It was early morning, and Taeyeon was already in the kitchen, with a list in her hand, giving orders left and right.

It is a special day after all.

It is the Crown Prince’s birthday.

A few days ago, when she was reading in the library,  Eunuch Nam popped his head in through the door and brought up that it will be the Crown Prince’s birthday in a few days.

Taeyeon was surprised that the Crown Prince’s birthday is just in a few days, yet there hasn’t been any preparations and not a single person in the palace talked about it. So after asking Court Lady Jo, she found out that the Crown Prince doesn’t like to celebrate his birthday, so usually on his birthday, things are quiet in the palace.

Knowing him, he probably doesn’t like anything too grand, so she decided to prepare a small feast that they can share in his chambers. Other than having gotten drunk at his chambers twice, she never had a proper meal with him, so she also hopes that she can take this chance to have a meal with him.

“Your Highness, the rice cake is ready!” the Head Chef hollered from the other side of the kitchen.

At first, the cooks were wary about the Crown Princess being in their kitchen, but Taeyeon being Taeyeon, they easily warmed up to her within an hour after she stepped into that kitchen.

“Alright, let me decorate it.”

Taeyeon started to decorate the rice cakes with seaweed to make it form the words for “Happy Birthday!”

The cooks gathered around her as she added some toppings onto the food. They were amazed by the creativity of the Crown Princess. 

Taeyeon had done some research on the Crown Prince’s favorite food based on the food trays that came back from his room. He usually doesn’t have a good appetite, so he rarely finishes them. But when he does finish them, the cooks will take note to cook him more of the same kind of food.

“Wow, it is so pretty. I hope His Highness will appreciate it!” one of the cooks said.

“He should!” Taeyeon scowled jokingly, “This wouldn’t have been a success without you guys. Sorry for taking up your break time!”

“It is alright, Your Highness. Anything for Your Highness.”

“The Sun is up, he should be awake by now,” said Taeyeon as she started to grab the tray.

“Your Highness, let me help you to carry this.” Hui quickly intervened.

“It’s alright, I want to personally serve him, since it is his birthday. You can grab the other one with the drinks.”

As the Crown Princess started to walk towards the Crown Prince’s chambers, servants stopped and bowed towards her. After she left, the servants started to murmur amongst each other.

Because there was one thing that Court Lady Jo failed to mention to the Crown Princess.

The Crown Prince doesn’t celebrate his birthday because it is also the anniversary of the late Queen Hwang Eun-Song’s death. The reason why the late Queen was assassinated was because she wanted to spend time with the young Prince on his birthday.

The servants were worried about what the Crown Prince will do to the Crown Princess in rage when it is a day he stopped celebrating ever since his late mother’s death.

News about this traveled fast within the palace, and it reached the King’s ears in no time.

“What? The Crown Princess did what?”

“She was seen preparing a birthday feast and carrying it to the Crown Prince’s chambers, Your Majesty,” replied Eunuch Hong.

“Did no one tell her what today is? Any mentions about his birthday will infuriate him. That is why we never talk about it.”

“It might be different this time, as it is something prepared by the Crown Princess,” Eunuch Hong said. “There have been rumors these days about how the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess have gotten a lot closer.”

The King simply sighed and said, “I hope that is the case. It has been years, it is time for him to let go and move on. Maybe the Crown Princess can help change that.”

***

“Is the Crown Prince in?” Taeyeon whispered to Eunuch Nam who was outside the door.

“Yes, you are so early today, the Sun is barely up,” Eunuch Nam said, peering down at the tray of food in the Crown Princess’ hands. “Let me check if he is up, His Highness is usually an early bird.”

“No, I want to surprise him.”

“Wait –”

Taeyeon let herself in without waiting as the servants started to open doors after doors for her.

“Your Highness!” Eunuch Nam hissed from behind and quickly grabbed Hui’s arm, “Don’t go in until His Royal Highness lets you in.”

When Taeyeon barged in, she was stunned to see the Crown Prince standing in front of his closet, getting changed by himself. 

