(Yeondeok Palace, Songak)

~Yeonhwa's POV~

Although Lord Geolha's priorities were messed up, there were several things that he could offer. But in order to see if I ought to keep him or get rid of him, I needed to know him on a personal level. Both my mother and Wook seemed to quite approve of him, but they were not the ones in a courtship with him. I needed to see for myself. I needed clarity. If he was going to be sticking around for a while, I better find out what he was good at to see how he could be of use to me.

After lunch, I figured that an interesting test of his personality was to see how he reacted to boredom. Having made up my mind, I sent Chaeryung to Hyunhui Mansion to invite him over to Yeondeok Palace. I left orders for him to stay in the library at Yeondeok Palace for the rest of today — he was not to leave unless I permitted it. In the meantime, however, I would not be at home. Rather, I would be spending the afternoon with my mother the Queen at Myungbok Palace.

Quite a few hours had passed when I finally returned to my residence. I stepped into the library quietly and I found that Lord Geolha had fallen asleep in the midst of reading. I decided to take a look at what books he had chosen. That would tell me a few things about what kind of a person he was.

Before I could even sit down in front of him, however, he stirred, and I thought he was going to wake up, but he didn't, and only made a small grunt. I ignored it and reached for the book that was about to fall off the corner of the table, but my fingertips barely even touched the spine of the book when he grunted again. I frowned and leaned closer. Another grunt. Was he a sleeptalker? Maybe he'd sleepwalk too.

I was about to recline, but then his next grunt got louder and I could make out something that sounded like "pin…s".

The rest I couldn't catch, so I scooted closer to him. Yet, rather than paying full attention to what he was mumbling, I was focusing on his face and my gaze lingered over his features. His hair for some reason looked like it'd feel soft, but of course I'd never find out.

I'd never looked at him from this angle before...no wonder I'd never found his small face to be sweet. It reminded me of the last time he came over and blatantly, shamelessly proclaimed that he was good-looking. Even now just thinking of it could make me want to roll my eyes. But now that he wasn't saying or doing anything stupid, he actually wasn't that bad!

I never thought I would think this, but his eyelashes were nice, and he looked every bit an innocent child in his sleeping form. And yet his prominent nose made him look handsome and strong and manly. Wow, where were these mixed feelings coming from?

"P…prin..."

Ah, right. I was supposed to be deciphering his mumbles, not checking him out. Readjusting my attention, I waited for him to grunt again and this time, what he was mumbling didn't sound so indistinct. He uttered it over and over again.

"...n...ncess…sss"

Come again?

"...Prin...cess…"

Princess? That meant...me, right?

A sharp thud made me jump. The book had fallen off the corner of the desk, which caused Lord Geolha to bolt upright, awake. He crouched to pick it up, then stood and bowed at me lazily, still yawning. I could see that he was really pissed off that I was wasting his time like this, but I didn't care.

"Take a seat, my Lord," I commanded as I did what I did best — plastering a smile on my face and honey my tone. "We're going to talk."

He did as he was told. "What a pleasure that Your Highness has finally deigned to grace me with your presence. I thought I would wither away here and never get to see you," he said absentmindedly, stretching his arms. "I must also thank you for waking me from that awful nightmare I was stuck in."

Quite a querulous lad, this one. I wondered what I (or any other Princess, whatever) had to do with this bad dream he had.

Anyway, I sat down comfortably and glanced at the cover of the book in my hand which read 'Nyeo Cheuk'. It was a volume of a 30-installment series penned by Empress Jangson of the Tang Dynasty of China. She compiled the most outstanding achievements of the most distinguished women throughout history, and therefore produced this series of books. She read them often to caution herself. I couldn't think of a reason why Lord Geolha would be interested in reading this, but this mystery was interesting to me.

"Do share with me, Lord Geolha," I began. "Why did you choose this to read while I was out?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "You tell me, Princess. I only picked this because you were reading it."

"Me? What made you think I would be interested in this, out of the hundreds of books here?" I asked curiously rather than demanding it. I didn't outright confirm that he was correct, but I did want to know how he knew it.

