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The next time you met him was in the royal court of the King Henry I and you were obliged to come, or more like forced by your parents.
Since you were already in the age of eighteen, it was your duty to mingle with the other royalties. It was a scary time avoiding the eyes of the available bachelors, but what you didn't know, you're not really up to welcome their affection anymore.
Elizabeth Burnes, one of your friends, were sharing something in the middle of a breakfast at the plaza. "My grandparents write the betrothal contract for me", she confessed, and it was met by a stunned silence with the majority.
It wasn't odd for anyone to have a contract drawn up, in fact it was the norm among the royal families, but Elizabeth had sworn to never consent to one. She once had shared how her own Uncle wanted to marry her, and he is thrice her age.
"Who offered for it?", you asked with a frown, reaching for the roast tomato until Cirilla shaked her head and nodded to the arrival of the Princes atop their horses.
She sighed. "At least it was not my Uncle. It's a foreigner from France, and I was saved from the inbreeding of the British"
"Elizabeth -"
"Don't worry about me", she waved your concern away before leaning beyond Geneva and speaking in a lower voice, "I could have ended up like the youngest Boleyn, shackled to her own grandfather with no affection for her but her body alone"
Geneva grimaced. "That's why I told the two of you to pick a lover earlier and now you can't relate to me already free from expectations", She turned to look at you, glancing to the gaze of Sunghoon which were directed in your figure. "What about you, our dear Y/N?"
"I'm going to elope with somebody else even if he was a servant, just to not marry an old man", you said after a moment's thought, instantly horrifying them at that scandal.
Cirilla cleared her throat, removing herself away from the group fo the chambermaid and handed you a letter. As you carefully look to who must be the sender, Elizabeth and Geneva asked why it wasn't delivered like the others to your room personally.
Breaking the familiar seal from your family, you looked over the clean scrawl of your father and felt the blood drain from your face at his kind of message. It had better be a misunderstanding.
But it wasn't. He is a King, a serious man. He wouldn't joke about something like this.
"What's the matter?", Elizabeth asked, leaning over your shoulder to read the letter, only for her to gasp. She snatched it from you and read it over again. "Geneva, oh dear, you have to see this"
Instead of listening further to the both of them between in worry and jealousy over to what they think as your good luck, you looked further down to the group of Prince where they sat before the stores talking between themselves.
There is always an exception. Sunghoon is in the edge of the fountain, his eyes drawn to your sitting figure.
Geneva spluttered, reading over the letter again while giving you a googly eyes. "She's, that's to say, it's a big -"
"I know, I know I'm betrothed", you whispered in shock, trying to wrap your head around this sudden development. "To that Prince!"
Still, Elizabeth could not give up on the idea of knowing your groom's name. "To who? I didn't see it!"
You had no intention of answering her question. Not yet at least.
Saying his name aloud for everyone to hear in this plaza would be like admitting that it was real, that in some way, as if saying his name, you had wanted this as well. Your mother was always commenting on how she had given you too much freedom, unlike of so many mothers in the royal court and she said one day, she'll be making the decisions for you, for once.
This was it from what it looks like. In the beginning of this day, you had your whole life in front of you and in the mere appearance of the letter, it was all suddenly over.
"She was betrothed to Park Sunghoon!", Geneva said in a voice much louder than necessary - an unstoppable habit you hated about her sometimes.
Silence blanketed the bustle of the plaza. Half of the people looked at you and the other half to Prince Sunghoon who simply took a bite of his grapes, as if he wasn't aware of all the eyes on him. You refused to look his way as the royalties and commoners alike began to fall in a chatter.
Seeing the drop of your face, Elizabeth turned to the Prince and called out to him. "Did you know about this, Prince Sunghoon?"
"Of course I offered it myself", he admitted nonchallantly. You watched him suddenly, horrified by his statement as he glanced at you for a moment. "It's to make sure she wouldn't escape from my grasp just like in the ball"
"Why?", you demanded, in shock as you rose to your feet and did not care for the opinions to heading his way without so much helding a gentleness in your stride. "Why do I have to be the one that you should choose to be unfortunate?"
He only raised his head to look you in the eye. "Because I wanted you for myself", he smiled before giving you a pat in the head, liking the way your face screwed up into an anger.
With no other words, he turned to walk for his horse closely followed by Prince Jaeyun and Jongseong, and you were left staring at him cantering away. When Sunghoon disappeared from your sight, you let your legs collasped under you and sat on the bottom of your skirts, ignoring how it would dirty up your dress. Gripping the silk fabric of your sleeve in tight fists, you struggled not to cry at the injustice of it all.
According to the letter, your mother is the one who signed up the betrothal contract, saying how it would be beneficial for each side to marry you and Sunghoon together, and that was it, solding you to the loveless marriage.
And they didn't even give you a time to breath, it was going to happen soon.
In less than a few weeks of time, you would be married to Prince Sunghoon.
