"Shun, I am one step closer to the truth." Sae Joo gripped his bodyguard's arm, his fervent gaze took the nangdo aback.

"What do you mean, Your Highness? Don't tell me you..."

With a face full of enthusiasm, he smiled and nodded as if nothing dangerous had happened to him. "Yes, I met with that person. It's a woman! I don't know her full identity—her name or her purpose, but she told me the truth. Sae Yoo shares the same blood as mine."

"What? What are you talking about, Prince?"

"I think he was my brother. You know what, the moment I read that name, my heart jumped. My soul left my body, and I felt empty. The name Sae Yoo rang inside my head. I could feel the connection, the longing for something that would complete me. I've always had this gut feeling that he was somehow closer to me than anybody else."

"Your Highness, if Sae Yoo was your brother, why has no one ever mentioned him to you? Why did the royal family acted as if you're an only child?"

"I don't know, Shun. That's what I have to know. I must know. I have the right to know! This time, even though they hate me with what I've done, I won't back down anymore. I will insist on my right to know what happened to him. She's right... my values are already molded in my own standard of what is right and what is wrong. I am on the right side. They can't sway me anymore." he turned to his bodyguard and ordered, "Let's go, Shun. I'm ready to face my family."

The mists had cleared out, and the clouds dissolved and moved out of the moonlight's path. Brighter, warmer, and more efficient than the burning torch. Shun led the way to his horse, and they traveled back to the palace.

~~•~~

Waiting inside the King's chambers were Jae Joong, Jung Ho, and Dae Wong—the three tenured musketeers. Silence entrapped the whole room, stitching their mouths and clenching their teeth. If it were not for the calming scent of green tea, the three of them would have already erupted like geysers.

"Your Majesty, the Prince has arrived. He asks for an audience," a lady-in-waiting announced, which made all of them look at the door.

Jae Joong responded coldly, "Enter."

When the door slid open, Sae Joo bowed. He raised his head and examined the frozen cold faces of the three elders. Strangely, no sign of fear sailed across his chest. His beating heart was calm, and his blood flowed quietly.

"Sit," Jae Joong ordered timidly.

Sae Joo sat and dipped his head in a low bow, facing the King—Jung Ho on his left, Dae Wong on his right. If an ordinary person would barge in unnoticed like an invisible man, he would think that the Prince was being interrogated by the Prosecution Department. The intensity of their nipping stares could tear the Prince's flesh into pieces—as if he has killed someone!

Breaking the awkward, chilling silence off, Sae Joo started explaining, "I know what I did was wrong. Let me—"

Jae Joong interrupted, his voice full and deep like a tuba. "Who gave you the right to talk first?"

Sae Joo shifted his look away from his father slowly, his lips pursed into a thin line.

The King continued, "You... who are you? I don't know you anymore. You dare deceive your father and the King of this nation!" his neck veins almost popped out from his throat in anger. "Over what? Just to meet this person, whom you don't even know? What if they hurt you? What if they abducted you? What if they killed you? Didn't you even think about the future of this kingdom? When are you going to grow up? When are you going to see that you're not an ordinary person! You're just thinking about yourself! You're willing to risk your life just for this nonsense truth and a person that won't come back into life!"

With Jae Joong's sudden vomit of the harsh truth, Dae Wong and Jung Ho could not do anything but stay still in shock. Immobilized! But disregarding them, Sae Joo was the one who was affected the most. His forehead curled in confusion. "What did you say, Your Majesty? Did you mean that Sae Yoo is dead?"

Straightening his back muscles and clutching his fingers together in a tight grip, Jae Joong blurted, "Yes. He's dead! You want to know the truth? Alright. I will tell you the truth. This will be your punishment for disobeying me and making me a fool in front of everyone..."

"—Sae Yoo is your brother!"

An evil force suddenly stole Sae Joo's concept of time. All his muscles ceased on moving, even his heart stopped beating. His ears could receive sound vibrations but his mind could not process a single thing. Just a high-pitched, flat static sound. Tiiiiiiiiiiingggggg! All trembles, no basses. Goosebumps all over his body.

For quite some time, he was paralyzed. A single snap from his uncle made all his senses return. "Your Highness, are you alright?" asked Jung Ho.

Beads of sweat assembled on the top of his forehead. His whole body felt like being sauteed in a hot frying pan. When he spoke, his voice suddenly cracked, his throat dry like the Sahara. "Ye-yes. I'm fine." he looked back to his father and clarified, "I-I-I knew it... He-he's my brother. I just want you to tell it straight to my face. Is he older than me or younger? W-wh-why did he die?"

