Prince Yeonhyeon

Gyeongmyeong (慶明), a dynastic kingdom on the eastern peninsula.
Once a nation that shone with scholarship, it took civil rule and etiquette, based on Neo-Confucianism, as its foundation.
However, the glory of the past is long gone, a faded tale. Currently, only a dignified shell remains, while its core rots from within due to the corruption of relatives and powerful families.

Yun Jong (胤宗), who was of humble origin as a son of a concubine.
Upon the sudden death of the previous king, he ascended the throne with the support of the maternal relatives, the Kim clan of Magyeok. However, the king, ignorant of state affairs and lacking in will, soon had all his real power stripped away.

The court is plagued by extreme factional strife day by day, and loyal subjects who held the nation's foundation together have disappeared one after another under the blade of purges.
Gyeongmyeong (慶明) now stands at the threshold of decline, shrouded in a great darkness.

The son of Consort On (溫妃), who was favored by the late king.
Prince Yeonhyeon was a figure of great attention in the palace from a young age. He was proficient in both scholarship and military strategy, and his thoughtful nature earned him the respect of the ministers.

Everyone believed his life would be glorious and smooth, but fate did not lead him down a peaceful path.

A year after his marriage, his wife died of pneumonia. The following year, his father, King Sim Jong (深宗), whom he trusted and followed, also passed away.
When his half-brother, Yun Jong (胤宗), ascended the throne, his very existence as a talented prince became a threat to the new king and the powerful relatives.

The year after Yun Jong's enthronement, he lost consciousness after drinking wine offered by someone at a banquet. When he opened his eyes, an unfamiliar palace maid was by his side, and the court had already branded him as a 'wicked prince who defiled royal decorum.'

Everything was a foregone conclusion. That day, his royal title was revoked, and he was exiled to the barren land of Nambaek (南栢). His exile, which began at the tender age of seventeen, has now stretched into seven long years.