"Did you hear about it? The Crown Princess left!"

"Yes I did! How could she just leave like that? It's really disrespectful to the Royal family."

"It's not disrespectful if she was sent off, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there could be a possibility of Jeonha actually growing sick of her and thus decided to drop the marriage."

"I was outside when Jeonha went to meet Pyeha, you know. I could hear the shouting from inside! Pyeha sounded so furious that he could kill! Pyeha has always been such a nice meek person, I think Jeonha must have done something wrong to induce such anger."

"And that something wrong must have been to call off the marriage. No wonder Han Eunbyul didn't even want to take the royal carriage. She must have felt such hatred for he royal family."

"I can't believe Jeonha just blew off the marriage like that. It's so irresponsible!"

"And here I thought he was such a nice and fair person that does not discriminate against the lowly born. I bet he was just acting."

"Hey you know what, maybe it was a ploy to get the royal family in good name after the prince Chanyeol incident. Since the royal name was recovered, Jeonha has no intention of marrying his bodyguard for real so he called off the marriage."

"That sly pig!"

Rumors like these flew faster than one can imagine. It was at such times that one could really laugh at how stupid people were.

First, they were criticizing how Byul wasn't good enough to be a princess. And now they were feeling unjust that she wasn't going to be a princess after all.

One couldn't have his cake and eat it, really.

Most people were jealous of Byul's rise to fame and wealth, even though they admitted that it was nice having a commoner accepted as a royal. It made all differences seem insignificant, you see.

And now that Byul wasn't going to marry Baekhyun after all, the insecure assumptions were coming back again.

Baekhyun must have thought Byul wasn't good enough for him, that must have been it. What an awful person to use Byul like that! Byul was such a poor thing!

The rumors spread like wildfire and even reached the soldiers, which meant it was really a big thing. Rumors were usually spread between the gossipy maids and attendants, males didn't usually bother themselves with such things.

But some maid must have told her boyfriend in the army and the news spread, and soon almost everyone was having a negative perception of Baekhyun and the royal family because of the falling apart of the marriage.

Chanyeol was the first one to notice that something was wrong.

Sora had disappeared into thin air after Chanyeol discovered that she was a Japanese spy, and that fact clearly pointed out that she wasn't going to consider his suggestion of turning over to their side.

It also meant she wasn't going stay by his side.

Disappointed, Chanyeol decided to bury himself in work instead. He went to inspect the army every single day to give training and pointers to the soldiers, exchanging ideas for military battle strategies.

That was where he first realized there was something very wrong with the soldiers' morale.

Why did they look so indignant when they saw him? Why look at him with such dislike and disdain?

Chanyeol decided that something must have been very wrong, and he requested for a private meeting with the military officer in charge, General Jang.

"General Jang, you're hereits the soldiers all the time I'm sure you will know the reason for their strange behavior. They aren't the hard working bunch of young men I remember anymore." Chanyeol shook his head in disappointment. "They don't put their heart and soul into training anymore. Why is that so?"

General Jang shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "It probably has to do with Jeonha, Chanyeol-gun."

"Baekhyun hyung?" Chanyeol blinked in confusion. "Why?"

General Jang took a deep breath, not knowing if his spilling of the truth would result in anything nasty. "They're unhappy that Jeonha's marriage was called off without giving a reason whatsoever, Chanyeol-gun. They're assuming that Jeonha has gotten tired of Eunbyul Agasshi and it infuriates them because its a sensitive topic when royal and commoner equality is involved."

Chanyeol's jaw dropped. How could those people think that way? Couldn't they tell how much Baekhyun loved Byul?

But then again, they didn't know Baekhyun in person. All they knew was that Byul had left one day and the marriage was called off with no reasonable explanation.

From their point of view, it could even be seen as Baekhyun dumping Byul. This act wasn't just him dumping her, but it signified how Baekhyun was dumping a commoner.

