Yi Hyun did not particularly hope he would manage to see his elder brother — as soon as Yi Yun arrived at the palace, he immediately plunged into court games, began keeping his distance, and had already met three times with the Right State Councilor. Lord Kim truly turned out to be his relative. There was no doubt that any day now the ministers would bring the king a petition to restore the elder son’s rights and name him crown prince. It was… regrettable.

  Even so, Yi Hyun had sent one of his eunuchs to watch his elder brother and, if he ended up alone, to invite him to the pavilion on the lake where Yi Hyun had taken to spending his evenings over a cup of tea. One could leave the attendants on the far side of the bridge and enjoy solitude. No one would overhear their conversation there.

  That evening it began to rain, the maids brought a brazier and a fresh teapot with cups. Yi Hyun looked at the extra cup with melancholy — it was obvious that in such weather no one would come — and ordered the attendants to hide in the pavilion on the opposite bank. He promised he would signal with a lantern if he needed anything and, at the same time, advised them to send someone for umbrellas. The maids bowed and ran off, lifting their skirts.

  Rain pattered harder against the roof of the open pavilion, and a grassy freshness spread through the air. Somewhere in the distance thunder rumbled over the capital. It was strange to think that the previous thunderstorm had caught him wounded in the forest; he had been lost, hungry, unsure what to do, and hiding from killers. And now he sat in a high samogwan hat, in blue garments embroidered with silver dragons, befitting an heir, right in the middle of the royal palace, sipping exquisite tea with rice sweets. Fate was truly changeable.

  Lightning flashed.

  Between the pavilion’s columns stood a tall man, dressed like a mercenary or soldier: in a simple headband, with narrow sleeves tucked under bracers. His light-colored eyes were fixed on Yi Hyun, and he held a bow in his hand. Yi Hyun remembered the forest at night and the assassins chasing him. A bow had been in his pursuer’s hands then, too. Yi Hyun recoiled involuntarily, almost overturning his cup of tea.

  “I was told you wanted to see me, Hyun,” Yi Yun stepped into the circle of light inside the pavilion, wiped raindrops from his face, and laid the bow on the wooden floor. He had no arrows. The illusion passed. “Did I frighten you?”

  Yi Hyun nodded nervously, set his cup aside, stood up, and bowed to his elder brother as required. Had they been in his quarters, he would have yielded his seat, but in the pavilion with its round table it was less obvious which side should be considered the place of honor.

  “Forgive me. I did not understand whether this was truly your invitation or someone decided to prepare me a surprise. So I dismissed the eunuch and approached quietly,” Yi Yun explained. Now it was clear he was simply dressed in a lilac training outfit embroidered with flowers, not intentionally trying to pose as a night thief.

  “And without a lantern,” Yi Hyun grumbled. For a moment he thought that his elder brother had decided after all to finish what he had begun a month ago. “You might as well have put on a mask.”

  “Then I would have had to fight off the royal guards, and Commander Yeong would hate me even more,” Yi Yun said with a bleak smile and sat opposite him. Yi Hyun settled onto his cushion after him. “So why did you want to see me? Is something wrong with Hwan?”

  “No, he is fine,” Yi Hyun finally remembered the tea sitting on the brazier and poured the second cup for his elder brother. “I could not think of another way to deliver the invitation so it would be clear it came from me.”

  “Yes, you know what bait to use on me,” Yi Yun’s gaze warmed. He reached for the tea and took a sip. Just like that, without ceremony or hesitation.

  “You did not see who filled this teapot. I did not drink in your presence, and you do not know where my cup was filled from,” Yi Hyun remarked, surprised. How could one be so careless? In the Great Qing he would not last even a third of a month.

  Yi Yun looked at him for a long moment, took another sip, draining the cup, and then frightened him again. He pulled a small dagger from under his bracer and placed it on the table between them.

  “If you need to get rid of me, this is more reliable,” he said and pushed the dagger toward Yi Hyun with a gesture similar to gisaeng offering wine to a guest. With both hands, bowing respectfully.

  “Elder brother, what are you doing?” Yi Hyun asked very quietly.

  He knew how to speak with the Emperor, the regent, the king, and officials. He could catch hints and half-meanings in insincere words and smiles. But his own brother remained incomprehensible to him. Proud and unpredictable like an unbroken stallion, always pulling some unforeseen stunt. Yi Hyun never knew where the conversation would turn or what would happen the next moment; it was worse than strong wine.

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  Perhaps he wanted to speak with his brother that much partly for that, for that intoxicating sense of dangerous madness.

  “I have long meant to ask why you sent guards,” Yi Yun replied, skipping past all necessary introductions and hints. Yi Hyun had time to think that the only question more direct would be asking who wanted to kill whom — and then his brother asked exactly that. “It would have been more advantageous to you to kill us back there. And now it has become harder because of possible consequences.”

  “And why did you not shoot me in the forest?” Yi Hyun also decided to try speaking plainly. The words felt unusually rough on his tongue, scratching.

  “I already told you. I do not kill my brothers,” Yi Yun sounded, for some reason, annoyed by this fact.

