Chapter 1: Prologue

The sun that had been clinging to the mountain ridge suddenly vanished, and the sky was stained with a deep purple hue.

Beneath that mysterious sky.

Facing an unrealistic presence, Huiyeon blinked eyes clouded with fear, shock, and confusion.

Tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes traced long lines down her pale cheeks before hanging at the tip of her chin.

“……I will return it to you.”

A man burst into laughter upon hearing the words that flowed out along her thin, trembling breath.

His eerily glowing golden eyes crinkled softly, and his red lips curled into a twisted smile.

The man, standing before the collapsed Huiyeon, bent down and reached out his hand.

A hand as delicate as his refined features wrapped around her throat.

The man gripped and then released her slender neck, which was small enough to be held in a single hand.

“To do that, you would have to give up your life again. Even so, are you saying you will return it?”

Unlike his light tone, which sounded as if he were tossing out a joke, the hand gripping her neck was incredibly heavy.

His golden eyes, staring straight at her as if to peer into the truth, were enchantingly beautiful.

To think that the eyes of a cruel person who could snuff out her breath in an instant could be this beautiful.

Huiyeon blinked in slight admiration as the light made her eyes ache, and the pooled tears flowed down her cheeks again, mixing with those hanging at the tip of her chin.

Unable to withstand the weight, a teardrop fell and dampened the back of his hand.

As if burned, the spot where the tear touched turned red before returning to its original color, but it happened in a mere flash, so neither of them noticed.

Thinking it was a relief that this man was the last thing she would see, Huiyeon parted her lips.

“If it must be so, then I shall do it.”

Then, she quietly closed her eyes.

She did not want to behold any more hideous things.

“It is truly easy, then.”

Hearing the man’s sneer, Huiyeon took a small, sharp breath, thinking, ‘Finally, it is coming to an end.’

She calmly waited for the pain that would soon find her.

However, no matter how long she waited, her neck did not snap, nor did her breath stop.

The hand gripping her neck moved in an unexpected direction.

His thumb brushed against the tip of her chin, wiping away the teardrop that had formed again.

The trajectory of his wet finger felt even more distinct because of it.

The thumb that moved along her jawline touched behind her ear.

Then, his wide-spread hand roughly grabbed the back of her head.

“Ugh!”

Above her short groan, the man’s cold laughter echoed.

“There is no talk of returning or not. Since I am the one who saved you, you are mine.”

Damp breath poured over her cheeks.

“Whether I kill you, let you live, or do something else to you. It means you cannot refuse. Do you understand?”

“Nngh!”

Strength was added to the hand gripping her hair, as if commanding her to open her eyes and look at him.

When she opened the eyes she had closed while bracing for death, those still-beautiful golden eyes were looking down at her.

The grip on her hair loosened.

The man, cupping her cheeks with both hands, muttered softly as if talking to himself while rubbing her tear-stained eyes with his thumbs.

“For a truly long time, you have waited for a number of days that one cannot even begin to measure…….”

The man easily read the question residing in her eyes—eyes that looked like black jewels rimmed with gold, different from his golden ones—and let out a dry laugh.

“It does not matter if you do not understand what I mean. I will let you know one by one from now on. Humiliation, shame, anger…… those wretched emotions.”

The man, muttering incomprehensible words, still wore a smile on his lips, but he did not look happy in the slightest.

It is dark and damp.

That is all she can remember after waking up.

If there is one more thing, it is that the dream, which disappears and cannot be remembered once she opens her eyes, feels terribly sad.

Today, as always, her eyes were wet when she woke up.

What used to happen once every few months became once every few weeks, and now it happens once every few days.

Huiyeon was extremely curious about what kind of dream could soak her pillow so thoroughly every time.

‘Could it be a lost memory?’

Ten years ago.

She lost her memories after being severely injured.

She only knew her name was ‘Joo Huiyeon’ because those beside her told her so; when she first opened her eyes, she could not remember her name, let alone her age.

Her way of life, her environment.

Everything was unfamiliar and difficult.

Thus, Huiyeon had to relearn everything, just as an infant learns to toddle.

“Princess, have you awakened?”

As if she had been waiting for Huiyeon to rise, Lady Go’s voice was heard from outside the door as soon as there was a sign of movement.

“Yes.”

“I shall bring in the wash water.”

“Do so.”

As soon as the command was given, the door opened.

Was she still half-asleep?

Huiyeon blinked.

This morning’s scene was different from any other day.

