.seventy.
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"You two should talk. He's your brother and I know he cares about you. I can influence him so that he can forget everything that happened."
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Eun and Han returned to their house with a troop of palace guards guiding them. They had warned the two young princes that theirs was a new nation and after the death of their beloved king, it was possible that there would be an uprising. Someone else might try to take up the throne, and that meant the lives of the princes were in danger. The guards suggested for the princes to stay in the palace until further notice. But they didn't want to leave their wives, children, and family behind at their house. Instead, Han and Eun asked them to accompany them to the house, and for some of them to remain in order to reinforce the property.
When they arrived Eun immediately retreated to his bedroom where his wife was waiting for him. At the moment she was sat with the twins atop a blanket on the floor and took care of them while they played. Jinki was in her arms and she turned her head towards the sound of their bedroom door when she heard his approaching steps. She had learned to tell his footsteps apart from the maids, and she instantly knew it was him.
A smile formed on her lips as she greeted him. "Love, you're back already? How's his majesty doing? Did you get to see him?"
Eun was surprised that even despite the way she was treated by the king, she still wondered how he was doing. And her question was genuine. She didn't hold any resentment towards him. But that was because he was her husband's father. As she had told him several times, he didn't have to love her as long as he loved Eun and their children.
The tenth prince dropped to his knees beside her and broke out into tears. He quickly sought her comfort and drew his arms around her, taking her by surprise. "He's gone, jagi. He's really gone." He cried into the crook of her neck. His crying had found a way to startle Jinki awake, and the baby started crying loudly. Surprisingly for Minji, the twins remained calm. Eun Bi crawled over to her father's side and tugged on the material of his gown to get his attention. Eun, still crying, pulled away from Minji's side and looked down at the toddler who wanted his attention. Even though she was a bit over two years old, she understood that her father was sad and she offered her comfort. She opened her tiny arms for him and he brought her into his arms for a hug.
Soo Hyun eventually did the same and both twins offered him their comfort.
Minji held Jinki in her arms until one of the maids came into the room to take the children to bed. She took the twins first, and Eun felt empty once he didn't have his two little ones in his arms. The maid came back for Jinki last, and when she was gone, Eun rose onto his feet. He helped Minji get up to and led her towards their bed.
"I'm really sorry for your loss." Minji spoke after a few minutes of silence between them.
Eun, who had stopped crying momentarily when he felt there were no more tears in his eyes, broke out into sobs again. She pulled her husband into his arms and rubbed small circles into his back to comfort him.
He said to her through his tears, "I don't know why I'm crying if he didn't even love me all that much."
Minji pulled back from their embrace and cupped his face in her hands. His cheeks were wet and tear stained, his lips wet as well. But she gave him a quick peck on the lips before speaking. "Don't say that, love. He was your father after all. You are a part of him. He must have loved you very much." Eun had always felt unloved by his father, and in some ways, Minji sometimes agreed. But then, when she thought about it, she concluded that as bad as the king was sometimes, he really did play favorites and Eun was one of them.
