How long had he been standing there? And how much had he heard?

"It's not him," Sunghoon repeated to emphasise the words. He walked closer, and this close, the five could see the desperation in his face, the pleading face he had on to convince them– but most importantly, himself. "It can't be him. Please."

"Sunghoon-ah," Soobin's heart ached for his friend. He understood the emotion, having grown up with an older brother and sister himself. That moment when the person you trusted your life with becomes the person you cannot trust anything with… That was a different kind of hurt. But if they kept babying him, then there would be no end to this. "Sunghoon-ah, I never asked this out of respect. But you know it, don't you? So can you tell me… why you were learning to be the king too?"

The ice prince stopped in his tracks from where he had nearly reached Soobin's bed. He hugged himself, arms gripped tightly.

"I…"

Sunghoon looked up pleadingly at Soobin, almost as if asking him to drop all the claims, to drop the suspicion but for once, the easy-going Water prince just shook his head helplessly. He couldn't do this. Any longer would be a mistake that took the life of thousands by the day.

"My father gave up on hyung," he finally admitted after realising that no one was going to drop it. "He… Seonghyun-hyung really wanted to be king his whole life, you know? But this, politics and objective ruling, decision-making– he was never good at that kind of stuff. A few years into his schooling, just before I was going to start myself, my father made the decision to have me do both."

"Then, what do you think, Sunghoon-ah?" Soobin's question pained him too. After all, he knew Seonghyun too. Granted, he had never known him well, and he hadn't liked him much, but it wasn't like he disliked him either.

"I don't, he's not like that," Sunghoon's head was shaking before he himself realised. His eyes looked wild and crazy as he stared at the others desperately. "Please. He won't, he couldn't have– that's our father–"

He broke off, choking on a sob. Soobin couldn't take it anymore and gently grasped his hand. The blue haired prince made him sit down on the bed and held his hand in comfort.

"I wish it wasn't like this either," Soobin whispered to him. The other four just watched, not knowing how to talk to Sunghoon about this. It was better to let Soobin ease him into it. "But Sunghoon, you made your decision when you accepted our help, didn't you?"

The Ice prince nodded weakly, leaning into Soobin's side. The older just carded a hand through his white hair and quietly said, "Then, can you still lie to yourself?"

"I," Sunghoon shivered, a droplet rolling down his cheek, "I can't. I know. He's been, he's been acting really weird since then. I thought it was because of our father's death. I really wanted him to not be involved in this. And yet…"

"All the signs kept pointing in the one direction you didn't want," Soobin whispered, resting his forehead against Sunghoon's. The younger slumped, the exhaustion in his face making him look years older than he actually was.

"I'm so tired," he said weakly. "So tired. But, I really can't run from this any longer, right?"

"No," Sunghoon didn't see Soobin's anguished face since he had already closed his eyes.  "Not anymore."

❀

Sunghoon asks them to be his back-up when he goes to confront his brother. He didn't truly want to think that his own brother would ever attack him but then again, he didn't think Seonghyun would kill their father either. If he had truly done that, then what was going to stop him from killing Sunghoon too?

"Don't worry, we're plenty trained," Beomgyu reassured him. He couldn't help but feel bad for the Ice prince.

"I was the top of the class in swordsmanship," Yeonjun offers, not as a boast but rather in an awkward attempt to instill confidence in the younger. "You focus on negotiating and finding out the truth, okay?"

"Okay," Sunghoon's eyes were downcast. Instead of maintaining his posture as a prince, his shoulders were slumped, as if they had the weight of the whole world on them. This was it.

Beomgyu had sent a text long message detailing their plan and its possible consequences to his brother in code that they had established since childhood to prevent others from immediately figuring out the contents. Sending letters was impossible in the short duration of time, so he had to settle for sending a message and hoping that no one would try to hack it or intercept it. The back-up needs to have back-up, after all.

It had already been five days since they had come to the Ice Kingdom. Now, the culmination of all their efforts had led to this gloomy morning, when Seonghyun had finally cleared his schedule to have a long due talk with his younger brother. The five princes came with him, and the guards who were eyeing them suspiciously immediately made way when Sunghoon told them to. It spoke volumes that the guards followed Sunghoon's orders over Seonghyun's.

Seonghyun hadn't come yet so the five of them hid themselves out of sight in the dark room that the Ice King had chosen. In the quiet darkness, Sunghoon stood by his lonesome, his figure illuminated with the golden flames flickering in the fireplace.

