Chapter 5 - The Bride

A young man flopped himself on the edge of a river and threw his fishing pole into the water, humming. "What a nice day." The cool breeze blew against his skin, and he enjoyed it, running his fingers through his hair. It was already past noon, and he couldn't wait to see his wife again at home. "Come on, fish. I have to bring you home so Taeyeon can cook you," he mumbled to himself.

His gaze darted at the clear blue sky, and he smiled before shifting it back to the water, where something from the upstream caught his attention. His eyes widened as he spotted a human body lying on the ground, the feet barely touching the water. "What the—“ He threw his fishing pole aside, rushed to it, and bent down to check the body’s condition. It was a soldier, whose body was full of wounds, especially on the left side of the stomach, which he assumed had been stabbed by a weapon.

He pressed his fingers on the soldier’s neck and still could feel a pulse. Thank God. The pulse was very weak, though. If he found the body a few hours later, the soldier would have been dead.

Without thinking much further, he lifted the body up and carried the soldier. But instead of dragging the body along, he fell down instead. "Oh, come on."

Inside the Silla Kingdom, there stood the princess, her smile lost for she had lost her warrior. Her white wedding dress flowed gracefully on her body as her servants prepared her as a bride. Each of them were tasked to make her look perfect. Her hair, her skin, her body, and her wedding dress were beyond the dreams of every woman of the era. Yet her eyes were empty, like there was no soul in them.

She stared at herself in the mirror. A poor girl with no power to live her own life. Just like a doll being played, she was. She would rather die than marry Jinsa and live in the kingdom that had killed Sehun.

Yet she was still there. What was she doing there? She didn't even have a life to fight for. Was she that fragile?

One of her servants tried to wipe a tear that had made its way down her cheek without her even realizing it, but she pushed away. "Get off—“ She struggled to break away while her servants tried to calm her down.

"No, he didn't kill my son! Sehun is not dead. He couldn't just die. He couldn't…"

Someone was screaming outside the room. Ye Ryung.

"Give me back my son. He is my only son…" The voice became shaky, followed by sobs. "Let me see King Jun. I have to speak to him."

" Ye Ryung." Irene stormed toward the door, and there in the hallway stood Ye Ryung, with some guards blocking her way to the entrance of the King's bedroom. It used to be Irene’s father's, but now it was her uncle's. " Ye Ryung..." Irene collapsed, crying, and Ye Ryung hugged her.

"Oh, my dear princess..." Ye Ryung felt Irene's tears on her neck. Irene stared up at her with broken eyes, and Ye Ryung's eyes widened at the sight of Irene's wedding dress. "What happened to you? What have they done to you?"

Irene only shook her head in denial. " Ye Ryung, Sehun..."

"He's dead," came a cold voice. The door to the King's bedroom had been opened. "Even if the two of you deny it," Jun said.

"I will not believe what you said until I see it with my own eyes. My son," Ye Ryung said, anger in her eyes for what Jun had done to Sehun. "You are a bastard. Give me back my son." How she wished she could just kill him. Even if he was Yong Jae's brother, they were so different.

Jun laughed. "You and your son are no more than dirt in this castle. My brother had indeed made a terrible mistake of putting you here." His voice was full of disgust. "Now that your filthy son is gone, there is no reason for you to be here anymore. Get rid of her now," he ordered the guards.

"No—“ Irene tried to fight for Ye Ryung before a slap landed on her cheek.

"Now, will you do something useful for this kingdom, Irene? Do not make me ashamed," he barked as she touched her swollen cheek, trying to hold back the pain. "The ceremony will take place tonight, so you better get ready. There is no better candidate who can offer something to this kingdom like he can."

"Let go of me." Ye Ryung struggled to break free as the guards dragged her along the hallway. They would throw her out of the castle. "Don't do it, Irene," were her last words as she was still trying to do what was right. She knew that her son would really die if Irene were to ruin her life with a beast like Jinsa, who only wanted to take advantage of her.

