royal blood

21 | sacramentum, insolutam.

yeri walked down the hallways of the palace in the middle of the night, a sight she never really got used to doing before her brother's death. she was terrified of the night itselt, of the darkness that surrounded the area of the grand castle. she had always been scared of wondering around on her own, and always wanted someone to go with her.

doyoung was the one who was going to walk with his sister to the places she refused to go all by herself. he would always hold her hand, keep the candle lit and make sure they got safely to their bedrooms and the place they wanted to go to. but, doyoung wasn't with her anymore.

she knocked at the door where sicheng was staying. sicheng was going to be a guest of the castle for a few more days, and he and yeri spent their days doing simple things that brought joy to them. they were painting in the garden, going around the capital, meeting children and giving them fruits as gifts and read together in the library.

yeri never expected to think so highly of sicheng, a person she had hated her whole life. she always found him immature, a childish man who tried to act tough and ruthless. while he might have been a little childish in the actions he made, he was not a bad person. he was a good soul.

sicheng turned around, seeing that yeri was standing infront of his room. he got up from the bed, greeting yeri with a soft hug. yeri let out a small laugh, before taking out an orange. sicheng widened his eyes, gladly accepting the small gift yeri brought him.

" thank you, miss. kim. " sicheng said, attempting to bow infront of yeri. she quickly stopped him, now covering her face, to hide her laughter. " i did not expect you to gift me an orange in the middle of the night, at eleven o'clock, but i shall eat it with joy tomorrow morning. " he smiled, before placing the orange on his nightstand.

" i came to tell you something. " yeri said, as sicheng looked back at her. " wendy is coming back from ouverport tomorrow, and she has some information regarding brother's sudden death. " yeri sat down on the bed, as sicheng quickly joined her. " according to a woman who happend to see brother in his final day, there was a hooded figure behind him. "

" hooded figure ? " sicheng raised his eyebrow, before he looked out the window. suddently, he let out a gasp. " a hooded figure. the hooded figure doyoung told me about during the festival .. the tent ! " he told yeri, who covered her mouth in shock. doyoung had told her about the hooded figure, but she laughed it off.

" i remember that too. " yeri ran her hands through her hair, " i laughed it off. i laughed off the possible killer of my own brother. " she said, as thoughts of guilt filled up her mind. she should have done something, something small like telling her father or the guards, but she chose to make it a joke, even if it concerned doyoung. " i have done something that could have lead to my brother's death .. "

" do not think like that. " sicheng held her face with his hands, as tears rolled down her cheeks. " how could you have guessed it was the killer ? maybe it was not even the same person. it is .. usual for people to have grey hoods. it is cold, and people choose to buy them. " he tried explaining it to yeri, who shaked her head.

" i do not think that was a different person. " yeri told sicheng, who slowly started nodding. " that person had been following brother for so long, they must have planned it everything, all of the details that lead to the murder. " she looked out the window, as sicheng let out a sigh.

" that hooded figure is responsible for my brother's death. "

—

irene decided to run away from sooyoung. she was not able to comprehend what sooyoung had told her, and decided to leave. sooyoung and doyoung were in a relationship for a whole year, and irene never got to know. her own best friend did not tell her anything, and, somehow, it hurt irene.

she opened the door to the motel she stayed in, before heading straight to her room. irene walked to her bag, searching for something. after a minute, irene took out doyoung's grey blazer, the blazer that she wanted to bring to his grave after she visited ouverport. she brought it closer to her, as a small tear escaped her eye.

it felt weird. it was a strange feeling that irene never experienced before. irene continued to look at the blazer, as the door slowly opened. she turned around, as sooyoung stood in the door frame, confused at the sight of her friend. sooyoung approached irene, before sitting down next to her.

" i am sorry if that was so sudden. " sooyoung spoke quietly, as irene continued to look away from sooyoung. " it was so strange of me to just tell you that now, but i was scared of the rest of the world finding out. " she tried to explain to irene, who decided to remain silent. " i hope you are able to forgive me. "

suddently, irene places doyoung's blazer on sooyoung's lap. " i was planning it on putting it on his grave, but i want you to keep it now. it was his majesty's, but he gave it to me after we talked at the casino. " irene let out a sigh, as sooyoung widened her eyes. " it was eight years ago, but i still cherish it. it makes me remind me that there were good men on earth. " a laugh escaped her mouth.

" i never knew that you and doyoung got to talk. " sooyoung raised her eyebrow, " but i am glad to know you are giving this to me. i know it meant a lot to you, and i hope you are sure of your decision. " she held irene's hand, as her friend nodded. they finally looked at eachother, before irene caught something strange in the window.

a hooded figure was standing infront of the window.

—

taeil took a bite of his apple, beford putting it down on the table. he was sitting in the dining room, waiting for his brother to come and talk about what they were going to do with the crown of hlorrendin. since doyoung was not alive anymore, the crown prince needed to be replaced.

as the prince of peleria, jaehyun was expected to take the crown over yeri or wendy, but that would mean he would lose the pelerian title. due to jaehyun being an only child, the next in line for the pelerian crown was taeil. however, this crown prince was also chosen based on the government's voting.

" brother, i expected you to be somewhere else. " jungwoo said, taking a seat at the grand table. " i am questioning your sudden interest in the title of crown prince of peleria. obviously, either me or you are going to get voted by the government, so you don't have to worry about someone else receiving the title. "

" sicheng is not going to accept the crown. " taeil mumbled, " but we can never be too sure. he is going to destroy peleria, he is going to move the capital to ouverport, and jaehyun is going to accept it ! " he yelled, turning around. " sicheng and jaehyun do not know how to lead a country ! "

" doyoung would have never been able to lead hlorrendin either. " jungwoo scoffed, as the door to the palace opened. he looked up, seeing that someone, wearing a grey hood, was walking up into the kitchen.

" i am sorry for being late. " sicheng said with a smile, taking off his grey hood.

—