  “Suppose that I do not, either,” Yi Hyun refilled their cups with warm tea, trying not to brush against the dagger lying before him.

  “That is difficult for me,” Yi Yun nodded in thanks for the tea and began warming his fingers on the cup. “Not because you are a bad person, Hyun. This is not an accusation. From what I see, you are a very good person and a worthy heir. And as a good heir you ought to get rid of a bad person like me. Not necessarily with your own hands, of course.”

  “I grow very uneasy when you read my thoughts, elder brother,” Yi Hyun said with a tense smile. This could still be steered into a joke, if the conversation went the wrong way.

  “Forgive me,” Yi Yun shrugged. “I, too, was once taught to be an heir. To think ahead, to calculate people’s usefulness to me and to the country… I know how you must think. And I agree with your thoughts. I am ready to help you.”

  “Your grandfather is not ready,” Yi Hyun snorted, unsure how to get out of the trap he had walked into himself. Aside from the option of plunging the dagger into his elder brother’s throat and pushing him off the bridge into the pond right now.

  “Yes, that stubborn man does not want to hear me, and I cannot tell him the real reason I am not fit to be heir,” Yi Yun nodded. “If Father had not forbidden…”

  “Father saved your life,” Yi Hyun regained confidence, having found the right path amid the swamp. Yi Yun always carried out royal orders with unwavering zeal, even when he disagreed with them. Like this time, when the king forbade them to mention that Yi Yun had once been called Mu-in. Mu-in, an assassin, had died and could not testify against Councilor Choi. And so the testimony was insufficient for an execution, and it had to be replaced with exile. Yi Yun had screamed, cried, begged his father to reconsider and avenge his mother and the others, but the king remained unmoving. Yi Yun had to accept it. “You would not want me to go against his will, would you?”

  Yi Yun frowned.

  “I had not thought of it that way,” he admitted. “But then what are we to do? Councilor Kim will not leave me alone, and you have no proper support at court. This will end with the ministers forcing Father to issue a decree in my favor.”

  Yi Hyun gave him a skeptical smile.

  “Elder brother, do you truly want to make me ruler when you have so many advantages?”

  “A murderer cannot be king and father of the nation,” Yi Yun pressed his lips together. “Do not misunderstand me, Hyun. I grew up knowing I was the heir and that this was my place by right. All my life I dreamed of what I could do if it became mine again. I know every corner of this palace — it is my home… For example, there is a second path to this pavilion, not by the bridge.”

  “You are frightening me,” Yi Hyun muttered. Lightning flashed again.

  “I frighten myself sometimes,” Yi Yun looked at his cup and took a sip. “I desperately want Father to look at me again, tell me I am the best, and name me heir. You cannot imagine how much it hurts here, inside. But then I look at my reflection and understand I long ago became a monster. And a monster cannot receive what belongs to a human. You must help me with this, Hyun. Take the throne from me, put me on a chain. The good of the entire country is more important than the good of one man.”

  “Then why not Hwan?” There was neither moon nor stars in the sky, after the lightning it became even darker, and Yi Hyun began to feel that his brother truly might bulge under his clothes at any moment, throw out long claws, and turn into a monster. He glanced at the dagger.

  “Hwan is an uneducated child,” Yi Yun followed his gaze and deliberately turned away. Streams of rain stretched from the pavilion roof. “You sent eunuchs to watch me. I also watched you. I like the decisions you make and what you strive for. I think one day you will be a good ruler for the people.”

  Yi Hyun flushed. He had not thought his attendants had been noticed, and even less imagined they had been kindly allowed to continue spying.

  “I need support at court,” Yi Hyun confirmed the obvious and decided to take a risk. “You killed those who were supposed to become my support.”

  “And I can help you avenge them,” Yi Yun agreed, still watching the rain.

  “You can help me replace them,” Yi Hyun corrected him, making his decision. “Now you must become my support. But since we cannot do this openly, find someone for me to rely on.”

  “You mean you do not hate me?” Yi Yun looked genuinely astonished, turning back toward him.

  “Hate you?” Yi Hyun, in turn, looked surprised. “No, not at all. I would have been glad to meet under different circumstances. But you are still my elder brother, and I want to trust you.”

  The elder prince’s face lit with sincere childlike joy.

  “I will always protect you, Hyun,” he promised. “You can rely on me.”

  “Then take this,” Yi Hyun smiled softly and nodded at the dagger.

  “No, keep it,” Yi Yun unwound some kind of strap on his left arm, helping himself with his teeth. “If tonight it had not been me, you would have had nothing to defend yourself with. Wear it on your arm or leg, under your clothes, and I will feel a little calmer.”

  “Then you will have to train with me, elder brother,” Yi Hyun remarked. “I have never used concealed weapons.”

  “Forgive me in advance if I give you a few knocks, little brother,” Yi Yun laughed. “We’d better maintain the appearance of rivalry.”

  Yi Hyun shot him a dark look and promised himself that he would show this arrogant rascal who here had trained under the most outstanding masters of the Great Qing, and who under some nameless thugs.