"The reason why we don't talk about him in the palace is that he died just hours after he was born." Jae Joong turned to Jung Ho and gazed intently. His fists rumbled under the table, wanting to smack his younger brother in the face. For every bit of that bad memory, a liter of his blood boiled.

"You didn't answer my question, Your Majesty. Why did he die?"

Little did Jae Joong know, a drop of tear had jumped from the windows of his eye. The bitter, salty aftertaste reminded him to wipe his eye. "An illness. He was cursed with an illness. The strongest evil took him away from me, from us. It's all because of me, truthfully speaking. My son had to pay for my incompetence."

"But still, Father! Sae Yoo doesn't deserve to be forgotten. If you truly loved him, you should have tried not to forget him. You see, I don't even see his name in the Royal Family temple. You bury him six feet under but you didn't bury him in your heart. That's why fate is making its way to remind you of him. The son that you loved so dear was never in peace."

"You have no right to say that! You don't know how painful it is to lose a child. My heart is being torn into pieces every time, every day, every night! It repeats every moment I breathe. It's suffocating that sometimes I wish to die just to end my suffering. But that's not how the Heavens work. We can't dictate them on what punishments or rewards should we have. My poor son, your innocent brother received all the punishments that were supposed to be mine. But I had to be strong because I am the King. I had to endure so that his life wouldn't be in vain."

Listening to his father's soul-ripping words, a dew of tear fell from Sae Joo's eyes. He could not describe the pain he was feeling. To whom? Where was it coming from? All he knew was it was too sorrowful. A dull knife chopping one's arm. It lingered as the pain repeated.

Jae Joong sniffed and resumed, "If I had an untimely death by then, the kingdom would surely crumble. This is the life of a royal! I'm sure I have already mentioned this to you a million times. We're not ordinary people. Pain is our strongest ally, not our enemy. Use it to be stronger every day. So when your time comes, when I die—go on, rule the kingdom, and don't even look back."

"You should've told me the truth before. We could've mourned together and cried together. Why do you always keep your problems on your own? Yes, we are royals. We rule, but that doesn't mean that we're not humans anymore. It's a human thing to feel certain emotions. We can cry, and we can be sad—but that doesn't mean that we are weak. I will try to acknowledge what you've said about pain. I won't forget you when it's your turn to join our ancestors on the land of the dead. You said it yourself—pain should make us stronger. Every time I would feel weak, I would just remember the pain of losing you. You don't have to hide your pain from me, Father. After all, I'm the only one that you have, and you're the only one that I have, right?"

"No more secrets, Father?"

Jae Joong glanced at the two council members, gazed at his son, and nodded.

Sae Joo stood and bent his body forward in a deep, sincere bow. "Thank you for telling me the truth, and I am sorry for tricking all of you."

As he sat, replacing the question mark with a period, he moved on to the next topic. Something that would ignite everyone's interest, especially Jung Ho. After all the drama and the confession of hard feelings as if only the two of them were inside, it was the right time to involve the two council members, who had endured enough, in the discussion. Dismiss the awkward atmosphere.

"By the way, I've been thinking for quite some time. I think we should proceed with the wedding as soon as possible. I'm ready."

Jung Ho could not believe his ears. Was he dreaming, or was the Prince drugged or something? Perhaps this was not another scheme, for the recent issue has been settled. His pupils dilated in surprise as he gaped at his nephew. "Are you sure, Your Highness?"

"Yes, Prime Minister. Certainly. Honestly, at first, marrying your daughter, my cousin—never crossed my mind. But then I thought if it would save the kingdom from dire consequences, why would I even hesitate?"

"Good decision, Prince. Good thinking... Wow! I never thought I would say this. You're a step closer to being a true king," gushed Jung Ho.

Dae Wong raised a brow and scoffed at the exhilarated Prime Minister. He did not mean to be a mood spoiler but the night has been too long. The exchange of intense father and son emotions has drained his thinking ability. He interrupted with a bright smile, "Prime Minister, I understand your joy, but could we please talk about this tomorrow? This has been a tiring day for all of us." he turned to the Prince and asked, "You won't change your mind, Prince, will you?"

"Of course not, Lord Dae Wong."

Jae Joong cleared his throat, wishing to end the discussion. "Minister Dae Wong is right. Let's have the discussion tomorrow. You should all go back to your chambers and rest."

The three stood and bowed their heads, leaving the King alone to rest. They went on their separate ways to end the day. However, it seemed like the night would not end yet for Jung Ho. As he was walking down the courtyard, he bumped into Jung Min, who was purposely after him.

