The sun dipped low behind the palace walls, casting a golden glow across the tiled roofs. In the Queen's quarters, silence hung heavy. Incense burned quietly in a jade bowl, its soft smoke curling through the air like a waiting question.
Queen Dowager Gyeong sat in her usual place by the wide window, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her posture was regal as always, but her eyes were distant thoughtful.
She had summoned her son hours ago.
And now, at last, he entered.
King Hwan Seong bowed respectfully before his mother.
"You called for me, Mother."
The Queen gestured wordlessly toward the cushion across from her. He sat down, composed as ever.
She regarded him carefully.
"There are whispers," she began slowly, voice steady. "They say you returned to the palace and went straight to the eastern wing. That you carried the enemy prince in your arms. That you… stayed the night there."
The King said nothing.
"I did not wish to believe them," she added. "But I heard it from Lady Eun Hye herself."
At the mention of that name, the King's jaw tightened subtly.
"What did she say?" he asked.
"That you were soaked in rain. That the boy had collapsed. That you held him like someone precious and stayed until morning." She paused, voice sharp but quiet. "Is this true?"
A long silence.
Then, Hwan Seong answered plainly, without hesitation.
"Yes."
The Queen's eyes darkened.
"Why?"
"He was being punished without reason. I did not know he was ill," he said. "When I returned and found him in that state, I acted. That is all."
"And it required you to remain by his side all night?" she asked, incredulous but calm. "You forget you are a king, not a nursemaid."
"I did what I thought was necessary."
His voice held no anger, but it was firm. The Queen looked at her son the boy she raised, now a ruler hardened by war and loss. She had seen him break kingdoms without blinking.
But now… his eyes held something else.
"Do you pity him?" she asked carefully. "Is that what this is?"
"No."
"Then what is it, Seong?"
He looked at her. For a long time, he said nothing.
Then he replied with a quiet finality.
"I don't know."
The Queen studied his face, the tightness in his shoulders, the way his gaze didn't waver but didn't open either.
"This cannot continue," she said finally. "The court is already watching you closely. One wrong move, one rumor, and they will turn it against you."
"Let them try."
"Don't be a fool," she snapped. "You think I don't see what this could become? You think I don't know how men lose themselves in things they shouldn't want?"
Hwan Seong stood, the conversation clearly over in his mind.
"You don't need to worry about me," he said. "I haven't lost anything."
He bowed.
"Good night, Mother."
As he turned and walked away, the Queen remained seated, staring out the window.
A knot tightened in her chest not just as a monarch, but as a mother.
Because she saw it now, even if he didn't.
He had already begun to lose something.
And it terrified her.