"The mission I entrusted to you, tell me what happened."
"Yes, Your Majesty, though Lady Sangah had almost been caught up in the attack instead, ultimately Kim Dokja was injured in the process of protecting her and has gone unconscious."
"Hmph, you got lucky this time, only because that Sangah girl is a pain in the neck anyways, getting either one of them would've been fine," the queen had been nonchalantly studying her nails, her voice uncaring as she didn't even look at the knight. But at her next words, she turned sinister, capturing the knight's eyes a dark glower he couldn't dare look away from," But don't let this get to your head. If ever blunder like this again, I'll have your head, do you understand?" the queen spat out viciously at him, taunting him to event think about denying her.
"O-Of course Your Majesty, p-please rest assured that neither me or my men will ever make such a mistake again. All future missions shall be executed flawlessly." The knight stuttered out, sweating bullets as he did. The queen observed him in silence, her eyes still weighing heavily on him. But eventually, she just sighed and dismissed him throwing a bag of gold at his feet.
"…fine, update me on any future developments."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the knight yelled out, eagerly scooping up the bag before striding out the room. As soon as the foors closed behind him, the Archduke and the second prince stepped up beside where she was currently seated by the window.
"Your Majesty, no matter our personal feelings towards the Saintess, we still need her. Her influence over the church will be crucial for your son's ascension," the Archduke explained, "we can't have her getting harmed, at least not yet, not while the church is still neutral on the matter of the throne's successor," the Archduke clarified.
The queen rolled her eyes and huffed, "Yeah, yeah, so you've said."
"Mother... what if Joonghyuk finds out what you've done?" the second prince asked, concern filling his voice.
The queen raised her eyebrow before smiling at her son. She stood up and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder,"Don't worry, my son, that won't happen. But if it did, it could work to our advantage... I have a plan." She maintained a confident smile before shifting her attention to the archduke, who held the same expression.
------
The entire underworld Duchy is in a state of chaos, its young master having sustained a severe head injury. After what transpired, Yoo Sangah was able to get assistance from the citizens around her to get help, getting a carriage to carry her, Heewon, and Dokja's unconscious body to the Underworld Dukedom while also sending a messenger to the Lee Duchy to have the family send over one of their physicians.
At the sight of a haggard Yoo Sangah and Heewon carrying the bloody body of her sone from a carriage, Persephone was horrified, but took the initiative to help carry her son to his room, ordering the maids prepare his bedchambers to receive him. On their way there, Sangah breathlessly informed the duchess of what transpired and how she'd already called over a physician, guilt and worry written all over her face.
The family didn't have to wait long for the physician to arrive, Lee Seolhwa herself had come, apparently adamant about taking the request herself. She insisted that the room be cleared out so she could tend Dokja's injuries and determine his condition, ushering the maids out and promising the duchess she'd do her utmost to ensure her sone would be alright.
So, while they impatiently waited for the physician to check over Dokja, Sangah got her minor cuts and bruises seen to by a maid while Persephone went to inform Hades and Kim Namwoon of what happened,with the two men having come out of their rooms confused about what the commotion was about.
The children, who had seen Heewon carrying in Dokja's body from the garden, were sitting in front of their guardian's bedroom by the time Persephone had brought the two men back with her. Sangah and Heewon had tried her best to explain the situation to them without causing the children too much distress. But their red-rimmed eyes were more than enough to indicate just how worried they were. Persephone ran up to them to take them into her arms, whispering reassurances into their ears as they buried their little heads into her shoulders, trying to hide their tears.
They all sat in terse silence outside of Dokja's bedchamber, now and then interrupted by the sniffles of the children, praying that he was alright as they put all their trust into Lee Seolhwa. After a painstaking hour of waiting, the physician finally emerged from the room, her face taut with seriousness. Everyone immediately went to approach her, the air around them radiating nervous energy as they all looked at Seolhwa with expectant but anxious eyes, not wanting to crowd her but eager to hear about Dokja's condition. With a deep breath, Seolhwa started speaking.
"As of now, Sir Dokja's condition is stable, though he has yet to wake up. I was able to stop the bleeding coming from his scalp, and aside from that his body has no other injuries aside from minor bruises from his fall. I've been able to determine that his skull has not been damaged nor has there been any internal bleeding in his cranium, but that doesn't guarantee that his brain hasn't been damaged. For now, all we can do is wait for him to regain consciousness. I can only measure the true extent of his injury based on any pain he reports himself."
