Jihyo and Jongkook immediately traveled back to the palace, riding their horses in haste for completely different reasons. Commander Sung rode closely behind them, wondering why the princess chose to ride a horse than to be on a palanquin.

For Jongkook, Commander Sung’s words had been sobering. He was being called back to duty, and this time, it was not just any mission. He was being called to battle. For a soldier and a Hwarang, the greatest honor was to die for one’s country, and to suffer for its sake. It felt like this was his cleansing from running away and letting himself be whisked away in a fantasy with Jihyo. He looked to his left; Jihyo wore a worried look on her face. Two days ago, Jongkook would have found it simply enchantingly beautiful, but with the knowledge of the impending war, she felt too far away, too unattainable - nothing more than the subject of his impossible dreams. He spent the past few days asleep, but today was his reckoning, and it felt like his face had been splashed with cold water.

But the renewed clarity that Jongkook had was the complete opposite of the hurricane that wreaked havoc in Jihyo’s mind. She was in utter confusion. Her brother had allowed her to stay at the summer palace for her success in the negotiations with Gaya. It had merely been weeks since the deal was finalized, the scholars of science and technology had only recently been dispatched to Gaya, and even the trade routes had not been fully built yet. The rate at which their diplomatic agreement broke down was too fast for Jihyo’s liking, and the war seemed like an insult to all her efforts during their mission.

She felt like a failure; she wanted to avoid the war, knowing how devastating it could be for a nation. Thankfully, it seemed like her brother was not leading the conquest himself, considering that General Seo was going to be the chief commander, but she looked to her right. Jongkook was going to battle, and she did not wish to lose yet another love to war. She had to get her answers from her brother, if it was the last thing she was going to do.

When their group arrived at the palace, Jihyo ran to the king’s palace, asking the eunuch to immediately announce her presence. She was granted permission to enter, and when she entered the chambers, the king asked all his servants to leave the room. He was obviously expecting her.

“A war?” she began to say when they were finally alone. The king was still calmly seated down behind his desk. He was considerably tall, but he had to look up because Jihyo chose not to sit down. She stood up in her full height as she walked forward, moving closer towards her brother. Her hands were closed into tight fists, and she looked at her brother intensely. She felt betrayed and downtrodden.

The king’s eyes softened upon seeing his sister. Truthfully, he knew she would come springing back to the palace upon hearing this development, and he had readied himself for her arrival. He had thought about how he would calmly explain the reason for his decision; her sister had always been rational, and he had been sure she would understand. But he estimated her wrongly. Her opinion about this war was not anymore just measured by its effect on the nation. Her eyes clearly showed that she was personally invested in this. 

She would never understand, but he would try his best to explain. “I had to for the sake of the kingdom,” he began.

“How would the kingdom be kept safe if we embark on this conquest? It doesn’t make sense, Kwangsoo-yah. Our men would have to fight, properties would be destroyed, and our people would have to lose their loved ones. How is that protecting our kingdom?” Jihyo pratically screamed, exasperated with the never-ending debate regarding the viability of conquests.

“My sister, the same thing would happen if we do not strike first. Gaya is becoming a threat to our security, just like Minister Kang said they would,” the king said.

Jihyo scoffed, “Here we go again with his speculations. What is it this time? Their leaders are married to the women of Baekje? They’re increasing in their population? Heaven forbid, Minister Kang will even use the weather to speculate that Gaya will be a threat to our kingdom, despite the fact that we are more advanced than them.”

King Kwangsoo kept his silence for a while; his sister was right. Probably, leading with Minister Kang’s name to break the news to her was not his best move. The princess had always distrusted Minister Kang’s judgment; he was too careful in her eyes, to the point of being paranoid. But this time, the man was right, and even the Sangdaedeung, who always stood by Princess Jihyo on the issue of Gaya, had to agree with the decision to go to war.

Jihyo continued rambling on in her frustration, “I can’t believe you got convinced by him. I don’t understand. The plan was simple. We would enter the diplomatic agreement, share our technological advancements, and open a trade route. This was all to prevent conflict between our two nations. The agreement was clear with Insung-ssi…”

“Well, he lied to you, my sister,” Kwangsoo interrupted her, and Jihyo was stunned into silence. Her eyes morphed into a questioning look.

“What did you say?” she clarified, her voice sounding shaky at the realization.

He asked her to sit down, and, in her daze, she felt herself giving way to her legs. She sat down in front of him, waiting for his explanation.

Her brother sighed before proceeding to explain all the developments they discovered in her absence. The scholars for science and technology had been sent to Gaya, but Minister Kang had sent some ministers with them to facilitate the process of trading knowledge. Everything had gone smoothly, and the people of Gaya were receptive towards the technology sharing, quickly adopting the techniques for metalwork. 

