Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
Royo, City of Umbria, Yusan. Royo finally collects his money from the old merchant after beating up someone on his behalf, the merchant didn’t pay for a kill. Once paid he heads to the Butcher & Ale taking his usual seat, the tavern keeper, Yuri, knows what Royo does but looks the other way. Yuri tells Royo someone very pretty has been looking for him. Royo says he isn’t interested and won’t go to the fancy Black Shoe Inn she’s staying at, but his curiosity is piqued. Royo is thinking about another pretty girl, but it can’t be her, he killed her.
Euyn, City of Outton, Fallow. Euyn is being hunted. Once a prized hunter, once a prince, he is now the prey and goes by Donal, avoiding the people he owes a lot of money to. But someone finds him, as Euyn finds a red envelope addressed to the prince on the door of his room, the letter has an offer for Euyn. Heading to the stables, Euyn finds another red envelope, this one is being held by someone. It’s too late.
Sora, City of Gain, Yusan. The meadow is beautiful, but also deadly. She’s not sure when the foraging lessons with nine year old Gli began, but it’s useful to know which mushrooms are poisonous. A chill goes down Sora's spine, the Count, Seok, is here, and the gods know how much Sora hates him, but it’s a shame the gods don’t grant wishes to girls like Sora. Seok hands Sora a calling card, the name on it her latest mark. She is to kill the mark tonight, his body cold by dawn, then Seok will allow Sora to see her sister.
Royo heads back to his rooms, going through the hidey holes and secret places to gather the gold pieces he’s accumulated over the last decade. Counting it out and satisfied, Royo hides the gold again. The last small bag he puts into his jacket pocket and finds a card, Royo, The Black Shoe Inn, tonight, I have a job for you. Who did this? When? Did it happen at the tavern? Though his gut says not to go, Royo heads out into the night.
Sora looks like perfection in her thin see-through dress and bright red lipstick. She has nowhere to hide a weapon as she enters the rooms of her mark, Maricelus Silla. Acting is her only defence as he grabs and gropes her, and climbing on top of her, she lets him kiss her. It doesn’t take long for his tongue to swell and the choking begins. He’s as good as dead as Sora stands up and leaves. When she arrives back in her room, there is a card summoning her to Seok. Angry, she complies. Seok has a bargain for her, one she can not refuse. Kill King Joon, the god king, and all her debts will be cleared and she and her sister will be free of his service.
Euyn is greeted by Mikail in the stables, he’s [sarcastically] glad he doesn’t have to leave another note for the prince since he’s late. Mikail is an assassin and Euyn fully expects this to be a trap to kill him on behalf of his brother, and yet, Mikail does not. Since death is not on the cards at this moment, they retire to Euyn’s room at the inn to talk. Mikail has a proposal for Euyn: to kill his brother, the king, and take the crown for himself. Okay… what is Mikail’s price and who is the benefactor of this scheme? Mikail isn’t a spymaster for no reason, his reasons are his own and his face reveals nothing. As for the benefactor, it is the Queen of Khitan, Euyn’s sister. Huh.
Aeri, City of Umbria, Yusan. Aeri is cold and nervous, she planted a card on Royo and he’s yet to come to her. Suddenly there is a knock on the door and a small boy is delivering a message, there is a man here to see her. Aeri bounds down the stairs at the last moment and composes herself. Aeri suggests that they take tea in the parlour so they can talk, she has no idea how to hire muscle, especially very nice looking muscle… this is no time to be horny! Aeri introduces herself and tells Royo she needs him to protect her on the journey to Tamneki, the capital of Yusan, so she can kill the king. This is a treasonous conversation and Royo starts to leave, but Aeri is very matter of fact and not bothered by lingchi, death by one hundred cuts, the price for treason, and instead pulls out a purse with a giant diamond in it. She’s been offered half a million gold for the job and is willing to cut Royo in on it. Regardless of her success, he will get the diamond. Aeri isn’t bothered by the supposed god-like ability of Joon, she knows his crown is magic, made of Etherum. Aeri leaves Royo to consider her offer until the next day.
