It’s the final stage of the selection process.

More candidates were sent home, leaving only three candidates to move up to the finalists of the selection process. The last stage of the selection process is for the three finalists to meet the Queen, where her majesty will ask them questions to see if they are qualified to become the Crown Princess.

Taeyeon was surprised she made it to the final stage, considering what an awful job she did with the embroidery assessment. She wasn’t sure if the Crown Prince picked hers because his highness genuinely liked it or his highness purposely picked the worst one as a joke.

Two palace maids were helping her to get ready to meet the Queen when her brother came in and asked the two palace maids to leave them for a moment.

“Orabeoni, what are you doing here?,” she asked, checking her appearance in the mirror one last time. She felt nervous all morning to meet the Queen, as the last time she was face to face with the Queen, her majesty didn’t seem to like her very much.

“I thought you would at least try to fail the second stage of the assessment. What happened?” he strolled in casually, fanning himself with a fan.

She swallowed down a lump in , knowing that her brother had clearly threatened her life if she passed the assessments. “I have tried my best to fail, but it wasn’t enough.”

“How hard is it to fail the test?” he asked, slamming his fan down on the table, causing a few bottles of cosmetics to fall and roll off the table. “All you had to do is do nothing.”

Taeyeon winced at the violence and mumbled, “I am sorry. I tried my best.”

“Later when you meet the Queen, just give her majesty the wrong answers. Don’t screw it up again,” he warned, placing his hands on both sides of her shoulders while slowly applying pressure. “His excellency told me that he still wants you to be his bride, so as long as you fail the test and go back to him. Everything will be fine.”

Taeyeon nodded, staring at her brother through the mirror. She does intend to fail the test, after thinking about it all night, if her escape plan fails, at least she is marrying a Prince and not the Crown Prince. There’s less freedom being the Crown Princess, if she is just the wife of a Prince, no one would pay attention to her and that makes her escape easier.

“I’m glad we can reach an understanding,” said Kim Minjun, grabbing his fan off the table and turning away to leave. “I will be waiting to hear the good news.”

***

“Minister Kim is convinced that I will marry his sister after she fails the selection process, what should we do next after she fails?” asked Prince Jung as he watched the tea being poured in front of him by a palace maid.

“We will take her in for questioning, to find out if she knows about the Crown Prince’s plan,” replied Vice Premier Hak as he brought the tea cup close to his mouth to take a sip. “Then we will get rid of her quietly.”

“Her majesty is already getting prepared to meet the finalists, it’s going to be easy to eliminate Kim Taeyeon at the spot,” Prince Jung said, chuckling deeply to himself as he took a sip from his tea cup as well. “How dare they cross me, I will personally deal with Kim Taeyeon after she is eliminated.”

“Why focus on one wench when you can bring down Minister Kim as well?” asked Vice Premier Hak. “We can also take this opportunity to take down the whole Kim family.”

“How? Minister Kim knows that we are involved, he will drag us down with him if he falls.”

“Frame Minister Kim for his sister’s death, and while he is sent to the prosecutor’s office, we will send Min to assassinate him and plant that evidence on Kim Jang-Pil. The prosecutor will close the case and conclude that Kim Jang-Pil murdered his son because he was embarrassed by his actions.”

“Wow, smart,” said Prince Jung, impressed by the wise old man.

“Your excellency!” a servant suddenly called from outside the door.

“Let him in,” said Vice Premier Hak.

The two servants nodded and quickly opened the door for him. Advisor Song came running into the room and quickly greeted Prince Jung when he realized Prince Jung was also in the room.

“What happened?” asked Vice Premier Hak, sensing the urgency in Advisor Song’s voice earlier.

“The Queen won’t be meeting the finalists.”

“What?” Vice Premier Hak slammed his hand on the table upon hearing that.

“The King personally changed the process last minute and now the finalists are on their way to meet the King.”

Prince Jung stood up abruptly and went for the door, but he barely stepped his foot outside the room when his grandfather called out to him.

“Jung, don’t act rashly.”

“We have to stop this,” Prince Jung protested.

“It would be suspicious if we intervene in this matter,” said Vice Premier Hak, slowly his beard as he started to think of another plan. “We have no choice but to wait and see which girl the King picks. Everything depends on that girl now.”

***

Taeyeon could feel her heart pounding, sweat beading her forehead and her hands feeling clammy against her lap. She didn’t dare to look up and kept her chin down as she waited for the candidate beside her to answer the King’s question.

She was told that the Queen would be the only one overlooking the selection process of the Crown Princess, and since she met the Queen yesterday, she thought she could just fail the test by giving a generic answer.

She wasn’t expecting to meet the King, the most powerful man in Joseon. To be in the same room as his majesty is an honour to her, because she remembered how her father would always speak highly of the King for his contributions towards the nation.

Giving a stupid and generic answer to the Queen is one thing, but giving that same answer to the King would disgrace her family.