They waited for a few minutes before the guards outside announced the appearance of the Ice King and the doors opened. Beomgyu tensed behind the pillar he was standing, slowing down his breath and movements to not catch any attention. From where he was, he could see both Sunghoon and Seonghyun. In a farther corner, he saw Taehyun crouching lower behind the dusty furniture. For a moment, it was so quiet that Beomgyu could hear his own heart beating wildly.

Black masked guards flanked both sides of Seonghyun, as he stood there in his royal garb. It felt oddly stand-offish, as if the outfit was only for show and not in meaning. It was Beomgyu's first time seeing him and almost instantly, it was like warning bells were ringing in his head. The dead looking bloodshot eyes accompanied by a crown of ink black hair stood in stark contrast to Sunghoon's own white hair.

"Hyung," Sunghoon's voice was quiet, but it felt loud in the silent room. Beomgyu became hyper aware of all the living people crammed in this one room, each breath of his own feeling too loud and noisy to himself.

"What did you want to talk about so urgently?" Seonghyun's question was cold, unfeeling. His younger brother flinched at the tone. The Seonghyun he knew had been gone for a long time.

"I…" Sunghoon eyes the guards. "Can we talk by ourselves?"

"No."

"Fine," the white haired prince closed his eyes for a second to gather his thoughts. When he opened them, his blue eyes were as cold as Seonghyun's own black ones. "I really don't want to believe the rumours but I need to know from you. Did you kill our father for the throne?"

Silence drenched the room once again. Seonghyun's lip twisted upwards in a crooked smirk as he raised his hands and gestured something to the guards flanking on his side. Even in that smug look, all Beomgyu could see was a wild look, desperate and greedy– but also incomparably exhausted. He tensed, ready to jump out if the guards moved at the gesture but they didn't.

"What do you think?"

"I think, it would have been better if you had just talked to me," Sunghoon answered back, his fist clenched.

"Talk?" Seonghyun jerked backwards, a derisive laugh bubbling up his lips. "Sunghoon-ah, you really are so naive. Maybe all that love got to your head, hm? What do you know, of being a disappointment? Of being looked down upon, all the time, by everyone, especially the ones who you love? What do you know of having what you deserve taken from you?"

"I get it, I really do," Sunghoon's voice cracked, the emotion behind it too heavy to be hidden. "I never wanted this, you kn–"

"Stop lying," Seonghyun raised his hand, and the guards attacked in a flash. Yeonjun was the closest to Sunghoon, and he managed to block the attack just before it hit him. The Ice prince's eyes widened at that, too shocked to say anything. Beomgyu leapt out, parrying against the other guards to throw them in Soobin's direction, who immediately swung his sword straight across their legs.

"S- Stop this hyung!" Sunghoon cried out, but Seonghyun's eyes were wide with the unexpected attack.

"You… you brought in help from other kingdoms?" He grit his teeth, so angry that it almost felt like the room dropped several degrees in temperature. He barked, "Why?! Was I not enough? EVERYTHING I DID–"

He lunged at Sunghoon. Almost on reflex, Beomgyu got in between, raising his sword just by half a second late. The poisoned dagger in Seonghyun's shaking hands sunk into his shoulder and it was like a thousand needles had struck Beomgyu at once. Behind him, he thought he heard Taehyun shout his name but with glazed over eyes, the Air prince only focused on grabbing Seonghyun's arm and twisting it around to push him away.

The shock of what he had done made Seonghyun's grip loosen and instead of Seonghyun, the dagger got pushed– right above his own heart. Around them, Yeonjun, Taehyun and Soobin had defeated the Ice King's six guards but the silence in the room was deadly. Then it was pierced by Taehyun's sharp request, "Kai, please!"

The Sky prince stumbled forward, pushing Seonghyun and Beomgyu apart. Behind Beomgyu, Sunghoon was frozen in shock, his blue eyes locked onto Seonghyun's slowly collapsing form. Kai immediately got to work on Beomgyu's shoulder, shakily saying, "I'll get to your hyung after I'm done with Beomgyu-hyung–"

The Air prince felt a whole whirlwind inside him. He felt numb all over and yet like someone was burning the blood under his skin at the same time. His vision was hazy and unclear and he could make out two blurry figures hovering over him. Even blurred like that, he could recognise Taehyun. Beomgyu raised a hand with all his effort; his body felt like lead.