"That's such a ridiculous thought." Chanyeol gaped at the general Jang. "They don't even know Baekhyun hyung in real life. They have no idea what happened between Baekhyun and Byul!"

The General shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. It took Chanyeol a few moments to understand the General's reaction.

"Wait." Chanyeol's eyes widened even more. "Please don't tell me that your thinking the same way as them."

The General swallowed visibly. "Well, you're right, we really don't know what happens between Eunbyul agashi and Jeonha, so..."

Chanyeol shook his head in disbelief. Why was it so easy to sway the people's hearts?

This was serious dangerous business, especially when Baekhyun wouldn't make an official announcement on why Byul had left. Should the soldier's loyalty waver, it posed great danger to a country.

Chanyeol shook his head in disappointment at the general. "You don't know how wrong you are."

-----

Alerted of the extremely weak morale in the army, the princes went to sit in for one of the training sessions in hope of regaining the soldiers' trust for the royal family.

The princes joined in the training, even the maknae Sehun. All of them were trying to show the soldiers how the royal family really did care for the people, and how they were trying to blend into the commoner lifestyle.

It wasn't working.

The soldiers kept a safe distance from the princes as if they had incurable diseases, and even though they bowed respectfully whenever the princes were looking, the princes could also detect how there was an air of unwillingness and discomfort with them around.

Even Baekhyun went to visit the soldiers despite how he wasn't in the mood to. He wore the usual army uniform together with the rest of his comrades and did the push ups and sit ups that they were supposed to do. Baekhyun did everything with no special treatments.

But the soldiers didn't buy it.

Whenever Baekhyun met any of the soldier's eyes, they would look at him with hidden disdain. Baekhyun didn't know what to do to get his army's morale up. If any of the countries out there knew about how Korea's army was depleting in such a manner, they would gladly attack without hesitation.

It was a fatal weakness.

And Sora knew it.

She hadn't left the palace after Chanyeol had found out that she was a spy. Instead, she hid in one of the abandoned parts of the palace and did her thinking. The temptation of giving up her job as the spy was so great that she thought about it every single day.

There was also a given incentive of doing that because Chanyeol would be here. She could continue her life here with Chanyeol by herself, as compared to her tortured life back with her father, General Higashiyama. Everything seemed to be encouraging her to stay and betraying her cause.

She had friends here. She had Chanyeol. She could start a family made out of love, instead of the family back in Japan were there was nothing but hostility and competition. She could have a real home here, a home that she had yearned for so badly since she was young.

But something outweighed everything good that came out of staying in Korea: Sora had a life debt to repay. She couldn't have made it if General Higashiyama hadn't taken her in as his daughter, even though she didn't exactly have a time of her life being so.

She couldn't betray her father. She just couldn't.

Staying in the palace enabled Sora to listen to the gossips first hand and she was shocked to find out that Byul had left. She didn't know what actually happened between Byul and Baekhyun, but she knew for sure that the rumors of Baekhyun dumping Byul was a hundred percent false.

However, this could possibly be her father's big break. The best opportunity. The time she had been waiting for.

Sora penned down the letter quickly and attached it to a pigeon. She was about to let the pigeon go, delivering the letter all the way back to Japan when she stopped herself.

She thought about Chanyeol who had kept his word. He said he wouldn't tell anyone of her secret identity. He would give her a chance to change. He trusted her, believed in her, believed that she had so much goodness in her that she could turn her back against her own kind.

Where on earth had he found such faith when he barely met her?

"That babo." Sora whispered, swallowing. She missed Chanyeol and she always wanted to approach him when she peeked at him walking past the palace grounds. He looked so tired, sunken and listless.

And even then when he thought Sora had left, he never told anyone about her being a spy. Why was he so foolish? Why?

"I'm sorry Chanyeol." Sora murmured, her fingers loosening on the pigeon. "But I have to do what I have to do."

And she let the pigeon go.