- The Unicorn -

The man that was brought to the throne room not long after wore the common uniform of a knight, but he lacked his weapons and his wrists had been put in handcuffs. Sehun and Chanyeol weren’t gentle with him when they walked him to the front of the throne room where the others awaited them.

“Lim Woojin,” Baekhyun’s angry voice thundered through the hall, “Do you know why you are here?”

“I have not an ounce of an idea, Your Majesty,” said man replied, though it was obvious he was lying and he didn’t care to hide it. His obnoxious grin disgusted Soomi who stared him down, wondering why this man despised them so much that he would aid an assassin in murdering them. He was nearing the end of his 30s, had unruly black hair and a scar marking his cheek. The latter was the detail that had enabled the witness to identify him beyond a reasonable doubt.

Chanyeol and Sehun flanked him, making sure he wouldn’t get anywhere near the throne. The other knights stood nearby and watched him like hawks. None of them looked happy with this situation—having a traitor amongst their ranks was a shock to all of them.

“I think you know very well why you are here,” Baekhyun countered. He was impatient, not in the mood for games, and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

“Then enlighten me, Your Majesty,” Woojin said mockingly.

“You helped the assassin who tried to murder me and my wife. In doing so, you committed treason against the royal family,” Baekhyun snapped. He got up from the throne abruptly, staring down at Woojin with hatred burning in his eyes. “This crime is forbidden under penalty of death, but you know that already, don’t you?”

Heavy silence spread through the throne room. The knights were quiet, glaring at Woojin who seemed to take a sick kind of pleasure from the attention. He wasn’t worried, wasn’t in any way scared by Baekhyun’s harsh words. Soomi didn’t understand how he could be so uncaring when his life was on the line. He could have tried to talk himself out of it, but he didn’t even bother to do that.

She sat tensely on her throne and watched Baekhyun pacing back and forth restlessly. He kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as if he wanted to unsheathe it any second. The cold look in his eyes wasn’t anything less than frightening—she barely recognized him. He was like a different person all of a sudden.

“I have a very generous offer for you,” Baekhyun went on to say, stopping his pacing. “If you cooperate with us, I’m going to banish you instead of having you executed. Think about this carefully. It’s your only chance to survive.”

The quiet that followed his words was uncomfortable. A veil of silence hung over the entire room. Nobody spoke, not even Lim Woojin himself.

“Tell me all you know and you will be pardoned,” Baekhyun said. His tone was sharp and impatient. He was fed up with Woojin’s silence, but the traitor wasn’t about to cooperate.

“Now why would I do that? You are going to kill me regardless,” Woojin answered. “I’m not stupid. You couldn’t let me walk out of this castle alive after everything that happened. I know the devious tactics you royals make use of.”

“Is that your final answer?” Baekhyun asked. He refused to bargain with a criminal and wanted to get this over with. It had been fairly obvious from the start that he wouldn’t get an answer from him.

“Yes,” Woojin replied. Madness flickered through his eyes. He was unbothered by what was about to come.

Soomi held back a shudder. Cold dread pooled in her stomach. She couldn’t believe how cruel this person was towards others, and ultimately towards himself. He didn’t seem to care about his own life which was unfathomable to her.

Soomi decided to step in and got up from her throne to stand next to Baekhyun. She glanced at Woojin, capturing his gaze. Outwardly, she appeared calm. A lot calmer than she actually felt.

“I only have one question for you, and I would like for you to answer it honestly,” she said sternly. “Why did you as one of Lux’s knights decide to betray your own comrades?”

If he was surprised that she addressed him directly, he didn’t show it. His eyes were stormy and dark as he gazed back at her. “Perhaps I never was one of Lux’s knights,” he replied coldly. “Perhaps my loyalty was elsewhere from the very beginning. In other words, I don’t consider myself a traitor because I was never on your side.”

She frowned as something dawned on her. This man must have been active as a spy in this castle for a long time, presumably feeding their enemies with information. They needed to find out who he was working for—they desperately needed this piece of information. Everybody in the room knew this, even Woojin himself.

