Chapter 96: The Cost of a Crown
---
1. Smoke and Silence
Jinwoo stood motionless.
Gun still raised.
Seo lay on the floor, blood pooling beneath him.
His smirk was gone.
His eyes, once so full of control, were now empty.
It was over.
But the silence felt louder than the war itself.
Jinwoo's breathing was ragged. His body ached. His hands trembled.
He had won.
But why did it feel like he had lost?
The air smelled of gunpowder and death.
The city outside roared with sirens.
But inside this room—
There was nothing.
Nothing but ghosts.
Minho.
Seo.
And the echoes of choices that could never be undone.
Jinwoo holstered his gun and turned away.
The war was over.
But the consequences were just beginning.
---
2. A Debt in Blood
Jinwoo didn't make it out of the building before the first bullet struck.
It tore through his side, sending him crashing against the wall.
Pain exploded in his ribs.
He barely had time to process it before—
Another shot.
This one grazed his shoulder.
A voice rang out—sharp, commanding.
"Jinwoo! DROP YOUR WEAPON!"
Cops.
Jinwoo gritted his teeth.
His vision blurred from the blood loss, but he forced himself to focus.
He had seen this moment coming.
He just didn't think it would be this fast.
Armed officers swarmed the hallway.
Guns trained on him.
"Hands up!" one of them barked.
Jinwoo staggered but didn't comply.
Not yet.
He glanced back at Seo's body.
Minho's.
All the bodies he had left in his wake.
This city had no place for kings.
Only ghosts.
He exhaled.
Then, slowly—
He dropped his gun.
---
3. A Cage of Iron and Regret
The cold metal of the cuffs bit into his wrists.
The interrogation room smelled like stale coffee and sweat.
Jinwoo sat in silence, his face bruised, his wounds barely bandaged.
The detective across from him—Detective Kwon—lit a cigarette.
He watched Jinwoo for a long moment before speaking.
"You killed Seo," Kwon finally said.
Jinwoo said nothing.
"You killed Minho."
Jinwoo's jaw clenched.
Kwon exhaled smoke, shaking his head.
"You're a damn mess."
Jinwoo let out a bitter laugh.
"Tell me something I don't know."
Kwon studied him.
Then he slid a file across the table.
Jinwoo hesitated before opening it.
Inside—
Photos.
Of her.
Ji-Eun.
Alive.
His breath caught.
His hands tightened.
Kwon leaned forward.
"She never died, Jinwoo."
Jinwoo's mind shattered.
His world flipped upside down.
Ji-Eun was alive?
Everything—everything—had been a lie?
His chest tightened.
His vision swam.
And then—
Kwon dropped the bombshell.
"She was working for Seo."
---
4. The Price of Truth
Jinwoo's heart slammed against his ribs.
His mind raced, denying it, rejecting it—but the truth was right in front of him.
Ji-Eun.
His love.
His reason for this war.
She had been alive all along?
Not just alive—working with Seo?
Rage and betrayal twisted inside him like a blade.
Kwon watched him carefully.
"She played you, Jinwoo."
Jinwoo's fingers curled into fists.
The walls felt like they were closing in.
Everything he had done—
The blood he had spilled—
Had all been for nothing.
Or worse—
It had been for her.
Kwon leaned back.
"We can make a deal."
Jinwoo barely heard him.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
Ji-Eun.
Alive.
He had to find her.
Had to know the truth.
Had to end this.
Jinwoo exhaled slowly.
Then, for the first time in hours—
He smiled.
Not because he was happy.
Because the war wasn't over yet.
It was just beginning.
---
End of Chapter 96
(Next Chapter: The Queen's Betrayal.)