While the whole palace was in chaos and disarray with the sudden proclamation of the King, two youngsters who still were childish and immature not to mention terribly spoilt, privileged due to having been born in noble families; those two were blissfully ignorant of the happenings in the royal palace.

"Your Highness I-" Hye-ri began but was cut off midsentence,

"Didn't I clearly ask her to address me as 'Noble Master'?" Prince Won asked Eunuch Bang, who was standing nearby.

The old man appeared conflicted, for he didn't want to ignore his young master but nor did he want to insult Lady Hye-ri. He didn't want to be a part of the wayward prince's games and pranks, but as usual, he was forcefully dragged into them. He offered Hye-ri an apologetic grimace and muttered an almost inaudible "I believe you did, Your Royal Highness."

Hye-ri wanted to glower and shout a few choice words at the rude prince but she kept her mouth shut. She had lost the bet, whether she like it or not.

"My apologizes o' Noble Master." She tried to sound as sweet and sincere as possible but old habits die hard-she was so used to saying sarcastic words to him that it came out in a mocking tone.

"How insolent of my servant to address me in such a tone!" the prince remarked airily, a wicked smug smirk on its way to turn his lips upward,

"Come here, fan me. It's terribly hot today, don't you agree?" he dimissed the palace servant who was fanning him and beckoned Hye-ri to take the latter's place. Hye-ri obliged, with a scowl directed at Wang Won who chuckled under his breath. He was clearly relishing this golden opportunity to Lady Hye-ri at his beck and call.

"Faster! I'm dying here. Heavens, it's too hot!" Prince Won feigned a groan and wiped his forehead dramatically. Hye-ri rolled her eyes at him but sped up the pace.

"Ah that's much better..." the prince closed his eyes and leaned back on the bench on which he was seated in the Royal Princes' Garden, filled with the most exotic and lush green plants and colorful flowers that brought color and life to the dreary and hot summers that would draw to a close but not anytime soon and autumn would take their place.

"Now it's too fast! Do slow down a little Hye-ri-ah!" he exclaimed, wanting to get a rise out of the said girl who narrowed her eyes at the prince who was having a hard time controlling his amusement. He was amused at her expense.

"Ah, it's too hot now."

Hye-ri vigorously fanned him, hoping and praying that he gets hit by the huge feathers in those brown eyes of his but her wish didn't come true unfortunately.

"Too fast!"

"Argh! Wang Won, you are a pig! An ugly, selfish, irksome and spoilt prince who can test the endurance of even the most patient saints!" Hye-ri had finally had enough, never had she been more insulted in her sixteen and a half years of existence. She threw the fan at her "master" who, much to her dismay and disappointment, dodged it expertly. Hye-ri stomped her feet crabbily.

Both stared at each other for a moment and then the Prince chortled. He guffawed loudly while Hye-ri's angry blush gradually disappeared from her face and for an insane moment she too felt the corners of her mouth rebel against her and lift up in an unbidden grin.

But their happy bubble was soon broken, for a green robed eunuch came running with the news that would change the course of their lives.

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"So now Prince Wang Won will be crowned as the Crown Prince?" a very confused Hye-ri asked her brother. They were both back at their manor, Prince Won had hastily left when he heard about the edict as his mother, Her Majesty, Queen Myung-hee had sent one of her court ladies to summon him to her palace.

Hye-ri had been surprised by his sudden departure, when only minutes earlier he was teasing and annoying her. But before she could voice her questions to anyone, her brother appeared before her out of nowhere and demanded that they return home at once. Apparently, the palace was in utter bedlam and everyone was busy so it was best that they did. Well, that's what Ji-hyuk told her anyway.

Her brothers never did tell her anything, she thought on their way home.

As much as they were fiercely protective of her and doted on their only sister, they always seemed to chastise or correct her or leave her in the dark about the important stuff. When she was small, she hadn't minded it much but as she grew, her curiosity about the world had grown too.

Thus, it infuriated her that they still treated her like a child, when she was soon going to be seventeen.

