Year 627 of the Caelest Imperial Calendar.

Behind the most glamorous district of the Empire.

In a high-end tavern where laughter and music flowed every night under golden lanterns, there was a boy who caught everyone's eye.

Silver hair, blue eyes, and a face so beautiful it was hard to believe his age.

His sly wit, which seemed to read people's minds, and his brilliant eloquence that drew people in made even adults marvel.

Patrons frequented the place just to see his witty speech and performances.

There was one person who took note of the boy's talent.

It was an official dispatched from the Imperial Palace.

The official recognized not only the boy's beautiful appearance but also his innate talent for capturing hearts and leading the atmosphere.

It wasn't just simple eloquence. It was a special sense for observing people's expressions and reactions and quickly realizing what they wanted.

Before long, the boy left the tavern where he had lived and entered the Imperial Palace.

The palace, the first one the child who had known only the mud had ever seen, was dazzlingly brilliant.

But even all that splendor lost its light in an instant.

A garden drenched in sunlight.

In the middle of it, where petals scattered in the wind, a person stood.

Guest.

The boy caught his breath.

That day, he learned for the first time that such a person could exist in the world.

It started from that moment.

The Imperial Palace was no longer a strange prison, and every landscape of the Empire became a path leading toward that one person.

The boy's first love began just like that, so very quietly.

---

And 10 years later, the present—

Late at night, after the performance ended and everyone had fallen asleep.

Before returning to the building where the imperial servants stayed, Jade stood alone in a secluded area on the outskirts.

From the cigarette held between his fingertips, pale smoke slowly scattered into the night air.

His gaze was fixed on the Imperial Castle in the distance.

Though countless windows were submerged in darkness, there was one.

One window where the light had not yet gone out.

A familiar window.

He could tell whose room it was even with his eyes closed.

"...You're not sleeping yet."

The low voice was buried in the wind and vanished.

Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, he wore a bitter smile.

"I should stop."

"...I have to let go."

"This heart."

For a moment, as he closed his eyes, his face held neither the sly smile he showed on stage nor the playful expression that enchanted people.

All that remained was the emptiness of a man trying desperately to bury the emotions he had harbored for a long time.

After smoking the cigarette to the end, he crushed the embers under his foot.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he put his familiar smile back on his face and walked toward the servants' quarters.