Written prayers wishing for an auspicious new year were posted everywhere. The SangSuh official, Ahn Ho, came out to the front gate to greet the imperial prince.

“It’s been a while.”

Garan got off his horse and lightheartedly greeted the official. Ahn Ho laughed softly and replied.

“I heard of your victory in the western provinces. You’ve truly done so much for the security and peace of the people.”

“Enough with the flattery. I know that Father Emperor ordered you to tell me to stop chasing after the Heukra. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“You’re always so engrossed in your endeavors, so he’s just worried about you.”

“Have you still been unable to find any signs?”

“I haven’t seen anything. Thankfully, nothing strange has occurred lately.”

Was it truly something to be thankful for?

Garan stiffly shut his mouth. Whether they caught the Heukra or not, it would be a problem.

Was this truly how it would end?

It was as if they’d buried a bomb in the sand. It didn’t feel completely safe.

“I see that there are a lot of carriages. Do you have guests?”

“I heard that my wife is preparing for the new year.”

In the Silver Nation, women would often gather together and make small dolls out of clay and pine clippings and put them outside their doors as a way to greet the new year. By doing so, they hoped to send out the chill of winter and bring in a good year. The ladies’ laughter flowed into the courtyard.

The SangSuh official guided Garan into the study. The study was neat and dignified. It suited its master, a man who held one of the highest positions in the nation.

Since he was a man who liked to read, the study was filled with books. Ahn Ho’s household was one of the oldest noble houses in the Silver Nation.

The fact that this man was a supporter of this imperial prince instead of the Crown Prince was a godsend. If it weren’t for him, no one would be able to depose the Crown Prince.

“I still haven’t finished the book on Baran that you lent me last time.”

“Doesn’t it have so many intricate characters? There are still unknown inscriptions on pieces of bone, so it will take a long time to interpret.”

“But if you continue to read them, there are quite a lot of amusing stories. I’m currently comparing them to the historical records I have, and I have to say that I’m enjoying my time reading them. There are also many people in my house who have a good knowledge of history.”

Rattle. The wooden door of the study opened. The gentle scent of tea mixed with the soft fragrance of a maiden wafted into the room.

Garan intuitively knew she was the SangSuh official’s daughter. He didn’t raise his head. The woman carefully placed the teacups in front of them.

The SangSuh official merely smiled in satisfaction, but he didn’t betray his true intentions. However, anyone in this situation would know that he was trying to show off his daughter.

In the Silver Nation, a household never showed their women to strangers. The woman in question was an incomparable beauty, and her looks wouldn’t lose no matter where she went. Garan could see why her father was so proud of her.

But that was it. Garan merely glanced at her before turning his head away. While others might think he was being shy and polite, Garan knew that he felt nothing for her.

When the woman finally left the room, Ahn Ho opened his mouth.

“When His Majesty fell off his horse, he finally obtained a witness of the empress’s misdeeds.”

“Who is it?”

“He is the stable boy in charge of taking care of His Majesty’s horse. Actually, he is a spy that I planted in the palace.”

“Can we trust him?”

“I raised him like my own son, so please don’t worry about him.”

“But the empress controls half of the royal court.”

Ahn Ho laughed as he poured some tea into his cup. The fragrance of apricot blossoms mixed with the scent of ink.

“Who said that?”

“What?”

“Who told you that the empress controls half of the royal court? That was long in the past, Your Highness. That’s why the empress has become impatient.”

Clatter. The official pushed the teacup towards Garan.

“You’ve done well up until now, Your Highness. Even when you faced the most difficult situations, you never wavered and accomplished so much for the nation. You are also a devoted son who faithfully carried out the emperor’s commands. To be honest, those characteristics of yours helped me convince many of my peers.”

Garan stared at the man without taking the cup of tea. He knew that Ahn Ho would be friendly towards him, but he never expected him to be so enthusiastic.

But would everything proceed according to the SangSuh official’s expectations? The Crown Prince wasn’t an easy enemy to defeat.

“Aren’t you underestimating the Crown Prince?”

“Not by any means.”

The SangSuh official drank his tea as he spoke in a relaxed tone of voice.

“Then why are you so confident? Did you find something?”

Ahn Ho stayed silent for a moment before opening his mouth.

“In the past, the Silver Nation may have quietly tolerated homosexuality, but it never allowed relations between relatives.”

Garan’s hand froze in the air as he lifted his cup. He raised his eyes and looked at Ahn Ho.

Does he know?

The Red King’s eyes asked the SangSuh official, but the man remained silent.

The imperial palace was a deep and dark place. While there were eyes and ears everywhere, it was very difficult to escape its walls. So how did this man know? How much did he know?

