Chapter Eleven: The Threads Tighten

The next few days should have been uneventful.

But they were not.

Because the prince was watching her.

Not openly.

Not obviously.

But she could feel it.

In the way his eyes lingered when she spoke.

In the way he tested her with his words, as if waiting for a slip.

In the way his presence found her, no matter how much she tried to disappear.

Dan-Bi told herself it was just curiosity.

That it would fade.

That he would grow bored.

But then—

He did something unexpected.

---

It was a rare moment of peace.

The scholars were gathered beneath the plum trees, enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Dan-Bi sat at the edge, quietly sipping tea, grateful for the brief reprieve.

Then, a voice called out.

"Scholar Han."

She looked up—

And froze.

The Crown Prince stood there, holding something in his hands.

A book.

Dan-Bi's book.

She had left it in the library the night before.

He must have found it.

She quickly stood, bowing. "Your Highness."

He held the book out to her.

"I believe this belongs to you."

Dan-Bi hesitated—then reached for it.

But just as her fingers brushed the cover, he spoke again.

"This passage," he murmured, tapping a page. "It speaks of loyalty and deception."

Dan-Bi's throat tightened.

The very section she had been rereading.

"The greatest deception," he read aloud, "is not in the lies we tell others, but in the truths we hide from ourselves."

Dan-Bi's hands curled into fists.

A coincidence.

It had to be.

But the prince's eyes met hers—

And something in them told her he had read far more than just the words on the page.

He had read her.

The silence stretched.

Then, slowly, he handed the book to her.

No more questions.

No more words.

Just a lingering look.

Dan-Bi took the book and bowed, retreating quickly.

But as she left, her heart pounded with a terrifying thought.

He was getting closer.

And she did not know how much longer she could keep him away.