There stood Prince Sehun, who I had just seen only moments ago with a much different expression on his face than the one he had been using when we were with the princes... An actual smile on his face for once. And one that I had to admit, looked quite charming on him. Only if he were to smile like that more...

 So stunned at this new face that he was showing me, I merely made a low grunting kind of sound at him, "Oh..."

"Excuse me, but are you the lady who was accompanying Prince Jongin earlier?" Now I was taken aback even more... His tone of voice was much kinder than when he was conversing with the other princes, the razor edge that had seemed to accompany each of his words now sounding as if it was dulled down.

Again, way too out of what I had ever expected for Prince Sehun to be talking to me like. "... Yes."

With my affirmation, that seemed to be exactly what he had been listening for as the smile on his face slowly slid off and revealed the stoic and impassive expression that I had seen him with before. Prince Sehun simply nodded and continued on, though I could still detect that more polite tone in his voice than before, "You seemed to be quite well acquainted with him, and I find myself curious as to where you are from." 

"Where I'm from...?" I stupidly repeated back to him, mind still surprised and now a bit confused. How did he even know that I was an exchange student? Or...

He nodded again, elaborating on his words with the precise edge in his voice creeping back in as his expression turned even more grave. Definitely not a man who had enough patience... "Yes. Are you by chance of royal blood? Or perhaps the daughter of a nobleman?"

This really now snapped me out of my momentary daze. Oh. So that's what he wanted to know, my status as a human being. Well, for all of his polite words, I couldn't help but feel a bit bad even as I rigidly replied back with the same sort of hardness starting to layer over my voice from the slight irritation bubbling inside of me, "No, sorry to disappoint you but I'm just a normal student."

Prince Sehun's already stony-hard face tightened up even more at my response, eyebrows furrowing together as he frowned at me, now the one to repeat what I said as if he hadn't heard it correctly the first time. "A student...?"

Nodding politely to his question, I simply did the same thing that Prince Sehun had done to me, continued on explaining my words. "Yes, I am on an exchange to a university in Charles. It was there I-"

"So you met Prince Jongin out on the street somewhere... And he invited you here?" he immediately cut into what I was saying, my mouth still remaining open in indignation as the expression on his face deepened and he frowned at me even more, as if just looking at me was making him more irritated.

 "Yes," I simply replied back with a nod, shrugging my shoulders as there was nothing I could do more. That was his answer, and I certainly wasn't going to be sugar-coating my words any more. Especially not when he had the lack of manners to just cut me off right in the middle of sentence.

Prince Joshua sighed audibly at my blunt answer and began to turn on his heel away from me as he muttered lowly, "I am sorry, but I do not see any merit in asking you to dance. I made a mistake... Excuse me."

He then left and my eyes narrowed as Prince Sehun approached another lady, putting on more or less the same polite air as he spoke to her. 

A mistake, huh? Sure, I can't dance. But it's still a bit of a shock to hear him say that... But whatever to him, still stuck in that mindset of classes and all those old rubbish. I just couldn't help but wonder what was his and Prince Yifan's problem with talking normally to normal people, holding themselves all so high above everyone else while the other princes are so down-to-earth and humble...

A soft chuckle could be heard nearby as a soft voice broke through my grumbling thoughts, "He doesn't change."

Mildly surprised now, I spun around to see Prince Chanyeol smiling at me. The same smile that immediately dispelled the bad mood threatening to gather above my head as I couldn't help but feel a returning smile start to wiggle its way to my mouth as he continued on in the same cheery and bright voice, "Since you are obviously free now, would you like to dance with me?"

He didn't wait for an answer before leading me out onto the dance floor, my mouth about to open to say something as I could feel myself being gently tugged towards the elegantly swaying and dancing members of the party.

And as Prince Chanyeol began to step in time to the lilting tune, I was getting a bit worn down with how much I was being figuratively shoved around... Though I supposed it was better that it was Prince Chanyeol doing this instead of the other two princes with the sticks up their @sses. So I let out a quiet huff before tugging him back slightly, the expression on my face probably resembling that of Prince Sehun as I protested quietly, "W-Wait! I don't know how to dance!"