"Your Highness left instructions that I could read any book here as long as I wouldn't step outside the library. I was just standing by the bookshelf over there," he pointed to the other side of the room. "The books on that row are covered with dust. Clearly Your Highness doesn't tend to read those a lot. However it was this 'Nyeo Cheuk' in particular that didn't have a dusty cover. I figured it must mean you picked it up more often than you did other books. There's even a bookmark somewhere, a petal. That's how I know you've been reading it. I just don't know why."

I wasn't displeased that he'd learned this about me. In fact I even allowed myself a faint degree of sincerity in my smile. It was at least nice to see that he was clever enough to notice and to be able to deduce things like this. I did need an intellectual equal as my companion, especially now that Wook was away.

"The author's husband, Empress Taejong of Tang, praised this book series as one that could teach a woman how to be the consort of a monarch," I stated. I was a woman with ambition and high hopes and dreams for myself. Perhaps his brains would come in handy, and I could find an ally in someone this intelligent, if he could appreciate my determination and cooperate with me.

"Do you want to be a Queen?" He asked neutrally, adopting a tone no different than how he would ask unimportant questions like 'what's for dinner tonight?'.

"No. I want to be the Queen," I answered seriously. "There are whispers among courtiers that I am considered the best candidate for the future Queen of Goryeo. I am going to make that happen. And you, Lord Geolha, are going to help me with that."

"Why would I ever want to do that, Your Highness?" He inquired, this time giving me a frown. "I don't think that's what your father the King had in mind when His Majesty arranged for me to court you, my Princess."

"Then what," I asked dully. "Do you suppose the King's Majesty would have wanted?"

"Certainly for us to spend time together, getting to know each other, rather than one of us sitting in a library for hours and the other somewhere else," he uttered mordantly.

"Well, I'm glad we are able to communicate our dissatisfactions with each other in such a civil manner," I said calmly, resting my chin on my palm. I decided it might be more interesting if I could do something to turn our displeasure into something more constructive, reminding myself that a queen would always listen to her people, even when they were discontent. "Since you believe we should be developing a better understanding of each other, we can do exactly that. Now that you know why I was reading 'Nyeo Cheuk', it's your turn to tell me why you were reading that," I eyed the book that he had fallen asleep on.

"The newest publication from the Ministry of Arts and Humanities. I like poems and literature," he replied curtly. "Not like Your Highness is ever the type to be interested."

He was so wrong. I grew up with a mother and a brother and a sister-in-law who all loved poetry, and he thought I couldn't care less?

"Who's your favorite poet?" I inquired.

He laughed. It sounded nothing like my usual laughter, which meant he had to be earnest in his mirth. It seemed this topic was something that could truly fascinate him. "I'm not sure if Your Highness has ever heard of him before — he's called Yoon Tae."

I chuckled, partly in amusement and partly in belittlement. "I've heard of Yoon Tae. Read a handful of his poems. Which aren't even that good, but, of course he's your favorite poet. He's a lovesick fool who only ever writes about romance. I hate the way he glorifies his lady love. I feel like he only loves her because she's unattainable."

He wasn't at all offended. "But you'd like to be praised and worshipped by a lover as such, wouldn't you, Princess?"

"Don't be stupid," I snorted. "I don't care about praise, or worship, or having a lover."

"Right, because power is your one true love, isn't it, Your Highness?" He folded his arms, putting on his flippant attitude.

"If you want to put it that way, sure. But like I said, you're going to help me," I said assertively.

"Why should I, Princess?" He challenged, then shook his head. "I serve the Crown Prince Mu and no one else, Your Highness."

I sneered at him upon his rejection. I was hoping he'd know better than to follow and root for somebody as weak as the Crown Prince. Unfortunately he didn't see it the way I did.

"Then that steadfast loyalty will be your undoing, Lord Geolha," I said ominously, and stood to dismiss him. "That will be all for today. You may go."

(Howon Palace, Songak)

~Jung's POV~

My 10th brother came over to my residence this afternoon. I was in a good mood and agreed to share with him the custard tarts that Hyeong-ie had delivered to me earlier today. He wasn't in as good a mood as I was, but this was nothing a custard tart couldn't fix.

"Ah, that's so nice, Jung. I wonder if my future wife would make tarts and stuff for me too," said Eun enviously.

