Morning broke over the palace with uneasy silence.
The calm did not last long.
A palace guard rushed into the king's chamber and knelt urgently.
"Your Majesty… there is news from the prison."
The king had barely finished dressing. Though the fever from the poisoned herbs had subsided, his body still felt weak.
Suho stood beside him, already tense.
"What happened?" the king asked.
The guard lowered his head.
"The court lady… she was found dead in her cell this morning."
Silence fell over the room.
Suho's jaw tightened.
The king's expression darkened, but he showed little surprise.
He already knew.
The woman had been silenced.
Whoever stood behind the poisoning would not allow a witness to live.
The king rose immediately.
"Prepare my escort."
Suho stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, your condition—"
"I am well enough."
His voice left no room for argument.
"We are going to the grand prince's chambers."
⸻
The grand prince still lay unconscious when they arrived.
Physicians and servants filled the room, whispering anxiously as the king entered.
The prince's mother sat beside the bed, her face pale from sleepless nights.
The king's eyes moved immediately to the small table beside the bed.
The herbs were still there.
His voice was sharp.
"Stop giving those herbs to the prince immediately."
The physicians froze.
The prince's mother looked up in shock.
"What are you saying?"
The king stepped closer.
"They are poisoned."
A ripple of shock spread through the room.
The royal physician hurried forward to examine the remaining herbs more carefully.
After a tense moment, his face turned pale.
"Your Majesty…"
He bowed deeply.
"It is true."
The room went silent.
"Rat droppings have been mixed into the powdered herbs," the physician explained. "It creates a slow, toxic contamination. It weakens the body and prevents recovery."
The prince's mother staggered back slightly.
"That… that means…"
"It is the reason the prince has not regained consciousness," the physician finished quietly.
Anger flashed across the king's face.
Someone inside the palace had deliberately prolonged the prince's suffering.
⸻
At that moment, Minsoo stepped forward.
In her hands was a small bowl of steaming medicinal food.
"Your Majesty," she said calmly, "I prepared something that may wake the grand prince."
The prince's mother's eyes instantly hardened.
"No."
Her voice cut through the room.
"That woman will not feed my son again."
Her gaze burned with distrust.
"I will not watch her poison him after everything that has happened."
Minsoo did not argue.
She simply lowered her head quietly.
The king reached out and took the bowl from her hands.
Before anyone could react, he lifted the spoon and ate a mouthful himself.
Gasps filled the room.
The prince's mother stared at him in shock.
"If it were poison," the king said calmly, "I would already be dead."
Still, the woman hesitated.
Her fear had not disappeared.
Then a voice spoke from behind them.
"Enough."
Everyone turned.
The Queen Dowager had stepped forward.
Her presence alone silenced the room.
She looked at the prince's mother steadily.
"Feed the boy."
The command carried quiet authority.
After a long moment of hesitation, the prince's mother finally accepted the bowl.
Her hands trembled slightly as she lifted her son's head and carefully fed him the medicinal food.
For a moment…
Nothing happened.
The room held its breath.
Then suddenly—
The prince coughed.
His body jerked slightly before he sneezed loudly.
His eyes fluttered open.
"Mother…?"
The prince's weak voice shattered the silence.
The chamber exploded into joy.
Servants cried in relief. Physicians rushed forward to check his pulse. Even the prince's mother burst into tears as she held her son tightly.
"He's awake!"
"The prince has awakened!"
The palace had waited days for this moment.
And now, at last—
The grand prince had survived.
⸻
Later that afternoon, the king left the chambers quietly with Minsoo.
But instead of returning to his own quarters, he turned toward another part of the palace.
Miya's residence.
The doors opened.
Miya rose gracefully as the king entered, her expression calm.
"Your Majesty."
But the king did not sit.
His gaze was cold.
"I know."
Miya's smile faltered slightly.
"Know… what, Your Majesty?"
"You poisoned the prince."
The room froze.
Her eyes widened faintly, but she quickly regained her composure.
"You accuse me without proof?"
The king stepped closer.
"For now."
His voice was low and dangerous.
"But when the evidence appears…"
His eyes locked onto hers.
"You will answer for everything."
Then he turned and left.
Miya stood alone in the silent room, her hands trembling slightly.
⸻
That evening, Minsoo returned to the palace kitchen.
The moment she stepped inside, the chefs froze in disbelief.
Then suddenly they rushed toward her.
"Minsoo!"
Several of them pulled her into a tight embrace.
"You're back!"
"We thought you would never return!"
Miso ran forward and immediately burst into tears.
"I was so scared!" she cried.
"We tried to help you in prison but… we couldn't do anything…"
Minsoo gently hugged her.
"It's alright," she said softly.
"I'm back now."
Her eyes warmed as she looked around the kitchen.
"I'm free."
Laughter and relief filled the room for the first time in days.
⸻
Far from the palace, another man listened to the news with dark fury.
The king's uncle crushed the report scroll in his hand.
"The prince recovered?"
His voice was cold.
For weeks he had secretly supplied the poisoned herbs through palace connections.
Everything had been planned carefully.
And yet—
Minsoo had ruined it.
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Very well."
He turned toward the locked chamber behind him.
"If the prince cannot die…"
His lips curved into a thin smile.
"Then it is time for another method."
Plan B.
He would reveal the truth.
The truth about the king's mother's death.
Once the king learned what the Queen Dowager had done…
The palace would descend into chaos.
And when that happened—
The throne would be his.
⸻
Back in the palace, the king stood alone on the balcony of his chamber.
His thoughts were troubled.
Miya's actions had been uncovered.
But another suspicion had begun to grow in his mind.
Someone else was moving in the shadows.
Someone powerful.
His gaze hardened.
"My uncle…"
The palace had grown quiet again.
But beneath that quiet—
A far more dangerous storm was beginning to rise.