7. DEMUR

Taemin ruffled his hair with a sigh. He flipped over the stack of policies and documents, but the words looked like a blur.

His mind was stacked by something else.

She hasn’t answered him yet, but from her reaction alone, he knew her heart was far from his reach. He buried his fingers into his hair and stomped on the marble floor. Lee Taemin, you babo. He shouldn’t have blurted out his feelings. He should’ve waited, until he solved her nightmares, until he showed her he would be more than a friend, until he felt the creaking of her heart’s door.

He was about to utter a miserable groan, until a light knock echoed.

“Your highness.”

He straightened his back, ruffled through the disheveled hair and cleared his throat.

“Come in.”

Taeyong raised his eyebrows briefly at his highness’s ruffled hair. Suppressing his rising curiosity, he bowed.

“Your highness, we’ve sent men to investigate on Lord Yoo, but we haven’t found anything.”

Taemin narrowed his eyes. “The financial records are too fishy. We can’t let him go. Check on his butlers and his servants - maybe they would provide us more insights.”

“Yes, your highness.” Taeyong bowed. He stole a glance at the figure with a sharp and cold gaze at his papers.

“Y-Your… highness…” Taeyong hesitated, before uttering slowly.

Taemin raised his brows.

“Why… did you ask us to investigate on the council at the first place? How did you know?”

Taemin stared sightlessly into the darkness, as the eerie night dims.

He glanced into Taeyong’s curious eyes, then spoke gently. “Do you remember how we ended the war?”

Taeyong nodded firmly, with a twinkle in his eyes. “Of course, your highness. You fought off the almighty Alzamian general Danny Ahn in the last battle. You fought off their last straw of hope.”

Taemin’s eyes clouded as he stared into the distance, his expression seemed to be hidden under the faint moonlight. Taeyong could heard the clock tick by slowly, as he bit his lip, wondering if he said the wrong thing.

Within the buzzing air, Taemin muttered slowly.

“Danny Ahn was way stronger than I am. I clenched my jaw and bit my lip to stay focused and keep myself strong, but he stands unscathed. Yes, I did injure him, but it wasn’t major enough to defeat him. At one moment, he loosened his grip on his sword. I took the opportunity and swung my sword at him with all my might. Surprisingly, he didn’t try to fight back. Instead, he leaped back and turned away. I chased him, but he bolted through the forest - as if he knew which path to take. Before I lost him - he mouthed some words. ” He paused.

“Prepare for your defeat, he said.”

Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed as he heard the story.

“Sooner and later, they surrendered. But why would they surrender, when the general stood unscathed?” Taemin’s expression hardened. “I figured they must have some plans that we don’t know of. That’s why as soon as I returned, I told you to investigate on the council right away. If they lost the war to us - they may plan another one - in our own country.”

Taeyong felt a sudden chill down his back. Despite the victory, war has done great damage on their economy and people. If another war happens now… he couldn’t imagine what consequences it would bring.

He turned back to Taeyong, with a softer look in his eyes. “Sorry Taeyong. I should’ve told you this to you earlier.”

Before Taeyong could wave his hands in denial, Taemin spoke again.

“I’m sorry to let you down, Taeyong. I didn’t win the battle. He didn’t even try.”

Taeyong’s mouth turned dry. After the last battle, people were head over heels for the Prince - because he fought off the Alzamia general. But most soldiers felt more than that. Despite his ranks, he was always at the frontlines, suffering from the same injuries and undergoing same treatment as they are. Even if the Prince didn’t win the battle, he still brought them to victory.

His highness shouldn’t apologise.

Taeyong opened his mouth, but Taemin forced a smile. “Let’s hope my speculations are wrong.”

Taeyong set his mouth to a hard line, he straightened his back and gave a perfect salute. “Don’t worry, sir. We’ll do our best to protect the country.”

……

She turned and twisted on the duvet sheets that flickered against the faint moonlight.

This time, it wasn’t her nightmare.

Her eyes fluttered open as she released a heavy sigh.

“I like you.”

His voice looped on repeat.

She was never here for competition, for honour, or for love.

She was here just for her nightmares.

There were so many tangled mysteries that she hasn’t discovered yet.

How can she accept someone’s love, when she hasn’t unravelled her own secrets yet?