Euyn has had to leave most of his possessions behind as he travels out of Fallow. He’s not happy about that. He’s also not happy going back to the country where there is a bounty on his head. Mikail is very casual about the whole thing. He’s also casual about dispatching the highwayman who ambushes them. Bloodlust makes Mikail very attractive, but Euyn already found him attractive in the years before he was banished from his kingdom. Dealing with the highwayman has also put Euyn and Mikail behind on time, which isn't great because of the samroc, enormous black birds that like to hunt in the dark, and the sun is going down.
Sora is visiting her sister, Daysum. Both were sold by their parents to Seok but only Sora was taught poisons, Daysum was sickly and it wasn’t expected that she would survive. Well, she has survived and is beginning to thrive though is smaller and weaker because of her illness. Her mind, though, is sharp. Sora tells Daysum she has been offered their freedom and Daysum understands it is an impossible task though Sora won’t tell her the specifics. A game they often play, what would you do if you were queen of Yusan, comes awfully close to the truth. Sora says if she were to become queen, she would make the king’s death look natural, Daysum says that’s what happened with the queen of Khitan who would be the acting regent in the king’s death. Interesting. As their short time together ends, Sora is sure she’s missed something vital, she wishes she heard what Daysum whispered to her, but she has trouble hearing in one ear because of her poisoner training.
Euyn and Mikail are on the outskirts of Tile, the stupid horse/camel half-breeds aren’t moving fast enough and the sun is going down and neither are willing to light the lanterns because of the samroc threat. It doesn’t matter, a loud caw rents the air, the samroc are close and getting closer. Another cry, this one sounds like a war cry. As far as Euyn is aware no one has taken down a samroc. They dismount from their hamels and run, pulling them by the reins. The samroc attack and the hamels make a lovely tasty treat for them. Euyn and Mikail continue to run, Euyn pulling out his crossbow, though it is pretty ineffective against the giant bird from hell. One attacks Mikail, and the only thing Euyn can do is use himself as a distraction, but then Euyn hits a bolt through the samroc’s eye which is nice and squishy. It’s enough for Euyn to grab Mikail and run into a tunnel, safe from the samroc. Euyn has a feeling that samroc won’t forget him.
After careful consideration, Mikail isn’t a fan of samroc. He’s also surprised Euyn risked his life to save him. Euyn finds a torch and lights it, allowing them both to see the cavern they’re in, and look at the damage the samroc caused. Euyn hands Mikail a drug pouch and begins doctoring the wounds. Mikail has always loved Euyn, but realizes he’s no longer the brattish prince he once knew. With samroc still beating down the tunnel entrance, the blood loss, and the drugs Mikail had taken, he can’t stay awake.
The diamond Aeri left Royo is genuine so he accepts the job. Aeri is ridiculously excited and a hugger and chatty. With a carriage full of luggage, they set off for the port. The very loosey-goosey plan is Aeri will meet up with the royal spymaster who will help her kill Joon. Royo suspects there are other players in the game Aeri doesn’t know about. Aeri secures them passage to Tamneki and in a private suit to boot, insisting that Royo sleep in there with her, something he has never done before. As the ship leaves port, Royo doesn’t think he’ll see Umbria again. Money has certainly talked.
Sora has packed her trunk full of pretty dresses and deadly poisons. Seok’s son, Tiyung, has been charged with escorting Sora. She hates Tiyung after he gave Daysum scars with his whip, but he was the one who grabbed her arm and dragged her into the forest after his father purchased girls and had them slaughtered, selling off their brothers and sisters to brothels. It doesn’t matter that he may be trapped by Seok as well. For a short time in the carriage, they are joined by a hungover wastrel noble son who had been availing himself of Seok’s brothels. Tiyung doesn’t return him home safely because he’s altruistic, he wants to ensure a favor at a later date. Surprisingly, Tiyung has instructed the carriage to travel North, to Rahway, as they will receive further instruction there. All the way, Sora is imagining killing Tiyung.
Euyn and Mikail have made it to an inn in Tile. Despite Mikail’s wounds, they know they’ll need to press on, Mikail has a scheme! At daylight Euyn was able to gather their belongings, get Mikail into the town and to an apothecary for more drugs, and to the inn. Mikail says they need to meet a girl in Rahway with a very special set of skills who will help their endeavour. It’s clear throughout the conversation they both are still in love and in lust with each other, curse the gods.
