The Goryeo Palace was silent. The silence was cold and all-consuming. It all had to do with the silent rage of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. It all started over four days ago, when during an audience with the King, the 4th Prince Wang So collapsed in a pool of blood. Though no one knew what exactly what happened before the prince collapsed except for those who were in the chamber with the King, whatever happened had made the King into a brooding silent wall.

In no time at all, the 4th prince had been carried to a royal prince's chamber and was attended by the royal doctor. But all they could find at the beginning was poisoning. But even if the antidote was given, the prince's shakes will not stop, the blood still dripping from his mouth, and he threw up more and more blood as time went by. The royal doctor that attended to the prince had called a few of the other royal doctors and in no time at all, they were multiple doctors present at the 4th prince's sick bed. The 4th prince who seemed to be coughing blood, shaking horribly and who was completely unconscious. Whatever this brand of poison was it was truly frightening just looking at the effects it had on the 4th prince.

The crown prince who always was more meek, was enraged. Armed with a royal order in his hand, the crown prince had started to question everyone that could have had access to the 4th prince's food. All palace maids and court ladies were searched, making sure no one was the culprit. But instead of the culprit for the 4th prince's poisoning, they found servants that were planning to poison the Crown Prince instead. Those ladies were immediately put to death, after a severe interrogation where they did not reveal the names of the person who wanted to poison the crown prince.

The ministers were in shock to see the change in the king, who was strong but in a way peace-loving, to this form of angry king who was practically ignoring all of the court officials. He had never seemed to care for his children, except for the Crown Prince so what made the 4th prince special. He was the bad curse of the royal family. If he died, in a way the ministers will be more happy as a stain in the royal family will be gone. It was a sentiment shared by many others, particularly his mother and older brother Yo.

When the other princes heard, they were shocked of course, but they believed the rumors of 4th being a powerful beast-like human. Except for Baek Ah, who had seen his Hyungnim for who he really was, so he visited him as much as he could. Dragging the 10th and 14th with him when he could. The kind-hearted Eun, who could not see such suffering on anyone, start to see his 4th brother as human as he witness the bloody clothes and his older brother who was constantly shaking. So the 10th prince decided to tell the 4th prince funny stories because the doctor said that the prince needed encouragement to fight. But the 14th was stubborn and did not like his brother So at all. But he went to see him all the same when dragged along by his older brothers.

A day had passed since the poisoning of the 4th prince, when a sudden changed in his health occurred. Once again it was in front of the King, but this time it was Baek Ah and Eun with together with his father. The 4th prince had briefly come to consciousness and apparently had said something that warned the others that the imperial princes were in danger.

Once again only those present in the room knew the exact words. The 4th prince's warning was taken into account and the royal investigation office and royal guards start to pay attention to the surroundings of the other princes. It was as they were looking over the things from the exorcism rite that they discovered it. The utensils were poisoned. All the utensils that the royals were supposed to use as the exorcism rite, if the assassins had not attacked, there was traces of poison on all of them. The 4th prince had drank the poison out of all of them. That was the reason for such an intense poisoning. That afternoon, the 4th prince who seemed to be getting better, once again got sick, this time with a dangerously high fever. Burning him up to the point, that the doctors feared how he will survive through the night.

On the morning of the third day, the 4th prince's condition once again changed. From a dangerously high fever, now his body seemed to be growing colder and colder. The servants who had been fanning him through the night, now switched to warming him up using extra blankets and increasing the heat in the room. The 13th prince who had arrived when the maids were putting blankets on his older brother, had took his brother's cold hands into his and were trying to warm them. The 10th prince when he arrived soon after took the other hand of his older brother and also sat by 4th prince's sides, trying to warm him up.

By that night, the 4th prince's condition changed once more. His temperature was now normal, but it was his heart this time. Even if the prince was unconscious, you could see that it was his heart paining him, as his pulse went frantic and the prince seemed to have trouble breathing, Not to mention that his body shook with violent tremors from time to time. All these things had an unfortunate side effect of the 4th prince's scars to get inflamed and the skin around it to become red.

It was the crown prince who noticed this inflamed skin. The 10th and 13th prince had to leave but soon after the Crown Prince had arrived into the room. The crown prince had been placing warm towels on his little brother's face and hands and when he had taken off his little brother's mask, the mask that he had placed back on So's face in the courtroom before calling the royal doctor, that was when he was the redness. The skin was red around the scar, it seemed like the scar had been recently made rather than it being more than a decade old. The crown prince knew that his brother had other scars, so he had quickly sent for the royal doctor in charge. When the doctor and one another doctor arrives, the three of them together strips the shirt off the 4th prince. It was the first time that the Crown Prince saw the many scars on his younger brother's body. All of them were red, some look like it was about to bleed any moment now. The doctor quickly sent for more ice, it was now important to reduce the inflammation of the various scars, but they had to be sure that the treatment will not cause any side effects to the prince's heart and lungs.

It was on the morning of the 4th day, when the situation changed again. While the doctor was away getting new medicine, the 4th prince had disappeared from his chambers. His white hanbok on the around, and a pair of simple black hanbok missing. To think that a critical patient could walk out of the palace was improbable, so it was more likely that the 4th prince had been kidnapped from the royal palace. Not wanting to alarm the many palace occupants to the situation, the astronomer Choi with the 10th and 13th prince went out in disguise into the city looking for the 4th prince or any signs of kidnappers.