“Then whose side are you on?” Baekhyun hissed. “Who are you working for?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Woojin laughed. “I would never tell you.”

“Fine, have it your way,” Baekhyun muttered coldly. “Lim Woojin, I am sentencing you to death for treason against the royal family.”

Sehun and Chanyeol were about to get him back to the prison cells, but Baekhyun wasn’t done yet. “Try to get him to talk. Use any means necessary,” he ordered. “And if you are successful, report back to me. The execution will take place soon.”

“You are going to die sooner or later, trust me,” Woojin said spitefully. Even though he received a harsh punch from Sehun that was meant to silence him, he kept talking. “None of you gets away. Not the Queen and not the King. You killing me won’t change anything. Lux is already doomed.”

His condescending laughter filled the throne room, terrifying Soomi. She watched him be escorted outside with a conflicted look on her face.

Just why did it always have to end in bloodshed?

Soomi didn’t feel well after the confrontation with the traitor. Unease and fear tormented her and made her anxious. She now had more questions than answers when it should have been the other way around. They didn’t know anything. That Lim Woojin had been working for the Alliance was apparent, but other than that, they hadn’t found out anything new. No names, nothing. Were there other traitors left in the castle or had he been the only one? Who else was involved with their enemies?

“Why does it have to be so difficult?” she mumbled in frustration, earning a look from Baekhyun who was sitting at his desk. They were both in his study, replying to letters and reports from the smaller towns scattered throughout the kingdom.

“Did you say something?” he asked, raising his brow.

“I was just thinking,” she replied. “What if Sol is planning something big behind our backs? What if this assassination was orchestrated by Queen Lee herself? We’ve been suspecting Sol for a while, and the longer this goes on, the more convinced I am…”

Caution marked his features. He slowly set down the letter he had been reading, hesitating too long with his answer. She knew immediately that something was up—he most likely knew something she didn’t.

“Soomi, don’t worry about any of this. Just… leave it to me,” he said with a sigh.

“No, I won’t! I am as much a ruler of this kingdom as you. Keeping your thoughts on this matter to yourself is not fair,” she said stubbornly, leaning forward in her seat. The letter she had been writing long forgotten, she pierced him with her stern gaze.

“You shouldn’t stress yourself right now.”

“If this is about the pregnancy, then let me tell you something,” she said. “I appreciate your concern, but you treating me like I’m made of glass doesn’t get us anywhere. If I’m left in the dark about such crucial topics, it’ll stress me out more. I want to talk about it openly.”

He ran his hand through his hair restlessly, mulling her words over in his head. “I would feel better if you took it easy from now on,” he sighed. “But I won’t deny your wish.”

“Good,” she said seriously. “Then what do you think about Queen Lee’s involvement in the assassination attempt?”

“To be completely honest with you, I am almost certain that she is the person pulling the strings. When your brother visited, we had a brief talk about this, and he agreed with me,” Baekhyun explained. “Since then, I’ve sent more knights to Sol’s border just to be safe.”

“Yes, I heard.”

“Queen Lee is a cunning woman. I have met her once, years ago at a ball held in Sol’s castle. It’s hard to tell what she is thinking and why she does what she does,” he muttered. “We shouldn’t underestimate her.”

“You were in Sol?” she asked in astonishment.

“Yes. Before the war began,” he said, scowling. “Maybe she already planned this when I was visiting, I don’t know.”

“We are in a difficult spot right now,” Soomi muttered, lowering her head.

“I’m hesitant to take action against Sol since it would plunge our kingdom into war yet again, but if they continue to provoke me, I see no other option,” he said ominously, and Soomi could only agree with him, even if she dreaded the idea of bloodshed.

During the following weeks, no progress was made. The knights unfortunately weren’t able to make Lim speak, no matter what they tried. He kept his silence until the end, not giving away anything. After his execution,