Soyoung's POV

"The king's advisor's clothes and mask fitted me perfectly and to reach the king quickly, it is a great idea to disguise as Eunsang," I was thinking all these as I entered the ballroom. As soon as I reached the room, the guard announced my arrival and soon another guard came and informed me that the king wants to meet 'me' in the corridor.

I made my way towards the corridor and spotted Sian. I went near him and bowed but he quickly grabbed my hand and pinned me against the wall...

As soon as he touched me, he knew that I wasn't Eunsang, "You are not Eunsang!" He frowned.

Sian's POV

"Yes, I am not!" It was a woman's voice. She pushed me away and took off the mask.

"Well....if Eunsang was a woman, then this is exactly how he would have looked.....beautiful! And I must admit that I couldn't recognize that you were not Eunsang but an imposter...." I smirked as she frowned at my words. "But that's not my concern...what I want to know is where is Eunsang? And why are you in his clothes?" I added

"You will not ask who I am? You're straight away asking about your lover..." She said.

My eyes widened, "How do you-"

"How do I know that he is your lover?!" She chuckled, "Let's just say that you both are not good enough at hiding that. The moment I stepped inside the palace, I found your weakness...your Eunsang!" She shrugged.

I chuckled and said, "It is fine if you know my 1 weakness...I know about your 7 weaknesses." I was pleased to see the shock on her face as I continued, "And I know who you are...you are the one I was searching for...you are Seo Soyoung! And let me tell you, you are here because I trapped you to be here...you are not here by your choice." I laughed and her expression darkened.

"The king is indeed intelligent!" She smiled, "And let me tell you, your lover is lying unconscious in his room and if he is not given this antidote within the next 15 minutes, he will die", she showed me a small vial containing the antidote. I clenched my fists as she continued, "Hence, let's come to the point quickly....what. do. you. want?"

I smirked, "You!"

Her eyes widened, "WHAT?!!!"

"I know that you know I need Yin and Yang balance to rule this kingdom and you are the only one that can bring the balance-"

She dared to cut me off again in between as she said, "Ask your would-be-wife to bring that balance and leave me and my family alone!"

Soyoung's POV

"You know it very well that she is useless....only you can bring the balance. I will leave your family alone if you become my queen!" He said it so casually as if asking me to be his partner in a board game."

"I think the king has bad memory....let me remind you that I have 7 soulmates," I glared at him.

"That doesn't mean you can't have one more husband!" He smirked.

His words utterly disgusted me as I replied, "You can kill me but I will never marry you!"

"Nah...I won't kill you...that's no fun! I will kill your 7 husbands, your father, your foster child, master Lee and everyone else who is close to you..."He smiled.

"If you dare to do that I will kill your beloved man!" I smiled.

His expression darkened as he said, "I don't think you understand how grave this situation is that you are in. Hence, let me elaborate on it for you....if anything happens to Eunsang, I will feed your father to my tiger...I will chop Master Lee's body into 1000 pieces and feed them to the vultures...I will starve your foster child to death, and execute everyone dear to you," He bent down a bit to meet my height and continued with a smirk, "And most importantly, I have promised your husbands that my royal army will follow them shortly to aid them in the war...if you do not comply to me, I will not send my army and they will lose the war...you know what will happen then? The barbarians will detach every limb from their bodies and torture them to death....and do you know who will people blame for this massacre?!" He paused to read my expressions. I grabbed the knife underneath the sleeve of my left hand without him noticing.

I clenched my jaw as he continued with a smirk, "You! You will be blamed by the people and they will make sure that you die!"

As I was about to attack him, I realized that I was not being able to move.

"Hmph....you think you are very clever, right?! You are still a novice...your chakras are not aligned well to create a perfect balance among your energies. Hence, even though you have all the energies within you, you can't use your powers to their fullest potential....how sad! Seems like Master didn't teach you well....haha. And you know what?! As someone who is the most experienced in this field, just by looking at the opponent's body language, I know what their next move is going to be!" He smiled

"Unfreeze me right now!" I demanded.

"Give me that antidote first!" He said. Finding myself helpless, I gave him the antidote.

"Good!" He turned around and started to walk away.

"HEY! UNFREEZE ME!"

He turned around and said, "You will be able to move in the next 5 minutes. In the meantime, I will go and save Eun while you must decide if you want to save lives or sacrifice lives.....se you in a few minutes." He winked and left.

