…

Later, Miye sat on the floor, hands placed neatly on his knees, a thin veil cascading over him like moonlight. He waited in the silence. Then, he felt it.

That obnoxious, suffocating presence creeping closer like a lengthening shadow.

He's here.

Footsteps echoed from the corridor, growing louder, more rhythmic. The door swung open without so much as a perfunctory knock. 

Miye lifted his gaze.

A man in royal attire stepped inside, luxury draped over him like armor. His black gat cast a dark shadow over Miye as he approached. 

Hwa Yugwon, the Prince of Hwachon. 

The absolute ruler of this Kingdom and of Miye's life.

His ferocious, ink-deep eyes were rimmed faintly with red, like those of a predator. A smirk curved his lips - childlike, yet sickening. It was the expression of a man who had found his favorite toy exactly where he had left it.

"Miye," he said, his voice a low, commanding rumble. "Stand up."

The sheer weight of his tone felt like a boulder crashing onto Miye’s shoulders. He obeyed, his legs trembling slightly as he rose.

"Take off the veil. You have no need to hide your face from me." The chuckle that followed held no warmth.

Miye removed the silk and their eyes met.

"What beauty..." The Prince’s smirk deepened, though his eyes remained sharp and menacing. "I was right to hide you from the commoners."

Miye did not respond. Instead, he bit his lip, tethering the urge to speak. Noticing the tension, Yugwon stepped forward and hooked a finger under Miye’s delicate chin, tilting it upward.

"Is there something you wish to say?" He raised a brow, then leaned down to Miye’s ear. "Oh. Did you notice?"

Miye’s eyes widened. He spoke without thinking, daring to question the authority before him. "What did you do to her?!"

"And why," Yugwon leaned back, eyes dancing, "would I notify you? You have no authority to know everything."

Miye’s fists tightened at his sides. If he could, he would have buried one in the Prince’s face, but the ending to that story was already written in blood.

"After all," Yugwon continued, "you know exactly why I dismissed her. You cannot hide anything from me."

Miye’s worst suspicion solidified. The Prince knew that Yuna held his secret.

"What... what did you do to her?" he spoke lowly. 

"Mmm..." The Prince tapped his chin, feigning deep thought. "Since she kept denying the truth... I believe I had her tongue cut out for lying to me."

Miye’s heart sank. The air almost left his lungs. Yuna, the woman who had cared for him like a mother, suffered because of him. His pulse quickened, his eyes trembling with a grief he couldn't mask.

“Did you… kill her too?”

Yugwon smiled, appearing satisfied by the agony in Miye’s gaze, “Time will tell.”

He did not know what that meant. However, he didn't press to ask further. Maybe he was scared to know the answer, or it was better not to know. 

Yugwon folded his arms and tilted his head, scanning Miye’s frame.

"You’ve lost quite a bit of weight," Yugwon murmured. "I’m changing your diet. You need some flesh on you. My birthday is around the corner, and I’ve no desire to spend the night with a rack of bones."

"What is the real reason you came here?" Miye asked, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"Ah, right." Yugwon drew a scroll from his sleeve and tossed it. It unfurled across the floor with a soft hiss of paper. "Father and the Queen will be visiting soon."

"Mother is coming...?"

Miye's eyes flickered with hope - a delicate, almost agonizing hope. Was she finally coming for him? Perhaps this was his final chance to flee this gilded prison. He no longer craved childish luxuries or royal titles; all he wanted was to be with his mother.

"There is word from intel," Yugwon continued, his tone bordering on smug. "The purpose of their visit is a marriage proposal."

He stepped closer, the air around him growing heavy. "Do not worry. Even if I marry..." He reached out, twirling a few strands of Miye’s silky hair between his fingers, "I will never let you go."

He brushed his cheek against Miye’s soft skin. Miye flinched as the Prince whispered, "Or, you could simply kill my wife and become Queen yourself. Just like your mother did. The Kingdom knows we’re not of the same blood, anyway."

The words struck like a physical blow. The Queen had been blamed for the late Queen’s death ever since she, a mere commoner before the King claimed her, rose to the throne.

"Haa..." Miye shoved him back slightly, still refusing to meet his eyes. "My mother did not kill anyone..."

Yugwon let out a short, hollow laugh. "Are you actually defending her? After she abandoned you? She didn't so much as glance at you when I dragged you away. What makes you think she will look at you now? Don't you understand? She does not care for you."

Every word hit Miye like a blunt strike before sinking in like a barbed arrow. Deep down, he knew Yugwon spoke the truth, but his heart refused to accept the wound.

Miye remained silent, turning a deaf ear to the venom Yugwon spat. Though he had heard such torturous words many times, when it came to his mother, it always formed a new scar on his heart. 

Even so, he projected his immunity to Yugwon’s harshness. However, internally, he cursed Yugwon with a silent, infinite vitriol, his irritation flickering across his face despite his best efforts.

As if sensing the rebellion in Miye’s thoughts, Yugwon seized the back of Miye’s head.

"Do not forget who granted you life. If I hadn't taken you in, the royal court would have gotten rid of you anyway."

He slammed Miye to the floor. The thud echoed sharply through the chamber.

"They will be here in three months," Yugwon said, pulling a silk cloth from his sleeve to wipe the hand that had touched Miye. "Until then, prepare yourself for my birthday banquet."

He cast one last, frigid glare at Miye’s collapsed form.

"Do not forget your place. I own you."

The door slammed shut, and silence swallowed the chamber.

Miye pushed himself up slowly, remaining seated on the cold floor. He turned his gaze to the window, waiting desperately for someone’s arrival. Perhaps his mother… or a saviour to end this forsaken misery of a life.