ELEVEN: UNDECIM

The Poisonous Betrothal
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XI: UNDECIM

“… and that was the conversation between his highness Prince Myungsoo and the Marquis.” One of his spies gave a respectful bow.

The King nodded with a curl on his lips. He rose up slowly from his throne, engraved and etched in jewels and elements of twelve districts. A huge golden chandelier hangs from the ceiling, covered with the allegorical fresco of the first godly telekinetic King, who once kept the twelve gods in harmonica order.

A glint passed through the King’s eyes. “That young boy is indeed loyal to the Crown alone.”

The spy remained silent, as light bent around him and half of his body tipped into invisibility.

“Myungsoo, though.” The glint was replaced with a dangerous flash in his black orbs. “Whatever he’s planning to do, he won’t be able to succeed.”

He tightened his jaw. “Keep your eyes on that perfidious son of mine.”

“Yes, your majesty.” The spy whirled out of the door.

With a snap of his fingers, a teacup appears in the hands of the King. He flicks his wrinkled wrist, and another tea table whirls towards his side. The King raised his cup towards his lips, yet his throat catches to a wheezing cough.

It took him an eternity to soothe his choking breath.

……

“My lord,” Ravi bowed to the high lord, who sat before his mahogany desk in narrowed eyes.

“It seems like the King’s body is deteriorating.” Ravi lifted his glasses.

The corner of Taemin’s lips twitched.

Everything will crumble, and chaos will erupt.

 

After the era of demolition, he will rise.

 

And build a new dawn.

