Book 1

Shin Hoseok might be better known as Wonho of Monsta X.

Taehyung focus

Taehyung sighed happily and leaned back into his chair. His eyes roamed over the artificial lake around the banquet hall and came to rest on the figure on the other side that had its black palace robes tied up over his shoulders to walk through the silvery surface while ignoring the fidgeting servants on the shore who tried to get him out.

"When will they ever learn that advisor Min has a head made of stone?" his half-brother Namjoon sighed next to him while trying his fishing-rod for success. The crown prince seemed mildly amused.

"Father never told them to leave him alone, so they only follow their duty," Taehyung replied. For some reason emperor Kim treated advisor Min differently from all the other palace employees, and Taehyung had always been wondering why, but whenever he had asked one of the servants, all the eyes had lowered and the faces had turned away. Advisor Min was a mystery no one dared to talk about.

"Father has his reasons," Namjoon only said and reached for the teapot that rested on the low table between their chairs to serve himself.

"Brother knows about advisor Min's background?" Taehyung asked, suddenly giddy and on the edge of his chair. He had always appreciated a good story.

"I do, and I approve of father's decision to instantiate him in his current position," the crown prince answered and leaned back to focus on the spectacle on the other side as well.

"May I ask brother to tell me about it?" Taehyung tried cautiously, and to his surprise Namjoon nodded slowly, his head heavy as if the words he was about to tell weighed it down.

"Advisor Min once-"

But at this point his brother was interrupted by a gleaming object that had pierced his chest from behind. The tip of a sword was reaching out of his torso, dripping with crimson red that left dark stains on his blue robes. All his face showed was wonder and confusion before his head turned towards Taehyung to look at his younger brother questioningly.

"Brother," was all Taehyung could croak out, flying out of his chair to get to his half-brother's side, pressing his hand on the wound around the blade in a futile attempt of stopping the life from spilling out of the crown prince's body.

A paper-white hand reached out to cup Taehyung's face and the ebony eyes blinked at him warmly before the last breath slipped over Kim Namjoon's lips and the strong body went limp.

A deafening scream of one of the maidservants cut Taehyung's ears.

Everything was dark. There was no scream, just Taehyung's own fast breathing and the blood that was rushing in his ears.

"...joon, Namjoon," he mumbled and crawled out of his bed, stumbling over the blanket that was in disarray and pushing over the tea table when he caught himself. "Namjoon!" he shouted louder. He needed to know if his beloved brother was alright or he could not close his eyes again.

Only in his white undergarments, feet bare and hair loose, he stormed out of his room, crossed the yard, and ran through the hallways, where he scared servants and guards who thought him a savage ghost. But he needed to reach the eastern palace as fast as possible.

"Who-!" one of the starstruck royal guards shouted when Taehyung simply ran past them, bursting open the doors to his brother's quarters and stumbling over the threshold and almost hitting the ground in his eagerness.

"Namjoon," he whispered out of breath and tore open the doors to the crown prince's rooms. He ran past the bookcases and the table, followed by the shouting guards who had come back to life, and burst into the bedchamber.

His eyes scanned the dark room for anything strange and when he saw the dark figure that was standing next to his brother's bed, he lunged at it without a care for his own skin. But the shadow was faster than him. A swish of cold metal cut through the air between them, making Taehyung halt in order to safe his head from being neatly cut off, and then the figure swept out of the window.

"HOLD THE ASSASIN!" Taehyung shouted at the guards that had caught up with him. "PROTECT THE CROWN PRINCE!" Then he turned to look at his brother who had been shocked awake by the ruckus. "Is brother hurt?" He grabbed the white lapels of the man's undergarments and tore them apart to check for blood. Only untouched skin greeted him.

"Taehyung, what...?" the older asked confused. Then a little more collected, "What happened?"

"There was an assassin in your room!" Taehyung explainer breathless. "I dreamed that you were killed, so I came to make sure, and then there really was someone, and I shouted for the guards to catch him, but he was really fast, and-"

"It's fine, calm down," Namjoon ended his hysteric ramble. "I'm unscathed."

