Previously…

Yujin and Wonyoung discovered that they landed in a faraway land named Lang Island which is currently at war with their neighboring country, Shama. A little lie from Yujin turned out to be true when the chief of the island welcomed them. Living in a new surrounding deemed to be tough and it pushed both of the girls to be more honest with each other…

***

“Yo, Yujin. What are you doing?”

The minstrel named Aman is in awe looking at the energetic guest who took no time in associating herself with the locals as Yujin is helping the farmers working in their paddy field. The girl seems natural while planting some of paddy seeds into the muddy water while being monitored by locals who referred themselves as aunties and uncles.

“Working, what else?”

Yujin stares at Aman while jerking her eyebrows, asking the minstrel back while looking confused. After running away from Wonyoung’s dangerous bad girl vibe just now, Yujin decides that it’s good if she gets to work out and produce some sweats. She asked Inang for some work to do and the head maid told her that some locals might need a hand in handling their farmland. The war between Lang Island and Shama caused them to have less workforce as most young people are dispatched into the war, leaving behind elderly and young kids.

“You sure are strong, huh? Guess you’ll be a great help to fend off Shama from this land.”

Aman is sitting by the paddy field while playing his ukulele and singing songs. Kids are surrounding him, eager to listen to some adventurous story from a rare visitor like Aman. Upon talking with the locals, Yujin gets some valuable information as the aunties really pamper her so much. They praised Yujin for being kind and helping them with their crops even when the girl is a guest that just arrived in their land.

“I guess that everyone here is so friendly.”

Yujin taking a seat beside Aman while munching a cracker that one of the aunties gave to her as a token of appreciation for Yujin’s help. Aman snickered at Yujin’s words as he kept on strumming his ukulele while humming.

“Well, they are for sure good folks. I have never seen such a welcoming attitude in other land that I visited so far.”

“Whoa, you must’ve visited numerous places then! Tell me more about your journey!”

Yujin's eyes turned brighter as she looked expectantly at Aman who was bedazzled by the eagerness shown. He never meets someone aside from little children who are interested in listening to his tale as most teenagers and adults are often too busy in making their ends through working. As for Yujin, listening to others adventures often makes her heart race as she gets to explore the world through other's eyes. Some people said that you can enter another whole new world through reading but that is something that Yujin finds difficult to do, staying still in one place.

"Have you ever heard of Shambala?"

The minstrel put away his ukulele while focusing his mind to arrange suitable words in order to entertain Yujin who resembles an excited puppy.

"What is that?"

She never heard such terms or names while she is diligently studying. Despite the fact that Yujin can't stay still for a fixed amount of time, she did spend a good amount of time studying in her own unique method which is listening to others' stories just like what she did at the moment.

"It's like a paradise on earth. Everyone is living peacefully with abundant resources, just like an utopia."

Aman wears a dreamy face as he recounts those blissful moments of his random travels across the world.

"It's too good to be true."

Sure, living in such a blessed country must be good but Yujin isn't the one to easily believe in every word spouted by others. She knows how hard it is to maintain peace with countless people who had different goals in mind. The young knight learned first hand from countless wars that people will always find their ways to fight over something even if for a trivial reason.

Despite Yujin showing clear disagreement to his tale, Aman didn't take it to his heart. Instead, he laughed out loud while flicking Yujin's forehead as he said, "Well, then you just need to see for yourself!"

Yujin groans as she rubbed her reddened forehead while hissing at Aman. Before she can launch her counter attack, a sudden ear-piercing noise echoed throughout the village. She is slow to pick up as that sound is unfamiliar to Yujin but seeing Aman's face turned serious, she knows that this noise might be some signal among the villagers.

"Quick! We need to take cover at the basement settlement! There's an attack from Shama already!"

"What? We are under attack?!"

"Yes, now let me guide you there. Hey, wait!"

Yujin didn't waste any more time listening as she dashes away from the paddy field. Her mind only resonated as soon as she heard about the grave situation befall upon Lang Island.

Wonnie!

***

-A few hours before-

Soft knocks can be heard from the door and Wonyoung took a deep breath to regain her composure again. She slapped her squishy cheeks twice as she reassured herself about acting like normal in front of Yujin. The young princess then picks herself up and trotts towards the door, nervously pushing wide the wooden barrier to reveal the identity of one that is knocking.

Her heart sank for a bit when she saw Suri smiling at her while carrying a small baby in her arms. Upon laying her eyes on the sleeping bundle of joy, Wonyoung's face lit up as she carefully drew her face closer towards the snoring baby.

"Is he sleeping?"

Wonyoung whispered to Suri who looked elated while observing the princess' thoughtful action. She rocks a bit to the left and right while nodding her head towards Wonyoung's question.

"This is my son, Kim. Sorry for leaving abruptly earlier."

An apologetic gaze directed at Wonyoung who is flustered at Suri's sudden apologies. She didn't expect that Suri would feel guilty for leaving both Yujin and Wonyoung to tend to her son's needs.

"No, why are you apologizing? Having us here is a big help already!"

The younger girl politely thanked Suri for showing endless kindness towards two strangers that just appeared out of nowhere. Heck, Suri even stood up for them when that plump woman, Hora, tried to chase two clueless teenagers away from this island.

"It's just common sense to help people in need. Plus, I don't think that you two are bad people."

No words coming out from Wonyoung's mouth as she is befuddled by Suri's level of trust. Not even an ounce of doubt lingering within the gentle lady's mind which made Wonyoung respect her a lot. It's a rare trait for people to think positively of other people let alone a mere stranger but here she is, meeting an angel in disguise under the name Suri.

Her mind is blank as she didn't know what to say next. Thus, Wonyoung bent over towards Kim, staring at the innocent baby snoring softly without any care in the world. Wonyoung smiles as she suddenly reminisces about her moments as a toddler where she always spent time with Eunbi and Yujin, running around happily.

"He is sure a calm baby."

“Kim is gentle, it’s not hard to take care of him.”

“What kind of war are you having with Shama?”

She wasn't aware that those questions slipped through but as soon as she realized her blunder, Wonyoung covered while nervously looking at Suri, trying to see the other lady’s reaction. She felt relieved when Suri didn’t scorn her for asking such sensitive questions during this unfortunate time.

“Shama demands for Lang Island to be a part of their territory while this place is under direct rule of Kataha’s king.”

Listening to such a new piece of information makes Wonyoung excited as she had little knowledge of how world’s are working outside of their empire. Most of her time, she had been educated on how to be a proper princess while honing her magic skill. Her education mostly rotated around Wiz Empire condition and she had been learning about every territory under every noble’s command. She is not well-versed with international relations between countries and never had a chance to travel around as she is the sole heir to the throne. They can’t expose Wonyoung to an uncertain threat while travelling and thus, she is banned from leaving the country under any circumstances but here she is. Although she still has no clue on what current affair taking place after Yujin is about to be executed, she still wants to enjoy and take this chance of being in foreign place to gain some valuable knowledge.

“Kataha? So that is your country’s name?”

“Yes, Kataha is a well-known empire around this Golden Archipelago. This country is one of the most respected regions within this area with abundant harvest either from our farmland or seas.”

The curious princess is listening patiently while a question is popping inside her head, wanting to know more about Kataha generally and Lang Island’s condition specifically. She really hoped to have a glimpse at this country’s map but then, she thought that it might be rude to pry further into this matter.

“I see you’re really interested in the general’s affair, Wonyoung. Perhaps you want to learn more about this place?”

As if the gentle lady can read Wonyoung’s mind, she offered the young princess some access regarding their humble country. Without wasting any moment, Wonyoung elatedly accepted Suri’s generous proposal, continu