Another month had come and gone. Joohyun had been preparing and grooming Jooyoung to become the ideal Crown Prince, yet would not officially confer the title upon him just yet. After all, she did not want there to be a target on his back.

Precisely because he had not properly become the Crown Prince, Joohyun was surprised to be notified that Princess Nongyu was already travelling from China to Korea, to be betrothed to and courted by Prince Jooyoung. Joohyun had all along been under the impression that the Chinese Emperor would not think of Jooyoung as a worthy husband for Nongyu, but here she was. There must have been some underlying reason, and Joohyun was going to figure it out in due course.

After such a long journey, Nongyu was allowed a few days’ rest before formally getting introduced to the royal family of Korea, her future in-laws. Her quarters were spacious and although the decorations were not particularly extravagant, she found them to be very beautiful. She also appreciated the colorful garden, and the vibrant atmosphere it created. It was both relaxing and refreshing which was exactly what she needed as she settled down in a foreign environment.

Seeing as the weather was fine, she paced the perimeters of the gardens, enjoying the peace and quiet. Her only company was her own thoughts, mostly about how her betrothed was going to take to her.

It seemed her betrothed, Prince Jooyoung, also could not get her out of his mind either. He would not shut up about her, and since his sister was too busy with her queenly duties to listen to his disorganized rants, he turned to his cousin Jongin for a confidant. Conveniently, as Jongin was the Queen Mother’s nephew, he was granted frequent access to the palace.

“You haven’t even seen her in person, and you’re already so infatuated with her. Does that even make sense?” Jongin asked casually as he and Jooyoung sat down to eat snacks together.

“I simply cannot wait to meet her!” Jooyoung gushed. There was food in his hand but because he was so busy talking he hardly even ate.

“Who said you had to wait?” Jongin laughed, shoving yet another piece into his mouth.

“Uh, customs?”

“Nah. Why should we care about that? Let’s just go and see her today,” Jongin suggested.

“How’s that possible?”

“My dear cousin,” Jongin replied impishly, and winked. “She’s already in the palace and she has her own residence; how difficult can it be?”

Creeping, creeping, creeping.

The two boys kept signaling for each other to keep quiet as they crept to Princess Nongyu’s residence. It was awkward to have to walk while hunching their backs and keeping their knees bent, but otherwise they would get exposed too easily given how tall they were. They were not supposed to meet the Princess in advance as they were supposed to wait for a more formal ceremony. They had to be careful as they sought to satisfy their curiosity — more saliently, Jooyoung’s curiosity — in secret.

Once they reached the wall and found a tree with leaves that could at least partially cover their faces, slowly they stood upright. They found a young lady alone in the garden. It was not difficult to deduce that she must be the Princess. She was dressed in the finest silks and fabrics. Surely no servant would be able to afford that. Even from the way she stood and walked, the way she carefully took every step with elegance, and her prim posture, all of it were sure signs of a royal upbringing. After all, princesses were supposed to carry themselves with dignity and grace at all times.

“Wow!” Jooyoung gasped, completely forgetting that he was not supposed to draw attention. “She’s gorgeous!”

“Hush!” Jongin winced and smacked the Prince on the arm. “You’re too loud! If we get caught it’s gonna be because of you! Keep your voice down!”

“No, you keep your voice down! Are you hearing yourself right now?!” Jooyoung shot back.

“You’re an idiot. I cannot believe Cousin Joohyun is going to pass the throne to you.” Jongin shook his head and sighed. “This country has no hope anymore.”

Jooyoung was about to retort, but was interrupted by a female voice.

“Excuse me. Who are you?” Nongyu piped up, eyeing at the two boys in confusion.

Caught in the act, they exchanged worried glances. Jooyoung’s head was empty and Jongin had no thoughts. Both of them panicked, but in the end it was Jongin who spoke first.

“I am Prince Jooyoung!” Jongin declared, then pointed at Jooyoung. “This is my cousin, Lord Jongin.”

Jooyoung’s jaw dropped. He had no idea what his cousin was up to, or if this was going to harm him or benefit him in the long run. But he could not think of anything to say, so Nongyu took his lack of response as agreement.

“Your Highness. Your Lordship.” Nongyu greeted them politely. Her soft voice and gentleness had Jooyoung completely enchanted as he was now speechless not so much because of the shock but more out of fascination.

“I know we’re supposed to wait for the ceremony to be formally introduced to each other,” Jongin continued, sounding much calmer than the person he was pretending to be. “But I couldn’t wait. I wanted to see you right away. And now that I’ve seen you with my own eyes…” he grinned. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Nongyu looked down demurely, blushing a little as she smiled. She was accustomed to receiving compliments, both sincere and insincere ones alike. However Jongin sounded earnest enough for her to genuinely be happy upon hearing it.

Jooyoung cleared his throat, deciding that he would be at a severe disadvantage if he did not seize the chance to say a single word. “I agree!” He blurted. “Your Highness is prettier than all the flowers in the garden!”

Nongyu giggled. “You flatter me, my lord. Although...”

“Yes?” Both boys asked at the same time, looking at her intently and hanging on to her every word.

“I...I wonder if we’d have to pretend to not have seen each other, on the day of the ceremony.”

“Ah, yes, indeed