Once the ceremony hall had been cleared of people, the bodies were laid over in white and taken away on stretchers. Jihoon was hurried into a side hallway, and had his trousers changed for clean ones. There was a little spot of blood on the hem of his uniform jacket, but nobody had the mind to notice. Everybody was in a panic, or a daze.

Minhyun was whisked away instantly – his empty smiles would be construed in a very bad light indeed – together with two youngest members of the family, who didn’t need to see the slaughter.

Joshua and Jeonghan simply pulled close to each other and entwined their hands together. They could be polar opposites at times, but the twins loved each other more than they would ever say, and in times of adversity they always did this, even in their thirties.

Eventually, the royal family was escorted by an armed guard back to their carriages past the confused crowds that had gathered for the King’s coronation. Jun ranted and raved angrily inside; the twins stared at each other; Jihoon simply remained silent, staring at the speck of his brother’s blood on his uniform.

Back at the palace, the royal children were all convened in a drawing room or other: Jihoon made his way to his little brother, hugging him tightly.

Dino clutched his big brother back, sniffling. “W-why?” he blubbered. “Why?! I didn’t like it! I didn’t-”

Jihoon glanced up at his siblings, and realized the boy’s state of mind wasn’t helping anybody’s mood. “Shhhhh. It’s okay. Shhhh.” He picked the boy up and sat with him, hugging him tightly. “It’s going to be alright, Dino.”

“No it’s not!”

“Shhhh. Just calm down. It’s alright. I’m right here. I’m right here, Dino.”

Nana was in pieces, sobbing against her husband’s shoulder – who, in all goodness, was trying to console her. They weren’t a very successful couple, really.

Shannon pulled herself up to sit on Jihoon’s other knee, and the Dark Prince simply sat there with his little siblings on his lap, their hair until there was news to be heard.

Wonwoo walked in and sat down quietly. “...I…”

Jun gritted his teeth. “Spit it out, man!”

“…murder,” Wonwoo whispered. “…they were poisoned. All of them.”

Joshua gently walked to the end of the room and put the thermostat up against the chill that ran down everybody’s backs. “Any leads?”

“…none, yet. Everybody will be interviewed in the investigation. Starting with…”

Everybody looked at Joshua.

“Why me?”

Jun stared at his older brother. “Because with Aron dead and Nana married… you’re next in line for the throne.”

Joshua went a little pale. “Oh.” He sat down in a loveseat near the thermostat, a bit dizzy. “Oh. I see.”

“So, the last time you saw His Majesty was…?”

“Yesterday evening. We played backgammon.” Jihoon was literally clenching his teeth. He’d been through three interrogations prior to this, all of them exactly the same, and all of them asking their questions over and over again. “With Jun and Jeonghan.”

“Who won, did you say?”

“Jun, because he cheated.”

“Would you say Jun is a cheater?”

Jihoon ground his molars together. “Jun is of a military mind, and in war there is no cheating. He applies the same strategy to games. That’s why we never play him for money.”

“So Jun is a dishonest man?”

“No, you bumbling idiot!” the Dark Prince finally barked, scaring the detective in front of him. “My brother is a respectable gentleman!”

“…you seem very defensive, your Highness.”

“Well, when your eldest brother and his family is murdered in cold blood on coronation day and you’re being interrogated by somebody who sounds like the KGB’s finest, you let me know how you feel.” Jihoon’s eyes promised a very unhappy future for the poor man. “Are you quite done with spewing your filthy accusations and downright ridiculous questions?”

“Your Highness, I merely-”

“Are we done?!” the young man demanded, the volume of his voice making the furniture tremble.

The inspector took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows. “Yes, yes I suppose we are.”

“Then get out of my rooms,” he spat viciously, turning away to sit at his desk again.

The little man packed up his briefcase and made his way out into the corridor, sighing in relief of the cool air. He looked Jihoon’s bodyguard up and down.

Wonwoo smiled understandingly. “He’s something, isn’t he?”

“I used to fear nothing but death.” The inspector gave a small smile and used a handkerchief to dab away droplets on his forehead. “Now I’m not so sure. He really does deserve his title.”

Wonwoo’s smile disappeared at that. Jihoon hated his title. The bodyguard slipped in the door to stand with his Prince again. “…hey,” he said softly.

Jihoon was holding it together: barely. He had his face in his hands, eyes b with water but not quite crying, arms shaking in anger, face red with emotion.

“It’s not fair,” he broke out, his voice displaying all his emotions to the world. “It’s just not fair! He was my brother! And now…”

Wonwoo sat with his Prince quietly. “I know.”

Jihoon could only glare: luckily, Wonwoo knew he was not the person the glare was directed at. “I’m just so angry!”

“I know.”

“Wonwoo…”

“…how’s Seungcheol?”

It was an attempt to take Jihoon’s mind off it: he’d been gone for days already, and hadn’t had a moment’s peace. He sat back in his chair and sighed. “He’s upset I’m not back yet. He has tickets to… somewhere-or-other and he’s going to have to go with somebody else.”

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows once. “Ah. Miss him much?”

“A bit. I miss working more. Oh, speaking of working…” Jihoon tried to relax his facial muscles. It wasn’t easy. “I say this, not because this is the best time to say it, but because I promised. You know my boss at Triple C?”

“Is that the pretty alpha?”

“