"One...two- "

The stone vanished beneath the lake surface in an instant before its third bounce. Hongbin frowned and bit his lip. "Nevermind."

He picked up another, this time taking in a deep breath and recalling Sanghyuk's words. The stone's surface has to be flat, he had said. He played with the pebble using his fingers and scrutinised it carefully. The stone was grey, but its surface had a glossy sheen. It had an odd shape to it - two rounded corners with a third, sharper one. It resembled a heart, and Hongbin thought it could make an interesting gift.

"I'd love for you to see this extraordinary thing, Sanghyuk." His voice was merely something above a whisper. "But I guess you already have it within you, don't you?" He let his gaze fall to his feet and relaxed his shoulders. "That heart of yours, made out of stone."

He finally found a flat surface and held the stone such that it aligned with the horizon, balancing it carefully with three fingers. He raised his arm and studied the lake surface. The bright glint of sunlight dazzled him momentarily as the ripples danced to the soft breeze, and he narrowed his eyes, lowering his arm again. He tucked the pebble into a small compartment in his clothing and bent down to pick up another one.

Even if the heart was made of stone, he decided he would keep it with him anyway.

The garden was tranquil, apart from the occasional calls from birds that Hongbin couldn't see. The sun had only risen just two hours ago, and besides his two palace maids stationed five feet from him, Hongbin was the only person in the palace's Central Park that morning - the sixteenth morning since he last attended the Imperial Court.

Since the emperor's ban, Hongbin's daily visits to the garden served to calm his heart, and he was gradually getting used to the fact that he was serving a king he no longer knew. He often gazed at the lake surface and pondered about his brazen actions. He knew he was impulsive and perhaps a little irrational, but he did not regret any of those.

He didn't even know he was capable of such behaviour. He protected his image wherever he went, but Sanghyuk stirred up the shameless side of him he never knew existed. As days passed, he had come to recognise his need to be more careful with his words and actions. That is, if he still wanted to keep his title as the Marquis of the West, and remain as a nobleman in the Imperial Palace.

"Isn't it a little lonely like that, Your Highness?" 

He jumped and spun around. The voice sounded like silk, and it was so feminine - authentically feminine - that he felt a little envious. If he had a voice like that, maybe Sanghyuk wouldn't have snapped at him back then during the night of the Royal Banquet, where his dress clung to him tightly at his shoulders as he tasted the bitterness of the red cosmetic paste on his lips.

Her beauty was unrivaled, and her lilac dress reminded him of the lavender plantations he used to see in the West. She smelled, too, like flowers, and her gentle smile made her eyes fold into glowing crescents that stared back at him with warmth. It made him forget about burn of the morning sun on his skin, and he felt a wave of curiosity engulf him. 

"I'm not lonely," he finally remembered to reply, hiding his fists behind his back to conceal the pebble in his hand. 

"But some company wouldn't hurt, would it?" There was a gleam in her eye that Hongbin couldn't quite decipher. "Especially when it comes from someone like me."

He had thought he was one haughty nobleman, but it seemed like right then in the garden there were two instead.

"You?" he scoffed, scanning her from head to toe. "I don't even know you."

"Then you should." There was a smug grin on her face that made her look both insane and attractive - not insanely attractive, but a strange combination of mad and charming. She motioned to the palace maid behind her. "Go on, tell him who I am."

Her words sounded familiar, like his typical reminders to Sanghyuk that he was the high and mighty West Marquis whenever his assistant had made a mistake. Hongbin felt his heart drop a little. The assistant he was thinking of no longer existed. 

"The sister of the Duke of Daeun, sir." Even her maid sounded like a conceited individual herself. It irked Hongbin, even if he knew he was probably the same.

"Taekwoon's...sister?" he raised his eyebrow. It finally hit him how her voice sounded just like the fellow aristocrat who often appeared in court and other important events around the palace. He thought there was quite some resemblance, but she definitely was nothing like Taekwoon in terms of modesty.

"Not that," she almost rolled her eyes, casting an annoyed look at the maid. "The other one. The other identity."