Her cheeks immediately flushed red as she stared at his toned back muscles that are covered with battle scars. The muscles on his arms flexed as he put on his robe. And it brought her back to the time when she treated his wounds outside the palace.

“Crown Princess, what brings you here?” he asked nonchalantly, without turning to look at her. He could feel her staring at him when she didn’t reply, so he turned to look at her, his robe hanging loosely around his shoulders, revealing his toned abs between his robe.

Taeyeon pursed her lips and averted her gaze to the ground, as she slowly went towards his table and placed the food tray down. Then she bravely glanced back at him. “I wanted to have a meal with you. Today is your birthday.”

The moment she said that, she noticed that the look in his eyes changed, which sent a shiver down her spine.

That look reminded her of the look he had back when he “interrogated her” about her involvement with her brother’s plans.

But when their eyes met, it instantly vanished and was replaced with his usual cold and dead eyes.

Baekhyun glanced down at the food and turned away from her as he finished putting on his clothes. Taeyeon silently stared down at the food as she patiently waited for him to finish changing.

“We don’t have to celebrate,” he said after a silent moment, staring out the window. “It is… just like any other day.”

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, she thought he simply didn’t like to have a grand feast for his birthday because it is a waste of money, but there seems to be other reasons.

“It isn’t just any other day. It is a day you were born, a special day to celebrate every year, ” she started, slowly approaching him. “I got up early to prepare these for you.”

The way his shoulders tensed up didn’t go unnoticed. Taeyeon stood behind him, observing him, wondering what to say to ease the tension. Whatever it is, she noticed that something changed in him when she mentioned that it is his birthday.

“Sorry I have wasted your effort, but I don’t feel like eating today,” he said as he finally turned to look at her, purposely avoiding her eyes and staring at the ground. “Maybe we can have a meal another day, but not today.”

Her smile dropped, feeling disappointed that her efforts are going to go to waste.

Quickly after, she forced a smile on her face and said, “Then let’s treat today just like any other day, just how you like it. And see it as a day I decided to prepare a meal for you to thank you for… the time you saved my life.”

Taeyeon decided to stop mentioning his birthday, and twist the agenda around. The most important thing is to make him feel comfortable today.

When he remained silent, Taeyeon beamed a warm smile at him and grabbed his arm, pulling him to sit down with her in front of the table.

“Let’s eat before it gets cold,” she said, handing him the chopsticks. “Oh right, the drinks. Hui, can you come in with the drinks?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Eunuch Nam opened the doors for Hui to come in with the tray.

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes at Eunuch Nam, wondering if he purposely left out some details about why he dislikes celebrating his birthday. Eunuch Nam was just smiling from ear to ear, when he saw that the Crown Prince had willingly sat down in front of the table.

After Hui and Eunuch Nam left the Royal couple alone in the room, Taeyeon started to pour tea into their cups. “I am good at many things, and one of those is making tea. I think I passed the Crown Princess selection process because of the tea I made.”

Baekhyun let out a chuckle, which surprised Taeyeon.

“Are you disagreeing with me? What are you laughing at?” she joked, glad to see that he has eased up a little.

“It just came out of nowhere.”

Taeyeon smiled and quickly mixed up the seaweed that she purposely placed earlier to form the words “Happy Birthday”. She took some time making it, so it was a pity that she had to mix them together so that Baekhyun won’t be able to read it and be reminded that it is a birthday feast.

“Why did you want to celebrate this day?” Baekhyun asked after they ate in silence for a while.

Taeyeon looked up at him, wondering if it would be okay to bring it up. “I just… don’t want you to be alone on a day like this. Usually people spend this day together with their family and loved ones. It only comes once every year.”

Baekhyun nodded, taking a bite out of the rice cake.

“Besides, it is days like this which excuse everything that I am about to do.”

Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and was about to ask her what she meant by that, when Taeyeon suddenly grabbed a hard-boiled egg and hit it hard on his head.

“Wow, it cracked. You have a solid head,” Taeyeon said with a mischievous smile on her face as she started to peel off the shells from the egg.

