PROLOGUE

Wallgeum, the country of grace and gold, was a small nation in North West South Korea.  The Kingdom of Wallgeum was ruled by King Jeong Eric, an English-Korean man since 1964.  He was married to Yumi, a woman who used to work for his mother in the palace.  Yumi died in 1966 after giving birth to Jeong Jaein, or later known as Crown Princess Jane.  The king remarried to Yoo Jiae, the daughter of the treasurer, shortly after the decease of his wife. 13 years later only they were gifted with a daughter, Jeong Yein or officially known as Princess Anne. 

However loving King Jeong Eric was to his first daughter, Princess Jane Jeong Jaein got exiled and removed from the country and her title, because she chose to marry a man His Majesty was disapproved with.  His Majesty the King was enraged and distressed.  The king then decided no one was fitter for the throne after him other than Yein, the second daughter from his second wife.

In the year 2001, the entire nation was mourning when King Jeong Eric was declared dead from a heart attack.  But the more shocking news came after, when it was reported that Jeong Jaein, who was residing in Incheon, South Korea with her husband and daughter after moving out from the country, was assassinated by a group of unknown dark force.  Jeong Jaein and her husband both were murdered brutally, leaving their only daughter alive alone. The poor child almost lost her mind upon witnessing her parents’ death and was found bawling her eyes out by local residents.

When Jeong Yein had taken over the crown a week after the king’s death, the first command of the new queen was for the daughter of Jeong Jaein, Kim Yeonhee, to be brought back to the Royal House Daeham Palace, the official residency and headquarters of the royal family. 

“Go and find my niece Kim Yeonhee in Incheon! Take her to the palace. This will be her home from now on!”

The queen’s command, however, brought unhappiness to the Queen Mother, Queen Jiae.  Upset and furious, Queen Jiae had her daughter knelt before her as the new queen was explaining why she had made the decision without her consent.

“I am unhappy with what you did.  Why do you want to take that girl into the castle and made the order without consulting me?” scowled Queen Jiae, her large eyes shooting daggers towards Yein.

“I apologize for making you upset, Mother.  But Yeonhee is my sister’s only daughter, that makes her my niece!  If I didn’t take her in with us, then Yeonhee will have no one else and she’s only a 4 year-old child!  She is Father’s eldest grandchild after all!” retorted Yein firmly.

“Are you mad?  Have you forgotten?  This is The Royal’s House.  Your sister and her daughter aren’t The Royal!” snapped Queen Jiae.

“They WERE part of The Royal, Mother!  In fact, she was supposed to be the first heir of the crown!  They aren’t The Royal anymore now only because Father disowned my sister from the title and exiled her just because she married a mere musician that was not to his liking and approval.  Only because the King was angry!”

Queen Jiae was furious.  She scoffed loudly and was seen balling her fists.

Guilty for raising her voice, Yein rose from her kneeling position to stand on her feet, and slowly strode her way closer towards the Queen Mother and gently her arm, to cease her anger.

“Please Mother, you should accept Yeonhee with an open heart because I want her here in the palace with us.  This is my call, and my decision is final.  I won’t turn my back on this!”

Sighing in defeat and relenting to the new queen’s words, Queen Jiae reluctantly nodded and allowed Yein had her way.  Her daughter was beaming in delight.  She didn’t have the gut to let her queen daughter down and didn’t have the power to u-turn the decision either.  The least she could do was, accepting.  Except, she had her own way to make sure Yeonhee was never going to feel like she’s back as part of The Royal, ever.

A short update for the prologue, only a glimpse of what the story will look like :) I hope y'all will enjoy this ^_^