After seeing how his brother treated Myungeun and helplessly witnessing everything, Seokjin spent more hours learning sword fighting and martial arts than he had ever done before. His father didn’t even notice how he sneaked into abandoned rooms, diligently studying with the help of hidden notes from the palace’s library and practising over and over again.

He was lucky because when it once came to his usual practice in the afternoon, one of the martial arts’ teachers who worked with his brothers in the palace, caught him in the middle of his act and offered to teach him properly. He wasn’t allowed to train with his brothers because his father claimed that it wouldn’t do any good to the royal family. It wasn’t a surprise though as he didn’t even look at Seokjin like he was his son. From the day Seokjin was born, he was labelled as a scourge. He didn’t even know why Bang Sihyuk-ssi decided to help him.

However, with the said martial arts master, he finally had the chance to learn all the tricks that he needed in order to protect himself. Nonetheless, every learning is a process, so it came as no surprise that at first, he still couldn’t put into practice what he had learned. He wasn’t strong enough. He knew that it wasn’t merely psychological; he wasn’t mentally prepared to fight back. He would have to go against his own rules if he wanted to overcome his fear of hurting others.

Due to the fact that he was still a newbie, he could easily end up in the larder with the lovely Myungeun who was trying to patch him up. Of course, the doors were locked, they were all by themselves. Not even the chef knew about their secret hide-out.

“Why do people hurt others?” the little boy asked innocently while Myungeun was putting some kind of a leaf on his bruised skin. It hurt him like he was walking on fire but he tried not to show it. The girl was risking her own status in the palace while helping him, so he didn’t want to put an even heavier weight on her shoulders.

“I’m afraid I don’t know the perfect answer to that question,” the princess shook her head with an apologetic smile. Even though he was in pain, just seeing that smile of hers or looking into her hickory-brown eyes made him forget about all the misery in the world. “I don’t know the reason behind people’s hate. I think in a way we all try to find our place in this tangled world, chasing after shooting stars and wishing upon them like they would really make our dreams come true. When things don’t go according to our plan, we panic, we blame others and we try to hate someone instead of hating this unknown mystery that some call fate, some call destiny,” she whispered to make sure that no one could hear them while she placed some herbs on his scarred skin. He flinched at the sudden searing pain but pressured his lips and endured the pain. It was still better than being beaten up by his own brother.

Apart from the green leaves, her words felt like a kind of medicine, too. Not just his body but his heart was also screaming for help; when his misery seemed unbearable, she was there. Every single time. Not just this one. She definitely kept her promise.

“How can you be so smart?” Jin blurted out and the princess couldn’t help but giggle at his adorable question. Her laughter sounded like a lullaby told by beloved mothers – it was precious for him because he never once heard anything like this before.

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