Eunseo came to find that Shanliang was nothing like Xiwang.  

People worked hard, but they did so with smiles on their faces and more than enough food on their tables. At night, the streets were crowded with people hanging out, chatting, drinking together, and singing and dancing in the middle of the streets. 

Eunseo was quick to get the hang of it, and she soon enough started to hang out with Wonho and Hyungwon's friends. She noticed how close Wonho was with Kihyun, the guard that lead her to King N the first day.  

But Eunseo's resolve wasn't weakened by all the fun and games. Everyday, before and after work, she meditated, just like Cheng Xiao had taught her, and trained her sword skills, trying to figure out how to fight with two swords.  

It was challenging, especially because her sword was very different from Cheng Xiao's. Hers was lighter and swifter, while Cheng Xiao's was sharper, but also heavier. It was tough to keep her balance while swinging both swords with entirely different shapes and weights, but Eunseo managed to make her hands cooperate with her, using her own sword on her left hand and Cheng Xiao's on her right.  

There was not a day Eunseo didnt’t think about Cheng Xiao, not a night she wouldn’t fall asleep with her smile on her mind. Thinking about her and the promise they held gave Eunseo the strength she needed to wake up every day with a smile on her lips, ready for another day of hard work at the brothers' workshop. 

Hyungwon and Wonho had a rather big house for a non-noble family. She got installed in a spare room by her own, a great relief for someone who was trying to hide her... physiognomy. But even so, Eunseo had to face some awkward situations. Wonho was used to bathing with his brother, so when he nonchalantly asked Eunseo to join, she had to come up with an excuse, saying because she didn’t have brothers, she was never used to it and liked to have her own privacy.  

Eunseo had came back from her early morning practice when someone knocked on the door. She volunteered to go open it, since the brothers were still having breakfast. 

“Good morning, Junwoo.” 

“Good morning, Kihyun! Wonho is having breakfast, wanna come in?” Eunseo smiled at him. 

“I will come in, and it's alright that Wonho is having breakfast.”  

Eunseo irked and eyebrow and let him step in, closing the door and following him inside. 

“Kihyun.” Wonho seemed surprised to see him, but there still was a smile on his lips. “Want to join us for breakfast?” 

“I would, but I’m on duty.” Kihyun gave him a sad smile. “I’m here to relay an important message from His Majesty, so please pay attention.”  

Eunseo leaned against the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee on her hands and eyes fixed on him. 

“Please, be at the castle gates tomorrow by midday. His Majesty has an announcement of the utmost importance.”  

The brothers and Eunseo exchanged a look. 

“And what exactly do you want for you to tell us right now what that announcement might be?” Wonho wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk. 

Kihyun chuckled out loud. 

“You wished. To say the truth, I’m just as clueless as any of you.”  

Eunseo took a sip on her hot coffee, wondering what could be so important for Hakyeon to summon them. 

♚♚♚

Turns out he hadn’t only summoned them. Hundreds of people stood waiting by the castle gates for the King to give his speech. 

When Eunseo was about to turn to Wonho, loud cheers and applauses erupted as King N appeared in the balcony.  

“Thank you everyone for joining me today.” King N started, as the crowd calmed down. “I appreciate your warm welcome, as I will now appreciate your full attention. As you know, my dear son, MinHyuk, died in war, in order to protect our people and our kingdom. May his soul be at rest." The king touched his heart and faced down for a second, before raising his head again and scanning the crowd. "After this tragic occurrence, I understand that the lot of you are concerned about the future of the kingdom and the succession of my bloodline. It is my greatest wish to assure that Shanliang continues to be ruled under the same values of truth, honesty, fairness, and kindness I strive to uphold today, even after I have left. For that reason, starting in a month, there will be a competition.”  

People started whispering and looking around at each other in confusion. 

“What kind of competition, Your Majesty?” Someone asked. 

“Yes. First of all, each family is encouraged, although not required, to present at least one contender, man or woman, to enter the competition. Then, the volunteers will compete in a series of trials. They can either be a physical test, a sword fight, or even a history test. I will personally supervise the trials and judge not only the skills, but the character of the competitors.”  

More whispers and muttering around.  

“The purpose of this...” King N continued, and silence followed. “Is to find one person worthy and capable of being trained under my guard... and become my heir.” 

Eunseo's eyes were fixed on Hakyeon the entire time. Her heart thumped hard against her chest as she clenched her fists in determination. So that's what he had meant on the first day. That the time would come when she could prove her worth. 

♚♚♚

Later that day, after work and late practice, Eunseo was having dinner with the brothers. She was quieter than usual, eyes fixed on her food. 

“Junwoo, is everything alright?” Wonho asked, making Hyungwon also look at her. 

“Hm, yes, I’m fine.” She faked a smile. 

“You’re thinking about the competition. You want to join.” He stated. 

Eunseo met his eyes and gave him a small smile. 

“You also want to join.” She answered. 

Wonho laughed. “I don’t. I hold the king very dear, but I don't find myself fit of being an heir. I like my job and I don’t intent to abandon it. I think you have nothing to lose, though.”  

There were a few seconds of silence. 

"W-What about you, Hyungwon?” She turned to him. 

“Oh, no no. I don’t like fighting. I can barely hold myself up as a weapon smith, can you imagine me as a swordsman?" He chuckled and pointed at his own tall, skinny figure. "You should do it. You seem pretty passionate about swordsmanship. I think you'd do great." 

Eunseo looked at the both of them.  

“Then, it's decided that you're going to sign up.” Wonho finished with a smile.  

There was nothing that could stop her now. She would win the competition and return to Xiwang as prince and heir of Shanliang, ready to take Cheng Xiao with her. Cheng Xiao's prince would be her, and only her. 