When his hand bumped into Taehyun's cheek, it felt wet. Beomgyu frowned, but couldn't speak. On his right side, Kai's usually steady hands were shaky as he poured something on Beomgyu's shoulder. He uncharacteristically kept cutting under his breath and he worked, "Fuck, fuck–"

"Wh- what do I do?" Beomgyu had never heard Taehyun's voice be this shaky.

"I need a clean cloth to stop the bleeding," Kai said, his voice equally shaky. A third blurry figure joined behind Kai.

"Here, Kai-ssi, please," Soobin was handing something white to the younger, who immediately got to putting pressure to the wound. The pain shot throughout his entire body and Beomgyu convulsed on the spot, groaning out in pain for the first time.

"I- I'm sorry, just a little more, Beomgyu-hyung," Kai was half sobbing, shaky finger applying even more pressure. "I, Taehyun call for doctors, he needs to be taken to the hospital!"

"Already on it," Yeonjun's muffled voice came from somewhere out of his frame. Beomgyu blinked slowly, trying not to black out. Purple dots were colouring his view and he tried to blink them away.

"Beomgyu-hyung, open your mouth."

He didn't know who said it but he obliged. Something wet passed his lips, the mixture both sweet and bitter at the same time. "Swallow it, hyung." Beomgyu never had so much difficulty swallowing something in his entire life. It was like his entire body was freezing up and cramping. But when he finally swallowed it, almost instantly his body seemed to relax.

"This is the fastest working anti-dote I have on me," Kai explained hurriedly, as he bandaged Beomgyu's shoulder. "It's the best I can do for now, and it will give us some time, until we can get him to a hospital. Taehyun, help me tie this, my hands–"

Soobin helped him before Taehyun could make his way to the other side. Beomgyu felt his vision clearing a little but then tears were springing up in his eyes, blurring the view again. His body had relaxed but now, internally he felt like someone had blasted an air conditioner to soothe the burning. It felt too much and he shivered.

Kai got up and turned to treat Seonghyun, but the sight in front of him stopped him in his tracks. Sunghoon was holding the Ice King's body in his lap. It was still and limp, with his eyes closed like he was sleeping. The Ice prince was crying, the tears dropping into the royal garb.

"Sunghoon-ssi…"

The Ice prince just shook his head, the sobs turning into a full on howl as he cried.

"Taehyun, look after Beomgyu please," Soobin begged, dropping the honorific in his haste. He didn't even have to tell him. Taehyun was already doing that. He gently lifted the older boy onto his lap, watching Soobin envelope Sunghoon in a hug from the corner of his eyes, before he stared at Beomgyu's pale face.

He carded a hand through Beomgyu's hair, the action making the older's half lidded eyes widen a little. Beomgyu looked up at Taehyun, and for the first time, he saw tears running down the younger's cheek. Never before had Taehyun been this vulnerable and broken in front of him.

"Wh- Why are you crying, silly?" Beomgyu tried to laugh, but the pain made it impossible. Taehyun hastily wiped away the tears but it was in vain because they only continued to gush out even harder.

"Y- You're so selfish, hyung," his voice was just as shaky as before. "You're so stupid."

Beomgyu didn't know what to say, so he settled for trying to wipe Taehyun's tears himself even though raising his hand felt like holding up lead.

"So foolish, so selfish," the younger kept mumbling, hands gripping Beomgyu tightly as if he was afraid that the older would slip from his fingers if he was too careless. "How can I live without you, hyung? If you had died, if you are not here anymore… how am I supposed to just live? How can I live without your warm smiles and stinky morning breath?" Beomgyu laughed despite himself at that. "How can I… without accidentally finding you in my bed, wake up without you by my side? How can I live knowing that I won't be woken up at 3 in the morning just to hear you crack an unfunny joke?"

"Hey," Beomgyu protested weakly. The front of his shirt was already wet with Taehyun's tears. "You laughed at them!"

"How can I," Taehyun's entire body was shaking, the pain was too much for him. To lose Beomgyu– even the thought was so painful that it made him cry and yet, here they were, with Beomgyu on the precipice of life and death. "How can you leave me like this?"

"I can't," Beomgyu admitted, his hand falling down after holding on for so long. The purple dotting his vision was back but he tried to say one last thing before he lost his consciousness. "Can't let go of you, Tyun… I totally, unexpectedly… fell in love… with…"

He lost consciousness before he could finish it, but he faintly remembered hearing a fading 'me too' that he wasn't sure was a hallucination - a culmination of his desires - or real words uttered by Taehyun.

