Rumors about the two spread like wildfire throughout the empire. They became the primary subject of gossip in the world of the nobles. At every gathering, everyone was talking about them. Even Lady Seolhwa got dragged into conversations about the two. But whenever she was asked about them, she simply smiled.
It was discovered that ever since the trial, the crown prince frequently visited the underworld duchy when he had free time to spend with its young heir, onlookers were curious to see whether or not they'd get back together. Nobles enthusiastically waited for the next royal banquet to happen, just so they could see if the crown prince would bring Kim Dokja as his date or not.
Though, not all people were happy with this development. The maids recoiled when a glass of wine was hurled in their direction, shattering and spilling its contents all over the wall and floor. But they bit their tongue and silently went to clean the mess, knowing they'd perish if they said anything. Their master was furious; her fist white-knuckle gripping the arm of her chair with her teeth bared at anyone that dared to even glance her way.
The archduke tried to calm his daughter, "Your Majesty, please calm yourself."
She slammed the newspaper on the table, "How am I supposed to calm when I see this, Your Grace." She growled out at him, emphasizing every syllable.
Rivals' Affair
His Highness the Crown Prince finally confirms that the first heir to the Underworld Duchy, Kim Dokja , was once his lover and has been seen visiting the Underworld Ducal on an increasing basis! Do these two plan on sparking a relationship with each other once again?
"I thought that underworld brat was bluffing, but this!" she pointed an accusatory finger at the paper. "How could you let this happen, I thought you said you had it under control!" she screamed at him at the top of her lungs, her face turning alarmingly red.
"Your majesty, I promise we'll find a way to handle this," the archduke tried soothing her, gently urging her to relax back into her seat. "I admit, the first plan was a blunder. But that was just a result of working with those two fools and not knowing Prince Joonghyuk's relation with the Underworld scoundrel. Now that they've shown their cards, we can come up with a better plan to get rid of them" he spoke confidently, taking a drink from his wine glass.
"Of course, we need to get rid of that brat before anything happens. Whether the prince gets influence over the Underworld Ducal or their heir gets power over the throne, no matter what happens it spells doom for us…" the Empress rubbed her face in frustration, worrying her lip as it turned bright red.
This was the worst-case scenario for the empress. Her stepson was already a thorn in her side as it was, having no qualms about openly opposing her power. There was no telling what he'd do if he had the backing of the most powerful duchy in the empire. Not only that, but if he united with Kim Dokja and married him, the duchy would have the power of the throne. At that point they would be unstoppable, and her own family would lose all access to the royal palace.
Fearing this result, the empress had resolved to never allow her bastard of a stepson to come into contact with the Underworld Ducal. Her plan became much easier upon learning that they'd both vied after Lee Seolhwa, as they'd already turned hostile with one another. But it all came crashing down when Lady Seolhwa had rejected both men.
Fearing that their rivalry would fizzle out with neither being able to pursue the woman anymore, the empress decided to frame Kim Dokja for her poisoning.However, her efforts were once again dashed by what Kim Dokja announced in the courtroom.
"We need to get rid of that brat, no matter what."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
----
"Thank you for making time to meet me today, Lady Jiwon," Dokja greeted her. He'd taken the initiative to come to her home today. They were currently sitting in her private greenhouse, filled to the brim with yellow roses. As they sat down at a round table, awkwardness filled the air as both of them were unsure how to start the conversation.
Oddly enough, Dokja was taken back to the day Lee Seolhwa had rejected him."Lady Jiwon, I don't know what to say but I'm sorry. It was horrible of me to treat you the way I did…" he said, his eyes cast down with guilt.
After a brief moment of silence, Lady Jiwon sighed and murmured, "Please don't say that Sir Dokja. It's not like we loved each other. " She turned her head to stare at the flowers.
" But it was still—" Lady Jiwon put her hand up to intervene. "Let's put an end to this arrangement and just be friends," she added, turning to face him. Dokja was astonished to hear this.
"Lady Jiwon…"
She continued on with a smile, "No, I'm not saying this because I hate you; all I want is for you to be happy." Jiwon grabbed Dokja's hands, "We both recognized that something like this might happen when we discussed our arrangement, Sir Dokja."
"… But what about you, what will you do about your inheritance, Lady Jiwon?"
She shook her head at him, "That's my problem to figure out. I considered myself lucky when you were kind enough to go along with my plan, but I'm not so useless that I can't come up with something else. I'll be sure to claim my birthright, whether the council properly acknowledges me or not." Lady Jiwon stated with certainty, her eyes shining with resolve. She offered a hand to him.
"So, how about it?"
Staring at her hand with bewilderment, Dokja couldn't believe his eyes. He was touched that she still wanted to be associated with him with how he'd treated her. A part of him cringed on the inside, to Min Jiwon he should've been no better than some douchey guy that abandoned her for an old flame. But there was nothing he could do about it now, he had to keep his association with Joonghyuk under wraps. In the end, he supposed that this was the best way that their parting could have ended. He took her hand.