Aeri’s cheerfulness and constant chatter is grating on Royo and because he promised not to leave her, there is no respite. A few days into their journey whilst eating dinner, Aeri, out of the blue, asks Royo who is “Lora,” a name he keeps mentioning in his sleep. This startles Royo and he escapes to take a walk on the suite’s balcony. When Aeri comes out, he explains Lora was the girl he loved, who was killed by two gang goons who followed him to her house. He booked it out of her bedroom window thinking her father, Hwan, had come home. Hwan was found covered in her blood and was blamed for her murder, and he’s now serving time in Salt Prison. It wasn’t until he was jumped by the same two goons and they were bragging about her murder that Royo realized what had happened. He snapped and killed the goons and since then, he’s been trying to make things right. Royo is saving up money so a guard at the prison will help him break Hwan out, but now King Joon has ordered all old convicts to be hanged, so Royo only has two months to gather the huge fee the guard is charging. As Aeri is about to open up about her mother, Royo sees pirates on the horizon.
While Sora and Tiyung are travelling the Northern Road, Tiyung tells Sora that King Joon no longer leaves the palace since there was an assassination attempt. If he truly was a god-king, he would have no fear, alas that must not be true. They arrive at Lord Shan’s estate off the Northern Road to spend the night. They are served a fabulous feast but surprisingly Tiyung tells the servants they don’t need much food and to see that the servants are fed instead. Also, Tiyung doesn’t expect Sora to serve him, he is happy to serve himself and let Sora satisfy her own hunger. No matter Tiyung’s manners or friendliness, Sora has no intentions of thinking kindly of him, he whipped Daysum which is an unforgivable sin. Tiyung would like them, if not to be friends, to be allies at least. Sora still has intentions to kill him once this whole ordeal is done with.
Royo sees fucking pirates on a fire ship. Royo and Aeri need to leave the riverboat NOW. Aeri somehow thinks this means she can bring her trunks, but no, Royo tells her to get going without a load of things that will slow her down, especially as they’re jumping from the balcony into the water but the pirates have other plans and start firing arrows in their direction and then they start boarding the ship. While Royo fights off the three pirates who are entering the suite to ransack it, Aeri will climb down the balcony, hopefully the pirates still on their boat won’t see her. Unfortunately two of the pirates scream as they’re being run through and pushed overboard drawing attention. More pirates rush into the room, there are arrows flying, pirates getting hit in the dick, screaming, throats being slit, and howling. They’re noisy pirates. Before more pirates come, they both dive into the water and Royo wakes on the deck of a rowboat, not in the cold water. What the fuck? Aeri hands him an oar and tells him to row, and yes, you’re welcome for the save. As they row away, Royo can see two ships in the distance, both on fire.
Everything hurts Mikail as the samroc wound throbs and burns and the drug withdrawal kicks in. He’d much rather be in bed with Euyn than picking out an ass (donkey ass, get your mind out the gutter) to continue their journey. As they plod along through a gorge, they talk about all the murders Euyn committed for sport. He would take prisoners from Idle Prison and hunt them down. Rumor has it there were thirteen men, Mikail is sure it’s more than twenty, but the last one, Euyn let go. Chul was a magistrate who sold his daughters but was trying to find them again. Chul was not sorry for what he did, only that he got caught, but he asked that his children know he did try and find them again but Euyn couldn’t take the shot. Lies! Euyn may be an excellent shot, but he’s a terrible liar. As they travel through the gorge, though it is still light, they hear the unmistakable shriek of the samroc echo around them.
Aeri is impressed how long and how far Royo has been able to row them away from the pirates, and that’s after watching him fight and kill for her. Yeah, he’s hot. What Aeri isn’t impressed by is the pile of rocks Royo generously calls an “isle” and insists they spend the night on. It’s hard, cold and exposed but their best option as there are no ports near and they stand a chance of another riverboat picking them up. It takes a lot of cajoling for Aeri to persuade Royo to join her under the cloak she grabbed as they fled the pirates, not for any fun naked time (pity), she’s just so cold and needs his body heat.
