She hadn’t realized how long she had been looking until the sound of footsteps upon the stairs caught her attention. She turned around to meet So and Ji Mong.

“Your highness, Ji Mong. Is everything going according to plan?”

“We have an army, though I am unsure if it will be large enough to defend Cheondeokjeon,” So said as he looked worriedly at Ji Mong.

Ji Mong tried to lighten up the atmosphere by chuckling.

“But your highness, you already make up half of an army. We do not need anymore soldiers!”

So cracked a smile at the joke, and Soo had to do the same.

“The Crown Prince is lucky to have you on his side, your highness,” she said before a soldier noisily made his way up the stairs.

“Your highness! Soldiers have started marching towards the palace. The attack is about to begin!”

They all looked at each other before rushing down the stairs. However, before Soo could set her foot down on the first step, So stopped her.

“Soo ya, stay here. It will be safer.”

“But..!”

“Please, for my sake,” he pleaded, eyes staring into her own. With a reluctant sigh, she nodded. But as he began to leave, she stopped him.

“So ya?”

He turned around, eyes searching her own. She smiled and reached out to touch his cheek.

“Please be careful.”

His eyes widened slightly at her touch, and he placed his hand on hers briefly before removing it gently.

“I will, do not worry.”

With a quick smile, So followed Ji Mong and the soldier down the rest of the stairs.

So was right. What use would she be if she followed them down to the courtyard? She could not fight, and it would be safer for her up in the astronomy tower. At least she could see everything from here. Making her way back to the balcony, she gasped to see how far the army had come, and the vast numbers of soldiers that marched in lines. She then saw So make his way to the frontlines of their defending army. At the front of the oncoming troops, she could see the figures of the 3^rd and 8^th prince.

When the army had stopped marching, she could see an exchange of words before Wook suddenly leapt forward to attack So. She held her breath during the entire fight, hoping neither of them would get hurt. However, she could see a difference between the two men fighting.

While So was simply blocking Wook’s attacks, and trying to disarm him, the nature of Wook’s attacks were only meant to do one thing: kill. She could only imagine what would have happened if she had not warned So about the attack. Would they have barged in to kill anyone who got in their way? If they had found So unarmed, she knew that Wook wouldn’t have hesitated even a little bit before going in for the kill. To think that Wook was using her to get to So, made her blood boil.

The fight continued on, the archers beginning to shoot at the enemy troops, but before anything else could happen, more troops began to run into the courtyard. No, they couldn’t have brought even more troops, could they?

But thankfully, she was wrong. The troops separated to form an aisle, and she could see the Crown Prince and Baek Ah enter. So and Wook had broken their hold on each other, and Wook immediately turned his sword onto the 3^rd prince. He had been on the Crown Prince’s side the entire time! She knew he was testing her, but she did not know it was to this extent. As she saw soldiers push the 3^rd prince to his knees, Ji Mong arrived and gave the decree, saying that the King had passed away, and his successor was to be Crown Prince Moo. At once, Wook went down on his knees, followed by So and the rest of the troops to greet the new King.

Crown Prince Moo, now King, walked into the King Taejo’s quarters, and when he disappeared behind the doors, she could see So and Wook direct most of the troops out of the courtyard, while others carried the bodies of injured soldiers away to be treated. The fight was over, but she was still worried about So. Making her way down the stairs carefully, Soo went to look for the 4^th prince. When she had arrived, he was speaking to General Park.

“I always knew Wook was intelligent, but he played his cards very wisely today,” he said.

The General nodded his head.

“I agree, but that only means he is must be carefully watched. If he was willing to betray your 3^rd brother like that, it means he is willing to do whatever it takes for him to succeed.”

“I know…he was the one who attacked me today. I would not put it past him to leave me alive if he had the chance to eliminate me.”

It was only then that So noticed her presence, and his eyes widened.

“Soo ya.”

“Your highness, are you all right? Have you been hurt?”

His serious face melted away into a smile as he heard her question.

“I am all right, Soo ya. It was not a long fight.”

The general chuckled and elbowed So in the ribs, resulting in a grimace from the 4^th prince.

“Lady Soo, you must give our 4^th prince more credit. A tiff like that would not get him hurt….unless he has been losing his touch.”

“General Park, you talk too much,” So grumbled.

Soo laughed at their interaction. Of course, he was the 4^th prince after all, famed for his skill in swords and martial arts. Still, she was relieved that he had not been hurt. She didn’t know what she would do with herself if that had happened.

“Still, you had to raise your sword because of the 8^th prince. I am glad to hear that you are unhurt, your highness.”

“Your highness!”

They all turned towards Ji Mong as he made his way to them.

“What is it, Ji Mong?”

“The Crown Prince would like to see you,” he said before turning to General Park, “And you as well, General.”

