IV - The Scarlet League

"You wanted to talk Marquis?" 

"Yes admiral please take a seat" Daehyun he gestured towards the seat across his desk. The Marquis had began contemplating confronting Jongup. For a second, he wanted to completely forget about it and improve their relationship. He knew this would make it worse. 

"I wanted to inform you that admiral Yoo is now in safe conditions" The Marquis watched the expression change on Jongup's face. 

"What? How?" he asked panicked.

"It doesn't matter how, what matters is what you did! You could have gotten caught by the enemy. In fact you are lucky I was quick to solve this" The Marquis remained collected, he didn't want this to escalate.

"Stop acting as if you were worried about me being caught" he began to raise his voice "Daehyun admit you care more about our enemy!" 

Daehyun's opened his mouth to speak but had quickly closed his mouth when nothing would come out. What was Jongup thinking? He must have gotten the wrong impression.

"Jongup, I did what was for the best.  To make sure this was swept under the rug and so that everyone was safe" 

"Pfft" he scoffed. "I know you Daehyun. I know when you change" 

"I hav-"

"He was pretty...but not in the same way as our Marquis" 

"Jongup!" Daehyun stood up, his face blushing red, a mixture of both anger and embarrassment.

"It's fine if you won't admit your overprotectiveness of the enemy. You don't have to" Jongup began walking away to leave. 

"Don't you dare leave Jongup" the Marquis seethed. He couldn't contain his anger. The door had shut with a bang sealing the tension in his office.

*

Youngjae had finally awoken blinking  slowly and taking in his surrounding. He saw there were people around him which had cleared his grogginess and caused him to shoot up in panic turning swiftly at all the faces before calming down. He was in his room with his closest admirals. 

"Y-youngjae you're awake?" the youngest admiral and secretary pointed at him in shock. 

Youngjae rubbed his head feeling a headache coming on before smiling at the young admiral. 

"I guess I am" he shrugged.

More people began to gather around him all asking their own questions which the admiral could understand and was grateful for but right now he needed time to think. He informed everyone and they all left, giving him some space.

A tea and some food was prepared for him on his own coffee table. He noticed he was at his home which he was confused about. As well as everyone else he also had many questions. As he sipped his tea he tried to recall what had happened before he appeared at home. He remembers being in the room alone and then having some men barge in and seize him. From then on he could not remember anything else. But one thing he thought he had seen was the emblem of the Empire on one of the men's uniform. He was sure he had caught a glimpse of it. That made him further confused. Why would the Empire take him back when they had abducted him in the first place?. He shook his head and continued to eat. He hadn't been fed in those three days.

* 

On Kei, it was midnight and out of hours for those in the Empire. However, in an underground base not far from the Empire stronghold, a group of lower ranking commanders kept their secrets from the rest. They gathered for the first time informally, having a drink over how they were going damage the reputation of the Marquis and force him to resign. It all started with an admiral who despised the Marquis. He confided in other lower commanders who also had the same ideas about him. Soon a few like-minded people had gathered together to form what they called the Scarlet League. They all met to discuss their plans in their first meeting.

"I'm suprised by the turnout, you must all really dislike our Marquis" the 'boss' of all the men who sat around a table told them. "Men, we all want better for our Empire and planet don't we?" the boss, admiral Cho pushed away his drink. The other men nodded. "How can we when have an arrogant, hot-headed so-called Marquis. The likes of him is no good for anyone!" 

"He seems to care much more about his best friend" one lower ranking commander added. "I've been watching them lately and it seems they are quite distant" 

"I've also noticed something" another commander chimed in. "I saw admiral Moon quite late into the evening going towards the Marquis' office. So I followed and eavesdropped whilst I could" the commander crossed his arms smugly, proud of his detective work. The others, interested to hear, listened intently. "I couldn't hear too well, but they seemed to be arguing. There was something about admiral Yoo of the Alliance now being in safe hands and how admiral Moon could have been caught" 

"A kidnapping maybe?" one commader spoke up

"Maybe, but it was all too unclear. Also, admiral Moon accuses the Marquis to have a particular liking over our enemy" 

"Maybe that's why everything has been so quiet lately, he seems to be glued to his office all the time" admiral Cho scoffed. "Still, that was perfect information. If we begin to leak this across the Empire it would sure to cause chaos and should tarnish his 'pretigious' name'" the boss stood up. "Men, spread the word but carefully, it doesn't matter if it is not the full information but any word is good right now. Be mindful, we wouldn't want him to sniff us out quickly; he is a very smart man" 

The men all agreed and began to leave. The Scarlet League would officially be carrying out their first operation which was to create a noise among the Empire. They wanted to destroy his name and strip his authority in the Empire. 