"Oraboeni, you never tell me anything!" Hye-ri remarked grumpily.

"Yes Hye-ri-ah. His Majesty has already issued the Royal Edict." It was her eldest brother General Baek-ah who answered her. He looked tired; he had just returned home from supervising the training of the troop of the royal army which he commanded.

"So...so...now Prince Won will be the Crown Prince?" Hye-ri furrowed her brows. She was still shocked to hear that the prince who she had always bickered with, who she never really treated as a prince once they were alone, who loved to tease her nonstop would soon be crowned and be made the second most important person in the kingdom after His Majesty, the King himself.

"Hye-ri stop asking the same question over and over, the answer won't change." Ji-hyuk sighed, annoyed with his favorite sibling.

"Fine! It's not as if these stupid politics and matters interest me anyways, I just wanted to know. I'll go and retire to my room now, that spiteful Prince Won troubled me a lot today, making me do silly tasks just because I lost a stupid bet!" Hye-ri changed the topic to complain about how the prince had bothered her.

"Hye-ri! He's the Crown Prince now." Her elder brother admonished his sister.

"I know, I know." Hye-ri rolled her eyes. "But he's still dumb and irritable, no one in the palace wants to serve him because of his tantrums and antics, and he's a real-"

"Hye-ri that is enough insulting him for today, save some for later. We all know that there's no love lost between you two." Ji-hyuk chuckled and Hye-ri glowered at her brother.

"Ah, there's my favorite girl!"

All three turned their heads and bowed when High Minister Kim entered the room which they were all in. He was wearing his official robes; he was the Head of the Ministry of Rites and was very busy these days as the date of the Imperial Examinations for scholars drew nearer.

Hye-ri's brother used to joke and say that he would break into his father's office and earn a lot of money by leaking the paper and selling it to the highest bidder. His father would shake his head and grunt at his son and her ever-so righteous elder brother would smack Ji-hyuk's forehead and tell him to focus on his studies and training.

"Father! I haven't seen you since ages!" Hye-ri ran and hugged her father who patted her head and chuckled. She was clearly more comfortable with her easygoing father than her mother.

Usually, the men from the Kim family were all high-ranking generals and decorated military commanders and noble strategists serving in the Ministry of War, but High Minister Kim had broken the tradition years ago, choosing not to follow in the footsteps of his late father who had been the Grand General of Goryeo and his elder brother who was the current Grand General.

"Little one, you saw me today morning." Her father laughed out loud and held her at an arm's length. His hair was already greying, laugh lines and wrinkles on the corner of his eyes which hadn't been there a couple of years ago.

"Yes, but I saw you only for a moment, you were rushing to your office." Hye-ri pouted and her father sighed, his smile disappearing,

"Yes, my dear. The moment His Majesty issued the edict, we were the first ones to know, as we have to organize His Highness Prince Won's coronation. I'll be extra busy these days."

"Why so much fuss over stupid Prince Won anyways? Isn't Prince Tae better than that dimwitted boy?" Hye-ri thought but brushed it off as she knew she was just taking sides because of her personal feelings. Deep down she knew that Prince Won wasn't that bad, she would even go as far as to say that he was actually a pretty accomplished prince as he was good with weapons, good in studies, even good at playing music.

But she won't ever admit this out loud to him, it would inflate his already over-inflated ego possibly hundred-fold.

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Hye-ri had retired to her room, claiming that her arms were aching after fanning Prince Won all afternoon and her head was aching from having tolerated albeit barely, his senseless larks for the better part of the day.

An hour after Hye-ri had gone back to her room, a visitor came for her father. The visitor was her uncle, Grand General Kim.

"Greetings dearest brother and my nephews." The Grand General was a tall and scary looking man, with battle scars all over his brawny body and curly, shaggy hair falling to his shoulders. He had a booming voice and a permanent scowl etched on his face. The man was perhaps the best warrior in all of Goryeo after Prince Wang Tae.