The 4^th prince and General looked at each other before nodding. So made to leave but not before flashing a grin at Soo, who smiled back. The General smirked at their interaction before following the 4^th prince. Ji Mong then turned to address her.

“Lady Soo, could you prepare tea for tonight? I believe the Crown Prince will want an audience with you as well, as soon as he is finished with matters here.”

“Of course, Ji Mong.

“You remember his favorite tea?”

She suddenly remembered the time where she had begged Baek Ah to find out what the 4^th prince’s favorite tea and snacks were. She was trying to make it up to him after he revealed his scar, and in the process, Baek Ah told her all the other princes’ favorite teas as well, just so she could avoid suspicion.

“I do. I shall prepare it for him.”

If she remembered correctly, the Crown Prince liked black tea, but once she had given him oolong tea to improve his skin, he declared that he would have that from then on, instead of black tea.

As she walked towards Damiwon, she tried to remember how to prepare the tea. However, her thoughts were interrupted as she rounded the corner, and saw the 8^th prince standing in the distance. Remembering how he had tricked her, and the way he had attacked So, she didn’t really want to talk to him now. She tried to sneak past without him noticing, but things never went the way she wanted.

“Soo ya!”

“Your highness,” she said with a formal bow.

He walked towards her with a smile on his face.

“You hid, just like I asked you to.”

“I did not hide.”

“Soo ya?”

He reached towards her but she simply backed up to avoid his touch.

“You were on the Crown Prince’s side. Why did you lie to me like that? You did it on purpose, right?”

“I did not mean to upset you, but I had to make sure you were on my side.”

“If you were on the same side as the Crown Prince, then we were on the same side! You knew I was following the King’s wishes, and yet you fooled me into thinking you were with the 3^rd prince.”

“And I was wrong for doubting you. You listened to me and hid yourself before the battle was over.”

“Do you think you tricked me that easily? I may have thought you were with the 3^rd prince, but I knew the Crown Prince was in Hubaekje.”

His eyes widened, realizing that she had known about him testing her from the beginning.

“Furthermore, you were the first one to attack today. I may have not been there, but I watched everything from the astronomy tower. You weren’t planning to kill the 4^th prince, were you?”

His eyes hardened as he gritted his teeth. She knew that this was the real Wook, the one who had revealed himself the night he visited her at the river near the Gyobang.

“I was not lying when I said I planned to become king. Nothing bad will come from getting rid of those who will get in my way later.”

She let out a hard breath, heart pounding. How could he do that to her? Did he not see how much in pain she was after Court Lady Oh died? And yet he was willingly to use her against So.

“I was the cause of what happened to Court Lady Oh. You knew how much pain that caused me, yet you were going to use me to kill the 4^th prince?”

“What about you? Why did you hide the truth from me? I wanted you to tell me the King had died.”

“The King asked me to help the Crown Prince. That was the logical thing, and I could not go against that; I did not want to go against it.”

“Did you not care if I died?”

“The 4^th prince promised that he would not hurt you.”

There was a silence as he took in the words she had just spoken. Despite her not having any more feelings for him, Soo still cared for the 8^th prince. And although it may have been difficult for him to see that considering their recent interactions, she could see that the 8^th prince had never truly trusted her. She could see he did not believe she had asked the 4^th prince to save him from harm.

“You pleaded for my life with So?”

“I merely asked him not to hurt you. He never wanted to hurt you either, so it was not a plea, merely an unnecessary reminder.”

“Even so, we do not know when he could turn on us. He was not raised like us, Soo ya. He is wild, and—”

“You said you were doing this for me, but you are fooling yourself. It is clear that you are doing this for yourself.”

“No, Soo ya. I am doing this for us!”

“Perhaps you started off doing so, but along the way you have lost your original intention. Even for a moment, have you ever been sure of my feelings for you? Have you ever trusted me completely?”

He kept silent, but she had expected that. He never did trust her, and she didn’t think she could trust him ever again.

“I will not seek you out anymore, your highness. I hope you will do the same. Our fate ends here.”

She gave a bow before turning around to walk away.

“Is it because of the 4^th prince?”

Soo supposed he was making the right assumption. It was because of the 4^th prince that Soo became aware of who truly deserved her attention. Although she and Wook had shared love, it was not between two truthful people. They both hid parts of themselves from each other, and now it was coming back to bite them. With So, she never had to do that, and he was always truthful with her, always loyal, and selfless. Furthermore, he had no desire for the throne, and she wanted to stay away from the 8^th prince, who had been plotting for the throne since who knows when.

She ignored him and kept walking.

“I will make you come back to me.”

 She continued to distance herself even more, mentally and physically from the 8^th prince. All the while, the only thing she could think about was how she would not go back to the 8^th prince, and even if he tried to bring her back, it would not be easy.

Thank you for reading and for all of those who have left comments! Please continue to comment, and share if you can. I shall see you all in the next chapter :D