Chapter 59 — Finding The Girl Who Danced.
Madam was reviewing a stack of documents when the door suddenly opened.
She looked up instinctively.
The moment she saw who had entered, her eyes widened in shock.
"Your Majesty—"
Madam immediately rose from her seat and moved to bow in a proper courtesy.
"Stop."
The Queen's calm voice halted her before she could lower herself completely.
"You know why I'm here."
Madam slowly straightened again. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Then Your Majesty must already know the answer you seek."
The Queen walked further into the office, her steps slow and unhurried. The room fell quiet except for the faint rustle of her robes.
She stopped in front of the desk. Her gaze was steady.
"Tell me," she said simply.
"What do you think of that child?"
Madam did not answer immediately. Instead, she folded her hands neatly in front of her.
"Minhwa…" she said thoughtfully. After a moment, she spoke.
"She is cautious."
The Queen waited.
"Cold," Madam continued calmly. "Uncaring on the surface. Stubborn. And… not easy to manipulate."
The Queen's brows lifted slightly.
"Oh?" Her tone carried mild curiosity. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
Madam met her gaze without hesitation.
"I tested her."
The Queen's eyes narrowed slightly, though her expression remained composed.
"Tested her?"
Madam nodded once.
"I used a girl, her roommate."
A brief pause.
"Jianhe."
The Queen remained silent, inviting her to continue.
Madam spoke calmly.
"Jianhe is clever in her own way. She does what she's told without asking questions. Emotional. The type who easily gains sympathy from others."
She walked slowly toward the side table and poured tea for the Queen before continuing.
"I knew if Minhwa were someone who is easily manipulated she would have been jianhe's friend by now, If she cared deeply about what others thought of her, Jianhe's little performance with Min Ke would have driven her to tears, proving she wasn't worthy.
She placed the teacup in front of the Queen.
"But it didn't."
The Queen picked up the cup slowly.
"Instead?" she asked.
Madam's smile deepened slightly.
"Instead she dismantled Jianhe's intentions completely."
The Queen took a small sip of tea. Her eyes held a trace of amusement now.
"So she noticed."
"Immediately," Madam replied.
"Interesting," the Queen murmured.
Madam continued.
"She neither lost nor created a scene while winning."
"She simply forced Jianhe to confront her own actions."
The Queen lowered the teacup.
"And Jianhe?"
Madam gave a quiet chuckle.
"Cornered."
The Queen leaned slightly back in her chair, thoughtful. Then she asked one more question.
"Can she be controlled?"
Madam shook her head without hesitation.
"No."
Another pause. Then she added quietly,
"But she can be guided."
The Queen's lips curved faintly.
"Good."
Her gaze drifted toward the window.
From outside, the distant rhythm of practice drums echoed faintly through the courtyard.
"That is exactly what I was hoping for."
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Meanwhile, in the System World
The world glittered softly.
In the very place where Mira had been lying just two days ago, there now rested a cute, fluffy pink ball. Its eyes were tightly closed, and on its small body a faint star-shaped mark glowed.
Two days had passed since it had fallen into that position.
The cute, fluffy pink ball was none other than Vira.
It tossed and turned restlessly. From the way it moved, it was obvious that she was either dreaming… or trapped in a nightmare.
Suddenly, a scream tore out of her throat.
"Mother, nooooo!"
Her eyes snapped open.
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Back in Hanshen Ge
Minhwa followed behind Master Du Dufu as he led her deeper into the compound.
The noise of the outer training hall gradually faded behind them.
Soon they entered a much larger chamber.
This was the inner hall.
The atmosphere here was noticeably different. The girls training inside moved with sharper precision, their steps quicker, their posture stricter. Clearly, the dancers here were more advanced.
Minhwa's eyes swept across the room once.
There were many girls here.
And as she quickly noticed—she seemed to be the youngest among them.
The class was divided into five sections, each group practicing different levels of movements under separate instructors.
Master Du walked straight toward one of the sections.
As they approached, Minhwa's gaze briefly passed over a familiar group.
Min Ke. Jianhe. And Yunluo.
They were standing in the section not far from where Master Du stopped.
Level Seven.
Their eyes met for a brief moment.
Minhwa saw them. She ignored them.
Min Ke glanced away first with a small scoff. Jianhe quickly turned her head as if Minhwa didn't exist. Yunluo simply watched silently before returning to her practice.
Master Du stopped beside a group of girls practicing controlled spins.
"This is Level Six," he said calmly.
The girls paused slightly to glance at the newcomer.
Master Du looked towards Minhwa then said
"You will start your lessons here. Do you understand?"
"Yes master Du", replied Minhwa .
"Go on". Commanded master Du.
Minhwa did as she was told.
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The moment Minhwa stepped fully into the group, a girl nearby immediately bounced closer.
