(Assembly Chamber, Cheondeok Hall, Songak)

~So's POV~

"So-ya," said the King. His tone wasn't the usual regal one. There was maybe a tiny tinge of warmth on his voice, perhaps even rue. "How have you been doing in Shinju under the care of the Kang clan?"

'Care'? I only suppressed the urge to snort because I was in His Majesty's presence. What the Kang family had for me was complete apathy, but since the King was determined to turn a blind eye to their abuse of me, I might as well play along.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's grace, I have been doing well," I answered smoothly. I simply needed to tell him what he wanted to hear. It didn't really matter how much of it was true. It was already very nice that he had deigned to meet with me upon my return to his Court. After all, he could've ignored me, as would any father with a son like me.

"That is satisfactory. You are 18 this year, aren't you, So-ya?" He asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then, it is time for you to take a wife and carry out your responsibility as a member of royalty," he announced. "You are of a suitable age to start your own family as some of my other sons already have."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I don't think that should be my priority at the moment," I replied boldly yet with certainty.

"Is that so? Tell me what gives you that idea," he said, more intrigued than displeased.

"In my studies, I've come across an old saying, Your Majesty: if you wish to let your virtue be known to the world, you must first rule your nation. If you wish to rule your nation, you must first rule your family. If you wish to rule your family, you must first rule yourself. If you wish to rule yourself, you must first rule your heart," I explained. "I am a Prince of Goryeo, so I must be virtuous and set a good example for the people of Goryeo. This is my duty as Your Majesty's son, the son of the dragon," I said. Although I'd never been treated as such, as I spoke the words, a sense of pride was stirred up in me and made me feel like I was on top of the world. "To do that, I need to rule my heart and myself first, before I can get married and start my own family."

The King looked at me in fascination. He was just as surprised as he was impressed by what came out of my mouth. "So-ya," he said, in sincere satisfaction, "you have matured a lot. You're almost as wise as the Crown Prince now," he even added humorously.

"There is still a lot I have to learn before I can be worthy of Your Majesty's praise. I am nowhere as erudite as His Highness the Crown Prince," I said humbly.

"Then go ahead and learn what you might, So-ya. I give you my permission to meet with Mu and his circle of consultants. It is my hope that you can make me proud," he replied earnestly. Perhaps for once, I brought him pride, not shame.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I bowed.

(Heunghwa Palace, Songak)

~Chronicler's POV~

Heunghwa Palace was the residence of the 30-year-old Crown Prince Mu, shared with his several wives and 5 children. Usually he would be present when his royal father, King Taejo, held court and met with his advisors every morning. After that session, he'd go home and continue handling the administrative tasks that he was entrusted with. There were a lot, as he was his father's firstborn, favorite son, as well as the future King. To aid the Crown Prince with his work, the King had arranged for a team of accomplished scholars and councilors to be Mu's consultants. Among this professional team, and within Mu's very own circle of close friends, was An Geolha, the eldest son of Lord An, who was one of the most high-ranking officials at the court of Goryeo, right next to the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. Although Mu and Geolha were 7 years apart, they were very good friends. There was little gap in their maturity, and Geolha was very much able to assist Mu with his work. This was one of the reasons why the An family was very much in royal favor.

Today, the King was taking a break from work and did not call a meeting. This meant that the Crown Prince's consultants did not need to meet with His Highness at Heunghwa Palace either. And yet Geolha, on his own, showed up.

"Your Highness," Geolha bowed. "I understand today will not be a workday. I hope I am not a bother."

The Crown Prince smiled. "Not at all. Today we can drink and enjoy poetry instead of discuss politics then."

Mu knew Geolha to be a man who'd most frequently opt for poetry as a means to convey his thoughts. He'd always been fond of literature, and lucky for him, and literati all over Goryeo, their King Taejo valued the development of the arts too. He was a patron of the arts, and set up a department at the royal court, called the Ministry of Arts and Humanities, for scholars to gather and publish books and poems, for musicians to compose tunes and perform them with pride, and for artists to paint pictures of the prosperity of Goryeo for the world to see.

"Are you sure you'd really rather be here than with your family on a day off?" asked Mu as a maid poured tea for them.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be, Your Highness," Geolha answered plainly.

"What about your wife? How is she?"

Geolha shrugged and pursed his lips.

"Isn't she going to give birth soon? You should be by her side more often."

"Yes, Your Highness," Geolha merely uttered reluctantly.

"Is it a son or a daughter that you're more looking forward to?"

"I don't really have a preference, Your Highness," Geolha replied monotonously, moving his lips as little as possible. All this talk about his wife wasn't even worth his energy, although he wasn't annoyed that Mu was choosing to talk about this. The Prince was merely being a kind and caring person and friend as usual.

Mu sighed. He knew that from his friend's response, not really having a preference just meant that he didn't give a damn about the gender of the baby or the baby at all, not because he was equally excited to have a son or a daughter. "You sound very unwilling. What is it that Lady Nangyung has done to offend you?"

"Nothing, Your Highness," Geolha said nonchalantly. "Her only crime is that she is not the woman I love."

Mu felt bad for Geolha, knowing exactly whom he was talking about. "Geolha, you must let her go."

It was Geolha's turn to sigh. "Even if that were a royal edict, I wouldn't be able to do that."

"It's been a year already since Lady Moongeum married my royal father. Does it still agonize you so?" Mu asked pitifully.

Geolha looked up at Mu in dolor. He dropped his flippant attitude and now sounded more serious. "Not a day goes by that I'm not reminded that she's the King's concubine, and now goes by Lady Dongsanwon."