Unlike her usual self, Lady Go had empty hands.

Instead, two palace maids she had never seen before followed behind her.

Judging by the brass basin, towel, and clothing they were carrying, it was clear without explanation that they had come to attend to her.

Though a physician occasionally came and went, there had never been a single time she could remember where palace maids came to serve her.

That was because Huiyeon’s residence was a detached palace located in the most remote part of the royal palace; it was called the ‘Cold Palace’ because it was where royalty who had committed sins resided.

According to Lady Go, the sole palace official and her wet nurse, Huiyeon had lived here since the moment she was born.

Huiyeon had asked what sin a newborn child could have possibly committed to be imprisoned in the Cold Palace.

[Your Highness, you committed a sin the very moment you were born. Because you were born as a twin.]

[Why is that?]

Lady Go looked at Huiyeon with pitying eyes as she wore a face that completely failed to understand.

In this country, the Taeseong Kingdom, twins were a symbol of misfortune, so it was not uncommon for one of the born children to be killed.

If they were the same gender, the child born later was killed; if they were different genders, the female child was.

Since she was born as a twin of the royal family, and not just a commoner’s family, in such a kingdom, Huiyeon was actually destined to die as soon as she was born.

However, she survived.

She lived, but she had to exist as a being no different from the dead, confined within the Cold Palace.

And today.

The presence of unfamiliar palace maids in the Cold Palace made Huiyeon swell with anticipation.

Huiyeon opened her lips, trying her best to hide it.

“Lady Go.”

At the low call, Lady Go immediately realized what Huiyeon was curious about.

“His Majesty the King has sent them.”

Huiyeon’s face glowed with joy upon hearing the answer she had been waiting for.

Huiyeon’s other half, born as a twin.

Her brother, Jeongcheon, grew up freely, unlike her.

That meant that if he set his mind to it, coming to the Cold Palace was not a very difficult task for him.

[You’ve woken up!]

It was something that happened not long after she realized she had lost her memories.

Huiyeon, who had slipped away from her bedchamber to the garden after confirming Lady Go was asleep, was startled by the sudden appearance of a boy and tried to scream.

However, the boy’s movements were faster.

The boy’s hand covered Huiyeon’s mouth.

[Mmph! Mmph!]

[Ah! My. It seems you really have forgotten everything.]

[Mmm! Mm-mmph!]

[Huiyeon, it’s good to welcome your brother warmly, but what will you do if Lady Go wakes up?]

At the word ‘brother,’ Huiyeon’s movements, which had been struggling to escape his hand, went still.

Seeing Huiyeon observing him with rolling eyes, Jeongcheon burst into a mischievous laugh.

Confirmed under the moonlight, the boy’s features bore a striking resemblance to her own.

It seemed the boy truly was the other half Lady Go had spoken of.

When Huiyeon became quiet, Jeongcheon removed the hand that had covered her mouth.

Having gained her freedom, Huiyeon hurriedly tried to greet him according to the etiquette she had learned from Lady Go.

Though he was her other half, the boy before her was the Crown Prince of a nation.

[Cr-Crown Prince…….]

[Stop. Why are you acting so formal between us? Just be comfortable. Who else would I speak this comfortably with if not you?]

Jeongcheon waved his hand and straightened Huiyeon, who was about to bow her head.

Then, he moved familiarly as if it were his own quarters.

All the while, he firmly held the wrist of Huiyeon, who was wondering if it was truly alright to do so.

She wondered if she was dreaming because she missed people, but even after that, Jeongcheon often visited the Cold Palace.

It was mostly late at night to avoid the eyes of others, but Huiyeon liked it anyway.

The fact that there was someone other than Lady Go she could talk to.

And she liked that it was someone of her own blood.

[I will set you free one day.]

Jeongcheon felt sorry for his sister trapped in the Cold Palace.

He used to say, like a habit, that he would give her freedom once he inherited the throne.

She was simply grateful for his heart that cared for her.

When would that day come? Would it even come at all?

Huiyeon would hide her bittersweet thoughts and respond to Jeongcheon with a smiling face, telling him not to forget when the time came.

Since the Father King was healthy and without ailments, it seemed it would take several more decades for Jeongcheon to inherit the throne.

However, contrary to her thoughts that it was something without immediate possibility, the day Jeongcheon inherited the throne arrived early.

The Father King, who had gone out hunting, fell from his horse.

Unluckily, the Father King, who was severely injured after being kicked by the horse’s hind legs following the fall, passed away just like that.

