TMTISTBH CH 1

Chapter 1

Even the moon, which is supposed to embrace everything fairly, did not seem to be on my side. Not a single ray of moonlight seeped through the torn paper window.

How did it come to this?

No one was there to answer.

Where did it all go wrong? Was it when I took the third prince’s hand? Or was it the day I first killed someone with my own hands? Perhaps, from the very moment I was born with imperial blood, my fate was already sealed.

I never wished for wealth or glory. I just wanted to live. I wanted to become the third prince’s sharpest blade—to cut down his enemies, to scheme, to trample, to kill.

To harm the innocent, to deceive, to crush, to slaughter.

And the ones who loved me…

And yet, every desperate struggle had only paved the road to my grave.

***

The footsteps of the intruders grew closer. The screams and sorrowful wails from outside felt distant, like a dream. The Council Hall, barely guarded, had fallen without the sound of clashing weapons.

In-ho took a deep breath, the scent of blood lingering at the tip of his nose. He had long since abandoned any sense of guilt, yet even with his eyes closed, the faces of the dying remained vivid.

“Bring out the traitor!”

The wooden barricade blocking the door—something that has held for what feels like an eternity—breaks away far too easily.

Dust rises from the boots that stain the floor. The intruders, clad in Taeseong’s military uniforms, flood the room. Between them, embroidered with the azure dragon permitted only to royalty, a figure steps forward with unmistakable authority.

The sudden brightness stings. His blurred vision struggles to adjust, catching the glint of hanging garnets swaying in the light. Slowly, Inho lifts himself from where he has been slumped.

“It’s been a while, hyung-nim.”

“You’ve lost your pretty face, but that insufferable glare of yours is still the same. Makes me want to rip your eyes out.”

“Isn’t it all thanks to you, hyung-nim, who worrying about me from afar?”

At In-ho’s faint smile and slight nod, Tae-yul’s lips hardened into a firm line.

“Kneel.”

Even at the sharp command, In-ho looked past Tae-yul’s shoulder, as if he hadn’t heard it.

“I was expecting Seon hyung-nim to come.”

“He’s about to be emperor. You think he has time to waste on you?”

He was right. There was no reason for Tae-seon to come see someone like him, someone who had already lost all usefulness. But In-ho had hoped for Tae-seon’s arrival. He wished for Tae-seon to see him, to wrap his own hands around the neck of his once-loyal dog and strangle him to death. Somehow, he felt that might lessen his guilt.

“…Right. With such a fine hunting dog here, why dirty his precious hands?”

“For a traitor, you have quite the mouth. What are you all waiting for? Get that bastard on his knees, now!”

At Tae-yul’s command, In-ho was forcibly dragged off the shabby bedding he had been lying on. His legs, unable to bear his weight with their tendons severed, collapsed limply beneath him. Rough hands pressed him down onto the cold floor, forcing him to kneel. 

Tae-yul sneered as if satisfied, then pulled out the royal decree tucked into his waistband and began to read it aloud.

“The criminal Tae In-ho is hereby condemned as a treacherous villain who schemed and conspired with malicious intent, harming others through deceit and plots. Along with Tae Yeong, Seo Byeok-ju, Jin Gi-yeol, and Eun Wol-ryeong, he is accused of treason against the empire. Tae In-ho’s title as a prince will be revoked, his family will be punished according to the law, and his lands and properties will be confiscated. For disgracing the honor of the Great Taeseong Empire and defying the imperial family, he is ordered to take his own life.”

“Hah… how ridiculous,” In-ho muttered.

Hearing the names mentioned alongside his own, he couldn’t hold back his bitter laughter. It was likely thanks to his own schemes and manipulations that Tae-seon had managed to bring down three of the four prestigious families. And now they claimed he had conspired with them for treason? They had severed his tendons and left him to rot in a remote outbuilding for years, only to use this as an excuse.

“Did His Majesty issue this decree himself?”

“It is as good as an imperial order,” Tae-yul replied.

“…”

In-ho let out a dry chuckle.

So, he really did get his hands on the imperial seal.

With the aging emperor under his control, there was no one left to stop Tae-Seon.

A cup of poisoned wine was placed before him. After years of captivity, imagining how his end would come, the moment had finally arrived. One thing was certain—he had no regrets.

He would accept his punishment.

Without hesitation, In-ho raised the cup to his lips. His parched mouth welcomed even the poison that would kill him without resistance.