Euyn and Mikail have made it further through the gorge and into Tangun Mountain Pass. Along with the worry of Euyn being recognized in the towns they will be travelling through, his longer hair and beard should help, there is the ever present worry about the samroc following them. The donkeys at least seem to know what they are doing. It constantly surprises Euyn that he has the faith and loyalty of Mikail, that he believes Euyn will be a fair king unlike his brother, and that when Euyn was banished, Mikail secretly helped him escape. Suddenly a cry rents the darkening sky.
Tiyung is in love with Sora (that’s pretty obvious) but she’s suspicious of him feeding servants and children, sure he has an ulterior motive. Really all Tiyung wants is to be more his mother’s son than his father's. He no longer wants to be like Seok despite years of trying. This journey is difficult for him, his father has ordered Sora’s death once she has killed King Joon.
The samroc hasn’t appeared… yet. As Euyn and Mikail carefully make their way through the mountain pass, they find a small boy huddled on the ground. It doesn’t feel right to Euyn and he orders Mikail to leave him but the royal spymaster will not. The boy says bad men attacked his family's wagon, killing his parents and taking his siblings. Euyn finds the bodies of his parents, the mother has also been violated, however, to Euyn it looks staged. Mikail loads the boy onto his donkey and they continue on. They aren’t even past the carnage when the boy whispers, run.
Royo and Aeri have survived the night on the isle and before long a boat appears on the horizon, together they jump into the rowboat and head toward them, and the new boat picks them up. How lucky. Once aboard and assigned quarters, Aeri takes off her wet dress and pulls on her bathrobe. Royo has the misconception that because Aeri likes nice things she is some rich merchant's daughter but she isn't. She is the daughter of a courtesan, she is a girl who has nothing. Her mother is dead and father has never been in the picture, but she is determined that once the king is dead, everything will be set right. Royo, seeing Aeri in a new light, tells her not to double-cross him. That's fine, he has nothing she wants.
Contrary to popular belief, Euyn does not enjoy being right. The boy and the massacre was a trap. The goons who attacked them in the forest set it up. It’s a bloody battle and Euyn is nearly killed but Mikail runs the goon through with his sword. The boy, who up until this point has kept out of the melee shouts da! at the last goon standing and jumps in front of the goon, taking Mikail’s sword though the chest. His father runs for it but Mikail is faster and soon the goon is a bloody mess on the ground.
Sora and Tiyung have reached Rahway. Surprising her, they are to stay at an inn but dine with the local Count who is in on the regicide plan but wants to keep some plausible deniability in the scheme. Tiyung assumes all the Counts are in on the plan in some way or other.
As they continue on their journey, Euyn questions Mikail as to why his sister Quilimar wants him to be king. It’s no secret she’s no fan of Joon and Euyn is the only other option. Euyn then finds out that the king of Khitan, her husband, is dead, and she is openly ruling as regent. Quilimar likely thinks Euyn will be a weak and easily controlled king, but none of his siblings really know Euyn. Mikail knows Euyn, and he’s about to know him a lot more intimately again. Right now. FADE TO BLACK. Meanwhile, Royo and Aeri have reached the City of Rahway and Aeri has gone shopping for the both of them. Royo sees it as wasting time, but really they need clothes and are waiting for her contact, the spymaster, to reach them.
Sora and Tiyung are meeting the Count of Rahway, Rune. He’s a slimy one. At dinner he puts Sora on his right, which she doesn’t like as she has nerve damage in that ear and struggles to hear out of it. When he offers her a drink, Sora accepts water. Soon they are joined by two others, at Rune and Tiyung’s bow, Sora is able to work out royalty has joined them. It’s Euyn and Mikail. Sora is introduced to Euyn as a rare creature, a poison maiden, and to display her abilities, Rune has a large dog brought in and fed the rest of Sora’s water, the dog dies within seconds. Sora is angry her drink was doctored with Tabernacle poison even though it has no effect on her. Euyn can tell Sora is pissed off. When conversation turns to the plot to murder the king, Sora finds out that the crown is the key, and what makes Joon immortal. Sora walks out, needing air.
The Count, Rune, follows Sora outside and tells her not to jump from the balcony. Sora has no intention of doing that, Rune continues talking, telling her about the crown. He isn’t doing it to be nice, he hates Tiyung’s father and wants Sora indebted to him once all is said and done. As Rune escorts Sora back in, she has two realizations. Firstly, what Daysum whispered to her, that she is dying, and secondly, that the crown will save her sister.
