"He came back just to remove you from the throne?"
A graceful woman dressed in a dark green dangui made of silk that flowed neatly, with delicate embroidery at the ends of her sleeves that shimmered whenever they caught the light, spoke. A jade accessory hanging at her waist swayed softly as she walked. Her long, thick black hair was gathered and rolled back, looking heavy yet elegant.
The woman sat with her back facing the bed where the Crown Prince lay. Her fingers extended, touching the petals of a dark purple flower growing in a white porcelain pot, observing each leaf with full attention. She plucked several wilted twigs and leaves and threw them away. She sprayed a little water onto the soil in the pot. Then she wiped the surface of the pot with a cloth, trying to remove the dust that clung to it.
"I almost lost you." Finished with her habit of tending the flowers in the Crown Prince's chamber, the woman stood up and turned toward the bed. She stepped closer to an eighteen-year-old young man who leaned against the headboard, looking weak and helpless, his face pale like a corpse.
"Jae Hyuk—he really tried to kill me, Mother." Jae Jin whimpered, his voice trembling as he held back overwhelming emotions. The pain stabbing his upper abdomen had not subsided, but it was nothing compared to the growing hatred toward Jae Hyuk. How could an older brother betray his own sibling for the sake of a throne? Jae Jin kept thinking about it. He was still young, and had almost lost his life because of someone's ambition.
Now ten hours had passed since the stabbing incident. Jae Jin had lost a lot of blood at that time, nearly standing on the brink between life and death. He was immediately treated by eight of the empire's most prominent physicians. His wounds were cleaned, treated, and stitched carefully and meticulously. The physicians said the tip of the dagger had almost torn through his internal organs—only a few centimeters away. Jae Jin recalled Jae Hyuk's earlier words, saying that Jae Jin would not die yet, that it was not his time. That was why Jae Hyuk had not stabbed deep enough to pierce his vital organs—only almost.
The woman, none other than Lee Sang Ah—the Empress of the Hwan Empire—sat at the edge of Jae Jin's large bed. Her red lips curved into a cynical smile. "He really thought he could defeat you?"
"Don't worry. Mother will make sure anyone who tries to take the throne from you will die, even if he is the king's own son." The words came out smoothly and sharply, without the slightest hesitation. As if someone's life or death meant nothing to her. That statement was enough to make Jae Jin freeze.
"The trial is already underway, and he will receive his punishment." Lee Sang Ah said with a cunning smile.
"Will Jae Hyuk be imprisoned in Gwimun?" Jae Jin asked. Time had passed so quickly. As soon as he woke from the effects of the medicine, he realized the day had already turned into deep darkness.
"He will be sentenced to death." Lee Sang Ah delivered those words without a trace of mercy. Jae Jin's pupils instantly widened, his heart seemed to stop for a moment, frozen between fear and disbelief. This punishment was beyond his expectations. Yes, he hated Jae Hyuk—hated the shadow of Jae Hyuk that could threaten his position at any time—but wasn't the death penalty too cruel? Even though Jae Hyuk seemed ruthless and had crossed the line of what siblings should be, the law had never gone this far—especially since Jae Hyuk was a member of the royal family. Was there another charge that made his sentence heavier?
Before Jae Jin could speak, Lee Sang Ah cut him off first, "…if we follow the law."
"If?" Jae Jin echoed, confused.
Lee Sang Ah's expression turned cold. ''The final decision remains in the Emperor's hands."
The forty-five-year-old woman, with faint wrinkles beginning to mark her face, reached for the Crown Prince's arm, gripping his hand tightly. Her demeanor now seemed serious, as if inviting Jae Jin into her game.
"The Emperor wants him to beg before us."
Lee Sang Ah let out a soft laugh as she looked at her son.
"What an honor—the Emperor is ordering him to kneel and beg for forgiveness from us. How interesting."
"Let's see," she stared intently at Jae Jin,
"whether he can let go of all his pride as the son of the former queen. If he wants to live, he will surely kneel before you." Her laugh grew more cunning.
"…just like his mother once did."
"How pitiful. Mother and son end the same way."
*****
The room was completely dark, with no light at all except from a narrow ventilation opening above, faintly reflecting the moonlight outside. Even that light did not truly illuminate—only forming cold lines of shadow on the ground. But that ventilation was the only way to know whether the day had changed.
The air in the room felt damp and suffocating. Every breath Jae Hyuk took felt heavy. The room itself was very narrow, stretching backward with no furniture at all. Everything was empty. As empty as Jae Hyuk's gaze now. He leaned his body against the wall, sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up, both elbows resting on them.
The chains on his wrists shifted softly as he changed position. The sound of metal clashing echoed faintly, but it was enough to accompany him in the silence.
Jae Hyuk did not know how messy his condition was. His hair, nearly touching the nape of his neck, had been ruffled in frustration. His heart felt completely hollow, as if he had no desire left to keep living.
