PARK SUNGHOON
I turned my head to look at the massive window of the palace. The sun will rise soon. We don't have much time to waste, "Alas."
Heeseung looked at me and nodded, as if he already knew what I am about say. He grabbed his sword and pistol as he went outside. I shifted my vision to my allies, "Alas will assemble the knights near the main entrance of the palace."
They all stood up, grabbing their own weapons. Jongseong looked at me and raised a brow, "And you?"
I swallowed hard and looked away, "I still have something to do. I will follow immediately."
They nodded and left the conference room. I looked at the blueprint again and sighed. The fact that Miren has already fallen and that the Pria Dynasty still wishes to invade Ariaden can only imply one thing.
MIN ARI
"Your Highness. The sun will rise soon. Why is the prince still not doing anything?" Jana nervously stated behind me. I was hugging myself while standing on the veranda. I peered down and saw the knights congregating near the palace's main entrance. My head tilted slightly as I stared at Alas, who seemed to be the one commanding them.
He suddenly halted and slowly turned around which made our eyes met. My brows shot up when he bowed.
He can see me from here?
I jumped a little when the door of my chamber harshly opened. Sunghoon walked towards me while plastering an expression I cannot even paint.
I gasped when he violently grabbed my arm, dragging me outside my chamber. Jana panicked but she's aware she cannot do anything. It's the Prince, after all.
"It hurts!" I hissed while trying to remove his grip on my arm, "Let go, Sunghoon!"
"Pria Dynasty will attack Ariaden." He released my arm. Fuck, it's turning red. "Are you aware of that?"
I gritted my teeth and glared at him. He didn't even apologize. I roamed my eyes around the area and noticed we are in the hallway of the southwest wing, "I am."
He scoffed, "And guess whose fault is it? Yours."
My forehead creased because of confusion. What does he mean it's my fault? "What are you saying?"
"Miren has fallen." He straightforwardly said that made me halt in my position.
It's like I have gone deaf with what he said. This feels like a nightmare, it feels unreal hearing those words from him, "Everything in Miren has fallen. Your kingdom. The people. No one survived."
My lips trembled, "S-shut up. You're only saying this because you hate me."
He chuckled sarcastically as he slowly drew his face closer to mine, "It's up to you if you don't want to believe me. But let me tell you one thing, Princess... I will never lie to you."
I clenched my fist and exhaled harshly. A tear escaped my eyes as I closed them. I swallowed hard and opened my eyes again only to see Sunghoon staring at me without a hint of compassion, "Why..." I said almost in a whisper.
"We all know Miren and Pria have a long history of rivalry. Pria has always had their eye on Miren, waiting for the best moment to strike, and just now, they unfortunately succeeded." He seriously said while examining my reaction, "And now Miren has fallen, they are aiming at Ariaden because of our ties."
I bit my lower lip. Tears keep gushing down on my face. "The Queen and King... they survived, right?"
Please tell me they do.
"No, they did not. No one survived in the palace, Ari." And with that, my knees weakened. It seems like all of my energy was taken up.
"Pria... I will kill them. I will fucking kill them." My words echoed in the entire place. A fresh swell of rage rose within me, "I will... fucking..."
My voice slowly softened. My heart raced as my chest tightened. As if the middle of my head was being dragged. The sound was too loud to the point where I cannot hear a single thing, everything was blurry and spinning until an arm captured my waist as he greeted me wearing his worried expression, "Alas..."
PARK SUNGHOON
"Your Highness, you could've picked the right words to say!" I sneered when Alas carried Ari in a bridal style. Seeing him touch her in that way made me feel sensations I can't articulate. I want to take Ari away from him, but something's stopping me to do so. "You know the news is very sensitive for her..."
"What are you doing here? Didn't I told you to lead the knights?" I sternly said, not taking my gaze away from my fiancée. He couldn't seem to understand my words.
"Let us call the royal doctor. Her Highness doesn't seem fine."
I gritted my teeth when I heard his response. You don't have the rights to be concerned with her, Lee Heeseung.
"I will take her to the safety room myself, Alas."