Jun was gone the next day, and Yewon was only slighty relieved.

There was, however, one other person that Yewon wished would be banished from the castle as well: her maid Sungyeon. Yewon hated Sungyeon with everything she had. Anytime that woman walked into her room, Yewon wanted to jump out a window.

Sungyeon was colder to her than Seungcheol was. She never had a smile on her face and never did anything to Yewon without hurting her. Yewon’s dresses were always too tight; her baths were always scorching hot; Sungyeon’s hands on her body felt like someone was pummeling her. It made Yewon hate her life in Solen more than anything else did.

She did not tell her parents about Sungyeon though. She did not want to worry them, because they already seemed so much different. Maybe it was because they were not King and Queen anymore, and so this demotion was emotionally taxing for them; they were more quiet, more reserved, and less happy altogether.

Her wedding was in a few days, and her parents were leave the morning after that. They were the only connection she had to Galacia left in this country, and so she dreaded when the time would come when they would leave her alone in this dreadful palace.

She did not cry when she was in front of them, but she did cry a lot in those days. Whenever she thought about them leaving, she felt so irreversibly depressed, like nothing could possibly make it better.

And so she spent as much time as she could with them. She never left their side in the few days before her wedding. She felt closer to them than ever before, and realized just how much she loved them, even her stoic, hard-hearted father.

But even her stoic, hard-hearted father seemed looser than usual.

“It hurts him to let you go,” her mother had told her. “He’s so guilty for putting you through this. It’s really eating him up inside.”

Yewon felt like that was an overstatement on her mother’s part. Maybe he feels a little remorseful, but not to the point that it would be eating him up inside.

Still, her father talked to her about honor and dignity. About how she should act in front of her husband, what she should do for him. About how proud she should be to be in this position. And of course, he emphasized a thousand times how important it was for her to bear a son.

He also had told her to stay away from Jeonghan. He didn’t have to ask her to do that; Yewon had already planned to avoid that intolerant chauvinist at all costs.

Apart from spending time with her family, she also got to know the royal family of Solen better. She saw Soonyoung with his hands all over another woman in the middle of the hallways in the palace, and everyone else walked by as if it were a common sight to behold. Yulhee was loud, obnoxious and extremely talkative. Yewon sometimes wanted to cover her ears during meals when she would be sitting nearby and blabbering on and on about random things.

She did not see Seungcheol though. Apparently, it was custom in Solen for a groom not to see his bride for five days before the wedding, so he did not come to any royal meals or attend any of the royal meetings.

Apart from all of this, Solenese women had also started grooming her for her wedding night.

It was fast approaching, her wedding. But she was less worried about her wedding than she was about her wedding night.

She had always dreamed of her wedding night, always imagined it in the most excessive of details. Her novels had made the wedding night seem like the most exhilarating experience in the world, and so she had looked forward to it and wished that it would come sooner. Now, she dreaded it so much.

She knew it wouldn’t be like it was in her novels. There would be no passion between them at all. It would hurt. A lot. It would be awkward and painful and Yewon would just want it to be over. It would be pleasurable for him but it would be nearly traumatizing for her.

How did it come to this? Yewon thought. She went from dreaming about to dreading it.

Her mother had gone over all the details, and warned her that it would hurt. She had also told her to let it hurt, and to let Seungcheol have his way.

“Remember Yewon. You need a son, so let him want this. Give him the pleasure he wants, even at the expense of your pain. It would all be done for Galacia.”

It seemed so wrong for her mother to say that to her, but at the same time, her mother was right.

-

It was wedding day.

Yewon was groomed, bathed and clothed by an assembly of women, including Sungyeon. But today, for some reason, Sungyeon was softer on her body. The water of her bath was not scorching hot. The hairs on her head were not pulled from her scalp. Her hands did not leave any bruise on her body.

Yewon felt hollow throughout the process of being cleaned and dressed for her wedding. She could not help but feel like her life was being stolen from her.

This was her wedding. It came so quickly, and she would never have another one. She would not experience any romance. She remembered Jisoo and how she had always dreamed that it would be him she would be preparing for.

She was supposed to be happy. That’s how it was in the novels. But she was so far from happy.

-

The wedding ceremony had finally started. She entered the ballroom, and walked with her father and mother at her side towards him. She kept a strong face, and avoided all signs of anxiety.

Seungcheol was sitting on a smaller throne. When she approached him, he stood up and bowed to her, as was custom in Solenese weddings.

She then took a seat on the throne beside him.

It was all she had to do: sit. A priest had come to seal their marriage, a small crown was placed on her head. And just like that, Seungcheol became her husband.

People came up to congratulate them, and Seungcheol received the congratulations from everyone professionally as any prince should. Yewon only sat there and bowed her head to everyone.

An hour into it, she remembered that her wedding night was approaching. It was right after this ceremony. And it would be with this man who did not even look at her. After she spent the entire day getting groomed and dressed and powdered, she got no acknowledgement from him at all. Not even a word. Nothing. He just did the rehearsed performance and that was it.

Yewon felt so angry and ugly, and she blamed him for it. She blamed him, but she was also so afraid of him, and how he would hurt her that night.

When all the congratulations were done, Yewon asked Seungcheol if she could sit with her parents. He simply nodded his head, but did not even look at her. She stood up and walked to where they were. A servant quickly brought a chair beside her mother for her to sit on.

Her mother immediately wrapped her arms around Yewon and began to cry. Yewon wished she would stop, because now Yewon wanted to cry too.

She was strong enough to hold in the tears though.

Yewon and her mother did not talk. There was nothing to say really. These were the last moments in her mother’s arms before she would be subjected to that cold, cold man, before she would lose her ity to him.

“You should go to your husband. He’s alone and probably bored,” her mother said.

Yewon turned to see him still sitting on the throne, the same cold expression on his face. He looked almost lonely, and Yewon wondered why his “best friend” Jeonghan was not with him.

“I don’t want to go back to him,” Yewon complained.

“Go entertain him,” her mother ordered.

“Mom…”

“Go,” she said more forcefully, nudging her away.

Yewon did as she was told, cursing under her breath and hating that the prince was such a loner, tearing her away from her mother who would be leaving her the next day.

She took a seat in her place. He, again, did not turn to look at her.

“Where is Jeonghan?” Yewon asked him.

“Don’t talk to me,” he said.

Yewon felt so rudely silenced by that. He was so discourteous and vulgar. To think this was the person her body would pleasure at the expense of its pain. When she remembered the nearness of her wedding night, her head began to spin and she felt like she was spiraling into darkness. The culmination of all this negative energy was pushing her to the verge of tears, and she would have cried had he not said what he said next.

“The custom in Solen is that the bride and groom not talk or look at each other during the ceremony,” he murmured.

Oh. That explanation calmed her down a little bit. At least there was a reason for all his coldness. At least there was a reason he wasn’t speaking or looking at her.

And so, she followed that custom. For the remainder of the ceremony, she did not look at nor speak to him...

...until the time had finally come. Seungcheol locked his arms with Yewon’s, as was the custom, and they were led to her chambers where the consummation would take place.

A/N: I promise I will not leave yall hanging on this cliff lol. I will update very soon! remember that there will be absolutely nothing explicit at all though ~