"Oh..." she bit her lip, but regained her stance almost immediately. "She's the Imperial Consort, Your Highness."

Hongbin's eyebrows furrowed at the words. He hoped Imperial Consort did not mean what he thought it meant. He cocked his head and eyed them with doubt. "What Imperial Consort? I've never heard of it." His lips gave way to a slight smirk. "Besides, your people didn't choose to mention that first. Seems questionable to me, Your Highness."

"I..." She lifted his chin. "I'm one to be in the future, marquis. Have you not already heard? We're all just awaiting the official announcement from the Council, but the decision is pretty much already final, marquis."

Hongbin bit his lip. Sixteen days away from the Imperial Court and there was already so much going on beyond his awareness? 

"I don't know what you mean."

"She's eventually going to marry the emperor, sir." He felt a soft tickle by his right ear as his maid whispered in a hushed voice from behind. He knew he did not need the elaboration, and one look at the royalty's smug grin was enough to make his heart drop.

"Jinwoon's the name," she began, intercepting Hongbin's thoughts, her gentle voice laced with as much daintiness as there was hostility - the latter perhaps merely made up in Hongbin's head to complete his already unpleasant impression of her.

"Hongbin."

She did not answer, as though she already knew. She took a few steps toward him, and he was already so repulsed that he felt like his only escape was to throw himself into the water if she got any closer. It was strange how she smelled so enchanting and looked so captivating, yet she only aroused an uneasy feeling in his gut.

"No one can resist me, Hongbin," she smiled, her porcelain-white teeth gleaming as much as her eyes did. "Not you, and not His Majesty."

Hongbin bit his lip, staring back at her with contempt that masked his anxiety. It could only take someone like Taekwoon to come up with such a bad idea.

"It was His Majesty's suggestion," she grinned and raised her eyebrows. "If that was what you were thinking."

"No way." Hongbin hoped he sounded firm. She was a madwoman and Sanghyuk knew better than that.

"It doesn't matter in the end, does it?" she smiled lazily at Hongbin and lifted her long fingers to his neck, tracing the pattern on the fabric of his clothing. Hongbin took another step back, hoping he would not fall into the water - or maybe he hoped he would.

"I'm going to make you fall head over heels for me, Hongbin." Her fragrance had crept up his nostrils and down his throat, making him gag. "Because you're one interesting man."

Hongbin frowned in disgust and finally shoved her hands away. "You're not as attractive as you think." 

She let out a small gasp, struggling to regain her balance as Hongbin stepped aside. She leaned in forward and Hongbin's eyes widened as he watched her small frame head for the water. He acted on his reflexes, grabbing her by her waist and pulling her backward. She screamed and stumbled till she hit something soft and warm - not wet and icy like she had feared.

Hongbin winced as her head hit his ribs hard. Once again, her floral fragrance engulfed his senses, and he felt a little lightheaded.

"See?" Her delicate but detestable voice snapped him out of his small trance. "I told you I was irresistible."

Hongbin shuddered and let go of her immediately, retreating till he was nearly three feet away. "You're mad."

"And you're cute," she beamed. She leaned in briefly and eyed Hongbin expectantly. "I promise," she whispered, "that by the time I officially become the empress, I would have captured your silly heart."

Hongbin felt a tight knot form in his gut. He didn't really know which he feared more - her, or her eventual alliance with the emperor. Sanghyuk's face flashed before his eyes, and at that instant, he felt that he really needed to know what was going on. He needed to return to court as soon as possible.

"See you again, Your Highness." Her voice continued to prick at a nerve in his ear. She glanced at the lake briefly. "And thank you for saving me." She let out a small smirk and bowed before taking her leave, her lilac dress sweeping across the stone pavement as her maid followed closely behind her.

Hongbin narrowed his eyes at her retreating figure. Under the sun, her long, black hair gave off a beautiful sheen, and everything about her poise was graceful and natural. No matter how egotistic she seemed, Hongbin could not fight off the bad feeling in his chest.

Maybe Sanghyuk had already been entranced by Jinwoon's outwardly appeal.