If anyone was asked in the kingdom of Caratland what their prince was like, they'd all tell you good things. He was an honest man, maybe harsh with his ways, but always just and never one to tolerate anything less. That was how he ran his kingdom and it was why many, if not all, of his subjects loved him. 

His people adored him and they often showered him with gifts whenever they could. Farmers would bring the best cattle they had as thanks for the prince lowering their debt. Bakers would bring him their best goods, often going out of their way to buy luxuries such as sugar to make something delicious for the prince to enjoy as a way of showing their gratitude for the man promising to restock their shop after they had been robbed. And families would come and go with whatever they could afford as gifts to thank the man that had offered to help their children pay for a higher education.

The kingdom was a better place because of him and everyone loved him.

From the surface.

They loved him for his charity but that's all the people of Caratland could make claim to. Beyond that, no one really knew anything about their beloved prince, besides the select few that were hand picked by the prince himself to be part of his court. 

The prince usually came off as closed off and indifferent. Never really showing emotions and speaking very few words if a conversation was not necessary.

He was a man that kept to himself most of the time, usually spending his free time either going for walks along his personal garden or locking himself in his chambers with a good book. He rarely showed his face around the kingdom, although one could argue that was for his own safety, and he never really stayed long for public gatherings. Rather, he would show his face when he was needed and then he would find a way to escape before too much unwanted attention could be drawn to him. He didn't show interest in money, power or women either. Despite his striking good looks and the many proposals that came his way, the prince was never one seek pleasure in such a way, even if just for a night.

As far as the kingdom knew, he was a , pure and untouched. Not even a rumor to go around of a possible lover by his side. And not even a clue if he had ever invited a into his chambers, despite his access to the finest brothels in all of Caratland.

Some saw this fact as sweet and romantic, mainly young women who dreamed of being the one true love for the prince. While others, such as the king himself and other elders of the court, saw this as something troublesome. The prince was already 22 and preparing to take over the thrown officially. It was expected that he would be wed by his birthday 20th upon becoming a man and that he would already be expecting a new heir to the thrown by his 21st. But seeing as that didn't happen, due to the prince's own pickiness and stubborn personality, the king grew increasingly worried about whether or not he ever would have a grandchild to carry on the family name and their precious bloodline. 

It had gotten to the point where the king began to take every proposal very seriously, hoping to convince his son in finally taking a woman by his side.

Sometimes the king would invite a few nobles and their daughters for supper, demanding for the Prince's presence, and other times he would insist on his son going out in the town to accompany a lady on a walk through the market. Of course, the prince would find a way out of all of those, seeing them as a waste of time, and that only made the king more desperate in his attempts. 

Which was why now the king found himself whispering in his sons ear to really consider his latest proposal.

They were currently in the grand hall of the palace holding a public meeting to hear the concerns of the general public. They did this once a month where nobles, commoners and even beggars were welcomed into the palace to discuss problems within the kingdom and they would all ask the royal family for some sort of help or guidance. One by one they would all state their case and the king and prince, along with the help of their advisors, would decide how to best handle the situation. 

This is where the prince would shine and where the stories of his kindness really stemmed from. He would sit beside his father, take every issue into consideration and then made decisions that he thought were the best. Almost every time the people would be pleased...except for when the prince would flat out deny their requests. It didn't happen often, but when it did, the prince made it clear the his decision was final.

And this was one of those times where the prince put his foot down, completely ignoring his father and his attempts to sway his decision.

"Son, at least listen to what they have to say." the king insisted.

"Please your highness. My daughter is about to come of age. She is a beautiful young lady and I'm sure she would make the perfect bride for you." A noble man pleaded but the prince was only bored by his words. Seeing the Prince's reaction, the man nudged his daughter whispering for her to kneel and urging her to speak finally.

"Your highness," the girl started, her voice melodic, "please do consider me. A girl cannot love her country without loving her prince first, and that I do. Please sir, nothing would make me happier than to stand by your side. I will care for you and love you for as long as I live...and one day I would like to carry your child." The girl said, finishing her speech with hopeful eyes .