"You're right, let's be friends."
------
"Oh you're here!" Dokja exclaimed when he saw Joonghyuk had arrived at the manor, alongside Jihye, and Hyunsung. Getting into his role, he stood up and rushed over to hug Joonghyuk; After a week or so of doing this, the poorly hidden stares and occasional stunned gasp had become background noise to the two. "I'm happy that you're here, Joonghyuk~ah!"
Joonghyuk simply hummed pleasantly at him."Please, have a seat." Dokja hugged Joonghyuk's arm as he guided the prince to the common room's sofa,insistently. He then sat in his chair and added, while grinning at him, "I'm extremely delighted that you're here, Your Highness."
"It's nothing," he remarked before looking at Dokja closer, "You should eat, you're too skinny."
"Only if you feed me." Dokja pouted at him, leaning into the prince's space.
Since the prince started coming over to the Underworld ducal, the servants had started preparing meals for the two to eat together. But not matter how hard their best chefs tried to appeal to the prince's tastes, he'd only taken one bite of the food (after Dokja had begged him to, not wanting the poor chef's food to go to waste) before he'd told the chefs that he'd prepare his own food, much to their continued surprise. The servants hadn't known that the prince could cook.
Joonghyuk stared at him before sighing, setting the basket of food he had prepared on the table and pulling out the dishes. Today he'd prepared beef stew for the both of them, with Dokja spotting slices of carrots and potatoes in the pot. In another container was rice to eat the stew with, along with other side dishes like bread, salad, and fresh fruits.
Joonghyuk had even gone as far as baking a strawberry pie as dessert. Scooping a good helping of stew onto a bowl of rice, he held a spoonful of it in front of Dokja's mouth.
"Here, eat."
Dokja, greatly amused at how far the prince was willing to indulge him in their little show, did as he was told. At first Dokja hadn't even thought about taking the act this far. Maybe a casual touch here and the occasional hug there and the public would've bought the act just fine.
But as the days passed, he couldn't help but become curious how much he could exaggerate his performance. So far, the prince hadn't cared to call out his rapidly escalating act, smoothly going along with his antics while throwing in a few of his own curveballs sometimes. The prince was probably also having fun with this, he thought.
As the majestic flavor of Yoo Joonghyuk's cooking made his taste buds light up, Dokja had to remind himself that they were on a mission. No matter how much he wanted to just eat the prince's cooking, they actually had things to do, unfortunately.
Hyunsung and Jihye exchanged side-eyes. Never before had they seen the prince cook for anyone else but Yoo Mia,and, on special occasions, Lee Seolhwa. While Hyunsung hadn't been able to look at their affectionate interactions without a light flush on his face, the shock that Lee Jihye felt when watching them very quickly gave way to disdain, as she kept having to see her cool master be so lovey dovey with the ugly ahjussi.
"Hyunsung, Jihye," Joonghyuk called out, still focused on feeding Dokja.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Grant us some solitude, and wait for me outside the door," he requested.
With a knowing glance at each other, the knights nodded. "As you wish, Your Highness," Hyunsung spoke, before they both bowed and turned to go.
When the door shut, Dokja moved away from the prince as Joonghyuk placed down his utensil."Wow, I didn't expect you to really go along with it," Dokja told him.
Joonghyuk shrugged as he relaxed back into the sofa, "I didn't expect you to be so immersed in your role."
"I just copied it from the novels that I read," Dokja grinned at him, tilting his head inquisitively. "Did you think I did a good job?"
Joonghyuk hummed and gazed out the window as he saw the birds chirping happily. "Two more bodies were discovered today in the forest," Joonghyuk stated, jumping straight into the real purpose of their meeting. Dokja dropped his coy act, his face turning stern as he leaned back on the chair.
"With how they were killed, the officials are pointing to Raven Veil," Joonghyuk continued, "They've been killing off lower ranked nobles and some of the knights and servants of the more prolific ones, most of whom either worked for me or were associated with me in some way. They're probably trying to intimidate me without causing too much of an uproar."
"Any idea who it is?"
Joonghyuk scowled "The empress, and all the nobles in her faction, not exactly specific but who else would there be?"
Dokja held his breath, unaware that he was doing so. He has always had a gut feeling that the empress and the murders were related somehow. Taking a moment to contemplate his next words, he muttered, "Joonghyuk, what if..."
He raised an eyebrow "What if what?"
"What if...we took a page from their book?" Joonghyuk glowered at him, not sure what the man was getting at.
"What?"
Dokja sighed, "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Your Highness…" Joonghyuk glared at him, but he pretended he didn't see that and continued, "There's a good chance whoever Raven Veil is probably works under your stepmother's faction, so… He crossed his legs, grinning slyly at Joonghyuk, "What if we pick off the nobles working under her?"
