Sitting in the great hall beside your now husband, you watched the slightly subdued festivities taking place before you. Not wanting to potentially cause too much upheaval or such, your wedding festivities were cut short and kept more subdued than things normally were in your kingdom. Although Cook had insisted on preparing a full banquet dinner, as she was a traditionalist when it came to culinary customs. Hakyeon sat on your other side and you knew he was trying to keep your spirits up by making jokes and comments throughout the banquet, even if your heart wasn’t fully in it.

You jumped slightly at the feel of someone taking your hand and turned to see that it was simply Jaehwan. He gave you a small smile before turning back to his cousin who had just arrived earlier today. You let your fingers twine with Jaehwan’s, turning your gaze back to scan the crowd assembled in the great hall again. Your people all seemed to be happy for you and your marriage, and Jaehwan’s speech earlier seemed to have continued in his quest to win over the hearts of your kingdom. But you still felt the lingering sadness from your father’s murder.

Turning back to Hakyeon, you leaned over to whisper so no one would overhear. “Have you heard any more news about the search for the other assassin? I want him captured so I can put a face to all this anger.” You knew it wasn’t ladylike to feel the burning desire for revenge, but you also knew your father would forgive you on this. You had always been close with him, and you swore you would take care of the ones who took him from you.

Hakyeon gave you a small frown, shaking his head. “Sanghyuk hasn’t heard anything else. Sir Taekwoon has taken on the lead in the search. He’s much more level-headed than your little knight, so if you ask him to, he’ll keep the scum alive for you.” His voice was harsher than you had ever heard it, and you knew it was because he felt the same desire for revenge, as your father had always been kind to Hakyeon. It had been your father who took him in when his parents died in an epidemic that swept your kingdom when you were both children. Your father had felt sorry for him and brought him into the castle and treated him almost as his own. You knew that if anyone would want to see your father’s murderer brought to justice as much as you, it would be Hakyeon.

There was a noise from behind you and you turned to find Sanghyuk straightening his tunic before giving you a sheepish grin with a small bow. “Apologies, princess.” You heard Hakyeon stifling a chuckle under his breath, and you raised an eyebrow. He cleared his throat before ducking his head in the first small show of embarrassment you had seen from the young knight. “I went down to the kitchens for just a moment. Sir Taekwoon assured me that he would keep watch over you.”

You grinned at Sanghyuk, keeping your voice lowered to a whisper. “And may I ask who it was you were visiting in the kitchens? Surely Cook is a little old for your seductions.” You heard Hakyeon cover his sudden burst of laughter with a cough before Sanghyuk shook his head, laughing loudly.

“My mother is one of the assistant cooks. I grew up in the kitchens. I simply wanted to check up on her. She has been busy helping Cook with preparations for the feast and I haven’t been able to see her since before the tournament. I’m sorry, princess.” Sanghyuk ducked his head and could tell he was worrying over his actions by the slight droop in his shoulders.

Reaching out to gently touch the young knight’s arm, you gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. You should have told me, I would have let you visit her earlier. She must have been worried about you.” You smiled at his slight smile and nod. “And is she well? I hope it hasn’t been too hard on her preparing all of the feast on such short notice.”

Sanghyuk smiled brightly, shaking his head. “She likes the work. She says it makes her feel useful. And my mother is one of the best cooks in the kitchens, trust me.” He leaned over to whisper in your ear with a grin. “She made your favorite dish for you today.” He straightened with a grin, and you raised an eyebrow.

“Your mother is the one who makes the meat pies?” A few years ago for one of the tournament feasts there had been a new dish presented and you almost instantly fell in love with it, even if your mother chided you for liking what she considered commoner food. Ever since that day, whenever there was a special celebration for you, the meat pies would be served again.

Sanghyuk smiled with a nod. “She heard that you liked them so much when she made them the first time and has always been sure to make them for you whenever you had a special meal. If you like, I can always have her make you some any time.”

