A Prince For Me || ʜᴀɴ-ᴄᴇɴᴛʀɪᴄ

Nine

Winner :
"It's a surprise to see you here, Prince Changbin. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

And it is true. I am surprised. For the prince of the kingdom Winter Falls to be here in a small cafe in a usually not so busy street. Well, as of now, it is busy with the paparazzi quickly increasing outside the establishment. He must've heard of me being here. But why meet at such a place? Or is this purely coincidental?

"I greet your highness, Prince Jisung— he gives a discreet bow, "Would you mind if i sit in front of you?"

I'm curious to see what his excuse would be so I let him. "Not at all, prince."

He smiles at me, and promptly sits down on the unoccupied chair in front of me, and he leans slightly forward to rest his elbows on the table. If i wasn't any stronger, I would have fainted with the way his arms bulge out of his tight blazer, defining his muscular arms even more. But i remain stoic, even if the raging gay inside me is fawning. Hard.

"I am sure you are curious as to why am i here, your highness. And that it would not be so believable to have pass this as a coincidence, correct?"

Prince Changbin slyly grins. The confidence he radiates is a bit overwhelming, but as I am a competitor in the blood, I won't be backing down.

"My, Prince Changbin, we wouldn't want to be fools now, do we?" A slight twinkle in his eye sparks, and he seems amused. "Yes, prince, i am quite curious as to why you have chosen such a place for a conversation. An interesting one, i hope." I challenge him, and I already feel so boastful after a few words. I haven't had an exciting conversation like this in a while.

The last being me publicly shaming Young Duke Jung-dong. That arsehole wanted attention by first mocking my position as prince of "incompetency" because he just so happen to strike a deal with not just any other country, but the country we had had a war on. He bragged about his shipping lines and explicitly stated they were "legal trades". Suffice to say I had countered him of the fact his shipping lines passed as maritime frauds and i was aware of the entire situation. I just bided my time in his punishment, but he basically outed himself in front of the entire hall. The guards then took him away when my father saw that he was causing commotion after what i had said. It was amusing to see the life in his eyes drain when he was to be thrown in the dungeons for further investigation. A week later he had all his assets confiscated and sentenced a lifetime of prison. Not long after, Jung-dong had died in prison, for what we could only speculate as assassination from the very country he had been scheming with. That was what he got for siding with the enemy because of his lust for money and power.

Anyway.

Prince Changbin continues to grin and leans back on his seat, getting comfortable but still formal as he has his stature to uphold.

"I'm sure Prince Han Jisung has heard some... rumours floating around, and i am here to confirm a few."

"And what rumours that have been floating around needed you to come to me personally? And in public just to add?"

"That a prince like me, here for your hand in marriage, has had already been inside the kingdom of Haven. When the treaty had explicitly stated that no Royal from the seven countries should visit the Kingdom before the month it was supposed to be held.

"Surely his highness suspected already that at least one of us had broken the deal."

"And why should i trust Prince Changbin, when the culprit could also be you?" I have no reason to trust Prince Changbin's words. He has just as much incentive as the other suitors.

"It's true, I have no way of proving my innocence. My only thing is the name of the prince, which may or may not be true. I get it, if i was in your position i have all the more reason to suspect.

"But believe me, your highness, i have my own reasons to suspect you, Prince Jisung."

"How bold of you to challenge me in front of so many people. Was this your plan? Have as many spectators on our conversation so we would both be held liable if something were to happen to either one of us."

"I won't deny the certainty." Prince Changbin shrugs. He knows that I know he has moved a hard piece in the chess board for me to defeat. I start to get more serious. This prince is dangerous. He could very well frame me of something if I don't cooperate.

"Then pray tell, prince, who was the royal that had went against the treaty?"

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"Your highness?"

I look up, and I see Prince Hyunjin looking curiously at me. His gaze also seems to flicker towards Prince Changbin, and he seems to be cautious around him.

"Ah, Prince Hyunjin. My deepest apologies, I had forgotten to give you your drink." I smile at him, hopefully not upsetting him for waiting for me for too long.

"It is quite alright prince. I had just wanted to walk towards the cafe to meet you instead." He looks at Prince Changbin, as if expecting someone to say something.

"A pleasure to meet you Prince Hyunjin. I am Prince Changbin of the Kingdom Winter Falls." Prince Changbin stands up to greet Prince Hyunjin, hooking his left arm to his lower back, stretching his right hand towards the other and slight bows.

Hyunjin reciprocates the manner, and smiles sweetly. "The pleasure is also mine, Prince Changbin. I believe we haven't had the chance to talk last night at the ball. So please excuse my behaviour."

"It is no trouble prince. I apologise for having to occupy his Highness Han Jisung when the two of you had been... together." The lilt of his tone is playful, and he insinuates the fact that me and Prince Hyunjin had been together the entire day. I have no doubts we had been all over the news and social media because of the clear fact that Prince Changbin still uses the public eye as his upper hand. This ticks me off.

"It was a lovely conversation we had, Prince Jisung. I hope for more to come soon." He takes my hand gently and kisses the back of hand but i see the way he looks at me is mischievously.

Prince Changbin excuses himself and promptly leaves as quiet as he had appeared.

I turn to Prince Hyunjin and smile at him. What should i say after "again, i apologise Prince Hyunjin..."

- i enjoyed our time together, prince. I hope to spend more time with you in the near future. (Jisung leaves after a farewell)

- would you like to have dinner with me, prince? (leave a suggestion on where they eat if you choose this option)

- it seems that it is already quite late, i would be happy to bring you back to your guest palace. (They ride together in Jisung's car and talk before dropping Hyunjin off)

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I said i would update soon but it's already been a month... college applications are kicking me in the ass. I'm sorry that this took so long and I can't promise i'll be consistent with the updates even though i really want to.

Thank you so much for reading and voting it really gives me the motivation to continue! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

Also, another thing i forgot to mention, the 7 suitors are each staying at a palace in the grounds of the royal palace in the Kingdom of Haven as guests. The names of each palace will be named in the future, but i wanted to give an explanation on how Jisung would mean by bringing Hyunjin to his personal guest palace.