"Ye Ryung!" Irene cried out while the other guards dragged her back to her room.

Taeyeon was in the kitchen, preparing dinner and singing her favorite song. Her hands were busy chopping all the vegetables she had collected earlier today. Her thoughts wandered to her husband, and a smile formed on her lips as she imagined his happy face when he gets home.

She heard a knock on the door and rushed toward it to welcome her husband. "Here comes the fish." Her voice was full of exitement.

She opened the door and almost fell back as her husband abruptly came in, dragging a stranger. "Baekhyun. What happened?" Her eyes fell on the wounds on the soldier's body, and she gasped. "Oh, honey…"

"Found him at the river. He needs immediate treatment," Baekhyun barely spoke, still catching his breath. It was one hell of a journey dragging the man to his house. He shuffled towards the bedroom and placed the person on the bed. "It's a miracle he's still alive."

"Seems like he's not from here," Taeyeon concluded, positive she had never seen the soldier's uniform before. She grabbed the emergency kit and handed it to her husband. "He's lucky you found him." Baekhyun was a doctor after all.

"He's one hell of a lucky man. Look here, somebody stabbed him." Baekhyun examined the stomach, earning a gasp from her before taking the clothing off. "Judging by the look of his outfit, he must be someone of importance.”

Taeyeon spotted the scar on the soldier's back and covered with her hand. "My God…"

"A scar from a predator, a permanent one. Looks like it's from a long time ago," Baekhyun concluded. "I thought only cats have nine lives."

Taeyeon shuddered, staring at the stranger lying on the bed. He must have been someone very strong. For such a person to exist and be in her house now…

"He's not dangerous, right?" she asked, worries skating all over her face.

Baekhyun turned his head towards her and noticed fear in her eyes. "I couldn't just leave him there to die, could I?" the question left his lips, and she smiled.

"Of course you couldn't. I would be mad at you if you did," she murmured and leaned forward to give him a kiss. "I trust you."

"Open the door!" Irene pushed at the door, trying to get out of her room, but it was no use. The wedding ceremony would take place in an hour that night, and it would be a nightmare for her. In fact, everything had been a nightmare ever since her father had left.

She would only waste her energy if she kept insisting on somebody to open the door. No one would open it for her. She had to find another way.

Her legs moved towards the balcony, and she stepped out before turning to the left where the balcony to the King's room was a few meters apart. Right after that balcony, there was another balcony as a way back into the hallway of the castle. She inhaled a deep breath and tried to control her heart beat. Never had she thought that she would have to do something this dangerous. 'Come on, Irene. You can do it', she told herself.

After taking a deep breath, she climbed up from her balcony and stepped carefully on the edge of the castle's stone wall. Her hands held onto it for dear life, shaking, and she almost thought she wouldn't make it. But no, she couldn't fall here, for she would probably die if she did. When she continued her steps, her foot almost slipped, and a gasp left . She tried to regain her control, holding onto the wall. Now, she hated her wedding dress even more. It was such a trouble for her to move.

She finally reached the balcony to the King's room and stepped down carefully, catching her breath. Her uncle shouldn’t see her, so she peeped inside first before making another move.

"Now you'll finally get what you have always wanted."

It was Jun's voice. He was talking to someone.

"Yes, so will you." Jinsa’s voice.

Laughter escaped from Jun's lips. The way he laughed sent shivers down her spine.

"You mean this crown?" Jun snickered. "It should have been mine a long time ago."

Jinsa stepped forward to him and smirked. "I am amazed that you waited for such a long time. Nine years, isn't it?"

"Yes, indeed. Nine years ago. If only fate had been on my side, if only the wolf had killed him that day. Yet it attacked that stupid warrior, the disgusting one who dared to steal this crown by taking advantage of my niece. He should have died as well nine years ago."

Jinsa smiled. His plan was perfect for the situation. "But luck must have been on your side, for another wolf had killed your brother a few weeks ago."

Now, it was Jun's time to smirk. "It wasn't luck."

Irene’s heart felt like stopping.