promise ↜ ljn

♕one

Trumpets.
Red carpet.
People.
Smile.

He had it on repeat. Every single time they had to show themselves to the public, he knew what to do. It wasn't pretend, it was natural. He walked proudly down the aisle behind his parents. Stares never left his figure.

Stomach in, chest out. He was a charming prince. A smile that would heal, a smile that could kill. Unfortunately all that fame didn't last long for him, but rather it lasted longer for his brother. Lucky for him, he never held any grudges against him. He admitted that his brother deserved it and he should enjoy it as much as he was supposed to.

"Oh dear, it's Prince Yoon Oh!"

At the mention of his name, the elder one smiled softly at the people welcoming them. "Look, there's Prince Jeno!" The named male heard someone calling his name and instantly, his famous eye-smile greeted them. However, as cute as he looked only the children liked him. The damsels preferred his dashing brother much more.

He didn't mind that though as he had less interest in them as well. Plus, it was amusing watching how his brother would be under pressure for the constant proposal from royal families whenever there was a royal party held.

Yoon Oh was kind, so in a way, he had to come up with the most polite way to reject them. Luckily, he managed to escape each and every proposal as none of the princesses managed to capture their parents' attention as well. The cycle continued even after Yoon Oh was rumoured to be the Crown Prince and Jeno was already legal.

It was the same, dull routine. Each families coming to their castle as if trying to make a join of business but ended up promoting their daughters as well. Yet, none of them were as impressive as they were told to be. They were all pretentious, too good to be true, that was until, she came.

Her face said it all, arrogance. She had what it took to be a princess, her vanity was showing off just like an aura a royal daughter should own. She looked majestic as she descended down the stairs, trailing behind her parents. At first, she seemed unapproachable until she flashed a smile which was enough to make a heart stop.

Jeno was awestruck when he first landed his eyes on her. His cheeks pained from the smile that was plastered on his face, he wasn't pretending, he just couldn't stop. He would describe the feeling as infatuated. He just couldn't stop staring.

"—and this is my son, the second prince, Jeno."

At the mention of his name, he blinked twice with his eyes fixed on the girl behind the couple in front of him. How he wished he could push them away so they could meet eye to eye. Unfortunately, Yoon Oh stepped on his foot, hard, to wake him up from the short daydream.

He greeted them with embarrassment as everyone noticed how he was clearly not listening to them. When her family introduced her, Jeno missed her name but had the urge to hold her hand like any prince would when dancing but this wasn't a dance. It was a formal meeting. As she did a curtsy in front of him, he could hear his heart beating awfully loud.

"What is the matter with you?" Yoon Oh almost hissed as the families walked ahead of them. He had to drag the younger one along as he didn't seem to be in the right state of thinking.

〚 王 〛

The meetings and the tours went by longer than usual and it was only then he finally caught up that both families were having a purely business meeting. They weren't trying to match up the princess with Yoon Oh at all. This, was very much to Jeno's liking. He never cared about other princesses coming here before but this one was very special to him.

Yoon Oh too, was relieved by the news as he was tired of trying to stay tranquil whenever there was a proposal as he didn't want to cut ties with any royal families. Well, some families were overly sensitive. Jeno on the other hand was even more ecstatic when he found out they were going to stay there for a week since they came from far away.

It was a perfect chance for him to court her, that is if he ever could. He wished for the impossible. Princes and princesses should never be together alone, unless married. They should always have maids or anyone else with them to avoid a 'sensual tension'. However, that wasn't going to stop him though.

He managed to escape the hi-tea so he could actually enjoy himself with sword fighting. That was something he truly enjoyed. It was also a way to let out his frustration as Jeno couldn't seem to find a way to approach the maiden at all. As he was sweating bullets, he suddenly heard the door being opened.

"Ah, finally joining me over that boring tea, brother?" He called out without bothering to look. "Yes, I was starting to suffocate." The reply made the prince stopped on his practice. It wasn't his brother's voice, it was a female's. Instantly, he spun on his heels to meet eyes with a girl he just went crazy about.

It was as if the heavens heard his prayers. He cannot believe the princess was standing right in front of his eyes and he didn't need to play any tricks just to be alone with her. He was given a very rare opportunity.

They both awkwardly bowed at one another as the princess stepped into the square. Jeno eyed her carefully, it was unusual for girls to enter this part of the castle as they weren't meant to fight. "Prince Jeno, is it?" She asked as she walked past him and towards the neatly arranged set of swords.

Jeno followed her, cautious to keep a certain distance as it was only the two of them. "At your service, my lady." He joked. She chuckled, which sounded like music to his ears. It was only then Jeno realised he was blindly in love with her. Underlined, blind.

The princess pulled out a sword and pointed it in his direction. This, impressed him even more as he had never seen a girl fight before. At first, he thought she was just fooling around but as she swung the sword, he knew she wanted a battle. It was a matter of pride now, and Jeno would score big if he could win over her. Or he could be a gentleman, and let her win.

As the two of them started to spar, the young prince realised that she was awfully skilful in sword fighting. He thought of letting her win, but now he wanted to test her talent. The two started fighting one another nonstop. The tense was unusual as he had never sensed anyone so determine to win over a friendly match.

They continued until eventually the princess managed to throw him off his feet and had her sword on his neck. He lost to a girl, fair and square.

Jeno tried to catch a breath as he glanced at her, she was everything he ever adored. She was everything he needed but he can't seem to have her. "I thought you were better." She commented with a smug on her face as she removed the sword from his neck. "I can't possibly let a girl lose." He defended, trying not to embarrass himself.

"We both know what happened. Nothing to be ashamed of, it'll be our secret that you're actually lacking." She said almost laughing. At her comment, Jeno felt unusually offended. It was true that he truly lost to her fairly, not because he wanted to. However, the idea of admitting he lacked was like a slap in the face.

"Maybe I should hand you some practice, I'll see you again then." She said as she left the room, leaving Jeno dumbfounded. It was only then he realised he might've been wrong about love at first sight. With that kind of attitude, he was sure he wanted nothing to do with her.

〚 王 〛
🐾I am here with a book of my ultimate!