The Crimson Throne

Chapter Six: The White Tiger

The palace gates shook beneath the force of a single man.

For a moment, no one moved.

The Royal Guard had surrounded the western courtyard, hundreds of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder with spears raised and swords drawn.

At the center of them all stood the White Tiger.

He was alone.

Snow fell around him.

His white robes were untouched by blood, despite the bodies of fallen guards scattered behind him. His long sword hung loosely from his hand, its blade reflecting the pale afternoon light.

He did not appear angry.

He did not appear afraid.

He simply waited.

Prince Joon stepped forward.

"Lower your weapons."

Captain Han stared at him.

"Your Highness?"

"I said lower them."

The soldiers reluctantly lowered their spears.

Joon walked toward the stranger until only twenty paces separated them.

"You entered my father's palace."

The White Tiger tilted his head.

"Your father's palace?"

"Yes."

"You speak as though it belongs to you."

Joon's eyes narrowed.

"I am the Crown Prince."

The White Tiger gave a quiet laugh.

"No."

The word echoed across the courtyard.

"You are a prince."

Joon's hand tightened around his sword.

"The crown has not yet been decided."

"Exactly."

The White Tiger slowly raised his blade.

"And that is why you are still alive."

Behind Joon, Prince Seo stepped forward.

"What do you want?"

The White Tiger turned toward him.

For the first time, his calm expression seemed to change.

"Prince Seo."

Seo's eyes narrowed.

"You know my name."

"I know much more than your name."

"Then speak."

The White Tiger lowered his sword.

"I came to deliver a warning."

"To whom?"

"To both of you."

He looked from Joon to Seo.

"Stop searching for the Succession Decree."

Joon immediately answered.

"Why?"

"Because the decree is not what you believe it is."

Seo stepped closer.

"What does that mean?"

The White Tiger's eyes remained fixed upon him.

"It does not name either of you."

A murmur spread through the soldiers.

Joon's face hardened.

"You expect us to believe that?"

"I expect nothing."

The White Tiger turned away.

"But when you discover the truth..."

"...you will understand why your father was afraid to die."

He began walking toward the palace gate.

Joon called after him.

"Wait!"

The White Tiger stopped.

"Who are you?"

The stranger remained silent.

Then he answered.

"Someone who once served your mother."

Joon froze.

His mother.

Queen Sunhee.

Before Joon could ask another question, the White Tiger disappeared into the falling snow.

No soldier dared pursue him.

---

That evening, the royal council assembled in panic.

The attack on the western gate had spread fear throughout the palace.

Ministers argued that the kingdom was becoming vulnerable.

Generals demanded more soldiers.

Others whispered that the White Tiger was a supernatural warrior sent by the spirits of the dead.

Prince Seo listened from the shadows.

He noticed something strange.

Prime Minister Choi had not spoken once.

The minister sat rigidly in his chair, his face unusually pale.

Seo watched him carefully.

"Prime Minister."

Choi looked up.

"You seem troubled."

"I am mourning the king."

"You were not this frightened at my father's funeral."

A few ministers exchanged uncomfortable glances.

Choi's jaw tightened.

"I have served the royal family for thirty years."

"Then you should know who the White Tiger is."

The room went silent.

Choi slowly stood.

"Your Highness..."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know."

Seo smiled.

"That was a poor answer."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't say you had never heard of him."

Choi's eyes flickered.

Seo saw it.

So did Joon.

The brothers exchanged a brief glance.

For the first time in days, they were thinking the same thing.

The Prime Minister was hiding something.

---

Later that night...

Joon entered his father's private study.

He closed the doors behind him.

The room was exactly as King Hyeon had left it.

His writing brush still rested beside the inkstone.

Several unfinished documents remained on the desk.

A cup of tea sat untouched.

Joon walked toward the bookshelf.

The hidden passage Lady Hana had discovered was still there.

He opened it.

Inside the secret chamber, the candle had been replaced.

Someone had been here recently.

Joon's hand moved toward his sword.

"Who's there?"

Silence.

He stepped inside.

Then a voice came from behind him.

"You shouldn't have come alone."

Joon turned sharply.

Lady Hana stood in the shadows.

"You."

She bowed.

"Your Highness."

"How did you enter?"

"The same way I entered before."

Joon studied her.

"What do you know about my mother?"

Hana hesitated.

"More than I should."

"Then tell me."

She looked toward the hidden wall.

"Your mother was not the woman history remembers."

Joon frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"Queen Sunhee was not born into royalty."

"I know."

"No."

Hana shook her head.

"You don't know."

She moved toward an old wooden chest.

"Your mother was born in a small mountain village."

Joon stared at her.

"Why would that matter?"

"Because before she married your father..."

"...she belonged to a secret order."

Joon's expression changed.

"The Royal Dragon Society."

Hana nodded.

"The society protected the royal bloodline from within the shadows."

"Then why did it disappear?"

"Because King Hyeon destroyed it."