In the morning, Daehyun had quickly become annoyed with himself. He found himself thinking about the words Jongup said and not the words which almost ruined his friendship but the ones that had described his enemy. Jongup said he was pretty. He found himself wondering what that could mean. How could a man be pretty?. Yet Daehyun could still agree. When he had first seen him in that video message he was quite something. He couldn't forget that warm brown hair which had intendid to be neat but still found a way to  appear ruffled. His eyes were tired and lidded throughout the video, it unconciously made Daehyun wonder why and if he was taking care of himself properly.  He found himself staring deeply at his image that day. But Jongup has seen him up close and maybe even touched him, that thought unconciously made him frown. He trusts Jongup description; a video messsage is definitely not enough to capture all aspects of beauty and Daehyun was the first to know that. 

Daehyun had sorted through some papers when he came aross an open envelope. It had the mark of the galaxy union which automatically triggered his memory. Tonight was the night of the new year and the annual celebration of the galaxy entering the new year. On this night which Daehyun has attended every time since he had entered the ranks, included members of the military and leading powers of all planets who gathered for awards, talks for a better galaxy and rank promotions. Daehyun froze. He would be seeing Youngjae in person for the very first time. He tried to fight the small smile that crept onto his face remembering they are enemies. He began launching into thoughts such as how tall he may be or what his mannerisms may be like. He even wondered how his lips may look. Daehyun's mood had suddenly shifted into a reprimanding one when the image of Jongup had flashed into his head. Maybe Jongup was right. Maybe he was being extra careful for the enemy and maybe he did think about him too much for man he said he'll crush. This had never happened when the Alliance was under the admiral before Youngjae. It was normal to be occupied with the activities of the opposition but Daehyun hadn't woke up a single day with the thoughts of the previous opposition. So why was it he did for the new one?. Daehyun began questioning himself. Youngjae was a threat to him Daehyun reminded himself. A mere threat and nothing more. 

To prevent the Alliance making claims against the Empire, the Marquis decided he'd write a private letter to Youngjae. As much as it was disliked to make personal relations with the opposition especially for a man with a rank like Daehyun, he found himself doing it. From Youngjae's actions and decisions he was definitely different from previous Alliance leaders. He never went out of his way to challenge the Empire. He knew Youngjae was logical and didn't act violently so he was confident it would not get leaked. The letter was convincing and slightly apologetic; a risk Daehyun had to make to be sure Youngjae would understand. He lingered at the last word feeling it was empty. In this moment he could write whatever he wished and nobody would ever know. But what would he say to him? I can't understand why you occupy my thoughts so much or I'll end you and your measly Alliance. Daehyun sighed and signed off the letter unsure of how he felt. He placed it in an envelope excluding the Empire stamp and tucked it under a few papers, an edge still sticking out. 

The Marquis had a meeting over brunch with the nobles and left his closest secretary Song in charge whilst he was gone. He left briefly in order to find Song, leaving his door unlocked. Promptly, an admiral emerged. Admiral Cho of the Scarlet League entered the highly confidential office of the Marquis which was strictly out of bounds. Personally, admiral Cho hated the Marquis' favouritism. Admiral Moon was also an enemy of his. He was a man who was given the freedom to do whatever he pleased at the nod of the Marquis. To Cho, he was almost sure they shared a private relationship. That was the only reason he could think of for the attachment of the Marquis to his admiral. He needed evidence. He scanned the room quickly with the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He had to find anything, anything that would ruin him. He searched his table when his eyes caught the edge of an envelope tucked underneath some papers. He pulled it out and saw it was unsealed and was addressed to admiral Yoo. 'So it must he true' He chuckled to himself remebering what the other commander said. He read the paper finding out exactly what had taken place. But he wasn't satisifed. Not yet. He pulled the closest paper to him and began writing his own letter. He rushed the message and forged his signature before placing every perfectly back in place and slipped out. 

*
In the evening, notable members of each planet had gathered for the celebration of the new year. The seating plan was placed for the main two rivals of the galaxy to be separated by Tatsu, Toto and Shishi planets. That meant the Empire and Alliance were at opposite ends with Tatsu closest to Kei and Shishi closest to Joko, Toto inbetween Shishi and Tatsu. Members of the Kei planet had arrived last, the military glistening in gold lined uniforms. The Marquis had appeared behind his men with majority of people turning at his presence. For a man that ran the military, his aura and looks were loved by many from all planets. He wore a white uniform for the celebration which greatly contrasted from the rest of the audience; a colour the Marquis had purposely chosen. It was also gold lined and made with the finest fabrics. He had a cape which draped over his chest an shoulders with gold shoulder pads embellished with fringes. Many women were hypnotised by his striking looks which he brushed off naturally. Yet under visuals, he felt a little nervous. He was in the same room as admiral Yoo, he was so close to him but he couldn't see him at all. The room was dimmed and mostly filled already so it was impossible to find him in the crowds. The Marquis finally sat trying to focus on the environental project formulated by the galaxy union for a greener planet. 

