Gods, Park Jihyo hated attending these galas. Of course she understood the necessity; after all, it was her family that sat atop the throne. Images had to be maintained. She saw the dance floor like a battlefield, her fellow noblemen and women the soldiers fighting to advance their own ambitions. A dangerous and bloodthirsty game if one knew where to look. Everyone here was a master at the art of sweet-talking. Knowing whose ego to boost and who you needed to watch your words around was a skill learned through many years of trial and error. The lively music and expensive food only served to mask the fact that kingdoms could be made or destroyed in a single evening. The only good thing about tonight was the alcohol.

“You know you shouldn’t drink too much,” a voice next to her said, and Jihyo felt the wine glass in her hand being pried away from her. She frowned, turning to face the young woman who was always by her side at events like these. “Your father is planning on introducing you to Prince Kang later tonight and you and I both know your intelligence takes a dive when you’re drunk.”

Minatozaki Sana. Official handmaiden to Princess Park Jihyo and unofficially the woman in charge of about eighty percent of Jihyo’s impulse control. Which was ironic considering Jihyo had long ago lost count of the number of men and women Sana brought to bed over the years. Not that Sana ever did anything with them, she was an expert at playing the role of an innocent handmaiden. Her marks would seduce her in an attempt to gain information on the Park family, completely unaware that she was playing them right back.   

“Fine,” Jihyo huffed, rolling her eyes as Sana quickly turned her head and finished off the remaining wine. “So tell me, who do I have to pretend to like tonight?”

Sana looped her arm through Jihyo’s and guided her around the hall. All around them the various noble families of the realm danced with each other, the atmosphere positively abuzz with the latest gossip. A quintet of the kingdom’s finest musicians played in one corner, providing the perfect amount of background noise so they wouldn’t be overheard. In their line of work, information was everything.

“The main family your father wants you to schmooze tonight is the Kang family from the Brantis Empire. Their son, Kang Daniel is of marrying age and word has it your father wants to secure a political alliance with them.” Sana nudged Jihyo’s shoulder and casually tilted her head in the direction of a very handsome young man loitering around the ballroom floor. “Handsome, isn’t he?”

Jihyo scoffed. Sana knew that she would never consent to being used as a political pawn for her family. Besides, he was most certainly not her type. “You can have him, Sana. He’s—”

“—not your type, I know.” Sana noticed Jihyo staring at the woman Daniel was talking to and rolled her eyes. Typical. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Think about what?” Jihyo batted her eyelashes innocently.

“His sister Seulgi is beautiful but I’m afraid she’s already taken,” Sana pointed out a woman with a rather cold expression on her face as she approached the two royal siblings. Seulgi’s face broke out into a wide smile and she pulled the shorter woman in for a gentle kiss. “Bae Joohyun. Heiress to the largest merchant guild in all the seven kingdoms.”

“Damn,” Jihyo sighed. Of course nobody except for Sana knew that Jihyo would rather have a princess charming instead of a prince. All the kingdoms in the realm were accepting of same- relationships to some degree, some more than others. The Brantis Empire royals were especially open, as anyone could plainly see. Her kingdom was less so. The Park family was an ancient unbroken line that was known for being fiercely patriarchal in nature. Time had mellowed out some of the more misogynistic tendencies in Jihyo’s family but as the sole heiress to the throne she was expected to find a husband of good stock and settle down to continue the family dynasty.

The thought of it positively turned her stomach.

Sana patted her on the back, “Who knows? Maybe Daniel is a good man.”

“I’m sure he is,” Jihyo couldn’t help but stare longingly at Seulgi and Joohyun, who were now dancing with each other in the middle of the ballroom floor. “But neither of us would be happy if our parents made this marriage thought a reality.”

“You know as well as I do, Jihyo. The good of the kingdom comes first.”

Jihyo suddenly felt sick upon hearing that twice-damned phrase come out of her friend’s mouth. It had been drilled into her head since she was a small child. As a princess she had to be willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of the people in her kingdom. The principle didn’t bother her until she realized it basically meant she was expected to accept her place as nothing more than a glorified bargaining chip.

Jihyo reached out and grabbed a glass of wine from a passing servant and downed it in one gulp before Sana could stop her. She wanted to be able to choose for herself who to love. She wanted someone that would look at her the way Seulgi did to Joohyun.

Jihyo tore her gaze away from the happy couple and regarded Sana with a broken look on her face. “You know sometimes I’m really tempted to say ‘ the kingdom’…”

Sana smiled sympathetically at her princess, looking past her to glance at someone over Jihyo’s shoulder. “You and me both.”