A/n: Thank you so much for the reviews, everybody! :DD

(The royal court, Songak)

~Geolha's POV~

Upon my return to the palace, I got off the horse and strode back to Hyunhui Mansion. I was rapturous because of my encounter with Moongeum just now, but I couldn't let it show on my face. Everybody was supposed to be in a gloomy mood in response to the King's frail health. Even if I did not care about His Majesty, I still had to fit in. Just as Moongeum also had to show up at Gameob Temple to make her cover a convincing one.

I was in a very good mood deep inside, but apparently there was this noblewoman who was not at all in a good mood and she did not hesitate to show it. I could hear her loudly reprimanding someone. I followed the source of her sharp and fierce voice and found myself approaching a young lady, perhaps only a year or so older than Hyeong. It was funny that her hanbok was of a bright folly color, because there was no way she could be taken for a fool. How was it that a woman could look so elegant and beautiful even when she was irked and huffing at her inferiors? I stepped closer in amusement and observed her facial features, contorted in ire yet still a complete beauty. Her stare was icy and scary — the maids kneeling at her feet were trembling in fear and kept their heads low. They must have done something very wrong.

The way she stood had contributed greatly to how intimidating she came off as. She stood proud, stretching herself to her full height, although she still didn't feel tall to me. But then again, hardly anybody felt tall to me. Even among men, I stood at 6' 2". Moongeum was a long-legged beauty on the other hand.

Now this noblewoman in my sight. Her hair was not flowing like Moongeum's, nor as long, but that was when I noticed the small tiara resting on her head. Surely, she had to be a Princess. Nobody else would have the right to wear a tiara.

One of the tearful maids begged for mercy, trying to clutch the hem of Her Highness' hanbok. That move did not do the maid any favors. Instead, the Princess flared up and struck the maid across the face. The other maid gasped and was so frightened that she was crying. It was too violent a jerk that caused Her Highness' bracelet to break — the beads, a combination of bistre brown and begonia colors, shattered all around the floor. The Princess rolled her eyes and huffed whilst the maids panicked and began to frantically pick up all of the beads, whilst remaining on their knees. It was no easy job as the beads were rolling further and further away as if they were disobedient and rebellious children scuttling away from their guardians.

"Your Highness," I bowed and stepped forward before she could make more remarks about those poor maids she'd already deemed incompetent.

She noticed me now, and eyed me haughtily even though I didn't do anything wrong. Well, well. She was above everyone after all.

"And who might you be?" She demanded. It looked like her displeasure was not about to be dispelled or erased quickly, although to invoke her fury would be dangerously easy.

"My name is An Geolha, my Princess," I answered, although my name mattered less and my identity and status mattered more. "I am the eldest son of Lord An Yunwoo and Lady Choi."

"Lord Geolha," she uttered, more to herself than addressing me, as if she found the need — or the value in — remembering my name. "You're from the An family. You live at Court then."

"Yes, Your Highness," I nodded. "At Hyunhui Mansion."

In her eyes I saw approval and satisfaction. It was really as if she smiled, if that was even possible since she was in fuming rage just now. She said to me calmly, "I think I saw your lady sister the other day, when the other noblewomen and I were making lanterns for the upcoming exorcism ritual. But I don't think your wives were there, Lord Geolha."

"Ah, yes indeed, my Princess. It's because my wife," I explained, specifying that I only had one wife even though for some reason Her Highness might have expected me to have more, but honestly one was more than enough, especially if it wasn't Moongeum. "Lady Nangyung, passed away recently."

"My condolences, Lord Geolha," she said politely yet stoically. It was one thing for her to say it and another for her to mean it. After all, Nangyung didn't mean anything to me. She shouldn't mean anything to the Princess. "Aside from your lord father's position in the King's council, you are among the Crown Prince's consultants, correct?"

"That is correct, Your Highness."

Her smile was less reluctant now, but no less formal. "I see. It was nice to meet you, Lord Geolha."

"It is my honor to be in your presence, my Princess," I bowed and she took her leave, her maids finally daring to get back on their feet to follow her timidly, the beads of her bracelet in their hands.

I was about to head home too, but once I turned on my heel I realized I had inadvertently kicked something. I crouched and found that it was one of the bistre beads from Her Highness' bracelet, a remnant that must have escaped her maids' notice. I picked it up and sighed. Surely the maids would be admonished once more for this mistake. But it seemed stupid for me to deliberately drop by Yeondeok Palace to return a missing part of an accessory. At the same time it also seemed like a bad idea to ask a maid at home to return this while running errands around Court — I heard that both Lady Hae Soo and her maid got penalized for that as it created a misunderstanding. Again it was Princess Yeonhwa who warranted the punishment. She seemed quite punitive, which made me wonder why she asked for an intellectual equal as her husband, as Crown Prince Mu had told me previously. Was it wise to be so unforgiving and vindictive?

I also remembered that His Highness had mentioned that he was about to recommend me to King Taejo as a suitor of the Princess'. It felt bizarre to me, even though in terms of social standing I would not make a poor match. But I'd already had a wife that I did not like. Even if I were really chosen, among the Princess' other suitors, her cruelty and temperament, as I had just observed, made me realize that she was the last woman in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.

