Grace couldn't believe her ears so she laughed, unable to take Jaehyun seriously. "Excuse me, what? You can't be serious."
The two men looked at her as if she was insane, but honestly, that was how she felt about Jaehyun.
"I am." Jaehyun said, lifting his chin ever so slightly. "I am completely serious."
"Well I don't think it's a good idea." Grace said, stepping forward. She didn't fear Jaehyun at all, there were worse things in life than trying to ration with this man. "What is a war going to do for us, Jaehyun? Nothing."
"I lost Haesoo because of Erde's decision. They only deserve to feel the same way." Jaehyun replied.
"We lost Haesoo.'' Grace corrected, not liking where this was going. "And Erde lost their Chief because of your father, who, in case you forgot, broke the agreement my dead father made."
Jaehyun didn't seem fazed at all, stepping forward, matching her confidence. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough."
"Hey." Jungwoo said softly from the side, trying to stop the two but Jaehyun didn't want to back down and because of that, Grace didn't want to either.
"You said you wanted to start a war, how much clearer can you get?" Grace asked, a scoff coming with it. "Please, enlighten me."
"Oh, I guess I just wanted to give you both a chance to join the proper side." Jaehyun said as a sadistic grin spread across his face. "The war? It's already begun and it's all because of me."
Grace's eyes widened, immediately sensing something very wrong. She stepped back but Jungwoo only took her place, separating them.
"What do you mean?" Jungwoo asked, his voice beginning to shake. "What do you mean the war has already started? And why is it because of you?"
Jaehyun rolled his eyes and Grace tugged Jungwoo back, not liking where this was going nor the close proximity they had with Jaehyun.
Jaehyun snickered, entertained by their fear. "Oh, you two should have seen the look on the King's face when I killed him."
King?!
Grace exchanged looks with Jungwoo, both thinking the same thing. In the end, it was Grace that spoke first, unable to hold it in.
"King... You killed the Luminosa King!" Grace exclaimed, the realization hitting her hard. "You, you started this mess by killing the King!"
Jungwoo stepped back too, his legs beginning to shake. Grace reached out, grabbing his hand and squeezing it, knowing how much pain he went through when his king died.
"I did." Jaehyun said, not the least bit ashamed of his actions. "I killed him. Had to break off this marriage somehow."
"Are you serious?" Grace pulled Jungwoo behind her as tears began forming in his eyes, knowing how hard it was for him to register everything Jaehyun was saying. "You killed someone because you wanted to break off our marriage? Do you know how sickening that is?"
"Oh, there's more than that." Jaehyun added, and at this point, Grace didn't even want to hear anymore. "Don't you hate how when we learn about the different realms, they teach us that the Luminosa is the most powerful of us all? We're supposed to be equal, that's what Luminosa wants, yet they hold all the power."
"Your actions still aren't justified, Jaehyun." Grace told him, wondering if it was even worth trying to make sense out of all of it. "A war isn't going to get you want."
"Oh really now?" Jaehyun raised an eyebrow. "A military realm like Feu not being able to get power from a war? That doesn't sound right, does it?"
Grace couldn't take this anymore, letting her eyes turn black as the night as she called forth her powers, two dark orbs forming in her hands. "Haesoo didn't die for you to do this."
"If I was the one that found her instead of you, maybe she wouldn't have-"
Jaehyun never got to finish his words as he had to dodge Grace's attack instead. The fire in the back of his eyes lit up, flames beginning to lick his fingers as he realized what she had done.
Grace was about to launch another one when she was held back, remembering that Jungwoo was still there.
"Jungwoo, what are you doing?" Grace hissed as they both did their best to avoid Jaehyun as he began attacking them, his eyes on Grace the entire time.
"He's not in the right mindset." Jungwoo told her, as Jaehyun pulled out his sword. This only proved Jungwoo's point as they all knew that no one in their right mind would pull their vare out in battle, one knock to their hand would render them useless. "His mind is clouded right now, you know I'm right. We didn't want a war and killing him will only start one. We need to choose our actions carefully."
Grace didn't want to admit it but she knew that Jungwoo was right, cursing under her breath for the pureness in her head. She took a deep breath as she locked eyes with Jungwoo, the two of them silently deciding their plan.
Grace bit her lip as she called another orb of darkness, throwing it at Jaehyun. As she expected, he dodged it before focusing on her, prepared to attack.
He couldn't though, as Jungwoo grabbed both his hands from behind, dragging him back until he was against a tree, locking his arms around it. During that time though, Jaehyun had quickly slipped his sword into its sheath, the item hanging loosely on his belt.
Grace took a deep breath, letting go of her anger as she stared into his eyes. "Jaehyun, listen to me, you need to snap out of it."
Jaehyun didn't seem to agree though, glaring back at her. "Why are you fighting me, Grace? I'm not your enemy. In fact, you should be thankful since because I did what I did, you're no longer stuck with me and can marry the love of your life instead."
