Sae Joo scanned the crowd, looking for the sender of such a blasphemous gift. He has observed similar reactions. The council members were all confused but Dae Wong stood out them all. His colorless, horrified face made the Prince feel suspicious. With the minister's exaggerated reaction, it would be too dumb to just flush it out—Sae Joo had no idea about the whole story behind his uncle and the King's right hand's faces but his instincts were screaming straight to his face. After this gathering, ask them. Everyone in the court seemed to have no idea where the cloth came from.

To stop the growing commotion, the Prince cleared his throat and announced, his lips moved sideways into a controlled smile. "Well, this one is an interesting gift though. I didn't know that icebreakers could be presented on the finale. Whoever sent this one, I must applaud you. This is a good comic relief! But please... spell my name correctly the next time. It's Sae Joo, not Sae Yoo."

He raised the note and showed it to the crowd. The noblemen did not know how to react so they just came up with the same reaction. They all laughed at Sae Joo's speech. Unnatural and awkward. But on the bright side, like passing through the eye of a storm, there was a momentary ambiance of lightness and ease. Maybe someone just wanted to crack a joke. If the Prince did not take it seriously, who were they to judge?

After the opening of the final gift, the event ended as if nothing strange had happened. The noblemen sent their final congratulatory messages to the Prince and his bride before they left. As the crowd dissipated, Dae Wong approached Sae Joo with his worried face. The Prince gently shoved him away and jetted out of the hall with his bodyguard. He strode back to his chambers and strictly ordered his ladies-in-waiting and the guards to not let anyone in for a few moments.

Inside, he placed the controversial cloth on top of his table and spread it wide. He flipped it a few times, inspecting its familiar design. A sudden memory from his childhood flashed into his mind as he remembered an exact copy of the cloth, but with a different color.

"That's right!" he turned to Shun and revealed, "This is the same as my baby wrapper. That's why it's so familiar."

Shun squinted as he also surveyed the said silk. He suddenly blurted with the sudden realization, "Your Highness!"

The stunned prince's forehead folded, "What is it?"

"Uh, the day before I went to Seorabeol to buy my father's medicine, I found our old underground storage room open. It has never been opened ever since I was born. That was the first time that I saw the door gaping wide so I stormed inside. I found this chest which contained all of my father's old belongings—including the headband, remember?"

Sae Joo interrupted his bodyguard, confused with his jabbers, "W-wa-wait, where is this going?"

"In that chest, I saw a baby cloth with the same design. I just remembered it now. They had the same design—blue also but at the bottom, there was an embroidered name. I wasn't able to read it because my father had already called my name."

The Prince hurriedly searched at the bottom, and he was shocked to find an embroidered name. Shun turned pale, his lips and throat dried out. "That's it! But no way... There's no way that my father would send that to you, Your Highness. There must be a mistake, right? They are framing up my father! I will hunt those impudent..."

"Relax, Shun." Sae Joo grabbed Shun's arm, preventing him to do harsh actions. "I don't think that way. I believe in you and Muhyuk-ahjussi's goodness. I know he won't do this to me... You said that you haven't read the name, so maybe this is different from your father's. This cloth is common, anyone can have it, anyone can imprint names on it. Alright?"

"Forgive my insolence, Your Highness." Shun's red face gradually stabilized in color as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"No. It's fine. I know your fear. A suspect is a suspect. You know how the palace works. They wouldn't leave your father alone if they knew about what you have said. I might react the same if I were you. Just calm down, Shun. Your father won't be involved with this."

Upon pacifying his bodyguard, Sae Joo turned back to the cloth and scrutinized the embroidered name once again. He noticed something strange: the stitch patterns of the name appeared to be vibrant and vivid compared to the old age of the cloth. A common person would not have noticed, but for Sae Joo and his meticulous eyes for clothing details, the embroidery looked like it was newly imprinted (probably not more than a month ago). However, that particular observation vanished into the thin, cold air when he had read the name.

"Sae Yoo," Sae Joo mumbled.

