Not long after Jooyoung and Jongin were finished with their punishment of having to clean all the weapons in the armory, they had returned to their usual mischievous selves.

“Let me show you something I discovered recently,” Jongin began, an impish smirk creeping onto his face. Out of nowhere he conjured a book, brandishing it to draw Jooyoung’s attention.

“What’s that?” Jooyoung asked. Out of curiosity, he tried to take the book. But Jongin took a step back and hid it behind his back.

“I didn’t know you were so interested in reading.”

The Prince huffed. “Are you going to show me or not?”

Jongin giggled and finally relented, handing the book to his cousin. “Well, you’re a married man now, so you need to educate yourself on…” he paused to clear his throat. “Certain matters.”

Jooyoung eyed his cousin with distrust. “Sure, but this book…’Numerous Shades Between Black And White’...what is it supposed to teach me?”

Jongin giggled again, even more puckishly this time. “Only one way to find out!”

Jooyoung shook his head and opened the book. He expected the pages to be filled with words only, but there were a lot of illustrations. However, once he took a closer look at what the illustrations were all about, he closed the book shut. He could feel his cheeks become hot and he threw the book back at his good-for-nothing cousin. “How dare you!”

This time Jongin was downright cackling. “Come on! You’re the married one! Why would you need to be shy or flustered? Aren’t you curious about all the different possibilities?” He winked and started to flip through the pages, making the Prince grimace and close his eyes in embarrassment. “I’m certainly curious. Look at all these positions! Who knew our bodies and limbs could actually be bent in all these ways…”

“Where did you even get this book from?!” Jooyoung demanded.

“Oh, so now you’re curious.”

“This is so inappropriate. You’re always up to no good. Well, I want no part of it! Haven’t we — haven’t you — already caused enough trouble last time?” Jooyoung questioned, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t want to spend another moment in the armory. Ever! If you want to get into trouble again, I can’t and won’t stop you. Just don’t involve me in any of your messes anymore.”

“Aw, how could I possibly make you feel left out? I would never be this mean to you,” Jongin replied saccharinely. Once again he handed the book to the Prince, who accepted it very reluctantly.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea…” Jooyoung insisted.

“Well, I think it’s a brilliant idea! I’m sure all this information will come in handy at some point,” said Jongin pompously. “After all, you want to impress your wife, don’t you?”

“Ah, I…” Jooyoung faltered, his lips. It was probably unseemly of a prince to have ographic material in his possession. But if the information could help him impress Nongyu in the bedroom, then perhaps an exception could be made.

When the two boys met up again to talk about the inappropriate contents of that particular book, they were in Jooyoung’s study. However, their lively discussion was interrupted when the Queen walked in unannounced. They were so startled that they completely froze. There was not even enough time to hide the book in one of the drawers under the desk. By the time they could finally bring themselves to react by rising to greet the Queen, the book was already in her hands, as was their fate.

Joohyun let out a deep sigh at the two boys before speaking. “Jooyoung-ah, one of your tutors has informed me that you have been doing quite a bit of reading these days. Care to share what you’ve learned?”

“I…” he spluttered. “I didn’t read anything! I only have that book because Jongin gave it to me!”

Jongin gawked at his cousin before turning back to Joohyun. “That’s because he asked me for it! He begged me to lend it to him!”

“No I didn’t!” Jooyoung protested loudly and vehemently. “Why are you lying?! When have I ever—”

“Yes you did! You said you wanted to—”

“I said nothing of that sort!” He insisted. “I’m so done with you constantly trying to—”

“How do you even know what I was going to say?” Jongin questioned crossly. “I haven’t even said it! You always—”

“I don’t need to hear it,” Jooyoung snapped. “It’s bound to be some rubbish with no truth to it.”

“That’s enough,” Joohyun cut in, putting an end to this madness and noise. “Jooyoung, be quiet and listen to me. Starting from tomorrow, you will be reading different kinds of books. More about politics and economics and history,” she explained. She was continually thinking of different ways to groom him to become her ideal successor and the ideal future sovereign. She really wished he would be as serious as she was. “I will also see to it that your newly appointed mentor, our dear uncle, will go through all these readings with you. This is for your own good and to make sure your understanding of the materials is solid.”

Jooyoung groaned in pain. “I’m going to be overworked!”

“No, you won’t. We will rearrange and regularly adjust your schedule and lesson plans according to your progress,” Joohyun stated resolutely. “You can expect that I’ll also have you produce essays, analyses, commentaries, and other write-ups to check your knowledge, communication skills, critical thinking skills, attention to detail, and other competencies. You should consider yourself lucky for getting to receive an education that is usually reserved for crown princes. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, Majesty…” he answered reluctantly.

“And you too, Kim Jongin,” she added sharply, eyeing her disobedient cousin with distaste. “Don’t you have better things to do with your time? I’ll have you go to the library every day. I don’t care if you choose to go in the morning, or in the afternoon, or in the evening, or even if you sleep there. You will write a book report for me every week, so don’t even think about pulling any tricks.” Shaking her head at both of them, she then announced, “I will be quizzing both of you when you least expect it. So if you slack, I will most certainly find out.”

“Yes, Majesty…” Jongin was just as reluctant, but what alternative did they have?

“As for this book,” said Joohyun, bringing their attention back to ’Numerous Shades Between Black And White’. “I’m going to confiscate it and have it burned.”