In a kingdom torn by power struggles and political intrigue, Jieun, the rightful heir to the throne of the East, finds herself sidelined as her brother, Jungwon, takes control. Determined to reclaim her birthright, Jieun seeks alliances and forms a...
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WHEN SHE WAS ELEVEN YEARS OLD AND JUNGWON WAS CROWNED HEIR, THE WORLD WAS NOT SURE IF THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO CELEBRATE IT OR MOURN. The late Crown Prince Jiho had been the prince of the realm, the one that was supposed to bring them into a year of peace. That peace was ripped from them when he died.
And left were Prince Jungwon, the second born prince. His whole life, Jungwon had been allowed to do whatever he wished. He was not needed during council meetings, he did not need to stand beside his father and smile. That was Jiho's job. He could yawn whenever he wished, roll his eyes as he pleased, slump in his chair if he wished. But now, he could only stand stiff and with a forced smile.
His father was always breathing down his neck, always watching with hawk-eyes. Jieun was left to rot on her own, forgotten while Jungwon suffocated in his new title, the title as the Crown Prince.
He had duties.
Duties who had once been his brother's.
And Jungwon hated it.
Especially when he watched Jieun return from the city with the triplets behind her. He never got to leave the castle as he wished. Jungwon knew the people did not like him, for he was not his older brother. Yet he could not do shit to fix it.
Not that he wanted to. The people were all poor commoners, he was the prince. Jungwon did not need their validation or good words. And then his sweet sister did everything she could to make them like him. Jungwon found it dumb.
She always seemed to do stupid stuff. Stupid, reckless stuff. All to get some attention from their father and find some sort of validation. She would sometimes neglect her own needs. When they were twelve, she refused to eat and would only do so when father was tending to her. She pushed herself to the point where she neglected her own needs, where she ignored her discomfort, denying her safety just so their father would notice her.
Jungwon could not possibly wrap his head around it. Why would she want attention from him?
That old oaf.
All he ever did was tell Jungwon what to do, how to act and how to behave. Ranging from how to eat properly, how big the pieces of meat should be when he cut them up on his plate, how many times he should chew, how many sips of wine he should take to how he should walk, how he should sit, how he should speak.
