Jongin had always admired her Mother for her overflowing kindness and generosity towards the people in their Kingdom. She was pure, elegant, and graceful, and was considered one of the best Queen the Kingdom has ever had. She was understanding and was ready to help those in need. She can never hold a grudge on someone that it's almost impossible to hate her. Even the other country Monarchs sends her beautiful gifts because of her heart-warming welcoming when they visited. The only thing that Jongin would always boast was his caring Mother. His Mother has always been with him. She will tell him stories, teach him calligraphy, and the fine arts. She was there when the King called Jongin over for the trouble he had caused. His beloved Mother was there to comfort him and defended him in any way possible.

No wonder the King loved her so much that he was willing to do anything for her. 

The Queen has a fathomable adoration towards arts, music and traditional dances. The King built a Royal Pavilion filled with sculptures, paintings, pottery, instruments, books, and calligraphy supplies, appellated after her. The Queen refused the gift that the King worked hard for but it was no use to take it all back now. To thank the King for his sentimental gift the Queen personally cooked him all of his favourite dishes and boy, was the King very happy that the next day he held a grand feast for the whole Kingdom. Jongin was happy that his parents loved each other. He wished he could be as happy as them in the mere future.

Jongin walked with light footsteps on the concrete ground with his bodyguard and the Royal maids trailing behind him at a fair off distance. His heart felt unusually quesy and sweats began to form on his pale palms. He was nervous, frightened even, by the thought of the shocked expression of the Queen when he admits to the crime of the broken vase. He had broken a good amount of vases and potteries and even sculptures made by the finest artists in the Kingdom, however, that was when he was too young to even be worried about the possible outcomes of his actions.

This time, he shattered a precious vase his Mother had kept inside a glass cabinet. He remembers the previous Emperor of China pretentiously giving the vase to his Mother. That was one valuable vase, indeed. It must be made of jade and amethyst stones.

He wished to turn back time just at the right moment when he clumsily dropped the poor object. Maybe his reflexes would have acted fast and saved the vase. However, the harm is done and the only thing to do was to face the possible outburst of his elegrant and self-composed Mother.

You can never draw his petrified look when he near his Mother's Quarters. He hopes to the great Gods that his Mother is in a good mood to just casually brush his sins away when he tells her.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived." He stopped a few centimetres in front of the door and straigtened his back. The door opened with a quiet screech and behind the closed doors sat the Queen behind her table. She looks young and stunning. She has the esence of purity and gracefulness. Her dark brown eyes are similar to Jongin's. Jongin's luscious lips are inherited after her and even his eyebrows and eyelashes matched hers. The only feature that the Crown Prince got from the King was his skin colour and the deep personality that comes with it. Jongin has got his soft-hearted nature from his Mother.

The Queen smiled brightly when she sees his son visiting. She looked even younger when she smiles in contrary to her exact age.

"Come in, my son." Jongin felt less nervous when he hears his Mother's special endearment to him. He was proud to say he was the son of Queen Hyera and King Hyunwoo. Though, he was even more proud of having Queen Hyera as a mother.

"Sit down." She gestures for him and Jongin sat carefully.

"How are you Mother?" He smiles genuinely. All of the nervous and frightened feeling he possessed a while ago vanished because of the enlightened aura around the room and the Queen's welcoming greeting.

"I've been very well. Is my son well? Are you having a rough time?" The Queen asked concernly. Jongin could see through her like an open book and he could comprehend that by the mention of rough time meant about the sudden announcement of marriage. He guessed she must have heard from the Palace maids that he had been feeling unwell.

"No, I've been fine." It was lie. Lying in front of the Queen is no use especially if she knows you too well to differentiate between your honest or dishonest words. The Queen noticed his uncomfortable behaviour and decides not to push the matters further.  What the Crown Prince is experiencing right now will all fade away in a matter of days. 

"I tried, my son, but you know how stubborn your Father is. I am against this marriage because I know you are forced to do this against your own will, however. I am powerless against your Father." Queen Hyera eyed her son. The Crown Prince met his Mother's eyes and gave a smile of assurance and thankfulness.

"You don't have to do this for me Mother. I know my responsibility as a Crown Prince. Father had made sure that I know my own future even before I started my adolescent days. I'm doing this to please him."

"Sometimes pleasing someone can be really hard isn't it?" The Queen remarked with finality. Jongin looks at his Mother's stoic face. He realizes there are more to interpret in her words. There was a deeper meaning to it that he couldn't quite apprehend.

"Well, I'm glad that you aren't rebelling. I heard our Princess Hayeon skipped her embroidery lessons again. That child, I don't know what to do with her." Queen Hyera giggled at the thought of the Princess. Who wouldn't smile at the image of the only source of happiness around the Palace that doesn't seem to get tired of making people curve their lips up.

Princess Hayeon is Crown Prince Jongin's little sister. The King and Queen favours her a lot and does everything to make her happy. The King and Princess Hayeon are especially close and whatever the Princess wants the King gets in return. Jongin often felt jealousy but you can never resist Princess Hayeon and her adorable tactics. Just listening to the Princess' voice light up his whole world.

Don't be completely fooled. The Princess can be whiny and mischievous and she will strive to get something she really wanted. One could say she resembles the King a lot more than Jongin. For some enigmatic reason, her own stubborness and motivations entitled her as the King's favourite. And Jongin acknowledges that.

Princess Hayeon effortlessly inherited their Mother's beauty but she was far from being elegant and composed. She was beautiful but often acted boyishly that it's almost impossible to distinguish her royal background whenever she has the tenacity to escape the palace walls and wear the Commoner's clothings. Man, she can be a handful and the Queen is stressed whenever she taught the Princess her Princess lessons (after having been through so many teachers hired by the King, the Queen decides to taught the Princess herself).

Jongin chuckled. He imagines the Princess doing her embroidery and he guessed the Queen couldn't even recognize the image the Princess is trying to embellish.

"Let me guess....did she stormed out of the room after giving up?" Jongin looks at his Mother with a grin. That's when the Queen burst out in laughter.

"Oh it's much more than that, my son." Jongin sees his Mother's teary eyes (from laughing). "Princess Hayeon actually made an effort to come up with an unnecessary excuse so she could leave half-way through our lesson. She confidently said that she has to feed her pets. I don't remember her having any pets besides her collection of grasshoppers." Jongin chortles amusedly.

"Instead of wandering around the palace after leaving today she should have visited me."

"Well, you know our Princess. She is too preoccupied about the things she wanted to do first and the idea of visiting you must've slipped out of her mind." Jongin shrugged and sighed. It would be best that the Princess visited him today.

"Now..." Queen Hyera straigtened her back. "I called you here because of something else, my son." Jongin looks at her.

"I received information from the King that the Crown Princess of the West will be coming in a few days time. The less would be in 3 days..." If that is so soon that means that... 

"Does this mean the Marriage will be sooner than we thought it will be?" The Queen gave a hesitant nod. Jongin's heart sank. He thought it will be in less than a month's time but he didn't expect the marriage to be sooner that it's supposed to be. 

"Crown Prince, you have to be ready for the Crown Princess' arrival." The Queen spoke with a tone of commandment and Jongin nods. 

"Mother?" Jongin bit his lip and looks at the Queen doubtfully. He was curious that's why he wanted to ask.

"Speak."

"I just want to know....what's the Crown Princess' name. Have I met her before?" He looks at her questioningly and the Queen's lips curved into a smile. They met before? He doesn't remember meeting a Princess from another Kingdom. He fully remembers greeting the ministers daughters and not a higher ranked royalty that come from another empire.

"You've met her before." She smiles nostalgically.

"You just don't remember her anymore."