But, the ministers soon discovered that the metalwork techniques were quickly being applied into weapons and tools for warfare. They decided to send spies to check on the developments within the palace, wanting to know how the techniques were being used. What they discovered was astonishing. Gaya had been amassing weapons, and their smiths had begun to use the techniques shared by Silla to ensure greater durability for the weapons they were developing, under Insung’s direction and supervision. The ministers pulled out their scholars in haste, leaving Gaya immediately and reporting what they discovered to the King’s court.

“Insung-ssi has been using our technology to amass weapons. Gaya is no longer a peaceful country that wishes to coexist. Why else would they develop weapons if they are not preparing for conquest?” Kwangsoo concluded, and Jihyo didn’t have any words to answer the question. She felt trapped, because the king truly sounded rational. He continued, “Even the Sangdaedeung had to agree, we have to launch a preemptive strike. Thus, I declared war with Gaya, and reneged on our diplomatic agreement.”

Jihyo was speechless, driven by her hopelessness, and her brother could see it in her eyes. The king knew her sister was processing everything, so he reached out for her hands, and said, “Look, you did a great job in Gaya. The agreement was a victory, but you also know that diplomacy could only work when both sides are trustworthy. Unfortunately, the Gayans have betrayed us.”

Jihyo finally found her voice, as her mind was able to process his words, “I should have seen this coming. I should have known Insung-ssi was going to betray us. It would have spared us all the wasted effort of sending our men there, and the resources used for the trade route…”

“Don’t blame yourself. I’m sure he was agreeable, and they probably put their best foot forward, so they could get you to trust them. I know you well enough to know that you are not gullible. Don’t blame yourself; let’s just be happy that we found out eventually, just in time for us to still act on it,” Kwangsoo said.

Kwangsoo’s words sparked back her main concern, the impending war, except this time, knowing the rationale behind his decision was making it impossible for her to get mad at him. So instead, she asked meekly, “But, Kwangsoo-yah, don’t we have any other choice? Perhaps we can broker a truce, or just prepare our defenses?”

Her brother solemnly shook his head, “I’m afraid there’s no other way. We cannot trust them enough to broker any agreement, and I don’t want to bring the impending battle to our soil. It must happen there, and General Seo will lead the offensive.”

“I know,” Jihyo said softly. “Jongkook will be his second-in-command.” Her voice was so small, almost inaudible, as she slowly realized the time she dreaded had finally arrived.

This was the time she would have to let him go.

The palace was busy as preparations were being made for the deployment of all the troops. General Seo, Commander Kim, and the rest of the men were leaving the following morning, and much like the tradition for soldiers, the men were allowed to leave the barracks and spend the entire day and night with their families.

Jongkook paid a visit to his family that day, sharing a midday meal with his parents and the Sangdaedeung. It was in that midday meal that he finally found out what had happened in Gaya after he and Jihyo left, and he was inclined to agree with the king that a preemptive strike would be best for the kingdom. It was risky for him and the other men, but it was better than being at the mercy of the men of Gaya within their own borders.

That afternoon, he paid a visit to his brother, choosing to spend more hours in the company of his nephew and niece. With the impending doom that awaited him, he decided that the innocence of youth was something he wished to relive, as part of his preparation. His nephew and niece played with him, and their laughter made him forget about what was coming the next day. A part of him remembered his memories from the festival upon seeing them, but it was a thought he quickly set aside, knowing he would wallow in those memories even more frequently when they reached Gaya.

He chose to go back to the palace that evening, knowing that there was still one goodbye he had yet to make. He walked solemnly back to the eastern palace.

He had not seen Jihyo since they arrived. The princess immediately ran off to the King’s palace, demanding to know why the war was happening. Meanwhile, he’d been caught in several preparations for the upcoming conquest. He had spent hours with General Seo crafting their strategy. He had visited the barracks and the armory to assess their soldiers and weapons. He had to whip himself back into shape by training himself in combat and leading the squadrons assigned to him.

He also thought Jihyo wanted to keep her distance away, and she did. He left Sechan as head of the transition team that was helping Commander Sung plan his courses of action as the new commander-in-charge of the eastern palace when he left for the war, and Sechan always came back to him with reports about Jihyo’s whereabouts. She had been attending to her duties in the palace, but other than that, she kept herself isolated in her quarters. Princess Somin would try to coax her to go out, but the older princess always opted to stay behind. Jongkook knew there must be a lot going on in her mind, so he gave her the space she needed.

When he entered the eastern palace, the princess was sitting on the bench in the courtyard. Upon seeing him, she immediately stood up, and called out his name, “Jongkook…”

There was a bit of awkwardness. It had been days since their last conversation, and that had been back at the summer palace, before Commander Sung broke the news of the war. Time was so different back then. Jihyo stared at Jongkook, and immediately saw the changes. His face showed tired eyes, likely from sleepless nights of planning for battle. He seemed older yet wiser, as if just the thought of war had aged him. She missed the way he smiled boyishly.

Jihyo was also different. Jongkook immediately knew she lost a bit of weight, losing a bit of the roundness he had come to love on her cheeks. Her eyes were also puffy, and he knew that she had probably cried her