The hall had emptied.
Footsteps faded.
The weight of the Selection lingered in the air like incense that refused to burn out.
Prince Lee Ji-ho walked away from the courtyard with shoulders tight, breath uneven, mind crowded with things he could not speak aloud.
But his feet moved with certainty.
He was going to find her.
Bella's chamber was quiet, lit only by a single oil lamp.
She exhaled shakily, finally alone after the suffocating ceremony that had the entire palace talking.
She felt drowned and pulled into it all.
"Maybe a cold bath would soothe the soul" she thought.
Her fingers pulled at the ribbons of her guard attire, loosening the top layer so she could finally breathe.
And slowly she took off the other layer of her shirts, till all that was her bare skin, standing there exhausted and half naked.
The room was warm. Her skin glowed from the heat.
As she was about to take the lower part off-
The front door slid open.
"Ha-neul?"
She gasped.
The Crown Prince froze in the doorway, eyes widening before he violently turned around and faced the wall.
"I-I did not mean… I didn't know you were-"
His voice cracked, low, horrified, breathless.
"My apologies… I should not have entered without calling your name."
Bella, cheeks burning, pulled her training robe back up so fast she nearly tore it.
"It's- it's fine, Your Highness," she stammered, tying the ribbon. "Just give me a moment."
He kept his back to her, fists clenched behind him, ears red to the tips.
"I will not turn," he whispered, voice strained.
"I swear it. I will just step outside."
"No it's fine. You can stay, am almost finished" she told him.
She noticed how red his ears were under the moonlight.
For a moment, she smiled despite herself.
When she finished clothing herself, she stepped forward.
"You may turn now."
Slowly, hesitantly, he faced her.
His eyes were gentle, but nervous, as if afraid she might vanish.
"I wished to speak with you," he said softly. "To walk with you… if you will allow it."
Bella swallowed. "Where?"
His lips curved into the smallest, most fragile smile.
"The pond."
"Led the way then" she told him in a soft voice.
THE POND AT NIGHT
The path was lit with paper lanterns swaying in the breeze.
Crickets sang. The palace loomed in the distance, a silent monster.
But here, by the pond, it felt like the world belonged only to them.
The prince stood beside her, hands behind his back, the moon reflecting in the water like silver paint.
"The final judgment of the Selection…" he began carefully, "will be held in il-sik, seven days' time."
Bella inhaled.
One week.
One Joseon week, before the palace sealed its future.
"How do you feel?" she asked genuinely.
For the first time, he didn't hide behind royal etiquette.
His throat tightened. "I feel trapped. Swallowed up."
She looked at him. He continued.
"I feel like my life is being written by others… and I am merely the ink they waste on their ambitions."
His voice trembled.
"I do not want this choice forced upon me. I do not want a bride chosen by power."
Bella hesitated.
"Because of me?"
His breath hitched.
He turned to her fully.
"Yes."
She shook her head. "You can't say that. This is Joseon's future. Your heir. Your throne. You can't risk everything because of-"
"Because of you? But I wish to." he whispered.
His eyes softened but burned.
"Say it, Ha-neul. Say what's in your heart."
Her lips parted.
The words stuck somewhere between her ribs.
"I… don't want you burdened by me," she forced out.
"I shouldn't be here. One day I might return to where I'm from."
Her voice broke.
"I don't want to break you."
He stepped closer, heart pounding.
"Would it be better not to try," he asked quietly, "than to try at all?"
The sentence sliced right through her.
Bella's breath trembled.
For a terrifying, reckless moment…she wanted to grab him.
Kiss him.
Tell him everything was okay, even if it were all just a lie.
But she swallowed it.
The world grew still.
Then…
A drop of rain.
Then another.
The sky opened.
Rain poured over them like the heavens had been holding back tears.
They laughed breathlessly, shocked, soaking instantly.
Ji-ho grabbed her hand and they ran-sprinting through the palace garden toward a pavilion at the edge of the pond, as they almost slipped.
They reached it breathless, dripping, hair plastered, clothes clingy with water.
They sat side by side, shivering slightly, staring into the storm-soaked night.
Silence wrapped around them.
A silence filled with questions neither dared to ask.
THE LEFT STATE COUNCILLOR
In a private chamber deep in the West Wing, the Left State Councillor sat with his most trusted men.
Candles flickered. Scrolls lay open.
"Our clan stands at the edge of destiny," he said, voice calm but eyes hungry.
"When Yura enters the palace as Crown Princess, the entire Court will shift."
His minister hissed. "The Queen seems wary, My Lord."
"As she should," he smirked.
"Power unsettles those who believe they already possess it."
He leaned back, steepling his fingers.
"The Crown Prince will give Joseon its next heir," he murmured.
"And that heir will come from our bloodline."
A slow smile carved his face.
"The throne will lean toward the Han Clan."
THE QUEEN'S CHAMBER
Meanwhile, in the East Palace, the Queen sat with her father, the Prime Minister and his trusted ministers.
"The Left Councillor grows bold," the Queen muttered, sipping her tea with stiff fingers.
"He wants the throne through his daughter," the Prime Minister spat.
One of the ministers frowned. "And what do you propose we should do?"
The Queen's eyes glowed cold, like swords sheathed in silk.
"We ensure the Crown Prince chooses from our faction… or does not choose at all."
The Prime Minister exhaled deeply.
"This palace will becoming a battlefield." The Prime Minister says.
"It has always been one," the Queen reminded him.
Back at the pond-
The rain softened into a drizzle.
Bella gently wrung water from her sleeve.
Ji-ho watched her, eyes tracing every movement like he was memorizing her existence.
She felt his gaze and looked up.
Their eyes met.
She smiled and he smiled back.
Something shifted, something fragile and dangerous.
He stepped closer.
Slowly.
Cautious.
She froze.
"Your Highness…?" He formality fell from her tounge like a question.
He raised a trembling hand… and slowly cupped her face.
Her breath hitched.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
"Ha-neul," he whispered, voice raw, "I have never felt at peace in this palace… until you."
Her vision blurred, whether from rain or tears, she didn't know.
"You make me feel seen," he continued. "Alive. Like the world might still belong to me."
Her lips parted.
"Don't," she whispered. "Don't say things that make me-"
He didn't let her finish.
He leaned in.
Closer.
Closer.
His forehead touched hers.
Her breath shook.
"May I?" he whispered.
She didn't answer with words.
And he took the silence as her affirmation.
Her eyes closed.
And his lips met hers.
Softly.
Tentatively.
Then deeper…like he'd been drowning and she was the first breath he ever took.
Bella's fingers curled into his damp robe, drawing him in.
He kissed her like he'd waited lifetimes-
And she kissed him like she had been starving.
A prince breaking centuries of tradition.
A girl caught between timelines.
The storm outside was nothing compared to the one inside their chests.
For the first time,
He wasn't the Crown Prince.
And she wasn't the outsider.
They were just two hearts,
Chasing after each other…
In a world determined to tear them apart.
But time will tell.