Courting Courtesy
Cupid at Heart
The princess had a tendency to do things as she pleased after briefly considering how it may have affected others. Requesting cupid to be her bodyguard couldn’t have created a chaotic turn of events, according to her biased calculations. A part of her knew she shouldn’t have made the suggestion, but had already uttered the desperate plea before her logic could stop her. Cupid’s agreement made her a bit more hopeful that, perhaps, he had been wishing to stay longer as well.
She didn’t realize time passing by as she laid curled in her royal bed, analyzing her actions from the previous night. Despite the chaotic turn of events caused by Myungsoo and his beloved Chi-Chi, the guests were unharmed and sent off with gleeful hearts. They had believed the chimera was just an act to show off prince Sunggyu’s capabilities.
Their opinions were nullified when all Hyunmi could think of was Woohyun’s protective stance. She pulled her red satin blanket up to her neck, feeling the warmth that was incomparable to the way cupid held her close. The thought itself made her smile like a giddy little girl, infatuated.
A rhythmic knocking on the door caught her attention, and she jumped off from the bed eagerly in the hope it was her new guard.
“Yes?” She displayed her sweetest yet bashful smile when she opened the door. But to her disappointment, it was Sir Hoya instead. She replaced her coyness with the elegance of a princess and kept the polite smile fixated in place. “May I help you, Sir Hoya?”
“I am delivering a letter from Prince Sunggyu,” Hoya spoke hesitantly. He was usually more systematic with his movements, knowing everything with precision and acting almost robot-like. But there was an odd delay between his spoken words and the timing of retrieving the letter. He forgot where he had put the item and frantically searched his attire, only to realize it was in his inner left pocket all along.
Hyunmi frowned a little when she accepted the letter. “Are you quite alright, Sir Hoya?” She tried determining whether to be worried or curious about his behavior.
“I assure you I am in good condition. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness,” Hoya said and slightly nodded his head towards the letter in her hand. “Prince Sunggyu awaits your reply.”
Hyunmi thanked the knight, dismissing his weird behavior as she lightly closed the door.
A letter. It was the customary procedure of courting etiquettes. Getting to know one another translated to countless poetry exchanges in the hope that heartfelt flatteries on paper would win over the other person’s heart.
The princess opened the letter using careful gentleness fitting for a royal maiden. She sat down on her bed and retrieved a piece of paper from the golden envelope. What could the arrogant prince possibly have written?
Dear future-bride-to-be,
A man as mighty as me is hard to find,
The history of my great achievements is worthy to be outlined.
I have single handedly slain a hydra at the age of thirteen,
I have been knighted as an important leader by my mother, the queen.
A lion’s roar is no greater than mine,
My heroic deed has inspired the greatest writers to create a legendary storyline.
To such a man you are going to be wed,
You shall be the queen and I will be your head.
Sincerely yours,
The Humble Prince of Spade
Her eyebrows were twisted into confusion, and her lips lifted halfway into a crooked smile. She wondered whether she had to laugh at the prince’s ‘humble’ letter or cry at the fact she was supposed to marry such a guy. Her mixed feelings appeared in the form of a snorted laugh unfitting to a princess.
But when the melodious sound of a tiple filled her ears, Hyunmi gasped with alertness. There was only one person who could play the stringed instrument so skilfully and set her heart at ease. He had heard her produce an unlady-like snort. How embarrassing.
She opened the curtains to her balcony, and surely enough found cupid at the same spot where she had first met him. He was half leaning on the balcony railing, calmly plucking his tiple. In broad daylight, she realized his god-like visuals outshone every single rose decorating the balcony around him.
“You do realize there is a front entrance for your usage, do you?” Hyunmi questioned, unable to stop herself from smiling at his presence. Her heart thundered incredibly fast with no means of stopping.
“I am perfectly comfortable here,” Woohyun spoke, lifting his head to meet her face for the first time that morning. The way the princess stared at him with such lovingness—which was most likely unbeknownst to her knowledge—surprised him. “Besides, it warms my heart to see the princess’ beautiful smile first thing in the morning. I am afraid I would not have witnessed it should I be mistaken for someone else when knocking on your front door.”
Hyunmi quickly wiped the grin off her face, more self-conscious now that he had mentioned it. She slowly set out to her balcony, leaving traces against the glass entrance with her fingers. “On the contrary, sir cupid, I was prepared to display the sweetest set of smiles to the person knocking on my door only because I was expecting you.”
Woohyun turned to her with interest, watching as the princess carefully took a seat against the balcony railing. He swung his legs off and repositioned himself closer to her. “Were you hoping it was me?”
“I wanted it to be you,” Hyunmi said, biting her lips on a smile. She couldn’t control the words she spoke, because she loved that blank look of surprise on Woohyun’s face, knowing it would turn into a dimple sunken smile afterwards.