"Sae Yoo?" asked Shun, confused. "Who is Sae Yoo?"

"They did this on purpose. It was never a typographical error." Sae Joo picked the note from his sleeve and handed it to his bodyguard. Shun read it aloud, "Please receive this humble gift. A symbol of your birth. Our rightful Prince... Prince Sae Yoo."

He scratched his head and bit his lips, "What the... who would dare send this?"

"I have to know."

"Wait, Your Highness, if you would take this seriously, better yet just tell me where to go. It's dangerous. Whoever sent this just wants attention from you, exploit you. Maybe that Sae Yoo doesn't exist. The sender, whoever the hell he is, just wants to confuse us. Perhaps to create an internal rift."

Sae Joo shook his head, his fingers pinching his palm severely. He paced down the chambers with heavy gaits. "No, no. Why would they even come up with an invented name that is close to mine, if they don't mean something? They could've used a safe name. Yoo is far from Joo for it to be a mistake! Do you think this Sae Yoo know something about my identity? All my life, my father has always avoided my questions about our family. My mother, the events in the past—everything! What if this Sae Yoo is the door to all of my questions? I am not concerned about the one who sent the gift. I am more concerned about knowing this Sae Yoo's identity. I need to know who Sae Yoo is."

"So... what are you going to do?"

"Come with me. We'll ask the people who possibly know."

~~•~~

The ladies-in-waiting and the guards blocked Sae Joo from entering the King's chambers, saying that Jae Joong has ordered not to let anyone in (just like what he did). The Prince scowled at them as he rebuked calmly. "Get out of my way."

"We apologize, Your Highness. The King will kill us if we break his orders," an old lady-in-waiting said.

"Do you take me as a joke? Who do you think I am? Move!"

The attendants' faces turned sour, casting glances at each other. The head of the court ladies sighed and told the others to open the door. Sae Joo turned to Shun and patted his shoulder, "Wait for me here."

The Prince stormed inside the King's chamber like a tax-collecting landlord. Gripping the dirty cloth by his hands, he strode inside as if he was the owner. Jae Joong and Dae Wong stood from their seats, shocked at Sae Joo's arrival.

"Prince, what are you doing here?" asked Jae Joong, his lips shaking.

"Your Majesty, it seems like you've seen a goblin. I came here because I was curious about this." he dropped the cloth slowly on the King's red table. "Your facial reactions seem odd to me. A ghost from the past perhaps?"

Dae Wong put in, acting like a nice disciplinarian uncle rebutting his nephew for showing disrespect, "Prince, watch your tone."

Sae Joo ignored him and turned to his father. "Your Majesty, do you know anything about that cloth? Does the design ring a bell to you?"

Jae Joong cleared his throat and composed himself, like a true dignified king. His heart was racing but his rib cage needed to be firm and show the little tiger in front of him who the head of the kingdom was. He raised his brow and frowned at his son. "Sae Joo!"

"I don't intend to be disrespectful so I apologize. Could you just answer my question? Why does this cloth have the same design as mine?" he flipped the cloth and showed them the embroidered name. "Sae Yoo. Who is Sae Yoo?"

Another bomb exploded in front of Jae Joong. Not only was the design the same but also the name at the bottom. The name of his dead son pierced through his ears, down to the depths of his head. But just like what he has begun, he shrugged his shoulders like it was his first time hearing the said name. "I don't know. Maybe it was a mistake. An error. You know, son, you shouldn't make this a big deal. A lot of people take this time as a good way to make a scene. You should ignore that prank, seriously. Maybe they meant Sae Joo. But perhaps the one who did the embroidery heard the name wrong. Sae Joo... Sae Yoo. You see? An old person can mishear that easily."

"Prank? Do you want me to believe that this is just a prank? This is too convenient for a joke, Your Majesty. Why would they even use a baby cloth the same as mine? What do they want?"