✿

Beomgyu's memory was hazy after the incident. He remembered waking up in an unfamiliar hospital room for a few seconds, hearing familiar and unfamiliar voices and feeling constant pain. When his head was clear enough, he had woken up in his own bedroom back in the Kingdom of Air. Geonhak, who was sitting next to him, rushed to call in his family as Beomgyu looked around, still disoriented but feeling loads better.

He tried to speak but all he managed was to cough because of his dry throat. His guard immediately poured him a glass of water and helped him sit up to drink it. When Beomgyu drank the water, it felt like someone had breathed life into him.

"Thank you," Beomgyu gave him a small smile. Geonhak just nodded back, a rare beam on his own face. "How long have I been out?"

"A few days," Geonhak answered. "Your Majesty was treated immediately at the Ice Kingdom then shifted here after you were out of critical condition."

"I have a bad feeling but," Beomgyu shut his eyes at the mental pain of what he was about to say, "how many days of my vacation do I have left?"

"Four days, Your Majesty," he replied, moving around to cover him well in the blankets again. Beomgyu stopped him with a wave of his hands. The older man didn't sit down again, now standing next to his bedside table.

"All my holidays gone," Beomgyu lamented dramatically, but before he could indulge in an elaborate skit, the doors opened and his brother barged inside, with Dayeon right at his heels. "Hyung!"

Beom-su's eyes ran over his entire body, before he relaxed. His face contorted into a displeased one as he sat down on the bed next to him. Beom-su slapped him lightly on his arms as he spoke.

"Impulsive idiot," he said in a slight hiss. For all his anger, he still looked way too relieved for Beomgyu to take his words to heart. "Never again, swear upon my name. If I see you doing something like this without talking it through with me, I swear I will bring you back to life just to whack you to death."

"Hyung!" Beomgyu gasped in a mock scandalised tone, crossing his arms across his chest like a fair maiden trying to hide her modesty. "That is very un-princely!"

"You're one to speak," Beom-su shot back dryly before his shoulders relaxed. He just shot Beomgyu a fond but serious look. "Really. If I hadn't sent back-up immediately, I cannot even begin to think what would have happened."

"What did happen back there?" Beomgyu asked, feeling curious.

"That's not for you to know right now," Beom-su brushed it off. "You need to recover. We will talk when you are off this bed on doctor's orders."

"Ugh," Beomgyu groaned, letting his head fall back against the bedrest. Dayeon, who was standing right behind Beom-su with her arms on his shoulders, gave him a warm smile.

"I'm glad to see you're back to your usual self," she said softly. Beomgyu returned her smile, eyes flickering over to his brother again.

"Where's mother and father?" He asked, suddenly missing them.

"They are buried in work these days," Beom-su sighed, running his hand through his hair. "As am I. I had to take a break to see you, but I will have to return to it soon. Between the paperwork, the disaster packages and helping the royal family of the Ice Kingdom stand again, all while maintaining our own affairs, it's been a hell of a week."

"I can imagine," Beomgyu closed his eyes. "I know you must really be mad about what I did…"

"Of course I am!"

"But you know, I am glad I did it," Beomgyu opened his eyes to give his older brother a weak smile. "I… feel like I have finally contributed something to our kingdom. Like I finally proved myself."

Beom-su didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then, "What a foolish thought. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. I know better than anyone just how much you love our kingdom, and the people in it. Even without you risking your life, you can still do so much. I just don't wish to see you sacrifice yourself for the sake of the kingdom. You're still young–"

"As are you," Beomgyu cut in to remind him.

"–and I want you to not be in a hurry to prove yourself," Beom-su ignored his words, ploughing on. "You will have plenty of chances to do that later. For now, just enjoy your youth."

Beomgyu didn't resist. He let Beom-su worry and advise him like an older brother for once. Even if Beom-su doesn't say anything, Beomgyu knew of the burdens his older brother faced. Being born as the first in line for the throne, it was practically decided for him since the moment he was born, to shoulder the concerns of the people before his own self. Growing up like that really impacts a person. For Beom-su, it had been important that if he himself couldn't live a life without burdens, he at least wanted Beomgyu to not have to go through with it.