 

~~~~~~~~

Naeun

The snow had barely ceded when I stepped out of my carriage. As part of the grand celebrations of the King’s birthday, the capitol has held a royal winter gala. Boutiques and a variety of stalls were set up - selling from jewellery, accessories to holding auctions and horse shows.

To represent the royal family, the Crown Prince, Prince Myungsoo and Princess Jennie will start the opening ceremony. Of course, young lords and ladies across the districts are also invited to join the gala. After the carnival, we will have a banquet.

I’ve called my carriage to stop a few avenues before the gala, while my fiancé gets off from his own.

It’s been a week since he sparked a competition between us on our last encounter. Now fully rested and no longer tormented by the nosy ladies, I’m ready for a challenge.

I’ve already taken the first point, and if anyone is disadvantaged, it’ll be him, not me.

It’s slowly becoming an instinct for us to put on the mask of gooey-looks and widen smiles. We maintain this facade as he escorts me up to his carriage. The door snaps shut and he draws the curtains while I slide as faraway from him as possible.

“What’s up for the call, Marquis Lee?” I cross my legs. He sent me a letter a few days ago, telling me to meet him before the fair starts.

Wordlessly, he passes me a small squared box in midnight blue velvet.

I fake a gasp, playing the role of an innocent princess in fairytales. “You’re going to propose?”

“Come on, you’d better get down on one knee.” I give him a sneer. “Don’t worry, I’ll get tears streaming down my face once you do it.”

No, wait. He shouldn’t be doing this now! “Wait,” I push back his outstretched arm.

“You should do it at the gala, in front of everyone else!”

“Can’t believe you out of all people would miscalculate this — tsk, tsk.”

I finish my ramble to find him staring at me with a deadpanned face.

“Open it first, you melodramatic.”

I pull him a face before reaching for the velvety box. It flips open, and I’m looking at the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.

It’s a rose-gold ring inlaid with tiny diamonds. In the centre of the shimmering silver gems, stands a dainty oval-shaped amethyst.

Immediately, I send a look towards his right chest. The amethyst is entirely identical with the small brooch on his chest.

W-What? What does this mean—

He answers the question in my head right away. “This is my family ring. It has been passed on for centuries, and it’s an engagement ring that is succeeded by every high lady of House Detorquere and district 12.”

“Only for the wives of high lords, obviously.” He adds on, as if I’m stupid enough to misunderstand the connotations.

My mouth snaps wide open. “W-Wait… actually?”

He rolls his eyes. “What do you think?”

It takes a few seconds for me to close my agape mouth, another extra second to gulp down the sand in my throat.

He takes my silence to explain further. “The gala is part of the celebrations for the King’s birthday — if we steal his spotlight, it would be utterly inappropriate.” He sends a glare towards my way. “We’d be ruined if we followed whatever you were planning to do.”

“Instead, I’m giving you the ring right now, so you can show up to the fair with the ring on your finger. Surely, people - especially those pretentious ladies will notice and fuss around.”

“This will be way better than right-out proposing on the spot.” He gives me a look of disapproval.

Well, he does have a point - though I’m half-convinced it’s because he doesn’t wanna kneel on one knee.

“I was planning for you to wear it on Princess Jennie’s tea party, but it took some time for the mail to come.”

“You asked your mother for it?” This is the first sentence I’ve managed to utter out, as I stare at the purple ring.

He nodded. “My mother sent it from district 12 to the capitol.”

The ring isn’t one of those flashy golden ones - instead, the simple combination of silver and purple gems make it look classy and elegant.

He ushers me with a look, and I slide the amethyst ring into the ring finger on my right.

Weirdly, the purple ring matches my own paled, thin fingers.

“I…” I imagine every high lady of the past who received this ring. A squeal of joy, a gasp of delight, and a flood of tears.

Yet I share none of those.

“I thought you would get a fake one.” I mutter quietly.

He gives me a side-glance. “Props are important in acts.” He declares.

“Besides,” he adds with a tint of hesitance, “my mother doesn’t know we’re fake.”

Suddenly, my finger feels heavier than expected. Normally, I would’ve throw in a few jokes, asking how his mother reacted when she knew her son was capable of having romantic feelings, but at this moment, my mouth remains dry.

After one year, we will divorce, and everything will be reverted back to its place.

Including this ring.

No matter how short our marriage will be, I feel bad for being the owner of this ring. It represented a promise of true love between the high lord and high lady of House Detorquere, a promise of being the mother of district 12, a promise of power, loyalty and duty. I feel like I’m violating, betraying this sacred promise.

Since everything about us are false.

“Will your mother…” I trail off. Will she be furious that I have failed to complete the duties as high lady? Will she feel angry when I’ve violated her trust? Will she feel betrayed at our false marriage? Will she…

“I’ll explain to her thoroughly when everything ends.” He interrupts my trail of thoughts. “For now, it’s best that she thinks we’re in love.” He sounds firm, yet I see a flicker of regret in his eyes.

I’ve seen how he cuddled his younger brother on the day of the opening ceremony.

I’ve seen how much he cherished his family.

It must’ve been hurtful for him to lie to his mother and violate her trust in him.

I’ve never seen his mother, but as the previous owner of this ring, I’m sure she’s a lady of elegance and a loving mother.

The purple jewel twinkles under the dim candle light in his carriage.

I raise my fingers.

Though this ring represents a responsibility to district 12 and the House of Detroquere, yet weirdly as it seems, I find myself wondering, when this ring lands on its true owner — on the woman that Taemin truly loves — how she’ll react…

When I’ve already worn it once.

When the fake high lady, the fraud had already tarnished, spoiled this sacred, beautiful ring.

“When we’re done with everything…” I leave the words unsaid, but Taemin doesn’t seem to have read my thoughts this time.

He turns with an incredulous look in his eyes. “You better return it on time. You ain’t stealing that family ring from my mom.”

I laugh. “Of course. I’ll return it to you.” I tell him.

When everything ends.

……

With a cacophony of applause, the fair starts. The sky is painted in baby blue, with crisp white and covered in a thin layer of haze.

