Another week had passed and I soon noticed how my new work wasn't much different from working as Jisa. I often was with Changbin and Felix and because most of the time I worked at the 2nd princes place I often saw Chan too. The prince didn't let me out of his sight since what happened with Prince Minho but actually, I felt like that was totally unneccessary... in fact I had become quite curious about the third prince.
Everyday, I walked through his part of the palace at least once but I never saw him... not even a single time. The same went for prince Wonpil who had traveled to the south with his soldiers because there was a group of robbers attacking the villages.
Prince Hyunjin on the other hand always greeted me nicely and some time's we'd talk about this and that. His personalitiy reminded me of one of my old friends. Unfortunately they never liked me to begin with so calling them friends wouldn't be correct. More like aquaintances.
I did also remember a few days ago when Felix had introduced me to youngest prince Seungmin. When I first met him at the parade I thought he'd be a silent guy that didn't talk much but as soon as he shook my hand and smiled when I greeted him, he reminded me more of a child than the cold soldier he wanted to be. We became friends really fast and since he was the youngest of the princes no one really cared if he spent almost all of his time hanging out with his servants. From him and Felix I learned how to sneak up on someone and what unfair tricks I could use in a fight against a stronger opponent. It wasn't like I couldn't fight... I had had taekwondo lessons since I was 7 years old but fighting with a sword was something completely different. When they asked me how much I knew about fighting I just said I knew nothing. In this time that was actually true.
...
When afternoon arrived today, I was told to bring tea for Prince Chan so that was exactly what I did right now. The sweet fragrance of the hot drink tingled my nose a bit and I wondered what herbs they used for their drinks here.
When I finally arrived in the pavillon where Chan was sitting I was happy to put the heavy tray down.
"Hello, Jisung" he greeted me. "Are you doing fine? Any problems?"
Him being overprotective slowly started to get on my nerves. Of course it wasn't a bad thing but I could protect myself. I was a grown 20 year old man after all.
"Please don't worry Prince Chan, I'm doing fine." I assured him while I poured some hot tea in a small cup. He gratefully took the tea but lightly grabbed my arm.
"Jisung sit down with me. I didn't have the opportunity to talk to you much the last days."
I took another chair and sat down next to him with a smile. Although I didn't know him for too long Prince Chan felt a little like an older brother to me. I felt like it was save talking to him...
"Prince Chan, I thought about Prince Minho and I couldn't help but overhear that every person in the palace seems to hate him for some reason... I hope this is not too much to ask but... why was he sent away as a child?" I put my words as careful as possible and noticed how the the happy expression in his face slowly faded. What did I expect though? This topic was somehow highly sensitive to everyone I mentioned it in the palace.
"As you might already know... his mother is not the queen and that is the main reason why his life became so complitacated. Actually, our mother is the one who despises him the most because he is the living proof that the king once cheated on her. Minho was always treated like an outcast but he never made an effort to assert himself. Instead, he left when he was still young and lived in different villages all around the area and when he comes back it is mostly to get financial support from the palace. Sometimes he's here for a few days, sometimes for 2 weeks, it changes from time to time..." he told me while I listened closely. It sounded a little like he was implying that it was Minho's own fault for being hated. But how could anyone expect a person that was mistreated to show respect to those who did it...?
"A few years ago about 200 people in a nearby village were brutally murdered and people saw Minho riding away from the village with his clothing soaked in blood. Since then people fear him and call him names like the "blood demon"..." he continued and my head perked up in curiosity when hearing about this new story.
I already thought it'd be something like that but this masacre still made me think. Was it possible that Prince Minho actually killed those people.
"Do you believe that?" I wondered but the prince did not give me an answer. So he didn't know either...
"Then... who was his mother?" I changed the subject by asking another question that made Chan sigh deeply.
"Nobody really knows but apparently she was a royal Lady that had later betrayed the kingdom and lost her status. Her whereabouts are unknown... probably she's far away or maybe dead."
"I see..."
