Dan-Bi stood his ground, the dim lantern light casting sharp shadows across his face.
The hooded figure exhaled slowly, their voice barely above a whisper.
"You are too bold for someone who should not exist."
Dan-Bi's smile didn't waver.
"And yet, here I am."
A pause.
Then the figure sighed.
"The Queen's mistake was thinking exile would erase the past."
Dan-Bi's fingers twitched slightly.
A calculated statement.
A test.
"I was under the impression that exile means to forget," he murmured.
The figure scoffed.
"The ministers may have erased her from the records, but some of us remember. Some of us never forget."
Dan-Bi narrowed his eyes.
There it was.
Proof that he—and by extension, his mother—were still a threat in the eyes of the court.
The figure took a step closer.
"You walk freely within these palace walls, but don't mistake that for safety," they warned.
"Why warn me at all?" Dan-Bi asked smoothly.
The hooded figure hesitated.
Then, with quiet finality—
"Because I know what it is like to be hunted."
The words hung between them, heavy and laced with unspoken history.
Then, without another word, the figure turned and disappeared into the night.
Dan-Bi remained still, watching the empty space where they had stood.
A warning.
A memory.
A puzzle piece falling into place.
After a long moment, he exhaled and turned back toward the scholars' quarters.
Unaware that in the shadows, Jin-Seok remained.
His expression unreadable.
His mind racing.
Dan-Bi was hiding more than he let on.
And Jin-Seok was no longer certain—
If he was the only one watching him.
---