His Knight | Taegguk

1| The Fourth Weekly Selection

The repeated tap of knuckles on his door made Jeongguk roll his eyes.

"What is it?" He barked in the direction of the noise.

"Your Highness, the queen has called for another selection this afternoon."

Namjoon, Jeongguk's personal advisor, called through the dark oak wood. Jeongguk lifted his face in exasperation only to smash it into the soft sheets of his bed below him, causing his phone to bounce with the force beside him.

"Again?"

He heard Namjoon chuckle, followed by the sound of his door opening.

Namjoon was the only person in the palace who could open Jeongguk's door without permission and not be met with snapping jaws. They had been good friends for years, which was quite frankly the only reason he got away with it.

"Your Highness-"

"Quit it with the 'Your Highness' crap, Joon," Jeongguk scoffed, sitting up to reveal a good-natured smile.

"If you say so," Namjoon shrugged, "So, rabbit boy, time to go put on fancy clothes and makeup."

Jeongguk landed a punch on Namjoon's arm, only to be met with a flick on his ear.

"Hey, you can't-" Jeongguk whined, only to be cut off by Namjoon.

"But I just did."

"I'm gonna-"

"Are you?"

Jeongguk narrowed his eyes.

"You annoying little-"

"Hey! I'm older than you, you know."

"Yes, you remind me quite often, actually," the prince muttered, giving his advisor a shove.

"Yet you never seem to pay any attention," Namjoon retorted.

"Namjoon, sir?" One of the maids called, peeking her head around the doorframe, "The Queen is wondering where you are."

Namjoon shot Jeongguk an accusing glance before turning back to the maid and replying kindly,

"Could you please tell her I'm retrieving her son?"

The girl nodded and her head disappeared.

"See? You're getting me in trouble with all your horsing around."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go," Jeongguk replied, giving Namjoon a cheeky smile before leading the way out of the room.

***

"Jeongguk, there you are!"

Jeongguk turned towards the soft voice to see his mother hovering in the doorway.

"My Queen," He dipped his head respectfully before giving her a peck on the cheek.

She scoffed at his actions and grabbed his cheeks with both hands.

"Oh, my little boy looks so good! I'm so, so, so-" She squished his face a little more with each 'so', "-proud of you! Are you ready to choose a wife today?"

"Sure thing mum," Jeongguk mumbled through his bunched lips.

"Good, now go out there. We have quite a few beautiful royals waiting for you."

"Let go of his face, dear, you'll suffocate him," King Jeon called from behind them.

"Oh! So sorry," She laughed as she released his now reddened face.

"Alright. It's time to go," The King informed them, giving the prince a pat on the back, "Choose a good one, son."

"Okay, dad," Jeongguk sighed, knowing internally that this selection would end just like all the others.

Stepping out of the palace entrance, he took in the scene around him. The courtyard's outer edges were lined with people from all over the kingdom who had come to witness the selection. The prince noticed that with each selection held, the number of spectators decreased. In the center was a line of eight women in elegant silk dresses and fancy hairstyles.

Jeongguk admitted that they were all stunning, beautiful women. He would absolutely love to be married to someone as pretty as any of them, except for one thing- he didn't like girls. He was yet to break this news to his parents, though. He wasn't sure how they would take it.

"Greetings, my subjects," The King's voice rang through the courtyard, "We are gathered here today to - hopefully - witness my son select his queen."

The King then began to go through the girls one by one, giving their names, nationality, and a short brief of their personality and leadership traits. Jeongguk zoned out. When he came back to reality, his father was finishing up his brief on the last woman.

"So, my son, do any of these women satisfy you?"

Jeongguk looked them over one last time, pretending to think about it. Again, they were all beautiful, but he felt no attraction. They were like flowers- lovely, stunning even, but not in a romantic way.

"While they are all beautiful and unique, I'm afraid I will not take any of them as my wife."

The crowd sighed in disappointment and the women's expressionless faces each changed slightly. A few of them seemed offended, others saddened.

With that, the ceremony was over. The crowd dispersed and the women were escorted out of the courtyard by guards. Jeongguk ran his fingers through his hair, rubbed his eyes, and turned away. As he retreated into the palace, he heard his mother's soft voice from around a corner.

"I'm just afraid he'll never find a queen. What then? He can't possibly run the kingdom by himself. And how will he produce an heir?"

"My Queen," the reassuring voice of Queen Jeon's advisor replied, "I'm sure he will find a match eventually."

"But when? He turned nineteen over a month ago; we've been trying for nearly a year. We must have presented him with half the royal women in the nation by now!"

"It takes patience, your Highness," The Queen's advisor reminded her, "Don't fret over it."

"I suppose," she murmured.

Jeongguk turned on his heel, heading in a different direction.

"If only you knew, mother," He whispered to himself.