Garan lifted his cup once again.

Ahn Ho was a man who never revealed his true thoughts.

Whenever you felt relaxed around him, thinking of him as a mere government official, he would suddenly do something to make your heart jump. No one knew which side he was on.

Right now, by telling Garan this piece of information, he was revealing the evidence he had gathered as well as his skills. However, by not telling him the full story, he was letting the Red King know that their business was still incomplete.

If Garan married his daughter, he would firmly be on the Red King’s side. By having an empress for a daughter, he would effectively become the father-in-law of the emperor. The two men guessed the other’s intentions as they drank their tea in silence.

“By the way, did you know that our residence has a greenhouse?”

“Greenhouse?”

“Yes. We built it because we wanted to see flowers even in the dead of winter. I worked very hard to gather many winter orchids. You’ll have an enjoyable time if you stay and see them before you leave. If a flower catches your eye, you may even take it with you. Consider it a gift for coming to our humble home.”

Garan looked at him. The SangSuh official wanted to make sure that the Red King promised to marry his daughter before he left his home. He was letting Garan know how important this was.

“No need to go that far. Aren’t they very precious to you?”

“I want to give them to you because they are precious to me.”

Garan looked at him. This man truly wanted a lot of things. It was already an honor by having the Red King visit his home, but now he wanted him to take an orchid as well? Garan knew he should just go back. Even if this was a political move, there was no need to go this far.

But Garan accepted the man’s offer. He decided to erase the woman who had made a mess of his heart. Therefore, it would only be right to get rid of the lingering feelings he held or her.

He was going to receive a queen. Ahn Ho’s daughter’s was more than suitable for him. The woman who had brought in the tea was not unattractive. No, she was beautiful enough. That’s all that mattered. What more did he want?

When Garan told Ahn Ho that he’d visit the greenhouse, the man’s face brightened in an instant. He pretended to guide him to the greenhouse, but suddenly said that he had some business to attend to.

Garan continued to walk alone. The snow continued to fall. The world around him had turned white as it followed him. The snow piled on top of the tree branches and transformed them into white snow flowers.

Suddenly, on the other side of the corridor, Garan heard the sound of footsteps. They sounded short and quick, but the person running must have stepped on her skirts because he heard her say, ‘Oops.’

When he heard the voice, Garan stopped in his tracks.

He wasn’t sure why, but his surroundings suddenly felt strange. Instead of the humid, salty scent of the sea, he smelled the earth. He smelled the breeze of flapping wings as a flock of birds began to take flight.

And then a slender hand of a woman suddenly appeared before him. Her hand was pale, and he could clearly see the veins underneath the skin.

The hand placed a very cute clay doll next to the wooden inner gate. Garan took one step forward and finally saw the woman’s head and upper body.

She was wearing red clothes embellished with embroidered flowers. The neckline elegantly came up to her neck, and her hair was tied up and pinned to the side.

Various golden hairpins trembled as they secured a string of beads in her hair. The woman didn’t realize that he was staring at her and merely focused on keeping the clay doll upright.

She must have finally felt his gaze because the woman slightly turned her head towards him. In the next moment, she saw him.

And in that moment… everything went silent.

Their eyes met.

Garan’s eyes widened at the same time as hers.

The clay doll fell. He wasn’t sure who moved first. But the woman made her escape in an instant. By the time he ran after her, the inner gate closed with a boom and was locked from the inside.

“Damn it!”

A curse escaped the Red King’s mouth. Were his eyes mistaken? Was he just imagining things again? No. Even if he couldn’t trust his eyes, seeing as how the woman had run away, it was definitely her.

Garan leaped and easily jumped on top of the wall of the inner residence of the SangSuh official’s home. The snow on top of the wall fell down and landed on the ground next to the wall.

Thankfully, no one was there to see him. Or maybe that wasn’t such a good thing. He moved along the narrow wall until he heard the sound of running footsteps to his right. Judging from the speed at which the sound faded away, the woman was running at an incredibly fast pace.

Garan quickly followed the sound. Like a cat chasing after a mouse, he didn’t focus on anything else.

The red silk jumped over the wall. He jumped over the wall even faster. The snow crunched underneath their feet. Garan didn’t care about any of it.

The woman kicked an apricot tree as she ran, causing the snow to crash down on top of him. The golden ornaments in her black hair jingled and let out a dizzying sound. Garan moved like the wind as he followed that sound.

Another door opened. She tried to quickly close it behind her, but Garan opened it before she could succeed.

He pushed her inside the room, causing her back to hit the wall. The dark room seemed to be a storeroom. There were pouches of grain piled up in a corner, and dried medicinal herbs were hanging from the ceiling. They trembled at the sudden outburst.