But all Prince Chanyeol did was smile at my outburst and using his more stronger grip, gently pull me towards him as my eyes widen at the little distance between us disappear. "Listen to the music. And look at me," his whispered words making me twitch slightly as I couldn't do anything but stare incredulously up in his face, a hand trapped with his warm gloved one while his other hand was gently resting on the back of my dress.

Oh great... I was probably going to screw myself up again. But Prince Chanyeol was a sly one... Before I had realized it before, we were already in the middle of the dance floor with all sorts of other couples whirling and dancing around us. To do anything improper now would simply make me look even worse. Totally not far... Especially when he laughed quietly again and continued encouraging me in a soft voice, "That's right. Now you will be able to dance."

There was nothing else I could do now but follow Prince Chanyeol's surprisingly gentle lead as we began to dance, though I simply tried to move my feet as little as possible... It really wasn't as bad as I had thought it might have been as I opted to keep my mouth shut for now. The less distractions, the better.

At least I wasn't tripping us all over the place to the beat (not yet at least), but I starting to lose my nerve with all the jealous stares of those around us. This really wasn't my place to be doing this... Yet as if he could sense it all along, Prince Chanyeol smiled kindly at me with his bright eyes glimmering in warmth as he murmured again, "You need to keep your eyes on me."

That brought an awkward silence to me as my gaze had been slowly slipping down to stare at the people around us and then our moving feet before my eyes shot back up to his, barely less than a foot away from mine that had the effect to make me sound like an stuttering idiot once more as a faint blush arose again. "S-Sorry..."

This was immediately returned with a quiet chuckle as he smiled even more. "You needn't apologize."

"Thank you. Your Highness is very kind," I now managed to speak correctly like a proper human being, honoring his words in a sort of round-about way... I was looking in his direction, but not exactly at his face.

More like his perfect waves of dark hair that framed his now crinkling eyes as Prince Chanyeol grinned at me even more, a teasing tone in his voice again, "Are you comparing me to Prince Sehun?"

To this, I simply raised an eyebrow at him with a questioning look on my face to his sudden question, "Huh...?"

I was still in mild confusion as a seemingly strange look fell across Prince Chanyeol's face, sighing quietly as he continued murmuring quietly to me under the sound of the music, "He is bound by his training as a prince of Dres Van..."

To this, it simply confused me even more as I repeated his words again, though in a much more polite and friendly tone than the one I had used with Prince Sehun, "His training...?"

"Maybe you're not aware, but being born royal means having to go through special training from a young age. We have the same kind of thing where I am from..." He glanced over at Prince Sehun briefly before continuing on with the suddenly somber look on his face growing even more serious, "But I was never separated from my parents like they do in Dres Van."

It took me a moment to even process the entire thing that he had just told me and for it to actually sink in... A feeling of slight pity and regret that I had been so sharp with him threatening to surface as I continued to inquire cautiously, flickering my eyes towards where Prince Chanyeol had been gazing, "So, Prince Sehun was separated from his parents...?"

Prince Chanyeol smiled again gently at my question as he nodded mildly, continuing to guide us around the dancing as I was just absently following his moves, "That's right. He has barely ever seen them, even when he was young. Because of that, he doesn't know how to depend on others, and only associated with us as a matter of course, while he waits in line for the throne."

Now I was fully distracted from the actual dancing around us, even Prince Chanyeol himself as I couldn't help continue to peek over at where Prince Sehun seemed to have left the woman he was talking with before and now was simply milling around like he had nothing else better to do at the moment. All with that emotionless mask on his face as he simply watched the crowd with another glass of champagne in his hand. Then, even my own words surprised me as they simply slipped out of my head in a low mutter, "That's so sad..."

Prince Chanyeol's wide eyes widened even more at my words as his grasp tightened slightly and a soft sigh escaped from his lips. "Sad... I doubt he really understands the meaning of that word," he whispered out softly, his countenance turning slightly worried as he spoke.

