Despite their upcoming marriage, Queen Yongsun wanted to keep her distance. She wanted to avoid attachment with the Prince. But as she stares at her large window, the Prince riding with her sister in view, she can't help but feel as if she's...mad. She didn't want to acknowledge it, but pretending that she's unaffected won't do her any good. She's allowed to be a little possessive about her betrothed, right? Because what would the people think? That's right. That's the only reason why she's agitated by the fact that the Prince is sitting so close with her sister, as if there's nothing wrong with it. As if she's not to be wed with Yongsun soon enough.

The fabric scroll in the queen's hands crumpled, and if it wasn't for the strength of the wooden stick it would've broken at how tight the queen was holding it.

She couldn't even focus on the fact that both her sisters were outside of the castle without her knowledge. She could only glare at the Prince, and despite the distance, she could assume that Prince Moonbyul is smirking as Wheein blushes. She knows how much of a romantic Wheein is, and how she always wanted a fairytale kind of love. She hates how Moonbyul seemed to be taking advantage of that. She lets out a low groan.

"You two have grown..." Queen Yongsun tries to search for the right word, "friendly...it appears." she notes. The image of Wheein and Prince Moonbyul riding a horse together replays in her mind.

Princess Wheein can detect just a hint of edge in Yongsun's voice, almost as if she's...jealous. She expected the queen's first question to be about why she and Hyejin were in the woods, in the first place. She guesses the Queen's priority is elsewhere.

Before anyone could answer, the Queen speaks again, "Prince Moonbyul, I hope this is the last time I should remind you that people are watching. They talk. And I don't want to hear any controversies, just because you can't keep your hands to yourself." Yongsun states, her face almost turning into a scowl.

"I don't think I understand what you're trying to insinuate, Your Majesty." Prince Moonbyul replied nonchalantly. If she was feigning innocence, then Queen Yongsun concludes that she's good at it.

"You went into the woods with the princesses without my knowledge." Queen Yongsun stated sternly, her voice cold. "What if something happened to all of you there? If any of you got hurt I-" the queen stops, she can't admit that she wouldn't know what to do, it's not something a queen should say out loud. She realized she had lost her composure so she recollects herself. "And you even killed people...that's unacceptable. You could've avoided that if you stayed here in the castle; like you're supposed to." this time the Queen was looking directly at her sisters. "I thought we had an agreement about that."  

Prince Moonbyul knows how much the queen hates violence, and how killing some people might've somehow painted her into a bad light in the queen's perspective, but the prince couldn't help but smile. Because she could only focus on the fact that the queen is concerned about her too. She didn't know why she's even happy that the Queen's concerned about her at all, but she is.

"Do you find this amusing, Your Highness?" Queen Yongsun asks, noticing how the Prince has a smile plastered on her face. She knows the prince is unpredictable, but she expected that the prince wouldn't take this matter so lightly. There were lives taken in the incident.

"Not at all, Your Majesty." The Prince replied. "Forgive me for smiling, it's my first time to see you mad and I find your angry face amusing." she says, instead of admitting what she's really glad about.

The Queen was about to reply but Princess Hyejin chimes in. "The Prince only came to our rescue, Your Majesty. She wasn't with us when the bandits saw us. If anything we should be thankful that the Prince saved us. If it wasn't for her, I don't think we would've made it back safely." she explains. Saving the prince from the Queen's anger is the least she could do for their savior.

Prince Moonbyul meets Hyejin's eye, as she smiles gratefully at her. The prince didn't need saving. She can handle herself just fine. But she appreciates the princess' effort nonetheless. Princess Hyejin expected the Queen to soften a little and thank the prince but it appeared that she was wrong.

"What were you even doing outside the castle?" The Queen asks as her voice raises a little, redirecting her frustration at her sisters. She's frustrated at herself for not knowing. Her sisters were in great danger and she wasn't even there for them. She's the Queen for god's sake. And yet, she wasn't able to protect them.  She promised herself that she wouldn't make her sisters feel what they felt when their parents are too busy ruling the Kingdom to have time for them. But she failed. She wasn't even aware of her sister's whereabouts.

"We were practicing." Princess Wheein replied, looking anywhere but Yongsun.

"Practicing?" Queen Yongsun asks.

"You don't allow us to hold any weapons here. You won't let us train inside the castle. How could we protect ourselves in times of danger? We wanted to know how to fight for ourselves." Princess Wheein dared to say.

The Queen gritted her teeth."We had this conversation, Wheein. You're princesses. That's the royal guards' job - to protect you, to fight for you. And yet you went ahead to the woods without them. And without my permission." She didn't want her sisters to get their hands dirty by fighting. Their princesses. They're supposed to promote diplomacy and not violence. They've had this conversation a thousand times and she thought the princesses already understood her. She's disappointed and hurt that they've been sneaking behind her back. "How long have you been going out to the woods without my knowledge? And don't you dare tell me this is the first time." 

"Since the first time you caught us." Princess Hyejin answered knowing that Wheein is stubborn enough to not answer. She was looking at the ground to avoid meeting the Queen's disappointed eyes.

"If I may, Your Highness, don't be so hard on them." The Prince finally decided to intervene. "I understand that you're overwhelmed with the news, and I apologize for making you worry. But I think they had an exhausting experience. Maybe it's best if we let them rest, first."

The Queen was a little taken aback at how soft and genuine the Prince sounded. And how right she is. She can't help but feel a little embarrassed that she didn't think of that herself, but she can't help it. Even though they were safe, just knowing that they were put in grave danger made the Queen upset to no end. Still, she was surprised to see this side of the prince. She didn't know Prince Moonbyul could be this thoughtful. She seemed genuinely concerned with the princesses.

The Queen straightens herself. "Very well. We'll talk about this some other time. Go to