A/N: Please click the video for Chapter 1 in our profile summary


It should have baffled anyone as to why someone would pin their hopes on a wailing blob of flesh.

Yet the people neither protested nor disagreed. He was not just any other child his age. Destined for excellence, an inability to exceed or even meet their expectations meant a path that strayed from his destiny… one where he threw away centuries-worth of legacy… one that left the empire to rot.

As a descendant of the Han Dynasty, engraved in his blood was a duty to never disappoint his ancestors who founded the land.

"You were only lucky so why should you look down on me?"

No, it was not luck that brought him to where he was. Luck was just a concept men created to explain unforeseeable victories from the most unexpected people.

It was not a coincidence, and he was not one of the unexpected.

It was his fate.

Ash gray eyes snapped open.

. . . . .

. . .

.

Muffled sounds of whip against flesh resounded loud enough to pass through the unblemished white walls of the room. From the other side of the room's elegantly sculpted wooden door, one of the two junior court ladies visibly grimaced from a particularly loud hit.

"This might take longer than last week," the younger of the two whispered to her companion.

"Shh!"

Although the listeners flinched, the receiver kept his face blank and mouth shut all throughout.

He was already numb to the pain even before the 56th hit, and after one more hit, the old woman put down her whip.

"You may have shown potential in combat and your studies," she sneered, "but I still have yet to see you respect your elders."

The black-haired boy held back a snort. It was another one of the hag's lectures.

The woman pursed her thin lips. "Filial piety that never wavers… is what distinguishes our clan from those below us. Disregarding centuries-worth of tradition is a blatant disrespect to our ancestors."

This lecture had always been utterly ludicrous to him, and each time he heard of it, it took every ounce of his self-control to stop an exasperated eye roll from coming out. This time, however, it managed to slip; though fortunately, it escaped the older woman's sight. Had she noticed that form of disrespect, she would have subjected him to a hundred more whippings.

Why did he have to care about what people he never met had to say? And even then, they were already dead to matter.

"Never embarrass the royal family in front of anyone again—not even in front of the servants! You may be the next ruler of the empire, but you should never forget where you came from." She turned and walked away from him.

The court ladies took the retreating footsteps as a signal to open the doors. Following her exit, he frowned at the spot she last had been in.

It was a routine, really. One rude remark towards his elders would earn him a deafening slap on either his face or his bum. The only difference was the duration of the punishment and how many hits he would receive.

Of course, he followed what his grandmother taught him about unfailingly respecting her in front of anyone. Members of the royal family always stick to their words.

And just like how an emperor stays true to his words, the Crown Prince also stuck true to the routine which was doing the last part of his ritual.

With no one but him in the room, it was the perfect time to mockingly mimic the old crone's many ramblings wordlessly... like a true Crown Prince.


With an ambition to forge his own destiny, the eldest was a force to be reckoned with;

Sharing the same blood as his brothers had never been of importance;

He would get to them before the thought of even surpassing him crosses their minds;

They should never have let their guard down, not even with family;

Naivete was unbecoming for those of the highest status;

They should have known from the start

...

Family was never always the first priority


"Your Highness," the teal-haired boy bowed in greeting to the Crown Prince sat atop a large rock.

"Jihyun," the black-haired boy gave a small nod in return.

"You're amusing, Jumin," Jihyun said with a chuckle as he sat cross-legged next to the scowling Crown Prince, "I have always thought Her Majesty is brutal… and uh… forgive my honesty, but after your less- than-princely behavior yesterday, I think you somewhat deserve it."

"Grandmother deserved it too," Jumin retorted, picking up a small stone near his foot and throwing it on the frozen pond in front of them.

"Don't you mean 'Her Majesty'? She's still the mother of the nation."

"She'll be stepping down from her position in a few weeks. After that, I won't have to respect or follow her orders," he tried to grab more stones in an attempt to stock them in his tiny hand, failing to notice the humored gaze his companion sent his way.

"But even before Her Majesty steps down, it's not as if you do those things at all," Jihyun took another one and continued their game of throwing rocks.

