The Crimson Throne

Chapter Five: The Queen's Secret

The Royal Mausoleum had stood untouched for nearly three decades.

Built into the side of Mount Baek, its towering stone gates bore the names of every ruler and queen who had protected Goryeong. Pine trees surrounded the sacred grounds, their branches heavy with snow, while rows of stone guardians watched silently over the dead.

Tonight, however, the silence had been shattered.

Blood stained the white snow.

Bodies of the royal guards lay scattered across the entrance, their armor slashed by razor-sharp blades. Yet something was strange.

None of the men had managed to draw their swords.

Whoever had attacked them had moved with terrifying speed.

Prince Joon arrived first, followed by Captain Han and twenty royal guards.

The prince knelt beside the nearest body.

"There are no signs of struggle," he murmured.

Captain Han examined another guard.

"Their necks were broken before they could react."

Joon frowned.

"One man couldn't have done this..."

Han looked toward the open stone doors.

"...Unless he wasn't an ordinary man."

The cold wind carried the scent of incense from inside the mausoleum.

Joon slowly drew his sword.

"Stay together."

The guards lit their torches.

One by one, they stepped into the darkness.

The royal tomb was illuminated by hundreds of candles that had somehow remained burning.

Rows of stone coffins lined the walls.

At the center rested the magnificent tomb of Queen Sunhee.

Its heavy stone lid had been pushed aside.

Joon's breathing stopped.

"No..."

He rushed forward.

The coffin...

Was empty.

Captain Han stared in disbelief.

"This is impossible."

The queen's body had vanished.

Only her royal burial robes remained, neatly folded inside the coffin.

And resting on top of them...

A jade hairpin.

Joon recognized it immediately.

His mother had never worn jade.

She always wore gold.

"This doesn't belong to her," he whispered.

He picked up the hairpin carefully.

Tiny characters were carved into its surface.

'The truth sleeps beneath the dragon.'

Miles away...

In the hidden sanctuary of the Black Dragon Society, the masked leader sat upon a black wooden chair carved with dragons.

Before him knelt the White Tiger.

Unlike the other assassins, he wore white robes instead of black, and his mask was smooth except for the fierce tiger painted across it.

"I've entered the palace unnoticed," the White Tiger said calmly.

The leader nodded.

"Good."

"The queen's tomb has been opened."

"And?"

"The prince found exactly what we wanted him to find."

The White Tiger smiled beneath his mask.

"He'll follow the clue."

"And when he does?"

The leader's eyes gleamed.

"He'll walk straight into our trap."

Meanwhile...

Prince Seo stood alone in the royal library.

Lady Hana placed the jade hairpin on the table.

"So Joon found this."

Seo examined it carefully.

"It's older than my mother's reign."

"You recognize it?"

He nodded slowly.

"I've seen this symbol before."

He pointed to a tiny dragon engraved beneath the jade.

"The Royal Dragon Society."

Lady Hana looked confused.

"I've never heard of them."

"Almost no one has."

Seo closed the history book before him.

"They protected the royal family long before the palace guards existed."

"What happened to them?"

"They disappeared."

"Why?"

Seo's expression darkened.

"Because someone wanted history to forget they ever existed."

Elsewhere...

Prime Minister Choi sat alone inside his private residence.

Rain had begun to fall outside.

He poured himself tea with trembling hands.

For the first time in many years...

He looked afraid.

A servant entered quietly.

"My lord..."

"There is someone here to see you."

"I gave no permission."

"He insisted."

Before Choi could respond—

The doors opened.

A tall man wearing a white tiger mask stepped inside.

The Prime Minister immediately stood.

"You..."

The White Tiger removed neither his mask nor his sword.

"You've grown old, Prime Minister."

"What are you doing here?"

"Delivering a message."

"From whom?"

The assassin stepped closer.

"From the past."

Without warning—

He drew his sword.

The blade flashed like lightning.

Choi barely stumbled backward as the sword sliced through his chair.

"You've lost your speed," the White Tiger said.

Guards rushed into the room.

The assassin didn't even look at them.

Within seconds...

Four guards lay unconscious on the floor.

Not dead.

Simply defeated.

He sheathed his sword.

"I didn't come to kill you."

Choi struggled to steady his breathing.

"Then why come?"

The White Tiger leaned close.

"The secret you buried..."

"...is no longer buried."

Then he disappeared into the storm.

Leaving the Prime Minister pale with fear.

At dawn...

Prince Joon and Prince Seo met before the Hall of Eternal Heaven for the first time since the king's funeral.

Neither spoke for several moments.

Finally, Joon held out the jade hairpin.

"I found this in Mother's empty tomb."

Seo's eyes widened.

"Empty?"

"The coffin contained no body."

Seo took the hairpin.

His expression changed the moment he saw the dragon carving.

"You know this symbol."

Seo hesitated.

"A little."

"Tell me."

Before Seo could answer—

The palace bells rang violently.

Not mourning bells.

Alarm bells.

Captain Han came running across the courtyard.

"Your Highnesses!"

"What happened?" Joon demanded.

"The western gate..."

"What about it?"

Captain Han struggled to speak.

"It has fallen."

Silence.

Joon stared at him.

"Fallen?"

"The city is under attack."

"What army?"

Han shook his head.

"No banners..."

"No soldiers..."

"Only one man."

Both princes looked at each other in disbelief.

"One man?"

Captain Han nodded, his face drained of color.

"He defeated an entire company of royal guards..."

"...and he's walking toward the palace."

At that very moment, a palace guard stumbled into the courtyard, bloodied and terrified.

"H-he said..."

Joon grabbed the guard's shoulders.

"What did he say?"

The guard swallowed hard.

"He said..."

"'Tell the princes..."

"...the White Tiger has come to collect the debt owed by their father.'"

The wind howled through the palace courtyards.

Every soldier in Cheongun Palace reached for his weapon.

For the first time in decades...

A single warrior had declared war on the royal family.

And no one knew how to stop him.