The duchess found herself caught in a whirlwind of emotions, relieved that nothing seems to be wrong with her son but still anxious over the lack of clarity of his true condition. Sensing his wife having the same turmoil as him,Hades went to comfort his wife, bringing her into his arms. Yoo Sangah knelt down to the kids to quietly explain the physician's words to them, breaking them down to be more understandable. Yoosung and Gilyeong visibly sighed in relief that Dokja was okay for the most part, but like the rest of the adults remained wary of his condition.
"Thank you for taking care of our son, Lady Seolhwa, we are immensely indebted to the Lee Duchy. But may we please see our son now?"
The physician stepped away from the door to the bedchambers, " Of course, Duke Hades, I'll leave him in your capable hands, though please be sure not to jostle his body while he sleeps. I've left a set of detailed notes about Sir Dokja's condition and how to treat him and his body while he recovers. After I've informed his maids and servants about how to aid his recovery, I'll be on my way back to my home. Please inform me immediately if you find anything off about him and his condition when he wakes up," With a respectful bow to the family, Seolhwa went in search of the servants.
The children were quick to open the bedroom door and rush in, making sure not to be too loud as they went to peer over to his bedside. The adults joined Gilyeong and Yoosung, Persephone adjusting Dokja's blankets fussing over every detail of his bedding and the room until Kim Namwoon pulled up a seat for her and gently urged her to sit down. All the while, Hades read over the paper that Lee Seolhwa had left on the nightstand, which just reiterated what she'd already told them.
Besides the bandages on his head, Dokja simply looked like he was in a deep slumber, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. For how much turmoil had happened in the preceding few hours, the scene was almost too peaceful to be true. But all of them took comfort in how peaceful he looked, telling themselves that it'd only be a matter of time until he woke up.
Guessing that the everyone would probably spend the better part of the rest of the day in Dokja's room looking after him, Heewon brought over a pitcher of water and poured a small cup for everyone, getting appreciative nods and tired thank you's in return from everyone. She was debating whether to get the chefs to deliver meals to the bedroom for everyone when everyone in the room noticed heavy footsteps making their way toward the bedroom at a rapid pace.
To almost everyone's surprise, it was none other than Yoo Joonghyuk, who didn't hesitate to over to Dokja's side, opposite to where the children were still seated. He scanned Dokja's entire body, his eyes hardening when they landed on the bandages on his head. Joonghyuk carefully took Dokja's hand in his own, treating it as if it were glass.
Outside the room Heewon noticed Hyunsung and Jihye were standing out front. They merely nodded silently to here before looking away and going back to keeping a lookout.
"Prince Joonghyuk, I'm glad you were able to get my message. I'd like to request His Highness's assistance in investigating who did this to my son and bring them to justice." Persephone's icy voice cut through the shocked silence that had befallen the room.
Joonghyuk continued to looked intently at Dokja's face, refusing to take his eyes off the man, as if he'd disappear and second.
"… How did this happen?" He asked simply.
Before the duchess could respond, Lady Sangah spoke up first."It was my fault. A coachman down the street had lost control of his horse. Tt's harnesses were broken off from the carriage it was dragging, and it was running directly towards us. Dokja tackled me out of its path before it could collide with me. If I was able to move sooner, if I just hadn't frozen up in that moment, then maybe—"
"No Lady Sangah, it's me who's at fault here," Heewon cut through, " If I'd spotted the carriage sooner, I would've been able to run to you both sooner and pulled you out of the way. It's my own incompetence that should be blamed..." Heewon spoke through gritted teeth, shamefully looking down as she tried to take the blame.
"That's enough, you two. The one to blame for this is the bastard that dare put my son in danger. So please stop putting yourselves down. Doka wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened..." Persephone said.
Neither women looked convinced at the duchess's words, but they still nodded at her, not wanting a drawn out argument. All the while, Joonghyuk considered the Saintess's words carefully.
"The coachman, did you see them after Dokja tackled you, did they even bother to approach you two to help?"
Both women shook their head as Sangah continued talking, "No…while I was searching for help after Sir Dokja got hit, I think I saw someone fleeing away from the scene. From his attire he could've been a coachman, but I was I such a panic at the time that I can't tell for sure..."