“Kim Tae-Yeon.”

Taeyeon stopped peeling and stared at him, surprised to hear him calling out her full name. His tone reminded her a lot of how her mother used to call her when she was in trouble.

“It is tradition,” she simply replied, smiling from ear to ear as she split the egg into half and put one half in .

Baekhyun silently stared at her for a moment before grabbing an egg from the table, attempting to hit her back on the head, but Taeyeon was quicker, she grabbed another egg and hit it flat on the side of his head.

She bursted out laughing when she succeeded.

“Told you I am good at many things,” she laughed harder when she saw the serious expression on her husband’s face. “I win!”

Baekhyun massaged the spot she just hit him at as he glared at her before saying, “I was just holding back, if I was actually serious about this game, your head will be bruised.”

“Serious about the game? You don’t have to be serious to win,” she giggled, causing him to scowl at her. “Alright, I will stop. Let’s resume eating.”

***

“Your Royal Highness, did you have a good meal with the Crown Princess today?” Eunuch Nam asked after Taeyeon left.

“You told her about today, didn’t you?” the Crown Prince asked.

Eunuch Nam smiled and nodded. “You have changed since the Crown Princess came into your life. So I decided to let her know, knowing that she would plan something today to make your day better.”

Baekhyun wanted to scold Eunuch Nam for deciding things by himself, but held his tongue back and resumed writing in his journal.

“Next time, let me know beforehand at least.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Baekhyun stopped writing when he thought back to what Taeyeon said just now before leaving.

“Promise me that you will let me celebrate your birthday with you again, next year,” she said with a bright smile plastered across her face.

He nodded silently in acknowledgement before she spun around to leave.

He hasn’t thought much ahead about his future with her. He had always been so focused on solving his late brother’s murder and bringing the real culprit to justice, that he never stopped to think about his own life after he succeeded.

He had only thought about protecting her so that she wouldn't become a liability to him.

He had always kept his expression closed, scared to reveal anything that reflects the way he is feeling inside. But Taeyeon always managed to see through him, he isn’t sure if it is because he trusts her more now that he can easily let down his guard around her.

He found himself thinking about her wellbeing and her happiness.

He found himself caring about the way she sees him, her impression of him and the way she feels about him.

He found himself feeling an attachment towards her.

And that will only become a liability to him.

Heaving a sigh, he put down his brush and shut the book close after the ink dried.

***

“I heard what happened.”

Taeyeon jumped, almost falling backwards when she heard her older brother’s voice. She was turning into a corner on the way back to her chambers when her brother suddenly spoke behind her.

“Orabeoni.”

“Don’t you know what today is?”

“Today is His Highness’ birthday,” she replied.

“It is also the anniversary of the late Queen’s assassination.”

Taeyeon felt her blood run cold, numbing her to the core. Her mind reeled, struggling to process what her brother just told her.

“You look surprised. Don’t tell me you didn’t know and celebrate his birthday with him like an idiot. The Crown Prince is known for his temper, I am surprised that you left in one piece.”

A feeling of guilt washed over her. She knew that there was something off about the way Baekhyun reacted, she just never thought that it would be about his late mother’s death. Baekhyun probably wanted to be left alone because today only serves as a reminder that everyone blamed him for his mother’s death.

Luckily she didn’t push further about him not wanting to celebrate his birthday, and said that she just wanted to have a meal with him instead.

“Aren’t you too busy working to talk about palace gossip?” she sneered mockingly at her brother, deciding to change the topic. “So busy that you didn’t even attend our father's funeral.”

“I did attend on the last day.”

“Yes, but you only came to take over our father’s tasks as the head of the family. You didn’t even bow down to his grave.”

Taeyeon’s jaw clenched, thinking back to the time when her brother finally showed up at the funeral, for their father’s will and the handovers of their father to him as the head of the family. Her mother forgave him, but Taeyeon and her younger brother were mad about what he did.

“Did you visit father at all when he was sick?” she asked him.

“Why do you ask?”

