Prologue: The King of Roses

“The king is returning!“

The voices echoed loudly through the hallways of the palace when the sound of the hunting horns was reaching the building.

“Are you ready? Did you prepare tea?“, one of the servants asked me.

“Of course“, I answered.

The servant eyed me shortly, before she nodded and left. I watched her go, noticing the mixture of pity and scorn in her eyes. I was used to glances like these. Everyone in the palace looked at me that way. How else would you look at the king’s brother who was nothing more than a mere servant even though he was the older sibling.

The former king, our father, had been an incredibly mighty man. A handsome man, at that, with a liking for anything beautiful in this world. A man, that got married as soon as he laid eyes on a pretty woman and got divorced through the sharpness of a sword just as quickly.

Our father had never been married to more than one woman at the same time. He grew tired of his old playthings the moment something new and shinier appeared. And so, all the queens by his side died a cruel and merciless death the moment another woman stepped into his life. And so did their children. Mostly poisoned by the new wives or executed because they convinced our father to kill them as they might have been a threat to their own offspring. Everyone wanted to see their sons the next king.

My mother was the king’s fifth wife. And she, too, died when he got married to another woman. She stayed alive long enough, however, to see me grow a bit, to see how I reached the age of seven. She was a beautiful woman, I still remember the kindness in her eyes and the warmth of her smile. She was the only woman that survived even though our father was already interested in another woman who gave birth to a son, his favorite son. She only did because she fled the palace with me, trying to hide from the vassals that came to kill us. Sadly, they found us after a few years and she was executed. The only reason I was spared was for my brother’s entertainment. When the vassals found us, he was already four years old and had a strange liking for me. He insisted on keeping me as his playmate. That’s how I became Jungkook’s servant. My reason to live was to protect him from everything. And I’d do exactly that. No matter how much evil I’d have to do.

“Jin! Quick! He’s here!“

Jungkook arrived on his white mare, his favorite horse named Josephine. It was a proud horse, a perfect match for Jungkook.

“Take care of her, we’ve been out longer than usual today and she seems a bit tired“, Jungkook told the servant that already took care of his horse. It was fascinating to see how he treated the only thing he really loved in this world.

Jungkook smiled at the the other servants that lined up to welcome him back. The female servants were all staring at him with their eyes shimmering at the sight of the splendid noble man in his hunting uniform which was adorned with golden embroideries from head to toe. His loyal servants’ likeness surely showed and he enjoyed bathing in their rhapsody.

“It’s time for tea“, he said as the church bells blessed his words, ringing up in the high without rest.

“The tea will be served instantly, your highness. But something has come up that you’ll have to take care of first“, I informed my brother who looked at me a bit displeased.

“What can be more important than my tea?“

I knew that if I’d tell him what was up, he’d even get angrier. Naturally, I tried to find a good compromise.

“A few things that need to be prepared before the masquerade. How about me serving your tea while you do so?“

“Fiiiiine“, Jungkook replied, still annoyed.

A few ministers were already waiting in the palace’s conference hall when the king, followed by his servants, arrived and Jungkook let himself fall onto the padded, golden seat at the top of the long table in the middle of the room. I instantly served him his tea as the ministers voiced out their concerns.

“Your highness, there’s a problem regarding the masquerade“, the minister of finance started. “We’re lacking… financial resources to cover all the costs. We can’t cancel the event, it’s important to uphold our relationships with the neighboring kingdoms, but it’d be wiser to host the masquerade this year  a bit… simpler.“

The word he was looking for was modest. But he wouldn’t be able to use that in front of Jungkook without his head gracing a stake in front of the palace gates.

The eyes of everyone were laying expectantly on Jungkook. Everyone expected him to make the best decisions, had our father brought the kingdom to glory and prosperity. Alas, Jungkook was only eight - teen, our father having passed away way too early. Jungkook wasn’t suited to reign the country. He lived a decadent lifestyle with gorgeous luxuries, holding ownership over everything. But aside from fancy furnitures littering his abode, the only thing he was good at was claiming all the riches of the world.

“No way“, Jungkook contradicted. “This time I need to impress. Nobody can see how my wealth is crumbling away. The others need to see that I can reign over this kingdom, that they can’t attempt to take me down. They shall never underestimate me, or else I’ll crush them.“

The ministers exchanged worried glances. Jungkook either didn’t notice or he simply didn’t care. I noticed them, however. And I was just as worried as them.

“If we’re short on money, don’t worry too much about it. Just take it from those who dangle on our strings“, Jungkook suggested.

“You mean…“

“Yes, just wring it more from my foolish populace.“

Two weeks later, when the masquerade was up so soon, the first riots among the subjects occurred. The people were starving, having already lived in poverty ever after Jungkook took over the throne.

“What do you think?“, Jungkook asked me.

He was in the middle of the fitting of his masquerade outfit and I nodded in approval, seeing him in the shimmering velvet. Jungkook looked pleased, when suddenly the door opened and someone made a commotion.

“Namjoon, stop!“, a man shouted after a younger one who entered the room. His clothes were ragged and his hair of an ashy blonde. He must have been a farmer boy.

“There you are! Listen to your people!“, the man called Namjoon yelled at Jungkook. “What kind of king are you to let your people starve and tax them even more to pay for your unnecessary masquerade!“ He was angrily pointing a finger at my brother and was held back by the way older man who tried to drag him back. The guards arrived shortly after that, taking care of both.

“How did they manage to get in?“, Jungkook asked the guards, looking at them aloof.

“One of them snuck through our security… he ran like a maniac.“

“The palace has has more than 200 rooms, how could he get through and find the exact room the king’s at that quickly?“, I added.

“Must be a contact person.“

“HOW’S IT FAIR THAT SOMEONE GREEDY AND TERRIBLE AS YOU IS BLESSED WITH A FACE LIKE THIS?!“, the younger intruder yelled even louder, since everyone seemed to ignore his anger.

“What a rude and noisy person…“, Jungkook muttered. “Jin, take care of it.“

“Pardon?“

“I want to know who let them in. Execute them. Oh and the noisy guy, too“, he demanded.

“Hold on!“, the older one interrupted him. “Your highness… please! We came here because your people are starving… we didn’t mean to be rude. My son… is a bit temperamental, please excuse his behavior.“

“Oh…“

My brother suddenly looked overly interested which in no means was boding well for either the father, nor the son.

“He’s your son? Well then I’ll let him live“, Jungkook decided. “Execute the father instead. And find that dirty contact person, I want them all dead. And now purge them out of my sight“, he ordered and the guards were about to take the older man away who looked overly shocked.

“What?! No!“, the ash-haired son shouted. “You can’t do this! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!“

Jungkook started to laugh.

“Hey, ash boy. Listen carefully. Everyone who wants to bring me down… will just have to tidy up my gown. You got me? And now bow to me!“

The guards overpowered the man and forced him down in front of the king, before they dragged him and his father away.


They said within the palace’s walls, a flower of evil bloomed sweetly with an array of the most brilliant colorful doom.
Those pitiful weeds around the king, they’d just wilt away serving as his fertilizer.
And in the meantime I was repeating my promises for eternity.

“If the world is vile and you make it your foe
There is just one thing that I want you to know.
I’ll protect you and I will do as you please,
so you’ll smile, feel happy and be at peace.“