Chapter VIII: Changes {PART I}

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"Yes, my prince, that is correct," Beomgyu said with a smile.

Ah, Ruphylle - land of the South.

Taehyun had read about said Kingdom in one of his History books - they were known to manipulate fire, and were the biggest weapon suppliers of Aster.

The Choi Duchy were the main starters of the weaponry business, as well as one of the oldest clans to ever exist in Ruphylle. They were not royalty, but despite the absence of blue blood the Chois were the main reason behind the Kingdom's economic success.

And as far as Taehyun had read, Ruphylle had close ties with Aster from the very beginning. However it baffled him that not one of their lineage attempted to marry each other to strengthen said alliance.

"Well I am sure Lord Choi is somewhere around here, have you tried searching the gardens?" Taehyun says, and the Asterrian prince shakes his head.

He softly shakes his head. "I have not, but I am sure Lord Soobin is around here somewhere." Beomgyu gestures around him, returning his gaze back to Taehyun.

Huh, it seems that Kang Taehyun had misjudged him. And it was not pleasant to be wrong and feel guilty of making such assumptions - and the Asterrian prince doesn't need to know that.

Perhaps he was only being - kind.

"It seems your friends have finished their dance," Beomgyu gestures to the dancefloor, Kai and Mohwa were walking to where they stood - snickering of how they had saw Madame Jung and Dowager Duchess Huening's shock faces.

"Taehyunnie! You should have seen the look on grandma's face when she saw me dancing with Hwa. It was so-ow!" Kai stopped with rambling as soon as Mohwa had pinched his arm.

The young boy gave her a side-eye, Mohwa gestures her head to Beomgyu's direction grabbing the sides of her gown before lowering her upper body with sheer elegance.

"Greetings Crown Prince of Aster, I am Jung Mohwa from the Jung Duchy. It is a pleasure to meet you," Mohwa utters, and after a second, Kai's eyes widen before bowing his head.

"Salutations! Crown Prince of Aster, Kai Kamal Huening from the Huening Duchy of the West. A pleasure to meet you," he said in a quick yet formal tone.

Taehyun had fought the urge to roll his eyes, Kai was never one to obey basic formal greetings. Mainly because he had always gotten away with it many times before, but seeing as this was another Kingdom's prince and not some any other noble. . .

The second prince admits, it is truly amusing to see his friend so proper.

Beomgyu bowed his head in return, "The pleasure is all mine Lady Jung, Lord Huening."

The two nobles raised their heads as they sneaked glances at each other - and Taehyun does not wish to find out what those glances mean.

"I must say, you two dance exceptionally," Beomgyu complements them, the smile on his lips did not dim for a second.

The young boy does not know if the Asterrian prince is faking it or not, the latter is quite hard to read. And Taehyun feels a slow creep of uneasiness crawling onto his skin.

"I owe Lady Jung for that your Highness," Kai utters, gesturing to Mohwa with a mischieful smile. "After all, dancing with a lady who holds such elegance and beauty is such an honor."

To which Mohwa replies with a dignified giggle, "You flatter me too much m'lord. I must thank you for dancing with me."

Taehyun fights the urge to roll his eyes and resist to let out a sigh out of sheer tiredness. The second prince will not be surprised if one would think Kai and Mohwa were flirting, but truthfully they are not. The two comrades are merely fooling around with each other in attempts of fooling High Society with their childish tricks.

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