Heart of Ice

Hunt

People did not react too kindly when Seungcheol told the officials that he planned to surrender. The King was completely against the idea as well, but Seungcheol pushed for it with determination, and only because that was what Yewon decided.

He stood by what she decided without question or hesitation, completely trusting her and depending on her insight.

To officially surrender would mean that Galacia would win the war but with no more casualties. It would mean that Galacia would practically take control of Solen, and the royal family would potentially fall depending on the capitulation settlement.

That was why Yewon pushed for it. She wanted no more death, no more suffering and she thought that Solen losing its capacity as a country was worth it. Her association with Galacia had no influence at all on her decision; she truly thought that surrendering would yield the optimal result.

But the more that Yewon listened to others debate and argue the decision by which Seungcheol stood, the more she began to waver.

"What if Galacia enslaves Solenese citizens when they take over?"

"Surrender is a sign of weakness, and the enemy will attack regardless of whether we surrender or not."

"If we surrender, our royal family will be publicly hung to make statement that Galacia had taken control. It happens whenever a country wins the war without a settlement."

There were so many other what-if scenarios that she began to consider. There was so much risk with surrendering, and Yewon couldn't know if her father would choose the route of death and enslavement for the enemy. She wished she could feel assured that her father was too good a man for that, but she was not certain at all.

But regardless of everything, Seungcheol remained with the decision to surrender. He pushed for it in all the meetings and court orders. Yewon attended some, and she witnessed people practically yell at him and beg him to reconsider. People suddenly lost trust in him, and she even heard rumors that some were planning to overthrow him as the heir because "he is making the stupidest choices for the country."

Even Wonwoo, who had always been for peace and ending the war, opposed the idea to surrender. He fought with Seungcheol about it, telling him to stop being such a coward and change his mind, but Seungcheol did not.

"It's ridiculous, Yewon!" Wonwoo told her when she visited him. "Surrendering isn't going to help anyone!"

Wonwoo was unaware that Seungcheol did not make that decision out of his own accord; he did not know that Yewon was the only reason Seungcheol stuck to it. Seungcheol passed it off as his own chosen course of action, choosing not to implicate her at all within all this so that she would not be a target.

"By surrendering, we're only telling the enemy they can do whatever they want with us. They're going to hunt us down if we do!" Wonwoo told her when she asked why it was such a bad idea. "That's not how we ensure peace, that's how we ensure oppression. I've read more than enough history books to know that any country who surrenders in a long war suffers."

"Then what would you do in his place?" Yewon asked, feeling less and less confident about surrendering the more she spoke to people about it.

"I would propose a settlement, and I would at least have defensive forces to fight and protect our people from raids. There's actually an opening from the East through which the enemy can easily infiltrate, and if they do, all our cities will be under attack. I would fortify that opening and... I don't know what else I would do, but I will make the cowardly decision to surrender..."