At his remark, the royalty halted midway from hurling the last stone in his fist. He slowly turned his head to give him a blank look, but the boy simply smirked at the horizon and ignored his silent disbelief. In all honesty, Jumin normally enjoys his presence, but there are rare occasions when his good friend would somehow find a way to blatantly and—to his amazement—indirectly offend him with absolute honesty. He never truly learned how he does that, although whenever he uses it, he hates it.

"I know I've told you this countless times—maybe you are even sick of it, and you just don't express your opinion," he glowered while shifting his attention from his confidant to the snowflake that landed atop his palm.

"You know better than anyone how sick I am of my title. This 'duty'..." at that certain word followed a forceful air from his nose, "they expect me to accomplish. She says I embarrassed her in front of the servants," he trailed off only to clench the stones tightly, leaving a mark on his unblemished skin, "but she's no good either. She never cared about our wants or needs. Father marrying a woman she handpicked… is something I cannot stomach."

"Still, won't you give Lady Ryu a chance? She has nothing to do with your fight."

Jumin sneered, "Chance? Absolutely not! She's just the same as Grandmother, just less worse. Still, marrying Father off to a random noble woman is expected of her."

Jihyun sighed. His response was not a surprise. It was useless; from all the years he knew him, he had gotten used to His Highness' stubbornness. Whether it would benefit or be a hindrance to him as the future father of the empire was too soon to tell; but in that moment, it was definitely not a benefit.

"And contrary to what that hag says, I am not ignorant. I don't think she hates me; I know she does."

His best friend probably thought him ungrateful for the privilege handed to him from his birth or possibly just nervous. Nevertheless, Jumin stayed firm in his actions, for he noticed something amiss that Jihyun did not.

Not only did Her Majesty want him out of her sight… but from the moment even before he was born, she had, and still, wished him dead.

. . . . .

. . .

.

The adoration of servants and tight-bunned court ladies-in-training went unnoticed by the young albino, seemingly intent on every swing of his wooden short sword.

It might not be an unusual occurrence, but his white hair and striking red eyes definitely were. Everywhere he went, stares and whispers trailed after him. Whereas red eyes were a symbol of bad luck in legends, it was an interesting rarity with him. His snow-colored hair, albeit strange, enhanced the boy's pale complexion and round cheeks. Even the crabbiest of adults found him too adorable to resist.

After an hour of practicing, he placed his sword on the ground and wiped his forehead with the sleeves of his top. A court lady, slightly shorter and a year or two older, brought him a tray with a jug and a glass of water.

"Young Master Hyun." The young girl bowed to the 9-year old who returned the gesture politely.

"Jaehee! How many times have I told you not to call me that? It's embarrassing..." his voice faded almost to a whisper.

"Forgive me for disobeying your wishes, Young Master, but I do not wish to address you with disrespect."

He took the glass from the tray and gulped all the contents down to its last sip, but then his brow raised after understanding dawned on him.

"You have a weird meaning for disrespect, Jaehee. If you're still thinking about last week's party, just forget about it."

Fumbling with the tray, she whispered, "No, it was my fault for being clumsy."

"Tch! Those stupid nobles are…" he scrunched his face as he tried to think of a better term but failed to do so, "stupid, that's what. Those who do not deserve respect should not make their own definition of respect. They don't even deserve to be taken seriously. And besides—" His own stomach's grumbling cut off his statement. It must have known the tirade of insults that were to come.

Flustered, he cleared his throat and looked away from Jaehee. The girl stifled a giggle from escaping her lips and ignored the light tinge of pink that dusted her cheeks.

"It's time for supper. His Majesty is waiting for you."

"Oh right, I forgot!" He placed the glass back on the tray and lightly tapped her shoulder.

"Thanks for the drink! You should eat too." And with a sheepish grin, he dashed out of the training room, once again not noticing the growing blush on the girl's face.

. . . . .

. . .

.

There was only one thing Hyun liked about suppers and that was stuffing his stomach with good food. All the other factors seemed quite undesirable.