Just as the liquid touched his tongue, Tae-yul’s boot kicked the cup from his hands. Cold liquid splashed over his face and trickled down his chest. In-ho’s eyes blazed with fury as he looked up.

“…What are you doing?”

“Oh no, no. That won’t do. After all the sins you’ve committed, you think you deserve an easy death?”

Tae-yul leaned down and whispered,

“You should at least accept this last gift from your hyung-nim, don’t you think? …Everyone, leave.”

The soldiers withdrew, leaving only In-ho, Tae-yul, and his closest aide, Ga-seok.

“Ga-seok. Bring it.”

At his command, Ga-seok placed a small box before In-ho. Curious as to what could be inside such a small container instead of a severed head, Inho opens it—only for his eyes to widen in shock. Inside lie five broken jade tokens, stained with blood. Their shattered state speaks volumes about their owners’ fates.

“…What… what have you done?”

“There were too many eyes to bring their heads.”

“They were innocent…!”

Taeyul’s fan snaps open, hiding his smirk.

“Their crime was following a lowborn mutt like you. You think that’s all? Aren’t you curious about your little siblings?”

They had been the only thing that kept Inho going through these three years of captivity. He had believed that Tae-Seon had sent them to safety before his exile.

But now, he knew the truth.

He had been a fool.

“He… promised they would be spared! Tae-seon Hyung-nim gave me his word! Please, let me see him! Let me plead to him!”

“He will not see you. But he did keep his word. He let them live.”

“…What?”

“But even alive, they’re as good as dead. Yeo-seol has been sold as the twelfth concubine of the Grand Chancellor. Ji-ho will be sent as a consort to the crown prince of the Southern Kingdom.”

Blood-red tears streaked down In-ho’s face.

“I was a fool to trust any of you. Selling a royal to barbarians—Taeseong’s honor is in ruins.”

“You have no right to speak of honor, you filthy dog.”

Inho’s shoulders tremble, his head lowered. But when he looks up, his eyes gleam with eerie amusement..

“That goes for you too, doesn’t it?”

“What?”

“You’re just the same. A filthy dog. Do you not know why you still have your position? It’s because you aren’t worth worrying about.”

“You—! How dare you!”

“How long do you think you’ll last? Stay quiet and you may survive, but knowing you… I doubt it.”

Taeyul strikes him, hard enough to make his head snap to the side. Yet Inho’s venomous glare doesn’t waver.

Tae-yul drew his sword, but Ga-seok restrained him.

“You must not, Your Highness. You cannot lay hands on him directly. Too many eyes are watching. The third prince himself ordered this.”

“Fine. I know.”

Reluctantly, Tae-yul restrained himself, though he sorely wished to sever the man’s tendons and sell him into slavery—humiliated before his very eyes. But leaving this venomous creature alive would only invite future trouble. Tae-yul stomped down on In-ho’s ruined knee with all his weight.

“You were the most valuable pawn we had. Yeo-seol and Jiho simply shared the burden of your sins. You should be grateful to them.”

At Tae-yul’s nod, Gaseok prepared two cups of poison. One was small, filled with a dark, viscous liquid.

When In-ho eyed it questioningly, Tae-sun’s lips curled into a twisted smile.

“This one is special. Just for you.”

In-ho recognized it instantly—venom extracted from Tae-sun’s divine white serpent. Unlike the standard royal poison, this one inflicted excruciating pain, leaving its victims blackened and unrecognizable. The malice behind this gesture was clear, to make In-ho suffer, until the very end.

Just as he considered overturning the cups, Tae-yul’s voice reached him.

“At the very least, I’ll ensure Yeo-seol is cared for.”

“…”

“The choice is yours.”

In-ho hid his trembling fingers beneath his tattered sleeve. Without hesitation, he picked up the smaller cup containing Tae-sun’s venom. A faint ripple spread across the liquid as Tae-yul chuckled.

The thick poison slid slowly down his tongue, searing his throat, and tearing through his insides like liquid fire. It ravaged every nerve, reducing his body to raw agony. His grip loosened, the cup slipping from his fingers. He convulsed violently, unable to even scream, his breath rasping through bloodied lips.

At last, his body fell limp. Blood seeped from his gaping mouth, his strength utterly drained.

Watching this pitiful display, Tae-yul finally turned his back.

“There’s nothing left to see. Let’s go.”

Through his fading vision, In-ho caught one last glimpse of something he hadn’t seen in so long—the vast sky, stretching beyond the high walls and endless thorns.