Hana of the Dusk | Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 8: A Castle with Many Trapdoors.

"How are you feeling, Princess Hana?" Soo-won asked Hana, who was sitting across from him with a very bored expression. The enthusiasm and kindness she held for him for as long as they lived had died. Now, he could only see a pair of vengeful hollow eyes.

The sun had set. The two of them had just finished having a dull dinner in her room. Soo-won would eat with her all the time although he knew his presence was a nuisance to her. He didn't want her to be alone.

Hana placed her chin on her palm and played with the tea in the cup she was holding. She tilted it back and forth, watching the flow of the tea reflecting her own uninterested face. "How was the summit?" She ignored the previous question from her so-called 'betrothed' and replied with her own question. His question was stupid; he knew it very well how she was feeling, but it's not like he would try to fix it. He couldn't. The damage was done.

"It went not as well as I hoped for," Soo-won sighed, "Lord Mundok didn't approve of my ascension."

"Were you expecting less from him?" Hana snickered.

"No. But I'm sure he'd come to the coronation 3 days from now, for the sake of Fuuga people," Soo-won replied.

Hana's smirk fell from her face, "what would you do if he wouldn't submit?"

Soo-won's face hardened with that cold expression that he wore on the night he pierced his sword into the heart of King Il. "You know very well what I would do."

Hana knocked the cup over as she jumped over the table and pounced on Soo-won like a lioness on a stag, straddling his waist as she wrapped her fingers around his neck. The tea spilled all over the table, but that was the least of her concern at the moment.

"Listen here, Lord Soo-won. If you dare to lay a hand on anyone from Fuuga, I swear I will lose my patience. They're my family, and if you take them away, I'll make your life so miserable you'll wish you hadn't messed with mine," she whispered threateningly, her nails digging into Soo-won's flesh. Even when she was choking him, Soo-won was still calm. He just stared up into her eyes without an attempt trying to get rid of her fingers. Because he knew, she wouldn't kill him.

And he was right.

Hana released his throat and got off his body. She stalked towards her bed and sat on it. Soo-won sat up again and continued to stare at his beloved. Hana's eyes met his as she lifted her head.

"There's something I want to ask you. As I was locked up all day for three days in this room, I realized something," Hana paused. Clenching her fists, she asked, "did you drug my drink the evening before you killed my father?"

Soo-won did not seem surprised that she was able to figure it out, as he was already expecting it. She would know it eventually without anyone telling her. Hana had always had a sharp and cunning mind. Honestly, he was more surprised that it took her this long to confront him about it.

"You have keen eyes, Hana. Yes, I did," Soo-won confessed.  "I knew you would visit your father before going to sleep, so, to succeed my plan, Kye-sook told me to drug you so you wouldn't stand in the way. You weren't supposed to wake up until the next morning," Soo-won explained.

Hana maintained their gaze for another two seconds before turning her head towards the window. She began to laugh bitterly. "What a fool was I," she shook her head, "I thought you really wanted to hear about my boring adventure, but it turned out it's only one of your tricks."