In his room, Mikail pulls Euyn into his closet. Not for happy fun times (yet) it’s the safest place for them to talk. He’s impressed by Sora, but Euyn has reservations because of misogyny, though Mikail tells him to get over it because their master thief, Aeri, is also a woman of astounding skill. Mikail thinks their best opportunity to strike Joon will be at the millennial celebrations in only fifteen days' time as he’ll be out of the palace for once. Euyn is still reserved, but willing to see Aeri’s skills. In the meantime, happy fun times.
Aeri and Royo are having fun at a night carnival in the amusement district of Rahway. Well, Aeri is at least. Royo plays tuhko, a hoop game, for Aeri, but loses as these games are rigged. Aeri spots the rigging and tells Royo what to do and he’s able to beat it and win her a prize, a stuffed dragon she will call Royo. As they’re walking back to their lodgings, King’s Guards cry out for them to stop. They run instead. They’re able to safely get back to the inn.
The next day Aeri, Royo, Sora, Tiyung, Euyn, and Mikail meet. There is of course a lot of sizing up. They discuss the plan to steal the crown but Aeri needs to prove her skill. She makes Euyn wear a hat to act as the crown, sits Sora next to him and has Royo juggle. Everyone watches on from around the room. In a blur of juggling pomegranates, suddenly Tiyung is wearing Euyn’s hat and Aeri is standing next to him. Ten Hells. What the fuck?
Well, Euyn is convinced the plan could actually work! Euyn’s hesitation is that the crown can only be worn by the royal bloodlines, someone else tried and they died instantly, painfully and horribly so Aeri best not try it on. The fact that Joon and Euyn don’t actually share the same parents is a little fact he doesn’t share with the group because he doesn’t want to admit his mother, the last king’s second wife, took a lover which resulted in Euyn.
They sit around and discuss the scheme, at one point Aeri calls into question Tiyung’s presence since he brings nothing to the group and it’s awkward and delightful for Sora to watch him squirm as he is forced to admit she is indentured. Aeri’s questioning raises her in Sora’s estimations. They are both here for the same things: money and family. Soon the group begins their journey to the capital and when they are talking, Euyn finds out about Joon’s mass execution order to take place after the millennial celebration. Mikail asks if he would uphold it, Euyn says he would not. In other realizations, Euyn is sure Tiyung’s father owns Chul’s daughters: Sora and Daysum. It’s a little awkward to admit you attempted to kill him in a spot of bloodsport. Instead Euyn accuses Tiyung of being in love with Sora, which Tiyung admits is true. Meanwhile, Sora and Mikail have taken a liking to one another, not romantically, but they have a sort of kinship.
The group reaches a rest stop in Capricia and everyone takes the opportunity to stretch, eat, and wash up. Aeri goes to the washroom followed by Sora and when Sora comes back but not Aeri, Royo gets worried. Everyone else except Sora is rather relaxed that a key component in their regicide scheme has gone missing and accuses Royo of overreacting. Even Aeri when she comes back. She went for a walk and to send a message to her father. Aeri doesn’t seem to understand that she’s paid Royo to look after her and can’t walk away (he also like-likes her but that’s besides the point). Eventually they apologize to each other and promise to stick close, or at least Aeri will tell Royo where she’s going. Just as it looks like they may kiss, Mikail comes over and tells them they need to get going. Thanks, Mikail.
When they reach the city of Oosant, everyone but Mikail and Euyn decide to eat dinner in a local tavern, despite Mikail’s warning not to. When they enter, everything stops, and it’s awkward. There are goons in the tavern and they’ve instantly sized up the group. Royo can sense the danger and has instant regret. He orders their meals to go and when they’re brought over, they take the knives from the boxes and secret them before leaving the tavern and making a run for it. Unfortunately, Royo is hit from behind and everything goes black.
Aeri is able to reach Mikail and Euyn back at the inn and desperately tells them they were attacked by goons. They head to the tavern and find Tiyung and Royo unconscious on the ground, but no Sora. Mikail heads into the tavern for answers. After some hard negotiations, Mikail finds out that Sora has been taken to the Barrelhouse in the gaming district, he then announces that they had colluded to steal a royal courtesan, which is an attack on the king, and they should flee. The goons scarper and Euyn’s bolts deal with them.