Joon stepped backward.

"My father?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Hana looked directly at him.

"Because the society discovered something about the royal family."

"What?"

Before she could answer—

An arrow smashed through the wooden window.

Joon drew his sword instantly.

The arrow struck the wall.

Attached to it was a small piece of crimson cloth.

Hana removed it.

A single sentence had been written across it.

THE THIRD PRINCE LIVES.

Joon's blood ran cold.

---

At the same moment, Prince Seo stood on the balcony of his chambers.

He stared toward the mountains.

Someone was standing on the palace wall.

A shadow.

Seo reached for his sword.

"Who are you?"

The figure did not move.

Seo stepped forward.

"Answer me."

The figure threw something onto the balcony.

A small wooden box.

Then vanished.

Seo opened it carefully.

Inside was an old royal seal.

He recognized it immediately.

It belonged to King Hyeon.

Beneath it was a letter.

Seo unfolded the paper.

His father's handwriting appeared before him.

Only one sentence had been written.

"If you are reading this, your brother has already learned about the third son."

Seo stared at the words.

His hands began to tremble.

He read the sentence again.

Then again.

His father had known.

He had always known.

But why had he kept the truth hidden?

And why had the message been sent to him now?

Seo turned the paper over.

There was another line.

This one was written in a different hand.

"Ask your brother who truly ordered Queen Sunhee's death."

Seo stopped breathing.

His mother was dead.

Everyone had been told she died from illness.

But someone was claiming she had been murdered.

And if that was true...

The entire royal history was a lie.

---

Deep inside the mountains...

A small fire burned inside an abandoned temple.

The White Tiger sat beside it.

Across from him stood an elderly woman wearing a black veil.

"You spoke to the princes," she said.

"Yes."

"Did they believe you?"

"No."

The woman smiled.

"They will."

She removed the veil.

Her face was old, but her eyes were unmistakably royal.

The White Tiger bowed.

"Your Highness."

The woman looked toward the distant palace.

"Thirty years."

Her voice trembled.

"Thirty years since they took my son."

The White Tiger remained silent.

"Is the time finally right?"

"Yes."

"Then bring him home."

The White Tiger nodded.

"And the princes?"

The woman looked toward the burning fire.

"Let them fight."

"Why?"

"Because when brothers fight for a throne..."

"...they expose the truth their father tried to bury."

---

Before midnight, Prince Joon and Prince Seo met secretly inside an abandoned training hall.

Neither brother had informed the council.

Neither had brought guards.

They stood opposite one another.

Joon spoke first.

"Did you receive a message?"

Seo's eyes narrowed.

"Yes."

"What did it say?"

Seo hesitated.

Then he handed him the letter.

Joon read it.

His face changed.

"Who ordered Mother's death?"

"I was hoping you knew."

"I don't."

Seo watched him carefully.

"Do you believe Father murdered her?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because he loved her."

Seo looked away.

"Love doesn't always stop kings from killing."

Joon stepped closer.

"You think I had something to do with it?"

"I think everyone in this palace has a secret."

"Do you suspect me?"

"I don't know."

Joon's hand moved toward his sword.

Seo did the same.

For several seconds, the brothers stared at each other.

Then—

A voice echoed from the darkness.

"Good."

Both princes turned.

A masked assassin stood on the roof beam above them.

Black dragon.

Silver eyes.

He dropped a small object onto the floor.

It rolled between the brothers.

A royal ring.

Joon recognized it immediately.

It had belonged to their mother.

Seo looked at his brother.

Then at the ring.

The assassin laughed.

"Your mother didn't die from illness."

Joon raised his sword.

"Who are you?"

The assassin's eyes gleamed.

"The man who knows why."

He threw a smoke bomb onto the floor.

Dark smoke exploded through the hall.

Joon coughed and swung blindly.

Seo shouted.

"Don't move!"

A blade sliced through the smoke.

Joon blocked it.

Metal struck metal.

The assassin attacked again.

Joon fought back.

Seo joined him.

For the first time in years, the brothers fought side by side.

Their swords moved in perfect rhythm.

One protected the other's back.

One attacked while the other defended.

The assassin suddenly leaped backward.

"You fight well together."

He laughed.

"Too bad one of you must die."

Then he disappeared through the window.

Joon ran after him.

Nothing.

Only snow.

Seo looked down.

Something lay on the floor.

A second letter.

He picked it up.

His face turned pale.

"What?"

Joon stepped beside him.

Seo slowly opened the letter.

Inside were six words.

"The third prince is already king."

The brothers stared at each other.

Neither spoke.

Then, somewhere beyond the palace walls...

The great bells of Goryeong began to ring.

Not once.

Not twice.

But thirteen times.

The ancient signal had not been heard for more than thirty years.

It meant only one thing.

The royal bloodline had been broken.

And somewhere in the kingdom...

Someone claiming to be the forgotten prince had just declared himself.

End of Chapter Six