Dan-Bi lifted his head, voice calm but unwavering.
"His Highness did not stay for pleasure, but out of necessity."
The Queen's fingers stilled.
The court murmured, but she raised a hand, silencing them.
"Necessity?" she repeated, her tone deceptively smooth. "Elaborate."
Dan-Bi did not hesitate.
"Your Majesty, the attack on my quarters was no mere accident," he said. "The Crown Prince himself saw the danger and chose to stay—not as a lover, but as a ruler protecting his people."
The Queen's gaze sharpened.
Dan-Bi could feel the weight of the court's scrutiny, but he remained still, his every word measured and precise.
"If anything," he continued, "it is alarming that even His Highness did not feel safe enough to leave immediately. It raises questions, does it not? Why would the Crown Prince—the most protected man in the kingdom—believe danger was near?"
The murmurs grew louder.
The Queen's expression did not change, but Dan-Bi could sense her calculating.
The shift of power had begun
Dan-Bi took a slow, deliberate step forward and lowered his voice.
"Your Majesty, is it not more pressing to ask who was responsible for such an attack in the first place?"
Silence.
The Queen's lips pressed into a thin line.
Dan-Bi had turned the court's attention away from him and onto her rule.
Her failures.
She could not allow that.
She could not afford to let a mere scholar—a supposed commoner—question her power.
Her voice was clipped, controlled.
"You are bold, Scholar Dan-Bi."
Dan-Bi bowed slightly.
"I only speak the truth, Your Majesty."
The Queen exhaled slowly before speaking.
"You claim the Crown Prince feared for his life, but the attack was aimed at you."
A slight pause.
"Why would someone wish to harm a simple scholar?"
The trap had been set.
Dan-Bi felt the shift instantly.
This was not just about the rumors anymore.
This was about his identity.
The Queen had turned the court's curiosity onto him.
A nobody.
A scholar who had suddenly become a threat.
Dan-Bi knew he had to act fast.
Dan-Bi's eyes widened slightly, as if truly taken aback by the Queen's words.
"Your Majesty flatters me too much," he said, voice smooth but carrying a trace of incredulity.
The ministers murmured, and Dan-Bi took the opportunity to exhale sharply, shaking his head.
"A mere scholar like myself? A simple man who spends his days buried in books? Your Majesty suggests I am important enough to be the target of assassins?"
Soft laughter rippled through the court.
The Queen's lips pressed into a thin line.
Dan-Bi let the reaction settle before continuing.
"Surely, this is a misunderstanding. If I were truly so significant, I imagine the palace would have already ensured my safety far better than it has."
His words carried an unspoken challenge.
If the Queen insisted that he was important enough to be attacked, then she would have to acknowledge that she had failed to protect him.
And if she retracted her claim, she would lose her leverage.
It was a masterful play.
The Queen's fingers twitched against the silk of her sleeve.
Dan-Bi felt the weight of the moment and pressed on, voice calm, but piercing.
"Or perhaps Your Majesty knows something we do not?"
Silence.
Dan-Bi tilted his head ever so slightly, his gaze unwavering.
"Only those in power would know the real answer, would they not?"
The Queen's expression did not change, but the faintest flicker of annoyance crossed her eyes.
The court was watching.
Waiting.
The Queen could not afford to let a scholar—**no matter how skilled in words—**turn the attention onto her.
Her voice was steady when she spoke.
"You speak well, Scholar Dan-Bi. Almost too well."
Dan-Bi bowed slightly.
"I only seek to clear my name, Your Majesty."
A pause.
A battle of wills.
The Queen exhaled slowly before giving the smallest nod.
"Very well. Let us move on."
The tension in the room remained, but Dan-Bi had done it.
The pressure was off him.
For now.