As they walked side by side together, the air seemed to hum with an unspoken tension.

Taeyeon looked everywhere but to the person walking to her right, feeling a bit shy from the intimate moment they shared earlier. It was her first kiss, and although she was inexperienced, the kiss between them went so well together, it made her want more.

Every so often, their fingers would brush against each other, an accidental collision that sent a jolt of electricity through their veins. Their hearts skipped a beat, the unspoken desire between them growing stronger.

Taeyeon clenched and unclenched her right hand, feeling nervous, deciding on whether she should just grab his hand and hold it, to ease the tension.

Baekhyun seemed to read her mind. He smoothly intertwined their fingers together and held her hand firmly. She shot him a look, but he simply looked forward with a small smile tugging on his lips.

“People born into royalty have to always be alert at all times to not get played into the hands of their enemies,” he started, breaking the silence between them. “We cannot show our weakness to our enemies, especially enemies that we have no choice but to keep close. Because once they know, they will strike where it hurts most.”

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow at him, wondering where this conversation was going.

“You became my weakness,” he said, glancing down at her. “And the moment I let your brother know that I hold evidence against him, I know that no matter what, it will put you in danger. As long as everyone believes that you are my weakness.”

“You mean, they might use me to threaten you?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yes. So I brought in a concubine, to let everyone know that this was simply a diplomatic marriage. That they can’t use you to get to me.”

Taeyeon nodded in realization, everything just made sense after she pondered about it.

“Then, we have to continue to act like we do not love each other,” said Taeyeon, glancing down at their intertwined hands. “As long as we remain in the public eye.”

Baekhyun nodded and stopped walking. Taeyeon mirrored him as he stared up at the tip of the palace’s tallest building. They are now near the palace, although it would take a few more minutes to reach there.

“So, this is where we part,” Taeyeon mumbled, pouting slightly, feeling sad that they have to go back to the way it was once they reach the palace. She pulled her hand away from him and clenched it on her side, as if to not let go of the warmth that was transmitted from his hand.

“I promise you, once this is over, we will be together again. Trust me.”

“I do. Be careful.”

Baekhyun let her go ahead first, deciding to wait for another half an hour before going back into the palace through the secret door behind the library. When she glanced back at him over her shoulder, he just waved at her with an encouraging smile on his face.

After he made sure that she had left, he let out a tired sigh. It is going to be a hard and risky battle, but he hopes at the end, it will all be worth it.

***

Back in her room, Taeyeon couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss.

Softly grazing her fingers across her lips, she squealed under her blanket and kicked both of her legs up, unable to contain the excitement.

When they pulled away, their eyes met once more. And that’s when he said this,

“I feel the same way about you. More than you think.”

As he said that, his hand reached out to pat her head affectionately.

She then sat up, reaching her hands to cup her warm cheeks, attempting to cool herself down.

He could have just told her that he felt the same way too, he didn’t need to kiss her…

Taeyeon knew that she wasn’t mistaken about their mutual feelings for each other. She thought that she was going to go mad because her heart would flutter whenever he took care of her, comforted her and treated her differently from others. She was beginning to feel scared that she was misunderstanding his intentions and feeding herself delusions about him liking her back.

She didn’t plan to confront him or force him to tell her if all of it was a misunderstanding from her side. But she has gotten tired of questioning her delusions about his feelings for her, that she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

Now she just has to sit back and trust him to fix things.

***

The Crown Prince had held an emergency meeting, and summoned all the important officials into the court, including His Majesty The King.

As the officials all gathered at the court, they murmured amongst themselves, discussing what could be so important to announce a meeting so suddenly.

Prince Jung casted a look down at Kim Min Jun who was standing among the officials. Kim Min Jun avoided his gaze, looking down and hiding his bandaged hand discreetly behind him.

“Crown Prince, why have you brought everyone here?” asked The King, once he finally sat down on his throne.

