Jia held out the scrap of white silk to Dohyun.
He read the red-inked words and said nothing for a long moment.
— *The more you interfere, the more he dies because of you.*
The sentence wouldn't leave her head. She had believed that changing the original story could save Dohyun. But what if the altered future turned out to be worse? What if the ending that had only claimed Dohyun's life twisted into something that swallowed the people around him too?
"Don't waver."
Dohyun spoke.
Jia looked up.
"Me?"
"That message is aimed at you. It is not a threat to kill me. It is a threat to break your resolve."
"But it might not be wrong."
"Then that is all the more reason not to stop."
Dohyun carried the scrap of cloth to the candle flame. The white silk curled and blackened.
"If you fear that I will die because of you, then step away from me. But if you fear that I will die regardless, then watch it through to the end."
Jia bit her lip.
He always found the exact words that cut the deepest.
The next day, rumors about Dohyun began spreading through the palace. The third prince had fallen under the spell of a bewitching court lady. He had refused a royal gift on the pretense of a dream. He had concealed proof of loyalty sent by the northern commanders. The rumors were absurd—but inside the palace walls, rumors traveled faster than blades.
And rumors always beat the truth.
Jia worked in the archive room with Dohyun, Baek Gyeom, and Head Court Lady Maehwa, mapping out the events from the original story. The poisoned tea, the mind-clouding incense, the white gloves. Three had already become real. What came next?
She wanted to tear her hair out.
"The next major event is the hunt."
"The hunt?"
Baek Gyeom asked.
"The royal hunting competition. In the original—in the dream—Your Highness's horse goes wild, and it's staged to look like Your Highness misfired an arrow and wounded the Silver Prince."
Baek Gyeom's expression hardened.
"That wouldn't be treason. That could be framed as attempted murder of a member of the royal family."
Dohyun was unmoved.
"When is the hunt?"
"Three days from now."
The room went quiet after Jia answered. That was a full week earlier than in the original story.
"Something's off. It was supposed to be ten days from now."
Dohyun said quietly, "Someone is accelerating the timeline."
Jia had a rough idea who. Doyun. The Queen Dowager. And Seonwoo Ryu. But she couldn't be certain which of the three was driving it.
Three days was nowhere near enough time. They had to swap out Dohyun's horse, inspect the bows and arrows, map the hunting grounds, and anticipate the Silver Prince's movements. Jia cut back on sleep and wrung every detail she could from her memory of the original story.
Then something she hadn't anticipated happened.
Seonwoo Ryu came to Wolyeong Palace.
He greeted Dohyun with proper courtesy and inclined his head toward Jia as well. As polished and composed as ever.
"Your Highness. I've brought the roster for the hunting competition."
Baek Gyeom moved to take the documents, but Seonwoo stepped past him and offered them directly to Dohyun. Dohyun didn't reach for them.
"Give them to Baek."
Seonwoo smiled faintly.
"Is there a reason I cannot hand them to Your Highness directly?"
"Everything that reaches my hands lately seems to cause problems."
"If Your Highness suspects even me, I'm hurt."
Dohyun's voice was cold.
"Hurt is a luxury for people who aren't in danger."
Seonwoo's smile stiffened, just barely.
In that moment, Jia noticed something. On the inside of Seonwoo's wrist—a faint mark. A burn scar. In the later chapters of the original story, the treason documents bearing the red seal had left exactly that kind of mark on the hands of whoever handled them.
Jia found herself staring at his wrist without meaning to.
Seonwoo caught it immediately.
"Is there something on my wrist?"
Jia quickly looked away.
"No. Nothing."
"Sowol always looks like someone who has already seen something."
He stepped closer.
"Have you perhaps seen my future as well?"
Jia met his eyes.
In that instant, the final courtroom scene from the original story flashed through her mind like lightning. Seonwoo kneeling, giving his testimony. Dohyun watching him in silence. Not the face of someone betrayed—the face of someone who had already known.
Jia spoke quietly.
"My lord will betray His Highness."
The room froze.
Baek Gyeom's hand moved to the hilt of his sword. Dohyun's eyes went dark. Seonwoo didn't drop his smile. If anything, it slowly widened.
"In the dream?"
"Yes."
"Then I hope the dream is wrong."
Seonwoo bowed toward Dohyun.
"Your Highness. I have never once betrayed you."
Dohyun said nothing.
That silence weighed more than anything Seonwoo had said.
After Seonwoo left, Jia braced herself to be reprimanded. She had said something she couldn't be certain of. But Dohyun didn't scold her.
"Are you afraid of him?"
"Yes."
"I have known him a long time."
Jia's chest sank.
"Do you trust him?"
Dohyun looked out the window.
"There was a time I wanted to."
That was somehow sadder than anything else he could have said.
On the day of the hunting competition, every preparation seemed to be in order. Baek Gyeom had personally inspected Dohyun's horse. Jia had checked the bows and arrows twice. They had tracked the Silver Prince Doyun's expected movements.
But the original story didn't arrive the way they'd planned for.
In the middle of the hunting grounds, the moment the drums sounded, it wasn't Dohyun's horse that went wild—it was the small horse Jia had been riding.
"Sowol!"
Dohyun's voice tore through the trees.
The horse bolted with Jia on its back, charging toward the cliff's edge. She grabbed the reins and pulled with everything she had. It made no difference. The drop rushed toward her.
Then someone came riding hard from the side and threw themselves at her.
Dohyun.
He launched himself from his own horse and caught her in his arms. The two of them hit the ground together and rolled. Her back and shoulders slammed into rock and the air left her lungs.
The moment Jia's vision cleared, she was already searching for him.
"Your Highness!"
Dohyun had gone down with his arms still around her. Blood was spreading from his side.
From somewhere in the distance, a voice rang out.
"The third prince attempted to target the Silver Prince and has fallen from his horse!"
Jia's eyes went wide.
No.
Dohyun hadn't been targeting the Silver Prince.
He had been hurt trying to save her.
But outside the tree line, the story was already being written.
Jia grabbed Dohyun's face with trembling hands.
"Open your eyes. Please."
Dohyun forced his eyes open.
Even bleeding, the first thing he did was check whether she was hurt.
"Are you injured?"
Jia's tears fell.
"Why did you save me?"
Dohyun smiled, faint and fading.
"This time… I was the one who saw it."
"Saw what?"
"You dying."
Jia stopped breathing.
Dohyun's eyes slowly closed.
And from somewhere far off came the sound of soldiers' boots.
The future had changed.
But it had changed into something crueler.