"I don't know, son. I don't know." Jae Joong held Sae Joo's shoulders and looked straight into the Prince's eyes. "I promise. I will find out who sent this, and I will make them pay for treating you as a joke. Let me handle this, Sae Joo. Alright?"

After being exposed to numerous near-death situations, Sae Joo had learned how to question a person's action. Like Jung Ho, he had somehow evolved to be someone who could read and analyze facial expressions. Every frown, every smirk, every smile had a meaning for him, even the movement of the fingers and the shaking of the lips. In his father's case, he noticed the fast blinking of the eyes despite the slow and calm words of advice. Sae Joo suspected two things. One, perhaps Sae Yoo was a real person in the past whom they did not want him to ever know. Two, they truly had no idea who had sent the gift—that they were truly afraid of Sae Yoo.

His effort to confront his father was pointless. Even if he shed blood tears, they would never tell him the truth. Sae Joo acted like the gullible kid once again. He stole a glance at Dae Wong first and then nodded to his father. "Fine. I guess I was just shocked, Your Majesty. I entrust this to you. I will leave now." he bowed his head and walked to the door.

After making sure that Sae Joo was indeed out of the chamber's premises, Jae Joong rushed back to the table and continued his discussion with Dae Wong.

"There is only one person that comes to my mind!" claimed Jae Joong.

"Jung Ho?"

"Who else would it be? He schemes to distract the Prince. Who else would have the motive? Who else knows about Sae Joo's twin brother?"

"But I saw his reaction, Sire. He was genuinely shocked."

"Jung Ho is a great actor. Don't tell me you trust his antics! More than twenty years, Dae Wong. We already know him down to his filthy soul." Jae Joong turned around and rushed to the door. "This won't do. I need to talk to him!"

"I'll go with you, Your Majesty!"

~~•~~

The two hurried to Jung Ho's chambers, only to find out that he has also been restless since he has come back from the council hall. His non-stop pacing around the room could have taken him to the next province. Jung Ho was surprised to see the King and his right hand, but he made sure to keep his poise and confidence up. He stopped his pacing when the two entered unannounced. No more courtesy for this urgent matter. "Y-Yo-Your Majesty, what an... honor. Anything that I could do for you?" his lips quivered as he stuttered.

"Was that you?" Jae Joong glowered.

"I can't seem to understand, Your Majesty. What do you mean?"

Dae Wong put in, "This is not the time to do your usual denying tactics, Prime Minister. I know that you know what the King means."

"Sire, if you were talking about the gift that the Prince received, I'm sorry but I knew nothing about that. It was not me."

"Liar!"

"Do you seriously think that I would ruin my daughter's important celebration? I would never! Besides, if it was me, I would've done that years ago. I've kept our secret for a long time, and I have no plans to bring it up again because our family would also be involved. I'm not crazy. I won't compromise my family and the kingdom's security just because of a dead twin prince."

"Shut your mouth! Didn't I told you not to mention my son again?"

"Instead of blaming me, aren't we all supposed to find who the sender is? Don't you realize the danger now that someone, probably not from the palace, knows our secret?"

Jae Joong was taken aback, realizing his brother's point. Recounting the events in the past, only him, Dae Wong, the former council member and his father-in-law, Yeol, Dong Hee, the former Head Nurse, and Jung Ho knew about the existence of Sae Yoo. Yeol would be out of the suspect list since he was a family member, and Jae Joong had known him for a long time. The dead would speak nothing either, so Dong Hee was crossed out. So he thought, Who could it be?

While Jae Joong was thinking on his own, Dae Wong could not help but accuse Chil Yook—the only person who has been keeping Sae Yoo's baby cloth for a long time. But then again, knowing his character—that he wished not to be involved in the palace affairs anymore, the minister reconsidered. I wish it was not Chil Yook. But he's the only one who has that baby wrapper. A palace outsider? Who would it be?

Silence enveloped the entire room as the three recaptured their memories—full of secrets. An invisible jacket of different colors enclosed each one of them as they excluded themselves from one another in a mental solitude, weighing and thinking about their course of actions. 

__________