“You seem too eager to meet me, Your Highness.” Woohyun chuckled as he continued playing his tiple to create a soft acoustic melody that set the romantic atmosphere.
“Would that be such a crime?”
“Not if the feeling is mutual.”
All sorts of giddiness tiptoed over the princess’ heart, and she had to suppress her grin from stretching wider. Being so close to cupid made her want to think of him and only him. She had to look away, trying to occupy her mind with another thought as her fingers fiddled together in an attempted distraction.
“If I may question though, Your Highness, for what reason have you requested a cupid to become your knight? The two tasks require a different set of skills.”
Hyunmi pursed her lips, conflicted whether she should tell him the truth. Considering his receptiveness to her words thus far, perhaps she could enlighten him once more. “I do not want you to leave me… I mean, this kingdom.”
She had seen this behavior before. Seulyi had been stuttering when she was with the Hatter. And for the princess who was usually good at covering her mistakes through an intelligent set of woven words, this was odd.
Woohyun smiled so kindly at her, almost as if he had found her reaction adorable. “Perhaps, that feeling is mutual as well.”
Hyunmi blinked.
“About not leaving the kingdom,” he added with a teasing smile.
Hyunmi only laughed. “Of course.”
Then his eyes fell on the golden envelope and the folded piece of paper in her hand. He wasn’t aware of the distorted chord he accidentally played when he pinned his lips together. “Is that the courting letter from the prince?” He carefully questioned.
Hyunmi gasped, forgetting she was still holding the paper in her hand. Her entire focus was only on meeting cupid that the letter had been long forgotten.
“The prince entertains me. Though I have never been courted before, I am quite certain no woman has been courted in this manner.” She shoved the paper before his eyes. “Would you like to read it?”
Woohyun showed hesitance on his face, etching a frown over his brows. But curiosity made him set the tiple aside as he accepted the letter from her. The way he subtly brushed his fingers against hers and caused her expression to stiffen afterwards did not go unnoticed. It made him smile in such a way that he took pride in the reactions he managed to spark in her.
He folded the paper open, rolling his eyes over the poem written by the prince. Sentence by sentence, word by word, cupid's lips lifted into a smile of disbelief by the time he had reached the ending.
“Ha!” He scoffed out loud, returning the letter to her. “That is, indeed, the most improper way of writing poetry I have ever encountered. It baffles me that he does not possess proper courting etiquettes.”
“His attempt was admirable, I suppose.” Hyunmi folded the letter and neatly returned it inside the envelope. Regardless, she still appreciated the prince’s efforts. With the letter tucked beneath her hands, she eyed cupid teasingly. “You talk as if you would have done a better job.”
Woohyun picked up his tiple and nestled it underneath his arm before picking up the melody he had been playing. “You seem to have forgotten I am cupid, Hyunmi. I breathe poetry.”
For once, she collected the unfazed confidence reflected through his eyes. His statement became a challenge she’d like to test.
“Then show me,” she retorted, doing her best to keep her expression as neutral as possible. “Show me how a proper letter should have been written.”
“To court you?” Woohyun asked, surprised.
Again, she tried her hardest not to translate her galloping heartbeats into any coyness he could sense. “Yes, to court me.”
The growing smirk lifting his lips proved his acceptance towards her impromptu request. He changed the pace of his rhythmic tiple plucking, creating a heartfelt tone that sparked the warmest emotion in her. Setting his softest gaze on her, he let the poetic words flow out of his heart.
“As a man to whom the definition of love was unknown, I pondered day and night when such feelings shall be atoned. Would the desire to cross the mightiest storms be accounted for as a loving affection? Or is it the journey I willingly venture to obtain the most beautiful being of perfection? There is an uncanny desire to possess the woman refusing to leave my mind, even if my own alliance were to be redefined. A relationship that would be supported by none, yet fought for by the two whose hearts became one. If this were the definition of love, I confess it is a feeling I do not wish to get rid off.”
Hyunmi didn’t realize she had been holding her breath as the thudding of her heartbeats amplified in her ears. Every beat fluttered with hope, guilt, desire, and despair. She asked cupid to demonstrate a proper courting, but instead, had him profess his affection.
“Do you mean every single word?” She questioned, unconsciously fluttering her eyelashes for a desired answer.
Woohyun froze his fingers, unable to continue playing the music accompaniment. He flashed her a somewhat sheepish smile, as if he wanted her to decipher the true meaning behind his poetry herself. “What if I were?” He questioned back, the tone of his voice lowering into a secretive whisper.
The princess obtained little control of when her heart’s desire slipped past her lips. “Should you have been the one courting me, perhaps I would have accepted.”
