Chapter Thirty

Arriving drenched in Trove, Tiyung composes a coded letter to his mother and seals it with clay, hoping it reaches the palace without his lost seal. Hana sends and receives messages, coolly decodes one, and burns all traces, revealing nothing at first.

On the street, Hana finally shares good news: Sora, Mikail, Royo, and Aeri are alive in Rahway. Tiyung is overwhelmed with relief, but Hana’s troubled look signals more. She then delivers the blow—Tiyung’s father is proclaiming Tiyung dead, blaming the five blades, and issuing massive bounties.

Hana specifies the stakes: one million in gold each for Sora, Aeri, Euyn, and Mikail if captured alive, omitting Royo. Tiyung realizes the realm will hunt them everywhere and questions why his father wants them alive. He suggests riding to Rahway, but Hana refuses; her questionable source claims they’ve already left and spread disinformation about heading to Oosant.

They stable their horses near The Maker’s Inn. Amid rain and crowded streets, Tiyung yanks Hana out of the path of a rushing carriage; both slip into the filthy gutter, exchange strained laughter, and regain their feet. The near-miss underscores their precarious situation and uneasy trust in Hana’s source.

Processing the peril the others face, Tiyung decides he must go to the palace at first light to confront his father and stop the bounty scheme. With war looming and little time, he clings to this plan as the only actionable path forward—after scrubbing off the day’s indignity.