The Crown Prince stepped forward, gesturing to Eunuch Nam who had been standing at the side to come forward. Eunuch Nam obeyed and placed the files on the table in front of them, before stepping back for the Crown Prince to take over.

“Your Majesty, before we start. I have something much more important to announce to everyone,” Prince Jung suddenly stepped out to say.

The King looked at his illegitimate son and said, “You can speak after the Crown Prince.”

“No, it is alright, Your Majesty. My brother must have something important to say.”

Prince Jung was surprised that no one tried to stop him, so he stepped forward and went to the front, with a smug smile plastered across his face. He swiftly glanced at his brother, whose expression he couldn’t read.

“I have evidence that Tax Minister Kim was behind the assassination of the late Crown Prince.”

This caused a huge commotion in the court. No one has brought up the death of the late Crown Prince since his sudden death. Although it was sudden, nobody questioned it and simply thought that he passed away because of an undiscovered disease.

All eyes were on Tax Minister Kim, who looked anything but surprised by the sudden betrayal of the man he pled his loyalty to.

“Quiet!” His Majesty The King shouted. “Prince Jung, what are you saying?”

“The late Crown Prince died because someone poured mercury into his bath. And traces of those all link back to Tax Minister Kim.”

“Your Majesty! I did no such thing,” Tax Minister Kim immediately stepped out from his position to get down on his knees to beg.

“Tax Minister Kim didn’t work alone. The Crown Prince was the one behind it,” Prince Jung said, pointing an accusing finger at the Crown Prince. His confidence faltered slightly when the Crown Prince simply looked nonchalant about the accusation, as his expression remained calm and composed. “T-The Crown Prince also tried to cover up the truth behind the crime, to protect the Crown Princess. He is unfit to be the nation’s Crown Prince.”

The King was so furious, he stood up from his throne and asked, “Tax Minister Kim, is this true?”

Tax Minister Kim shakily looked up at The King, and glanced at Prince Jung. He can’t believe that he is being betrayed by Prince Jung, just because his plan didn’t work on the day of the lantern-lighting festival.

That night, as Kim Min Jun stood at the center of the courtyard of his house, he waited for the Crown Prince to come. Instead of the Crown Prince showing up, his bodyguard, Soo, showed up, disguised as the Crown Prince.

He had yelled for his men to come out from their hiding places to attack when Soo showed himself, revealing that he wasn’t the Crown Prince. But his men had already been knocked out by Soo and the Crown Prince before the meeting.

Before he got knocked out, he could hear Soo telling him, “This was your last chance. And you shall pay for your crimes.”

Kim Min Jun decided to show up today at the meeting anyway because Prince Jung told him to attend, as he can turn it around and plant the crime on the Crown Prince. But what Prince Jung failed to mention, is that he will be betraying him together as well.

Thinking about how easily he was played into his hands, Tax Minister Kim clenched his jaw and lurched forward to attack Prince Jung. He was immediately restrained by the guards. They held him down on his stomach, pressing him down as they locked his hands behind him.

“Prince Jung was the one who instructed me to do it. I have only been loyal to him,” he managed to say.

“What evidence do you have to say that I was the one who instructed you to do it?” Prince Jung asked, with a knowing smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He’s confident that there is no evidence tied to him because he had told Kim Min Jun to burn it to prove his loyalty to him. And like a fool, he did.

Kim Min Jun kept quiet, he did burn the evidence. There was no longer any evidence left after he told Prince Jung to trust him on his plan to get rid of the Crown Prince. He had dug his own grave.

“Your Majesty, may I start the meeting?” the Crown Prince calmly turned to His Majesty and asked. Amidst the chaos in the court, the Crown Prince had kept his composure, calmly watching the drama unfold in front of him.

The ministers were surprised that the Crown Prince still wanted to continue his meeting, as if those accusations never happened. The King could only nod in approval, as Prince Jung stepped back, confused by his actions.

