Before I even made it out into the hallway, Yong Guk was already standing there blocking my path. 

“Good morning, my lovely Knight.” I smiled up at him brightly while he returned a stern expression. “What’s with the face?”

“You’re not allowed into the prison tower, Princess.” 

Wow, he catches on fast. “Who says I’m going there?” I questioned back innocently.

Yongguk doesn’t even return a smile. Always Mr. Dark. “I don’t need anyone to tell me. I know you enough, Princess.”

I sighed loudly. “What if –“

“No, Princess.”

My smile disappears. “I’ll ask my father.”

“I’ve already spoken to the King.” Yongguk is really efficient. “You’re not allowed up there without proper protection.”

“Then, you come up with me.” The solution is simple enough. 

“There are things I need to take care of, so I cannot,” Yongguk replies to my displeasure.

But you see, I never give up. “How about Daehyun?”

“What?” Yongguk is taken by surprise by my suggestion.

“Yeah, you’ve seen him last night. He is enough to provide protection.” I also knew he would want to come since it’s no surprise that he hates staying in a single room all day. “And I know you trust him enough.” 

“Princess –“

“Nope.” I brushed past him and headed in the direction of Daehyun’s room. “All of your worries are solved and you can’t stop me.”

“Yes, I can.”

I looked up to find Yongguk already standing before me. “Yongguk, it’s not fair to use your speed to block my path,” I gently chided him. “Let’s compromise.”

In this castle, to get anything done is to always make deals and compromises. Nothing is quite free.

It was kind of like life.

“Fifteen minutes. Tops.” I offered a very fair bargain. 

“Ten minutes. Nothing more,” Yongguk immediately shoots back.

“Fine,” I agreed. There is always tomorrow. Let’s see if he could stop me then. Before I completely walked past him, I poked his chest. “Take care of yourself today.”

Leaving Yongguk behind, I rushed to Daehyun’s room and quickly knocked. Before he could give me a reply, I pushed open the door.

“Good morning!” I chimed.

“Are you here to ruin my whole day?” Another gloomy person within the castle. There’s not enough of my optimism to go around, you know.

“Want to go somewhere with me?” 

“Is it to your greenhouse again?”

I shook my head. “We’re visiting the prison tower today.” 

Daehyun arches his brow. “Why would you go there? It must be dirty and dusty.”

“It’s actually not too bad,” I reply lightly. “So, let’s go.” I urged him to hurry over. I mean I expected Daehyun to come with me, but I thought I would have to try harder to persuade him. Yet, he got up and followed me out.

“Hey, don’t you have like friends or something?” He speaks up from behind me.

At the word ‘friend’, the image of Woobin and Youngjae came to mind – well, I wouldn’t call them that exactly... they were more like allies. At my silence, Daehyun peered at me from the side. 

“Are you a loner?” His question pulls me from my thoughts. 

“A little bit,” I answer his question while remembering how I’m usually alone at banquets. 

We crossed the enclosed bridge and are stopped at the entrance by the two guards. Expecting a hard time, they instead only bowed and stepped aside. 

“Can you two tell me where the intruder from last night is held?”

After receiving the floor information, Daehyun and I stepped inside and walked up the stairs. Upon reaching the floor, I pressed the notch to open the last gate keeping us from the cells.

The quietness told me he had the whole floor to himself. The Knights were being extra careful it seems. 

Daehyun curiously followed after me while my eyes land on the cell I was looking for.

Unlike the big black Werewolf with piercing bright, yellow eyes I saw yesterday, in the cell held a young boy. Possibly around the same age as me. He stared up at us while he rushed to move back into the corner of the cell. Thankfully, the guards gave him clothing though it was put on wrong. 

He remained squatting while watching our actions carefully.

“Good morning.” It was the third time today I said it but unlike the previous times, my voice wasn’t as loud. Maybe I was worried about scaring him – I wasn’t really sure. Everything about his reactions told me how on edge he was. 

“He’s like a scared pup,” Daehyun gently jokes from beside me. I assume he senses the same thing. 

The Werewolf provided no response and continued watching us. My eyes trailed the skin that wasn’t covered by the prison clothing to see plenty of scratches and bruises. “Does your injuries hurt?” 

“Who cares if they hurt or not. He attacked us,” Daehyun blurted from beside me. His loud voice causes the Werewolf to jump and Daehyun turns his attention back to him. “Hey, doesn’t he seem like an…animal?” 

“He’s a person, Daehyun,” I scold him for his use of terminology.

Daehyun gives me a look. “He’s a Werewolf and that’s not what I meant. Just look at him.” The Lone Werewolf points towards the young boy in the cell. 

The more I looked at him, the more I couldn’t deny what Daehyun said. It was certainly strange. I stepped forward to get closer before Daehyun grabbed my arm. 

“Hey, don’t just get close.” 

“It’s fine.” I patted Daehyun’s hand. “I just want a closer look.” He hesitated on letting me go but I pulled away from his g