The palace air was different that morning not in temperature, but in tension. Something hushed yet heavy lingered in the halls. Servants moved with quieter steps. Silks were replaced. Lanterns were polished twice. The kitchen steamed with unfamiliar spices.
From the eastern wing, Seo Yul sat near the edge of the open window, wrapped in a light robe, watching shadows stretch across the stones. A maid entered, setting down his morning meal with gentle hands.
"Yun hee," he asked softly, "why is everything so... loud today?"
The young maid hesitated, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "A guest is arriving, my lord."
"A guest?"
She bowed her head slightly. "The Queen has invited someone from the Baek clan. A lady."
Seo Yul blinked, silent.
"She's... a potential bride for His Majesty."
His chest felt strange not tight, not aching. Just... hollow for a moment.
"Oh," he said simply, staring back out the window as Yun hee quietly left.
Late morning.
The main court gates opened with a flourish of golden banners. The palace guards formed two rows, dressed in their most formal wear.
Lady Baek So-Hwa arrived in a palanquin of pearly white silk, her family's emblem stitched in silver on its side a flower encircled by flame. The fabric of her gown whispered as she stepped out, each movement deliberate, poised.
Her eyes were sharp but warm, her smile soft but unreadable. The Queen greeted her in person at the courtyard steps, holding her hand gently.
"You've grown into a vision," the Queen said, almost proudly. "The court will be fortunate to know you."
So-Hwa bowed. "It is my honor to serve where I'm needed, Your Majesty."
She didn't look around like someone seeing the palace for the first time. She didn't gawk at the wealth or beauty. Instead, she walked through the halls like she already knew every corner.
So-Hwa was not loud in her arrival she was present.
She visited the royal gardens at the exact hour the King typically walked through. She took polite interest in the court musicians, sat through scroll readings, and offered smiles to the staff who blushed under her gaze.
She never lingered too close to Hwan Seong only close enough to be seen.
And when the King passed her by in silence, she bowed deeply with practiced grace.
From a shaded corridor in the eastern wing, Seo Yul watched her once.
She had passed with two maids, her robe brushing softly against the tiled floors. Their eyes had briefly met. Hers curious. His startled.
She didn't stop. Just walked by gracefully.
He stood still even after she disappeared. A knot twisted in his stomach. Not from anger. Not from anything he could name.
Maybe from unfamiliarity. Or fear.
That evening, So-Hwa sat in the Queen's private tea garden, speaking in soft tones.
"She seems lovely," one of the court ladies whispered.
"She's smart," another added. "Knows when to speak and when not to."
"She's here for the King," said a third.
And that, everyone understood.
Meanwhile, in the quiet room of the eastern wing, Seo Yul sat with a book in his lap one he hadn't turned a page of in over an hour.
The candle beside him flickered as the wind pressed against the walls.
He wasn't sure why the halls felt colder now.