“I want to see the Lone Werewolf.” This time, I showed up right outside his bedroom. But seeing the look on his face, I knew he wasn’t going to grant my demand. “At least one time before the trial.”

“You’re so stubborn.”

Prince Woobin walked past me without saying another word. I was trying my best to stay calm but I was being pressed by time and I was going to lose it if I didn’t get what I want. “Come on, take me there.” I followed along right at his heels.

He stopped and spun around to look at me, “it is early in the morning. You had a long trip yesterday, why don’t you rest some more, Princess Haewon.” Without waiting for my reply, he turns back and casually continues on his way.

“I’ll rest after I see the Lone Werewolf.”

A loud sigh leaves his lips, “it’s a prison, a Princess shouldn’t be going there.”

My hand instinctively touched my neck. The bandage was no longer there, but I can still feel the scratch. “And, why not?” I caught up to walk beside him down the large corridor.

“There are dangerous people locked up.” His eyes were set in front of him as he walked.

“I’ll have Red with me.”

Prince Woobin stops again in his steps to face me, “something tells me Red would advise you not to.” A satisfied look makes its way across his face. “And you’ll get to see the Lone Werewolf today anyways – at the trial,” he emphasizes his last words.

“I want to see him before that.”

“Princess.”

The sound of Yongguk’s voice interrupted our conversation. Looking over my shoulder, I find him standing a few feet away from us.

“Ah, Red,” Prince Woobin acknowledges the Knight's presence. “Your Princess wants to go see the Lone Werewolf…at the prison.”

I snapped my head back to look at the Prince. I knew what he was doing.

Yongguk shifts his attention back in me and I already have a bad feeling about what he'll say.

“Princess, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“That’s what I said,” the Prince looks down at me to give me a pressed smile. “So, Princess Haewon, why don’t you wait until the trial? Or I will lock you in the bedroom if you continue to bother me.” He shoots Yongguk a challenging look while my Knight returns a glare. The exchange didn’t go unnoticed by me but, I didn’t think too much about it. There's another issue I'm more concerned about.

Prince Woobin quickly walks away from me and Yongguk’s sudden appearance in front of me, prevents me from following after him.

“Yonghuk, you can’t use your speed to block me.” He was using it wrong. He’s supposed to use it to help me to get what I wanted. “Instead, use the speed and stop Prince Woobin from getting away.”

“Princess, you can’t say my name here.”

I lower my voice, “I’m tired of calling you ‘Red’.” I was already at my limit in forcing myself to do so. “And besides, no one is here right now.”

“Princess, you need to be careful. Not a lot of people will understand –“

“I know, Yongguk. You’re being too uptight again - relax,” I lightly smacked his chest. “And there’s something more important at hand - I need to see the Lone Werewolf.”

“You will, at the trial,” Yongguk gives me the same reply.

I sigh, “it’ll be too late then.”

***

The time of the trial was inching closer and closer and yet, I still haven’t been able to get the Prince to take me to Sungrok. And the more time that was ticking by, the more I was seething with irritation. And, it showed itself in the form of my shaking leg. Sitting in one of the chairs in the bedroom, I couldn't contain myself and it's noticeable.

“Princess, are you okay?”

“No.” I was not even close to being 'okay;. “I am anything but okay, Yongguk.” I lifted my head up to look at him. Unlike me, Yongguk was composed in his own seat across from me. But, the sight wasn’t strange to me, he hardly ever showed his feelings or his thoughts. “How long do we have until the trial?”

“Two hours.”

I tried not to groan loudly hearing the bad news.

“Princess, there’s no point in being upset or thinking of ways to go see him. The Lone Werewolf is probably being transported to the High Court right now.”

“The High Court?” Among the kingdoms here in Yoggu and like in every other region, each has their own smaller courts to judge criminals and wrong-doers. But also, in each region there is one important court, called the High Court where all kingdoms within the region are present. This specific court is usually reserved for more serious crimes – crimes that would affect all kingdoms within the said region. “Why would we need to go there?”

“That is where the Lone Werewolf’s trial will take place,” Yongguk responds.

Once again, it was only me that was panicking at the new information.

“Why didn’t Prince Woobin tell me that?” He keeps withholding information from me, important information at that. “And his crime wasn’t that severe for his case to be taken all the way there, so why?”

“They’re charging him for treason and retaliation,” Yongguk revealed but now that I was carefully looking at him and hearing him, why did it seem like he knew this all along? And I couldn’t help but feel a small spike of disappointment in the pit of my stomach at the thought of that.

But, I decided to push it aside. Yongguk never would have bad intentions. “So, we should leave now to get there, right?”

He nodded and stands up from his chair and I do the same. This unsettling feeling only grew as we set out to the High Court. It wasn’t my intention to see Sungrok for the first time at the trial but it couldn’t be helped.

My hands were held together tight as I sat in the car.  

***

“Prince Woobin!” I didn’t hesitate to call out as soon as I saw him. I marched right into the large pillared building to find him standing there in his usual dark suit, surrounded by a few of his acquaintances. The white building was bustling with people but I knew him even with the sight of his back turned towards me.

He turns around and greets me with a smile as if I didn’t just stay at his castle overnight. “Princess Haewon, you’ve made it.”

“You didn’t tell me that it would be here.”

The Prince glanced at Yongguk before turning back to me, “I didn’t realize how you weren’t caught up with information.”

What is that supposed to mean? “How much have you not told me?”

“I didn’t purposely do it. I just didn’t think you were being kept in the dark,” he says as he gives another look in Yongguk’s way. “So, there’s no more reason in not telling her, right?”

So, it wasn’t just a feeling, it was true. I already knew there was something Yongguk wasn’t telling me before we came here to Yoggu. But the amount of information he was hiding was more than I thought. For now, I decided to ignore it and focus on the problem at hand. “Tell me what I don’t know,” I urged the Prince to spill whatever it is that Yongguk has not brought up to my attention.

“His brother was part of a rebellion that was made up with unknown numbers of Werewolves. They were planning an uprising in this region.”

“What does this have to do with the Lone Werewolf?” It was his brother, not him that was responsible.

“There are many reasons why he needs to be punished.”

“Well then, please be specific when you tell me,” I snapped at him. I wasn’t satisfied with such short answers and I wasn’t going to be content until he made sense of what I didn’t.

“The Lone Werewolf is his brother. If one was in the rebellion, the chances of the other being implicated are high. The Lone Werewolf might also retaliate once he finds out the whole truth behind his brother’s death. And since it was Reaper who was behind it, we all know where the Lone Werewolf is going to target next.”

I stared at him in complete disbelief, “you are punishing him for a crime of retaliation that didn’t happen and may not happen?” The Pri