As soon as he left, 3 guards approached, "Soyoung!!"

It was Iseul's voice. All the 3 guards revealed their faces and I saw Iseul, Wook, and Seojun.

"Are you all ok?" I asked them.

"That's a very funny question coming from someone who is not ok! I told you not to come here...see what happened!" I could sense the anxiety in Iseul's voice.

"We heard everything that the king said, milady...don't worry...we will find a way out as soon as possible," Wook assured.

"Don't! Sian thinks he is using me but this is what I wanted...." I said.

"You wanted to be the queen? You wanted to be his wife?" Iseul frowned in disgust.

"NO! I want to save this kingdom from this devil. And you need to be evil to wipe the devil out!" I said.

"What do you mean?" Seojun asked.

"I just mean that he doesn't know that he made my work easier. It was evident to me that we can't work against him, he is much more powerful than me and the knights. And if we dare to work against him, the entire kingdom will come to an end. We can't hide forever...hence we have to work with him. I knew all these very well when I came here to meet him...thus I wanted to be in the palace so that it would be easier for me to take him down while working with him...but I just never knew that I would be here as the queen...I did underestimate him a little...." As I finished talking, I could finally move my arms, "But don't worry...I will be the queen, not his wife!" I said while looking at the moon.

"What?!" All three of them were confused.

Iseul took my hands and said, "I don't know what you're thinking but this is self-destruction, Soyoung....you're literally sacrificing yourself."

"If by sacrificing myself, I can save 20 innocent lives....then so be it. We can't hide forever from the king...his cruelty needs to stop, Iseul," I sighed. "Anyways, leave all these. Tell me how did you three sneak into the palace?" I asked.

"As soon as we entered the palace, four guards stopped us. Seojun and I killed them and then the three of us wore their outfits and came here," Wook explained.

.................

3rd person POV

Faraway on the outskirts of a forest,

"The moon looks nice tonight, hyung!" Jeongguk said while lying on the grass.

"It does!" Jimin sighed lying beside Jeongguk.

"What happened, hyung?!" Jeongguk asked.

"I don't know...I just feel like I am going to the battlefield without my soul," Jimin said.

"Pretty sure that's called love!" Jeongguk smirked.

"Shut up, brat!" Jimin rolled his eyes.

"I miss her too, hyung!" Jeongguk sighed, "I hope she is doing well..."

"The camps are ready...tonight we all shall rest here!" Hosung came and informed them.

As Hosung settled down beside them, Jeongguk asked, "How long will it take us to reach the barbarians, hyung?"

"We are just 3 to four hours away from them!" Hosung informed.

"And what about the royal army? They are yet to join us!" Jimin asked.

"We'll wait here for the royal army....the army will leave the capital tonight after the coronation ceremony and shall join us by tomorrow," Yunki came and said.

"So we are staying here till the day after tomorrow?" Hosung asked and Yunki nodded.

"And if the king doesn't send his army?" Namjun, who was building a fire at a distance, asked.

"We will fight against the barbarians alone...we can't defy the royal orders," Yunki said.

"Ugh...I feel like something bad will happen!" Jimin rubbed his temples.

"Everyone, dinner is ready...come and eat!" Jin called them for dinner.

"Come quickly else I will eat everything...I am too hungry and tired!" Taehyun, who was helping Jin with dinner, said.

.......................

At the palace in Eunsang's room,

Eunsang slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on Sian's lap.

"My king?!" He tried to get up but Sian didn't let him.

"Stay like this....you were poisoned...do you remember anything?" Sian asked while caressing his hair.

Eunsang shook his head slowly, "I just remember that I came here to get dressed and now somehow I am waking up on your lap.

Sian kissed his forehead, "It is ok...I will protect you always, my puppy. For a second, I can even give up the spiritual stone but I can't and I will never give up on you...never ever dare to leave me without my permission...am I clear?"

Eunsang chuckled and replied, "Crystal clear!"

"Here...drink some water..." Sian gave him a glass of water.

Eunsang drank the water as Sian asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

Eunsang shook his head no.

Sian looked sad as he asked again, "What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Maybe a kiss can help?" Eunsang pouted.

Sian smiled and kissed his pouty lips, "Did that help?"