She looked to be around thirteen years old, with bright eyes and an expression full of curiosity.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully.
Her voice was energetic and impossible to ignore.
"My name is Dunluo. What's yours?"
"Minhwa," Minhwa replied calmly.
The girl blinked once. Then her face lit up.
"Minhwa? That's a beautiful name!"
She leaned a little closer as if sharing a secret, then asked.
"It means beautiful flower, right?."
Minhwa gave a small hum of acknowledgment.
But Dunluo didn't seem bothered by the cold response at all. She continued chatting happily.
"You know, I really liked what you did to Min Ke and her group earlier today. That was super cool."
Minhwa hummed again.
Dunluo lowered her voice slightly, clearly enjoying the gossip.
"You might not know this, but today you just went against the most powerful trio in Hanshen Ge."
That made Minhwa turn slightly toward her. Dunluo noticed immediately and grinned.
"Right? I knew that would get your attention."
She glanced discreetly toward the other section.
"Min Ke is the biggest bully in Hanshen Ge," Dunluo said. "So you should be careful around her."
She paused dramatically.
"But she's not the most powerful."
Minhwa looked at her. "Yunluo?" she asked.
Dunluo waved her hands quickly.
"No, no."
She leaned closer.
"Outside Hanshen Ge, Yunluo is very powerful. She's the second illegitimate daughter of the Left Prime Minister."
Minhwa's gaze flickered briefly toward Yunluo's direction.
"She only came here to learn dance for some reason. She's not even a gisaeng."
Dunluo straightened again and whispered dramatically.
"The most powerful person in Hanshen Ge is actually… Jianhe."
Minhwa's brow lifted slightly.
"People call her Madam's Pet."
"Madam's pet…" Minhwa murmured.
Then unexpectedly—She chuckled softly.
Minwha smile scared Dunluo.
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Across the hall, Master Du Dufu had already approached the instructor for the inner hall.
The man was tall and stern-looking, with sharp eyes that missed very little.
This was Instructor Zhao Liang.
Master Du spoke quietly to him.
"The new girl I brought in earlier—Minhwa."
Instructor Zhao Liang glanced toward the Level Six section.
"The short one?"
"Yes."
Master Du folded his hands behind his back.
"Her foundation is very strong."
Instructor Zhao raised an eyebrow.
"So?"
Master Du continued calmly.
"Within a week, she should be able to move to Level Seven."
Instructor Zhao looked at Minhwa again. His eyes narrowed slightly with interest.
"I see."
Across the hall, Minhwa stood calmly among the Level Six dancers.
Unaware that some instructors had already begun watching her very closely.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile…
The Crown Prince was still searching for his angel.
From the outer hall, he had gone to the garden. From the garden to the practice courtyard.
From there to the kitchen.
At some point, he had even wandered near the vegetable farm behind the compound.
By now, they had practically walked through half of Hanshen Ge. The guard following behind him was starting to look tired.
Finally, the guard couldn't help but ask.
"Your Highness… what exactly are we looking for?"
The Crown Prince stopped walking and looked at him as if the answer was obvious.
"I'm looking for the girl who was dancing earlier."
The guard blinked.
"You mean the one with Master Du, Your Highness?"
"Yes. Her."
The guard scratched his head.
"Oh… they must have gone to the inner hall."
The Crown Prince froze.
"The inner hall?" Then he turned slowly. "And you know where that is?"
"Of course," the guard replied casually. "It's not far from the outer hall where we first saw them."
There was a long silence. The air stilled. The Crown Prince stared at him.
"So you're telling me…" he said slowly.
"That while we were walking all over Hanshen Ge… searching everywhere…"
"You already knew where she probably was?"
The guard nodded honestly.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince's face twitched.
"Why are you so dumb?" he asked in frustration.
The guard looked shocked.
"What did I do?"
The Crown Prince rubbed his temples.
"Nothing. You know what? Forget it."
He waved his hand.
"Just take me to the inner hall."
"Yes, Your Highness," the guard replied, looking slightly wronged.
The two of them walked back inside Hanshen Ge. After a short distance, they finally reached the inner hall.
The guard pushed the door open. The Crown Prince stepped inside.
His eyes immediately scanned the room, passing over dozens of girls practicing their dance steps.
Then— He saw her.
Minhwa.
At that exact moment, Minhwa also turned her head.
Their eyes met. Time stopped.
And for a brief moment—The world seemed to freeze.
The Crown Prince felt his heart slow. Stop. Then begin beating wildly in his chest.
He took a step forward.
But before he could move further— A voice called from behind him.
"Mo Tian."
He froze. He knew that voice.
The Crown Prince turned around. Standing behind him was the Queen.
"Let's go," she said calmly, her tone leaving no room for argument.
The Crown Prince hesitated for only a moment.
Then he obeyed.
Without looking back again, he followed her out of the hall.