Chapter 14: The Note
678 Words
CHAPTER 14: THE NOTE
The palace didn’t sleep that night.
Neither did Seo-ah.
Two guards stood outside her door. Two more paced the hall. Every shadow looked like a knife.
She sat by the fire, the king’s coat draped over her shoulders. It still smelled like snow, steel, and Kadir.
Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
‘The dethroned b***h dies next.’
Who hated her enough to write that?
Southern nobles who lost everything.
Northern lords who thought she stole their king.
Or someone who served her dinner 2 hours ago.
A knock.
The guards moved instantly. “Who is it.”
“It’s me.” Kadir’s voice. Tired. Cold.
The door opened.
He looked wrecked. Snow in his hair. Blood on his knuckles. Not his.
His black coat was gone. Replaced by rage.
“Everyone is in chains,” he said without greeting. “Cooks. Maids. The taster. All of them.”
Seo-ah stood. “Kadir—”
“The note.” He pulled a scrap of parchment from inside his vest. Burnt edges. Cheap ink.
He didn’t hand it to her. He held it where she could see.
The handwriting was jagged. Angry.
The dethroned b***h dies next.
Seo-ah’s stomach turned. “It’s Southern script.”
“I know.” Kadir’s jaw ticked. “Which means it’s either a Southerner who wants you dead... or someone who wants us to think it’s a Southerner.”
She reached for it. He let her take it. His fingers lingered on hers. Too tight.
“You’re not leaving my sight,” he said. “Not to bathe. Not to sleep. Not for one second.”
“Kadir, that’s—”
“Non-negotiable.” He stepped closer. “A year, Seo-ah. I gave you one year of peace. I was selfish. I thought if I built you a pretty cage with flowers, they’d forget you were the enemy.”
“It wasn’t a cage.” Her voice cracked. “It was home.”
His expression broke for half a second. Then it hardened.
“Then I’ll burn anyone who tries to take it from you.”
He pulled her into him. No gentleness. Just arms like iron and a heartbeat that matched hers.
“You’re not dying,” he whispered into her hair. “Not on my watch. Not ever. Do you hear me?”
She nodded against his chest. “I hear you.”
“Good.” He pulled back, and the king was back. “We start with motive. Who benefits if you’re gone?”
“The treaty collapses,” Seo-ah said immediately. “The South rises again. The North blames you for being weak.”
Kadir nodded once. “Three people on the council voted against the marriage. They’re first.”
“You can’t just—”
“I can.” His eyes were flat. “And I will. Unless you have a better idea.”
Seo-ah stared at the note again. Something about it.
The paper. Cheap. But the wax seal at the bottom... half-melted. Gold.
“That’s palace wax,” she said quietly. “The kind only the Royal Secretary uses.”
Kadir went still.
“The Royal Secretary reports to the Queen Mother,” he said slowly.
Both of them froze.
The Queen Mother.
Kadir’s mother.
The woman who called Seo-ah “a stain on the throne” at their wedding.
Silence.
Then Kadir laughed. Once. No humor.
“Of course,” he said. “Of course it’s her.”
He dropped the note on the table. “Get dressed. We’re going to her wing. Now.”
“Kadir, if we accuse her without proof—”
“Proof?” He turned to her, and his smile was terrifying. “I don’t need proof. I need her to know we know.”
He held out his hand.
“Come. It’s time my mother remembered who the king is.”
Seo-ah took his hand.
Outside, the palace was awake. Torches. Whispers. Fear.
And in the Queen Mother’s wing, a single candle blew out.
Someone was waiting.
- Writer