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes on her brother, wondering why he sounded defensive when she just asked him a simple question. “When was the last time you saw him alive?”

“I didn’t visit, I was too busy with work.”

Taeyeon chewed on her bottom lip, wondering if her older brother regrets not visiting their father during his last moments. Just like how she regrets running away from home for a year, instead of spending time with her father.

***

Baekhyun was reading in his personal library alone when the door behind his mother’s painting opened, Soo stepped out from behind and bowed towards His Highness.

“I hope you brought back some useful evidence we can use,” said the Crown Prince, gently placing the bookmark back in his book before closing it. “Did anyone see you? Or follow you?”

“There were two people following me when I left the palace, but I knocked them out to make sure that they didn't follow me to Kim's Residence.”

“Good,” the Crown Prince grabbed the book from Soo’s hands.

“This seems to be a transaction record of everything about where they purchased the mercury. But I couldn’t find Tax Minister Kim’s involvement with Prince Jung. Only that he had purchased mercury.”

“So there’s no evidence of Prince Jung’s involvement in any of this. We can only bring Tax Minister Kim to justice, and Prince Jung can deny any involvement he has in the case.”

“Your Highness, if this goes to court, Tax Minister Kim will receive his punishment, his family will be shunned as well. The Crown Princess’ position will also be affected.”

“What do you want to say, Soo?” the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow at him as he put the book down onto the table in front of him. “That I should bury this evidence to protect the Crown Princess?”

“No, it wasn’t my intention to imply that. My apologies, Your Highness,” Soo quickly reached out his hands in front of him and bowed down his head apologetically.

The Crown Prince heaved a sigh as he sat back down on his chair. Drumming his fingers against the surface of the table, the Crown Prince’s mind reeled with thoughts on how to utilize this evidence.

He told himself before that he won’t let anyone or anything get in the way of him finding out the truth behind his late brother’s death. But now he is faced with a dilemma when the Crown Princess could fall because of this.

The Crown Prince has to think carefully about what to do, about what he is willing to give up to reach his goal.

***

Upon special request, Taeyeon was allowed to go home for one day to visit her mother. Ever since the passing of her father, she is worried about her mother’s health the most. Her parents loved each other deeply, and her mother stayed with her father until his last breath.

At the same time, she wants to learn more about her father’s death, so she was hoping to visit the physician that diagnosed her father. Her father had been healthy when he first visited her in the palace, so she wondered what could have caused her father’s sudden declining health.

“Taeyeon-a, you don’t have to worry too much about me,” said her mother. “His Highness wouldn’t like it if you keep leaving the palace.”

“Don’t worry mother, he understands. It is just a short trip. Have you been eating well?”

“Yes, your brother has been making sure to come home every night to eat together,” said her mother. “I told him to stop coming back, but he never listens. What if he doesn’t pass his exams?”

“Mother, you don’t need to worry about Minwoo, he’s a bright scholar after all. He can manage.”

Her mother let out a tired sigh, and said, “I have finally come to terms that your father has passed. I just never imagined that he would leave us so quickly. The physician said that he was getting better, so I stopped worrying so much and thought that it was a simple cold.”

“Who was the physician that came?”

Her mother placed her hand under her chin thoughtfully before replying, “Your brother referred to him as Physician Han.”

“Minjun was the one who brought the physician in?”

Her mother nodded in response.

“Did he personally come to visit father when he was sick?”

“No, he didn’t come to visit.”

So Kim Minjun wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t visit when father was sick.

She sighed, why did she think that her brother had something to do with it? No matter how cruel she thinks he is, he is still family.

“But he did come the day before your father got sick. That was when he told me that your father wasn’t looking well, so he said he will arrange a physician to check on your father.”

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow, finding that weirdly coincidental.

“Why do you ask?” her mother asked her, worry filled  her eyes.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering about the credentials the physician had.”

Taeyeon didn’t want to worry her mother, if what she suspects is true, her mother would be devastated. It would probably be the last thing that pushes her off the edge. She can’t let that happen.

