Chapter Twenty-Four: The Hunter and the Hunted
Dan-Bi sat at his desk, staring at an open book he wasn't reading.
His mind was elsewhere.
The man who had followed him last night—who was he working for?
The War Minister?
Or someone else entirely?
Dan-Bi couldn't afford to assume.
He needed to be sure.
But that meant taking a risk.
It meant letting them believe he hadn't noticed.
Letting them follow him again.
And this time—trapping them first.
---
The next evening, Dan-Bi moved as usual.
No change in routine.
No unnecessary caution.
He let himself be followed.
From the scholar's quarters.
Through the winding paths of the palace gardens.
To the small bridge overlooking the quiet pond.
And just as before—
The presence returned.
A shadow slipping through the trees.
Dan-Bi let his fingers rest lightly against his dagger.
He waited.
Waited.
Then—
In one swift movement, he turned, drawing his blade and pressing it against the intruder's throat.
A sharp gasp.
A pair of wide, startled eyes.
Not an assassin.
Not a soldier.
A servant.
One of the court messengers.
Dan-Bi's grip didn't loosen.
"Who sent you?" he asked coldly.
The servant trembled.
"I—I do not know, scholar-nim. I was only given instructions—"
"To do what?"
"To watch you. To see who you meet. What you do."
Dan-Bi narrowed his eyes.
"And if you saw something unusual?"
The man hesitated.
"They told me… to report immediately."
Dan-Bi's jaw tightened.
A trap.
A slow, careful tightening of a noose around his neck.
He could let this servant go.
Make him report nothing of value.
Or he could press for answers.
But that would make the real threat aware that he knew.
A dangerous choice.
Dan-Bi lowered the dagger.
"Leave," he ordered.
The servant hesitated.
Then turned and fled.
Dan-Bi watched him disappear.
His mind was already moving.
If the War Minister wasn't behind this…
Then who?
---
Meanwhile…
Crown Prince Jin-Seok sat in the royal library, staring at a scroll he had yet to read.
Something was wrong.
Dan-Bi had been distant.
Quieter than usual.
It wasn't obvious.
To anyone else, the scholar was the same—sharp-tongued, intelligent, unaffected.
But Jin-Seok knew better.
There was a weight in Dan-Bi's gaze.
A carefulness in his movements.
As if he was hiding something.
Avoiding something.
Or… someone.
Jin-Seok frowned.
Dan-Bi was too stubborn to ask for help.
That much was certain.
Which meant—
Jin-Seok would have to find out himself.
He stood abruptly, pushing the scroll aside.
If something was threatening Dan-Bi—
Then it was his problem, too.