Joonghyuk clenched his fist as he looked at everyone in the room. This was the point of no return, whatever he said right now would determine the outlook of the rest of his life. But the answer had already been at the tip of his tongue for months. For so long he'd lived and fought almost solely for Yoo Mia's benefit, to make sure she would have everything that their mother and father didn't give her in this life. And it had been worth it. She got to stay in luxury at the royal castle, get three square meals a day, get a proper education most children her age wouldn't be able to be guarded by a legion of capable knights, and had even been able to make a few good friends for herself. She could continue to have that plus more. But that was only if Joonghyuk sacrifice himself to another strange.
He was done disregarding his own happiness. After all he's done, after all the years the man in front of him had made him suffer, Joonghyuk decided to take life back into his own hands. He was done being the emperor's puppet,and no way would he allow him to do the same to Yoo Mia. Even if it's without the support of the royal palace, the two would carve their own futures for themselves.
"I won't marry the princess," he shifted his gaze towards Mia, who was looking at him anxiously, "And Mia won't be marrying the King anyone either." Turning his attention back to the emperor, he continued "If our freedom means that we must lose our titles in the royal family, then so be it,"
The emperor stared at him for a moment before letting out a sigh. He spoke with a heavy tone, "Very well, you will be dethroned as the crown prince, and your name will be removed from the royal family in 12 days. Once the official documentation and approval has been filed, I expect you and your sister to be gone from the. It will be up to you to build your new lives."
The room fell silent as everyone looked at Joonghyuk, waiting for his reaction. However, he remained expressionless. After a moment of silence, he spoke up, "Well then, if you excuse us..." He then turned to walk out the room, not an ounce of further acknowledgement to its occupants, "Mia, let's go." Without hesitation, she went to his side, and the two of them left the room quietly.
As they left the room, Hyunsung and Jihye joined Joonghyuk and Mia, walking alongside them. The heavy atmosphere weighed on them, causing an unspoken tension to fill the air, each person lost in their own thoughts.
Mia, in particular, couldn't believe the reality that had played out in front of her. If only she were a bit older, if only she were a bit stronger, like her brother. Maybe then their father wouldn't have used her against him. Her brother would've still had the throne and they'd live happily. She'd relied too much on her brother to provide and fight for the both of them while not giving anything to him or the palace in return, and for that her brother had gotten hurt.
Overwhelmed with guilt, she struggled to come to terms with the sudden turn of events. Her heart ached for her brother, knowing the weight of the sacrifice he had made for their freedom. As they reached Joonghyuk's office and closed the door behind them, Mia couldn't contain her emotions any longer.
"Oppa, why did you do that?"
Joonghyuk took a deep breath, his eyes reflecting a complex mixture of emotion. He turned to Mia, his voice filled with sincerity, "Mia, won't allow the either of us to be the abused by those people any longer . Our happiness is more important to me than anything else"
Mia's eyes welled up as she reached out and held his hand tightly, her voice trembling with concern, "But what about the throne?"
Joonghyuk looked at her, feeling remorseful that the situation had come to this, that he couldn't give her a better way out of that terrible situation. A girl as young as her shouldn't have to bear such burdens, he shouldn't have let it come to this point. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he replied, "Mia, the throne is just a title. It may hold power and prestige, but it doesn't matter. All it's done for us be constantly held over our heads so the emperor could exploit us. Even if I'd inherited it, we would've still been slaves to the empire. Our lives are worth more than the throne could ever get us. I know this all happened so suddenly, and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to stop it. But trust me when I say I'll so anything in my power to make sure we can choose our own paths."
Mia listened to her brother's words, still ruminating in her guilt, but allowing just a small glimmer of hope to poke through. It was her brother's words, after all, and he'd never ever let her down before.
"Okay, Oppa, I trust you. Let's face the future together, no matter what happens."
As Joonghyuk smiled at his sister, a sense of uncertainty lingered within him when he recalled his earlier thoughts about Kim Dokja. He wasn't completely blind to the emotions that stirred up inside of him whenever he was with the other man. Perhaps he purposely brushed them off when he still viewed Dokja as a deceitful bastard that would betray him at any time, disguising his growing obsession for that man as determination to find and prepare for his malicious plans against he and Lee Seolhwa.
Though as the two had the chance to grow closer with each other during the past few weeks, he'd come to accept them as a form of platonic affection, nothing more. But mere platonic feelings wouldn't have stopped him from sacrificing himself for his sister, nor would they have encouraged him to reach to grasp his own purpose in life. It was about time he admitted to himself that the feelings arising inside him were familiar… too familiar.
There was only one other person who'd evoked these same emotions from him. Perhaps it's about time he finally paid them a visit. Looking at Jihye, he made up his mind and said, "Jihye, Hyunsung, stay here with Mia. I need to go somewhere and find some answers."
Jihye, ever so loyal to Joonghyuk despite his impending dethronement, nodded her head readily, "Of course, Master.I'll make sure not a hair on her head is touched, please take your time sir!" Off to the side, Hyunsung, perceptive to the prince's internal thoughts after fighting by his side for so long, nodded his head in silent support for him.
With a mix of determination and trepidation, Joonghyuk left the room, his thoughts consumed by the need to understand himself. Only when he confronted these emotions head on could he find the strength to move forward and the clear mindedness to allow him to make the right choices for himself and his sister.
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"I'm surprised you still remember me, Your Highness," Seolhwa said as she sat on the chair, a prim smile decorating her face.
