Untitled Episode
693 Words
Main Cast
Han Jisoo – Male lead. A disgraced noble warrior, quiet but deadly.
Lady Arin – Female lead. Intelligent, composed, hiding a dangerous truth.
Crown Prince Daejin – Charismatic… and not what he seems.
General Mok Seung – Ruthless military leader with hidden motives.
Lady Sunhwa – Arin’s closest friend… or so it appears
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Chapter 1 — The Night the Sky Turned Red
The night the capital burned, the sky did not turn black, it turned red.
Han Jisoo stood beneath the palace gate, his hands stained with blood that was not entirely his own. Flames devoured the royal halls behind him, licking the night like a beast unleashed. The screams of servants and soldiers blurred into a single, endless cry.
He had been too late.
“Seal the gates!” someone shouted.
But it didn’t matter. The betrayal had already begun long before the fire.
Jisoo tightened his grip on his sword. His breath was steady, but his eyes, his eyes trembled with something far deeper than fear.
Regret.
A body lay before him, dressed in royal silk, now soaked in crimson blood. The king.
The man Jisoo had sworn to protect.
“You hesitated.”
The voice came from behind.
Jisoo turned slowly. Standing there, untouched by chaos, was Crown Prince Daejin. His robes were immaculate, his expression calm, way too calm.
“This… this was planned,” Jisoo said, his voice low.
Daejin smiled faintly.
“Everything is planned, Jisoo. Even loyalty.”
That was when Jisoo understood.
The attack. The guards being pulled away. The gates were left unguarded.
It was not an invasion.
It was an execution.
“You used me,” Jisoo said.
“No,” Daejin replied softly, stepping closer. “You chose to believe in something that no longer exists.”
Behind the prince, soldiers began to gather, royal soldiers, but their allegiance had already shifted.
Jisoo looked around. Every route was closed.
Every ally… gone.
“You can still live,” Daejin continued. “Kneel, and I will spare you.”
Jisoo laughed.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic.
But it was empty.
“I would rather die as a traitor,” he said, “than live as your dog.”
For the first time, Daejin’s expression hardened.
“So be it.”
The soldiers moved.
Steel clashed. Fire roared. Blood followed.
Jisoo fought like a man who had nothing left to protect, but everything left to avenge.
And yet… even the strongest swordsman cannot fight an army alone.
A blade pierced his side.
Another cut his shoulder.
He fell to one knee.
The world blurred.
The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him
Was the palace collapsing in flames…
And the prince turned away without looking back.
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But death did not take him.
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Jisoo awoke to the sound of rain.
Cold. Relentless. Real.
His body ached with every breath. Bandages wrapped his wounds fresh, carefully done.
Someone had saved him.
“Don’t move.”
The voice was calm, but firm.
Jisoo forced his eyes open.
A woman sat by the window, her back partially turned. Moonlight traced her silhouette, graceful, still, almost unreal.
“You should be dead,” she said.
“So should you,” Jisoo replied weakly.
She turned then.
And for a moment...
Everything else faded.
Her eyes were sharp, observant… but there was something hidden beneath them. Something guarded. Something dangerous.
“Who are you?” Jisoo asked.
She studied him for a long moment before answering.
“Someone who also lost everything that night.”
Jisoo’s hand twitched toward where his sword should have been.
Gone.
“You have no reason to trust me,” she continued. “But if I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have saved you.”
Silence filled the room.
Rain tapped softly against the roof.
“Why?” he finally asked.
The woman hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then
“Because you’re the only one who can destroy him.”
Jisoo’s gaze sharpened.
“…the Crown Prince.”
She nodded.
“My name is Arin.”
And just like that...
The beginning of revenge was set into motion.
- Writer