"But you must forget her and move on. You have a wife now and no matter how much you loved her, she's my father's concubine now and the marriage was necessary to keep her family — the Park family — loyal to His Majesty. Even though neither she nor you seemed to want this marriage, you do realize what purpose it serves, don't you?" Mu, being groomed to be King, thought in ways alike his father, although the Crown Prince had a much gentler nature. Perhaps he would be less inclined to make as many marriages as he could for the sake of securing the fealty of each aristocratic family, but he completely understood why his father the King had to do it.

"I know," said Geolha curtly. "I don't get to see her, or talk to her, or interact with her in whatever way. That feeling of being completely cut off from the person you love the most — that is something Your Highness does not have the misfortune of having to feel and understand."

"All of us have our misfortunes and our loved ones. All the more reason to stay strong," said Mu slightly lamentingly. "I have no doubt you remain frustrated, but that is no reason to take it out on your wife or anyone who is not responsible for your sorrows."

"I suppose then the only way I will be allowed to channel my emotions is into poetry," said Geolha, staring at the blank parchment in front of him. Picking up his writing brush and dipping it into the inkstone, he penned a most tear-jerking yet beautiful poem, with his lady love in mind. And at the end he signed it with his pen name, Yoon Tae, to conceal his identity. Later this afternoon, he'd stop by the Ministry of Arts and Humanities, and smuggle this into the stack of poems that was ready to be published. And then they would be circulated around Court to establish, cultivate and spread a scholarly culture. Surely this would mean that his poem could get into the hands of his beloved Park Moongeum — oops, Lady Dongsanwon that was — and then she would continue to feel the depth of his love for her. And her unfailing reciprocation would be made known to him somehow.

Geolha and his Moongeum were not too young to know that it was treason when a King's concubine committed adultery, and it was punishable by death, but only if they got caught. And if they had to die, then die they would. But first, they'd live. And they'd love.

(Hyunhui Mansion, Songak)

~Hyeong's POV~

I ranted throughout my lunch with my sister in law, Lady Nangyung. I was so angry at my own brother that even though my favorite dish was served today, I could not taste anything.

"Great. He's done it again. Insisting on going to 'work' even though not even the King's Majesty was at work today. That's low of him. There's no length he wouldn't go to just to humiliate you. It's not the first time he's done this. I'm so disappointed in him and he knows it upsets you; why would he continue to abandon you like that?! How could he?! Does he not care that it's his child that you're carrying? Has it ever occurred to him that he ought to spend more time taking care of you? Maybe that it's his responsibility too to look after you rather than just leave it all to your attendants? Could he just for once step up as a man?! Ugh."

"Lord Geolha is not to blame," said Nangyung sadly yet calmly. It was obvious to me that she'd already come to terms with the fact that she could never have her husband's heart, which made me even angrier. "His Lordship does not love me, and has no desire to be with me at all. It was our parents who arranged for us to marry. We were merely fulfilling our responsibility to our families, to be joined in matrimony and carry on the bloodline. I think we're doing that well," she patted her swollen belly gently.

I groaned. "See? You've been married to my idiot of a brother for almost a year now and yet you still refer to him as 'Lord Geolha'."

"It's polite," Nangyung insisted.

"It's distant," I emphasized. "My parents would never address each other like that. It ought to be more...familiar, intimate...between couples."

"It's ever so rare that couples in arranged marriages can learn to love each other, and with a passion," Nangyung said quietly. "Your lord father and lady mother are the envy of many people."

And yet, how come my parents had no qualms about putting their son in a marriage that was convenient and beneficial, yes, but with somebody that he could not love? It was not unbeknownst to me that he was hung up on this other noblewoman, Park Moongeum, who was now the King's newest addition to his harem, and the eldest daughter of the Vice-Chancellor, Minister Park Younggyu. It really looked, to me, as if happiness in marriage was entirely a matter of chance. The King had 29 women altogether, and that was probably a record, but was he truly happy in these marriages? Was he in love?

"Still, I sure hope my parents will arrange for me to wed somebody that could love me, and I could love in return," I said solemnly.

"You seem very close to the 9th Prince Won," Nangyung replied, as if implicitly questioning if I had ever considered requesting a match between myself and Prince Won.

"Yes, we're best friends, although at times I can't stand him at all. His Highness can be so annoying sometimes! Although I'm kind of used to it. We grew up around each other, after all, because our mothers were close."

"Your family is on a high enough station to obtain the King's blessing and approval of a marriage between you and one of the Princes," she pointed out. "Wouldn't that mean a good marriage for you? Is that not a very socially desirable match?"

"Well…" I bit my lip in hesitation. "I suppose it does sound very attractive to be married to a Prince...but I'm not sure. I don't really know the personalities of the other princes that well, apart from the 9th Prince Won and the 13th Prince Baekah, since I spend more time with their Highnesses."

Speaking of Prince Baekah, I was actually set to spend this afternoon with him. He absolutely loved drawing. From painting to sketching to doodling, he just had a passion for it and I had to admit he was exceedingly talented at it. I was interested in it too but I was nowhere as good as he was at it. I could only learn from him.

At Nangyung's insistence that she wouldn't feel too lonely without anyone to accompany her for the rest of the afternoon, I left home and went to Yeondeok Palace, which was the home of the 8th Prince Wook and his wife, Lady Myunghee. Lady Myunghee and Prince Baekah had been good friends for a while now and they shared the same interests in literature and music and visual arts. This was why they did spend time together regularly and I was honored that they were inviting me to join them. I thought I could learn a lot from them and make my life more interesting too.

A/n: Yes, there'll be more Baekah in the next chapter! But don't let Geolha's pen name, Yoon Tae, escape your memory. Please review! :P