Something in this story was definitely missing... Prince Minho obviously had more secrets and hidden feelings than he pretended to have. Being made responsible for killing innocents even by his brother must weight heavy on him so I slowly understood better why Minho always had this look of anger and cold in his eyes. Was it possible for me to get to the bottom of this?
Suddenly a woman's voice interrupted our conversation from behind us.
"Prince Chan, here are some snacks for you, I hope they are to your liking."
I knew this voice and I didn't dare to turn around but Sophie had already walked around the table to place the delicious looking biscuits infront of us. Prince Chan nodded at her.
"Thank you Sophie, I know I can always count on your cooking skills."
She smiled back at him probablt being happy about the compliment of the prince and I tried to hide my face behind my hands by pretending to shield it from the sun.
Unfortunately, she had already noticed me but the Prince started speaking before she was able to ask anything.
"Ah, this is Jisung. He is the cousin of Dahyun and works here as a servant. He's also the brother of Jisa."
I slowly took my hands off my face and faced her.
"Nice to meet you Sophie."
I said and tried to sound like anyone but Jisa but her facial expression already changed suspiciously.
"Wow you really look exactly like her... you even sound a bit like her!"
I took one of the biscuits and grinned awkwardly.
"Yeah I get that a lot..."
Suddenly she grabbed my wrist and pulled it to her face. I was too late to realize what she had in mind when I remembered the small wound on my thumb from cutting myself with a needle while sewing. Why did she have to be so damn sharp eyed?
Sophie gave me a grin and let go of my hand when Chan just stared at us in confusion.
Then Sophie started to leave the pavillon but not without chirping at me. "Well, see you around JiSUNG, and be careful with sewing. Needles can be really sharp."
When she was gone Chan was even more confused.
"What was that about?"
"I think she found out... but she's not gonna tell it to anyone... I hope so at least." I assured him while looking at the small wound on my hand.
The elegant prince took a sip of his tea and answered.
"If you trust her I'll trust her too. She's also the sister of Lady Lisa and general Felix who'd never cause any harm to those who don't deserve it so she must be trustworthy."
He had a point. Especially Lady Lisa was a very nice person. Everyone around here respected her... but still... I missed my own family. My mother and father that had always been the most caring and experts in making my day ten times better. So I often wondered how my life would have been like if they didn't die in a car accident when I was 7. Since then I lived in an orphanage until I was able to move out.
After talking with prince Chan for another hour I had finally completed my work for the day so my body felt heavy and tired. It was late and already dark so I had to use a candle to see something in my room.
The bed here was still uncomfortable as every but I wasn't even left the chance to sleep when the silence was soon broken by a quiet noise that sounded like someone carried small stones in a box.
I stood up peeking through the window to see the small pond that was next to the entrace of the palace in the moonlight. A young boy was throwing small pieces of something that glittered like gems into the water and 2 koi fish were feeding from it. One of them was colored bright white and the other one green. It was strange how the water seemed like it was glowing from within.
The boy looked up as soon as he was finished feeding the fish and his eyes met mine.
The light pinkish colour of his hair stood out immediately and if I had to guess he was about my age... maybe a bit younger. How did he even realize I was watching him from here?
I was about to speak up when suddenly, his eyes started shining in a bright green color so I was forced to shield my eyes from it.
But when I opened them again there was no sign of him to be seen anywhere near the pond. The night was dark again and even the fish were gone. What the hell had just happend? Did I suffer from hallucinations? Maybe they actually put something weird inside the tea?!
Deciding that it was no use to stress myself about that I sat down on the bed again.
But there was a piece of paper there that I hadn't noticed before. I took it and read the sentence written on it. Strangely, there weren't any ancient letters but just normal ones that I could read without struggeling. There was no way that anyone from this century knew how to write in modern language... so how did this message get here?
Jisung, be carefull about who you tell about your true origin. As soon as anyone finds out you'll never be able to go back. Also, try to be careful in the palace ...
I almost forgot how to breath for a moment because of the shock. Someone knew it, someone knew everything. But who?! Was there really a possibility to get back?!
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Hmmmm guess who that pink haired boy could be...