royal blood

13 | first signs of murder.

"               dear my sooyoung,

     i know you might have no time to listen to whatever i am about to tell you, since i know you are involved in a lovely summer project, but i fear to tell you that i have a feeling i'm being stalked. starting today, i have this sudden paranoia wherever i go.
     today, i had my first entrance for the 1923 summer festival. i walked down, around the people of hlorrendin, until i happen to spot a hooded figure. i could not see his face, but i could clearly tell it was a man.
     who would wear a hood in the middle of the summer ? it was such a lovely weather, sunny and very warm, and i see such a strange person standing infront of the crowd. suddently, it hit me that he was surely there to see me.
     after i enterd the tent where the first show would take place, i noticed that the hooded figure had made his way inside the tent. he was quite tall, and the only one who happend to spot his presence was yeri. she pointed it out to mother, who let out a laugh, seeing as he was dressed inappropriately for the weather.
      what could this be, my dear ? i know you always happen to have strange men around you, stalking your every move, but it is a first for me. i have never experienced so much paranoia in a single day my whole entire life. it was like i was being watched from every single corner.
      i must have scared you so much. you know, forget about this one, love. i will forget about it and assume that it was just an individual who prefers not to show his face. it was unusual, but it always might be a stupid coincidence that makes me wonder about this weird world we are living in.
     how are you, sooyoung ? your recent letters have been telling me about the preparation for your next show. i am thrilled to tell you that i have been able to buy a ticket for it. i am so excited to come and see you !
     and, yes, i have left the most important aspect of my letter for the end. my love, it has been seven months since we have started exchanging letters. seven months since we first started talking to eachother and loving eachother. seven months since we promised a better future for one another.
     i am going to wait for your letter, but, just so you are aware, you are going to receive a bouquet of flowers from an anonymous person. that is from me, and i want to give you those a sign that our love blooms more each day.
    i love you so much, sooyoung. it pains me that i will never be allowed to marry a woman like you, but that doesn't mean we can not be together. i will refuse to marry any other princess and stay unmarried while being with you.

         yours truly,
         doyoung.                "

—

taeyong read the whole letter. he was shocked to hear that doyoung was seeing sooyoung, a well-known actress of their time. he put the letter down, as wendy crossed her arms around her chest. they looked at eachother, before wendy let out a small sigh.

" there is not much here to prove that doyoung was actually stalked, but what i do know is that it is hard to get into that tent. the tent, in which yeri saw that hooded figure as well, it is a place where only people with notable titles and actual royal titles are allowed. " wendy said, as she walked closer to taeyong.

" which means that baron sicheng was clearly in there. did you happen to see him during that time ? " taeyong asked, as wendy shaked her head. " then, he must've been able to get in with a hooded figure and be able to stalk his highness without being caught. "

" you are right. " wendy nodded, as she finally sat down. " yeri is returning today. from what i have heard, doyoung's maid is also coming back from a sudden trip to peleria. " she cleared her throat, before widening her eyes. " that is also strange, her leaving right after doyoung passed away. "

" we must talk to her as soon as she gets back to the palace. " taeyong said, as he took out a notebook. " could i keep this letter ? i want to inspect it a little. it is still weird to me that sooyoung was able to talk to his highness. i must find out myself if the letter is authentic or not. " he smiled, as wendy nodded.

" mr. lee, please promise me that you will not show this letter to anyone. " wendy said, as she handed him the letter. " it is extremely important to our investigation. miss. park is the only person that actually might know what brother went through. " she explained to taeyong, who nodded.

he carefully placed the letter in between the pages of his notebook. he put it back in his backpack, as he looked around the room. he got up, as wendy quickly followed. they smiled at eachother, as taeyong bowed towards wendy. wendy bowed back.

" i am going to leave. " taeyong said, as he waved towards wendy. wendy waved back, as both of them started laughing. " i will see you again, your majesty. have a great day ! " he said, before walking away.

wendy looked towards him. she could read taeyong, a man who had tried to hide his own struggles by trying to help others. in wendy's eyes, he was just like doyoung. doyoung was just like taeyong, a man chasing for justice in a world where corruption led.

wendy wished that he wouldn't turn out like doyoung. thankfully, taeyong was not known around the country, he was not pushed into becoming someone so different from his true self. taeyong reminded wendy of doyoung because of pure they were, because of their love of the world.

she wished to be like them, to see the beauty of the world.

—

yeri put down her briefcase. she finally returned to ceham, after a week of surprise in the county of peleria. she wished to return to fetin and spend her time with her new friends, and with all of the children she spent her time around. she loved living a simpler life.

during her visit, sicheng took her to the orphanage. a lot of children recognized her, and yeri couldn't help but smile and run around with the different children who were clearly shocked to see a princess with them. sicheng, who had chosen not to play with the rest at first, but he decided to join in on the fun.

yeri walked into the palace, quickly seeing that wendy was sitting at the dining room. she walked up to her sister, before pulling her into a hug from the behind. wendy flinched, before she looked up to see yeri. they both started laughing, as wendy got up.

" hello ! " wendy said, as she held yeri's hand. " i missed you, sister. but i also wish to hear you tell me about your experience in fetin. " she said, as yeri nodded. " you must answer all of my questions. i am extremely curious, you know how i am. " she smiled, as yeri nodded once again.

" i didn't expect to have this much fun in fetin. while i was supposed to meet jungwoo everywhere, he always happend to be busy. therefore, sicheng was able to follow me around my first royal tour. " yeri said with a small smile, as wendy raised her eyebrow. " it was unexpected to see such a nice side from sicheng. "

yeri's cheeks became red, as wendy suddently widened her eyes. " yeri, are you blushing while talking about baron sicheng himself ? i never expected to see such thing from you ! " she softly hit yeri's shoulder, as a laugh escaped yeri's mouth.

" he is so lovely, i do not understand why he is misunderstood by so many. "

—