The walls of the Imperial City could still be seen from the thick, gray clouds hovering in the distance. Even if his view was chopped up by strips of vertical trunks, he watched the silhouette of the winding walls and towering, curved roofs fade with each step they took forward.

"We're almost there," Chi-Sae huffed from a few paces ahead. "Hurry up."

Nao-Zai adjusted his grip on Kai-Se's shoulders, tucking the prince closer to his chest. "Slow down, will you?" he said. Despite changing out of his armor and bearing only the barest of supplies, it's still difficult to trek across the uneven forest floor with a person in his arms. "I'm trying."

Chi-Sae crossed her arms but paused to let him catch up. From the time they left the Imperial City a few days ago, it's all the woman ever did. Unlike Nao-Zai, she only had a small purse slung across her torso, no doubt containing spare daggers and a few necessities. She also wasn't making sure Kai-Se's head didn't hit randomly-protruding branches or smack against trunks blocking their way. If it hadn't been for those factors, Nao-Zai would have kept up with Chi-Sae just fine.

Just fine.

He still found it odd the Emperor employed kwonxia with combat skills. It wasn't unheard of in the ruling clans, but the Akoshize dynasty has ascended through peace and negotiations. So, it's a little unsettling to know the Emperor has been preparing for an eventuality of an uprising since he had taken the throne. That's what women like Chi-Sae were for. In the simplest sense, they were being sent into the courts of the other ruling clans, taking a feel of their allegiances and reporting back to the Imperial Palace of various findings.

Which meant Chi-Sae knew things, and the fact that she has lived well past her twenties proved she was good at her job.

"Can I ask you something?" Nao-Zai said as he caught up and Chi-Sae had resumed walking once more. A slope covered with tall blades of grass was coming up. Nao-Zai's going to fall behind again at this rate. How he hated going up slopes.

Chi-Sae took the slight change of elevation in stride. Her leather boots crunched against the chunk of rocks, wilting grass, and fallen cones and nuts carpeting the ground. "What is it?" she said, her tone clipped and strangled. So, even she was starting to struggle.

Nao-Zai wiped the side of his face against his sleeve while balancing Kai-Se's head on his shoulder. "If you're a special kind of kwonxia," he said. "Then what are you doing inside the Imperial Palace? Shouldn't you be in the other ruling clans? You would have known about Pyeongjeon's growing coup had you been there."

"If I tell you to mind your own business, would you?" Chi-Sae snapped. Still, she inhaled a deep breath before glancing at Nao-Zai. "I knew the Emperor before he ascended to the throne. You could say we grew up together, I in the Inner Court as the daughter of a well-respected sang-kwonxia, and him...well, the Crown Prince."

Sang-kwonxia. Was that the formal title for Chi-Sae's job? Most likely. And she came from a long line of them, it seemed. "We weren't exactly friends but he knew how well I work, especially after my mother's success in court," Chi-Sae continued. "So, when he took over the Imperial throne and was building his own court, it's natural he'd look in places he was familiar with first."

Nao-Zai raised an eyebrow in Chi-Sae's direction. "Let me guess. He asked you to join his court?" he said.

"See? It doesn't take a genius to figure that out," she snorted but didn't kill off the small smile on her lips. "Initially, it was what you expect from someone of my title. I was sent to various ruling courts and was supposed to report anything back every month. To my surprise, I got called back when the Emperor had Kai-Se."

Nao-Zai glanced at the motionless prince in his arms—present but not really. "Do you think the Emperor trusted you that much? To leave his son under your care?"

Chi-Sae inclined her head at the canopies towering above them. The simple braids she did her hair in swiveled with the motion, forever a bump on the lower back of her head. "If you're using this as an avenue to test my allegiance, I hope you are coming to a conclusion now," she said, her scathing tone not quite offending but still managed to cut deep. Not only was she quick to catch on to things, she didn't hesitate to show it to people too. "The Emperor trusts me because I showed him I would have never served anyone else even if they asked. And if Pyeongjeon decides to threaten what I helped create, then that fool's going to know what it feels like being at the sharp end of my blade."

Okay. That's enough declarations for the day. Nao-Zai cleared his throat and adjusted Kai-Se on his arms once more. "What was Kai-Se like when he was young?" Nao-Zai blurted. A pathetic attempt at changing the subject but he'd have it if it meant he wouldn't have to listen to Chi-Sae talk about dismembering someone.