♚♚♚

A month. Eunseo had already been practicing every single day, but after the announcement, the brothers were so supportive they reduced her workload so she could practice harder. She had to master the two swords until the competition, and it still was a tough task.  

Wonho decided to help her, training with her when he got some free time. Turns out he was also a great swordsman, better than Eunseo would expect, although it was only logical. Since he made weapons, he had to understand how they were best used. But, like Hyungwon, he didn't like fighting and preferred a quiet, craftsman life. 

Practice had been especially tough that day.Wonho had constantly bested her right side the whole day and she became so frustrated her focus suffered a great deal. 

But now, Eunseo was finally back home. A warm bath was what she needed to rest her sore muscles, so she headed directly to the bathroom. Her mind drifted to the competition, trying to imagine what kind of trials were to happen. What if she couldn’t do it? What if she was overly confident and lost in the very beginning? No. Eunseo wouldn’t lose. She couldn’t afford to lose. Wining the competition was a big step towards her end goal. She would win because Cheng Xiao was her motivation. She would win because the prize she would receive was bigger than just becoming Shanliang’s heir. 

When the water started going cold, it was time to head off and maybe go help the brothers with dinner. When Eunseo got up from the bathtub, she realized she'd mindlessly gone to the bathroom and forgot a damned towel. 

“Hey guys, can any of you bring me a towel?” She shouted, close to the door, covering her body. She could never be too careful. 

“Just a sec!” Hyungwon shouted from the other side.  

Eunseo stood behind the door and tried to cover her body as much as she could.  

But the door suddenly flew open- 

“Here you go, Junwo- oh my god-" 

“Get out!” Eunseo snatched the towel from his hands and covered her exposed body. 

“What the hell!?” His widened eyes stared at her from head to toe, as everything he could see now was her feet, shoulders, wet, draping hair and her terrified features. 

“I said out!”  

“WONHO!” He called, his feet glued to the floor. 

“GET OUT!” 

“What’s going on?!” Wonho stormed inside the bathroom, his gaze jumping between the both of them. 

“Junwoo-“ 

“Please-“ 

“He-“ 

“Leave!” 

“He’s a woman!” 

Eunseo couldn’t look at any of them. She kept her head down and her hands holding on the towel like her life depended on it. But she couldn’t keep her head down when Wonho let out a loud chuckle. She raised her head and found Hyungwon staring at him in disbelief as well. 

“Really, brother? You're so naïve.” Wonho laughed, messing up his brother’s hair. 

“Y-you knew?!” Hyungwon asked, his chin almost reaching the ground. 

“How didn't you know?” 

“Are you kidding me?! Do you know how hard it is to change my voice? Do you know how long it's been since I've used this voice? And you're telling me it was all useless?” Eunseo let her real voice talk. 

“I’m sorry, I just assumed you had a really good reason to keep that disguise, and I don't judge you for it. But why don’t we discuss this while having dinner? Hyungwon, come on.” Wonho said, leaving with his still stunned brother. 

Eunseo didn’t remember being so embarrassed in whole her life. And to think Wonho had known all this time. She felt ridiculous, but also relieved that he never treated her differently, knowing she was a woman. 

After getting dressed and breathing deeply a few times, she opened the door and left the bathroom. As she stepped in the main room, she was greeted with a smile from Wonho and a weird look from Hyungwon. She sat and with much effort, looked at them. 

“As I said earlier, I don’t judge you for your choices. But now that you know that I know, I would like to know a bit more about the real you.” 

Eunseo gulped and nodded. 

“My name is Eunseo. And I’m sorry for lying to the both of you. It’s not easy for me either, but for my own safety, I decided to hide my identity when I ran away from Xiwang.” She explained. 

“Eunseo...” Wonho repeated. “Pretty name you have, but I assume you want us to keep calling you Junwoo.” 

“Yes, please. People aren’t supposed to know I’m a woman, and now I’m worried I make it too obvious.” 

“You don’t. But I spend all day with you and well, we do physical labor, so it's really not hard to tell that your structure is not that... masculine, even with the baggy clothes you wear.” Wonho scratched his head. “Would you like to get your hair cut? Hyungwon is also skilled with hair.” 

Eunseo widened her eyes. “No! No, I like my hair like this. I’m used to the ponytail now. But thank you, I appreciate your help.” 

Wonho chuckled and turned to Hyungwon, who was still in shock. 

"Don't mind Hyungwon here." Wonho chuckled. "I don't think he'd ever seen a woman so... candidly, so he's a bit distraught. And I think he's sort of worried he invaded your privacy." 

Hyungwon lowered his head and nodded weakly. 

"Oh." Eunseo irked an eyebrow. "Don't worry, Hyungwon. We used to change in front of each other all the time at the guard, men and women together, so I'm really not about that privacy thing, like I said. I only said that because... well, it's obvious. I screamed in the bathroom because I was scared that you'd out me as a liar and a traitor, or something like that." 

"We'd never do something like that." Wonho patted her back with a smile. "You've been taken in our household, so no matter what, you're our brother Junwoo. Your secret is safe with us, got it?" 

"Thank you." Eunso smiled back and sighed in relief. 

There were times Eunseo couldn’t understand what was going on in their heads, but she was glad to have Wonho and Hyungwon as friends... no, brothers. With the both of them backing her up, she was sure going to ace this competition. She wouldn’t disappoint Wonho, Hyungwon, Cheng Xiao, or herself.  

♚♚♚

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the late update, I've had this chapter ready for a while but I've been sick and it was Christmas and I only managed to update it now. I hope you all had a good Christmas! c:

I hope I can update faster the next time, and until then, enjoy New Year's! <3