~Jung's POV~

It was evening when I left Hyunhui Mansion. On my way home, I ran into my 4th brother So. He didn't seem to notice me or pay attention to any passersby (as they had all fearfully dodged him) but I approached him anyway.

"Brother, are you feeling well?" I asked.

Did I catch him off guard? He looked a bit surprised. "Why wouldn't I be feeling well, Jung-ah?"

"It's just...we hardly ever see you around. And you seldom show up for rehearsals for the exorcism ceremony," I explained.

"I'm fine," he said curtly and was about to leave. I didn't think he was very good at having conversations but there was something I needed to say to him.

"Wait," I said. "About how Mother and our brother Yo acted toward you a few days ago...I'm really sorry about that."

He remained emotionless. "It's nothing."

"It's not to me. They shouldn't have spoken to you like that. You may have spent a lot of time away from us, but you're still part of our family, and that's no way to treat a family member," I asserted.

He smiled faintly at me. "It's good to see that at least you're not taking after them. But you don't have to be kind to me. I'm more used to it when people aren't nice to me."

That was actually quite sad. I felt so bad for him. "We're brothers. Of course I want to be on good terms with you and make you feel welcomed here," I said apologetically.

"But I'm not welcomed here, isn't that right?" He said acidly.

"Well...it's just...you've been away for a long time. I guess people just need to take time to accept you," I replied. "But they better get used to it, right? Because you're planning to stay, aren't you?"

He was much less reluctant to smile now. Confidently, he declared, "of course I'm staying. I am a Prince of Goryeo. Songak shall be my home."

"Then welcome home, brother," I smiled and patted him on the back.

(Hyunhui Mansion, Songak)

~Hyeong's POV~

Finally today was the day. I was about to go on a date with the 3rd Prince Yo and I hadn't ever even dreamed of it.

"Woljin!" I gushed. "I'm so excited! But I'm also really nervous at the same time." The butterflies in my stomach prevented me from sitting still in front of my vanity mirror, which made it difficult for Woljin to style my hair.

"I can see why you'd feel that way, my Lady. But you needn't worry. Everything will be fine," Woljin said sweetly. "There, you're all set. Are you ready?"

I nodded. We went downstairs and already saw Prince Yo entering through the front gate. As usual he walked in the middle, with a distinct swagger that showed off how manly and confident he was, followed by a handful of servants. His sight landed on me very soon, and didn't leave me ever since. A tingling sensation took over my skin when he set his eyes on me.

I noticed that he had a basket in his hand, so I guessed that meant we would be having a picnic. I bowed at him and so did Woljin but she quickly returned inside.

"I'm so happy to see you, Your Highness," I grinned and the words had escaped my mouth before I knew it. I wasn't sure if I should have said it at all. What if I was taking this date much more seriously than he was? He probably thought it's nothing, but for some reason it meant a lot to me.

"I'm equally delighted, Lady Hyeong," he replied, genuinely sharing the sentiments. "But I'm sorry to let you know that the suspense is no more. I found out what your name is already."

I wasn't too disappointed. "How come, Your Highness?" I asked, and decided to tease. "Is it because you don't think you can overcome this challenge, and resorted to asking Lady Sinye for it instead?"

"I wouldn't give up that easily," he laughed. "I didn't mean to, actually. I learned it by accident. I was with my brothers yesterday afternoon, and we rehearsed for the upcoming exorcism rite. I heard my 9th brother Won chatting about you. I didn't know it was you at first, but when he mentioned that you were the lady standing at his door when we went to Okrin Palace to visit him and his family..."

"I see," I giggled. "It was Prince Won that gave it away then."

"Well, he didn't know about us," Prince Yo replied. "But still...Lady Hyeong, if you don't want this date with me anymore, it's fine."

"No," I said immediately. Too quickly, actually. I chuckled tensely. "I mean, Your Highness has already brought the food and you're here already, so, I figured, why waste it?" I added right away and eyed his basket.

"Hmm, I guess my Lady is merely here for the food and not for my company, then," he tooted playfully, looking away.

"You just like to tease me, don't you, Your Highness?" I pouted and placed my hands on my hips.

He chortled. "Last time I did that, it made you smile. I just thought it'd be nice to see you smile, my Lady, and there's little I wouldn't do to make you smile. After all, you are a beauty."

That made me smile. "Thank you, Your Highness," I beamed. "And I do like being around Your Highness. The food is just a bonus, I assure you."

"In that case, the view of Songak from the peak would be an even more enticing bonus. It'll be a bit of a walk, but it'll be worth it," he said.

A/n: Geolha definitely doesn't like Yeonhwa, and frankly few of us do, but she seems to have taken an interest in him. What is to become of them? :D

P.S. I thought it'd be great to show that Jung does accept So. I already made Yo be mean to So in the previous chapter so here's some love for So. Now it's your turn to show me some love in the reviews below! Haha. :D