they gathered around for a story time by the princess and the prince instinctively took a seat beside her . as she was telling the story , he took the time to look at her features and listen to her warm motherly voice to the kids . when she was done , everyone applauded her and it was time for presents .
" who wants some presents ?!" her cheerful voice made the kids excited as they cheered . " Min Seo.....Ji Soo.....Hyeok Woo....." it was impressive that she memorised all of their names . " you even memorised their names ?"
" of course i did , they are all precious kids . in fact , i might know everyone's names in the kingdom . i come out here often to greet them , gets too lonely in the palace sometimes ."
" it's so nice to have you here , your highnesses. the kids had much fun today , thank you for your attendance once again ." the head of the orphanage greeted them and thanked them while holding their hands together . both of them were flustered as their hands were touching each other but smiled it off . " you know i love the kids , Ms Hwang ." they soon left the orphanage after bidding farewell to everyone .
" i'm afraid i have to take my leave as well , princess . i have too many things to manage in the palace and as you know , my brothers are... troublemakers ." they laughed but in reality , she felt sour when he said he had to leave . " do you really have to go ?" she pouted and it saddened the prince to see her expression become gloomy in a second . " i'll see you next week , princess ." they gave a tight hug to each other before waving goodbye .
" why do i feel so sad ?" she asked Ivy and Min Jung which they both shook their heads to . " you're meeting him next week , Hae Won . time passes by quickly so please don't worry ." she then jolted up , scaring the two , thinking that they would get reprimanded .
" i'm a princess , everyone calls me princess but why does it feel different when he says it ?! i'm going crazy ." she messed up her perfectly tied up bun . the two looked at each other and knew that she was in love and worry struck them . " i already miss him ." she mumbled as she fell asleep before reaching the palace .
she was a light sleeper and woke up only 3 hours later , heading to her main office to finish up admin matters . even when she tried distracting herself with tough work , she couldn't help but think about him . she sighed and stood up , roaming around the halls as she looked at the lacking decorations .
" Ivy , Min Jung . do you mind if we take a trip to the village ? i'd like to purchase some flowers for the palace ." the two was worried that she was too tired but she reassured them that she was fine .
she had arrived to the village and as she walked , she never failed to greet everyone who walked past her . " Ms Hae Won ! you're back !" a little girl ran from a distance and accidentally fell on the way . she had a wound and surprisingly didn't let the pain take over her . the princess hurriedly took the first aid kid from Min Jung and ran towards the little girl .
" wow you're so strong , Mi So . do you want candy ?" she took out a candy from her small pouch and gave it to her . " i told you not to run around , Mi So ! thank you , your highness ." her mother thanked her and carried the girl . " no worries , ma'am . have a nice day !" she bid farewell and went off to the shop to pick out her favourite flowers .
soon , a week had passed and her birthday came . it wasn't usual for her to hold a birthday ceremony , since she wasn't used to the big crowds .
when the 7 princes had made their way into the palace , the cold gush of wind swept past as the palace was very quiet though they heard a commotion coming from the lawn . they decided to walk towards the commotion and stopped in a line .
the dear princess was playing with kittens and puppies alongside Min Jung and Ivy , all three of them exclaiming at the cute kittens and puppies while they played with them . the princes looked at each other and laughed amongst themselves . it caught the attention of Ivy as she gasped and she quickly alerted the two .
as if it was slow motion to prince Min Hyung , the princess twirled around and smiled at him . his face suddenly got warmer and he took a step back as the princess's energy emitted towards him . his brothers looked at him and took the chance to ridicule and tease him at his reaction .
" hello , your highnesses ! why did all of you make a trip here ?" her big smile still had got him staring and when prince Ren Jun slapped his back , he got back to his senses . " well , i did say i'll come on your birthday ." there was a long pause until prince Dong Hyuck took over . "we thought there would be a big celebration but we were baffled to see the castle rather quiet ."
" i'm sorry i didn't inform all of you earlier . i don't hold birthday ceremonies , not really used to the big crowd and attention ." she apologised and the boys quickly gestured for her to stand properly .
' meow...meow...' a soft call from the kitten took her attention as she bent down to grab it . she gently patted it and looked up at the 7 princes who had their eyes on her . she looked around and thought of a great idea . " since there isn't much to do , do you want to join me ?" she pointed to the space below the old tree and they gladly agreed .
as soon as they sat down , the cute animals had made themselves home on their laps . " oh no no no no no ." a puppy had ran off to the pool and had fell in but the princess's fast reflexes took over and jumped into the cold water and lifted the puppy that was shivering in the cold . " be careful next time !" she exclaimed softly to the puppy as she laughed looking at everyone who had their eyes on her .
