taegi | galdive ✨

galdive

The kingdom of Fiore has a lot to offer. They have a robust agriculture that is envied across the lands, extremely skilled metalsmiths to adorn you with the finest jewelries or a sword if you wish, as well as the vastest collection of books in the continent. It's a prosperous kingdom and Taehyung is typically not one to complain, but for a young bachelor like him, there's not much source of entertainment in the area.

Sure there are the taverns, but Taehyung and alcohol do not mix well. The library has an extensive collection of books—including recreational ones—but he could never see that place as one for relaxation when he's holed up there most of the time as a scholar. At the very least there are the occasional festivals that Taehyung always looks forward to.

Taehyung loves being a part of a big crowd, loves the amazing food and rare sweets, the pretty lights and fireworks in the night. He lives for these beautiful fleeting moments that spice up his life. So much so that he has the happenings at every single festival engraved to his mind. Taehyung's favorites are the Harvest Festival, the Festival of the Golden Dragons, and the Festival of Flowers. He knows when they are typically held and yes there were some cases where some of them were postponed by a week, but he is still befuddled as he walks through the square and sees footmen busy hanging up golden banners of the royal family together with flashy streamers. That's very odd, he's pretty sure there are no festivals held in March.

He scrunches his brows in confusion, slowing down to look for the nearest bulletin board to see if there is any circular for an event. There's usually a paper calling for volunteers or performers but the board is clear of any new postings. Taehyung shrugs, deciding to continue on his way toward the library. He still has more than 200 pages to inscribe and maybe this is just the royal family showing off to a foreign ambassador.

He puts that thought behind him as he enters the library and settles into his seat, quill in hand as he puts ink onto parchment. It couldn't possibly be of any importance to him.

Or so he thought. Until his best friend Jimin shows up around noon to sit next to him and pleads, "Please come to the ball with me, Taetae."

"What ball?" he asks, slightly surprised that Jimin has appeared at the library—a place he often described as dull, desolate, and dreary.

"The ball," Jimin says, slightly bewildered that Taehyung isn't catching on.

"I know you fancy that Namjoon fellow from Mildian, but Professor Lee will skin me alive if I leave for more than three days. You know that, right?" Taehyung says, knowing that it'll take at least a day's ride to go to their neighboring kingdom who's ambassador is someone Jimin proclaimed he had fallen in love with at first sight.

"Namjoon has nothing to do with this you—" Jimin huffs, puffing out his cheeks "—okay I do think he'll be there and I can't waltz through the palace doors with a lady in my arm like a hetero—" he spits out the word like a curse, "—all because my mother doesn't want to waste any opportunity to set me up with some girl from some noble family."

Taehyung smiles in sympathy. He knows just how overbearing Jimin's mother can be. "Sorry Jiminie. I can't go to Mildian unless I finish making a copy of the 180 pages left of the Constitution of the Alvarez Empire." The edges of its pages are turning brittle to the touch and it's part of Taehyung's job to make sure that there isn't any information lost from their archives.

"It's not in Mildian, silly. It's here in Fiore, to celebrate the birth of the Prince's newborn sister! Yoonji!" Jimin exclaims, voice going past the allowed noise level in a library, but no one would ever dare to shush the Park Jimin.

"Oh." Taehyung nods. So that's why they've hung the banners. He never really kept track of the internal affairs in the Palace. He didn't even know that the Queen was expecting. His knowledge only extends to the assurance that they have an of-age, healthy, able-bodied, and supposedly kind (Jimin's words) Crown Prince and frankly that's all he needs to know. Taehyung is aware — as a scholar whose academy is reliant on the good graces of the royals—just how much of a wreckage and chaos a kingdom could fall into if the royal family doesn't have an heir in line to the throne.