Secret of the Two Kings (89 CHAPTERS - ON HOLD)

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"Shun, I am one step closer to the truth." Sae Joo gripped his bodyguard's arm, his fervent gaze took the nangdo aback.

"What do you mean, Your Highness? Don't tell me you..."

With a face full of enthusiasm, he smiled and nodded as if nothing dangerous had happened to him. "Yes, I met with that person. It's a woman! I don't know her full identity—her name or her purpose, but she told me the truth. Sae Yoo shares the same blood as mine."

"What? What are you talking about, Prince?"

"I think he was my brother. You know what, the moment I read that name, my heart jumped. My soul left my body, and I felt empty. The name Sae Yoo rang inside my head. I could feel the connection, the longing for something that would complete me. I've always had this gut feeling that he was somehow closer to me than anybody else."

"Your Highness, if Sae Yoo was your brother, why has no one ever mentioned him to you? Why did the royal family acted as if you're an only child?"

"I don't know, Shun. That's what I have to know. I must know. I have the right to know! This time, even though they hate me with what I've done, I won't back down anymore. I will insist on my right to know what happened to him. She's right... my values are already molded in my own standard of what is right and what is wrong. I am on the right side. They can't sway me anymore." he turned to his bodyguard and ordered, "Let's go, Shun. I'm ready to face my family."

The mists had cleared out, and the clouds dissolved and moved out of the moonlight's path. Brighter, warmer, and more efficient than the burning torch. Shun led the way to his horse, and they traveled back to the palace.

~~•~~

Waiting inside the King's chambers were Jae Joong, Jung Ho, and Dae Wong—the three tenured musketeers. Silence entrapped the whole room, stitching their mouths and clenching their teeth. If it were not for the calming scent of green tea, the three of them would have already erupted like geysers.

"Your Majesty, the Prince has arrived. He asks for an audience," a lady-in-waiting announced, which made all of them look at the door.

Jae Joong responded coldly, "Enter."

When the door slid open, Sae Joo bowed. He raised his head and examined the frozen cold faces of the three elders. Strangely, no sign of fear sailed across his chest. His beating heart was calm, and his blood flowed quietly.

"Sit," Jae Joong ordered timidly.

Sae Joo sat and dipped his head in a low bow, facing the King—Jung Ho on his left, Dae Wong on his right. If an ordinary person would barge in unnoticed like an invisible man, he would think that the Prince was being interrogated by the Prosecution Department. The intensity of their nipping stares could tear the Prince's flesh into pieces—as if he has killed someone!

Breaking the awkward, chilling silence off, Sae Joo started explaining, "I know what I did was wrong. Let me—"

Jae Joong interrupted, his voice full and deep like a tuba. "Who gave you the right to talk first?"

Sae Joo shifted his look away from his father slowly, his lips pursed into a thin line.

The King continued, "You... who are you? I don't know you anymore. You dare deceive your father and the King of this nation!" his neck veins almost popped out from his throat in anger. "Over what? Just to meet this person, whom you don't even know? What if they hurt you? What if they abducted you? What if they killed you? Didn't you even think about the future of this kingdom? When are you going to grow up? When are you going to see that you're not an ordinary person! You're just thinking about yourself! You're willing to risk your life just for this nonsense truth and a person that won't come back into life!"