I just blinked at him, a sense of curiosity now rising inside of me with all the quiet information that Prince Chanyeol was passing to me... Why did he want me to know all of this? "What...? What do you mean...?"

Just then the song ended, and Prince Chanyeol stopped dancing with his usual cheerful expression returning to his face as he beamed down at me. "Over already? I wanted to dance a bit longer..." His tone had returned to normal as well, seeming to not hear what I had just asked him as he let go of my hand and bowed elegantly in a very sweeping and regal way.

"Until next time, my dear..." the prince spoke quietly, a slight grin creeping onto his face now as he added in so quietly that even I had to lean in slightly to hear what he wanted to say, "Don't tell Prince Sehun anything I told you, okay?"

All of what I wanted to say seemed to now be lodged in my throat as I couldn't help but blink at him again, the meaningful smile on his face holding a deeper intent behind the usual cheeriness that was there. I just couldn't... Bring myself to inquire any more, not when it was about a prince that I hardly cared for at all, yet with Prince Chanyeol telling me all of this before he made his exit with a parting wave.

And while my brain was still trying to wrap around all that had been suddenly shoved at me, the feeling of someone else's eyes on me was prickling in the back of my neck again... The same feeling I got from Prince Baekhyun when he was staring at me before. So it came as a slight surprise when I looked around, expecting to see him watching me when it was actually... Prince Sehun staring at me with zeroed in focus.

But it seemed as soon as he saw my gaze lock onto his, Prince Sehun had casually glanced away, his expression completely blank and stoic as he headed off into another direction, managing to blend himself into the crowd. Just this nonchalant and aloof attitude that he was giving me made a slight scowl appear on his face again as I couldn't help but compare him side by side to Prince Chanyeol... No wonder why none of the women really tried to come up to him and cling the way they did to Prince Chanyeol... As I could note in the corner of my eye, what they were doing right now to the poor prince.

This kind of fawning behavior only made for a quiet snort to slip out before I could control it, thankfully with no one really hearing it over the quiet waves of sounds and music in the hall as I headed back to the side of the hall, where I wouldn't be in anyone's way and could get some time to think.

I've had a lot of fun today and tonight already, getting the honor to meet so many distinguished people, able to talk with each of the princes... Something that I would have never expected myself being able to do. But I knew I didn't fit here. Not in this sort of posh and elite kind of society... Maybe I should really go home now...

But while I was lost in my thoughts again as my tired and sore feet were bringing me to the back corner of the hall where there were a few empty chairs, a quiet voice called out nearby to me, "Excuse me, but am I right in assuming you to be Miss you?"

"Huh?" That was all my now exhausted mind was able to come up with on the spot as I wheeled myself around to see a rather... Handsome man addressing me. No, not handsome, GODLY perfect. A face that I wouldn't have ever forgotten even in my sleep. That face I saw this morning... But now I swallowed down slightly and managed to speak a bit more intelligently as he strode near with long purposeful strides, "Yes, that's right."

A brief yet courteous nod was given to me as he immediately spoke in the same gentlemanly manner as the rest of him portrayed, "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Choi Seunghyun, butler to Lord Lee Byung Hun."

"Lord Lee Byung Hun..." I muttered under my breath to myself, eyes still mesmerized by the man standing there with absolute focus gleaming in those intense dark eyes of his. It was extremely difficult to even focus on anything than on admiring just how perfect he looked... Resulting in most of my thoughts shattering apart into million of unrepeatable pieces.

Seunghyun spoke up again quietly, rumbling in that deep rich voice of his, "Would you please consent to coming along with me?"

At this, I simply blinked at him owlishly for a moment before finding my voice again and able to say something, the first thing that came to mind,  "Why do you need me?"

Seunghyun smiled as if mildly amused with my star struck status, carefully going into more details, "My Lord Lee Byung Hun has expressed his wishes to meet with you."

Though that didn't exactly give me the answer that I wanted, it didn't seem as if Butler Seunghyun was going to go away any time soon if I didn't consent to what he had been ordered to do. "Uh... Alright... Fine..." I simply managed to mutter out as he nodded sharply and turned away, glancing back at me once as if expected for me to follow him.

