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Jeongguk took another sip of the tea. He isn't really fond of it but something about the tea here just hits different. It tastes so warm and nice. Sitting outside in the garden, filled with all these beautiful flowers all around them. The weather was perfect too, it was breezy with the wind blowing his hair.

He was sitting with the two siblings on the small round table. He was facing the princess with Taehyung on his left side. All of them were taking small sips of the tea before starting any conversation as they just arrived from the breakfast.

"Once again I'm sorry for intruding on your bonding time like this, I didn't want to but my father said I should accompany in the first meeting at least as my unmarried sister sitting with an unknown man for a tea isn't proper in his eyes." Taehyung gave his reasoning why he was here.

It sounded genuine because Taehyung did look a little uncomfortable to be here. He did notice the princess glaring at her brother for some reason. "I was wondering this before too, your father seems rather…more comfortable with the older traditions because I mean if all goes well, this woman would be my Queen. So I am not really an unknown man." Jeongguk shared his thoughts.

"I agree, I brought up the same fact to him but…let's just say he doesn't like being told to change his ways. We like to embrace our traditions. "

"You can still go, who would tell father you didn't come here? I'll will tell him you came." Princess Iseul said to her brother as he raised his eyebrow.  Taehyung chuckled and shook his head.

"You know I was thinking that but now that you want me to go, I don't want to. Besides I also want to know who the man you would be marrying is, Crown Prince or not. So Prince Jeongguk please tell us about yourself."

"Hm, well you guys know who I am. I am 28 years old-"

"We are the same age!" Taehyung said to him and Jeongguk nodded.

"We are, should we drop formalities then?"

"Oh no I can't do that, you are still the Crown Prince so being informal with you sounds unsettling. Please continue. I apologize for interrupting."

"I don't mind you being informal with me. It's okay for both. Back to what I was saying, I am good at physical things more than scientific ones, I have nothing to prove that because I have actually never been to a battle or even the atrocious war that happened in previous decade, it's just practice with our general. He says I will be a better warrior than my father one day."

"Wait, so you have never been to battles either,I thought the Crown Prince's go to that?" Princess asked him.

"They do but my father didn't let me. He didn't want to lose his heir before he could even step down. I received all kinds of training in Palace so I never had to go out to actual ones to get that. I once even beat my own father in a swordship battle." Jeongguk shared with the two siblings who were impressed by his skills. His father is known to be a great warrior so that is definitely something to brag about.

"You must be really skilled then, I want to see you fight now. We should do it sometime." Taehyung suggested it to the man,who was intrigued by the idea.

"Let's make a plan for that too. What about you have you been to war? you are the Crown Prince of Arothia too." Jeongguk asked Taehyung, he noticed how the boy shifted at the question.

"Yeah…I haven't been to one either. Unlike Elestial, Arothia isn't known for going to wars and all that, we are rather a smaller kingdom and we try to avoid getting into battles which is why when Xethens invaded our kingdom, it really scared us that we presented this proposal to you. Like you, I have trained underneath these walls too."

"Oh, I haven't really gotten the details of what Xethen has done to your kingdom, would you please elaborate?"

"Well they kidnapped and tortured our people, Lit many villages on fire,burning all the crops and livelihood of people. They were even able to send a spy inside the Palace, thankfully the guards caught him before he could harm the King or us. Which is why we have double the amount of guards everywhere now. If you accept this proposal and back us up, Xethens would be more cautious coming  for us again." Taehyung gave him the details, Jeongguk nodded, it was definitely hard to take in.

"That's harsh, I'm sorry your kingdom is going through all that. I too hope this proposal goes well. You know a lot about your kingdom affairs and have a lot of information,that's an admirable thing for a prince to keep record of so early."

"I'll try my best." Taehyung smiled at the Crown Prince, who gave him a smile back. They had a moment of their own before the Princess taped the spoon on her glass to get their attention.

"So Prince, When do you plan to get crowned? It might be soon now that you are here for me." The princess had this smile on her face that wasn't as lovely as Taehyung's.

"Yes, it will be soon but I want to get married before I get crowned the King. There's a lot that goes into that and I want to be fully ready for that. Which is why we should talk less about wars and more about you, I did my part now tell me about yourself."

"I was waiting for you to ask. My name is Iseul, you can call me whatever you like I don't mind. Unlike both of you, I was raised to be prim and proper, I haven't even talked in a loud voice for years now. I have also never been outside of the Palace,these walls are all I have known for the past 25 years. All of my friends got married right after they turned 20 but I am still single. So you accepting to come is a blessing for not only the kingdom but me too. When it comes to hobbies, I am very interested in Baking and Painting, these are my favorite past time activities."

"That's lovely, you would get along with Jimin, he also loves baking."

"Jimin?" She asked him.

"My friend, who came along with me. He knows a lot about baking so you should talk with him if you have problems. Besides that, I would love to taste something you made. Please remember me the next time you bake something." Jeongguk shared with her and she nodded eagerly.