Eunsang blushed and nodded, "Yes!"

"Very well...will you be able to join me for the coronation?" Sian asked.

Eunsang's eyes widened and he sat up on the bed, "That means?!"

"Yes...Soyoung fell into the trap and came here...she is the one who poisoned you..." Sian explained.

Eunsang smirked and said, "Congratulations, my king...you won!"

"I will consider it my victory only when I kill that lady Soyoung after I get the spiritual stone," Sian clenched his jaw.

Eunsang caressed his cheek and said, "You will definitely succeed, my king!"

Sian hugged him tightly, "You are my real queen and you shall stay safe and healthy for me."

Eunsang rested his chin on Sian's shoulder and hugged him back, "My life belongs to you and my heart beats for you, my king. As long as you're alive, I will stay next to me with or without this mortal body." He broke the hug and looked at Sian, "Let us waste no more time and go to the ballroom straightaway."

Sian nodded.

.

.

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Soyoung's POV

After about 20 minutes, Sian returned with Eunsang.

"Who are these people?" Sian raised his brow at my 3 companions.

"They are my friends!" I said.

"Since you brought in your friends too, I am guessing that you are finally agreeing to be the queen?!" He smirked, "Eunsang, what do you think about the queen?"

Eunsang looked at me, "Beauty with brains is a deadly trap and I think I was the 1st victim to fall into that trap."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I have some conditions!"

"Your conditions are accepted!" Eunsang said and Sian nodded.

I scoffed and said, "I think you should listen to them first...I want these conditions to be made official with the king's royal seal on it."

"Very well...tell me what your conditions are!" Sian said and I looked at Wook.

Wook bowed and handed Sian a scroll.

"While you were away, I decided to save us the time and hence wrote down my conditions on it. You just have to seal the bond!" I said.

Eunsang took the scroll and read it for Sian, "1st, Seo Soyoung and Choi Sian would be like colleagues and there would be no relationship between them and the king must not interfere in her life and she will not interfere in his!"

Sian, "Accepted!"

Eunsang, "2nd, The king shall never touch the queen and shall respect her. The queen will do the same."

Sian, "Accepted!"

"3rd, The king must promise to never harm the 7 knights, Master Lee, Lord Seo, Cha Donghyung, and other people who are dear to the queen. In return, the queen will not hurt Sir Eunsang and will keep the relationship between the king and his advisor a secret," Eunsang looked at Sian.

Sian nodded with a smirk, "Accepted!"

Eunsang, "4th, The queen's lady-in-waiting would be Miss Iseul," As Eunsang paused, Iseul came forward and bowed, "The queen's bodyguard would be Sir Wook!" Wook came forward and bowed, "And her head eunuch would be Sir Seojun!" Seojun came forward and bowed.

Sian scoffed, "So you are appointing your friends as your subordinates...very well...accepted"

Eunsang, "5th, The queen should be the ruler of the harem."

Sian, "Accepted!"

Eunsang, "That is all, my king!"

Sian said, "Add my conditions to the scroll, Eun!"

Seojun gave Eunsang the pen he was holding.

"1st, The queen will not be allowed to meet the 7 knights in private," Sian said and my eyes widened.

"2nd This is a secret pact and if anyone other than the people present here comes to know about it, then the person to whom the secret is disclosed will die on spot!" Sian said and a thin black smoke started to emit from the scroll, "And this is a curse I am putting on it with my spiritual powers...would you like to see it in action?" Sian asked me with a smirk

Before I could respond, Sian called for a guard, "GUARD! COME HERE AT ONCE!"

Soon a guard came running, "Your Majesty!" He bowed.

"Do you know that this woman will be the queen but I will never touch her...." Sian said and the guard looked confused but soon his face turned red and he was struggling to breathe.

"AHH...AHH....." He collapsed on the ground.

I checked his pulse and he wasn't alive anymore.

Sian winked, "So this would happen if the secret is revealed. Ok, now the 3rd condition...in public, the queen will have to pretend that we are in a good relationship and I shall do the same. And the 4th one is that the queen shall be known by the name of Queen So and she shall not use her full name ever."

Eunsang, "Everything has been written!"

Sian took the scroll and looked at me, "Do you accept my conditions?!"

Iseul whispered, "Don't accept them, Soyoung!"

I clenched my fists and nodded, "Yes!"