Boom! Garan closed the door behind him. Her eyes widened as she panted for breath. At first, she was dressed in black robe. Then she dressed like a courtesan and then a man. And now she was disguised as a noblewoman?

“Name!”

Garan clenched his teeth and asked her name.

Six months had passed since he had searched through all of YeonSung to find her. He didn’t know her name nor her identity. But it turned out she was in YeonSung. She had been so close by. The woman silently stepped back.

“Tell me your name.”

“Why do you want to know my name, Your Highness?”

She coldly glared at him.

“Since we are not tied to each other, there’s no need to tell you my name.”

“Says who?”

He grit his teeth as he spoke before he walked towards her. The woman immediately poised to attack before lunging at him. It was similar to a weasel trying to attack a snake.

But how could she defeat him? In the end, Garan dominated her and laid her down on top of a bag of grain.

“Let me go!”

Garan quickly covered her mouth. They were currently at the SangSuh official’s house. He had been on his way to meet the man’s daughter.

He could just make her pass out and take her away. However, at this moment, he was so filled with rage that he couldn’t think straight.

Even if he brought this building tumbling down to the ground, he wasn’t going to let her get away. The woman flinched as if she could feel the menacing energy radiating from his body.

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a while. Half a year had already passed since they had last seen each other. During that time, she had blossomed into a beauty, and he had grown terribly cold from the battlefield. The woman sharply raised her eyes and discovered a new scar on his forehead. Then she gradually lowered her eyelids.

They only heard the sound of the falling snow outside. Garan silently glared at the woman before taking his hand off her mouth.

“Tell me!”

She still didn’t answer. Fireworks went off behind his eyes.

“Is it because I’m Garan?”

There was nothing behind the dark blue eyes. Like a lantern that had been extinguished, it didn’t show any thought or emotion.

“Tell me!”

Although someone might hear them outside, he still shouted out vehemently. The woman quietly watched him before coldly answering in a curt voice.

“Yes.”

Garan blankly stared at her. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Although it was him who had wanted an answer, he couldn’t believe her reply.

“Is that why you ran away?”

“Yes.”

“Because I was Garan?”

The woman gazed at him for a moment. Her eyes still drew him in. They were as straightforward as always. They didn’t hide anything. Therefore, they gave him this answer.

“……Yes.”

Garan could finally feel her clear rejection in his bones.

That’s what she said. She said the problem was the fact that he was Garan. No matter what grudge or resentment she held, it all boiled down to the fact that he was Garan. Even though they had slept together, she still left him for this reason.

“Ha.”

He scoffed.

That’s right. He could always laugh like this.

When his mother, who had allegedly kept countless paramours, died such a despicable death. When his young sister carried out her wedding in tears. During all these moments, he had laughed.

It made the pain hurt less.

However, he finally realized it now.

It didn’t matter if he laughed. The laughter wouldn’t erase the pain. He was only trying to deny it with all his might, but the wound had already pierced deep into his soul.

Although she might not know this, he was hurting. So much. He couldn’t even describe it. He was suffering.

Although he had been cut with many swords and struck by many arrows in the battlefield, it only hurt in the moment. Those wounds would heal with time. Even if his bones broke or his arm felt like it was going to fall off from the pain, after a couple of days, after the sun and moon rose and fell, the pain would fade away.

However, the wound this woman had just given him wasn’t the same.

In one breath, this woman had stabbed a knife into his heart.

The terrible loneliness permeated his body once more.

Yujo couldn’t understand the strange look in his eyes. She didn’t know why the faint smile had completely disappeared from his face.

“…..I see.”

His lips twisted.

What did he expect? Did he expect her to like him just as she did before she had found out about everything? The love that had exploded in the sky like fireworks when they lived the lives of completely different people? The fascinating attraction, the racing hearts, a yearning that lingered even though they were together?

None of that is here, Garan!

Was he expecting a romance that all the women dreamed about?

He scoffed at himself. The fact that he had lost months of sleep over a girl whose name he didn’t even know was ridiculous. Although he was the Red King, he was begging for affection. How pathetic.

He had teased her, hugged her, and kissed her. And he thought that was the reason why she fought alongside him, laughed with him, and saved his life. He thought she had wanted him just as he had wanted her.

How foolish was he? How stupid?

Once you make a woman yours, that’s it. That is what his Father Emperor had told him, and that is what his brother had told him. If he wanted a woman, he could just get drunk off of her and keep her as a royal concubine. That’s all there was to it.

What did it matter whether she had a name or not?

What difference would it make if she disliked him or hated him?

He didn’t need any of it.

He lowered his head and swallowed her lips.