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1175 Words
The court meeting that morning lasted longer than usual.
Officials argued over taxes, military supplies, and problems near the southern border. Voices filled the large hall, but Jin Woo paid attention to something else.
People.
Not their words.
Their reactions.
Since returning to the palace, he had started noticing patterns. Certain officials always looked toward Princess Serina before speaking. Others stayed silent whenever specific topics appeared.
Fear existed inside the court.
Not open fear.
Careful fear.
The kind hidden behind polite smiles.
Jin Woo sat quietly through most of the meeting, speaking only when necessary. His answers were calm and direct, making it difficult for anyone to challenge him.
But even while speaking, his mind remained elsewhere.
Serina’s words from the garden still stayed with him.
Some secrets should stay buried.
It did not sound like a threat.
It sounded like regret.
That bothered him more.
After the meeting ended, officials slowly began leaving the hall in groups.
Jin Woo remained seated for a moment longer.
Then he noticed someone watching him.
A palace servant.
Young.
Nervous.
The servant quickly lowered his eyes the moment Jin Woo looked at him.
Interesting.
Jin Woo stood and walked out calmly. As expected, soft footsteps followed behind him after a short distance.
He did not stop until he reached one of the quieter palace corridors.
Only then did he speak.
“You have been following me since the meeting began.”
The servant immediately fell to his knees.
“My lord, forgive me.”
Jin Woo turned slowly toward him.
The boy looked terrified.
“How old are you?”
“Nineteen, my lord.”
“Who sent you?”
The servant hesitated.
That hesitation already gave part of the answer away.
Jin Woo’s voice stayed calm.
“If you lie, this conversation ends badly for you.”
The servant swallowed nervously.
Then finally whispered,
“Lady Yuna sent me.”
Jin Woo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Lady Yuna.
One of Princess Serina’s closest attendants.
He remembered her well.
Quiet.
Observant.
Always near the princess, but rarely speaking.
“What does she want?”
The servant quickly reached into his sleeve and pulled out a folded note.
“She told me to give this only to you.”
Jin Woo took it carefully.
The servant kept his head lowered the entire time.
“Did anyone see you?”
“I do not think so, my lord.”
Jin Woo studied him for a moment.
The boy looked genuinely frightened.
Good.
Fear usually meant honesty.
“You may leave.”
The servant bowed deeply before hurrying away.
Jin Woo looked down at the note in his hand.
There was no royal seal.
No name.
Only one short sentence written inside.
If you want answers about Ara, come alone tonight.
Jin Woo read it twice.
Then folded the paper calmly.
A trap was possible.
Expected, even.
But ignoring it would be foolish.
Because this was the first time someone directly connected Ara’s name to him since his return.
He slipped the note into his sleeve and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Inside, however, his thoughts had already started moving carefully.
Lady Yuna was loyal to Serina.
At least outwardly.
So why contact him secretly?
Unless loyalty inside the palace was more complicated than it appeared.
By evening, the sky had darkened again.
Clouds covered the moon, leaving most of the palace hidden in shadow.
Jin Woo changed into darker clothing before leaving his residence quietly.
No guards.
No servants.
Only silence followed him through the palace grounds.
The note directed him toward an old pavilion near the eastern gardens.
A forgotten place rarely used now.
As he approached, he noticed a single lantern glowing faintly inside.
Someone was already waiting.
Jin Woo stepped closer slowly.
His eyes carefully scanned the surroundings first.
No guards.
No hidden movement.
At least none he could immediately see.
Then he entered the pavilion.
Lady Yuna stood near the wooden railing.
She wore simple clothing without royal colors, but Jin Woo recognized her instantly.
She turned when she heard his footsteps.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she bowed respectfully.
“Lord Jin Woo.”
“You asked me to come.”
Yuna looked nervous.
Not the nervousness of guilt.
Something deeper.
Like someone afraid of being overheard even in an empty place.
“You should not stay here long,” she said quietly.
“Then speak quickly.”
She looked around once before continuing.
“What I tell you tonight cannot leave this pavilion.”
Jin Woo’s expression remained calm.
“That depends on what you say.”
Yuna lowered her voice further.
“The princess did not order Lady Ara’s death.”
Jin Woo’s eyes sharpened instantly.
The words surprised him.
Not because he trusted Serina.
But because Yuna sounded completely certain.
“She hated Ara,” Jin Woo said coldly.
“Yes,” Yuna admitted quietly. “But hatred and murder are not always the same.”
Silence filled the pavilion.
Wind moved softly through the trees outside.
Jin Woo watched her carefully.
“Continue.”
Yuna hesitated.
Then she finally spoke.
“There were other people involved. Powerful people. People even the princess could not fully control.”
Jin Woo felt the atmosphere shift again.
Slowly, the truth was becoming larger.
More dangerous.
Yuna looked directly at him for the first time.
“The deeper you search, the more enemies you will find.”
“Who are they?”
“I do not know everything,” she admitted. “But I know this much. Lady Ara discovered something before her death.”
Jin Woo’s entire body became still.
“What did she discover?”
Yuna shook her head slowly.
“That part was hidden even from us.”
Us.
So Serina knew something too.
Jin Woo noticed that immediately.
Yuna continued quietly,
“After Lady Ara died, the princess changed. She became afraid.”
Afraid.
That word did not match Serina easily.
And yet Jin Woo remembered the strange look in her eyes earlier.
Not guilt.
Fear.
Suddenly, pieces inside his mind started connecting differently.
Not fully.
But enough to make him question everything he believed so far.
Yuna stepped back nervously.
“I should go.”
Jin Woo stopped her with one question.
“Why help me?”
Yuna looked down for a moment.
Then answered softly,
“Because Lady Ara once saved my younger sister.”
Jin Woo stayed silent.
Again.
Ara’s kindness continued returning to him through strangers.
Even after death.
Yuna bowed deeply.
“Please be careful, Lord Jin Woo.”
Then she disappeared into the darkness beyond the pavilion.
Jin Woo remained standing there alone.
The cold wind brushed against his robes as his thoughts turned heavier.
This was no longer only about revenge.
Ara had discovered something.
Something important enough to frighten powerful people inside the palace.
And now, for the first time,
Jin Woo realized that her death might not have been about love or jealousy alone.
It might have been about silence.
- Writer