The group, along with the tavern keeper and his daughter, head to a place called The Mine to retrieve a poison maiden. Not something anyone thought they would do when they woke that day. On the way they find scraps of Sora’s dress she’s left for them to follow. Aeri suggests Mikail use her as a trap, he can pretend to claim her bounty to gain access inside the warehouse. Royo will go around back, Euyn up high. Mikail sends the tavern keeper and daughter in first to gather numbers before sending them away. When Euyn gets to the rooftop he finds no guards and realizes it’s a trap, the tavern keeper and his daughter have given them up. He shoots them dead as they run. Royo realizes it’s a trap when he reaches the back and there is no one guarding it.
Inside the warehouse, Sora counts twenty-four goons. Despite her colleagues’ skills, that may be too many for them to take out. There’s a knock at the door and Mikail, Aeri and Tiyung enter. After some mild banter, Royo bursts through the back door and everything turns to carnage. Mikail and Tiyung wield swords, Royo wields a huge axe, Euyn’s bolts fly in, Aeri uses her speed to get to Sora and unties her, and is also handy throwing her knife. Mikail is about to be struck down from behind when suddenly the man drops, bloody. Everyone looks around and finds Aeri is breathless and has blood on her hands, could she have moved that quickly, or did he just trip?
Once the fighting is done, they search the warehouse and find it's full of drugs. They pile the bodies and crates of drugs, pour oil around and watch it all go up in flames. They leave town as Aeri grumbles about being hungry. Tiyung is stunned by the fight, even though he spent two years in the army, he is a nobleman’s son with minimum exposure to fighting, though Sora being grateful to him might be the real reason he is surprised.
They stop at Count Dal’s estate, the Count isn’t there but the servants accommodate them. Aeri is very taken with how fancy the estate is and the lusty tension between her and Royo is building - she even made him laugh! Meanwhile Sora is coming to the realization that Tiyung may not be the complete bastard she believes him to be. Tiyung has a heart and actually cares. As they’re talking, they see a figure run past, are they being watched? In his patrol aka walk to cool his horniness, Royo comes across Sora by herself near a fountain. As they spot each other a blood curdling scream roars. Someone has just been killed.
The scream interrupts a very private, hot and sweaty moment between Mikail and Euyn. After dressing quickly and dashing out, they find everyone else is already congregated, a palace assassin dead at their feet. Instantly suspicions fall on each other even though they have alibis. Mikail points out, if the assassin were here to kill, someone would be dead so he was obviously here to talk.
As they strip the dead man of his signature assassin clothing on a gaming table, Tiyung admits he thought he saw someone in Ossant in black clothing on a rooftop after they set the warehouse alight. This is a really bad time to admit that. No one is without suspicion. Speculation eventually falls on their absent host, Dal. In the morning, Dal is still a no-show. A message they receive isn’t from him either, it’s news that the eastern count is dead by a heart attack. Yeah, no. Talk soon turns to calling the whole thing off but Mikail insists it proceed, just with a slight amendment. The northern count, Bay Chin, will introduce Sora to Joon. Only Mikail knows Bay Chin was the orchestrator of the plot. They agree to continue.
The millennial celebration is the following day. Royo talks to Aeri about his concerns, secretly she would like to call everything off, but Royo is specifically distrustful of Mikail, he thinks he killed the assassin. Putting their concerns aside they go to find the others for dinner. Mikail is out but Euyn tells them to order in and everyone can eat in his suite. When they knock on Sora’s door, it’s clear they interrupted something awkward. What they interrupted was a near kiss between Sora and Tiyung. Turns out Sora is starting to really like-like Tiyung, believing him to be a kind hearted person trapped by his own father. She even confesses her plan to steal the crown to give to Daysum, but Tiyung points out though the crown would keep Daysum alive, it would be easily taken from her, so it would be better to help Euyn get the crown and have his access to all the royal doctors. This makes a lot of sense. Tiyung has a confession too, he’s already burned Sora’s indenture certificate. She’s free.