From outside the window the waking of the whole palace could be heard. Guards shouting and women whimpering in confusion.

"We should calm down the situation," the crown prince concluded and rose to slip on his outer garments and put on his shoes. "Wait here for me," he ordered Taehyung, but that was the last thing the younger wanted to do. There was someone who wanted to kill his brother, so who was he to stand back securely when he should protect the heir to the throne?

"No, I'll help," he resisted and got up as well. Better he was the one with the pierced chest than the future of their kingdom.

Namjoon sighed but nodded eventually. "Then get me advisor Min. He shall lead the search." With those words, the older was hurrying away and Taehyung was left with his instruction.

Min? The man could most likely be found at the astronomy tower. A clear moonless night like this would be spent to read the stars.

When he had finally climbed all the stairs to the top floor of the palace's highest building, lungs burning from exhaustion, he was greeted with the ink-blotched collapsed figure of advisor Min who apparently had fallen asleep while drawing constellations. The man's short unkempt hair was messy as ever and his robes were crumbled and disarranged. Taehyung shook his head at the undignified sight.

"Advisor Min!" he called out imperiously and shook the man's shoulder. "Advisor Min!"

The man was like a dead body.

"Advisor Min!" Taehyung shouted a last time and underlined his call with a kick to the man's side, apologizing instantly with a deep bow and a mumbled prayer that he may be forgiven. But he had no time to be polite in this situation and apparently his voice was not enough to wake up this palace employee.

The dead body rumbled. "I'll skip breakfast," the husky voice rasped, and the man rolled up into a ball on his side.

"The crown prince was assassinated," Taehyung said loudly, and finally that weird man sat up straight and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"The crown prince is dead?!" he rasped shocked.

"No, but he almost was killed. He wants advisor Min to lead the search for the assassin," Taehyung explained, concern creeping back into his body when the pictures from his dream were flooding his inner eye. If he had not run over, his brother would have been...

"What a useless command. It's too dark and judged by the ruckus down there-" The small man pointed at the roofs underneath them from where voices wavered up. "-the whole palace is in chaos, so whoever broke in will be gone by now."

Taehyung felt angry. His brother was one of the best strategists and generals in the kingdom and this unkempt mad man dared to call his order useless? "It's an order from the crown prince," he emphasized.

Advisor Min sighed. "Then I'll go tell him myself that his command is in vain." With a groan he lifted his body from the ground and stiffly stalked over to the stairs. "Your dress-up is improper for a prince. You should go back and change before the king summons you to his office."

Taehyung would have blown up with anger had he not been so dumbfounded. How dare such a messy employee reprimand him regarding his clothes during a crisis? Unbelievable! He needed to find out this man's background. If he was allowed to talk like this to the royal family, he must be truly important, or else his tongue would have been cut out years ago.

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When Taehyung entered the executive office, the rest of the important people were already present. Namjoon was standing next to the table at which emperor Kim was sitting with a dark face. Their father's features were framed by some grey strands of hair which had come loose from his topknot and his robes had been put on in a rush, making him look like an old man rather than the king of Silla.

Before them stood advisor Min and the, in comparison huge, red-clad frame of the royal guard leader, general Shin Hoseok.

"Father," Taehyung greeted the king and kneeled down.

"You may rise, my son," the gray-haired man said softly, so Taehyung shifted back onto his feet and stood in line with the unkempt advisor and the palace guard.

"Has the assassin been found?" emperor Kim asked towards adviser Min once Taehyung stood still.

The shorthaired stepped forward and bowed politely. Taehyung wanted to snort at the false politeness but held himself back.

"The palace guards tried their best, but we were too slow to capture the assassin," the small man reported calmly and without a hint of regret.

Emperor Kim nodded once, face stony with concern. "What does advisor Min suggest in order to ensure the safety of the crown prince?" he asked then.

