At Minister Junmyeon's house,

 

Seulgi was a free bird at her province but in the capital city she was restricted from acting according to her wishes.

Junmyeon's wife, Lady Eunji was a good woman but she was very strict when it came to proper etiquette. She doesn't allow woman in her house to engage in manly fights and usage of weapons.

Eunji encouraged Seulgi to learn sewing and embroidery. She trained Seulgi about the palace rules and etiquette. But Seulgi was not interested in such tasks.

 

 

 

"Lady Seulgi, you are about to become a queen. So you must learn to keep a calm composure", Eunji instructed her. "There will be many people who will provoke you to test your patience. So you must not speak thoughtlessly".

Seulgi rubbed her temples. "Aunt Eun...I get it already. I must not speak in higher tone, I have to bow to every royal official, I should not interrupt when the dowager Queen speaks, I should wake up early, I have to sweet talk with the other Queens, I have to sit properly..."-

" Alright. Enough training for today", Eunji dissmised her with a slight smile. "Ah thank you so much ", Seulgi happily ran out of the room.

 

 

 

 

Seulgi and Yeri visited the market place in the city. They liked the busy streets filled with people. It reminded them about their province.

Suddenly they heard an announcement from a royal gaurd.

 

"#** The five rebels that tried to infiltrate the royal army had been caught and will be punished for their crime. On the orders of our King they will be hanged to death here **#"

 

Seulgi was shocked to know that those rebels will be killed infront of everyone. She shuddered at the thought of hanged bodies.

The crowd soon dispersed. Some went back to their homes and interested citizens went to watch the punishment.

" We should head back ", Yeri dragged her.

"The king is very cruel. How can he order to kill someone infront of hundreds of people?" Seulgi muttered.

'Yeol became fierce and heartless??'

" I'm sure that he has transformed into a different person. He is just like a stranger to me", Seulgi spoke out her mind on the way.

 

 

 

  A week later,

After the etiquette training with Eunji, Seulgi found Yeri intently painting on a parchment.

Seulgi glanced at her paint bottles that were almost empty. Even the brushes looked old and withered. She decided to buy some fresh paints and brushes for her friend.

Being the only descendent of the Kang clan, Seulgi had so much wealth that was passed down from generations.

 Even when she lived with Lord Minseok's family, she insisted that she would take care of Yeri's expenses too.

 

 

 

 

 

Seulgi knocked on Junmyeon's study room door.

"Uncle Junie, I have a request. Can I go out for a while?"

"Lady Seulgi!! Can't you refrain yourself from using such names. Atleast not mine", he creased his brows.

" It's a cute name. It suits you. So can I go?"

" Aren't you supposed to stay in the house and learn the etiquette of a queen? " Junmyeon did allowe her to roam around in the capital city just few days back.

"Uncle Junie, but this a big city and there is a lot to explore. Even the weather is cloudy. So I can go out without hiding my hair. So please... please", Seulgi requested.

Junmyeon heaved a heavy sigh, "Alright, but like I told you before, you should not reveal your identity. Don't talk with any strangers. You are engaged to the king, so behave properly", he instructed.

" Thank you my dear Jun, I promise I won't cause any problems.", Seulgi ran out of his room.

'lord Minseok was right. Her usage of nicknames is inevitable ', Junmyeon chuckled.

Seulgi decided to go alone and wore a fresh pair of silk robes. She tucked her chain inside the robes and prepared her leather sling bag with necessary objects and carefully ran out of the house without any sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Chanyeol's Chamber,

 

King Chanyeol was dressed up in complete black robes from head to toe. His friend Jongdae entered the room.

"Where are you going my king?" He placed the documents in his hand onto the table.

"We got a forewarning that the rebel forces are going to destroy the royal barn. And luckily Kyungsoo found out their hiding spot. So we are going to attack them in disguise", Chanyeol took out his sword and placed it into his scabbard.

"Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are waiting for me at the palace walls. So I'm sneaking out so that our old royal ministers does not find out about this", He informed his friend and walked out of his chambers.

Chanyeol and few of his loyal gaurds sneaked out of the palace. He then met his brother and friend. They made a plan to attack the rebels and got divided into two teams.

One was led by Lord Baekhyun and the other was led by the king himself. Kyungsoo joined the king's squad to ensure his safety. And they masked their faces and approached the enemy hideout.

There was a huge fight among the rebels and royals. But the King's armed forces underestimated the enemy.

Even though they succeeded in killing the leaders of the rebel force they failed to capture other members.

Kyungsoo ordered Chanyeol to retreat but he didn't budge. He wanted to help as they lack men. Everyone darted in different directions to capture them.

Baekhyun rushed into the residence area of citizens to capture the enemy.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo have hartled towards the market to apprehend the rebels. But the enemy outnumbered them and tried to kill them on spot.

But Kyungsoo was quick enough to throw the sand in their eyes. He held king's hand and they hastened towards the other lane.

 

 

 

 

Seulgi gleefully roamed around the market as she loved the windy weather. The morning market was very peaceful with lesser crowd.

Her tranquility was disturbed when two men rushed towards her. She didn't have time to react and a tall man suddenly whacked her shoulder. And she budged onto the wall beside her.

"Are you alright?" The man asked in a hoarse voice.

" Ah...I'm fi...-"

The two men darted off without even looking at her. A group of other ten men with swords and daggers ran behind them.

"Wow looks like they are fighting!... I wish I could watch them fight", Seulgi mumbled as she walked to the other lane.

Seulgi finally found a stationery store that sold various objects like parchments, quills, inks, new books and paints.The merchant lady informed tha