The Red Palace

I would not love, unless I was loved first and loved the most. I would be nothing at all, if I could not be first.

Some dreams, I'd learned, were meant to fade away. And to let go of them didn't mean to let go of myself, but to release the life I'd imagined I wanted. The loss had grieved me at first, but in its fading away-slowly, very slowly-a new dream had bloomed.

When we’re together … it’s as though we are like water in the river, my thoughts flowing through yours, yours through mine. And when we are silent”—a faint smile tugged at his lips—“I forget you are even there sometimes.” “I’m flattered, nauri,” I said drily. “It is the greatest compliment. I dislike being around people for too long. But when I am with you … I never feel the need to be someone I am not.

He moved my hand into his, and as our fingers intertwined, it occurred to me that love wasn’t all that I’d feared it to be. I had imagined that it was a wildfire that incinerated everything in its path. Instead, it felt as ordinary and extraordinary as waking up to a new day.

Everyone must choose the paths they will walk on. And when you choose, remember to count the cost.

Revenge begets revenge; the anger is unquenchable. We become the monsters we are trying to punish. Justice, however, brings closure, and that is what I want. It can only be achieved by remaining sober-minded and rational. And, in the end, it is not my place to punish the prince. It is the king’s, and only the king’s. All I can do is find enough evidence to make the truth undeniable.

When the time comes You watch out for me. And I will always watch out for you.

We are women,” she continued, “and nothing short of death stops us from doing precisely what we wish to do. That is what the laws and restrictions binding our lives breed: determination and cunning. The likes of you will not obey me. You will tell me that you intend to be as still as a rock, and yet I know you will dart from shadow to shadow like a fish.

Everyone must choose the paths they will walk. And when you choose, remember to count the cost. Do not live with regrets.

There is a saying among us who work there: Palace secrets must never get out, or else inevitably there will be blood.

The more urgent a circumstance,” I said quietly, repeating Nurse Jeongsu’s words, “the calmer we must be.

There is only you.” His words caressed me, winding themselves around my soul. “There will only ever be you. I promise, Hyeon-ah.

I realized that everything we hold dear can be taken from us, except for one thing: the lessons learned. The things Father has taught me.” A pause. “Before he died, he told me to seek justice—not revenge.

When we're together... it's as though we are like water in the river, my thoughts flowing through yours, yours through mine

He stared, a line forming between his brows. Then with a shake of his head, he murmured, “You must have been a general in your past life. A most irritatingly stubborn one.

The first time I met you, I don't think I quite knew," he said softly, looking back at me, "what a surprise you would become to me.

I say with utmost respect,” Eojin said slowly, and I cast him a nervous glance. “But sometimes too much mercy is as detrimental as too little.

I was suddenly filled with the urge to burst into laughter. Laughter over the terrifyingly ridiculous situation I’d found myself, and from the sheer sense of wonder that the darkest time had brought a friend into my life.

To be a boy opened doors that would never open for me, shielded him in a way where my own status as a woman had stripped me naked.

I wanted to love and be loved. I wanted to be known. I wanted to be understood and accepted.

If you don’t want your life ruined, I had better not see you lurking around a crime scene again.” A frown drifted across my brows. I wasn’t sure what he meant. “Of course,” I whispered back. “I highly doubt our paths will ever cross again.

it occurred to me that love wasn’t all that I’d feared it to be. I had imagined that it was a wildfire that incinerated everything in its path. Instead, it felt as ordinary and extraordinary as waking up to a new day.

If you enter the palace, you either die or you survive and become another monster within its walls…

The more urgent a circumstance," I said quietly, repeating Nurse Jeongsu's words, "the calmer we must be

I wanted to love and be loved. I wanted to be known.

Lies are the only defenses the lowly have against the powerful.