The night felt quieter than usual. A northern wind blew through the air, carrying with it the scent of pine leaves burning somewhere deep in the mountains. Areum walked slowly through the dim corridor of the palace, following the clues in an anonymous note placed beneath her soup bowl during dinner.
> "If you are truly Seol Hwa's heir, come to the Silk Hall. Alone."
The Silk Hall was forbidden territory — an old building once used to tailor the royal ceremonial garments, but it had been closed long ago after the late queen's passing.
Areum gently pushed open the wooden door. It creaked faintly. The smell of aged fabric and dust greeted her. Inside, only a small candle flickered in the corner.
And there, a man in black robes stood with his back to her.
"Areum," his voice was deep, calm. "I've been waiting for you."
Areum took a step forward, her heart racing.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man turned around. His face was faint, only partially lit from the side. But his eyes — sharp, deep, and as though they held far too many secrets.
"I'm called Hyeon Jae... a keeper of truths never written in the history books."
Areum held her breath. That name was like a shadow — she had read it before in a manuscript kept by the head royal physician, a guardian of the royal family behind the scenes.
Hyeon Jae extended something toward her — a small piece of navy-blue cloth, embroidered with a rose and a seven-pointed star.
> "This emblem... was once sewn by Seol Hwa herself. It is not just a design. It is a code of lineage. And you, Areum, have inherited it through a bloodline hidden for over a century."
Areum held the cloth. Her hands trembled. "How... how do you know all this?"
"Because I am a witness," Hyeon Jae replied. "I saw with my own eyes how Seol Hwa's child was hidden away, raised outside the palace under a new name. And their descendants... were protected, one generation to the next — until finally, you reappeared. Unaware of who you truly were."
Areum collapsed to her knees.
Everything was beginning to make sense. Her feelings toward the palace, the strange familiarity with certain foods, her cooking skills that seemed inherited, and those vivid dreams of a woman in a blue hanbok crying in the forbidden garden.
"Why me?" she asked. "Why was I sent to the past?"
Hyeon Jae didn't answer immediately. He stepped toward the window, gazing out at the silent garden.
> "Because fate does not choose randomly. It waits for the right time… and someone strong enough to change history."
Areum looked at the cloth in her hands. Her soul was still in turmoil, but for the first time since falling into the past — she felt like she was placed here not by misfortune, but by necessity.
She was not just a time traveler.
She was the continuation of a bloodline meant to be erased.
And now, she had to decide whether that legacy would rise… or be buried forever.