It was humiliating to be left in bed like that after sharing such intimate moments, after allowing him to touch her in ways that she had never been touched, and after caving in to him completely. She felt stupid as she laid in her bed, breathless and aroused but abandoned and denied relief.

She wanted to understand why he did it, and she wanted to reprimand him for it. She was angry at him for humiliating her, and angry with herself for letting him. She was also so, so, so anxious about fulfilling her duty as princess, which seemed to never be working out for her.

Was it Solbin? Was that why he couldn't continue with Yewon? Was he thinking about her? Yewon groaned at the possibility. If Solbin was the reason, then there was nothing Yewon could do about it. She didn't even have the right to get angry with him about it.

The thought of Solbin as being Seungcheol's past lover had never bothered her until now, when this past seemed to have significant consequences for her. Yewon hated to think that she was becoming jealous of a dead girl for Seungcheol's attention.

Maybe things would have been different had Yewon not been so passive throughout, she thought as she refelected on the night and wondered what had gone wrong. But she was told to be passive, told not to touch him boldly herself unless he asked. She regretted the passivity though. Perhaps if she had actually taken the initiative to arouse him herself, she would not have been left in bed like that.

Yewon felt embarrassed when Haein saw that the clean sheets that she had prepared the previous night were still clean, and when Haein asked, Yewon brushed off the question. Haein looked sympathetic; she seemed to immediately understand that Yewon was abandoned in bed.

-

Seungcheol didn’t come to breakfast the following morning, and so she couldn’t speak to him then. She was glad he was not there, because she knew she couldn't look at him in the same way again after what had happened. And she didn't want to speak to him about what had happened the previous night with Yulhee, Soonyoung and the King and Queen listening.

But she was still planning to speak to him and tell him that he was not going to do anything like that ever again...

After breakfast, she immediately went to find him.

She went to his room first and asked the guards if he were inside.

“He is, your highness,” the guard answered. “But he asked that no one disturb him, for he is making important plans with Sir Jeonghan.”

Plans with Jeonghan?

Yewon felt a chill down her spine as she considered what it meant that he was making plans with Jeonghan. Military plans? Attacking? Yewon knew that Jeonghan was eager to extend the war, but she didn’t know if Seungcheol would agree to it. The fact that such a man was making plans about her country with Seungcheol made her anxious all of the sudden.

She opened the door despite the guards moving forward to stop her. They didn’t stop her in time though, because she saw all that she needed to see in order to understand.

She opened the door just enough to get a glance of both Jeonghan and Seungcheol, but they were not “making plans.” They were not even talking. They were tangled up in each other’s arms, chests bare and lips together.

A/N: surprise? I don’t think I can write a story without including a ship in it somehow lmao. i know some of yall won't like this, but i just wanna let you know that this ship is not going to be central in this story at all

anyhow, I gave SO MANY hints about jeongcheol but no one caught on to them. im happy i surprised you though lmao

ANYHOW, sorry this chapter is both late and short, but i'm too busy listening to Seventeen's new album on repeat so CAN YOU BLAME ME?? (ISN'T HIGHLIGHT LIKE THE BEST SONG OF ALL TIME????)