"I can't marry you."

Kris looked at me seriously. I pressed my lips together. He approached me by two steps. "Why?"

"Because I love Baekhyun." I spoke the truth, never been more confident than before. "I felt bad about manipulating you and Baekhyun into liking me before. To make things worse, I even dragged Ah Young into this mess. I..."

"That's not possible." He interrupted. "This arrangement was made by the late king and my father. This wedding will unite the two kingdoms and our people." He reasoned. I frowned. Reconciling with Baekhyun was one thing; dealing with the prince was another. Clearly he was good at debating. Too good.

“So we have to sacrifice ourselves? Do you think we can be happy for the rest of our lives?” I argued, raising my tone a bit. I bit my lip. I am not going to back off easily.

"We are a future ruler. This is who we are. We have a duty to serve our people. Even if we are going to be unhappy, we have to do it." He persuaded.

I stared at him in disbelief. Is he for real? He agreed to it just like that? What's wrong with this guy?

"Too bad. I won't take no for an answer." I replied confidently, slowly walking away when he stopped me.

"Are you sure Baekhyun is going to take you back?" I turned to him and shook my head twice. "I'm not, but there could be a possibility that he will. I won't give up without trying." I put both my hands on my waist.

He fell into deep silence. “Even if you disagree, can you at least allow me to make an effort?” I offered my right hand to him. I watched him thinking, waiting for his reply.

Slowly, he took out his right hand as well. "On one condition."

“Deal.”

“Ah Young! Ah Young!” I leaped off the carriage as soon as the door opens. “Your Highness, you shouldn’t be running around like that. What if the ministers see you?” He warned. I scoffed, brushing off some dust from my skirt.

"Let them be. They're not th