Sehun stopped right in front of the door, trying to catch his breathe as soon as possible. His whole body feels so heated up and wet of sweat due to sprinting too fast. Taking deep breathes as frequently as he could, he fanned himself by pulling and releasing the fabric on his chest multiple times. 

"His Majesty requires your presence immediately, my prince," one of the butlers interrupted as he was about to ask another maid to call for Hye Young. "They say His Majesty himself found the Princess and a door guard behaving suspiciously."

As soon as the last sentence reached his ears, suddenly his tired and sleepy eyes are charged up and all he could think of is that he needs to help Hye Young as fast as possible. A set of possible political answers ran through his mind, trying to plan the right words to say to get Hye Young free from his father's fearful grasps. His father is better at this than he is but he must try. 

Hye Young, please, just please be okay.

Clearing his throat and letting out a short breath, Sehun motioned for the door guard to announce his presence. 

"Come in," Came the ever so familiar cold and stern voice of his father. 

Trying to keep his steps as steady as possible and fighting the urge to clench his fists that he knew would only further agitate his father, Sehun walked in almost emotionlessly. Jun Young stared at his only son, noticing the drop of sweat at the edge of his temples but see nothing readable on his youthful face. 

Hye Young was kneeling to Jun Young merely a few hundred feet away, her head bowed down low and her nervousness is shown by her visibly trembling fingers. Sehun softly touched the sides of her arms and whispered, "Get up." 

"N-No.." she stammered. "I need to apo-..apolo-" 

"I have made it clear that I don't require your apology!" 

Sehun could feel her shudder dramatically at the booming of his father's voice that echoed in the room filled with only them three. Momentarily closing his eyes, he squeezed Hye Young's arms to ease her nervousness slightly. Looking up, his father's eyes were burning with anger and it is piercing him like a thousand swords. 

"Father," Sehun crouched down beside his wife, his hands still on her arms. "My wife did nothing wrong." 

Jun Young stared at his son with eyes burning so hot it could have killed him. Bravely enough, Sehun looked back at him straight in the eye, not afraid one bit at all as if he did not do anything wrong. As if Hye Young did not do anything wrong. His stare at his father was of bravery and determination. 

"You know of this man, son?" His father's tone lowered slightly, studying Sehun's face. Sehun must be ready for an explanation, or else he wouldn't be walking into the room looking all confident.

"Yes, father," he replied calmly. Hye Young opened to say something, but Sehun's squeeze on her shoulders made her stop. She gulped, stopping the urge to interfere and let Sehun do the talking. Sehun knows nothing of Baekhyun, why is he lying right now? What if the king finds out? He is risking too much and yet Hye Young don't have the courage to help him at all. 

"And..?" Jun Young walked towards the couple, almost impatient at Sehun's explanation speed. 

"He is but a door guard of the palace gates and my wife is the crown princess of our country," Sehun slowly reminded. "They knew each other before we got married, but Hye Young had never once thought of him as more than a friend." 

"How are you so sure about that?" Jung Young hissed at him. "What were they doing at the waterfall doing such insolent acts if they were nothing but friends?!" 

"I heard all about what had happened, father," Sehun pulled Hye Young to stand up with him. This time, she just followed suit, her nervousness starting to subside with Sehun beside her. She feels protected with him beside her, though she knew the situation doesn't look right yet. She gripped on Sehun's sleeves, trying not to hurt him with her nails. 

"My wife was alone by the waterfall as she was approached by this guard. She lost footing when she was about to stand up and even her book was dropped into the waters," Sehun explained. His eyes glanced at the nearby floor where he had dropped the book he was holding onto when he grabbed onto Hye Young's shoulder. "I can guarantee you that that is her book, I have seen her reading it for the past few days. I am sure a lot of other maids could testify this." 

"I couldn't care less about that damned book! I only care about what's between my daughter-in-law and that lowly guard." 

Jun Young's impatience is growing with Sehun's explanation. Curling his fists, he took a few steps towards Sehun and Hye Young. Feeling Hye Young's grip on his sleeves, Sehun pushed her to hide behind him. 

"So is that all that you think of what's happened, Sehun?" Jun Young asked again, gritting his teeth. "Do you really trust Hye Young that much?"

"That lowly guard has touched my wife and he should be beheaded for doing so! He has no such rights over Hye Young to even look at her in the eye," Sehun's voice was so loud, Hye Young closed her eyes in fright. He had never raised his voice that high before. "My Hye Young is innocent and I trust her more than anybody or anything in this whole world, my king. She wouldn't betray me." 

Jun Young narrowed his eyes at his answer. "Why do you trust her?" 

"I was born a prince and fated to be the king; neither of that is of my choice," Sehun said. "Marrying Hye Young was my own choice; not you nor the throne's choice. On our wedding night, she gave me her chastity even though she had known the guard for years. She is mine and mine alone... and I trust her. It is nobody's fault but his' and that guard should be fully responsible for his reckless act of touching the princess; a member of the royal family and my wife." 

Jun Young sighed inwardly at his answer, seeing how Hye Young is still hiding behind her husband in silence and fear. With Jun Young's hesitation and his face that looked like he had nothing else to say, Sehun bowed at his father and pulled Hye Young to walk out of the room with him. Hye Young gave a quick bow and trie to keep up with Sehun's speed as he held onto her sweaty palms and walked in silence all the way to their bedroom.

-

As soon as they entered the bedroom, Sehun released her hand and d