It was a royal passing that no one had anticipated.

Naturally, the throne passed to Jeongcheon, who was the Crown Prince.

Three months had passed since the King of the Taeseong Kingdom changed.

Originally, he had many duties as the Crown Prince and did not visit Huiyeon often, but after becoming King, Jeongcheon did not visit Huiyeon even once.

So she worried that he might forget her forever, but seeing that he sent palace maids to the Cold Palace like this, it seemed it had been a needless worry.

Looking around the Cold Palace bustling with busy palace maids, Huiyeon could not hide her excitement.

‘He will keep his promise…….’

And that night, Jeongcheon came to the Cold Palace with only one guard, without even an attending eunuch.

Huiyeon, who had been getting ready for bed after waiting until she was exhausted, quickly changed her clothes.

Her heart was anxious, fearing that Jeongcheon might have already left if her preparations were late.

“Brother.”

As she called out to him as soon as she opened the door, a kind voice answered as if in response, “Huiyeon.”

Jeongcheon was sitting in a pavilion, tilting a wine cup.

“You might fall. Come slowly.”

It was her brother, whom she hadn’t seen in three months.

Huiyeon could not slow her steps despite his worried words.

However, once she reached the pavilion where Jeongcheon was, she could not act as innocently as she had moments ago.

The atmosphere emanating from Jeongcheon was clearly different from three months ago.

At the dignity naturally flowing from his body, Huiyeon clearly felt the fact that the person before her was not just her brother, but a King.

“……I greet Your Majesty the King.”

“Rise. Didn’t I tell you that you don’t need to be formal with me?”

The words were the same as when they were young, but Huiyeon could not answer as easily as she did then.

“Others will criticize if they see.”

“Then you can just be comfortable when others are not looking.”

Jeongcheon smiled with softly curved eyes, as if asking, ‘Is that alright then?’

Because he muttered that he would be disappointed if she didn’t, she eventually had no choice but to nod.

Though he was a King, the fact that Jeongcheon was still her only kind brother had not changed.

The anxiety and nervousness that had been spreading in her heart melted away.

Huiyeon, smiling brightly, quickly went up and sat in the pavilion.

“Brother, you look very tired.”

It wasn’t just empty words; Jeongcheon had a very weary face, as if he had come after dealing with government affairs all day.

Seeing that face, Huiyeon felt embarrassed that she had been grumbling all day about why he wasn’t coming sooner.

“If I had known I would hear your concern, I should have stayed up all night and come more often before.”

Jeongcheon, rubbing his chin which had grown sharper as if he had lost weight, smiled playfully.

“You stayed up all night?”

“Well, occasionally?”

At the answer he tossed out as if it were nothing, Huiyeon began to nag.

Jeongcheon burst into a pleasant laugh, as if he didn’t dislike it.

Once the moment that felt distant passed, the awkwardness vanished like melting snow.

Just as they had when they were young, the two shared a rambling, trivial conversation.

At any other time, she would have been immersed in her chat with Jeongcheon, but today Huiyeon could not concentrate at all.

She was preoccupied with gauging when Jeongcheon would say he was letting her out of the Cold Palace.

However, no matter how long she waited, the word ‘Cold’ from Cold Palace did not come out of Jeongcheon’s mouth.

Huiyeon, moistening her parched lips with the tea placed before her, hesitated before opening her mouth.

“Um, Brother……”

“Yes?”

Jeongcheon smiled lightly as if telling her to speak if she had something to say.

“Can I leave the Cold Palace now?”

When she cautiously tested the waters, Jeongcheon let out a short exclamation, “Ah!” and rubbed his eyebrows.

The smile that had been hanging on his lips all along vanished as if it had been washed away.

She had a bad feeling.

Jeongcheon rubbing his eyebrows was a habit that appeared when he heard something troubling.

She felt she knew what the returning answer would be without even hearing it.

Huiyeon muttered weakly.

“I cannot leave……”

Adding that she had just brought it up and that it was fine, Huiyeon forced a smile.

However, both of them knew it wasn’t truly fine.

“I’m sorry. It’s because I don’t have power yet……. Right now, the most I can do is send a few palace maids into the Cold Palace……”

Jeongcheon had sent the maids simply out of a desire for her to be a bit more comfortable.

She was embarrassed.

By the fact that she had gotten excited all by herself and made Jeongcheon’s heart heavy.

Unlike the afternoon when she was extremely excited, her heart sank boundlessly.