But that did nothing to the prince. If anything, it only annoyed him more. How many times had he heard such words? Repeated and rehearsed declarations of love that were shallow and only used to achieve an ulterior motive. All the girls that came his way were all the same. Daughters of noblemen and princesses of neighboring countries, all of them hoping to make their families proud by snatching the heart of Caratland's most eligible bachelor. However, none thus far have been able to do so and this one would be no different from the rest.

"Lady Yuna, was it?" The prince spoke, "Your father speaks highly of you and he did not exaggerate your beauty. You seem lovely and I'm sure that you are. But I am simply not interested in what you have to offer. Especially if all you can give me are forced smiles and empty words."

"Jeonghan!" His father spoke, not liking the Prince's blunt words. But the prince just ignored the scolding look and continued on.

"I'm sure you and your father prepared long and well for this opportunity in hopes that I would say yes. But I am not looking to take a woman by my side just yet. If I were you, I would search for a man that would truly love you. And not just someone to keep your father happy." And with that, Prince Jeonghan dismissed them and had the guards see them out.

The king was obviously not happy with his son's disinterest in yet another lady but Jeonghan couldn't care less and was more interested in sorting out more issues within his kingdom.

Subjects came and went, presenting their cases and Jeonghan would deal with them all accordingly just like he usually did. All of the problems were always the same, either to do with personal conflicts or some sort of money issue and truth be told, Jeonghan was getting a little bored. Two of his advisors, Joshua and Woozi, often had to remind the prince to pay full attention but it was hard to when he had more or less heard it all before.

That was until the next person was brought to the center of the grand hall. He was a tall fat man, hairy all over, and he was dragging with him a boy that seemed to be struggling to escape from the large man's bruising grip.

"State your name and the issue you would like to discuss." Hoshi, another one of Jeonghan's advisors, announced.

"Your highness, my name is Kim Sang Il and I am a butcher from the main market just outside the palace. This morning I caught this little rat stealing trying to steal from my shop!" The butcher yelled, emphasizing his point by throwing the young man onto the floor. "And this isn't his first time your highness! I've seen this little scoundrel stealing all sorts from around the market. He's nothing but a little thief and you should have him locked up!"

Prince Jeonghan took a moment to look over the said thief and he was taken aback by the look on the boy's face. He had just been accused of a crime in the grand hall and imprisonment was a very likely outcome, yet unlike most who would try to deny such a thing, this boy looked guilty. His head was down and Jeonghan could swear that he saw tears threatening to spill from his big brown eyes.

"What's your name?" Jeonghan found himself asking.

The sudden question earned the prince a few stares, especially from his advisors, but Jeonghan ignored them and kept his gaze on the shaking boy before him. And when he didn't answer, Jeonghan asked him again.

"Choi...Choi Seungcheol." He finally answered.

"And how old are you? You seem a little young to be out on the streets."

"18, sir." The boy answered, keeping his gaze down.

The prince was rather shocked at hearing the boy's age. He was so thin and small, Jeonnghan had thought that he was no more than 15. 

"With all due respect, your highness, I don't see what the boy's age has to do with any of this. He stole from me and he should be punished!" The butcher interrupted rather angrily and Jeonghan did not like the tone he was addressed with.

"You should know your place Mr. Kim." Jeonghan said, trying to keep his cool. "You brought your problem to me and now I am trying to resolve it. But before then I would like to hear from the boy. After all, it is his fate that we are deciding." And with that the prince turned towards the boy...well young man...and asked him to explain if and why he stolen from the butcher.

"I'm sorry." Seungcheol started. "I...I hadn't eaten anything in days and I was so hungry. I only took a chicken's foot. I...I didn't think he'd miss it. Most people throw them out so I thought..." But he couldn't finish his words because he was shaking too much. His apologies coming out as whimpers in between little sniffles and Jeonghan felt something tug in his chest.