But unlike the aforementioned prince and also his father and predecessor, the Grand General was a power-hungry and ambitious man. He wasn't a fan of the fact that the Kim clan was losing its status after the death of the late Crown Prince Wang Eun and the subsequent fall of the once regal but now grief-stricken Queen Mother whose influence over the Inner Court had diminished over the years that followed the death of her son.

"Brother what a surprise! May I ask as to what do we owe the pleasure of you visiting our manor?" High Minister Kim asked his brother with a tight-lipped smile. Both had never had an easy relationship and seen eye-to-eye with each other but they did support each other. After all, the motto of their clan was 'Family First'.

"It had been quite a few weeks since I came over brother. My wife sends her regards to you and sister-in-law and love to our niece and nephews. She regrets that she couldn't come as well. She's a bit unwell these days, you see." The Grand General replied as he comfortably settled on his seat and took a sip from the cup of wine that was placed in front of him on the table. His nephews sat on the either side of him and his brother across, in front of him.

"Oh, I hope her health improves soon." The High Minister remarked solemnly.

It was well known that the Grand General's wife was barren and not liked by her husband, who held nothing but contempt for the woman who hadn't borne him sons to carry on his legacy and he had an array of mistresses but none had provided him with an heir, a son. He therefore, could only count on his brother's children. No matter how much both the brothers disagreed with each other, he still regarded his nephews as his kin.

After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries and small talk, the Grand General didn't waste time going around in circles and got straight to the point,

"His Majesty has finally chosen a Crown Prince after our nephew, His Highness' tragic death." The tone of the general was bitter, especially at the last part.

"Yes, Prince Won will prove to be an excellent-" Ji-hyuk began, not wasting a breath to support his friend but was cut off by his father who shot him a look which said-"Take your leave now son."

"Father and Uncle, please excuse me." Ji-hyuk simply said instead and after bowing politely to his elders, he hurriedly left the room.

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"Brother please stop drinking now, you are already quite drunk." High Minister Kim implored his elder brother while his son Baek-ah looked at them solemnly, not daring to interrupt.

"No! Why should I? They have truly replaced our nephew now!"

"Brother-"

Grand General Kim threw his wine cup angrily, spilling its contents all over the oak table,

"That child prince knows nothing! He's a complete fool! We can't let that damned Park clan have more power than it already has."

"Brother, we do not take sides with the matters of the royal family, our clan has sworn to simply protect and follow the King's orders." High Minister reasoned but his brother scoffed,

"Are we their lapdogs then? Do not forget brother, that our clan was the one who supported the King when he claimed the throne. How can His Majesty dare to insult us by crowning Park Myung-hee's son as the crown prince?" the drunk Grand General slurred.

"Brother! Do not speak about His Royal Majesty and Her Majesty that way!" High Minister Kim now finally raised his voice at his elder brother, his patience snapping finally. He had never understood his brother, could never see eye to eye with him.

"Uncle, then would you rather Prince Tae becomes the Crown Prince instead?" General Baek-ah finally spoke up curiously but his father shot him a look which silenced him.

After a beat of silence, the Grand General spoke up,

"No, Prince Tae is way too independent; no one can control him. Come to think about it, it's better to have an immature fool sit on the throne, one who can be easily manipulated." The Grand General now smiled a slow, sly grin which made his battle-scarred face even more dangerous while the other two in the room shared a wary look,

"My dear nephew, you just gave me an excellent idea! Well, I think it's true what they say- 'Whatever happens, happens for the best."

"Brother, you shouldn't think such thoughts -"

"Now now, brother. I better be going, it's getting late." With that the Grand General rose up albeit awkwardly (20 cups of wine will do that to a person no matter how strong he is) , his thoughts already busy with plotting something which made his younger brother frown with worry.

"Thank you for such amazing wine brother. Give my regards to your wife and love to Hye-ri. I'll swing by some other time. It's always such a pleasure to visit you."

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A/N

Ok I know that this chapter is way longer than the usual ones but it has so many incidents which are pivotal to the story that I can't bring myself to shorten it.

What's your impression of the Grand General?