redamancy | enhypen

𝐨𝐧𝐞

chapter one

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"her highness, princess lee hayan enters!"

the guards were previously standing relaxedly, some even leaning their hands on their spear, but stood upright hearing the announcement.

they hurried to open the tall and heavy doors to the throne room.

in she walked with unrivalled grace and sophistication, the only princess of the kingdom of sapphirus.

her beautiful midnight black hair contrasted her deep blue eyes that shined like sapphires, living up to the name of her kingdom.

her mien was like that of an elegant swan, but the liveliness swirling in her eyes would make a smile bloom on anyone's visage.

the throne room was majestic, befitting of a kingdom as great as sapphirus.

right after entering through the huge door, a long and carpeted trial, leading up to the platform where the monarch's throne was, greeted hayan.

halting her steps right before the throne of the king and queen, she bowed with big movements, an appropriate way of greetting the king and the queen according to their kingdom's customs.

"greetings to the king and queen, may the goddess be ever kind to your majesties."

her father and mother smiled seeing their precious daughter.

"my dear daughter, what may be the reason that you're visiting us this early?", the queen asked with a gentle smile.

"i would like your permission to visit the neighbouring kingdoms, your majesties. my tutor madam na has proposed that it would be of immense help to my heirship study.", with her unwavering voice, hayan addressed her parents.

"very well.", the king spoke, his voice echoing throughout the vast room.

"madam na had brought up the topic to us and we've had a long discussion." the queen asked, "when are you planning on leaving?"

"i am yet to get prepared but i'm planning on leaving within this week", she replied.

"see to it that the preparation goes well for the princess", the king ordered the attendee of the princess accompanying her. "is that all?", he asked hayan.

"yes, your majesty."

"alright, you may take your leave now."

"i appreciate it, mother and father", hayan smiled and bowed to her parents once again.

with that, she excused herself from the room.

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as soon as she reached her room, hayan let out a squeal. jumping onto her bed from excitement, she screamed into her pillow.

earlier in the throne room, she was trying to compose herself after hearing her parents' actually agreeing to her request. now, she felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

she was elated.

though she may have grown up in the palace, she couldn't bring herself to like it as much as people would expect. sure, there were luxuries one could only dream of enjoying but never being able to acquire.

hayan was thankful for the life full of comfort and luxuries that she was provided with ever since her birth but being cooped up there for life was not something she appreciated. her daily routine was a repeated cycle of getting dolled up unwillingly, long hours of strenuous classes, fancy dinners, sleepless nights, and the cycle repeats again.

she craved to go outside, explore landscapes and sceneries she'd never seen before, discover the hidden jewellike places she had only ever daydreamed of seeing. reading about them from books wasn't enough.

freedom was what she craved.

being the only child of her parents and the only heir to the throne of the kingdom, her parents were overprotective of her, quite reasonable for a royal.

hayan was restricted from a lot of things; going out of the palace being one of them, and it's also one of the major reason why she didn't like the life of royalty.

and as such, she decided to visit the kingdoms of their continent, hoping to enjoy a few months of freedom.

this was her last chance of fulfilling her dreams, afterall, she'll be tied down to the duties of a ruler once winter arrived.

"i really need to thank madam na, after all those months of convincing, she finally agreed", hayan spoke to herself, still swinging her legs from her high.

her tutor had been of great help to her plan of visiting the kingdoms. hayan was close to her as she had been her pupil since childhood and she begged her for months to bring up the topic to her parents, knowing they'd never willingly agree if it was brought up by hayan herself.

there was a knock on the door.

"your highness, it's time for your calligraphy lesson."

mina, hayan's handmaiden entered her room.

"c'mon mina it's hayan to you", hayan grumbled.

mina only laughed seeing the princess complaining like a child.

"there are maids outside your door, your highness. i can't possibly address you casually when they're present."

"still, you should call my name when it's only us in the room. we're literally best friends, mina", hayan sighed.

"alright, alright. now let's get ready for your lesson or you'll be late, hayan."

hayan giggled, "okay! let's get ready."

after her lesson, hayan told mina about her upcoming visit to the neighbouring kingdoms. mina was happy for her friend but concerned for her well-being.

since hayan won't be visiting as a 'princess' and will be under a disguise the whole journey, her concern was reasonable.

hayan brushed her off saying she'll be fine as mina will be accompanying her along with her personal knight.

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a/n: hello! tysm for reading this book. a new character will be introduced in the next chapter, stay tuned~

written on 18th may 2023