I was utterly bewildered as I followed along behind Seunghyun away from the hall full of people and into the empty corridors, though I took the moment to take several deep breaths as the sound of his shoes and my heels clicked on the polished floor... Just before he led me to a meeting room and without another word, opened it and motioned for me to go in.

Oh well, here goes nothing. As soon as I had nodded my thanks back to the impossibly handsome butler, my eyes were darting about inside the room... A meeting room of some sort, though there was only one man sitting inside it, facing the door that I had come through with a gentle smile on his face. It wasn't as if I could forget that face as my mouth automatically opened to speak.

"I hadn't expected to see the girl who saved my life here at this party," he said instead, beating me to the line with the smile widening on his elderly face as I suddenly realized what I was doing and snapped my mouth shut. The memory was still fresh in my mind, seeing the old man so weary with pain this afternoon now looking so... Young and spry instead.

"You're the gentleman I met earlier..." I started to speak, choosing my words carefully as I knew that this was no ordinary man here waiting for me... No way, he had to be someone important as my mind drifted back to what Seunghyun had told me...

But my thoughts were interrupted once more as he beamed at me and cheerfully began speaking to me, "Ahaha, so you remember me then?"

"Yes. Are you feeling better now?" I replied back, pulling up a polite and small smile of my own even as the realization suddenly struck me.

He smiled brightened though, nodding enthusiastically with thanks evident in every single one of his words, "Thanks to you, my dear."

While he seemed to me overcome with gratitude for me, I had been slightly studying him though... Noting the fact that the clothes he wore was exact to the ones that I had seen him wear on the street earlier today. I had to ask him, to get this curiosity out of my head as I cautiously presented the question, "I'm sorry, but are you truly Lord Lee Byung Hun?"

At this, the old man laughed in amusement, almost if he had just been waiting for me to ask him that exact question as he nodded patiently and replied with a mischievous laugh accompanying his words,  "I am indeed..." "Although I would prefer it if you were to call me Teddy."

Now that left me rather confused. There was no way he could be Lord Lee Byung Hun... But he had to be, right?

Seunghyun bowed deeply to me as we made our way out into the corridor, my mind now even more of a flurry after the conversation that I had just ended with Lord Teddy... That man certainly was a special man, not in the bad way, but quite a unique man for who he was... And what his status was even among all these people at his party. And for him to want to speak to me privately like this? A normal girl?

"I request that you keep Lord Lee Byung Hun's health trouble in Charles a secret," Seunghyun said politely to me as those dark intense eyes seemed to burn into my soul. 

Even if I didn't want to, I probably would have just said yes anyway with the magnitude of his gaze... But I easily consented, nodding ardently, "Yes, of course."

"Good. From now on if you ever need anything, please let me know," he stated quietly, taking off the pressure of his eyes much to my relief as he continued on, "You have done us a huge service in saving Lord Lee Byung Hun's life... We hope we can be of service to you in return."

Now, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at his words... Making me shuffle my tired feet where I stood and drop my eyes down to the polished marble floors as I murmured back, "All I did was rub his back for a bit... I wouldn't go so far as to say I saved his life," raising my gaze just barely to send him a hint of a smile as I could see his mouth opening to protest, "So you don't need to feel obligated towards me, but please give my thanks to Lord Lee Byung Hun."

I had to get away before Seunghyun might start using his hidden butler charms that I didn't know if he had or not, quickly clearing my throat and bowing to him. "Sorry, if you would excuse me now, Seunghyun..." I managed to mutter to the butler before with a slight wrench of feeling bad for leaving him there hanging, started to walk away... When I heard a voice from nearby.

"So you were just pretending to be a commoner. You must be quite the difficult woman to deal with," it stated flatly out as I snapped my head around to see... Who else but Prince Sehun leaning against the wall in the hallway while Seunghyun seemed to had disappeared from sight as soon as I noticed Prince Sehun.