Joonghyuk raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you the same Kim Dokja that was desperately telling me you weren't a killer after Lee Seolhwa was poisoned?"
Dokja jutted his bottom lip out, offended. "Hey! I'm just proposing we go after the nobles! It's not like we have to brutally murder them ourselves or anything. With how sketchy the Archduke was and how those two bastards working with him were connected to assassins, it wouldn't surprise me if the nobility under the queen is intertwined with the crime world," he explained.
"So… you want to expose them to the public and bring them to justice? The Archduke and empress have enough power to circumvent them from facing punishment. Even if we get a few nobles on their side, they'll probably step in if their faction starts getting too affected.
As Joonghyuk talked, Dokja went to grab some of the food he made, wanting to eat it while it was still fresh. Taking a bite of the cubed beef, he nodded understandingly as Joonghyuk talked, signaling that he was still listening while eating.
Dokja swallowed his food, and pointed his spoon at the man beside him, " Y'know, the way you describe it makes it sound like we're vigilantes or something. We're simply making sure some people are properly punished for their crimes. If their crimes happen to be so heinous that their punishments are a bit on the beheading side of things, that's their problem, not ours," Kim Dokja remarked with a blasé attitude, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, and about the queen and archduke stopping their punishments, that's where you come in, Your Highness,"Dokja explained with vigor, his composure radiating a sureness that he usually kept to himself , "Unlike Raven Veil, we, or at least you won't be anonymous about it. If we expose the nobles under your name, no one would be able to contest it, not even your stepmother or her father. If they did, they'd just be drawing the public's attention to themselves for trying to save some scumbags.
As he talked, Yoo Joonghyuk observed Kim Dokja with keen interest. He was no stranger to Kim Dokja's pride in himself. During their rivalry, it would've been called vanity had the man not been able to at least keep up with the prince. But never before had he seen Dokja like this, so poised and within his element as his mind worked to find a way to dismantle his stepmother's hold over the throne.
Joonghyuk would never admit it out loud, but after seeing this side of Kim Dokja, he looked forward to uncovering the other aspects of Dokja that lay undiscovered to his eyes.
"I see where you're coming from, but why are we only doing it under my name when we could just as easily include yours? Unless…" Joonghyuk eyed Dokja accusingly, "…this is your way of pushing all the work onto me, isn't it."
Dokja gave him a cheeky smirk. " Well I am the one who came up with this plan~" though he was quick to withdraw his words as the prince wordlessly went to take his food away.
"Hey, hey, hey, I was just joking around!" he exclaimed, protectively holding the bowl against his body, "Yeah, yeah, of course I'll be pitching in my fair share. But really, it's to help you in the long run. Like you said in the forest, you're one of the most hated men in the empire."
His eyes sparkled keenly as he elaborated on the plan, "Just think about the headlines on the newspapers: ' The Ruthless Crown Prince Punishes the Corrupt Nobility.' Everyone fears your violent temperament, but if you assure the public that you'll gear it towards the corrupt, rather than just on anyone in your way, you'll have their support when you eventually take the throne." Dokja looked on at the prince with enthusiasm, passionate about having this plan worked out for him.
Joonghyuk looked away at him, his lips twisting into a frown. "… I don't have a violent temperament…" he said quietly. If Dokja was any more aware he would've said that the prince was pouting.
Hands on his hips, Dokja lifted an incredulous eyebrow. "Are you really going to say that to me of all people?" he questioned, daring Joonghyuk to argue back.
"… I only attack people if they deserve it" Joonghyuk insisted again, making Dokja roll his eyes at him.
" Uh huh, okay Mr. ' I came to my own birthday banquet with a severed head.' Don't think I forgot about that, or anyone else for that matter, " Dokja pointed out. Knowing he would not win this argument, Joonghyuk kept quiet, comforting himself by taking a bite out of his food.
Quietly chuckling to himself, Dokja noticed some sauce had ended up on the prince's cheek as he ate. Instinctually, he took out his handkerchief to wipe it away, often doing the same for Lee Gilyeong and Shin Yoosung when they ate. Not noticing how Joonghyuk froze when he had done that, Dokja went on the talk again.
" So, do you have any more questions or are we going to agree to this plan already?" he asked. Dokja looked up to see the prince already giving him an intense stare, several emotions he couldn't put a name to stirring in his eyes.
Dokja gulped, taken by surprise. He thought that perhaps his teasing had gone too far, and that the prince had gotten angry at him.
As Dokja was trying to come up with a way to appease him, the prince's voice cut through his thoughts."Fine, I'll go along with your plan, Kim Dokja. Be sure to not let it disappoint, I have high expectations," he replied, finishing off his food with gusto.