"You could have too." Grace replied, deciding to soften her tone as she remembered how much Haesoo had loved this man. She shook her head, knowing that if Haesoo was still her, he wouldn't be doing all this right now. She was the one that grounded him, kept him sane, and now she was gone.
Because he killed the King.
"Jaehyun, have you ever thought of what could have happened if you didn't kill the King?" Grace asked, trying to hold back her emotions as she thought about her best friend and her father, both who died because of Jaehyun's poor decisions. "She could still be here. Haesoo could still be here and you could be with her, Jaehyun, you didn't have to do that. There were so many other ways we could have broken off the marriage and who cares about the power, you could have been happy, you could have been happy and with Haesoo!"
Grace's voice echoed through the forest as she watched Jaehyun's eyes soften before whispering. "Haesoo."
Grace looked at Jungwoo who was still behind the tree, looking out to see if Jaehyun had calmed down. Grace nodded her head as she watched Jaehyun's body relax, his head leaning back against the tree.
Jungwoo didn't seem convinced, only loosening his grip on Jaheyun's hands. Grace watched as tears began forming in Jaehyun's eyes, the male blinking them back.
Is he... crying?
"Haesoo." Jaehyun mumbled to himself. "Haesoo... she's gone now."
Grace didn't know what to say as a tear rolled down his cheek. Jungwoo must have noticed this too as he let go of Jaehyun's hands, setting him free.
Grace wanted to scream the second she met Jaehyun's eyes but it was too late. The moment Jungwoo let go, the tree between them burst into flames, taking Jungwoo by surprise as he quickly moved back.
"She's gone because of you." Jaehyun spat, his inner demons coming back out as he drew his sword, lurching at Grace. She narrowly dodged the attack but only ended up stumbling back, landing with her back flat on the ground.
Please, Grace wanted to beg as she wanted to attack back but Jaehyun was already above her, his sword lifted above her head.
She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact that never happened, instead, felt a body land on top of her. She smelt the familiar smell of Jungwoo's hair and iron, and opened her eyes to see Jaehyun pulling the sword out of Jungwoo's body, shocked at what had happened.
"I.... I..." Jaehyun stepped back but Grace didn't even care anymore, pressing her hands into Jungwoo's wound, as if it would make a difference.
"No, no, no." Grace was already crying as she slid out from underneath, Jungwoo's ragged breathing filling her ears. "You did not just... Why did you do that?!"
"Because." Jungwoo inhaled deeply, his lungs expanding as much as he could as his life slowly began slipping away. "I love you."
Grace could barely see his face as she gave in, deciding to hold him instead, feeling deja vu from when she had lost Haesoo. "You're so stupid. So so stupid. I hate you. I hate you so much, you can't leave me like this."
"You're lying." Jungwoo chuckled, placing his hand weakly on the back of her neck. "You love me, I know it."
"I do." Grace admitted, lying down with Jungwoo, listening to his weak breaths. "But I hate that you did that. I can't do this, I can't live without you."
"But you will." Jungwoo's voice was barely audible now as he took another deep breath, but Grace knew that it wouldn't help. Nothing could help him now, his wound was too deep, and all she could do was try to comfort him so he could go easy.
"I don't want to." Grace whispered, trying so hard to stay strong but she couldn't. "I love you too much, it hurts to think about living without you."
A weak smile appeared on Jungwoo's face, the male gently giving her a squeeze. "I'm glad."
"Glad that I have to live without you?" Grace asked, confused.
Jungwoo chuckled. "No, not that. I'm glad that you love me. Makes me... Happy."
Grace watched as Jungwoo removed his hand from her, gently placing her hand over his heart. Underneath, she felt the stiffness of the golden pocket watch in his pocket. He gave her a nod, and Grace got the signal.
His vare. He wants me to have his vare.
Grace began crying harder as she buried her face into Jungwoo's chest, not wanting him to leave. He soon began coughing though, and she forced herself to lift her head, giving his hand a tight squeeze to silently tell him that she was there, with him.
"I love you. I love you so much, Kim Jungwoo." Grace whispered, as Jungwoo's eyes began losing its sparkle, beginning to stare into nothingness.
Soon, the breathing stopped and his chest stopped rising. Grace bowed her head, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was sobbing.
He's gone. Jungwoo.... Is gone.
Grace could only stare at the pocket watch in her hands, the object's glow faded along with the soul of its owner. She was so focused on Jungwoo's vare that she didn't know that others had arrived until she heard Rosa gasp and soon, arms wrapped around her.
"Hey, I'm here." Mark reassured her, taking his sister in his arms as she began crying again. "Hey, I have you, I'm here."
"He's gone." Grace breathed out, sinking into her brother's arms as the harsh reality hit her. "Jungwoo's gone, Mark. He's gone."
———————————————————————————
Are you crying? I'm crying