I wasn't going to even question why he was there, standing in that exact hallway that I had just come out into from the room as my eyes narrowed at him and feeling my fists tighten up again. I was seriously tired by now and there was no way I wanted to deal with any more of Prince Sehun's arrogance. Or was that ignorance? "Wha-"

"There is no way Lord Lee Byung Hun would call a commoner to have an audience with him," the prince continued on unwaveringly, each word feeling like a slap to my face and doing nothing but annoying me even more at the moment.

But what could I do then? It was going to be highly improper to snap back at a prince like this, and all I really wanted to do was get him off my back. Though his seeing me is a bit of a special case, but Seunghyun had asked me to keep what happened a secret... So I could only come up with what I even considered a lame excuse as I stumbled to get it out, "Uh... Well, Lord Te-, I mean, Lord Lee Byung Hun is an old acquaintance..."

It seemed almost immediately then, Prince Sehun's eyes lit up as I spoke, flashing in those previously disinterested and impassive eyes as he stared hard at me, again for the second time tonight. "Oh..." he breathed out as I just stood there, waiting for him to just say whatever he needed to say. But I didn't expect what came out of his mouth then, "Are you Lord Lee Byung Hun's granddaughter?"

"What...!? No!" I had snapped back as soon as the words had came from his mouth in unexpected shock, even the notion of that seeming ridiculous enough that I would have laughed if it was someone else presenting the question to me besides a prince. "Why would you even-"

"Well I don't expect you can tell me, if it hasn't been announced publicly," Prince Sehun interrupted me in true Prince Sehun fashion as he continued to look at me and then begin to nod with a satisfied look spreading over his face, as if he had just cracked a mystery. "That would explain why he called you back here in secret."

... By this time, I had no idea what he was even talking about. And I figured if I stayed here any longer, he was just going to keep getting the wrong idea about this... The best thing I could just do was get out of this party and back to my mundane normal life, forget about Prince Sehun and the whole storm I could feel brewing up with him. So closing my eyes and rolling them in the privacy of my eyelids, a deep exhale was given out as I turned myself towards the ballroom and started to leave as I muttered to him, "... If you would excuse me, I think I'm going to-"

"I was hoping to speak with you a little longer," he spoke up, his surprisingly more gentle voice making me slow down for a moment... Until I could hear the clicking of his boots(?) speeding up behind him. Oh hell no, I didn't want to talk to him any longer with his stupid habit of interrupting everything I said even though I couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to talk about... The possibility that I just end up socking him in the face was very real, regardless of the fact that he was a goddamn prince.

And now he had the idea that I am Lord Lee Byung Hun's granddaughter stuck in that thick head of his... But I couldn't exactly tell him about the Lord being ill this morning either. I swear, that prince was starting to drive me more insane than Prince Yifan had already done before...

As soon as I got back to the safety of the hall, thankfully hearing the footsteps of Prince Sehun disappear somewhere along the way behind me as I dared not to even glance back, my gaze was already automatically wandering around the crowd trying to find someone I knew... Meeting with those of Prince Chanyeol's again. But his was someone's I didn't mind, even though it didn't slip my mind that it seemed as if he was looking for me as well...

With that grin just b with happiness and energy in them, he made his way through the hall to my side as the cheeriness spilled over his words again, "Hey, what's the matter?" 

By that point, with everything happening around me, I was a little confused as it how I should explain... As I couldn't exactly tell him what really was happening back there with Lord Teddy and then Prince Sehun. So I couldn't help but stay quiet for a moment, trying to deliberate my words, "Well..."

Just then as I was wondering what to say, a young man I had never met before shouted out over the crowd nearby as he looked directly at me, "I found her Your Highness! There she is over there!"

This effectively cut off any attempt I had to continue speaking as in slight horror and apprehension, I saw Prince Sehun in the distance, heading towards us with a determined look stamped on his expression.

Prince Chanyeol next to me was more than confused and surprised at the same time as he now glanced between me and this new man who turned to us with a wide smile for answers, "What's going on? Why is Chen here too...? Did something happen with Prince Sehun?"