It was her own form of confession, and her heart thrilled with an exciting exhilaration she could not withhold. Her feelings were overwhelming and thrown all over the place. Yet, she wanted him to know. She had been thinking of him, she had been wishing to be held by him, to be showered with affectionate flatteries, to be visited in her dreams at night, and to be accompanied by his presence during the day.
Woohyun had put down his tiple, fixing his gaze on her as he turned his body to face hers. There was a pained and desperate longing written behind his hesitance. He did not know what overcame him when he lifted his hand to trace the side of her cheek using gentle fingers. But she neither flinched nor looked away.
“I am trying my hardest to suppress my own feelings,” he whispered softly, and every syllable caressed her skin with a gentle warmth. “Yet, you test my limits and make it impossible for me to do so.”
Hyunmi’s breath was caught behind . Forbidden words that she knew not to utter as a princess threatened to leave the tip of her tongue, collecting beneath her lips.
“What if,” she spoke lightly to test the steadiness of her voice before proceeding. “What if there were no limitations to your actions? What would you have done?”
Woohyun let a hearty chuckle escape his lips, almost finding her curiosity adorable and amusing at the same time. Perhaps a part of him knew what the princess was hoping for—he could hear her pleading through her eyes—and was willing to grant it.
“I would court the princess myself, and have her fall for me,” he began, lowering his voice so she’d have to lean in closer to listen. His other hand lightly wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer against him. She landed with her fist against his chest, but soon unrolled her fingers to press against him.
“And with her permission,” his eyes lowered with one thing preying his sight, “I wished to feel her lips pressed against mine.”
Hyunmi was enchanted, unable to think of any other reply than to allow him. Every time her heartbeat drummed against her chest, she could only hear it echo as a ‘yes, yes, yes.’ She knew it was wrong, she knew it was taboo, but she would willingly agree to have him kiss her.
“A-hem.”
The two looked sideways at the loud clearance of one’s throat—an obvious scheme to stop their actions. While being intimately interlocked within each other’s embrace, they quickly kept a distance when Sungjong’s presence was registered in their minds. The cat-human was leaning against the balcony entrance, twirling his tail in circles as he crossed his two legs.
“With such public exposure, perhaps you wanted to announce your secret love affair to the entire world,” he remarked with the creepy cheshire grin forming across his face. It was hard to tell whose side he was on: the princess or the king’s.
“Sungjong, I—”
“Hyunmi isn’t at fault. It was I who crossed my boundaries and acted recklessly with the intention of winning the princess’ affection.” Woohyun laced his fingers around hers, gently shielding her behind him. “I was unable to suppress the affections I held dear toward her.”
Sungjong raised an eyebrow, carefully observing what he was seeing. Cupid was protecting the princess, and as much as he doubted it, seemed genuine enough. And the princess, oh she was completely smitten. A smile stretched across her face, entirely blissed out but worried at the same time.
“But I was the one who led him to announce his feelings out loud. If anyone should be punished, it should be me,” Hyunmi then spoke, standing in front of Woohyun to protect him from blame.
Sungjong’s eyes widened, watching the two with utmost amusement. He hadn’t even spoken a word of condemnation, yet they were defending each other like star-crossed lovers about to be punished by a death sentence.
“You two make such negative assumptions,” he said playfully, and pushed himself away from the entrance. With light steps, he approached the two and grinned. “I do owe cupid at least one of my remaining eight lives. I suppose this is a scandal I could keep to myself.”
The two were surprised, remembering the Auxilio Elixir used to heal Sungjong’s wounds inflicted by the dreaded chimera. Who knew the cat’s gratitude came in the form of sealed lips?
“I do pity the Prince of Spade trying to court you, Hyunmi. The poor royalty stands no chance,” the cat then added on, and his tail swayed behind him in a rather sinister way. His true loyalty was hidden behind that wide grin on his face. “Clearly, the prince can’t own what is no longer available.”
The other two knew he was clearly referring to the princess’ heart. Hyunmi herself did not know when, but somewhere along the way, she had willingly let herself be swooned by the cupid. Her heart was right where it belonged, with him.
Hyunmi turned to meet Woohyun’s eyes. Conviction and shelter were found when she looked into them. Though she had complicated things, her determination to nullify the wedding only grew stronger. Now that her feelings were mutually reciprocated by the one she was fond of, she had faith that love was going to prevail all obstacles.
“I will refuse to marry the Prince of Spade, no matter what.”
Aaahhhhhhh one of my favorite chapters to write~ >/////<
I think I have a thing for interrupting WooMi before a kiss. Hehehehehe
Sunggyu's letter is the best! XD
Thank you all soooo much for reading and for leaving comments. I still hope you are all enjoying the story <3
Yay! Won the bid today! I hope you will enjoy the story~ Would love to know your thoughts, so please do leave comments too~ Thank youuu <3
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