In light of the new information and Joonghyuk's mind instantly went to the queen. The queen obviously suspected him of exposing and executing the nobles under her faction, but she'd gone a surprisingly long time with no action on her end in retaliation. Sure, it may have been just and accident, but the man not only endangered the heir to the Underworld Ducal but also the Saintess of the empire.
From his years of fighting experience, Joonghyuk was rather familiar with horse riding, and it made no sense that the strong leather harnesses holding the horse had simply broken off from the carriage. Even if it was an act of self preservation from the coachman to not get caught up in his rampaging horse, it was awfully hard to believe that he had to qualms releasing his horse upon some of the empire's most important people.
No, it was too much of a coincidence. There wasn't only the queen's grudge against him to consider, Joonghyuk knew she possessed one against Yoo Sangah, being particularly jealous of her sway over the church. Something told him that this had to be the queen's doing. Whether she was trying to kill them or send a message, it didn't matter.
Ultimately Kim Dokja was the one who fell victim to her scheme, and for that, he'd be sure to make the queen pay the price. Joonghyuk grit his teeth, trying to reign in his emotions. Along with seething fury, a sense of guilt overcame him for not being able to protect Dokja, especially when he knew how vicious the queen could be. The idea that Dokja was only hurt because of his association with him ate away at his mind, taking it to a dark place. But now was not the time to linger on useless thoughts. If he wanted to get revenge for Dokja, he needed to act now.
Giving Dokja's hand a gentle squeeze, he slowly set it back down on the bed, reaching out to softly caress his cheek and gently brush his lips against Dokja's forehead. As he turned to exit the room, he nodded at the duke and duchess, who were watching his every action with ken eyes. "Please, let me know if he wakes up."
The duchess nodded, while the duke continued to observe him."Wait, where are you going?"
Joonghyuk didn't bother to stop walking at Lady Sangah's question, "I'm going to the person responsible for this," he answered simply. Upon exiting the room, Hyunsung and Jihye bowed down to the family before following their prince, the room's occupants all staring after them.
----
The queen was peacefully enjoying her tea when the door to her parlor room slammed upon"My, my, if you wanted an audience with me you could've just asked. not need to be so angry all the time Joonghyuk. May I ask to what I owe this pleasure to?" she asked casually, gazing out the window at the beautiful day outside. She could practically feel the heat coming off of her stepson's intense glare at her but ignored it anyways.
With his voice laced with restrained anger, Joonghyuk responded, "You know exactly what you did to Dokja. I demand an explanation."
"Oh my, has something happened to Sir Dokja? How terrible!" she gasp out in horror, using a delicate hand to cover her mouth. She looked at Joonghyuk with exaggerated pity, " You must be distraught, with how close you two are. Too bad you weren't there to protect him yourself my dear."
Joonghyuk's finger twitched wildly before he balled his hand, resist the urge to strangle the woman before him. No, that could come later, right now what he needed were answers, "Don't make me repeat myself."
The queen stared at him before sighing, a pensive hand on her cheek "You know, know that you mention it, I think I heard the castle servants mentioning something about it. They said that the culprit fled the scene before anyone could see them. Even if anyone found out who did it, there just wouldn't be any proof… how truly terrible."
With another hand resting on the hilt of his sword, Joonghyuk growled at her, his throat strained from the utter amount of fury he was withholding, "No matter how confident you were, I never thought you'd be foolish enough to make an enemy of the Underworld Dukedom. No matter what, we'll be sure to uncover your plot," Joonghyuk walked towards her and said "make sure to look forward to it, you'll be answering to both me and the might of Duke Hades and Duchess Persephone..."
The queen maintained her composure and simply raised an eyebrow. "I eagerly await it, Your Highness. However, I assure you that you will find nothing. You are free to continue your investigation, but I warn you not to waste your time."
"Will see about that..." He went to exit the room, the queen's laughter trailing after him.
She was almost endeared by how desperate her stepson looked. The queen had once cursed at the fact she'd allowed him to get a foothold to the Underworld Duchy through his relationship with Kim Dokja. But had she known that targeting the heir would've gotten this type of reaction out of Joonghyuk, she would've let it happen a long time ago.
She looked forward to the coming days of watching the empire's dear prince flounder to uncover anything that could point back to her. Perhaps this little incident would also make the Underworld Duchy learn their place. To think that Kim Dokja brat would have this much affect, hell, maybe she should send him a gift basket! Chuckling to herself at the thought, the queen returned to sipping her tea.