"Lee Seolhwa..." They hadn't seen each other ever since their brief encounter when she came to treat his wounds during Kim Dokja's trial. All his time had been preoccupied by spending his time with the other man, whether they were plotting ways to take down the queen or simply lingering in each other's presence. And even before then, their conversations had been short and concise, mainly Lee Seolhwa chastising him for wanting to go hunt down Kim Dokja, as exasperating as it was to look back at. Her rejection had her his heart and his ego in a way he'd never experienced before, and Dokja the only person who he could take it out on.
"Do you have something to discuss with me? Nowadays you'd never come unless it's important,"
Joonghyuk stared at her before sighing, "Lee Seolhwa, I think... I may have fallen for someone" Seolhwa's surprised face quickly morphed itself back to a respectable but curious expression as she set her cup down to give Joonghyuk all her attention. Her surprise came much less from his words and more from the fact he'd even sought her out to talk about a subject like this in the first place.
After she'd rejected him… Lee Seolhwa had thought that it was the end of their relationship. Yes, even if he still tried to chase her for a bit afterward, Joonghyuk would've eventually moved on from her, and the days he bore his heart open to her would be long gone. Not that she minded, she would happily do her best to encourage him from the background. But to know that he still held this much trust in her to share a part of himself, she couldn't be happier.
"…I see, please, go on," she urged, an encouraging shine in her eyes as she leaned in closer to hear what he had to say.
Lee Seolhwa's barely reigned in enthusiasm would go unnoticed by Joonghyuk as he diverted his eyes to land aimlessly on the garden around him, "This love, if it even is love… it's similar to what I had felt for you. It's warm and all-encompassing in a way nothing else is… but it's also different somehow to what I felt for you… I…I don't know what I should make of it anymore…"
She hummed thoughtfully when he finished speaking and took a moment to think of what to say next."Then, this person that you're thinking of, what are they to you?"
Joonghyuk let out a humorless laugh, a simple exhale of air, "He's a two-faced demon, the most unpredictable person I know," Joonghyuk began, his voice filled with sourness. "A fool, a bastard, a troublemaker... but when I see his eyes, it's like gazing into the universe above, it's hard not getting lost in them. Sometimes when he turns to me, that cocky smile of his is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it's replaced with something softer, it makes me feel like I'm something precious to him. When we stare into each other's eyes, I can't help but hope that perhaps he feels at least a fraction of what I do for him," Joonghyuk confessed. Seolhwa stared quietly at him, noting how as he spoke, a gentle smile of his own started to take over his face. But when he said his next words, the smile turned into a frown of uncertainty.
"But I have no idea where all this came from. One moment he was a petty rival, even an actual threat, but now… ?"
His words flowed carefully through Seolhwa's mind, poked, prodded, and examined at every angle as she tried to formulate what the best response to his concerns would be. No, this was different than a simple ailment diagnosis or patient consultation. Approaching this clinically wouldn't do, she needed a careful mix of sincerity, straightforwardness, and empathy. But her focus had been completely wiped from her mind when she looked up to see a subtle glow coming from the prince's eye. At a glance it could be mistaken as a trick of the light. But once it caught your attention, they pulled you deeper into its golden depths.
Noticing Seolhwa's sudden change in demeanor, he frowned at her, "What's wrong?"
Seolhwa stared at him for a moment before shaking her head and dismissed it, "Never mind me, I was simply…caught up in your words. But Yoo Joonghyuk, it seems like you know exactly what you're feeling, you're just refusing to let yourself accept it."
He shook his head adamantly, "Why shouldn't I be wary? With you, it all seemed so simple. Back then, you were one of the only ones who gave me a chance, the only person I could trust to let my guard down and not get taken advantage of. You made me want to be better. It all felt natural, your presence in my life was one I didn't want to let go, and I thought the pieces would fall naturally in place from there. But then you made your thoughts clear, and then he and I started getting entangled in each other's lives more and now it's ended up like this, whatever 'this' is…"
It would be a lie to say his words didn't make her feel bittersweet, just the tiniest bit. Of course, Seolhwa knew about his past feelings for her, she saw it written all over his face before she rejected him. But it was a much different experience hearing it firsthand from Joonghyuk himself, who had never been one to converse about his personal matters.
To hear from him that their union was so close to becoming a reality…Seolhwa had done a good job of moving on from Joonghyuk, accepting that her place wouldn't be standing beside him as his partner. So, though a tiny part of her did mourn for what could've been, more than that she was content to know his perspective of their relationship. Joonghyuk had always put up a cold and aloof wall, but with this, Seolhwa felt like she could properly conclude the chapter of her life she'd spent chasing after him.
Seolhwa sighed and gently took hold of Joonghyuk's hands, locking her gaze with his. She spoke softly, "Yoo Joonghyuk... that innocent, straightforward start to love that you're looking for doesn't exist," Joonghyuk remained silent as she continued, "Not all love is the same, and not all love will be simple, but that doesn't matter, does it?"
Seolhwa smiled warmly at him, "All that matters is that it's true and genuine. The love you felt for me was real, even if it was fleeting, and what you feel now, love or not, is just as real. You were never one to let silly little concepts like that stop you from doing anything, so don't let it start now."
She slowly pulled her hands away from him, wrapping her fingers around her teacup. She settled back into her seat, putting some space between the two of them, "Only you can decide what you're feeling. You're not wrong for being careful in how you interpret yourself, but nothing will come out of needlessly denying your emotions."
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Joonghyuk walked in silence, deep in thought, as he left the manor. His mind was still in a frenzy, trying to take Lee Seolhwa's words into account as he organized his thoughts. He gazed up at the sky, contemplating his next move. Perhaps the only way to find out the truth was to confront the source of his feelings directly.