"Oh I would make something special for you soon,Prince. I also have another question for you."

"Go ahead, ask me anything. Let's ask each other different questions we have. Taehyung, why don't you join us too,since you are here too." Jeongguk suggested and Taehyung sat up straight. "Sure, why not. OK, Iseul ask."

"So..uh" She was hesitating, playing with her fingers. "Have you ever been with..other women before me..?" She managed to ask, he chuckled at how shy she was while asking that.

"Romantically?" He asked her and she nodded. "No I have not, I will be honest with you. Romantic love isn't something that has ever really intrigued me so no I haven't been in relationships with other women."

"What about..p-physically? like concubines." She stuttered,stumbling over her words, Jeongguk found it cute.

"Yes, I have been involved with women like that. I have urges that can't be satisfied with my hand only, If you know what I mean." Jeongguk said,spreading his legs only for them to meet with Taehyung's.

He looked at Taehyung who was looking back at him. The tension around them thickened as the eye contact got darker. There were many unresolved sayings behind those eyes. He smirked at the boy, their legs meeting after that conversation was definitely interesting.

He noticed how Princess wasn't the only one blushing but Taehyung was too. He chuckled at the reaction. This is so much more fun than he thought.

"Does that bother you?" He asked the princess again.

"No,it was before me that's not something I can change but will it continue if we get…married?" Iseul questioned him again.

"If you don't want it to then it won't. If we get married you would become my number one priority beside my kingdom so you won't need to worry about that."

"Thank you so much."

"What are you thanking me for? it's the least I can do."

"It's because our father was never loyal to mother like that." Taehyung spoke up instead of his stuttering sister. "Most Kings aren't, as their harem is always one of the most visited places in their Palace. So you saying you won't do that for my sister means a lot,my prince."

"You are right but I'm not like the other kings. What about you? have you been with other men?" Jeongguk asked her and she immediately shook her head with wide eyes.

"N-no,Prince Jeongguk. I wouldn't even dare to look at another man who isn't my husband in that way. Both,physically and mentally. It's not how I was raised." Iseul came to her defense and it made sense.

The way she stuttered and blushing over the thought of Jeongguk with concubines it was obvious she hasn't been with anyone like that. Also with her father being so strict with her, he wonders how much of his mind he would lose if he finds out his daughter got involved like that.

"I expected that. What about you Taehyung-sshi? have you been with anyone or are rules as strict for both of you?"

"Unfortunately the rules are the same for me but unlike her I like to take risks so you can say I have had some moments of my own." Taehyung shrugged and Jeongguk raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"Moments ha? That's interesting. It's your turn, do you have questions for me or your sister?"

"Yes, I want to ask how serious you are with my sister? you keep saying you would see If you would accept the proposal or not but our kingdom is falling apart we don't have time to 'see' If you are not even serious about her." Taehyung asked a question even Iseul was on board with.

"I am very serious about her, Prince Taehyung. I am not here to play games but actually look for the future Queen of Elestial. I know being in your place must be hard but I just got here and I don't want to rush into anything. Today has gone great, Princess is nice to be around, I think if we keep getting to know each other more, you will hear good news soon so don't worry too much." Jeongguk answered him honestly.

"Good to know, I'm sorry if I came off strong. I am just worried about Arothia and its people. Xethens are very dangerous, we don't even know when they will attack us again."

"I know it must be hard but if it helps,I will ask my father to send some soldiers from our kingdom here for you and your people's protection."

"Oh you don't have to-" Taehyung was cut off by Jeongguk.

"Please, it's the least I can do while putting you all to test."

"Fine, that would help us a lot, thank you."

Jeongguk doesn't know how he always ends up running into different scenes. Running into this man, who has seen twice now yet he has no idea who it is. He was once again at the end of the hallway, looking at the two men standing at the opposite end, talking about something that wasn't audible to Jeongguk.

Instead of Jimin,it was now Prince Taehyung who was now talking with the same short guy with a poker face. Though Taehyung had a smile on his face and he was laughing around with the man, they seemed really close.

The way Taehyung smiled with that guy was so different from the smile he had with him. It's so…genuine. This guy must be someone who means a lot to Taehyung, probably really good friends,something like him and Jimin he supposes. He wanted to get a bit closer to them but they would see him coming and eavesdropping wouldn't look good next to his name.

So he sighed, deciding to drop it and walk towards his room in the opposite direction. He always takes a walk around the Palace before going to sleep,it's part of his night routine and helps him clear his mind before he heads to sleep. Though a clear mind isn't in his fate tonight.

Jeongguk can't help but be curious about Taehyung and his relationship with that man who he was grinning so widely with. It bothered him for some unknown reason; he couldn't understand why there was this anxious feeling inside his chest. There's something really strange about this Palace.

That night he went to sleep really late at night.

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