As a group they “enjoy” a last meal. Realistically, it’s not jovial, they’re about to commit a spot of regicide after all, so paranoia is running high. Even Euyn is questioning Mikail’s motivations. He loves him but knows so little about his past. Mikail hasn’t shared that his family were slaughtered at Joon’s orders, his entire community was, in a day known as the Festival of Blood that was to put down a rebellion. Meanwhile, Royo finally confesses he wants more with Aeri and she’s more than happy with that, and Sora and Tiyung plan for a possible future together too.
Sora wakes in Tiyung’s arms and is happy. Tiyung will introduce Sora to Bay Chin as Seok’s courtesan and hopefully he will be so taken with her he will invite her to the Millennial Championship. It works and everything goes smoothly. Possibly too smoothly. Euyn, meanwhile, is pacing in his rooms. He's anxious, having visions of his mother, and beginning to question his trust in Mikail. Mikail is currently in Qali Palace talking to General Salosa, confirming Joon’s presence at the celebrations; however, General Salosa also tells him to bring the traitors in alive. Back in Mikail’s office, his second, Zahara, recent killer of Count Dal, tells Mikail safety in death implying he should bring back the traitors dead. Dead or alive, Mikail will bring them in.
Aeri dresses in a valet uniform Mikail has given her, he also tells her that if everything goes wrong to run. This does not help quiet her nerves. Royo isn’t near Aeri, he’s in a guardsmith uniform with Sora and Tiyung. The royal box is above the goal at the other side of the arena and it takes a frustrating amount of time for Bay Chin to escort Sora to Joon, she has to feign boredom, and Bay Chin tries not to include Tiyung in their party, which is strange.
Inside the royal box, Mikail is anxious for Bay Chin to bring Sora, he’s even contemplating stabbing Joon himself, after all the key player, Aeri, is already in place. Mikail thinks about Euyn, how anxious he was and how he won’t be pleased that Mikail is intending to destroy the crown. Mikail is doing all this for love, just not the love of Euyn, for the love of a free nation. Meanwhile, Euyn is waiting inside the arena for his moment to take the crown when someone approaches him from behind. They hold a weapon to his back and tell him they have orders from Mikail to bring him in.
Inside the royal box, Sora finally arrives and is introduced to Joon by Bay Chin. Aeri takes the Amulet of the Dragon Lord from beneath her uniform and for the cost of a month of her life, stops time, takes the crown from Joon’s head and places it in Mikail’s hand. When time resumes, she hasn’t moved and Sora strikes, she kisses Joon on the lips with one of the deadliest poisons she has, enough to kill five men. Joon tells her the kiss was delightful and does not die!
Shocked, Sora turns to Mikail holding the crown and sees him slice it in two with his sword, what is he doing?! Then things go to ten hells, Mikail is knocked out by a guard and more grab Bay Chin, Sora, and Tiyung. Others lift Aeri up and Royo fights to get to her, she mouths “no, Royo” and as he’s having a good scream, guards grab him and he curses everyone.
Mikail comes to in Qali Palace. Everyone else, including Bay Chin, is there. Joon smugly strides in and tells Mikail he destroyed a decoy. The king then goes on to thank Bay Chin and lifts the sanctions he placed on Umbria before dismissing him. Asshole, he orchestrated this! Turning to everyone else, King Joon sends Tiyung to Idle Prison for committing treason, and greets his daughter Aeri (what?!). To the group, Joon thanks them for a successful assassination and to consider it a demonstration of their skill; he wants them to steal the Golden Ring, a Dragon Lord relic, from his sister Quilimar, currently ruling as regent of Khitan.
King Joon makes promises to everyone once he has the ring, which he wants before the end of monsoon season which is starting imminently. Euyn will be crown prince of Yusan again. Sora will have her sister, Tiyung, the chance to kill Seok, and be given the recently deceased Eastern Count’s estate to live in. Mikail would be regent for the Eastern Count’s heir who is only a child, which will elevate him to a noble and give him the power to affect real change. For Royo, Hwan will be given his freedom and the hundred thousands Aeri promised him. Aeri and her mother will be posthumously acknowledged by Joon, meaning Aeri will become his legitimate daughter.
In the less than grand transportation to Khitan, Sora comes to some realizations: Joon is scared of Quilimar, she is part of a good team who accomplished the impossible, and the enemy of her enemy is her friend.
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