A few days later, Seonjang was left in front of King Hee Bin’s castle, bounded and alive for us…and with a note notifying me that my own castle will be returned and ready for me to repossess. 

So, once transporting King Gang Han, King Man Soo, and Seonjang – we made it home safely and with a lot of work ahead of us. Soo Hyuk followed and stuck around for a bit before saying he was going to discover the world a little more. 

And I, there were still some loose ends I needed to deal with – 

“Not again.” I grasped the Knight’s shirt tightly, preventing him from leaving my bed like he had done many times before I would wake. Upon hearing my words, I noticed how he stiffened due to getting caught. “You always leave before the sun rises.”

“I have to go prepare.” He said in soft whispers beside me. 

“It can wait.” I disputed before wrapping my arms around his waist. There was no movement until I felt a light touch upon my skin at my side.

“There’s a scar.” Yong Guk stated before running his fingertip gently along the five inched mark that contrasted from my skin and ran from the back and towards the front. “It didn’t have time to heal properly.”

“You have many of them also.” I slowly opened my eyes to look at him. “All over your body.” 

He met my gaze but refused to say anything else. He knew I wasn’t wrong. So denial wasn’t an option.

Interrupting our short conversation, rapping knuckles met my bedroom door. Sometimes, I wished the Knights weren’t so diligent. “They’re here to take you away.” I broke the silence before sitting up and looking down at him. Leaning down, I left a soft kiss upon his forehead. “Work hard today also, my Knight.”

***

“You know, I didn’t have to think so hard to figure out where you were.” Dae Hyun walked into the greenhouse.

I looked up to greet him from where I sat on the bench. “Were you looking for me?”

“What are you doing?”

“Thinking about what to say to the people.” The other royals left the duty up to me. Not a single objection was raised – something that I should get used to. “I don’t want to say the wrong thing – “

“Just be yourself, that’s enough already.” Dae Hyun voiced once taking a seat beside me. Having him here with me triggered my memories.

“Did you figure it out, whatever it was?” I asked him.

“I’m thinking of giving it up.” He vaguely replied. “I have priorities that are more important to me.”

He is still so close-lipped about it. Definitely strange if we thought about Dae Hyun’s normal behavior. “If it wasn’t as important as you stated, you wouldn’t have been troubled by it – that’s the way I see it.” I answered before diverting my attention out the glass of the greenhouse. “…I don’t want you to give up your mate.”

My words rendered Dae Hyun in absolute shock. “What – “ He scoffed. “That’s not – “

“Him Chan told me so.”

Grumbling, Dae Hyun huffed to himself. “How the hell does he know everything?”

“This job where you protect me isn’t going to last forever – and it will not be the most important thing to you. So, please don’t give up opportunities.” I continued before sending him a smile. “You deserve to live your own life also.”

Avoiding my eyes, he continued to mumble. “I don’t think she wants to see me again anyway.”

“Why is that?”

“I told her – “ He thought about his words and stopped abruptly.

“…What did you tell her?”

“Nothing.” 

I nudged him playfully, mentioning his previous words. “At least she isn’t a Knight or a human, right?” But, something told me that his love wouldn’t have been affected either way. That’s just who Dae Hyun was. “Also, I heard she’s very fond of this place – for your reference.”

***

“Queen, this way.”

Following Steel’s lead, I walked from the car and stopped when I stood in front of the townspeople from various towns and regions in the country just for today. 

Because today in Kkum, I was going to be giving an address that all royals had whole-heartedly agreed with. Again, not a single objection was raised – still getting used to it.  

My smile grew, as I noticed not just townspeople but Werewolves were present. Families of Werewolves, who didn’t join Seonjang but who, like the humans also suffered from the consequences of war. The chain around their necks symbolizing so.

The rebels, who I had hoped to see wouldn’t be so easy to identify – their chains were removed through Seonjang.

A human child in the crowd bumps into a man, the metal around his neck glistened as the sunlight fell onto it. He looked down seeing the young girl fall to the ground but wasn’t quick enough to prevent it. Getting over his hesitation, he offered a hand and without discrimination, the child grasped onto it to get back on her feet.

Her mother moves through the crowd in worry, looking for the young girl and stops upon the sight.

The Werewolf notices the situation but remains silent.

“Mommy!”

Blinking back, the mother reaches for her daughter. “…Thank you.” She finally offers words of gratitude to the man, and in surprise, he could only manage to nod back. 

The noise around me soon softened to hushes while the Knights, Helios, and Jun Hong came to stand right behind me.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” I greeted with a smile and with my eyes scanning the crowd to take in as many faces as I could. “Both sides have surrendered and the battle front has now been emptied so today, I officially announce the end to the war – “

Cheers and claps resonated into the air.

“King Gang Han and King Man Soo will face war crimes in our custody and will learn of their punishments soon. Upon the arrest of King Gang Han for his act of inciting this war, Seonjang forces surrendered. As someone who had also done wrong, Seonjang will also face punishment for the consequences of his drug. A crime I deemed being committed against the Werewolves.” 

I breathed in deeply, thinking of my next words. 

“I have thought sincerely about where to go from here and realized change will come slowly but if everyone is willing to contribute to it, I have belief that the wounds of this country will begin to heal – that’s why, I will be implementing my own contributions.” My lips pulled into a smile at what I was about to reveal. “The statue of Kim Jun Ho will not be recovered and his history will be altered to reflect the truth. He is a source a pain for the Werewolves and will not be glorified for this reason. The rights that have been absent for Werewolves will now be put into place. Every right – a right to protection, a right to be treated as equals, a right to be represented in all aspects of life – it has been a long time waiting but it is now time to look at one another as people of the same country. No more will chains be used to mark one another. Knighthood will not be a position of serving but rather a position of honor, a position where leaders and Knights can work together to build a better country for all people. Instead of discriminating against one another, let’s use everyone’s strength to build a better future – not as humans and Werewolves, but as companions and onward we go forth together.”

Of course, I know there will be some resentment…but I hope that with time, forgiveness can be achieved and understanding will be encouraged. 

I don’t have all the solutions but this is a start. “And this is my promise to you all in return – I will protect everyone in this country for as long as I can still breathe.”

In agreement, they offered cheers. 

“Today, we also honor the many people who courageously worked to end the war – my Knights, Jun Hong, Helios, King Min Jong, King Hee Bin, Prince Young Jae, Prince W