"Kang Bitna." Bada hissed under her breath, standing in between her twin and the other female with the ripped dress. The crowd turned deadly silent as Bada was standing still while glaring at the two girls who were fighting each other earlier before she arrived. The temperature of the party turns down a few degrees as nobody dares to let out any noise while Bada was furious. Every noble lady in the country knew what kind of person Bada will be when she is angry. 

"There's nothing more to see here." Bada calmly stated, causing all the ladies around the scene to disperse in their own direction. "Aera, let's go." Bada lifted the skirt of her dress and walked out of the imperial garden. Her mood to mingle around with people was ruined by her little sister. "Bada, I'm sorry. I could not control my feeling just now." Bitna fidgeting her fingers while following the eldest sister walking through the maze of the imperial garden towards the driveway where their carriage was located. 

"Aera!! Get in the carriage right now!" Bada instructed her little sister, who was hesitating to get into the carriage. She seemed to be lost in her thought and searching for someone. The carriage moves as soon as the horseman shut the door. Bada glared at her little sister with her eagle eyes. "What exactly running through your mind to actually got into a fight in a royal event?" She hissed in anger, causes Bitna to tear up. "The young lady from Marquess Song's family talk bad things about our mother. I got upset!" Bitna cried and pulled Aera into a hug. She didn't want Bada to hit her, so she hides her face behind Aera's body. 

"What did she said about mother?" Bada inhaled slowly to simmer down her anger. She knew her mother had always been the talk of the town. A widow that once left by her own husband and loss her husband in the new marriage. Madam Kang was bestowed as an Unlucky Widow that only bring bad luck to her spouse. Knowing that her mother keeps attending all the ceremonies in town and socializing with other merchants causes her to be the main topic of the talk as a flirtatious woman who uses her beauty to get close to the merchant. 

"I got upset that she said mother gave her body to the merchant in order for them to invest in Lee's family business. " Bitna sobbed, feeling sad upon reminiscing the words that came out from the young Miss Song's mouth.  Bada sighed; the words from Marquess Lee echoed in her head; he said that we will be living happily ever after, but he died due to a heart attack and left the family to her mother to lead the household. 

Dear Crown Prince Kim Taehyung, 

Congratulation on your graduation. I am very sorry to leave the ceremony earlier than I was supposed to. Here I would like to present you a gift sincerely from my heart. Please make good use of it and cherish it with all your heart. Again, congratulation on your graduation, and I cannot wait to see your wisdom in your reign. 

Sincerely, 

Young Miss Kang Bada 

Bada smiled upon seeing the handkerchief that she personally embroidered was wrapped into a nice box, and Bada decorated the letter with some dried flowers. She was satisfied with her gift. She remembered her first interaction with the crown prince when she was first enrolled into the academy at the age of 14, and the prince was 15. He was doing a sword performance in the quiet forest just right behind the Imperial Academy. 

The elegance and charisma of the prince replaying in her mind continuously. She remained silent as she watched the prince kept coming to the same spot to practice in hiding. However, the prince performance was seen to be lacking in its regular energy, and he fell as he tripped over a stone while focusing on his sword. That was the first day she interacted with him; she ran towards him and helped him to his feet. 

He hesitated to take her hand, but she grabbed it without thinking much. "Thank you." He bowed towards her in his polite manner, and she replied his bow, "You are most welcome." She replied and took out her handkerchief and gave it to the boy as he was sweating heavily. He accepted the handkerchief and bowed at her politely again. 

"May I know your name?" He asked; smiling at the girl causes Bada t0 to smile widely in return. "I am the Young Miss Kang Bada. The stepdaughter of Marquess Lee." She replied, bending her knee slightly while talking to the prince. The prince chuckled, looking at the girl acting all shy in but at the same seems so time eager to talk to him. The crown prince ruffled the young girl's hair in a friendly way before walking away from his practice spot. 

Bada sat down at the window bench in her room, it had been a week since she gave the letter and gift to the crown prince, but she had not received any reply yet. It was really irregular of the prince to not replied to her letter. Usually, the prince will reach her in the span of three days. Since their first interaction, they had been exchanging letters, but why did the prince suddenly not reply to her letter? Bada was trapped in her thought and took her books to the tower of Lee's mansion. Her favourite reading spot and somewhere high that she can gaze at the palace from afar. 

Suddenly, she heard the sound of horse hooves running from afar in the wide land beside the mansion; she sighed, knowing the person who loved to ride horses so much is her stepsister Lee Aera. Aera was not much of a book person, but she is an adventurous person who loved taking a ride in the woods and interacting with animals. Bada had enough foraging and hunting in the forest; she did not want to be adventurous when she already became a daughter of a Marquess. 

Taking a peek at her step-sister, Bada dropped her book on the floor, looking at the young girl riding her white horse in a circle with another horse rider. A horse rider who was covering himself with a dark cloak and his magnificent black horse. Bada's eyes stay on the two-person who was playing tag while riding their horses. From one glance, she already knew who was hiding in the cloak. Even though the location of the tower and the wide land where Aera and the horse rider playing tag was far from one another, Bada was able to identify the black horse that belongs to the crown prince. The beloved horse that he usually rides in secret, especially when he was heading toward his hidden practising area. 

"Didn't I warned you not to talk to the prince ever, Aera?" She gritted her teeth, looking at the two-person who were having fun playing tag. Bada inhaled deeply; probably nothing happens; they might just be met by chance. Bada inwardly comforting herself before she descended the tower. Bitna, who was stitching a scarf for herself, was disturbed by Bada, who came into the room like a storm. "What is wrong with you, Bada?" 