On the other side of the room Youngjae had turned to see the commotion. Around him were whispers and necks craning to view something. His secretary had tapped him when he saw his confusion and whispered that Marquis Jung had arrived. Youngjae who has never seen of felt his presence in person had also turned to try and get a glimpse. Youngjae was amazed when most of the black and gold uniform men had passed to reveal a crisp white uniform and a blindening gold lining. Youngjae himself was in awe. If he had thought his presence was grand on video it was nothing to how he had entered in this moment. He watched his facial expressions closely, he didn't smile or make any proper eye contact. He scanned the crowd briefly before he sat and was out of sight. Youngjae sighed. He was a marvelous man who was able to capture the attention and hearts of many people; women and men. Youngjae wondered if he could ever be like that but disagreed as it was simply not in his nature. The Marquis' image lingered in his head a while more. He truly lived up to his rank. 

The Marquis had braced himself for the rank promotions. Every year he had increased his rank until two celebrations ago he was promoted to enter the imperial ranks for his fine work in the military and contribution to politics. He was infamous for winning every battle of the galaxy until the Alliance had succeeded under admiral Yoo. Unlike the other military leaders on the planet, the Marquis had reached nobility quite quickly. From a simple commander he rose to fleet admiral to supreme fleet admiral. He then became a noble, beginning at a lord then to a duke and to becoming the marquis. Rising through the ranks was more than perfect for Daehyun and once he entered the military imperial ranks, he was closer to overthrowing the Kaiser. The rank promotions began with the Empire. The audience had hushed at the name of Marquis Jung Daehyun all in anticipation to witness if he had been accepted to enter a higher rank or not. The Marquis held his breath, if there anything he couldn't control it was deciding who was promoted. His authority meant that he was easily able to demote admirals, commanders and lower ranks but once you have entered nobility the decision was beyond his involvement. The promotion to ranks higher than fleet admiral could also awarded by the galaxy union if they were suitable. This time it was announced that the Marquis would be promoted to Prince; which held even more power than he already had. He approached the stage to collect his badge and waved at the cheers from his supporters which drowned the people who despised him boos. The rank promotions passed through Tatsu which had remained the same for the second year in a row; their military had began to weaken over time. On Shishi, the military admiral Bang Yongguk was promoted from fleet admiral to lead admiral making him the new leader as the previous leader had passed. Daehyun anticipated the rank promotions for the Alliance. He would get a little bit of a better view his enemy. 

"Admiral Yoo Youngjae of the Alliance...supreme fleet admiral" 

Cheers had erupted. The loudest being from those in the Alliance. Youngjae walked to the stage and bowed whilst taking his new badge. He turned to the audience waving his and bowing. His eye caught Prince Jung who appeared nonchalant. He quickly looked away and returned to his seat.

After the rank promotions, there were further talks and a ballad performance. Once it was all over, the celebration had begun which would last into the midnight marking the new year. The crowds moved into the next room which had tables of food and a large standing area. Daehyun knew this was his chance to really see Youngjae, he only wanted to lay his eyes on his enemy he told himself there was nothing wrong with getting a true impression. He scanned the crowd, he spotted Himchan talking with Jongup. Himchan caught his glance and stiffened under the Prince's gaze. He looked away, taking a champagne from the waiter who walked past. A few people had come to speak with him which disturbed his search. He couldn't have Youngjae leave he needed to find him. He spoke a little with them and looked up briefly and to his suprise, Youngjae had stood alone, leaning on a wall and sipping his drink. Daehyun's eyed widened for a moment causing those that had spoken to him to raise questions in concern. He assured them it was nothing. After a little while longer he looked up again and this time Youngjae was already looking. Daehyun had internally panicked feeling heat crawl up his face. His palms began to sweat under his white gloves and heart beated a little faster. Since when did he lose control like this? He never reacted to a measly enemy before so why now? Daehyun forced himself to remain composed until shortly after, he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Daehyun's secretary and his next words had made him dizzy. 

"Prince, admiral Yoo of the Alliance would like to speak with you" 

------

Ahhh I wasn't supposed to release this chapter so late so please forgive me! 

My cliffhangers keep ending with someone wanting to speak with someone I should stop I know

I hope this chapter wasn't boring and too long. 

Thank you my newest subscribers!! I really do appreciate it and for everyone else I hope I don't dissapoint! 

*please do mind if there are any errors it'll still need some editing...

*I changed the chapter names to english only if that's okay....