The King had asked them, “What kind of Crown Princess would you be?”and gave each of them some time to think of an answer. Taeyeon’s mind went blank in the presence of the King, so she was glad that the candidate beside her answered his majesty’s question first, buying her more time to think of an acceptable answer.

“My name is Tae Ah Ra and I am the daughter of Tae Yeong-Chul,” Tae Ah Ra introduced herself to the King. “I would become a Crown Princess that the Crown Prince will be proud of.”

“Good,” the King nodded, smiling kindly at Tae Ah Ra. “How will you do that?”

“Follow the rules, always be proper and keep up the image of a Crown Princess, so that I will be adored by the people. I will also be a caring and attentive wife to the Crown Prince.”

“The Crown Prince does need a caring wife,” the King agreed. “But what would you do to be adored by the people?”

Taeyeon looked up and glanced at Tae Ah Ra, wondering why the King asked her that question again. She thought she heard Ah Ra saying that she will be a Crown Princess that keeps up the image of the palace, isn’t that answer enough?

She watched as Tae Ah Ra smiled nervously at the King before uttering her answer.

“To be adored by the people, I will be a diligent wife that takes care of Joseon’s Crown Prince,” Tae Ah Ra replied. Taeyeon felt nervous for her friend, knowing that she was simply reiterating her answer.

The King smiled and nodded, turning his attention to Taeyeon and waiting for her to tell him her answer.

“And you, candidate Kim Taeyeon?”

Taeyeon swallowed the lump down and slowly looked up at the King with a small smile. She hasn’t been able to come up with an answer that would impress the King because her mind has been blank ever since she saw the King.

“I… I would become a Crown Princess… ” she bit down on her bottom lip nervously, trying to think of something. The King was still smiling kindly at her, which made her feel a lot better. She slowly unclenched her fist as she felt her whole body relaxed.

She decided that she should just speak her mind and don’t care about failing or impressing the King. Right now, her only focus is to be honest with her answer and hope for the best.

She glanced at Tae Ah Ra and the other female candidate before diverting her eyes back to the King.

“I would become a Crown Princess that would make Joseon a better place, for those who come after us.”

Taeyeon smiled nervously as she wasn’t sure if the King liked her answer. His majesty’s expression was unreadable.

“How are you going to do that?”

Taeyeon smiled, relieved that the King was interested to know more about her plan. “Once I become Crown Princess, I will use my authority and influence to help the impoverished,” she replied confidently. “The people will have better access to food and we will also make it easier for them to earn an income to feed their families. By doing that, we can reduce the poverty in Joseon.”

“Good point,” the King said. “But what if the ministers are against it? What will you do?”

The King was now asking the harder questions, testing her. Taeyeon pursed her lips, remembering what Court Lady Jo taught all of them yesterday.

“To be the wife of the Crown Prince, you are only required to become someone who is quiet, restrained, proper and capable of handling domestic tasks.”

Tae Ah Ra must have tailored her answer based on what Court Lady Jo taught her, that’s why she didn’t know how to answer the King when his majesty asked her how she’s going to do it. Taeyeon remembered disagreeing with Court Lady Jo when she heard the criterion, so she certainly isn’t going to answer the same as Tae Ah Ra did.

“Then I will grant myself the permission to do it,” she replied confidently. She heard a small gasp from Tae Ah Ra and the other candidate. She glanced at them and back at the King, but his majesty’s face remained neutral. “I understand that not everyone is going to agree with me. Creating something new requires risks and failures after all. But I won’t let that stop me as I won’t see it as failure until I stop trying.”

Taeyeon knew that her answer was bold and it challenged the criterion the Queen many years ago set for the selection process of the Crown Princess. By giving such a bold answer to the King, she is potentially throwing away her chances of becoming the Crown Princess. She was okay with it, because she simply didn't care if she failed the selection process as long as she got to tell the King what her father had taught her.

Which is to never back down, stand your ground and fight for what you believe in.

***

The three of them were escorted back to their rooms after the assessment was over. Taeyeon was relieved that she survived that, she glanced at her friend and decided to cheer her up by tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention.

“You did great, Ah Ra-ssi.”

Taeyeon was caught off guard when Tae Ah Ra glared at her when she looked at her over her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You are such a liar,” she snapped at her. Taeyeon frowned, surprised by her attitude. “You said you didn’t want to become the Crown Princess. But you were trying so hard to earn the King’s favor.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was just being honest when his majesty asked me a question.”

“Whatever,” she scoffed without sparing her a single glance, leaving Taeyeon dumbfounded.

Taeyeon heaved a heavy sigh as she turned around to walk back to her room, assisted by her brother’s guards and two palace maids. Tae Ah Ra acted like a completely different person, but Taeyeon felt that it was understandable for her to act that way. Her chances of being selected as the Crown Princess has gone down the drains, and becoming a Princess has always been her dream.

She heaved another heavy sigh again when she returned to her room and saw her brother sitting in front of the table, waiting for her. Her brother stood up and walked around the table before stopping in front of her.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“I am not sure,” she replied. “My answer was the opposite from Tae Ah Ra’s.”