As she was leaving, the house’s head servant greeted her at the entrance.

“Bong, how are you doing?” she asked Bong. Years ago, Bong came in to serve the family as a kitchen helper. And now, he has been promoted as Head servant after so many years of serving them.

“I have been well, Your Highness. I hope that you have been eating well,” Bong said as he bowed.

“Don’t worry about me,” Taeyeon replied as she glanced around. “Where is Lin? I haven’t seen her since forever.”

“She hasn’t been feeling well, Your Highness,” replied Bong. “So she has been resting at home until she is well enough to come back for work.”

“Oh no, what kind of sickness does she have?”

“We aren’t sure yet, but a few days ago, she couldn’t do any chores because her hands were shaking very badly. She said she feels tired recently, her muscles feel heavy, so it might have been a fever.”

“There’s a clinic nearby that is providing free healthcare, maybe she should go visit the physician there if she hasn’t.”

“The Young Master, my apologies, I mean the Lord has sent a physician to her house to treat her. So she should come back within a few days.”

“My brother?”

“Yes, he said since the physician that treated your father specializes in that sickness, he can also help to treat Lin. As they share similar symptoms.”

“Other than hand tremors and weak muscles, what other symptoms did they share?”

“I am not sure, but Lin has headaches and difficulty breathing. Before she was excused to leave the residence, I think she couldn’t see really well as well. Just like your father. Lin mentioned that your father couldn’t see very well when she was trying to feed him his medicine.”

As soon as Taeyeon reached the palace, she went straight to the Royal Infirmary.

She didn’t want anyone to know what she was doing, so she simply borrowed a few books to read, claiming that she was bored reading fictional books.

She shut herself in the Crown Prince’s personal library, flipping through the books she borrowed from the Royal Infirmary, trying to look for the symptoms that her father and Lin had in common. After hours of reading, she finally narrowed it down to one dangerous and deadly cause.

The sound of the door opening frightened her, she jumped and let out a relieved sigh when it was just Baekhyun, coming into the library.

He glanced around the room and lit up a few candles, placing it on her table. “Have you been reading all afternoon? The room is so dark, I am surprised that you are still reading.”

She chuckled awkwardly in response, instinctively trying to hide the pages she had been reading under her arms.

“What are you reading?” he asked, peering over the table.

“Just trying to gain more knowledge in medicine.”

“Then why don’t you want me to see it?”

“Huh?”

She looked up at him, and gulped nervously when she met his eyes.

“What are you reading about?” he repeated his question, and this time, his tone was no longer casual.

“Sit down and I will tell you.”

She showed him the notes she took and the references she saw, and shared with him how her suspicions started. Throughout the whole thing, Baekhyun never uttered a word or asked her any questions, he just listened silently.

“I may not have proof, but I know that my brother is directly involved in my father’s death. He was murdered,” when she said the last word, her hands trembled slightly in anger. “I believe it was mercury poisoning.”

She stared at Baekhyun, waiting for him to say something because he had been quiet throughout the whole time she was sharing her findings. It felt like this news isn't something new to Baekhyun, or maybe he's just surprisingly calm at everything.

“I have proof that your brother has possession of mercury.” Baekhyun said calmly.

Taeyeon widened her eyes in shock, surprised that Baekhyun knew about it. “You knew about it?”

Baekhyun sighed, hesitating to tell her about what he has been investigating. But he needs Taeyeon’s findings to back up the evidence he has.

“I have been investigating the late Crown Prince’s death. He was assassinated by mercury poisoning.”

“What? I thought he passed away because of an illness.”

“He didn’t. It was a cover up.”

“So, does that mean that my brother was also responsible for assassinating the late Crown Prince?” Taeyeon asked cautiously. Assassinating a member of the Royal family and the Crown Prince at that, is a crime that could get him executed. When did her brother become someone so evil?

“Yes. And if he is brought to court, there is a possibility that you and your family –”

“Will get executed,” Taeyeon finished his sentence for him as the weight of the news pressed down on her chest.