The annual Autumn Banquet was a spectacle of opulence. The central hall was a riot of color, silk, and the rich, complex aromas of the feast. Every high-ranking noble, foreign dignitary, and member of the Royal Council was present. Prime Minister Choi sat at the head table, the very picture of statesmanlike dignity, occasionally sparing a condescending smile for Crown Prince Dong-jin. Maya, seated several tables away, felt the hundred eyes of the court scrutinizing her every subtle movement.
The plan was a silent, frantic clock counting down in the background.
9:00 PM: The Setup.
Min-ho, the junior chef, had slipped away hours ago. He was in the servants' quarter, using the cover of late-night cleaning to position his combustible materials—oiled rags and slow-burning charcoal—near a defunct chimney flue. His hands were shaking, but the thought of the treasonous map kept him steady.
9:15 PM: The Smoke.
A thin plume of acrid, dark smoke began to seep from the servants' kitchens, quickly followed by the distant clamor of shouting. Min-ho had executed the 'controlled fire' perfectly. It was terrifying enough to initiate the evacuation, but localized enough not to cause genuine harm.
The immediate reaction in the banquet hall was a stunned silence, quickly followed by aristocratic panic. Nobles scrambled for the nearest exit, their elegant composure collapsing into selfish urgency.
9:18 PM: The Redirection.
Lady Ji-su, the Matron of the Inner Court, moved with swift, deadly calm. She positioned herself near the main exit, her voice cutting through the panic. "Order! Order! This way! The protocol chamber is sealed! Follow me to the Royal Gifting Chamber—it is the only safe annex for the Council!"
Her authority, combined with the confusion, was enough. Prime Minister Choi, thinking quickly, realized this was an ideal opportunity to push through an emergency vote. He gathered the key members of the Council, including the dazed Crown Prince, and led them, at Ji-su's subtle direction, directly toward the Gifting Chamber—the intended trap.
9:20 PM: The Infiltration.
In the midst of the chaos, Afiya, the Lioness guard, moved with impossible speed. Scholar Aisha's counter-seal had bought them a critical minute. Afiya reached the outer door of the highly secured Sealing Chamber. She pressed the obsidian-amber paste onto the central pressure lock. She heard the faint shing as the wards temporarily dropped. She slipped inside, her heart hammering, her target the desk where the finalized treaty was waiting for the final council seal.
But Choi was not a fool. He had anticipated a desperate final move.
As the evacuation reached its peak, just before Dong-jin and the Council members entered the Gifting Chamber, a terrifying second layer of chaos erupted.
From the high, shadowed rafters of the banquet hall, figures dropped. They were not Joseon guards, and they were not panicked servants. They were silent, leather-clad assassins, moving with a cold, professional lethality.
Maya instantly recognized their gear and their style: they were the mercenaries hired by the foreign envoy, Vance—the ones Choi had paid for in Aisha's ledger.
Their movements were coordinated, and their target was singular: Crown Prince Dong-jin.
"Protect the Prince!" Ji-su screamed, abandoning her post and shoving Dong-jin toward the wall as the first assassin struck.
The chaos that ensued was a terrifying, lethal spectacle. Screams mixed with the chilling clash of steel—not the practice sounds of the training room, but the sound of murder. The nobles, realizing this was not a fire but a coup attempt, turned into a terrified, stampeding mob.
Maya's training took over instantly. She moved through the panicked crowd not as a noblewoman, but as the Lioness. She saw the flash of a blade aimed for Dong-jin's back. She intercepted the attack with a heavy silver platter, using the distraction to grab a heavy, ceremonial dagger from a nearby table.
She was a blur of calculated aggression. The fluid movements of the N'kafo form, drilled into her over endless nights, now saved lives. She used the momentum of the assassins against them, dropping low, sweeping one off his feet, and slamming the pommel of the dagger into the chest of another.
She wasn't just fighting; she was creating a moving shield. She kept her position anchored directly between the assassins and the vulnerable Prince, ensuring his survival was her sole focus. Dong-jin, though brave, was a statesman, not a trained warrior, and he could only watch in stunned horror as this foreign woman fought with a grace and ferocity he never imagined possible.
The battle lasted only two minutes, but the intensity was staggering. The assassins, surprised by the sudden, highly skilled resistance from the "foreign Ward," faltered. Maya took down the last one with a devastating kick to the knee, leaving him writhing on the marble floor.
When the chaos subsided, the main threats lay defeated. Maya stood over them, panting, the ceremonial dagger gripped tightly in her hand, her pendant flashing in the remaining torchlight. Her clothes were torn, her face smeared with soot, but she was victorious. She had protected the Prince.
Dong-jin stared at her, his eyes wide, no longer seeing a Ward or a peasant, but a fierce, powerful guardian. The sheer, shocking skill displayed by Maya instantly countered months of xenophobic propaganda. He reached out and gently took the dagger from her shaking hand.
"Maya," he breathed, his voice hoarse with shock and gratitude. "Who—what are you?"
Their eyes met again. This time, there was no room for denial or misunderstanding. It was not a spark of attraction; it was the recognition of a shared, bloody fate.
The moment was shattered by the arrival of the loyal Royal Guard—too late to stop the fight, but ready to secure the scene. Prime Minister Choi, who had watched the entire struggle from the doorway of the Gifting Chamber with a look of pure, cold disbelief, was now trapped.
The plan had failed—the assassins were an unforeseen, lethal variable.
But the plan had also succeeded—the Council and Choi were trapped, the palace was in chaos, and most importantly, Maya had just proven herself to be the Crown Prince's protector, effectively shattering the Prime Minister's propaganda.
The stage was set, and the next move belonged to the Lionesses.