Chapter One
Long before Prince Taehyung drew his first breath, the kingdom had been guarded not only by its kings and soldiers but by the watchful eyes of two divine sisters Lady Seorin, the fire deity, and Lady Hanuel, the ice deity. Their lineage stretched back countless generations, bound by an oath their ancestors had sworn when the royal family once saved them from extinction. From that day forward, the deities pledged to guard the throne, their loyalty unshaken, their powers devoted to the
preservation of the realm.
But though they were sisters, they were far from equal.
Hanuel, gifted with ice, bore a calm grace, her strength unmatched. Her mere presence
could silence storms, her frost bending the natural order into stillness. She was revered,
feared, and adored. Wherever Hanuel walked, people bowed, whispering of her unmatched
gift.
Seorin, the fire deity, however, carried a weaker flame. Though her heart burned with the
same loyalty, her power often faltered. Her fire did not roar like a blazing inferno, nor did it
command awe in the same way as her sister's frost. In a court that prized strength, she
became the quiet shadow to Hanuel's brilliance.
Still, Seorin never wavered. Every night she tended to the royal wards, mending protective
barriers with what little strength she had. Every morning, she prayed at the temple flame,
asking the heavens to grant her more power, if only to ease the burden her sister carried
alone. The kingdom saw Hanuel as its shield. Few noticed Seorin's quiet devotion.
Yet in her heart, Seorin held no jealousy. Only a silent wish "If my flame cannot protect, then
at least let it warm."
And so the two sisters, flame and frost, continued their duty together. One strong, one
fragile. One worshipped, one overlooked. But both bound to the royal bloodline, guarding it
through every danger that crept beyond the palace walls.
Neither could foresee that their choices and their sacrifices would one day intertwine with the fate of a young prince, cursed by fire and shadow.
Lady Seorin was fire 'not the fire that devoured, but the quiet ember that lingered.'
And in her heart, that ember had always burned for one man.
Kim Younghae, the Crown Prince.
From the time they were children, she had stood at his side not as a deity, not as a protector, but as his closest friend. She laughed when he laughed, argued when he argued, and guided him when the weight of his birth threatened to crush him. He trusted her more than anyone else in the palace, even more than some of his ministers.
To the court, Seorin was his advisor, a quiet flame who whispered counsel into his ear when no one else dared.
To him, she was his best friend, the one who never lied, the one who never left.
But to herself… she was something more.
Seorin had loved him for as long as she could remember. It wasn't the fleeting affection of
youth, nor the admiration born from loyalty. It was the kind of love that seeped into every part
of her being, warming her even on the coldest nights. A love she dared not speak, for fear
that if she gave it voice, it would shatter the delicate bond between them.
She knew her place. She was a deity, bound by duty to serve, not to desire.
And he was the Crown Prince, destined for greatness, destined for a queen who could
strengthen the kingdom through alliances.
So she swallowed her feelings day after day, year after year.
Instead of reaching for his hand, she offered her counsel.
Instead of confessing her heart, she stood silently at his side, telling herself that being near him was enough.
But in the quiet of night, when the palace slept, she would sometimes place her hand over
her chest, feeling the ache that never went away.
A fire that warmed no one but her.
"If i… if I let him know… will I lose him forever?".
The question haunted her. And so she kept her secret buried, smiling when he smiled,
laughing when he laughed, even as her heart bled in silence.
Her sister, Hanuel, sometimes looked at her with knowing eyes.
But even Hanuel said nothing. Because some loves, once spoken, could not be taken back.