The double doors opened, and a man stood where the wolf had been standing.
Their eyes met.
Big, dark brown eyes had replaced the wolf's narrow honey-colored ones, but the look in them remained unchanged.
The palace library had records of all Leaders of every nation in the history of Uriversya. Only Choi Seungcheol's portrait had been missing from the records for years. No one knew where or how it vanished, and getting a replacement hadn't seemed like a priority.
A few years ago, Jeonghan found it shoved on a random, boring shelf. He had recognized him instantly. In the portrait, Choi Seungcheol had been young. Far before he had become the Leader of Caratland. Far before Jeonghan had discovered he was the Cheonsa. And well before the Hater Crater eruption.
The artist's strokes had captured his chiseled jawline, the thick brows and big eyes. Even years later, they were the same. But his face had become far more muscular and mature, showing the toll the tough times had taken on him. The look in his eyes matched the hardened face. It promised he regularly pulled demons from hell and ate them for lunch. Considering the situation in their world, he definitely pulled out monsters from the seas and ate them uncooked.
In his youth, Choi Seungcheol had worn his hair shoulder length, pulled half up. The top part was black, while the bottom part of the hair was gray, like the wolf's fur. Now he wore it short and swept back from his face. The gray hair remained visible at the nape.
Their clothes were as wildly different as they were. Jeonghan wore fine royal robes, white and pristine. Choi Seungcheol wore boots covered in dirt, combat pants with many pockets and a well-fitted shirt.
Jeonghan wished the spell still bound him as Choi Seungcheol strolled in and sat in the same spot as before. He looked no less massive than the wolf, his shoulders almost taking up the same amount of space. Then there was the oppressive energy that surrounded him. Jeonghan felt the same fear rising in his stomach.
The wolf-in-human-skin arranged his legs in a lotus position, mirroring him, and spoke in a deep, "I'm Choi Seungcheol. The leader of Cartland."
Choi Seungcheol spoke and waited and waited and waited. Jeonghan wasn't sure what he was waiting for. Hopefully, not for a 'nice to meet you'. After what felt like an era had passed and the generations changed, his lips curved into a smile, amused by the silence.
"I know exactly who you are," he said and leaned closer, his face almost breaching the circle. Once it was lit by the spell, he added. "Your Highness."
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In public, Yoon Jeonghan, the Crown Prince of Pledis, wore Shua's face. Or perhaps it would be more ethical to say Shua carried Yoon Jeonghan's name in public. Few knew the true face of the Crown Prince; Caratland's Leader was not among them.
However, it wasn't a hard to guess that he knew. Jeonghan wouldn't be bound to the spell otherwise. No matter how old or foreign. All spells adhered to basic sets of rules and, according to those rules, binding spells needed a full name or blood or any other parts of body and soul, something unique to the person to bind them.
