“Mi-Reu! Mi-Reu! They are just about to round the corner!”

  A young boy’s voice, a conspiratorial whisper, drifted down from the dense, dark leaves atop an ancient willow tree positioned strategically at the corner of a turn in the sprawling Royal Courtyard. Though the voice clearly strained for calmness, the sharp, raw edge of excitement was undeniable.

  “Silence, Gi-Reu! You absolute idiot, they will hear us before we can even execute the surprise!” A young girl’s voice, laced with acute annoyance and a touch of genuine panic, hissed back at the boy.

  “Gi-Reu! Mi-Reu! It’s entirely futile attempting to hide, I am well aware of where you are located!” A loud, authoritative, yet somewhat playful yell rang out from a distance across the courtyard. The voice, belonging to their mother, the Queen, seemed to aim at a distinctly different tree than the one they occupied.

  “Oh, by the spirits! Mother has found our hiding spot already!” Gi-Reu exclaimed out loud, the surprise instantly defeating his attempt at stealth.

  “You utter fool, that was a trick to lure us out! Now run!” Mi-Reu replied, her voice a rapid, desperate command that brooked no argument.

  “So, you choose to remain there, do you? Very well… Get them!” The Queen's voice rang with finality, and a moment later, a coordinated rush of movement followed as multiple royal palace workers began sprinting toward the designated tree.

  “Yes, Your Majesty!” they shouted in unison, their footsteps loud against the paved courtyard stones. The group of workers, including several muscular guards and bustling ladies-in-waiting, started to quickly encircle the willow tree, their faces alight with amused chuckles. “Your Royal Highnesses, Prince Gi-Reu and Princess Mi-Reu, you have absolutely nowhere left to run!”

  That was the precise moment the two children made their move.

  Prince Gi-Reu, wearing a lightweight but impeccably tailored Hanfu, a vibrant sapphire blue top jacket over loose, dark silk trousers and Princess Mi-Reu, wearing a matching, equally fine apricot pink dress, suddenly executed a breathtaking dive. They sprang straight from their precarious perch high in the willow, holding hands tightly, and tumbled gracefully onto a large, strategically placed haybale hidden nearby.

  The impact cushioned their fall perfectly. Without missing a beat, they disentangled themselves and were instantly running again, ditching the surrounding workers with practiced ease.

  “WE WILL NOT DRINK THE BITTER MEDICINE!” The twin shouts of defiance, belonging to the two children, who could not have been older than eight years, echoed through the dignified quiet of the courtyard, an energetic and familiar burst of chaos in the otherwise serene palace.

  “Blerg…” Gi-Reu made a dramatic, gagging sound as he forced down the bitter liquid of the herbal soup. Accompanying his twin’s disgust, Mi-Reu added a mournful echo, “It’s so unbearably bitter.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The two twins, both strikingly beautiful with the high cheekbones and fine features of their royal lineage, possessing identical, large dark eyes and thick, straight black hair that fell to their shoulders, sat hunched over on low wooden chairs. Their small legs were submerged in basins of cold water, a common, painful remedy for the light caning they had received as punishment for their grand escape.

  “I will personally instruct the Royal Apothecary to have it made even more bitter if I hear that either of you have dared to climb those ridiculous trees again,” the Queen cautioned. She sat opposite them, regal even in a moment of maternal discipline, wearing a beautifully embroidered jade-green silk robe that shimmered under the room’s soft lighting. Her tone was one of mock anger, though the deep concern and lingering fear of injury were clearly visible in the gentle warmth of her eyes. “Jumping down from such a dangerous height is utterly reckless. Do you both comprehend the danger you put yourselves in?”

  The twins nodded their heads slowly, issuing a synchronized sigh of martyrdom.

  The Queen’s expression softened. She rose from her seat and rang a small, silver bell resting on a nearby lacquer table. When a waiting Eunuch immediately appeared, bowing low, she issued a firm instruction: “Ensure that these two do not run away from their evening lessons today. Keep a vigilant watch.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. It shall be done,” the Eunuch confirmed with a quick, respectful bow.

  With that, the Queen departed, followed by her retinue of Ladies-in-Waiting. The Eunuch then settled quietly onto the floor in the hall, assuming his silent post.

  “So… Mi-Reu, did it change?” Gi-Reu whispered excitedly, his voice tight with anticipation, as if the sharp sting in his calves from the beating had vanished entirely. His eyes were wide and practically sparkling with focused eagerness.

  Mi-Reu, quickly shifted her gaze toward the empty space hanging invisibly above her twin’s shoulder.

  [Memory Archive System

  Balance: 500 Yang

  Cognitive Bandwidth: 0.6↑]

  “I-It did! It changed! It jumped straight from 0.5 to 0.6!” Mi-Reu replied, her voice filled with an enthusiasm that perfectly mirrored Gi-Reu’s own, her fingers subtly adjusting the transparent, floating panel only she could see.

  “Check the other ‘screen’! Did that change too?” Gi-Reu urged again, bobbing his small body anxiously on his chair.

  Mi-Reu nodded, taking a steadying breath before mentally changing the display to the second interface page.

  [Memory Archive System

  Note: Store Page is unavailable please increase your Cognitive Bandwidth to 1.00]

  “Still the same warning… We definitely need to try something more intense or focused next time we train to make it increase faster,” Mi-Reu concluded, her disappointment minor but present.

  Gi-Reu shook his head violently in a gesture of understanding and renewed, zealous excitement. “Yes! We need to find something that pushes our minds even harder!”

  “What are you two brats conspiring about this time?” A new voice cut through their intense, hushed planning. A young man, handsome and already possessing a serious, scholarly bearing, entered the hall. He looked to be around the age of thirteen.

  The official Announcer, though seemingly delayed by the Prince’s quick entry, still performed his duty with practiced volume. “Crown Prince His Royal Highness Barua Yi-Joon has arrived!”

  “At this rate, simply announce my arrival after I’ve already departed. Why don’t you, Announcer?” Crown Prince Yi-Joon mocked lightly, though a hint of affection softened his gaze as he looked at his younger siblings.

  “Yi-Joon!” the twins exclaimed in unison, their momentary disappointment completely forgotten in the face of their older brother's arrival.