Shaking your head, you frowned slightly. “Oh no, I wouldn’t want to add any work to her or cause any trouble. I’m sure she works hard enough on her own.”

There was a chuckle and you frowned slightly at the teasing glint in Sanghyuk’s eyes, even if he still held a proper respectful stance. “Then I’ll make them for you, princess. She said it would be my inheritance to know the recipes that will always help to ease any burdens for you when I became a knight in your service.” He winked with a grin. “And I’m quite a good cook myself.”

You heard Hakyeon stifling a laugh again before you felt Jaehwan take your hand, leaning over to whisper in your ear. “My love, it’s hardly polite to ignore the prince during your wedding feast.” You turned to find his face very close to yours, and felt your heart flutter again for a moment. “I hope you can smile at me like that one day.” You blinked in confusion at the softness in his expression before he lightly pressed a kiss to your forehead before he turned back to his cousin, twining his fingers with yours.

You felt your face heat slightly and ducked your head for a moment. You needed to control yourself. Your kingdom needed you to be strong and to protect it. This was not a time to let your thoughts be clouded with emotions. Especially after your father’s murder.

A serving girl walked by and placed a fruit pie in front of you with a small bow before turning and walking off. While others in your family had preferred the rare sweets from the specialty tradesmen, you took after your grandfather and had always preferred any variety of fruit pies. It had been something you had always enjoyed about your lessons with him before he had died. You gave a small smile at the memory before reaching for the plate.

“Princess, let me first.” Sanghyuk leaned over to whisper in your ear, and you turned back to him with a slight frown. He ignored the frown, pulling a small knife from his belt and cutting a piece off the dessert in front of you.

Just as you were about to berate him for such public insolence, he collapsed to the floor, gagging and coughing. Suddenly the entire hall burst into noise and activity. Jaehwan jumped from his seat, calling for Sir Wonshik. Hakyeon quickly moved to lift Sanghyuk from the floor, gently putting him in the chair he had been using. All while you sat in shock, simply staring at the dessert in front of you. Sir Taekwoon appeared on the other side of the table with a short bow before motioning to the plate in front of you.

“If I may? I need to find the poison to help him.” Without waiting for a proper response, he pulled a small pouch from his belt and began pulling things out and examining the plate in front of you.

“Wonshik! Take the princess to my chambers! Do not let her leave your sight! Do you understand me?” Jaehwan’s voice was sharp and you stood, about to protest before he turned to you and gently cupped your face in his hands, his voice softening. “Please. I need to keep you safe while we find who is trying to do this again. I have to keep you safe.” You watched as his face turned almost pleading and you felt your heart give another small flip before stopping yourself. This was a duty thing, don’t get carried away.

There was another horrible sounding bout of coughing from behind you and you spun around to see blood trickling from Sanghyuk’s mouth. “Fruit.” The young knight’s voice was hoarse and just the one word seemed to be almost too much as he started coughing again. Hakyeon held a cloth to Sanghyuk’s mouth, gasping when it came back stained with blood. “The fruit.” Sanghyuk spoke again and then there was a burst of activity from across the table as Sir Taekwoon lept over the table and rushed to Sanghyuk, holding a small vial from his pouch.

“Drink this. Hurry!” Sir Taekwoon put the vial to Sanghyuk’s lips, carefully holding his head up. “All of it. Come on!” The usually reserved knight’s voice held a hint of panic and you started to step towards him, but were stopped by a hand on your arm.

“Princess, come with me. I can’t let you get hurt too. Trust Taekwoon. He’s known to be an expert with poisons. He will save the little knight. It’s in our code. We take care of our own. Now come on before the prince has my head.” Wonshik gave you a pleading look before pulling you away from the hall.

You turned back to see both Jaehwan and his cousin with their swords drawn, standing near Sanghyuk. You reached the doors just as you heard Hakyeon’s panicked shout of Sanghyuk’s name before you were pulled through the doors and into the corridors leading to your new chambers.