Iseul sighed.

"Great! Eun, sign here as the witness!" Sian said and Eunsang signed, "You three shall sign here too...." One by one, all three of them signed.

"Guards! Bring my royal seal and also bring the royal seal of the queen!" He ordered and soon enough a guard brought a dragon seal and a phoenix seal.

Sian stamped the dragon seal on the scroll and gave me the phoenix seal...I stamped the phoenix seal on the scroll.

"If any of the conditions are broken, then the breaker will suffer instant death...that's my 2nd curse upon it!" Sian smirked looking at the scroll as the thin dark smoke around the scroll darkened, "Which means....suppose you are not pretending to be in a good relationship with me in public and you are disrespecting me, you'll die immediately!" He explained.

I rolled my eyes, "You should be the one worrying about not breaking the rules."

"I shall keep this in my room," Ignoring my words, he took the scroll and put it inside his pocket

.

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Yeji's POV

"It has been about an hour since the king has left the ballroom...I can't wait anymore to be coronated...when will he return?!"  I thought to myself and stared at the entrance.

After a few minutes, the guard announced, "ATTENTION EVERYONE! PLEASE GET READY FOR THE CORONATION CEREMONY! MAKE WAY FOR HIS MAJESTY!"

Sian entered the hall followed by Eunsang. He went and sat on the throne as Eunsang stood next to him.

"Everyone, let me introduce you all to the queen!" Sian declared as all the people smiled. I could see people looking at me...finally, it is my moment.

I was about to walk towards the throne when he said, "Please welcome the would-be-queen...Queen So!" He gestured towards the entrance.

Everyone along with me was shocked as a lady walked into the ballroom wearing male clothes.

I could hear people whispering about how beautiful, elegant, and graceful she looked. Their words felt like arrows that were piercing my heart...I couldn't tolerate that woman's existence.

"YOUR MAJESTY, WHO IS SHE?!" I asked.

"She is the queen!" He said.

"BUT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE ME! I WON THE QUEEN SELECTION PROCESS AND SHE DIDN'T! SHE CAN'T JUST COME OUT OF NOWHERE AND TAKE MY PLACE...THIS IS INJUSTICE, YOUR MAJESTY!" I said and some people agreed with me.

King Wang stepped forward and said, "I think, we should put her knowledge to the test!"

"Yes!" I agreed and many other people agreed.

"Ok!" Sian agreed too.

"Lady, tell me what is increased as you share it?!" King Wang asked.

"Knowledge!" She answered without even taking time to think.

Wand, "What is something that is yours but it is used by others more than you?!"

"My name!"

Wand, "What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?"

"Silence!"

Her each answer was making me more anxious.

"I think his majesty has chosen the perfect bride!" King Wang said.

"NO! SHE NEVER COMPETED AGAINST THE OTHERS BUT I HAVE...I HAVE COMPETED AGAINST OTHERS TO BE THE QUEEN! HENCE, THAT POSITION SHOULD BE MINE...ANSWERING SIMPLE QUESTIONS IS NOT ENOUGH TO BE THE QUEEN!" I said.

"I think you are right! I am willing to compete against you if his majesty is willing to give the permission!" The lady said.

"You have my permission!" Sian said.

"I agree to compete against you!" I glared at her.

"Ok! So here's the challenge...There are 2 doors and 2 guards standing next to each of the doors," He pointed at the doors and everyone looked at them...there was a red door and a blue door. "One of the doors leads to my pet tiger and the other one leads to the garden. One of the guards says the truth always and the other one lies always. Each lady will be allowed to ask only one question to either of the guards to find out which door leads to the royal garden." Sian paused and looked at me, "Now which one of you is willing to go first?" He asked.

"If I go first, I will end up becoming the food of Sian's royal tiger...I shall send this lady first so that she dies and I can become the queen!" I thought to myself.

"Yeji, I think you should go first because you wanted justice!" Sian said.

"N-no...I think she should go first because she is the one who wants to compete against me!" I said.

"Very well...I will go first!" She said.

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A/N

Hello~

Sian wants to know if you are pronouncing his and Eunsang's names correctly or not.....

Oh wait.....seems like Ggukie wants to check your pronunciations too. He is wondering if you are pronouncing Soyoung, Iseul, his and his hyungs' names correctly or not.....

OK...bye bye~