Chapter 8: An Unexpected Reunion

“Ha, I guess the only option is to look around on my own.”

Cheong let out a short sigh as she glanced around the maze-like stone walls, then started walking again.

Now that her guide was gone, the palace truly felt like an enormous labyrinth.

Identical-looking pavilions and gates stretched on endlessly.

That alone was maddening enough, but having to avoid the patrol guards’ eyes made it even more exhausting.

Tap tap tap tap.

Soldiers passed just on the other side of a wall, dangerously close.

“Ugh, I swear I lost ten years of my life.”

Cheong clutched her chest and exhaled in relief.

But she didn’t have time to stand around.

She had to get out of there before more soldiers showed up.

As she crept forward in the shadows—

“There! A suspicious figure!”

“Damn it!”

One of the soldiers, who had sharp eyes, spotted Cheong hidden in the shadows of the wall and shouted.

As all their eyes turned toward her, Cheong bolted like lightning.

“After her! From the way she moves, she must be an assassin!”

“Are you blind?! Do I look like an assassin?!”

Where in the world would you find an assassin wearing a long, flowing skirt?

Her lungs were burning, and her heart pounded like mad.

She ran desperately, but the soldiers were quickly closing the distance.

Huff, huff…

Cheong slipped through a small side door in the middle of a wall and leaned against it, panting heavily.

Unluckily, she had entered a dead-end.

Massive seaweed-like plants—resembling kelp—blocked the path ahead completely.

“Search the area thoroughly! The assassin must be hiding somewhere!”

“Yes, sir!”

Voices of soldiers rang out not far away.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Cheong glanced back and forth between the kelp-like plants and the side door.

If she hesitated, the soldiers would burst in any second.

But she didn’t know what lay beyond the dense kelp—could she risk it?

“Screw it, whatever happens!”

Rolling her eyes in frustration, Cheong made a snap decision.

She dove into the kelp, just as the side door burst open with a loud bang.

“There’s no one here!”

A soldier checked where Cheong had just been, then reported loudly before leaving through the door again.

“Eugh… what the hell is this? So gross!”

The fence made of massive kelp was surprisingly thick.

Cheong shivered at the slippery, squishy sensation wrapping around her arms, legs, and neck every time she moved.

“Stay away from me!”

She swatted wildly at the limp kelp and squeezed her eyes shut as she charged forward.

Thunk!

Her escape ended when she slammed into something inside the kelp wall.

“Ow, my head… What the heck is this?”

She shuddered at the firm but soft feeling against her forehead and cheeks.

“Please don’t tell me this is some giant sea snail or something…”

If there were giant kelp, why not giant sea snails too?

And this was underwater, after all!

“That’s a new one. No one’s ever said that to me before.”

“Ha… first a shrimp, then an orca, a turtle, a ray, an octopus, and now even a sea snail talks? And such a… pleasant voice, at that.”

Startled by the deep voice above her, Cheong quickly looked up.

And saw a strikingly handsome face gazing down at her.

Long hair black as ebony, and eyes red as coral—it could only be…

“Y-Your Highness!”

The one looking down at her from up close was none other than Haewon.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Despite the words, his graceful lips curled up crookedly.

“Ahaha… How could I not be awed by Your Highness’s jade-like voice?”

Cheong, drenched in cold sweat, tried to defuse the situation however she could.

But once again, luck was not on her side.

“Giant sea snail.”

“…Pardon?”

“I was talking about the sea snail, not my voice.”

“Ah…”

Now she was sweating so much her entire body felt soaked.

What was I thinking?! How could I say something so outrageous to the tyrant himself?!

Cheong cursed her reckless mouth.

But what’s said is said—too late to take it back now.

“And are you planning to stay like this much longer?”

At Haewon’s words, Cheong looked down at herself.

She was leaning against Haewon’s chest.

From the outside, it looked exactly like she was in his arms.

To make matters worse, memories of their intense first meeting came flooding back.

That overwhelming presence of his…

As her thoughts strayed, her gaze naturally drifted downward.

“Still got that lecherous look in your eyes, I see.”

“S-sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Cheong quickly sprang away, her face blazing red.

Oddly enough, the feeling of his firm muscles beneath the silk fabric and his body heat seemed to linger.

“I was in a bit of a panic, being chased by soldiers like that.”

Trying to shake the unfamiliar sensation, she blamed the soldiers instead.

“So that ruckus earlier was because of you.”

It seemed Haewon had heard the commotion of the shouting guards as well.

“They were yelling I was an assassin—what else could I do?”

“An assassin, huh. How amusing.”

“Right?! Do I look anything like an assassin?”

When Haewon gave a dry chuckle, Cheong’s indignation surged again.

She grabbed his arm and launched into a tirade.

But she forgot one important thing.

This man was the tyrant feared by everyone in the Dragon Palace.

“Even if you’re not an assassin, I now know you’ve broken the law.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Weren’t you told that no one except authorized palace members may roam after sundown?”

“Ah… yes, I suppose I was…?”

“I’m the one who gave that order, as king.”

Haewon’s smiling face was anything but friendly.

That chilling smile made Cheong’s mind go completely blank.

I’m doomed.

That was the only thought in her now-empty head.

“Just kidding.”

Haewon threw the words out casually, seeing how pale Cheong had turned.

He sat on a nearby rock like it was no big deal.

Cheong’s face slowly turned bright red.

“My heart nearly gave out! Your jokes are way too harsh!”

“Harsh? You exaggerate. I never said I’d kill you.”

“That’s basically what it sounded like!”

Cheong pouted, clearly feeling wronged.

How many people wouldn’t be terrified when a tyrant king personally pointed out their disobedience?

Especially this tyrant, whose cruelty was the stuff of legend.

“Why do you always twist my words like that?”

“Sorry? I didn’t quite catch that.”

When Cheong asked at Haewon’s mutter, he simply shook his head.

“Never mind. Though you’ve broken palace rules, I won’t hold it against you.”

“Really? You mean it?”

“Yes.”

Haewon nodded without resistance.

Ever since she arrived, the fog in his mind had cleared.

That alone was reason enough to forgive her.

He could no longer deny it.

This human had something to do with his long-standing affliction.

As Haewon fell silent, Cheong studied his face cautiously.

He was the tyrant feared by all in the Dragon Palace.

It was only natural she’d be suspicious when he forgave her so easily.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just making sure… You’re not planning to suddenly bring this up later and punish me when I displease you, are you?”

Haewon’s brow twitched.

Even while tiptoeing around him, this cheeky girl still said whatever she wanted.

“You think I’m that petty?”

“N-not at all! You’re generous as the sea itself! I’d never think that!”

Cheong waved her hands wildly, trying to prove her sincerity.

Haewon turned his head away from her.

He no longer cared what others thought of him.

“What I meant is—if I’m to keep quiet about your trespassing, you should keep quiet about this place as well.”

His voice was cold and distant, but Cheong didn’t mind.

In fact, the slight sulkiness made him seem almost… human.

Well, as much as you could call a dragon “human.”

“If that’s all it takes, consider it done. I won’t breathe a word about Your Highness’s secret garden—even in death.”

Even as she joked, Haewon didn’t respond.

On the other side of the kelp forest Cheong had stumbled through lay a vast, endless deep sea.

His back, facing the dark watery wall, looked strangely lonely.

Though he appeared to be in his early thirties, the weight of centuries could be felt in his silhouette against the ocean’s depths.