As the two princes rode passed by the 8th prince's residence, they saw a mass amount of servants moving around the house. Worried that something had happened to Lady Hae, Baek Ah entered his brother's home to find out what was going on. It was there that he learnt the strange but crucial detail and knowing the importance of it, Beak Ah rode back quickly to the palace to tell Ji Mong what he learnt, the 10th prince who learnt some of the details followed behind him. And now all of them were in court before the King.

"Pyeha, I was at our 8th brother's residence when I learnt something that may have to do with 4th brother's condition."

"What is it, 13th prince?" Astronomer Choi prompted for more details.

"Lady Hae's cousin, Lady Soo also seemed to have fallen unconscious while vomiting blood about five days ago. Actually it was the night before the 4th brother's collapse. She also had seemed to have gone through similar illness as 4th brother. It started with vomiting blood, then a high fever, then it was horrible pain in her legs, before a cold fever. She had also disappeared this morning. But in her room, she left a message."

"Lady Soo, the child that hit the prince?"

"Yes, Pyeha. But Soo did nothing wrong this time. Her letter said that both her and the prince were attacked by the assassins at the exorcism site, and both of them were wounded. That they knew the objects were poisoned but they drank the tea and both of them had let themselves be cut anyways. To save the royal family. Also that they have no regrets." With tears in his eyes, the 10th prince kneeled down. "Pyeha, please do not stop your investigation into the assassins, they have hurt more than enough people."

"Eun-ah, you are really innocent. Do not worry I have no intention to stop the hunt to those who went against me. But that poison that 4th and that lady drank, is that a form of poison that we know, Astronomer?"

"My apologizes, Pyeha. All we could find out was that the poison seemed to have ingredients from all the towns of Goryeo. Sadly, all of your wives' hometown is included in it, and all of them are rare ingredients that cost a lot of money to obtain."

"I knew that the clans were involved somehow. But Ji Mong, have you found any trace of the kidnapper?"

"One of the stable-hands was searching the area, and found a horse track leading out of the palace. The rider choose a path that hardly allows for tracks to be seen, but we have sent off soldiers in that direction, we should hear from them soon." Then a knock, and an announcement of the Captain's entrance was made, as the armoured soldier walk towards the throne.

"My greetings to the king."

"Captain, what have you found, please tell us without any skipping any details."

"Yes, Astronomer. Pyeha, we allowed the tracks leading out of the palace till we found what seemed like the place that the Prince fought his attackers in the woods. Then it seems like the 4th Prince took a horse away to escape from them. Based on the tracks following behind his horse, I'm sure that his kidnappers were only made unconscious rather than killed. So it seems that the prince has no weapons on him. But the prince did leave us this paper," as the Captain hands a blood-stained paper over to Ji Mong to pass it to the king.

The king opened the bloody paper, to see just a few words. From the son that he loves but had to make him survive so much for him to be strong enough for his destiny and for him to be greater than him. That smart little boy that had such a warm but selfless heart. That was the boy when he briefly woke up, telling him through shaking breath to take care of the others more than him. To take care of the nation rather than worrying about him. Looking at what the 4th had survived through just with this poisoning, he was convinced. So was ready. He was strong enough and considerate enough to live in the palace and not to be tainted. He will be able to fight anyone if he survived through all that pain. Perhaps the heavens had been kind that he only had one son poisoned, rather than multiple poisonings or deaths. But it did seem like a blessing when he look at the letter in front of him. The blood, the blood was so red. The letters clearly written with a shaky hand, and there was splatters of blood all over the page like someone was coughing blood but try to avoid it staining the page. But his calligraphy, he never realized that his son could write so beautifully even when he was coughing blood. The letter simply stated this "tongueless. Eomoni. Temple. Going from here."

"Did the 4th horse tracks lead to some place?"

"Yes, it passed by the 8th prince's residence. Based on the horse tracks, there was another set of riders at the 8th prince's residence and the 4th prince chased after them. I have sent soldiers to follow that trail. What are your orders, Pyeha?"

"Ji Mong, find out what the 4th meant," as he passed the bloody letter over to his advisor, "Captain, follow those tracks, and search all temples in Songak, that is the clue that the 4th left. Especially those with any ties to the noble clans. And the princes are to remain in the palace, under guard and no one is to eat or drink anything that an animal did not test it before."

With that the Emperor Taejo stood up from his throne, and without a word, strode out of the room. His fist clenched at his side. The fearsome tiger in him fighting to go out and personally kill those who hurt his child. Especially the Queen Yoo's people. But he could not do that as he needed the clans for his nation. He silently made his way to the ancestral shrine and started his bows. Asking the spirits of find his child. That foolish bastard child, who had called him "Abonim" in the same breath that could have been his last.

Across the palace, Jumong was relating the new details to the Crown Prince, who was just silent. Why was it was always So, that bore the burdens for the royal family? He made a vow to find him, and he will grant him any wish that he wanted. Whatever that he wanted. In front of the Crown Prince stood two of his younger brothers, the only one who seemed to care at all about So. Eun-ah and Baek-Ah. Calling for some alcohol, the Crown Prince made them sit in front of him, as he pour them drinks. He needed his mind to be quiet, his body to be tired, otherwise he knew that he will disobey the King and go out on his own.

Over at the 8th prince's residence, the 8th prince had his own worries. That little child who seemed to make his heart lighten who allowed him to smile has been kidnapped. While her cousin, his wife was bedridden with a fever, constantly asking after her cousin, Soo. He had learnt that the 4th suffered the same illness, but he could not care. He was just his exiled brother, while he was decent towards him, it did not mean he liked him. He wanted Soo back at his side, she belonged with him.