The moonlight was his only beacon when Hyeon Joon left the palace that night. He crept stealthily as he vaulted over the palace walls, and made sure to stay within the darkest shadows.

Hyeon Joon made sure that no one else was following him when he arrived. It was dark and the person he was meeting stood even further in the shadows, as if they did not want to be seen by even him. He gave a bow and stood silently waiting to be spoken to.

“I received word that you have been brought into the 4th prince’s quarters. Is that correct?”

He nodded wordlessly.

“Things seem to be going better than planned. It will put you in direct target of that wench and her daughter.”

By those words, Hyeon Joon knew that this person was referring to the 4th princess Soo and her daughter Seol. 

For as long as he had been working for this person, Hyeon Joon did not understand the hatred directed towards the 4th princess. From his experience, Princess Soo carried herself very well and was compassionate. Despite being born into a noble family, she treated everyone equally, no matter their standing. If someone had committed a wrong, the 4th princess would not hesitate to put them in their place. Even then it was not a harsh punishment, but rather a reprimand and advice for future improvement. Still, he supposed things ran differently in the royal circles. Even brothers and sisters could not get along amiably without having the thought of harming each other.

“How long have you been guarding their quarters?”

“Three weeks now, your highness.”

“Then you should be ready within a week to proceed with the plan. Someone will send for you.”

“Will there be anything else, your highness?”

“That will be all. Leave.”

With a retreating bow,  Hyeon Joon made to leave but he was stopped.

“Ah, I forgot. I wonder what will happen to your mother this time if you fail.”

Those words made his entire body stiffen, and Hyeon Joon froze. He should have been used to these threats by now, but whenever the topic of his mother came up he was helpless.

“Of course, you should know the consequences by now.”

The person turned to leave, and when Hyeon Joon could no longer hear footsteps, he finally let out the breath he was holding.

Hyeon Joon stayed silent as he quickly left and made his way back to the palace. He had a few close run-ins the the guards near the gates but he was able to make it back to his room without being caught.  

As he changed and got ready for bed, he wondered if what he was doing was right. He knew that he was simply a pawn in this game ran by the royals, but at this point he was too deep in. If he valued his life, he had to follow orders and hoped that his superiors would be merciless if they decided to turn their backs on him. It was times like this that he knew he had committed a sin in his past life; how else could he explain his current circumstance?

As he settled down to bed, his thoughts drifted to his mother who was living by herself in the village. He had been able to afford better medication for his ailing mother’s health with his current job, but he was unsure of how long this would last. Although her condition was improving, and he had found some neighbors who were willing to check in on his mother for him, he was unsure of what would happen to his mother if he were to be gone forever.

After a few minutes of despair, he shook his head and his side to get more comfortable. He could not think this way; he would not. He had come too far now to fail.

-----

It was a week later that Soo and So were settling into their chambers. They were just getting ready for bed when Guard Kim burst into the room without being announced.

“Your highness, we are being attacked!”

Soo and So shared a look before giving each other a nod and went about their own tasks. Soo hurriedly bundled up Seol to go to the secret room while So grabbed his sword and rushed out the door with Guard Kim.

When So made it out into the night air, he saw dark figures appearing from over the walls and he quickly pulled out his sword as he rushed headlong into attack. As he made his way through the invaders, he saw Jung and Baek Ah holding their own as well. His selected guards were also doing their best to defend the quarters. 

As he knocked another person unconscious, he darted over just in time to save a blow to Jung’s back. 

“Do your best to not spill blood. I want this taken care of in the cleanest way possible.”

“Yes So hyungnim.”

And with that they separated to go about their own battles. So stayed on the defense for as long as necessary, and parred his way through most of the attacks. It was his goal to take care of this as quietly as possible so that not too much attention would be drawn.

As he hit another invader on the head rendering them unconscious, he frowned grimly when he saw more jump over the wall. Whoever had been backing these men up surely had the manpower. Despite it being years since he had been on the battlefield, his body knew the motions very well and continued to have an upperhand on the masked men.

He eventually made his way to Baek Ah, their backs were facing each other as they both took care of their own assailants.

“Looks there are a lot more than we expected, So hyungnim.”

“Still, they don’t seem all that bad.”

Baek Ah sent his assailant to the ground before he was met with another one.

“Easy for you to say!” he gritted as he blocked a particularly strong sword .

“You held a paintbrush more often than a sword but look at you now,” Baek Ah heard So say before they separated.

Baek Ah had no idea how his brother could joke in this situation, but he supposed that So was much more used to this than he was. He threw off the attack and blocked a few more attacks before he was able to disarm and knock another man unconscious. Still, he had to admit, he would not have expected himself capable of this years ago. It was only thanks to the tough but careful training of So hyungnim that he was able to do what he could now.

Plus, he had more to protect now Baek Ah thought as the image of Woo Hee flashed across his mind before he went head to head with another man.

Soo did her own job by making sure Seol was safe with Eun Bi and Arang before equipping herself and going out into the night. 

“Please stay safe, your highness,” Eun Bi said softly as Soo turned to leave the secret room. 

Soo turned back around and offered a reassuring smile before she motioned for Arang to close the door securely behind her.

For the most part, Soo didn’t encounter that many people because So had already done his part when he left by leaving a trail of men in his wake. However, she did make sure that all the men he had left stayed unconscious so they could be imprisoned without a hassle later. 

As much as she wanted to help out too, So made her promise not to join unless it was absolutely necessary. Still, that didn’t mean that she didn’t hold her own when a few invaders saw her and made their way to her. 

Jung made eye contact with her at one point and she nodded briefly before slipping into the shadows to stay hidden. Jung shook his head before he went to take care of some more men. Of course Soo hyungsoonim would not settle staying safely in her room. Still, it would not be her if she did.

He suddenly remembered back to when she had just entered the palace. He was only just perfecting his sword skills, his level nowhere near that of So hyungnim’s. It had been years from then and now even he could hold his own against his older brother. 

The night wore on as they defended their quarters. Soon after some time, they had managed to knock out all of the invaders. Everyone had for the most part suffered very minor injuries, but they knew that Soo would fuss over them none-the-less.

Jung sent word for the royal guards to come and help So’s personal guards to round up the bodies as everyone else gathered in the courtyard. Soo joined So by his side and he made sure to examine her from head to toe.

“Are you all right, Soo ya?”

“Of course I am! I’m more worried about everyone else. You must have your wounds attended to before you leave.”

The brothers laughed good-naturedly, expecting this reaction from their sister-in-law. After their mirth subsided, they all grew serious again.

“Was anyone able to identify the origin of these men?” Baek Ah wondered.

Jung shook his head, but shrugged.

“I’m not surprised if they were hired from somewhere outside the palace.”

“Regardless of who they are, we will have to be careful that they do not do anything rash in the prisons before they are interrogated,” Soo said quietly.

It was a well-known tactic for mercenaries or assassins to kill themselves before being interrogated in order to protect their masters. Although she did not witness it during her time in the prisons in the past, it was something So had briefly mentioned to her in the passing.

So pulled Soo close and patted her shoulder comfortably.

“You do not need to worry about that. We along with the prison guards will make sure that they are taken care for.”

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from behind them. Everyone turned around abruptly and put up their weapons, ready to attack. They both saw two masked men, not dissimilar to the ones they had knocked out. However, both men raised their arms in defense before one of them spoke.

“So hyungnim, it is us.”