Sun snapped angrily, but stopped when he realized the person had fallen.
A small figure, wrapped in puffed garments and hidden beneath a dark cloak, struggled to rise.
"I did not see you coming. Let me help you," he said, bending and extending his hand.
The shadow refused his arm and stood on her own.
Then she lifted her face.
For a heartbeat, time froze.
Those eyes.
Uncommon. Clear. Stubbornly fragile.
Eyes that had unsettled him before.
The girl immediately lowered her gaze and rushed past him.
Rain began pouring from the sky.
The Crown Prince stood still in the downpour, watching the flowing black velvet cloak disappear into the darkness.
And for the first time that night, the cold had nothing to do with the wind.