Moonsen's lips curved with a smile. He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice as though sharing a secret with the night itself.
"I heard Her Majesty has always loved the spring lantern festival. Is that true?"
Chief Han's gaze softened, and she gave a firm nod.
"Yes. Ever since she was a young girl, Her Majesty has cherished the spring lantern festival."
Lady Park added with a wistful sigh, "But since ascending the throne, she has not gone to one. Duty has kept her within these walls."
Moonsen's smile deepened, his eyes alight as though lanterns were already burning within them.
"Then it is simple. We shall bring the spring lantern festival into the palace. A late birthday celebration—held beneath lantern light. It would be perfect."
Lady Park pressed her hand to her lips, a mischievous smile tugging at her expression.
"Yes, but it must be kept from Her Majesty. If she knew, she would never allow us to spend our time preparing such a thing."
Chief Han and Moonsen exchanged glances, both breaking into quiet, knowing smiles.
"Of course," Moonsen said, his voice warm with resolve. "Let it be our secret gift to her."
The three of them stood together in the lantern-lit garden, petals drifting at their feet, a quiet oath uniting them in the stillness of the spring night.
That same night, beneath the hush of moonlight, Jade slipped silently from the palace gates. Dressed in black robes and a dark headband, his figure blended with the shadows. His steps—measured, quick, and soundless—carried him across the deserted streets until he reached a secluded residence.
Inside the dim-lit study, he sat opposite Kim Jin. The air between them was thick with silence, broken only by the faint crackle of the lantern flame.
Kim Jin lifted a porcelain cup of tea to his lips, sipped slowly, and steadied his voice.
"So, Jade… It has been some time since you last came."
Jade lowered his eyes, his face unreadable, his voice calm.
"I have been occupied with palace duties—coming and going without rest."
Kim Jin's lips twisted into a dissatisfied smile, his nod deliberate.
"Well, yes. As the head of Hana's military, who would doubt your burden? So many responsibilities, so many eyes upon you." His tone hardened, his hoarse voice pressing like a weight. His gaze sharpened.
"But, Jade… you have not forgotten the true reason you are here in the Hana Kingdom, have you?"
For a moment, Jade's lips curved ever so slightly, a shadow of sarcasm glinting there.
'Of course I remember, he thought. But forgive me… I cannot. I will not.'
He raised his head then, eyes steady, and met Kim Jin's piercing stare. His smile was composed, unfaltering.
"I have not forgotten."
Kim Jin let out a heavy sigh, setting down his cup.
"Then tell me… is there progress? Have you moved closer to becoming the Queen's royal consort?"
Jade lifted his gaze to Kim Jin.
In that instant, a bitterness surged within him, a taste so sharp it hollowed his chest. Every word exchanged in this hidden study dragged him back to the truth he despised—his deception of Queen Genie.
'The woman I love.'
Not merely a passing affection, but the only woman his heart had ever turned toward. The first, and he knew, the last.
Unbidden, her voice came back to him, soft yet piercing, echoing from the prayer room.
"I like you."
How those words had once made his entire being tremble. And yet… he had not given her his truth in return. He had hidden it, swallowed it, smothered it beneath the chains of his role.
The bitterness sharpened into anger—not at Genie, but at Kim Jin, at Ash, at the cruel deception that shackled him. Forcing him to betray the very woman whose smile alone kept him breathing.
He missed her.
Though he had seen her that very morning, seated in regal composure at the royal assembly, he longed to see her again. To hear her voice, to feel her nearness, even if from afar.
The candle between them flickered, its flame faltering in the draft. Yet Jade's eyes did not falter. They held steady, hard as tempered steel.
"No," he said at last, his voice even, but carved with defiance. "There is no progress."
Kim Jin's brows knit tightly, his voice carrying urgency as he leaned forward.
"But the Ash Kingdom is waiting—for you to become the Queen's royal consort, her husband. Only then will you gain command of Hana's military, its administration, its lifeblood. And once it is in your hands, you must deliver it into Ash's grip. That is the mission. That is why you are here. Tell me, Jade—will it take longer than expected? When will it be done?"