"Nothing is wrong. I'm not feeling well." Bada replied as she sat down at the edge of her bed, looking at her own reflection. Her gown looks hideous as always, a blue gown filled with pearl from the neckline down to her chest and ribbon and bow everywhere. Her face does not look like one that belongs to a noble family. She cannot help but wonder why she did not inherit her mother's beauty. 

"We are one odd family. One was not feeling well while another one was feeling too well that she cannot help but ride her horse into the woods every day." Bitna spatted in her lazy demeanour while she continued to stitch a pink scarf for her winter outfit. "So Aera went into the woods every day? Did she does her chores right?" Bada asked in anger. 

"She did it right and fast. Full in perfection." Bitna added in her mocking tone, able to sense that the elder sister was getting angry. "Mother should not have let her go outside for too long," Bada said, looking really troubled by the news. "Do you think our mother will care about her? She'll throw a fit if we went out for a few hours, but Aera was not the case." The reply from the little sister only made the elder one heat up more. 

"Since she got married to Marquess Lee, I never lifted a finger to do house chores while Aera did all the work. Probably mother was feeling guilty that I used to do all the house chores before while she was busy looking for a man to support the household." Bitna shook her head, she had enough of rebelling to her mother's word, and now she just wants to embrace the fact that she became the daughter of a Marquess and is supposed to live like rich people.

"Lee Aera! Where are my shoes?" Bada yelled, looking at her little stepsister, who was strolling in the garden with her face full of smiles and happiness. Aera's steps were halted from the horse stable; she walked back towards her elder sister with a questioning face. Bada knew that Aera would meet the crown prince again today, and she will not allow Aera to leave. Her body was filled with jealousy, and her anger took control of her body.

"Which shoes are you talking about?" Aera asked, looking at her elder sister with pure intention. "The one that dad bought for me!" Bada gritted her teeth in anger, just creating any sentences without thinking much. "Father bought a shoe for you?" She was asked by Aera that causes Bada to scoff. Knowing that her father will never buy a shoe for his stepdaughter, how dare she ask me those questions? Bada thought to herself. 

"Yes, a beautiful blue shoe with some pearls on it," Bada stated, just making up the characteristic of the inexistence shoe. Aera was in deep thought, thinking about the shoe Bada mentioned. She never saw such a shoe, but she tried to remember all her father's shoes ever gave to her. "Oh, I can give you my shoe. Father gave me a blue shoe before, but that shoes do not have any pearls." 

"I don't want your shoes!! Go upstairs and look for my shoe! Right now!" Bada screamed in anger listening to her naive reply. She does not have to rub it on my face when her father bought many shoes for her. Bada hissed in anger, reminiscing the scene of the father and daughter calling each other in endearment while Bitna and her only could watch the scenery. "I'll go find it right now." Aera runs into the house without much argument. She knew Bada best when she was angry.

There was a time when the Marquess was still alive; Bitna and her were so excited to see the Marquess after he came back from the neighbouring country to see rare items that he brought home. The duke once asked her what she actually wanted from the northern country. Bada personally asked for a northern style hat; when the Marquess came home, she remembered seeing the hat in his arm, and she was smiling from one ear to another. But her smile disappeared when Aera asked for the hat that he initially bought for her. Without hesitation, he gave the hat to Aera and said that he would buy another hat if he went to the north again. She thought the Marquess genuinely wanted to make them part of his family, but his actions showed that an outsider remains an outsider.

"How are you, my prince?" Bada bowed her head when she saw the prince walking down the Royal Academy hallway with the headmaster and his knight. For the first time in years, the prince did not pay any attention to her voice. Prince Taehyung keeps on walking, passing by the young lady as if she was never there causes the headmaster to be flustered at his action. The crown prince was known as a warm-hearted person and someone with a really high manner value.

"Prince Taehyung." Bada stretched her hands to touch the prince, but suddenly her hand was hit by the head of a sword. The crown prince personal knight was shielding the prince from being touched by her. "Please, have some respect towards his majesty." The knight said while glaring down at the girl who was holding her own hand tightly. "Young Miss Kang, I will personally say this to you. You should stop sending me letters cause I will not read it." Taehyung tilted his body slightly, looking at the girl who was staring at him.

"Your majesty, may I ask you why?" She asked in shock, not once her sight left his face. He was the one who she could find comfort in and her first love. Why is the prince changing suddenly? "The fact that you dare to talk to the crown prince directly showed you lack in manner," Taehyung stated before continued walking ahead. Bada tried to follow the prince, but her body was blocked by a knight wearing a black uniform embroidered with golden thread.

"How dare are you blocking me from talking to the crown prince?" She pushed the man with her strength that causes the man to stumble backwards from her sudden attack. In less than a blink of an eye, he took out his sword and pinned it on her neck. "Miss, I will warn you again. The crown prince did not enjoy your presence, and your action is rude. If you do this again, this sword might truly cut your throat." His eyes were glaring at her, but the girl showed no sign of fear. She then nodded her head before pushing the sword with her bare hand causes the sword to cut her hand.

Bada bowed her head before walking away. Her heart shattered to a thousand pieces knowing that the crown prince was looking at his knight shoving a sword at her neck, but he just stood there looking at her like nothing actually happen. "Let's go, Duke Jeon," Taehyung called his knight, who was looking at the girl walking away. Duke Jeon Jungkook, the crown prince personal knight and his friend, was looking at the silhouettes of the young lady who was walking with her head held high and her right hand was dripping with blood.   She was on the verge of tears knowing that the prince did not want to exchange letters with her anymore and what broke her heart more was the prince didn't even bother when her life was threatened by the Duke. 

He was her friend and her first love. The man that she likes the most. The one who can sit beside her without asking anything about her family and her conditions. Whenever the prince was riding in secret behind the academy building, she was there to watch him. All the moments they ever had together at their secret practising spot were probably meaningless to the prince.