"Son, where are you going at this hour? Do you still have work to do?"

"I'm finished. I want to talk to you, Father."

Jung Ho frowned, wondering what the topic could be. "Sure, let's go to my chambers."

~~•~~

Without any hot drinks or whatsoever, just the two of them, in the silent, red-lit room, Jung Min proceeded with his concern. He picked something from his chest pocket and showed it to his father. A brown letter with a minty scent. "You should know. Read it."

Jung Ho squinted in doubt and took the letter. He read the contents briefly, then he scoffed. "I never thought that Queen Songyeon would be this desperate. What? Now she's pleading you to marry her daughter in exchange for some iron. Balhae must be in a state of emergency right now."

"I am aware of the King's decision over this matter so I've thought of passing this to you. Honestly, when I read the letter, I became half-decided of doing what you wanted. I feel bad for those people in need. They don't deserve this."

"That's what I am telling you! You know what I wanted, Jung Min. It's not my decision anymore; it's yours. You marry into their family, and I will handle the iron ores. Simple."

"How are you going to do it? You've said it yourself—the King has a firm decision about that matter. He won't agree with this."

"I think I just found a way," grinned Jung Ho. "I didn't know that two marriages could solve these kinds of problems. Let me handle this... Now all you need to do is to boost your masculinity and prepare for your upcoming wedding."

"I'm warning you, Father. Don't do horrible things. If you do, I won't stand still." glowered Jung Min.

"Easy there. I won't kill anybody. No one will be in danger. Trust your father a little." Jung Ho winked and smirked, staring at his son while thinking of a new plan.

~~•~~

The entire, tiring day ended quickly like a shooting star falling from the sky. Upon the rebirth of the morning sun from the blue mountains, the wind rushing by gently into the lower atmosphere, Jung Ho's energy and excitement has insulated his body from the pinching bites of the early winter wind. He went to visit the Prince's chambers first thing in the morning, instead of having his lone tea party at his gazebo.

Sae Joo accepted his request and permitted his uncle in. He just straightened his shoulder-length hair and his long, white night robe. At the beat of his yawn, he announced, "Let him in!"

The growling of his stomach and the oozing for his morning breath did not stop him from welcoming the groomed Prime Minister. He wondered, Seriously, what time did he wake up? Guess it was true—as humans go to their finish line, the more sensitive they become when it comes to sleeping. People in their early sixties sleep like a rooster.

As the door opened, Jung Ho paced inside and bowed his head at the sleepy Prince. "Good morning, Prince. Did you sleep well?"

Sae Joo scratched his head. "Yes." he yawned and asked, "By the way, Uncle—what can I do for you this morning?" the two sat at the table and continued discussing.

"I have a favor to ask, Your Highness. Oh—no. It's a proposal."

"Proposal?" Sae Joo's sleepy mind got alerted in an instant. Fire ate the wick, and the candle started burning. He crossed his arms and squinted, "Err, what proposal?"

"There's something else that you need to know—about Sae Yoo. Don't misunderstand, Prince. The King tried his best to open his heart to you. At least acknowledge that. He tried to tell you the truth."

"What are you saying, Prime Minister?"

"What I am trying to say is that he didn't lie. Sae Yoo was indeed dead, and that he was your brother. But aren't you curious about how he died and why he had to die? I thought you were good at poetry. Didn't you recognize the way he talked about Sae Yoo?" Imitating Jae Joong's voice and facial expression, Jung Ho made a long face like a true sad person. "He died because of me. He received the punishment that was supposed to be mine.—those words—do you think they're just as simple as that?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, Prime Minister. No matter how hard I try to figure it out, I still won't understand. It was all in the past. I wasn't there when it all happened. The records in the library regarding my birth year is also not accurate. Some details are not present. I used to wonder before, but now I understand. Sae Yoo... it was all because of him. I'm satisfied with that."

Jung Ho pouted his lips and blew a warm air. "Aigoo, what to do? Let's just say, some parts of the bigger puzzle are with me. His Majesty didn't give you a full answer. He didn't tell you the most important thing that would completely shut down all of these. Don't you want the full truth? Absolute peace?"

Sae Joo bit his lips and processed the tempting information. Tired of all the secrets and lies, he wanted to put an end to everything. A period, not a semi-colon. But then again, he had to be careful. He would not allow himself to get tricked again. First, he would listen to the Prime Minister's proposal. Then, the decision could follow.

He leaned forward and asked.

"What do you want from me?" 

__________