Queen Genie returned to her office and immediately moved to the wall where the court's official calendar and meeting logs were kept. Her eyes, sharp and unwavering, scanned each date with silent precision.
'The day Lee Jan mentioned… Jade didn't attend the palace meeting that day.'
A subtle tension curled in her chest. She clenched her jaw, her thoughts racing.
'That robe, that date… something still doesn't add up.'
Just then, the door opened.
Chief Han stepped in quietly. Genie turned to her, already anticipating the answer.
"Has Lee Jan's attendant arrived?"
Chief Han shook her head, visibly frustrated.
"Not yet, Your Majesty. But Candidate Moonsen is here to see you."
Genie's expression shifted, momentarily surprised.
"Moonsen? …Let him in."
A moment later, Moonsen entered the chamber with his usual gentle dignity. He bowed deeply.
"Please, have a seat," Genie said, motioning gracefully. "What brings you here, Candidate Moon?"
Moonsen took the offered seat and looked at her with a warm, steady gaze.
"I came because I was concerned," he said softly. "I feared Your Majesty might be troubled… Are you all right?"
For a brief second, Genie's composure wavered. His words were unexpected, but deeply appreciated. Amid all the accusations, the scheming faces, and heavy silences of the court, this man had come not to question—but to care.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied with poise, though a flicker of emotion passed through her voice. "Thank you for asking."
There was a short silence. Then Moonsen leaned forward slightly.
"I also heard about Minister Jade's name being removed from the list of state document candidates…" he said with care. "I wondered if that decision may have caused Your Majesty any distress. If there's anything I can do to assist you, please say the word."
Genie's heart stirred again. His sincerity reached her. Where others bowed with words full of calculation, Moonsen spoke from a place of trust.
'Could he be the one…?'
She looked into his eyes and made a decision.
"May I ask you for a favor?" she asked solemnly.
"Of course, Your Majesty."
Genie drew in a deep breath, then carefully explained everything—her visit to Lee Jan's house, the inconsistencies in the attendant's testimony, the date that Jade supposedly committed the crime, and her suspicion that the servant may be key to the truth.
Moonsen listened intently, never interrupting. As she finished, he sat up straight, his expression now firm with resolve.
"I understand, Your Majesty," he said. "I will carry out your request to the best of my ability. If there's even the smallest truth to uncover, I will find it."
Genie offered a faint but genuine smile—the first in what felt like days.
"Thank you, Candidate Moon. I'm counting on you."
As Moonsen rose and bowed again, Genie watched him with newfound hope.
'If he succeeds… perhaps the truth will no longer remain buried beneath fear and power.'
Meanwhile, Jade approached the king's office, carrying a thick leather-bound ledger tucked firmly under his arm. Each step felt heavier than the last. Though it was his duty as Minister of the Military, his chest tightened at the thought of facing Genie. He told himself it was just an official visit—but his heart, traitorous and unruly, trembled with anticipation.
Outside the office stood Chief Han and Lady Park, their postures still and guarded.
Jade bowed politely.
"May I see Her Majesty now?"
Chief Han and Lady Park exchanged uneasy glances. Their silence stretched just a beat too long.
Reading the shift in their expressions, Jade's tone sharpened ever so slightly.
"Is Her Majesty in a meeting with someone?"
Just then, the double doors opened.
Queen Genie stepped out, her soft laughter still lingering from a conversation inside. At her side stood Candidate Moonsen, who was smiling warmly, his expression full of ease and familiarity.
Time slowed.
The Queen's gaze collided with Jade's.
In that suspended moment, her smile disappeared. Her eyes widened—caught off guard, her body half-turned toward Jade as if unsure whether to approach or retreat.
Jade's jaw tightened. His expression, once conflicted, quickly hardened into a mask of formal detachment.
"Jade," she said, almost involuntarily—his name leaving her lips like a quiet apology.
Jade stepped forward with the calmness of a soldier masking emotion.
"I came to deliver the report from the border patrol," he said, holding the ledger out before him like a shield.
His voice was even, but distant. His eyes flicked once toward Moonsen, then away, carefully avoiding any emotion that might betray his thoughts.
Moonsen, sensing the subtle tension, gave a respectful bow.
