240.
The King's Banquet — Shadows Breach the Palace
The sun was already slanting west.
After reporting their return, they waited near Heungcheon Temple.
Summoned by the King, Park Seongjin set out for the palace.
At the gates stood officers bearing royal orders,
and from every tower of the capital walls, banners of many colors fluttered.
"The first banquet of the new year," Song I-sul said sparingly.
Park Seongjin turned the words over and replied quietly,
"A banquet… then it is meant to commend what has been done so far."
Dust from the long road still clung to their shoulders.
For a moment, the ornate uniforms of the Gyeollyong Guard came to mind.
He wondered if it was proper to enter a pristine palace like this.
The lingering scent of Hwaju Fortress still clung to his body,
yet his feet once more stepped onto the stone paths of court.
In the forecourt before the main hall, fires were lit,
and wide white silk canopies billowed in the breeze.
As Park Seongjin entered, an eunuch called out in a resounding voice,
"Commander of Hwaju, Park Seongjin!"
In that instant, every gaze in the court turned toward him.
The general who had ended Gi Cheol.
The warrior who had driven the Empress's elder brother to death.
All knew his name, yet none wished to draw too near.
The King raised his hand.
"Come closer."
As Park Seongjin stepped forward, the golden lamps trembled faintly.
When their light fell upon his face, the sound of the banquet briefly subsided.
"Your merit is great,"
the King said, his voice low and composed.
"That Hwaju still stands is both Heaven's favor and your doing.
I will not forget this service."
Park Seongjin knelt.
"I merely obeyed the command given to me."
The King smiled.
"Yet without your blade, even Gaegyeong would not stand as it does now."
Rising from his seat, the King personally offered a cup of wine.
"Take it. This is my will."
It was a richly scented hongju.
When Park Seongjin received it with both hands and drank,
the officials on either side rose as one.
"Long live His Majesty!"
"Long live the Commander of Hwaju!"
Amid the cheers, the Queen Consort Noguk quietly watched Park Seongjin
and allowed herself a small smile.
"You have suffered much."
"I dare say only this—
that returning alive is fortune enough."
For a moment, warmth flowed through the hall.
Musicians plucked the geomungo,
and court dancers in silk robes moved in graceful patterns.
Red silk rippled beneath the lamps like waves.
The King raised his cup and addressed them all.
"Now begins the spring of Goryeo."
And then—
Beyond Jangnak Gate, at the outermost edge of the palace,
a single shadow moved without a sound.
A gatekeeper's breath lagged by a single beat.
In the instant he blinked,
he failed to notice that his shadow had grown one longer.
The shade of a massive pillar trembled ever so slightly.
The edge of a hanging screen quivered without wind.
Inside the banquet hall, all remained bright—
laughter, music, the clinking of cups.
Everything appeared serene.
Yet along the margins of that serenity,
a black current was seeping into the palace.
Not one alone.
Across rooftops, through the shadows of corridors,
between the steps of palace attendants,
the shadows divided and slipped inside.
No one noticed.
Except one.
Park Seongjin's fingers, still holding the cup, stilled by the slightest measure.
His eyes swept past the lamplight,
between pillars where light did not reach.
"…They've come."
It was not killing intent yet.
No—these were men trained well enough to conceal even that.
But the flow was unmistakable.
The banquet had not ended,
and the palace night had only just begun.