"I will try my best," Beomgyu promised, giving Beom-su's hand a squeeze in gratitude. Even if he couldn't follow those words, he wanted Beom-su to know that he appreciated the sentiment anyway. After a few minutes of silence, he finally dared to ask the question lingering in the back of his mind. "What… about the marriage?"

"We will need to talk with the Kangs," Beom-su said, leaning back against his wife's body. Dayeon's hand slipped around his neck in an embrace as he spoke. "It would be appropriate for us to visit them this time but considering your condition, I'm sure they are the ones who will have to visit again."

"Ah," Beomgyu looked disappointedly at his own lap. He had hoped to see the Earth kingdom with Taehyun someday. But, as it is, the dilemma they had had to arrange this marriage over was now out of the way. So to speak, there was no need for the marriage to continue as a matter of alliance for war. They could still continue with their trade alliance, of course, but it wouldn't be surprising if the Kangs suggested breaking it off.

He might not marry Taehyun at all.

When Beom-su and Dayeon left a few minutes later, Beomgyu laughed derisively at the irony of fate. Geonhak looked at him in question, but for once he kept his thoughts to himself. Months ago, he had been unsure of his future with Taehyun. And today, when the chance arose to break off the marriage, it oddly ached his heart to even think about it.

With an unexpected rough start but surprising grace, Kang Taehyun had stumbled into his heart and made it his home.

✿

Beomgyu's parents visited him the next morning. He was woken up by his mother's familiar gentle hands carding through his black hair and turned to look at her with a sleepy smile.

"Mom…" He mumbled, trying to blink away the sleep in his eyes. His mother gently stroked the side of his face lovingly, her eyes sad but relieved.

"Yes, my baby bear?"

"What are you doing here so early in the mo–awrning?" Beomgyu stifled a yawn as he sat up. His body felt much lighter after sleeping for more than 12 hours. It almost felt like he had just casually woken up and hadn't just nearly met death a few days ago.

"We couldn't find the time to come here yesterday," Choi Hangyu said apologetically, sitting on his other side. "So we came here first thing in the morning."

"Mm," Beomgyu just looked at them both with a soft smile, feeling his heart swell with happiness. He had truly been blessed with a wonderful family, surrounded by kind and loving people all the time.

"You really scared me," his mother said quietly in the silence of the cold morning. Someone had parted the curtains to let the winter sunlight stream in, but had probably forgotten to change the thermostat temperature. Park Shin-ae took her son's hand in her own, caressing it to comfort both him and herself.

"You two…" His father sighed, rubbing his own temple. "Like mother, like son, truly. Giving me so much stress… I am going to end up having blood pressure or heart problems at this rate. First your mother, and now you. There is no one else but Beom-su that I can trust!"

It was no wonder who Beomgyu got his dramaticness from. His father and he bonded over it when he was young, and even now, in his 50s, Choi Hangyu did not hide his true self when he was alone with them. Being a king meant being reliable and collected. The only time they got to be truly themselves was within the confines of their room.

"Sorry," Beomgyu giggled, reaching a hand out to his father. He felt like a child of six again, surrounded by his parents, asking for a hug after getting an owie. The two didn't even hesitate and immediately pulled him into one, the warmth of the embrace sending goosebumps down Beomgyu's cold body. In their arms, he could finally admit the thoughts he had buried inside, "I killed someone."

"We heard," they didn't let go of him, only continuing to hold on tighter. "I know that's a scar on your heart that mere words from us cannot undo, but I hope you know that no one blames you for it. It was a total accident, and at least half the blame lies on the boy who brought the poisoned dagger himself. You were only protecting and defending yourself, Beomgyu."

Beomgyu swallowed, feeling the lump in his throat die down at his father's words. A cold gust of wind had him shivering. "Someone needs to up that thermostat."

"I'll do it," his mother said after holding him for a few minutes. While she did it, his father leaned back and searched for something in the inside of his coat. He produced a white envelope from within and pressed it into Beomgyu's hands.

"What's this?" Beomgyu asked curiously, turning it around to see his own name written in a beautiful unfamiliar handwriting.

"Park Sunghoon sent you a letter," his father answered, getting off the bed. His wife came up next to him and leaned against him as he continued, "It reached yesterday morning but you hadn't woken up at that time, so I held onto it for you."

"Park Sunghoon?" Beomgyu was surprised. The two were not friends and had never even talked in private before. It was surprising.

"I'm assuming it's him updating you about the situation in the Ice Kingdom," his father shrugged, wrapping an arm around his wife. "I wanted to talk more with you, but I think you need to hear his words more than mine right now."