“Then good. That girl will probably be chosen as the Crown Princess, and you will marry Prince Jung,” said Kim Minjun as he walked towards the door. “As a reward, today’s meal is prepared on the table right there.”

Taeyeon glanced at the table, the food looked like they had already gone cold. She rolled her eyes at her brother and nodded, thanking him for the meal.

“Don’t frown. Smile more, especially in front of the Prince,” he said over his shoulder before closing the doors behind him. Taeyeon frowned when her brother finally left, she sat down in front of the table and picked up her chopsticks, beginning to dig into her meal.

She felt even worse after taking her first bite, the rice was so cold in that she had to force herself to swallow it down. Forcing herself to take another spoonful of cold rice and shoving it in , she felt a lump coming up the back of . Slowly putting down her chopsticks and staring down at the cold rice, a tear slipped down her cheek.

She wiped away the tear with her sleeve, but more came rolling down her cheeks. Spending her days in the palace and living in constant isolation without having the freedom of going out to do what she loves most, had made her feel extremely depressed.

Taeyeon had wished she would bump into Baekhyun again, at least he will remind her of the time when she was treating his injuries in her uncle’s infirmary. He would be able to bring her back to the time when she could joke around and laugh freely with another human being.

She glanced at her reflection in the tall mirror across the room, her reflection was frowning back at her, it’s an expression she has been doing a lot ever since she came to the castle.

And now she found herself giving up hope and giving in to her arranged marriage to Prince Jung.

Where has her never give up attitude gone?

***

The attendants clapped when the Crown Prince successfully shot his sixth arrow onto his target, creating a bundle of arrows stuck together at the centre of the board. Eunuch Nam grinned and clapped the loudest among the other palace attendants, proud to see how much the Crown Prince had improved in archery.

“Soo,” the Crown Prince called.

“Your highness,” Soo stepped forward and bowed to his highness.

“Any news about the man with the scar?” he asked as he casually pulled out another arrow from the sack behind him.

“No, your highness. I have checked all of Prince Jung’s guards, but none of them have that scar, your highness.”

The Crown Prince smirked when the arrow swiftly cut through the air and landed on the target again. Eunuch Nam and the palace maids clapped altogether at that, impressed by the Crown Prince’s archery skills. Satisfied with today’s practice, he walked back to the table and put down his bow and the sack of arrows off his back.

“They are of good quality, these arrows,” he told Soo. The new bow and arrows were a gift to him from Minister Tae, the head of the Ministry of War, on his return to the palace safely after the ambush. “Remind me to thank Minister Tae for them.”

“Yes, your highness.”

The palace attendants quickly followed behind his highness as he started to walk away from the practice field.

“Your highness, the three finalists of the Crown Princess selection process have already met with the King,” reported Eunuch Nam. “Candidate Kim Taeyeon was one of the finalists.”

Baekhyun raised a brow at the mention of her name. He was surprised that she made it to the finals. The last time they talked, she was talking about how much she wanted to escape the palace, and now she is already one of the finalists for the selection process. What a strange twist of events.

“Your highness, the King, his majesty has ordered your highness to this chambers,” a Eunuch from the King’s chambers approached the Crown Prince to deliver the King’s order to him. Baekhyun nodded and started to follow the eunuch to his father’s chambers.

When the doors opened, he was displeased to see the Queen sitting beside his father.

“Crown Prince, the Crown Princess selection process has ended and I have made my decision,” said the King. “And I have chosen candidate Kim Taeyeon as your Crown Princess.”

Baekhyun shrugged at the news. He glanced at the Queen, knowing that she was staring at him, analyzing his reaction to the news.

“I see, your majesty,” he replied nonchalantly. He wasn’t sure what to think about it. He couldn’t be happy that it was someone he kinda knows, because he knew very well that she had no choice. But he wasn’t disappointed either, because he considered her to be a good acquaintance.

“You don’t seem pleased by the news,” the King said. “I thought you chose her as one of the candidates for your own personal reason.”

Baekhyun blinked at that assumption. By “his own personal reason”, did the King misinterpret his decision as being infatuated with her?

“Did you choose her because of that?” he asked his father.

The King chuckled and said, “No. That young lady gave some very insightful answers to my question, she showed more empathy than most of the people in court. And she proved herself to me that she will become a great Crown Princess. So I chose her.”

“Your majesty,” the Queen spoke up. “I still believe candidate Tae Ah Ra is a better candidate.”

Baekhyun glanced at the Queen again, knowing that she came to visit the King to persuade him about his decision. But why does his marriage concern her? Unless it concerns her son, Prince Jung?

The Queen and Prince Jung probably thought he was scheming something when he asked the King to add Kim Taeyeon to the Crown Princess selection process. Little did they know, he simply added her to help her escape her marriage to Prince Jung.

“No, I picked candidate Kim Taeyeon and my decision is final,” said the King. Baekhyun’s lips curved into a small smile when he noticed the Queen’s expression turning sullen at the King’s determined reply.

“Then you chose well, father,” he said, bowing down politely at the King.