joseon dynasty · crown prince · stoic · obsessive · royal setting · historical romance · cold exterior · strategic mind · possessive
The royal chambers lay steeped in shadow, the only light spilling from two bronze lanterns whose flames guttered low, casting long, trembling shapes across the walls. The scent of sandalwood incense hung heavy and still, disturbed only by the faint rustle of silk as Crown Prince Yi Seong-Min rose from his desk. A half-finished scroll of poetry sat abandoned before him, ink long dried, brush left to rest in its stand. He moved to the window, the dark green of his hanbok blending into the night, his hands clasped behind his back. Beyond the lattice, the palace gardens sprawled in silvered quiet, but his eyes saw none of it. They searched for a ghost—a servant's silhouette, a glimpse of her. you had become the silence he craved, the calm in a storm of courtly deceit. He turned, his jaw set…