I didn't like how I set up the oneshot so now it's a oneshot+epilogue. apologies for the inconvenience.
Comments are always welcome :)

She hurried toward her home within the palace, walking at a speed no queen or noble lady would dare to attempt. Grasping at the back seam of her skirts, she pulled to shorten the hem, allowing herself to move faster. On her trip back, she neither noticed the stars nor cared that the moon shone brightly.

Images of the previous hour flashed before her eyes and her hands quivered as she bolted. What would she do with that information? What would she tell her son? The son she had sired with the seed of… whatever the King was.

Yeon Hwa could see her compound and she sighed in relief when she noticed the gates were still open; no doubt her retainers were still searching for her.

As she was about to run into her home, Yeon Hwa gasped when an arm curled around her waist and a hand clamped over her mouth, dragging her backwards. Surprised, she could only shriek into the hand that held her lips shut. "And why are you running about so late at night?" asked a deep voice that Yeon Hwa knew too well.

The hands around her relinquished their grip and Yeon Hwa looked up to see the King's eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Her heart pounded and her hands balled into fists. "I was out on a walk, Majesty," she replied, defiant but calm beneath the King's cool gaze. "Is it a crime to walk about at night?"

She swallowed when the King scoffed. "Do simple strolls take Queens all the way out to Baek Ah's home?" he asked, nonchalance toning each word. The King crossed his arms.

Yeon Hwa gaped- an action so unlike herself- as she tried to muster some form of excuse. "How did you…"

"You're not as fast a runner as you think." Shaking his head, the King clicked his tongue.

Tsk tsk tsk. The sound sent shivers down the Queen's spine. "What will the ministers think when they hear the Queen has been out at night, gallivanting around their homes and spying on sleeping princes?"

"He wasn't sleeping," she sneered with venom. Any and all arousal dissipated as Yeon Hwa turned to face her husband. "What will the ministers think when they hear their King has been sharing a bed with a man?" she countered his argument with her own. There was a pause and the crickets chirped their nightly tune.

The King snorted. It was a sharp exhale through his nose that hit Yeon Hwa's cheek. "They'll think the Queen has gone mad," he murmured, leaning close to her. She could smell the musky scent of sweat and sex on him and it only made her angrier. "But say the ministers do agree with you and believe that I have been sleeping with a man… then, they would ask why you were the one to report this."

His voice was cold and he stood over a meter away from her, but Yeon Hwa felt as if an icy hand were clamping around her throat, choking the life from her. Her breaths grew shallow as he continued. "They would question the legitimacy of our son because- as you say- the King has been sharing a bed with a man. Where does he have the time to impregnate the Queen? Rumors and speculation that the Queen has dared to defy her marriage bed will spring forth… and of course, I will forgive you for being a disobedient wife, but Ju will hang for impersonating the Dragon's Son." Yeon Hwa stopped breathing when her husband threatened their son.

"Ju is your own flesh and blood," she whispered. Fear struck her heart and ice closed around her body as she tried to protect her son. "How could you speak of killing your own son with such a straight face?"

The King regarded her with a single raised eyebrow. "If you are foolish enough, Sister, to tell the world that I enjoy the company of men as well as women, then I will make sure to inform the ministers that before we had our daughters, we never shared a bed."

There was silence between them and Yeon Hwa knew that her hands were tied. They were shackled to the whims of a malevolent King.

"Do get home safely, Queen," the King stated as he began to walk away. Pausing, he turned to look at her with a tip of his head. "And beware of the monsters that walk the night."

With that, the King left Yeon Hwa behind as he began walking toward his residences.

And as the moon shone and a million stars glittered in the sky, Yeon Hwa could not help but wonder who was more monstrous: the King that threatened his own son, or the Queen whose blackmail gave him the reason to do so.