To be honest, she had received confessions from young lords and counts in the past. It wasn’t many, but she had experiences in rejecting others.

But… that love wasn’t from a random aristocrat…

It was from the prince.

Despite their newly sprout friendship, he could only see her from the surface - he never knew about her nightmares - and he didn’t know about her sufferings and her dark past.

She scoffed to herself. If he knew her real self… maybe he would change his mind.

Plus, she is really not the queen he is looking for. She couldn’t imagine herself standing in front of the country and leading the people with pride. She was only a count’s daughter - who dreamt of freedom and art.

She sighed for the hundredth time. Nonetheless, she had to give him her answer.

…….

The sun hid behind a thick layer of blankets, as the sky painted with gloomy grey. She stood by the cornice of west wing, with dotted pink petals splattered in front of her. Knowing her lady-in-waiting, Hayoung will definitely freak out if she knew what was going to happen, so she told her to get some lavender extract instead. A whisk of breeze brought the presence of the man she was waiting for, dressed in a tailored suit, with his usual smile but a flicker of unease in his crinkling eyes. She ignored the fluttering in her chest and curtsied, but said his name.

He nodded, as his fingers soothed the hem of his blazer.

Her lips curled, but the smile does not reach her eyes.

“About… the things you said last week…” Her glance directed to the floor.

“I’ve thought about it. ”

Taemin held in his breath.

“I… To be honest…” Naeun felt a weight pressing on her chest. “I was never here to be Queen.”

“I mean… yes I’m in the contest but… I… I’m only here to find out about myself.”

She bit her lip. “I... never had any intention of winning the contest. My goal was to… learn more about myself, then leave the palace. I… I don’t even know the things around me, the people and the country. I don’t have the qualities you are looking for, therefore I’m not a suitable candidate for being Queen.”

She took a deep breath. “Regarding… your… feelings… I feel extremely grateful and honoured for your… admiration, your highness. But I’m not a person who opens her heart, and I… have things to find out about myself, so at this stage, romance is out of the question for me. Throughout the past few months, you have been very warm and caring to me, and I really appreciate your acts of kindness. I’m very, very sorry to differ from your interests, sir.”

Another surge of wind ruffled past them, as leaves rustled and the smell of roses tinted her nose, she released a shaky breath, then lifted her head up. She felt a dull ache in her chest, as she watched his twinkling eyes lost its colour. It was the right thing to do. She told herself.

Taemin could only feel a jab of stinging pain in his heart, as he raised a shaky curl on his lips.

“No worries, Naeun-ssi. I understand.”

“Thank you for telling me this.” He forced a smile and nodded to her reassuringly.

A period of silence travelled through, as she heard another shuffle of leaves whisper by her ears. She bit her lip, but before she could say anything, his voice echoed above her head.

“Though… this… didn’t work out, we could still… be friends, right?” She lifted her head up to his gaze again.

He added quickly. “I won’t choose you, and I won’t say anything about this anymore. The next time we see each other… we could still have fun and… just be friends.” His lips quivered into a smile.

She blinked, then nodded, releasing a sigh of relief internally. “Of course.”

“Don’t call me your highness, or sir, next time.” A tint of melancholy escaped his eyes.

His quiet voice fluttered across the breeze. “Please.”

She widened her eyes as her heart thumped loudly against her chest. She raised another curve on . “Sure.”

“Just Taemin.”

She nodded.

A smile escaped his lips and she felt a huge weight being lifted off her chest.

Suddenly, a tint of sound perked his ears.

In a split second, she saw his eyes flashed up, as he stretched out his arm towards her, pulling and pressing her into his chest, while he turned around swiftly, with her tucked safely in his embrace.

A whoosh of wind zoomed past her, as she cushioned into a surge of warmth, before hearing a loud smash.

Without a word, he pulled her under the roofs, as guards rushed over.

It was then when she saw the origin of the smash.

A flower pot, which shattered into pieces, landed on where she was previously standing.

Her eyes widened and her breath hitched, as she stared at the broken ceramic on the stony floor.

“Naeun, you okay?” He released his hold on her and stared into her trembling eyes. She nodded stiffly, with her gaze still hardened on the broken pieces.

“Are you hurt, you