Soojin received a good scolding from her mother once she reached the castle. She knew well enough to block out the harsh words, and merely dropped her body into a low bow throughout the ordeal. Surprisingly, her father disappeared to another part of the castle, probably to conspire with Advisor Lee again.

After getting an earful from her mother, she only managed to see Baekhyun for a few minutes through the window while he was drowsy on medicine. He had been admitted to the royal infirmary, though he suffered only a mild burn after pushing his father away from the flames. She was not allowed to enter the infirmary, even after saying she was his fiancé. Apparently he was not allowed to have any visitors, which meant they could not discuss anything of importance, particularly about the state of their marriage, or the state of their comrade.

Chanyeol was confined to another chamber in a different part of the castle she did not know about, as he sustained serious injuries thanks to King Oh. Soojin knew that they did not transport him to Busan since King Park was still lingering in the Bucheon castle. What she did not know, however, was whether he could survive that nasty gash on his stomach. She remembered seeing the pool of red, the horrific slash and everything. She did not know if she was even allowed into the room.

She did not know what to do. Not being in her home kingdom, there were no lessons to attend, no friends to talk to, no business to go about. Her father was somewhere she did not know of, and her mother seemed very busy in the castle. Instead of crying, she felt a numbness when she thought of Chanyeol. It was purposeless staying in Bucheon.

A day had passed since the incident and Soojin found herself spending a lot of time sewing in the Harem. She kept mum as she sewed a little, staying in the corner as the ladies gossiped. It was her only source of news now. She pretended to sleep, still feeling ‘tired’, to allow the ladies to gossip without any restriction. It was not too hard as she was actually sleepy.

“I heard that Prince Baekhyun is out for the Daegu Princess’ blood!” one of the ladies exclaimed. Since Soojin’s eyes were closed, she could not see who was speaking. The voice sounded like it belonged to the Head of Furnishing.

“Oh yes, I heard that as well,” said the Lady Head of Imperial Music. “He almost shot her the other day during his archery training. I do hope it was just an accident.”

“Hah! Did you not hear about him having another woman while being engaged? According to my sources, he pointed an arrow straight to her neck. He must have stopped since there were people around him watching.”

“The prince was such a dear during his music practice though,” she sighed. “But perhaps you are right. That is why the princess is sleeping here instead of spending her time with him as he heals.”

There was a pause, followed by a whisper. “Do you think she is angered by him having a lover?”

“I would not be too surprised if the wedding was called off.”

“I would,” a new voice sounded. Soojin could not tell who it was. “It is no secret that the King of Daegu is aggressive. If the Byuns’ side were to call off the wedding for a mere lover, who I presume is not of royalty, King Oh would not stand for it.”

“Our King is not as weak as we thought! He hunted a dragon, did he not?”

“That was because he was forced into it by the Daegu King,” said the Head of Furnishing. “All of you know how easily swayed he is. I am more worried for the boy that they brought back, I must say. Everything is being kept a secret. Even I do not know what is going on.”

“You do not know? Well, I heard that-”

The needle and thread on Soojin’s lap fell to the ground with a loud thud at precisely that moment. She quickly reacted by waking up slowly, praying that her acting skills would not fail her.

Her prayers were answered when a few of the ladies moved towards her, eyeing her in concern. Soojin blinked, the sleepiness really catching up to her and she covered as she yawned. She did not manage to learn anything new from the gossip session, and she was more tired than ever. The fact that she did not eat for quite some time must have been the cause of that. For the past day, she only relied on the few herbs prescribed to her by the Royal Physician, and a few nibbles of food in fear of more poisoning.

“Princess, would you like to rest in your chambers?” the Imperial Music Chief asked. “It is understandable since you are still taking the prescribed herbs.”

Knowing that staying here longer would just result in listening to more speculation and not actual facts, she nodded. “That would be nice, thank you very much. I apologise for being so rude when I am supposed to be sewing.”

She eyed Soojin’s pricked fingers. “It is alright. Now, allow the maids to you to your chambers.”

Standing up slowly, she took her time to scan the room. None of the ladies showed any signs of guilt for gossiping about her when she was right there. She did not forget her manners and bowed to each and every one of them before taking her leave.

One step out the door, and the advisor of the Kingdom of Busan was rushing towards her. The sleepiness from before was not as prominent anymore. “Ah, Your Highness!”

“Yes, Advisor?” she asked, raising a brow.

“I have to speak to you in private. Will that be possible?”

Almost immediately, she shooed the two maids back into the Harem, anticipating the piece of information he was going to share.

“Prince Chanyeol woke up earlier today,” he said. Soojin had to stop herself from gasping out loud. He was alive! “However, he refuses to speak to us properly. His father could not get him to speak as well, and thought that you might be able to help, Your Highness.”

“His Majesty wants me to see Prince Chanyeol?” she asked. Calling Chanyeol a prince sounded foreign on her tongue.

“That is correct. Would it be alright if you tended to this as soon as possible? His Majesty is incredibly anxious for the prince’s wellbeing, and I am sure you might know more to his story.”

“I will see him right now. Please, lead the way.”

The advisor beamed, starting to walk towards one of the chambers near the Royal Infirmary. “Please understand that this must be kept in utmost secrecy. We are only allowing a select few people to this information before we find out everything.”

“I understand.”

The rest of the way there was filled in silence. She wondered if Chanyeol was alright. It sounded just like him to be stubborn and refuse to speak to his father. She still did not know whether he and Kyungsoo managed to retrieve all the journals from the cottage, so it was unclear on how much he actually knew about himself.

They arrived in a few minutes. The advisor stepped back, allowing her to enter the chambers on her own. Her heart pounded in her chest as she walked through the big, scary doors, unsure of what she was going to see.

Soojin could not help but exclaim when she saw him sitting up in bed, tousled hair and all. “Chanyeol!”

His head whipped towards her and his eyes were wide in shock. “Soojin! What are you doing here?”

“Your father thought that I could talk to you. How are you faring? You look like a mess,” she muttered, looking over his bandages. The one on his stomach was the worst, but it was not as bad as she had expected. “You should not have done that, really. That was extremely reckless of you.”

“It does not matter since I failed anyway,” he sighed. “Did anything happen while I was unconscious? Did anyone come to see me other than the people from Busan?”

Soojin frowned. “No one around the palace knows who you are. I was only allowed to see you today, too. Your advisor told me that your case has to be kept a secret for now.”

“He is not my advisor,” he grumbled.

“You have to talk to them, Chanyeol. Tell them what happened and they will understand. They are your kingdom and family, anyway.”

“No.”

The door opened and King Park strode in with a crease in between his brows. Soojin stooped into a bow, while Chanyeol averted his gaze after brief eye contact. If a commoner had done that, he would be dead in a second. However, this was no commoner, but a very frustrating prince.

“Good afternoon, Princess Soojin. Good afternoon, Chanyeol.”

Soojin murmured a reply back as the prince stayed in the same position. She noticed that his knuckles were turning white as he clutched the covers over him. He was scared.

“You do not have to do this. I have been trying to speak to you all morning,” King Park reasoned. “Who did this to you? I promise you that I will have their head.”

No reply again.

King Park sighed deeply, before grabbing Soojin off her feet and hel