"Alright," Beomgyu nodded. He watched his parents leave with promises of seeing him for lunch later (if they managed to catch a break from their work). Once again alone in his room, he quietly opened the envelope; his father had already worked the seal open for him. The letter inside was long, spanning pages, so Beomgyu got himself comfortable before starting to read.

To,
Choi Beomgyu,
(Second Prince of the Kingdom of Air)

I hope this letter finds you well. I do not know where to begin with thanking you for all that you have done, but I truly wish to convey my gratitude regardless. In a position like ours, it is never easy to make friends, nor to find others that we can trust – and as I have learnt, not even family can be trusted fully at times. Despite that, everything you have done for me came from a place of a desire to help, which I suspected you for, to be very honest – and yet you only returned it with your own trust. I cannot comprehend what compelled you to help me, someone who is practically a stranger to you, by risking your life, and for that, I will always owe you a great debt.

Circumstances made us allies for these past few days, but after what you did for me, I wish to personally extend a hand of friendship to you. You and your kingdom have helped me raise my kingdom again, and though the situation here is still very complicated, it has been easier to handle knowing that I have you on my side. I also wish to extend my gratitude to your family, who have endlessly helped me in the past few days, both on a personal and political level.

Soobin-hyung stayed around for a bit longer than the rest of you and he told me that you might perhaps be shaken by what happened here in the Ice Kingdom. I want you to know that I do not blame you at all, for anything that occurred. If anything, I'm immensely grateful for what you did. Without your protection, perhaps the scene today might have been completely different. I won't deny that it hurt me a lot to see my older brother die – he was after all, my family for so many years. But as I have come to know, sometimes bonds do run thicker than blood, and a friendship like yours is a blessing meant to protect and guide me. I thank you for what you did, because as I have now realised, the magic could only be undone with his death.

Oh, that's right. I also wanted to tell you that the haywire magic has finally gone back to normal. The situation is still pretty bad from all the awry magic from before, but we are working on building it all up again. The lives that have been lost, cannot be brought back, but I can only swear upon my name to do my best for all those who remain. I also feel obliged to tell you that there were some nobles who were not happy about your presence here and did disapprove of your actions at the start, claiming I had to instigate war, but you should have seen Soobin-hyung and Yeonjun-ssi when that happened. I promise that all those nobles were taken care of and instead of a war as they suggested, I will be extending a proposal for alliance soon after we get back on our own feet.

I also wanted to tell you that Seongyeon has woken up and is doing well. I have not written any letters for the rest, but perhaps I will do it when I get the time. Right now, I'm so busy handling the ruin left behind by my brother, that I could only fit in time to write you this letter. More than anyone else, I felt obliged to write you this, because you are the reason I am alive. Even so, I am grateful to the rest of them too, especially Kai-ssi, without whose efforts, Seongyeon would not be running down the halls of our kingdom again. If it's not a bother, I hope you can convey my gratitude to him until I can do it myself.

I admit this letter got a lot longer than I had planned, but I suppose I had too much to tell you and thank you for. Once again, I will like to say that I will forever be in your debt. If you ever need help, know that you can rely on me. I will be busy taking care of the situation here, so do not feel obliged to write me a letter back. I look forward to seeing you at the Academy, perhaps in a month or two, because I cannot leave my kingdom until then.

I hope that you and the rest of your family are in good health.

With all my regards,
Park Sunghoon.
(King of the Kingdom of Ice)

Beomgyu just stared at the words for a few minutes more in silence. Inside, he felt warm at all that Sunghoon said. He was glad that the situation over at the Ice kingdom had been solved thanks to their interference; but he was more relieved about the fact that Sunghoon did not take his brother's death to heart. He wouldn't have been surprised if the Ice prince (he was a King now!) held a little resentment for killing his brother– but, Beomgyu thought now, perhaps the fact that Seonghyun had been the one who had attempted to kill Sunghoon in the first place really changed things.

Inwardly, he felt saddened that Sunghoon had faced such a thing. Instead of a loving intact family, his family was now broken. With only him and Seongyeon, the Ice palace would be very lonely.

Beomgyu silently folded the letter back and placed it back inside the envelope. He would tell his parents later at lunch that he had managed to secure a very probable future alliance with the Ice Kingdom.

For now, he just closed the curtains in his room.

°•❀•°