Dohyun's question was sharper than any blade.
*How much do you know about what is coming for me?*
Jia's mouth went bone dry. What would happen if she told the truth right now? *I came from another world. I read a web novel you're in. Three months from now, you'll be framed for treason and executed.*
She'd be dragged away as a lunatic, suspected as a spy, or written off as some shaman who'd been touched by the spirits.
But if she lied, Dohyun had the eyes of a man who wouldn't believe her anyway.
In the end, Jia chose the most ambiguous answer she could find.
"I had a dream."
Dohyun's eyebrow shifted—just barely.
"A dream?"
"Yes. A dream in which something dangerous befell Your Highness. Someone died after drinking the tea, and the blame fell on you."
Dohyun said nothing. He simply watched her.
Jia couldn't even breathe properly. In the original story, Dohyun was deeply suspicious by nature—a man who had survived battlefields by reading the flicker in a person's eyes, the rhythm of their breath, and knowing when they were lying. Trying to deceive someone like that felt like her heart was being torn in two.
"In that dream—did I die?"
Jia's fingertips trembled.
"…Not yet."
Dohyun smiled quietly. It was too cold to really call a smile.
"Not yet."
He reached down and picked up a shard of the broken teacup. Blood beaded at his fingertip, but he showed no sign of pain.
"This tea came from the Queen Dowager's quarters. You called tea sent by a member of the royal family poisoned. If you're wrong, you could be put to death and no one would fault them for it."
"And if I'm right?"
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Dohyun looked at her.
"If you're right, you become far more dangerous to certain people."
It wasn't a threat. It was a warning. Only then did Jia understand—Dohyun wasn't trying to kill her. He was trying to confirm the truth in order to keep her alive.
Dohyun called for Baek Gyeom, his royal guard who had been waiting outside. In the original story, Baek Gyeom was Dohyun's only truly loyal subject—the one who fought to protect him until the very end, and died for it. Baek Gyeom received the order to quietly investigate the tea and disappeared.
Jia watched him go, a heaviness settling in her chest.
Baek Gyeom dies too.
Dohyun dies too.
Almost everyone here vanishes in the original story, like spare parts in someone else's tragedy.
"Sowol."
Jia looked up at the sound of Dohyun's voice.
"If you truly had a dream, tell me when it happens again. But tell no one else."
"Why?"
"Because in this palace, the ones who speak the truth are the first to die."
Before the words had fully settled, the corridor outside erupted in noise. Court ladies from the Queen Dowager's quarters came sweeping into Wolyeong Palace. They were there to take the court lady who had spilled the tea.
Head Court Lady Maehwa went pale and stared at Jia. The other court ladies had already taken a step back. Not one of them moved to shield her.
The court lady from the Queen Dowager's quarters spoke in a cold, flat voice.
"I am told she overturned tea from the royal household and spoke disrespectfully. We will be taking her."
Jia's legs nearly gave out beneath her. The Queen Dowager's quarters were the heart of the faction that worked against Dohyun in the original story. If she was taken there, it was over.
Then Dohyun stepped across the threshold and came outside.
"You will not be taking her."
"Your Highness. This is by order of the Queen Dowager."
"She is a court lady of my household. If she is to be punished, I will be the one to do it."
"But—"
Dohyun's gaze locked onto the court lady.
"It has not even been half a day since I returned from the front. And yet the Queen Dowager's quarters have sent tea I have reason to suspect was poisoned—and now rush to remove the court lady who spilled it."
The courtyard went still.
The court lady's lips trembled.
"Your Highness, please mind your words."
"Who ought to mind their words will become clear soon enough."
At that moment, Baek Gyeom returned. He placed a small silver needle in Dohyun's hand. The tip had turned black.
Poison.
The color drained from the court lady's face.
Dohyun held up the silver needle and spoke without warmth.
"It seems you no longer have any reason to take this court lady."
The court ladies retreated without a word. Jia finally let herself breathe.
She was alive.
But the relief didn't last.
After dismissing everyone, Dohyun called Jia back inside. His face was unreadable, but his eyes had grown deeper.
"You saved my life."
"It was by chance—"
"There are no two chances."
His voice was low and even.
"From today, you stay by my side."
Jia's eyes went wide.
"I'm sorry?"
"Did you not say you dream? Then I will see how long your dreams hold true."
He tossed her a small wooden pass. It was the token that granted access to the inner areas of Wolyeong Palace.
"Do not think about running. If you disappear, I will find you before the Queen Dowager's people do."
Jia stood there, wooden pass in hand, unable to move.
Staying by Dohyun's side.
That meant a chance to save him—and also meant drawing closer to the tragedy at the heart of the original story.
That night, Jia never made it back to the court ladies' quarters. A small annex behind Wolyeong Palace became her room. Everyone watched her with strange eyes. No one could tell whether she was a court lady who had caught the prince's favor, a witness to an attempted poisoning, or an unlucky girl who was about to get herself killed.
Jia didn't know either.
Whether she was the protagonist, an extra, or a sacrifice the original story had pulled in to make its tragedy complete.
When dawn was nearly there, she gave up pretending to sleep and opened her eyes.
In the corner of the room, an old bronze mirror glowed faintly.
Reflected in its surface was a convenience store.
An empty checkout counter. A phone lying on the floor. And new words rising across the screen.
— *You have prevented the first death.* — *However, the ending is approaching faster now.* — *Time remaining: 87 days.*
Jia crawled toward the mirror.
"How do I get back?"
The surface of the mirror rippled.
New words appeared.
— *Save the prince.* — *However, if he falls in love with you, the gate will close.*
Jia felt her breath stop.
She had to save Dohyun to go home.
But if Dohyun fell in love with her, she could never go home.
She grabbed the mirror with both hands.
"What kind of insane condition is that."
Then, from just outside the door, a low voice.
"You are not asleep."
Dohyun.
Jia yanked a cloth over the mirror.
On the other side of the door, Dohyun's shadow went still.
"Sowol. Who were you just speaking to?"
Jia's heart started pounding all over again.
Lie and die.
Tell the truth and die.
And now—be loved, and never go home.