“I knew Tax Minister Kim wouldn’t keep his mouth shut and run to Prince Jung to tell him about this. I do have the evidence that Tax Minister Kim had been purchasing mercury and had planted someone within the late Crown Prince’s court, to pour mercury in his bath. But he didn’t work alone,” said the Crown Prince. “So I offered him a deal, to give me the evidence of the mastermind behind it. And as expected of your character, you betrayed him to save yourself.”

The Crown Prince looked directly at Prince Jung, when he said the last sentence.

“The thing about bad guys,” the Crown Prince scoffed, almost mockingly. “They always keep receipts when they make bad deals, to protect themselves when things go south.”

Prince Jung furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he watched Tax Minister Kim burn the evidence, how can the Crown Prince speak so confidently about evidence he doesn’t possess?

“Here is the record of the funds that are transacted in the days leading up to the late Crown Prince’s death, and the payment to Tax Minister Kim after the assassination attempt was successful,” the Crown Prince opened the file and presented the evidence to everyone. “On these papers are Prince Jung’s royal stamps.”

The court gasped, such a turn of events, everyone’s eyes were on Prince Jung.

“Don’t need to be surprised, Tax Minister Kim,” said the Crown Prince, when Tax Minister Kim’s jaw nearly fell on the floor because the evidence presented had his original handwriting. “I knew that when we couldn’t find it, you hid it somewhere deep, somewhere only you know. So I had Soo follow you after I offered you the deal, and finally, he caught you digging it out from the ground, trying to relocate the evidence in case someone comes to look for it again.”

“How foolish,” Eunuch Nam commented, covering it up with a cough.

“You thought just because Soo had searched your room before, he wouldn’t search it again. So you hid the evidence back in your room again. When Soo took the evidence, he swapped it with fake ones, which are actually just financial records that had your handwriting.”

Realization dawned on him, and Tax Minister Kim looked at Prince Jung, further proving that what the Crown Prince just said was true.

“This evidence has Prince Jung’s traces all over it. He was the one who funded Tax Minister Kim, and he was also the one behind the ambush. He must be punished for treason against a member of the Royal family.”

Prince Jung couldn’t deny it anymore, the evidence was too much. In panic, he tried to lunge at the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince had quick reflexes, so he stepped aside to avoid him.

“You! You tricked me!” he accused him, his voice wavered and cracked, unable to find the strength to defend the indefensible. His words stumbled over one another, which only served to incriminate him further.

“I didn’t have to do anything. Karma has a way of making things right,” Baekhyun said, smirking down at his half-brother. “Your Majesty, with all the evidence we have, I hope Prince Jung and Tax Minister Kim will receive the appropriate punishment for their crimes.”

“How about the Crown Princess?” Prince Jung asked, his eyes darting frantically, unable to settle on a single focal point. Now that he could no longer deny it, the facade of composure he had carefully constructed crumbled.

“It is very predictable of you to blame everyone else but yourself,” the Crown Prince said, mockingly. “Tax Minister Kim will also be punished for the crime of murdering his father. Tax Minister Kim’s family won’t be punished as the former head of the family was also murdered by him, they wouldn’t be coming back to avenge his death.”

“Your Majesty, please look at how unfair this is. The Crown Prince is using his personal feelings to let Tax Minister Kim’s family go!” Prince Jung turned to face His Majesty The King.

The King had been silent throughout the whole ordeal. The Crown Prince stared at his father, his fist clenching at his sides, hoping that his father won’t dismiss this just like how he dismissed him about his suspicions about the late Crown Prince’s death. With the amount of evidence he gathered, and how nervous they became when the evidence was presented, it should be enough to prove that they are guilty.

“Chief Eunuch Hong, throw them both in prison. We will have a trial in front of the court again to decide their sentence,” ordered The King.

The Crown Prince finally let out a sigh of relief, relieved that all of this is finally going to be over.