After a series of etiquette, we settle to our seats. The royal siblings take up the seats on the front row, with the Crown Prince in the middle, Prince Myungsoo and Princess Jennie to his left. Taemin takes up the seat closest to Prince Kai’s right side, then House Electrico of District 1. I see a flicker of surprise in Duchess Yeji and her brother’s eyes. Clearly, Prince Kai’s maternal relatives disprove the seat arrangement, because it means so much more.

It means how much they are valued by the Prince.

As members of the Queen’s family, I guess House Electrico would expect to be placed closer to the Prince, yet an outsider - my fiancé - has won over them for Prince Kai’s trust. I wonder how will the Queen react when word travels to her ears.

The Crown Prince sees none of these looks. He stands for a short speech in his father’s favour, thanking all the lords, ladies and capitol citizens for participating in the gala. He thanks each of the suited figures, but they weren’t the ones who built this.

I thought of the wrinkled woman who failed to lift her bricks last week. Everyone knew that hundreds of enslaved workers were the ones who truly built this gala. In fact, not only them, but the citizens throughout the districts - the huge ice sculpture is crafted by district 7, the glittering night lights are provided by electricians in district 1 and coal miners in 12, the wine vines are provided by workers in our field.

Yet the Prince mentions none of them.

No one mentions the flung whips, the blood shed, and the screams shrieked across the country.

I stare at the Crown Prince’s dazzling smile, then suddenly, I’m swirling into a familiar darkness again.

 

The royal court devours a crowd of rainbow. The sun climbs across the crystal dome, vomiting a mouth of halo. At the ends of the white marble, the Crown Prince waits in flashing red and gold. His crown of silver and rubies shimmers amongst the orange sun rays. His eyes travel past the flock of nobles, and when he catches the figure at the entrance, his orbs melt into a puddle of warmth. His cheeks blushes into a faint red, and I see the curl on the ends of his lips.

Before the sight vanishes, I catch a faint glimpse of the tips of a woman’s hair.

The Prince’s incoming bride.

 

I blink back into reality. An applause erupts as the Crown Prince travels back to his seat.

Ever since I’ve had the vision about my death, I’ve always had mixed feelings about Prince Kai.

When I see Prince Myungsoo, it’s always a tint of fear along with a thick layer of hatred, since he’s the one who annihilated my house.

For Prince Kai though, I don’t know how I should feel about him. From what I’ve seen in one of my earlier visions, we don’t look like we’re madly in love. At least, Prince Kai didn’t send me the same look that he will send to his future bride. I do hate him, since he has failed to protect my family. I do feel sorry for him too, since he was killed with a slice on his neck by his brother. It’s a whole load of mixed feelings, but for now, I’d only wish him the best of luck.

After all, he’ll die soon along side his new bride.

I can only hope that the bride he’s smiling to wouldn’t be one of my friends.

“Unnie, let’s go.” Hayoung breaks my trail of thoughts.

She gives me a nudge as she hooks one arm with mine and another with Krystal’s.

We look through the crowded stalls, but my new vision still sticks on the back of my mind.

I try to bring the topic up casually. “How was the Princess selection?”

Hayoung shrugged. “Nothing much. One day they gave us a test on history, then another day they told us perform whatever special talents.”

“Are you guys selected?” I ask the most important question.

“Both of us.”

I can’t help but to tighten my grasp onto both my friends.

Are they… really going to end up being Princess consort?

Are they going to replace my place for death?

Hayoung notices my panic, yet she doesn’t know the true meaning behind my fears. She pats my hand with a reassuring smile. “Sehun Oppa told me not to worry. He said he’ll ensure that I wouldn’t be chosen.”

I try to keep my fears at bay as I narrow my eyes in analysis. Yes, there’s no way Hayoung would become Princess. Her own brother will keep her safe. Besides, if the Crown Prince is looking for a house to support him, there’s no point marrying another woman from district 5. He already has all the support from Oh Sehun.

Then… what about Krystal? I turn to her, but she shrugs nonchalantly. “District 7 is too weak for a future-Queen. I’m taking a guess that it’s definitely Bae Suzy, unless House Aqua pisses off the King or something, but that’ll be highly unlikely.” She sends a smile towards my way and my sense of unease subsides.

It’s true.

There’s no way Prince Kai would choose both of my friends.

Yes, they’ll definitely be safe in this royal mess.

 

I’ll keep them safe.

 

Sweeping my anxieties out of my mind, Hayoung pulls me over to a stall of colourful, styled handcrafts. Hayoung picks out a few without thought, while all I can see is the old woman from last week. My stomach lurches at the metallic bloody scent and I can’t help but to direct my gaze to somewhere else.

The sky paints into a perfect blend of orange and purple, but even when the night falls, the gala remains lively. A group of lords and merchants place auctions with meticulous smiles, while other ladies huddle over another stall of cosmetics. I scan past the flock of peacock-like citizens to find my fiancé and Prince Kai being cocooned around an entourage of loyal courtiers.

“Unnie! Are you feeling sorry for your fiancé because he can’t enjoy the fair?” She snickers.

He’s surrounded by every top figure that I c

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18lawzs2
Hello!! NOT an update -- BUT an extra longgg scene has been added to chapter 5! Please check it out while you wait for the new chapter!! Sorry for the wait and hope this will help get through the drought!!

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Pingkans15 #1
Chapter 7: love the story, hope for the new chapter.
6v6_francella #2
We still love this story 💖
SinixaJapan #3
I miss this story, hopefully you can update soon! Thanks author
purple_blossom
#4
Hello!!! Really hope you can update soon!!!
6v6_francella #5
Chapter 7: The new inclusion in chapter 5 is beauuuutiful! I missed your writing style so much😭. I love how you make enemies-to-lovers look so respectful and intriguing, unlike how most others portray this trope.
Taeminahhh #6
Chapter 24: It's been six months since the last update. If you're thinking of quitting this story, please don't. I love it so much. Happy 2024♥️♥️♥️
purple_blossom
#7
Chapter 7: Love this new addition to chapter five!!! It’s teases their chemistry for the upcoming chapters, without disrupting the flow of the chapter!! It was also satisfying seeing Lady Bae jealous 🤣
Pingkans15 #8
Chapter 1: Happy New Year,
still hope for the update 😍
purple_blossom
#9
Hope you can update soon author! I wanna know what secured the knot in her heart 🥲
samz02 #10
Chapter 24: Still waiting patiently and looking forward to what’s to come! Hope you have been well dear author! ~~