It Started With A Kick (Magi: Ren Koumei/OC)

12 | Unexpected Conflict (2)

Hyorin's life as a prisoner did not last long. After three days, Koumei regained consciousness, and the first thing he did was to ask for her presence.

"The Second Prince calls for you." A voice echoed past the bars. A loud click soon followed and the prison door opened.

Still brooding on her bed, Hyorin merely glanced at the guard who was supposed to usher her outside, before almost snapping her neck to take a better look at the supposed stranger. She looked him up and down.

The man was dressed like a normal soldier, but something about him was suspicious. Maybe, it was due to the fact that he looked just like the First Prince of Kou?

"What are you doing here in that get-up, Ren Kouen?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

He shrugged and monotonously answered, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Hyorin gave him a look of disbelief. How could he feign ignorance when his entire face was visible for the world to see?

"Stop pretending," she grunted, her sleepless nights were starting to affect her mood. "Your presence is too big to be covered by that stupid helmet."

Seeing that he could no longer fool her, Kouen simply sighed in defeat and stepped away from the door. "Just shut up and follow me. Koumei is waiting for you."

Despite her obvious confusion, Hyorin did as told. As they walked towards the exit of the dungeon, Kouen watched the young princess from the corner of his eye. It seemed that his brother's wife had a difficult time inside her cell, seeing how deep the creases had formed beneath her eyes.

* * *

The moment Hyorin stepped inside a familiar office, all of the tension that had built up in her body disappeared.

"You're awake," she said in a surprised tone. There, in the usual spot in front of an unending pile of scrolls sat Ren Koumei, tending to his missed readings and paperwork.

Hyorin turned away and discreetly signed in relief. "That's good..."

Unbeknownst to her, Koumei had been watching her the moment she entered the room. It was only after seeing her reaction did he fully confirm her innocence. He jested, "I thought you would be more disappointed."

"What? No!" Hyorin stepped forward with a hand on her chest. "I'm not the one who poisoned—"

"I know. I'm just kidding," he said with a small smile.

His unexpected response only fueled her confusion. Koumei took this as a signal to start their discussion. "Both of us were targets in this incident," he revealed without batting an eyelid. "It was an assassination attempt on me, and the perpetrator tried to frame you. They wanted to get rid of us."

Hyorin was dumbfounded. There were a lot of questions forming in her mind, but she missed the chance to ask them as Koumei immediately continued his explanation.

"That is why I particularly asked my brother to bring you here." She quickly stole a glance at Kouen who was still in his third-rate soldier get-up. "At this point, anyone in the palace can be an enemy. The only ones I trust are Chu'un and my brothers. However, my subordinate is still wary of you, which resulted to this."

Hyorin nodded in understanding. Of course, Kouha was also out of the question since he was too petite to pretend to be a soldier.

"I personally fetched you because if the enemy sees an opportunity, they will kill you for sure," Kouen added relentlessly.

"Wait. Why is this even happening?" Hyorin could already feel a migraine coming.

Koumei shrugged. "Who knows. There are many possible motives behind their actions. Though, the one that currently stands out is the rising tension between the factions of the First and Second Princes."