Chapter Thirty: Missing Pages and Watchful Eyes

Dan-Bi ran a careful finger over the aged scrolls, scanning the delicate brushstrokes of history.

Page after page spoke of past betrayals, of noble houses erased from records, of queens forgotten.

Yet, when he reached the year of his mother's exile—

Nothing.

The inked records jumped from one case to another, seamlessly skipping over the moment that changed his mother's life forever.

Dan-Bi's lips pressed into a thin line.

This was no accident.

Someone had removed the records of her trial.

And whoever did it—

Had done so knowing that one day, someone like him would come looking.

---

Jin-Seok watched from the upper balcony of the library, his sharp eyes following Dan-Bi's every move.

The scholar's behavior had been odd before, but now?

It was beyond suspicious.

A man searching the archives at dawn.

Asking questions about treason.

Reading over old records as if history itself owed him an answer.

Jin-Seok didn't know what Dan-Bi was looking for.

But he would find out.

Even if he had to ask him directly.

---

Dan-Bi sighed, rolling the scroll shut with a quiet snap.

If the records were missing, that meant someone had destroyed them—

Or someone had hidden them.

And if someone had hidden them—

It meant they still existed.

Somewhere.

He had his next move.

Find the missing records.

Find out the truth.

But just as he turned to leave—

A shadow moved behind him.

Dan-Bi barely had time to react before a firm hand caught his wrist.

He turned sharply—

And met the cold, knowing eyes of the prince.

Jin-Seok's voice was calm.

Too calm.

"You've been asking the wrong questions, Scholar Dan-Bi."

Dan-Bi kept his expression neutral.

"And what, Your Highness, do you think I should be asking?"

Jin-Seok leaned in slightly, his grip unwavering.

"Why you are so interested in treason."

Dan-Bi held his breath.

This wasn't just suspicion anymore.

Jin-Seok was beginning to see him.

And that—

Was dangerous.

---