“Can’t you just accept your fate already? You’re my wife now!” Jiyong shouted in anger

“Fate? I will never accept this cruel ‘fate’ you’ve created, you monster!” Chaerin shouted back. The King and the queen were in a very bad quarrel since the morning, up until the night came

Jiyong found a man painting on Chaerin’s change room. A painting of prince Xiumin, Chaerin’s first love, and clearly the only man she loved

“It’s over between you and him and you have to learn to accept your new role as the queen of my kingdom. Sooner or later, you have to fulfill your duty as my queen” Jiyong hissed right in front of Chaerin’s face

“So, instead of keeping another man’s painting and cried over him, you’d better face your real life”

Chaerin’s eyes met the sharp gaze from Jiyong’s furious eyes. But she hated him enough to fight

“I will never do that” Chaerin hissed back, gazed on him with the same intensity

“You will”

“I will not!” Chaerin shouted and left Jiyong with fury

She was so angry. A month after their marriage, she still couldn’t accept the fact that she was the queen of Daejung now…, King Jiyong’s wife

Her feeling towards Jiyong didn’t change a bit. She still hated her husband to the core. Still hoping that one day she would escape from this situation

The things got worse after the elders started to ask about the next heir. As Jiyong’s queen, sure she had responsibility to give birth to the next heir

The elders didn’t know that their King and Queen were never been the ‘real’ husband and wife all the time.  So when time passed and the queen hadn’t show any ‘good sign’, they started to worrying and asked the royal healers to give her such a fertility treatment

Chaerin locked herself inside her change room and cried. This was another sad part of her life now, that she only has this change room to be the real her, showed her real emotion and feeling

She had to pretend to be a good queen and wife all the time. And the more she did it, the more she felt disgusted by herself

Chaerin kept crying inside her change room until she fell asleep hours later. Jiyong who was so mad at the beginning started worrying as well

Late in the night, he came back to his bed room and didn’t find Chaerin there

“Seri” Jiyong called Chaerin’s maid and the maid came in hurriedly

“Yes, your majesty…”

“She hadn’t come out since last night?” Jiyong asked worriedly

“Y-yes, your majesty. The queen is locking herself inside the change room” Seri informed

“She hasn’t eaten yet?” He asked again

“Not yet, Your majesty”

Jiyong sighed worriedly and walked to the change room door.

It was locked

Jiyong took a deep breath to calm himself. Then he pulled his sword and carefully broke the lock, tried not to make too much noise

And when the locked opened, Jiyong found her wife was sleeping on the floor. Chaerin sat on the floor and leaned the side of her body to the dresser, hugging her knees

Seri realized the situation. She later left the room, along with the guards, gave the king and the queen their privacy. The clever maid didn’t know really well what they were quarreled about. But she knew for sure, even a king and a queen would need their private space to settled their problem as husband and wife

Jiyong’s heart somehow felt a pinch on his heart. His anger disappeared by the time he saw his wife on the floor, sobbed in her sleep

Jiyong, he walked carefully toward Chaerin, kneeling in front of her. He looked at his queen’s face. Her eyes were swollen, and still wet. Her lips were slightly opened and quivering.

His heart felt so hurt for the reason he didn’t know.

True

The mighty King Jiyong never felt this kind of feeling before

A kind of guilty…, worry…,

He tugged a strain of hair from Chaerin’s face, looked deeper into the queen’s face

“Does it that hard for you just to stay here with me?” Jiyong mumbled a question. Then he lifted Chaerin’s body in a very gentle and careful way, tried not to wake her up

He walked to the bed with Chaerin in his arms, then laid her body carefully

Chaerin stirred slowly in her sleep, covered her own body with the thick blanket, and again, sobbed

By the time Jiyong heard that soft sob, he felt another punch in his heart. Slowly, he bent down and landed a sweet kiss on his wife’s forehead and exited the room, left Chaerin alone

The young king walked to the back yard. He kept walking alone until he reached his favorite place, a big willow tree near the river, and he took a seat there

Jiyong looked into the reflection of the stars trough the river’s clear water

“What is this? Why do I feel like this?” Jiyong asked himself. He was so confuse about his own feeling.

Still in his deep thought, he heard a sound of footstep. His warrior instinct took over and he reached his sword immediately

“Who’s that?” he asked in his signature tone

“Your majesty?”

A man’s silhouette walked to the king

“Seunhyun? Is that you?” Jiyong asked as kept watching the movement, until the moonlight shone on the tall man’s figure and revealed that it was really Seunghyun

“What are you doing here?” Jiyong asked as he put back his sword

“I saw you walked alone through the backyard. I’m worried so I follow you. I apologize if I surprise you” Seunghyun explained. Jiyong just exhaled and back to his previous sitting position, under the willow tree

Seunghyun had heard that the King and the Queen was quarreled before. And now, he clearly saw the king was in his bad mood

“Is there anything I can help, Your majesty?” Seunghyun asked

Jiyong sighed again, took a glance on his best warrior, then again, looked onto the night sky

“I don’t even know what’s wrong with me, Seunghyun-ah… how can I ask for your help” Jiyong said desperately

Seunghyun, he was kinda surprised by the king’s emotional state too. for the 18 years he served the king, even before that, he was never seen the mighty king on this state

Jiyong was always a strong, emotionless man. But this time…

“What’s happening to me?” Jiyong asked, looked at Seunghyun.

“Maybe you’re just feeling guilty?” Seunghyun suggested

“That’s what I mean, Seunhyun-ah. I never feel guilty before! I never regret of felt guilty even after I killed warrior, Kings, princes and took over their lands. Never! But now….” Jiyong stopped midsentence, didn’t know what to say anymore

Seunghyun smiled slightly, looked at the desperate King.

“May I take a seat with you, Your majesty?” Seunghyun asked

“Sure…”

This was their habit. Seunghyun would sat beside the King and hear his rant

Seunghyun was more than just a warrior for Jiyong. He was his best friend too. The most loyal person who was serving him

“I don’t understand…, why it feels so damn hurt just to see her