Jade's gaze did not waver.
"Sir," he said, his tone steady, his voice cutting through the flickering silence, "even if I were to become the royal consort, Her Majesty would never hand over full control of the Hana Kingdom's military and government. She is not a ruler so easily deceived."
He paused then, his lips curling faintly, almost bitterly.
"And yet… I do desire to be her consort. I do wish to be her husband."
At those words, Kim Jin's eyes brightened, his face breaking into a hopeful smile.
"Yes—yes, that is it. That is the path. You too wish to be the Queen's consort?"
"Yes," Jade said, his voice calm but firm. "I wish it with all my being. But…"
The flicker of the candle flame wavered, and his next words fell like steel.
"Not for the Ash Kingdom. Not for you, sir. But because I love her."
The words struck the room like thunder.
Kim Jin's smile faltered at once, his eyes widening, shaken to their core. He stammered, his voice trembling.
"I… I must have misheard. What did you say, Jade?"
Jade leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp, unflinching.
"I love Her Majesty. I love her—Queen Genie."
His voice did not tremble, not even once.
Kim Jin's face drained of color, his eyes widening in disbelief. His lips quivered, as though the words before him were too heavy to grasp.
"But… but, Jade… How could you…? How did this… happen?" His voice cracked, caught between anger and grief.
Jade's reply was steady, his eyes darkened with the heaviness of truth.
"I have loved her for so long, sir, for so long that I cannot even recall the beginning. It feels as though my heart was born with her name already carved into it."
Kim Jin staggered a step back, his breath unsteady, his gaze fixed upon the young man before him.
"Then… Why? Why, Jade, did you always obey my orders, obey the commands of the Ash Kingdom, if your heart was bound to her?"
Jade's gaze softened, his voice lowering with both sorrow and resolve.
"Because I could not betray you, sir."
Kim Jin blinked rapidly, his shock deepening, his lips parting wordlessly.
Jade pressed on, his words carrying both confession and farewell.
"You were the one who raised me when I was a boy with nothing—when my parents had passed, when I roamed the streets alone. You took me in, Ash Kingdom embraced me, trained me, made me into a warrior… and told me I was the best among them."
Kim Jin's throat tightened; the weight of Jade's words pressed upon him like a mountain.
"And so," Jade continued, "I could not speak the truth. But neither could I obey—not from the moment I realized my heart belonged to Her Majesty. I thought silence would protect her, that if I hid it, no harm would come. But I cannot hide it any longer. Not from you, sir."
His voice grew firmer, carrying the unshakable clarity of a blade drawn from its sheath.
"I cannot deceive Her Majesty any longer with secret plots whispered in the shadows. And I cannot deceive you either, sir. I must speak plainly. I can no longer follow your commands. Not now. Not ever again."
Kim Jin's eyes, though shaken, began to regain a fragile composure. He studied Jade, perplexity still clouding his features, yet behind it a strange calm began to settle. His voice, hoarse and broken, finally emerged.
"So now… I understand. At last, the truth falls into place." His lips curved into a bitter smile. "All those times… when the commands failed without cause, when plans dissolved like mist… It was you. You stopped them."
Jade's gaze did not waver, though sorrow pooled in his chest. He bowed his head slightly.
"…I did. I am sorry. Sorry for disappointing you, sir."
Kim Jin exhaled, a heavy sigh that seemed to drag his years and loyalty out of him. His smile deepened, though it was lined with grief and resignation.
"What words are left for me to say to you, Jade? You are in love with the Queen… I cannot expect you to strike Hana in the back any longer."
A small, helpless chuckle slipped from his lips, frayed at the edges.
Jade's heart twisted. That smile—it was not the furious wrath he had feared, but something far more unbearable.
The relentless sorrow of a man who had lost his last card. For the first time, Jade felt relief rising from deep inside, mingled with sorrow and guilt.
'He is not as mad as I thought,' Jade reflected, his chest tight. 'He looks… as though he has given up. As though all that bound us has slipped from his hands.'