“The Crown Prince will be visiting,” Prince Sehun declared to the party which consisted of men who were ranked from Lieutenant Colonel and above.

An uncomfortable sort of silence blanketed all of them as they awaited Prince Sehun to continue. It was apparent that none of the men in this meeting was fond of the Crown Prince and the facial expressions of there Prince Sehun, Princess Seungwan, and the Strategist were especially grave.

“We will have to prepare accommodations for the Crown Prince, his royal party and escorts. The purpose of the Crown Prince’s visit will be to celebrate the success of Proposal Crimson Pride,” Prince Sehun continued.

The Prince had his brows furrowed and his eyes scanning the individuals’ faces to gauge their responses. Amongst them, he saw Lieutenant Colonel Chanyeol looking especially uneasy and knew that he must have heard many stories from Seungwan.

Princess Seungwan then took over the Prince to address the rest, “we must be well-prepared to receive the Crown Prince. Double up the security of the camp and make sure no harm comes to the Crown Prince. Colonel and Lieutenant Colonels, it will be your duties to see to the manpower arrangements.”

The men who had been given instructions nodded curtly. Then, the discussion went on about how there would be a grand feast during the Crown Prince’s visits and that all the Prides were naturally invited to commend them for their achievements. The pair of royal siblings also told the party that they were unsure of how long the Crown Prince would be staying at the camp but would require the Elite Troops to be extra alert during this period of time.

Tension filled the air as they awaited the arrival of the Crown Prince at the camp a week after their meeting. The receiving party consisted of the Fourth Prince and Eldest Princess, the Strategist and finally the military men ranked from Lieutenant Colonel and above.

Prince Sehun and Princess Seungwan, had changed out of the usual earth-coloured robes and tunics they wore in camp to brighter, livelier ones.

The General stood together with the royal siblings with one hand resting on the hilt of the sword by her waist. Seulgi had seen the Crown Prince a few times when she had been younger. The image the General had of the Crown Prince slowly changed from one of valour to flamboyance. The Crown Prince kept true to Seulgi’s image of his flamboyance and it was made apparent within the first few minutes of his arrival.

As he emerged from the carriage, the General noticed that his face was heavily powdered and it was difficult to miss the elaborate accessories he had worn. With a lazy smile on his face, the Crown Prince first approached his brother, the Fourth Prince with open arms. In Seulgi’s opinion, it was an over-friendly gesture before everyone else.

Prince Sehun returned a smile, one that looked genuine enough. The Crown Prince then threw another smile and tilted his head a little to the Princess to acknowledge his sister and the Princess returned the gesture with a deeper bow. It was apparent that there was slightly more animosity between the Crown Prince and the Princess and this was probably alluded to the fact that the Princess had spent more time with the Crown Prince in the Palace than Prince Sehun had.

Seulgi sighed inwardly as she thought about the affairs between the royal siblings. The General was no stranger to complicated family’s affair. However, matters amongst the royalties could have detrimental effects on the country especially if the one wielding more power was the less competent one.

The Royal siblings, Lord Commander, Strategist, General, Colonel, and Lieutenant Colonels walked in an arrow-head formation, with the Royal guards flanking them.   

With a jade cup of wine in one hand, which was constantly refilled by his aide who rushed to his side whenever the Crown Prince had taken a big gulp, the Crown Prince made his round in the camp without paying much attention as Prince Sehun explained the workings of the Elite Troop’s camp.

The day later passed with the Crown Prince making merry and making a foolery out of himself in his semi-drunken state. Twice, the Crown Prince had stumbled over his own robes. Then, when he had demanded to practice archery, he had missed the boards entirely and blamed it on the winds when there had been none. Prince Sehun and Princess Seungwan’s brows were knitted together and they looked utterly embarrassed of their elder brother’s actions.

Seulgi has read many books about great empires failing by the hands of inept kings and leaders. The General could draw similarities between those kings described in the book with the Crown Prince that was before her. They all had very little care about their surroundings, only about having fun, and was in no state of mind to manage a country. Joohyun, who had been walking beside the General the entire time seemed to be able to read Seulgi’s thoughts and turned to offer the General a dry smile.

Behind them, the Colonel and Lieutenant Colonels also sounded restless as they shuffled their feet along. Their body postures not as erect as before as they witnessed the behaviour of the Crown Prince.

After the short tour around the Elite Troop’s camp, the Fourth Prince had patiently advised that the Crown Prince rest in his tent for the remainder of the day. Awkward smiles were passed between the party when the Crown Prince had refused and instead demanded to go for a hunting trip. It was after much persuasion, from both the Royal siblings that the Crown Prince finally yielded.

The same party of men had convened and in attendance of their tactical meeting the next day with regards to the war declaration letter from Wei’Ya was the Crown Prince who seemed just disinterested in this matter as well. The only comment that came from him was, “crush them and do the Crown proud.” The Crown Prince quickly veered the topic to the Grand feast which will be held in a few nights, much to the consternation of the Royal siblings.

Seulgi caught the look of disapproval on Jongin’s face and prayed that the Crown Prince would not gaze in the Colonel’s direction. The General was briefly reminded that Jongin would soon be part of the Royal Guards, perhaps even before the war with Wei’Ya took place and Seulgi sighed inwardly.

Returning his attention back to Crown Prince Luhan, Seulgi then realised that the Crown Prince’s eyes seemed to be riveted on someone and it made Seulgi furious. The Strategist.

“The feast must be a grand one, spend as much as you want, all expenses will be on the crown. We must… give due recognition for our lady Strategist for her efforts,” the Crown Prince lips curved into a smile as he said and there was lust behind those eyes of his.

Joohyun bowed her head slightly to receive the Crown Prince’s praise however she added, “the Fourth Prince and Eldest Princess did the most. Not to mention, the Prides were the finest men and the act of them volunteering themselves was the most commendable.”

The greasy smile lingered on the Crown Prince’s face as he continued admiring the Strategist unashamedly before everyone else. The tent was quiet for a long moment as everyone waited for the Crown Prince’s response which finally came. Waving his hand flamboyantly the Crown Prince returned.

“Qi’An has been blessed with a most humble lady. Yes, I know of my Royal Siblings contributions to the Proposal and recognise the Prides’ valour but you, my lady, is the most deserving of them all. We will have to reward you duly.”

Seulgi’s eyes narrowed as she guessed what the Crown Prince might have been implying. Then, as timely or as untimely as it was, the Lord Commander joined that meeting with a sharp swoosh of the tent flap. Seulgi saw the lustful expression on the Crown Prince’s face melt away and his easy posture became slightly more erect. The Lord Commander seemed to h