 The look that the young man on his face was a pleasant one, making me wonder from one thing to another about how he even knew the irritable Prince Sehun enough to rat me out like that. My answers came soon enough though as he explained brightly, "Please forgive me. My name is Kim Jongdae, though you can call me Chen and I serve as butler to His Highness, Prince Sehun," still beaming at us, he continued on, "I am pleased to inform you that... His Highness has invited you to come and visit our kingdom."

Prince Chanyeols eyes then opened wide in surprise, swiftly turning his gaze towards me while I simply reflected the same expression back to him. How was he... The nerve of him inviting me to go to Dres Van...? "He's actually inviting a woman to Dres Van Manor?" the prince inquired carefully, as if he didn't even believe what he was hearing at the moment. Then seeing the even more perplexed expression on my face, he explained quietly to me in a low whisper as a mildly worried expression crossed his, "He has a reputation for disliking women.. I could understand it if you were from a well known family, but..."

Just after he finished whispering those words to me, Prince Sehun came before us and imperviously brushed off his spotless white outfit before clearing his throat and stating boldly as his eyes locked onto my own unbelieving gaze, "Miss you, please allow me to apologize for my rudeness earlier... Allow me to express my apologies with an invitation to visit us in Dres Van. I hope you will accept."

Hell no that I was going to accept his lame invitation! He might be a prince and the like, this invitation being more than an open door for most other women, but I was done dealing with Prince Sehun. About to open my mouth and give him a curt reply before I got out of here, it was then that he only seemed to notice Prince Chanyeol's presence with a mildly surprised expression and continued on speaking, "Oh, Prince Chanyeol. I didn't see you there." 

Prince Chanyeol simply sighed quietly with that and shook his head as if he was used to such behavior before he replied in a more serious tone than usually came from the cheery prince, "I'm sure you didn't... But, this is a strange step for you..." his expression growing slightly clouded now, "I wouldn't have expected you to invite a girl like Miss you to visit."

Prince Sehun's expression wavered slightly at those words before he quickly tried to compose himself back together, "R-Really? All I want is for people from other kingdoms to know more about Dres Van..."

It was evident to everyone there that his words were forced, but Prince Chanyeol seemed to accept this reason as he nodded, a thoughtful look now coming over his face as he seemed to look both Prince Sehun and myself in a new light, "I see... Well, it couldn't hurt once in a while."

Then in the midst of my quiet watching and observations, Prince Chanyeol placed a hand to my back as he spoke once more, his voice now back to its usual brightness, "I shall come along as a representative of Altaria then."

"What do you mean by that?" Prince Sehun barked out in surprise, as I was stunned to the spot by the swift progress of all the interactions happening around me, none being more evident than the hand that rested lightly on my back as if to make me feel more comfortable.

Prince Chanyeol simply chuckled quietly again before he went into a patient explanation, "Just as it sounds... I shall accompany her to Dres Van as well." Just from that, my thoughts were in serious turmoil, flabbergasted at the mere fact that Prince Chanyeol wanted to come with me to Dres Van but as the only one not absolutely taken aback, he only smiled in amusement. "Is there some reason that I shouldn't go?"

Then after an awkward moment of silence between our little group, my eyes meeting those of Chen next to Prince Sehun with the same surprise evident for both of us, Prince Sehun frowned as he gave a soft sigh to break the tension. "All right, you should come as well," he said lowly, arms twitching as if he was about ready to just throw them up and walk away.

This was my chance. My chance after having been stunned to my spot in silence, my chance to protest with everything that was happening around me without my consent with any of this! "But hey! I ju-"

Prince Sehun's smile was unnervingly kind even as he chopped my words and thoughts into half again. "I am ashamed of myself as a prince to have been rude to a lady from another kingdom..." gazing at me with what seemed to be the perfect gentlemanly attitude that any man could ever possess, "Please allow me to make it up for you." 

Now I was really at a loss for words. How could I say no when he put it like that? Not to mention that I was tired beyond belief and just wanted to sit down somewhere... Or just get out of here, to be honest. So I could barely get a word out then, "What... Uh..."

But in the end, I found myself traveling together with Prince Chanyeol after both men had turned their charms on me, which I fell a helpless victim to...

