A suffocatingly heavy silence descended.
The indoor space, monopolized by just the two of us, was excessively vast. The antique furniture positioned throughout subtly revealed a gentle authority, and even the clinking sound of the teapot evoked a strange sense of impatience in the room.
For a long while, I couldn’t answer the old man’s question.
It was a rudeness that wouldn’t be surprising if my head were to roll right then and there, with no words to defend myself.
The other party wasn’t some common village elder you could find anywhere. He was the pinnacle of the empire, the one called the core of continental power—the ‘Emperor.’ There weren’t many figures who could dare maintain silence in front of him.
Yet, why was I unable to open my mouth?
The reason was simple and clear. It was merely because I had nothing to say.
‘The dragon hidden in the cradle, a rusted blade that cuts better than a famous sword.’
The Emperor was asking me the meaning of that enigmatic phrase. However, no matter how much I racked my memory, I had never recited such words in front of others.
No, far from uttering it, it was a code I was hearing for the first time in my life.
In that case,…