"Just like now, but worse," the woman answered, slipping her hand behind her. From Nao-Zai's periphery, he watched her fingers wrap around the wooden hilt of her dagger. Why did she feel threatened by this subject? "At least now, he was able to move around for a few hours every day. Back then..."

She blew a breath. "Back then, we thought he was really going to die," she locked gazes at Nao-Zai, her dark pupils holding so much worry and fear in them. "He couldn't even stay awake for more than an hour and wouldn't eat either. The Emperor has called every physician worth their soksen but none of them could figure out what's wrong."

"And then, suddenly, Kai-Se got better?" Nao-Zai asked. That's what Chi-Sae told him the first time they talked about this, anyway.

To his surprise, the woman shook her head. "The Emperor went on a trip for a few days, claiming he wanted to visit the mountains of Chaebeon," she said. "I think that's where he knew about Shin-Ki."

Nao-Zai's eyebrows creased. "The shaman we're going to?"

Chi-Sae bobbed her head. "Part of my job as a sang-kwonxia was to keep the fact the Emperor has consulted, and most likely got help from, a shaman to myself. I was the only one who knew, aside from him and the Queen Consort, so I know the Emperor wasn't keen on letting me out of his sight as much as he did the others."

He's keeping a tight leash on Chi-Sae. That's why she was still in the Imperial Palace, managing the Butterfly Court. "Then, what happened?" Nao-Zai prodded.

"When the Emperor came back, Kai-Se was suddenly the liveliest boy around," Chi-Sae jerked her chin at the person in question. "Soon, I wasn't needed anymore. The Emperor sent me to the other ruling clans until the time I was called back in once more."

Nao-Zai pursed his lips. That brought Chi-Sae's story back to the present. There were still questions, especially what the Emperor and the shaman did to fix Kai-Se and the main reason why Kai-Se was even sick in the first place, but Nao-Zai had reached the limit with Chi-Sae. She didn't know any more than what she had told him, so it's time for him to search for answers elsewhere.

"I would love to know about your story, soldier," Chi-Sae's voice bled into Nao-Zai's thoughts. "But we're here."

As if on cue, Nao-Zai raised his eyes from the forest floor to come across the sprawling mansion hewn out of wood. Slate gray shingles covered the roofs, blending perfectly with the haze of fog and the thick, dark green undergrowth. Standing two-stories from the ground, its shuttered windows sent a message of not wanting to be disturbed.

The only sounds accompanying the house were the occasional bird calls flitting in the distance and the rustle of leaves shaken by passing critters. It was cold, but not enough for Nao-Zai to start shivering. Sweat still glistened and dripped from his skin, but mostly it was because of all the weight he had to carry.

As he and Chi-Sae strode towards it, the path changed from a soft carpet of soil and grass blades to a more solid collection of stones embedded in cement. The manicured path, albeit lined with traces of algae and shoots of ferns growing in the various cracks and crevices in the stone, curved towards a small, roofed foyer. Huge chunks of rocks shaped into a thin oval flanked their way towards the set of brown, wooden front gates.

Chi-Sae only stopped walking when they reached the set of steps leading to the gate. "The owner of the house is Wang Dong-Seol, a noble woman affiliated with many businesses around Dangrao," she turned to Nao-Zai. "Rest up for the night. In the morning, Mang-Zhao will be taking you to the next city."

"And you?" Nao-Zai turned to Chi-Sae.

Chi-Sae chuckled, letting go of the dagger behind her and crossing her arms across her chest. "I'll be heading back to help with the preparations," she said. "The other dignitaries will be guiding you through their jurisdictions until you're well away from the borders."

She ducked her head at him one last time before turning away. She hadn't even bothered stopping by to rest. "Good luck, djang-di," she said with a wink. "May the spirits be with you."

Nao-Zai gave her a quick salute. "And to you too," he said.

He turned back to the mansion's doors. The knocker was lined with rust but it worked when he gripped it and banged it against the wooden surface. What came out was a series of dull thuds ringing across the empty forest.

"Coming!" a distinctly-female voice bled from the inside. The door opened with a silent hiss—a surprising feat considering the state of the knocker—and a young woman stepped out, giving Nao-Zai a bright smile. Amidst the dimness of the forest, it seemed out of place.

"Are you Paekdora Nao-Zai?" she asked. When he gave her a brief nod, she stepped inside and held the door for him. "What are you waiting for? Come in! We've been expecting you."

And just like that, Nao-Zai was in another place once more.