And on the way to visit Dres Van Kingdom.

"Um... Hey... Are you sure this is alright?"

I was sitting in a limousine used by the royal family of Dres Van, with Prince Sehun sitting like a proper and perfect looking gentleman in the other window seat while Chen was riding shotgun, though occasionally glancing back at both of us and shooting me brief reassuring smiles.

After a moment of deliberation, I just had to ask that to someone. Seriously, someone like me, a practical no one riding in this vehicle... I had inquired to Prince Sehun about it as the car started to move, and he smiled back at me. "Of course." His smile was so obviously fake that even just looking at his face was more than enough to slap me into silence again. Definitely not a man you could confide in, the impression that Prince Sehun wasn't as honest as he should be riling me up inside again at that moment.

And then at the moment, as if he was right on cue, Chen was next to speak as he turned his head back to smile warmly at me, making up several times for Prince Sehun's pathetic excuse of being nice, "No trouble at all. Please relax and think of this as a vacation." 

More awkward silence passed for a while as none of us spoke. Definitely expecting Prince Sehun not to, but even I fell silent for a while... So worn out that I just watched the lights of the city flit by without much thought in my mind. I just wanted to sleep right now, and then I could deal with everything that I got myself in tomorrow morning.

Then, I heard the sound of a bell ringing, effectively making me jolt upright from the seat before settling back into the black leather again once I had seen no one else react the way I did. Hell, Prince Sehun didn't even waver from his position of simply looking out the window as Chen turned back towards the prince again, saying quietly, "Your Highness, I believe that was the midnight bell."

Prince Sehun only nodded briefly, his own exhaustion now even apparent to me as I could only watch him murmur back, "Yes, it is." 

In the midst of my mild confusion and curiosity, Chen continued to ask.  "Is it all right for Miss you to have arrived before midnight?" At that question, I must have had a confused expression on my tired face while my thoughts were sluggishly too lazy to try and deliberate it out as Chen continued on to explain, "When entering Dres Van, all immigration paperwork must be completed before midnight on the day of arrival... To not do so is considered a criminal offense."

I could only blink at him a few times as worry began to pool inside of me once more, concerned by the fact that I hardly even saw a paper this evening and night. "Isn't that a problem then...?"

The expression on Prince Sehun was absolute calm as he glanced over at me and replied to Chen instead of me with a slight smile on his face, "It won't be an issue. She is Lord Lee Byung Hun's granddaughter after all."

Was he being serious? Like really? Actually taking that into consideration after I had adamantly said no? I was stunned again as Chen's voice echoed through the car, "Really?!" Then he sighed in relief and smiled warmly at me again, "Please excuse my rudeness. In that case, everything will be fine," chuckling quietly to himself at the end.

"I wouldn't have brought her along at this time of night otherwise," Prince Sehun suddenly cut in before his gaze began to drift back to the window.

Chen quickly calmed down as he nodded in consent, "Of course not. My apologies."

But the prince continued speaking quietly on, "And according to the law changes that came into effect last week... A member of the general public cannot enter the kingdom after 10pm."

"Oh, really...?" Chen had his eyes widened and his usually smiling mouth in a small O at that point as I blinked furiously to myself.

There was no way i was going to keep going with this insanity that Prince Sehun was believing in. No way that I was going to keep quiet after having been cut off for so long. I just didn't want to do anything to deal with him any more and as soon as I got some rest, I was planning on getting out of Dres Van as soon as possible. So mustering up the remaining strength in me, I straightened up slightly and spoke up in the quietness of the car, "Excuse me..."

I cursed myself when I could hear the anxiety in my own voice as I spoke, and Chen flashed me a reassuring smile again before he went on to mistakenly explain again, "It is different for those of royal blood or are associated with the sacred grounds..." chuckling quietly once more, "So this law will not pose a problem for yourself or Prince Chanyeol." Chen then looked towards the car behind us as I followed suit, my eyes widening at the sight presented to me...

Behind Prince Chanyeol's car, I saw a large and intimidating gate being closed. That... That could only be the gate that was on the border to Dres Van, and we were now inside it.