"Assassinations are not new to the palace and normally the palace walls are unbreachable and royal guards can hold them off easily. That makes me wonder whether the intruder had help from the inside," Min elaborated calmly, and Taehyung could hear two sharp take-ins of air. One was from Namjoon who undoubtedly was shocked by the bluntness with which advisor Min had suggested treason, the second was from royal guard leader Shin who stepped forward only to sink on his knees.

"Your majesty, my men are all selected by myself. If one of them should turn out to be a traitor, your majesty should punish this incompetent servant," he said with an unwavering voice and lowered his head to the ground. Once again Taehyung was impressed by the devotion of this man. Still, the grand gesture felt unnecessary when all they had was an assumption of an advisor.

"You may rise, general Shin," the emperor said, following Taehyung's thoughts, "I trust in your abilities. Let us not come to rash conclusions without investigation and proof."

The soldier rose and stepped back again. "Thank you, your majesty."

Advisor Min spoke up again, "If it makes your majesty feel more at ease, I will call for general Park's son to personally watch over the crown prince until the assassin has been found."

At the mentioning of the name Park, Taehyung's heart lurched into his throat for a second before it continued beating twice as fast. A look at the advisor showed him the man was glancing at him with a barely visible smile. If anything could have made up for this night's rudeness towards him, advisor Min had chosen the right path.

Taehyung turned towards his father. "I am sure everyone would feel more secure with the general's son around. I could-" Namjoon lifted a hand to stop him from talking. And maybe that was a clever choice because Taehyung could not guaranty that his tongue would not slip when his heart was in such turmoil.

Namjoon handled the ordeal like he was used to it. "Father, I would appreciate officer Park's protection. I will write to him myself," he said calmly and stepped in front of the table to bid his goodbye with a bow of his head. "Father. I assume that the investigation will be bestowed upon advisor Min. I expect his reports. Now, excuse my leave."

The emperor nodded and Taehyung hurried to follow his brother's example. "Excuse me, father," he mumbled and ran after the older. "Brother!" he caught up with him outside.

"You should know how to guard your speech in front of father," Namjoon growled quietly. And when Taehyung wanted to defend himself, he was cut off by another sharp movement of the elder's hand. "You can consider yourself lucky that advisor Min thinks you harmless and therefor did not mention who was it that hindered the assassin from accomplishing his task. Who would believe your story of dreaming about me, who would not consider you suspicious?" The ebony eyes drilled into Taehyung's and he felt small next to his brother. A little softer the crown prince added, "And I know how your heart feels about officer Park, but you must not let them know. Rumors are rumors and can be discarded as exaggerations, but to confirm means to bring on trouble for oneself."

"Yes, brother. I understand," Taehyung murmured defeated.

"Go back to your quarters and rest. Tomorrow, stay with your mother. She is easily disturbed by such news, so comfort her," Namjoon instructed and they parted ways.

Slowly, Taehyung's steps came to a halt and he stared at his bare feet, head empty of any thought apart from how collected Namjoon had acted although his life had been in imminent danger. Truly an heir worth his title.

"My prince! My prince!" several panicked voices called out for him and when he lifted his head, he saw his mother's maids running towards him. Someone must have informed the servant quarters of the happenings.

"My prince, you will catch a cold, hurry back inside and warm up," old lady Su said and threw a robe over his shoulders before she took his arm to guide him back to his chambers.

It was quite strange. His brother was the one everyone should care for right now, but the crown prince was most likely to spent the remaining night in his study and ponder over the happenings, cutting off his valuable sleep and dismissing anyone who dared to remind him of his health.

Taehyung sighed. Namjoon was a scholar, thinking things over until he thought them into pieces with no result. So perhaps he should arrange for Namjoon to visit their half-brother for a relaxing bath to forget about the night.

"Lady Su," he asked quietly when he slipped back under his blanket.

The old woman turned to him with a soft smile. "Yes, your highness?"

"Tomorrow morning, please tell my brother that I want to remind him to visit the bathhouse," he asked of her. She knew how to handle those affairs.

"As you wish, your highness."

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