"How long have you been stealing?" Was Jeonghan's next question.

"...all my life. I do it to survive. It's the only way I've been able to live so long within this kingdom." Seungcheol replied quietly while clutching at his sides and Jeonghan was surprised again by the blatant honesty.

"Do you have a family." Jeonghan's top advisor, Joshua, had asked.

"No...I...It's just me. I don't have a family." Seungcheol said and both Jeonghan and Joshua shared a sympathetic look.

"Just let the boy spend a few nights in a jail cell and then throw him back onto the streets." The king suggested and Jeonghan threw him a pointed look. Normally that would be how they dealt with most cases like this but something about Seungcheol made Jeonghan not want to do that.

The young man was...honest. Even with his own life on the line, he spoke the truth and that was not something Jeonghan had come across in a long time. It intrigued the young prince and it made him think carefully about his decision.

"Alright...I've decided that you will stay here in the palace." Jeonghan said, breaking the silence in the grand hall and many whispers broke out after that, along with a sound of protest from the king.

"Absolutely not! I will not be housing some thief from the streets Jeonghan! Just lock him up and then throw him out like I suggested!" His father yelled but Jeonghan would have none of it.

"Father, you make every political decision for this kingdom but you left me with the duty of the people! In these meetings I make the decisions and this is what I've decided. He will repay his debt for whatever he has stolen by serving me. He will stay in the servant's quarters and he will work strictly under my orders. And it will be like that until I say otherwise." Jeonghan said with conviction and even he himself was shocked at how passionately he was fighting for this.

"Very well," the king conceded, "he will be your responsibility and if things start going missing from the palace then it's on you." The man said, giving Jeonghan permission to do as he pleased with his new servant.

Jeonghan smiled at having won the verbal battle but it was quickly erased when the angry butcher voiced his opposition to his decision. And not wanting to hear anymore from the man, Jeonghan had his guards the man out of the hall with a wave of his hand. 

Now all that was left was sorting things out for the young man he had just taken in under his wing. 

"Woozi, take Seungcheol to the servant's quarters and have Sunny settle him in. Make sure she teaches him all he needs to know and next week he will officially start his work."

And with a nod, his good friend got out of his seat next to Joshua and walked over to Seungcheol who was still on his knees with his head down. The advisor managed to coerce the new servant to follow him and Jeonghan waited until they were out of the grand hall before he spoke next.

"Hoshi, I think I'm done here. Please document everything that has taken place during the meeting and make sure that our people see themselves out. If anyone has an urgent matter to discuss then please deal with them, but everyone else can wait until the next meeting to discuss their issues." Jeonghan ordered before standing from his seat, readying himself to leave.

He could see the look on his father's face from the corner of his eye but he didn't care. He was tired and the meeting was scheduled to end soon anyway. Taking another request would've used up another 30 minutes and that was much too long for the young prince. So he left the grand hall with Joshua immediately getting up to follow him.

Once they were in the hallway Jeonghan heard his best friend sigh.

"Why must you always provoke your father? Was taking in that guy just another way to get under his skin?" 

"No...although that was a bonus." Jeonghan snickered. "He's just mad that I turned down yet another beautiful lady from an acceptable family."

"You know he's just worried about you." Joshua tried to reason.

"No. He's worried about the Yoon bloodline and having an heir to carry on his family name. He doesn't care if I actually fall in love or if I'm happy with my marriage. He stopped caring about those things a long time ago."

"I'm sure that's not true. Your father loves you." Joshua still pushed but the prince showed that he done talking about the matter by trying to walk ahead of the advisor. "Fine. Will you at least tell me why you took him in. You're not the type to take pity on people."

"I...don't know. I guess he just seemed interesting." Jeonghan said, thinking back to Seungcheol's tatty clothes stained with dirt and those big brown scared eyes hidden by long lashes.

"I'm gonna take a chance on him."