Among those undesirable factors housed a throne specially reserved for the perfect Han Jumin.

Looking at His Perfect Highness' impeccable posture and apathetic face never failed to induce an eye roll in him. He was stoic; from the layers of his skin to the deepest part of his soul, everything about him screamed indifference. He had watched him fall from one of their combat practices, but not a single reaction appeared aside his typical impassive expression. It was as though there was something wrong with his brain. As to whether Jumin was aware or not, Hyun was clueless. How would he know when that guy's face had chronic constipation in the emotional area?

It was another soundless dinner save for the soft noises of forks and knives hitting each other.

Heaven forbid even hearing a whisper. There was a reason why the last time was the last, and why the first time was never followed by another—courtesy of the Empress. At the time, he could've sworn he became ugly for a minute.

In his defense, it had not been his fault; not even slightly at fault. As expected, it had been Jumin's fault. If only he hadn't looked at him with his brow raised, he would not have screamed at him to fall off his high horse and get trampled by a hundred more horses.

All because he did not know the difference between the spoon on the left and the other spoon on its left. What was even the point of having so many spoons? If it can hold a decent bite-sized food, then it served its purpose.

"That's for dessert," Jumin had said, brow raised at Hyun's ignorance per usual.

"Shut up," he grumbled with his mouth stuffed with food.

"Huh? I was expecting a 'thank you'. Well, good for you; at least in the future, you won't look like an oaf."

"What did yo—"

A loud clang had reverberated inside the dining room. Following the source of the noise, his eyes landed on Her Majesty instead.

Just one look at her and he knew what went on in her head.

With Jumin's presence in the dining area, he was bound to lose weight.


Their foundations would collapse;

A vision of bloodstains paint the walls of his room;

A prodigal son burns the palace, leaving cracked screams in his wake;

An empire soaked with his comrades' blood

And scattered bones of those he vowed to protect


"Master, why do I have to learn how to fight? I'll be the future emperor; I'll have people to protect me."

"That naive thinking may pave way to your downfall, Your Highness. You should be able to protect yourself, especially this land you're sworn to." The seasoned swordsman said.

It was the first time Jumin voiced out his curiosities; not even a single word of complaint was said during their previous sparring sessions. Whether he enjoyed the training or not, he did not know.

Despite that, never once did he waver in their numerous hours of practice. Every swing, block, punch, throw and kick improved everyday.

Back in his day, it had been uncommon to train children as young as Crown Prince Han Jumin the ways of war; some would learn how to fight for leisure, but academics were the usual pursuits of young boys, for war was too incomprehensible for them to understand.

"I deliver Her Most Gracious Majesty's royal edict," a man, barely in his 20s, of tall stature and dark gray eyes, unrolled a wooden scroll and cleared his throat. "'It is with deep concern to inform that our empire's been receiving threats of attack. As the Mother of the Empire, I hereby declare to submit yourselves to the nation our ancestors fought to uplift. Starting from the age of 14, it is mandatory to learn the many ways of combat. For the great Fathers have never forsaken us, as loyal subjects, it is your duty to return their generosity with unwavering loyalty. To die for the empire… is your greatest offer to the ancestors.'"

He closed the scroll, faced the tight-lipped Empress and bowed to his knees, "Thank you for your boundless generosity, Your Majesty!"

And the rest followed suit, "Thank you for your boundless generosity, Your Majesty!"

It had been nearly two decades since the Empress Regnant delivered her edict...

and just a year ago when His Royal Majesty Han Kangdae hand-picked him to train the then-eight-year old Prince Han Jumin in combat and military strategies.

In his mind, it was no different from teaching a young boy how to kill.

But as long as His Majesty wished it, his morals do not matter.

His Emperor, right or wrong, was more important than anything.


whelve

(v) to bury something deep, to hide; to roll or surge over something


A/N: Heeyohohoho gooisee! Thank you for reading until this part~ and if you like our story, leave a review or like! If you think we still have aspects we're lacking, then do tell us ^o^ Thank yorororororouuuuuuuung~