Now I couldn't take it any more. So in a unrestrained burst, I more or less yelled out in the confines of the car, "But... I am not Lord Lee Byung Hun's granddaughter and I'm not someone associated with the sacred grounds either!"

A moment of absolute silence passed as Prince Sehun and Chen could only stare at me in absolute shock. Then Prince Sehun frowned deeply as he shot back in the same raised voice that I had used, "What do you mean?! You said you were his granddaughter, right?"

"I never said that!" I spat out bluntly and with just as much edge in my voice as I could muster at the moment, making Prince Sehun now actually scowl at me.

"You didn't deny it either!" he snapped back, actually turning his entire body away from the window to glare at me with all the power that he had in him as a prince.

Bullsh*t! I could only think for myself as I returned the same deadly look back to him. Who cares if he was a prince, I wasn't going to stand for this kind of injustice and the kind of people he was. He decided that for himself! I was fed up with his attitude and there was nothing going to stop me from expressing what I had wanted to say the entire evening to him, "Oh really? I remember clearly that I said 'No!' to you back in the hallway! And what did you do? Just got it stuck in that thick skull of yours that I just had to be the granddaughter of Lord Lee Byung Hun! Don't blame me for a mistake you made!"

Prince Sehun simply raised his eyebrows as he retorted back with a snort, "Don't blame you? I don't recall you correcting me about anything afterwards after that! Did you think you would see how far pretending to be Lord Byung Hun's granddaughter would get you? Taking me for a fool like that? Thinking that I wouldn't catch on sooner or later?"

Now that was going way too far. There were some things that I would be willing to take from a prince like him, but insulting me and saying such slanderous and malicious things about me like that... My hand was already up and the scowl on my face matched his before Chen immediately seemed to pick up on what I was about to do and reached back in a flash, gently grabbing my wrist before cutting in, "Please stop. Both of you, please. What do you propose we do about her, Your Highness?" 

With Chen perfectly calm and quiet voice, the thick and almost unbearable tension in the car seemed to calm down. Or enough to the point that even though Prince Sehun and I were still glaring at each other, he released out a huff and gave a growling reply to Chen, "She will need to reside within Dres Van for a while."

And while I wanted nothing more than to slap the sense into Prince Sehun then, my outraged curiosity overtook me as I defensively asked, "What do you mean?" I didn't even feel Chen slowly releasing my wrist from his grip and retract his hand back, so focused on that doggedly stubborn man sitting next to me.

Prince Sehun almost immediately responded to my question without feeling as his eyes were staring straight ahead, not willing to even look at my face, "You have just entered the Kingdom illegally." And this time, he didn't even give me time to protest or say even a word as Prince Sehun continued to assail me with his words, "You will need to apply for special dispensation before you can leave the Kingdom again."

Another moment of silence as I took in his words before narrowing my eyes again at the prince and opened my mouth to speak, one thing whirring in my brain after the other though there was no other bigger question that I wanted to ask than, "Would I be able to do that tomorrow then?"

"It's not that easy. It will take at least a week to ten days to get this sorted out," he flatly stated, the frown on his face evidently expressing his discontent that was as prevalent as my own.

I had more things to say, obviously. Things that I wanted to get clear now. But again in true Prince Sehun fashion as soon as I had said, "So..."

He immediately sliced into my words and abruptly continued, "So, as of this moment, you are unable to leave this Kingdom."

I was indignant. So indignant to the point that first, I was forced to come... And now I couldn't even goddamn leave?! I was seriously considering to just deem the government of this Kingdom a mess and give Prince Sehun another piece of my mind as I sputtered out, "Wait, wh-"

"There's no point in making a fuss about it now. We have enough trouble to deal with," and with that Prince Sehun sighed deeply as he stared out the window, turning his entire body away from me.

That was the signal, what said that he was done with me for now. And even as I continued to stare at him, wishing that I could kill with my gaze, I was fairly done with him too at the moment. We were just too worn out and in a cranky sleep-deprived mode for either of us to deal with each other at the moment.