Year 627 of the Caelest Imperial Calendar.

Behind the most glamorous downtown area of the Empire.

Under the golden lanterns, in a high-end tavern where laughter and music flowed every night, there was a boy who caught people's attention exceptionally well.

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 excellent speaking skills that drew people in made even adults marvel.

Customers used to visit this place just to see his witty remarks and performances.

There was someone 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 people's 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, which the child who had only known the mud all his life faced for the first time, was brilliantly dazzling.

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

In a garden where sunlight poured down.

In the middle of it, where flower petals fluttered in the wind, a person was standing.

Guest.

The boy caught his breath.

He learned for the first time that day that such a person could exist in the world.

It was from that moment.

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

Before returning to the building where the imperial servants stayed, Jade stood alone in a secluded area where few people passed.

A cigarette was held between his fingertips, and gray smoke slowly scattered into the night air.

His gaze was directed toward the distant imperial castle.

Numerous windows were submerged in darkness, but there was just one.

There was a 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 asleep yet."

The voice that flowed out low was buried in the wind and disappeared.

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

"I should stop."

"...I have to let go."

"This heart."

Closing his eyes for a moment, his face showed neither the sly smile he displayed on stage nor the playful expression that enchanted people.

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

After burning the cigarette to the end, he crushed the embers with his toe.

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