Heart of Ice

Hansol

Jun was taken to be treated by some of Galacia's best physicians.

When asked what had happened to him, Yewon lied and said that some masked man had hit him and run away before she had a chance to identify him.

"What about the guard that was with you?" Jihoon asked suspiciously.

"Jun wanted us to be alone, and so the guard was dismissed," Yewon answered Jihoon, but she could tell that Jihoon was not satisfied by that answer.

The Chinese delegation was furious that something like this happened to their prince, and her father was so embarrassed. It was very shameful for Galacia that the Prince of China was attacked within the palace walls while he was coming to consolidate an important alliance.

Whether the attack would have any impact on China's desire to ally with Galacia was still unclear right now. It seemed to depend on whether or not Jun would return to consciousness, and if he would forgive them.

-

Jihoon had, of course, come to speak to her later, alone.

"What happened?" he asked her, as if he thought she somehow trusted him to tell him the truth.

"I told you what happened."

"You expect me to believe that?" Jihoon scoffed.

"Do you think I did that to him? Do I look strong enough to do that to him?"

Jihoon eyed her suspiciously. He could see right through her, and he knew that she was hiding something.

"Mark my words, Yewon: if Jun wakes up and calls off the marriage and the alliance, I will torture your hostage friend before cutting off his limbs until he dies of blood loss..."

"Stop threatening me like that!" Yewon replied close to tears. "Just... stop. This is beyond my control, Jihoon. I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. Just believe me, would you?" A tear streamed down her cheek, which she wiped quickly. She hated showing weakness in front of him. He was her opponent in this game, and she hated to show him that he had any power over her. Sadly though, he did have power over her, especially after she learned that Jun had the intention to marry her sister if she didn't work out. Killing herself was not an option.

She was so overwhelmed by this whole game. There was so much going on, so many interests at work, so much loss at stake. She wished it could just be over so that she didn't have to deal with all of this stress.

Jihoon seemed to soften seeing her cry like that. But he didn't back down or make her feel any better. On the contrary, he made her drown even deeper and stress and sorrow.

"I stand by what I said," Jihoon said stubbornly. "If the marriage doesn't take place, I will have him killed. If you die, or if Jun does, or if Jun calls it off, or if you stubbornly refuse... whatever the circumstance; no marriage, the hostage will die. Just be aware of that before you make your decisions from here on out."

Jihoon stormed out of her room after that. For the first time ever, she felt like she hated her brother.

She hated him so much; she hated what he was putting her through and what he was coercing her to do. She wished she could kill herself to get rid of that overwhelming pressure she was experiencing, but even that wasn't an option for her anymore.

There seemed to be only way forward: marry Jun. Even if that meant war. There was nothing else she could do. She had to yield. She had to give up and let Jihoon have his way. She had to marry Prince Jun.

"I'm sorry," she said out loud through her falling tears, even though there was no one around to hear her. "I'm sorry Seungcheol, Haein, Dino, Soonyoung, Yulhee, Wonwoo... I'm sorry I'm not able to do anything for you." She felt like a traitor; she truly did. She knew they were counting on her, but she was powerless in that moment. She could think of absolutely no other alternative.

Just then, someone knocked on her door. She was crying quite a lot, and didn't want anyone to see her in that pitiful state. So she stayed quiet, hoping whoever it was would just go away.

"Your highness..." came the faint sound of someone familiar. "May I please say something to you? I know you're in there."

"Who is it?" she managed to say, wiping away her tears.

"I'm the guard..."

Yewon finished wiping her eyes and asked him to come in: the handsome young guard with brown hair and pale skin, the one who had hit Prince Jun.

The first thing he did when he entered was get on his knees and bow to her. "I owe my life to you, your highness. Thank you so much for protecting me from the consequences of my assault yesterday..."

"He deserved it," Yewon replied to the guard. "Thank you for doing it."

He stood up from his position and faced her: "I caused you a lot of inconvenience, right? You're lying for my sake..."

"It's okay," Yewon replied reassuringly.

"I was stationed outside your room. I heard what Prince Jihoon said to you. I feel very guilty for making you lie to him and making him threaten you."

"You heard that?"

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping," he bowed quickly. "But I just came to offer you something, just to repay you for not exposing me."

"I don't think I want anything you would have to offer..."

"I can get the hostage out," the guard said quickly. "The hostage Prince Jihoon is threatening to kill. I can get him out for you."

Yewon's face brightened at that. What this guard was offering was a gleam of hope after so much despair. She nodded eagerly: "yes, please. If you can, I will be forever grateful to you."

The guard nodded, "I will your highness. Tomorrow, I am stationed at the dungeons, and I will be tasked with carrying the dead hostages to the graves. Tell me who it is and his name and what he looks like, and I'll carry him out pretending that he died of natural causes..."

"It sounds so risky," Yewon noted.

"I'm willing to take that risk, your highness," the guard replied.

Yewon had learned to not trust people so easily after all the trials and tribulations she experienced. This young man might not be a good person who was genuinely willing to help her. Maybe he would use Wonwoo against her the same way her brother did? Maybe he was a political person, who was interested in power and money? Maybe his attack on Jun was motivated by politics, and not by care for her sister like she had originally thought? All of those considerations ran through her mind as she tried to make the decision to trust him or not.

She realized then that there wasn't any better option at this point. If she chose not to trust him, Wonwoo would still be on the brink of death, and Jihoon would still use him against her. She didn't have much to lose if this guard betrayed her, but she had so much to gain if he didn't.

She told him what Wonwoo looked like, where she saw the first day she went to the dungeons, what his name was, about the scar on his abdomen, and the dried blood on his shoulders. He listened intently, with a sincere expression that gave Yewon hope that maybe, just maybe, she could save at least one life in the midst of this discord.

"I'll try my best, your highness," the guard told her when she finished describing Wonwoo to him.

"Thank you so much," she told him sincerely. "Truly, thank you..." she looked at him inquisitively, as if asking what to call him.

"My name is Hansol, your highness," he answered.

"Thank you, Hansol."