I burst out laughing. "You out of all people are thinking about marriage too? Hahahah…"

Eun folded his arms, disgruntled. "Why do you always laugh at me!"

"It's fun. You say funny things and you're funny," I said lightheartedly.

"Eh, you all like to make fun of me," he propped his chin in his hands. "I see that everybody's good at something but I'm not. Except floating for the longest in the bath. I always win that contest…"

I began to notice that he was not his usual bubbly self. "Yes, you are, Eun-ie. You're good at making people happy. Why are you suddenly feeling down?"

"Well, because now that Hae Soo and our 8th brother are not around, I feel like nobody is willing to play with me anymore," he muttered gloomily.

"Hey, I'm here," I patted my chest. "You still have me. I can play with you."

"Sure, but meh, you don't count," he said, shooting a lazy glance at me.

I chuckled. "So I'm nobody?"

"You're the runt of the litter," he uttered, but was smiling again. Even though his fingers covered his mouth from my sight, I could still see his cheeks and for sure he was grinning.

"Says the short, tiny one," I joked.

He pouted and abruptly rose from his seat, trying to stand tall and stretching his body to his full height. I followed suit and he stood on his tiptoes, but I was still way taller. The height difference was obvious. I tried to keep a straight face, really I did, but I still ended up cracking up, while he threw his hands up in the air and complained.

"What if nobody likes me because I'm short?" He questioned in despair. "What if nobody wants to marry me because of that?"

"Don't be silly. This is nothing to be worried about. Somebody will like that you're short and cute," I said in reassurance.

"'Cute'?!" He huffed, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm a man! I'm a Prince! Why would you call me 'cute'?! Only girls should be called that."

"Fine, then," I beamed contently. "I take that back. You're adorable."

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, Eun. You're probably cuter than the future wife you're yearning for," I added, chuckling.

"Jung-ie!" He demanded. "Stop it!"

I ignored him and deliberately kept laughing, not just because it amused me but also because it would get him worked up. He looked as if he was about to swing a punch at me, but I reminded him of the last time he tried to get in a fight — and lost, to a girl!

"I'll admit, I can't fight," he sat back down and shrugged.

"I can, though," I said proudly and giddily.

"If you like fighting so much, why even bother marrying a lady. Go marry a warrioress or something," he whined.

"It wouldn't be surprising if I married a woman who can fight, would it?" I nudged him. "But if you were to marry a woman like that...ahahaha!"

"Ugh," he groaned. "Not going to happen. I can't imagine anyone who'd want a wife like that."

I giggled and shoved another tart into my mouth. This was way too entertaining for me.

(Rangbin Residence, Hwangju)

~Hae Soo's POV~

We'd settled down in Hwangju now, in a nice, cozy house called Rangbin Residence. It belonged to the Hwangbo clan that the 8th Prince was part of. His Highness and his mother the Queen and Princess Yeonhwa had stayed here when they were banished from Court many years ago.

"Wouldn't you hate this place then? If you'd only ever been here as a punishment," I said to Prince Wook.

"No, not really," he answered gently. "This time I'm not coming here as punishment anyway. I'm bringing you and Myunghee, and I'm sure you two are enough to make this house a happy place."

I grinned at him. As long as I wasn't a burden to him, I was relieved. Overall, the atmosphere was much more relaxing now that we were far away from the politics and intrigue at the royal court.

"Your Highness, my Lady," said a maid who approached us. Usually, when we were back in Yeondeok Palace, it'd be Chaeryung who came to us, but she remained at Songak to continue to serve in Princess Yeonhwa's household so it would be quite a while before she and I could see each other again.

This maid here at Rangbin Residence, whose name I hadn't yet been able to remember, informed us that someone from Songak was here to see us.

"Who is it?" I enquired.

A/n: There are actually three unknowns that the chapter title is referring to, one in each scene:

1. Yeonhwa doesn't know that Yoon Tae is in fact Geolha.

2. Neither Eun nor Jung knows that Eun would end up marrying a woman who can fight.

3. Neither Wook nor Soo knows who the visitor is. But who do you think it might be? Any guesses? Don't hesitate to tell me in the review box below! :)))