A sigh slips from his lips as he tosses the comforter aside to reveal a pillow. A pillow meant to imitate the body of the individual that has gone missing from her bedroom. Well, this is new – she hasn’t tried this before. 

“My daughter really does look down upon our intelligence,” King Hyunjin comments underneath his breath. 

“Red is looking for the Princess as we speak,” Steel comforts the King. “It won’t be long before he finds her. 

His daughter is becoming wilder the older she gets – something he thought she would outgrow but it seems to be resulting differently from his expectations. She has skipped lessons all week and has been caught countless times just seconds before she is successful in her act of sneaking out. Yet, it still doesn’t deter her. 

They were having guests tomorrow and the hope that Haewon would remain on her best behavior is harder to achieve than initially figured.

“King, if you would allow me to say something,” Hero says softly from behind. “Please do excuse my audacity.”

“What is it, Hero?”

“Maybe the Princess needs some responsibility.”

“That’s like giving her something to neglect.”

Hero smiles, “yet, she has taken care of her roses in her bedroom well.” He looks over at the window sill to find the various pots placed carefully in their spots. 

***

Yongguk: 17 years old

There must be something wrong.

He could not sense her around at all. He has visited every hiding spot she could possibly have in the castle but his search has turned up with nothing. Not even a rose-scented trail could be sniffed out. 

Placing his hands on his hips, he eyes the windows that lined the hallway. There is no way she could have gotten past the castle’s walls. He would have definitely noticed her cheering.

“Red, are you still searching for the Princess?”

His attention is drawn by the sudden voice. “Hello,” he greets Mirae. “I am.”

She chuckles, “if you can’t find her, the others definitely wouldn’t either – you know her best, after all.”

He freezes.

There is no way.  

“Seems like you’ve gotten an idea,” she comments upon observing his expression. 

“We’ll see how correct I am.”

Dashing in the opposite direction, he merely scolds himself. There was one place he had carelessly overlooked.

***

Haewon: 14 years old

Hearing the bedroom door click open, I look up with a grin. “Took you long enough, Yongguk.” 

He looked at me in disbelief while I merely made myself comfortable on the edge of his bed, reading over some book he had on his dresser. I wanted to find out why he has been so interested in this story so much lately…well more like, I just wanted to find out Yongguk’s interests in general.

“Princess, you’re not allowed in the Knight’s quarters.”

“I’m not allowed to do many things,” I retort. “Rules are meant to take the fun away.” Besides, she used to sneak in here when she was younger without problems before…why did Yongguk suddenly change his attitude?

“Everyone is worried.”

“I’m actually not doing this for attention – I’m doing this beca