Chapter 2: The Day Order Met the Chaos.

People didn't just kneel.

They collapsed.

Court officials dropped like rice sacks. Servants flattened themselves so low Ha-eun briefly wondered if this was some kind of advanced yoga pose. Even the guards stiffened, eyes forward, breathing carefully like the air itself was fragile.

Everyone.

Except her.

Ha-eun stood there blinking.

"Oh-OH." she looked around. "This is the kneeling part, right?"

Too late.

Footsteps approached _ slow, measured terrifyingly calm.

Okay. Bow. Kneel. Do something respectful, her brain screamed.

She bent forward too fast, lost her balance, and nearly headbutted the stone floor.

"Whoa_!"

A collective gasp rippled through the courtyard.

Somewhere, someone whispered a prayer.

She ended up in a half-kneel, half-squat that felt deeply wrong but was now impossible to escape without falling again. So she froze. Like a broken statue.

The footsteps stopped in front of her.

Silence pressed down so hard her ears rang.

She slowly lifted her eyes.

Red robes filled her vision _ rich, heavy silk embroidered with a golden dragon that seemed to watch her back. Above that a calm face. Sharp eyes. Perfect posture. Not a hair out of place.

The king of Joseon.

Her brain shut down.

She blurted. "Wow."

Several officials looked like they might faint.

The king studied her quietly, gaze flicking from her soaked hoodie to her sneakers to the way she was kneeling incorrectly in at least three different ways.

"... Stand," he said.

"Really?" she asked, hopefully.

The court official hissed, "You do not question His Majesty!"

"I wasn't questioning, I was confirming!" she said automatically _ and then realized what she had done. "Oh. oh no."

The king raised one hand.

Silence returned instantly.

"Yes," he said calmly. "Stand."

Ha-eun scrambled to her feet _ only to slip slightly on the wet stone. A guard moved on instinct, catching her arms before she could fall straight into the king.

Every soul in the palace stopped breathing.

Ha-eun stared at the guard's hand on her sleeve. Then at the king. "Sorry. I promise I'm usually only this clumsy on special occasions."

The king blinked.

Just once.

"Your name," he said.

She opened her mouth.

Then hesitated.

Do I tell the truth? Lie? Pretend I'm a noble? A spirit? A very confused merchant?

"...Yoon Ha-eun," she said finally. "I'm from _ very far away."

"That is obvious," he replied.

That...was fair.

He circled her slowly, hands behind his back, studying her like a strange artifact. "Your clothes are unfamiliar. Your speech lacks proper form. And you appear in the palace courtyard without passing a single gate."

"Yes," she said earnestly. "I am having a very bad day."

A few servants twitched. Was that..... almost a smile?

The king stopped in front of her. "Did you enter with intent to deceive?"

"No!"

"Intent to spy?"

"Absolutely not"

"Intent to cause disorder?"

She thought about it. "Not intentionally?"

Several officials sucked in a breath.

The king closed his eyes.

Just for a moment.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***