"Your Majesty, I'll take my leave now," he said and turned around.
As he passed by, Moon gave Jade a respectful nod. Jade returned the gesture with equal politeness, his eyes briefly meeting Moon's with a silent acknowledgment.
Genie glanced cautiously at Jade, her voice tentative but steady. "Jade, would you care to come inside?"
Jade's expression remained guarded.
"I only came to deliver this ledger. Unless Your Majesty has anything else to say..." His tone was polite but distant, and the unspoken thought lingered.
Genie felt a sharp pang of disappointment at his attempt to keep the encounter brief and formal, as if avoiding any deeper connection.
"I'll review it carefully. Thank you," Genie said.
She reached out, her fingers lightly brushing the ledger as she took it from his hands—a fleeting moment charged with more meaning than words could express.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave now." Jade bowed deeply, the formality of the gesture belying the quiet tension between them.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and walked away from the palace.
Genie watched his retreating figure, growing smaller with every step until swallowed by the shadows of the corridor. A heavy sorrow settled in her chest. She was doing everything she could to clear his name, to protect him—and yet Jade's cold distance felt like an invisible wall between them.
She told herself it was unreasonable to expect warmth or smiles from him in this painful situation… but even so, the sting of his aloofness left her quietly hurting.
Jade walked slowly toward the military quarters, his footsteps heavy and his heart even heavier. A long, weary sigh escaped his lips.
Across the courtyard, he spotted Queen Genie. She was laughing—radiantly, effortlessly—as she stood beside Moonsen. The sight, so simple on the surface, struck Jade like a blade. Her joy, shared so freely with another man, churned the depths of his heart.
She had removed him from the list of royal consort candidates. She had made her decision. Still, seeing her smile like that—with someone else—was more than he could bear. It wasn't just disappointment that weighed on him now. It was something sharper, something he didn't want to admit.
Betrayal.
He knew better. She was the queen, sovereign of Hana. She owed him nothing. He had no right to feel wounded.
But he did.
Somewhere along the way, his heart had stopped obeying reason. His feelings for her had taken root, deep and unyielding, and no title or logic could unmake them now.
His mind wandered—inevitably—back to that journey from Arabia. Back to the quiet hours they had shared, far from the eyes of the court, far from expectations and politics. It hadn't been so long ago, yet now it felt like a memory from another lifetime.
If he could go back—just once, just for a moment—to those days when it had been only the two of them... When her laughter had been for him alone...
How different everything might have been.
That night, Moonsen made his way toward the military officials' quarters. The moonlight was pale and sharp, casting long shadows on the stone walls. He clutched his cloak tighter around his shoulders as the chill of autumn deepened.
As he approached Deputy Commander Danjin's office, the queen's words echoed once more in his mind:
"Please don't mention what I asked you to Minister Jade yet."
He nodded to the guard standing outside the door and knocked. A moment later, Danjin's voice rang out from within.
"What brings you here from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to my office at this hour?" Danjin asked, looking up in surprise as Moonsen stepped in.
"I came because I have something personal to ask you," Moonsen replied.
Danjin arched his brow.
"And what might that be?"
Moonsen hesitated for just a breath.
"Were you, by any chance, with Minister Jade on the evening of the last day of the second week of September?"
The question seemed to catch Danjin off guard. He tilted his head, brows furrowed in thought.
"The evening of the last day of the second week of September… Let me think." He opened the notebook resting on his desk and flipped through it quickly. "Let's see here… Yes—here it is."
His finger landed on an entry.
"Ah. That evening, the Minister and I went outside the palace to meet with the frontier commanders."
"Outside the palace?"
Danjin nodded.
"Yes. The Minister suggested we save time by meeting the commanders halfway instead of summoning them to the palace."
There was a pause. Then Danjin looked up, eyes narrowing slightly.
"But why do you ask?"
A faint, satisfied smile curved Moonsen's lips.
"Deputy Commander… would you be willing to testify to this later?"
"Testify?" Danjin echoed, now thoroughly puzzled. "Testify to what, exactly?"
Moonsen didn't answer immediately. Instead, he studied Danjin in the dim lamplight—measuring, calculating. The quiet that settled between them was thick with the weight of something unspoken.