The skin around his wrists was no longer just red—some parts had peeled, mixed with dried blood. Every small movement sent a stinging pain through him. But Jae Hyuk no longer reacted. That pain… he was already used to it.
What hurt more was what lay inside.
His stomach was empty. How long had he been locked in here? He could no longer remember. The hunger that once gnawed at him had turned numb. Thirst made his throat feel like it was burning, yet he did not expect anyone to come bringing water.
No one would come to help him.
That thought appeared just like that—cold, certain, and cruel.
Jae Hyuk lowered his head, his hair falling to cover part of his face. His breathing sounded uneven. He tried to swallow, but there was nothing to swallow.
Silence. Stillness. Only the sound of his own heartbeat could be heard… even that was faint, as if it too had lost its reason to keep beating.
Jae Hyuk closed his eyes. Five years of planning that he had built with great effort now had to stop, forced to turn in a direction he had never expected. He would be sentenced to death.
Jae Hyuk pushed away thoughts of his original purpose in returning to this damned palace. No matter how hard he thought, even if he managed to overcome what he was facing now, there would always be those who wanted to kill him. He was truly alone in the palace. No support, no one who saw him as a child—a child abandoned by his mother since young, who fought with his father and had not spoken to him for years. Now he had lost everyone. At least before the people who were sincere to him were killed, he had them… once.
Jae Hyuk took a heavy breath, trying to find even the slightest will to survive. A strength within him that could persuade him to keep living, to kneel and face the world.
Stay alive. Live the life you planned. Never step back.
He wished he could hear those words from someone directly—someone who truly needed him to stay alive, at least.
Jae Hyuk closed his eyes tighter, replaying fragments of his childhood memories.
He remembered laughter echoing in the palace corridor back then—about him.
"That child… a bringer of misfortune."
"No wonder his mother chose death."
Those whispers sounded clear, painfully real even now. As if the walls of this room were repeating them.
Little Jae Hyuk stood at the end of the corridor, his small fists clenched, not understanding why everyone looked at him like he was something filthy.
Then the image shifted. Night sky. Cold wind. And a hanging body.
His mother.
Her feet did not touch the ground. She hung high. Her hair fell down, covering her face. Her body was stiff… too stiff.
Little Jae Hyuk did not cry. He just stood there. Staring ahead. Waiting for his mother to open her eyes and smile at him like she always did.
But what came instead were the sounds of hurried footsteps, panicked whispers, and hands pulling him away.
"DON'T LOOK!"
"TAKE THE CROWN PRINCE AWAY!"
But it was already too late. That sight had carved itself too deeply—sharper than any blade.
That night, something inside Jae Hyuk died as well.
Then another image appeared. Darker now. Cold water choking him.
Jae Hyuk's body sank, chains dragging him down. He struggled, but every movement only made him run out of air faster. The cloth covering his eyes made everything even darker—darker than this room.
His lungs burned.
He opened his mouth, instinctively searching for air, but what entered was water.
Panic.
Pain.
Loneliness.
Now Jae Hyuk slowly opened his eyes. His breath was ragged, his chest rising and falling irregularly. Cold sweat dampened his temples despite the cold room.
His hands clenched tightly—so tight that his nails dug into his palms. He gathered all the painful events of his life into that fist. All the suffering he had endured, tightly sealed behind his closed eyes. He shut his eyes again.
Jae Hyuk had only one resolve—a resolve a thousand times stronger than the chains binding him: to become someone invincible. He had to go to Gwimun, to meet the legendary sorcerer imprisoned there, Malrik. Whatever his real name was did not matter. That plan had to succeed—or everything would be meaningless.
He targeted everyone who had destroyed his life, taken his mother's life, and claimed the lives of those close to him. Only when all of that was fulfilled could he die in peace.
Whatever it took to achieve his goal, Jae Hyuk was willing to kneel, to crawl, even to prostrate himself. However, for someone who had destroyed his mother's life—who had made her choose death over living—he would never bow. Jae Hyuk would never kneel. A part of his mother lived within him, and he had to make sure that honor remained alive.
Lee Sang Ah—Jae Hyuk would never beg before her. If he had to live, then he would only kneel before Jae Jin.
Jae Hyuk lifted his head slightly, looking toward the ventilation. The moonlight was still there—faint, but not gone, and not leaving him.
In the midst of his tangled thoughts, suddenly a voice appeared, sounding faint as if it were not human.
"Kneel… before Lee Sang Ah. That is the only way you can stay alive. Suppress your ego for a moment. The goal you pursue is far greater than the humiliation you will feel. Step back once to leap farther forward. This is a lesson about the importance of the purpose you hold in your heart. Endure one more day—if not for yourself, then endure for the sake of your name as a prince. Stay alive, uri Jae Hyukie."