"Mingyu, please stop," Wonwoo pleaded as he watched the general drag Kai along the rocky path that led to the garden.

He could swear that out of the corner of his eye he saw some lights turn on, but he ignored them, his attention focused on saving the guard.

"What was this man doing in your bedroom?" Mingyu asked angrily, throwing the man to the ground. "Are you going to tell me that he is not your lover?"

Wonwoo swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and did his best to hold back the urge to cry. He couldn't deny the obvious.

"I was putting an end to our relationship," he explained, his voice somewhat broken. "Until today I had no idea about our engagement, I thought I lived as a free man. Kim Mingyu, if you are a man of honor, you will not punish a simple subject for this."

"And what am I supposed to do then?" The other man almost roared, "Let this man continue to see you? Allow you to disrespect me?"

Wonwoo wanted to punch his ridiculous face, he didn't understand why he couldn't just let it go, they hadn't been engaged for even a day, and even though Mingyu knew about this news first, it didn't give him any rights over him.

"I will not disrespect you," he swore through gritted teeth, "you can be sure that I am not that kind of man and..."

Kim Mingyu laughed although nothing about that situation was funny.

"You are not?" He asked in disbelief "am I supposed to believe that? I have seen the way your spokesman touches you and now I find you hugging this man in the darkness of your room. It seems to me that if you are that kind of man"

Wonwoo knew that he had never been someone who was patient, that he had never been someone especially intelligent when it came to knowing when to bite his tongue, but he had gone numb years ago and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember ever feeling such burning fury. like now.

"You're a fucking scumbag, you miserable..." Wonwoo would have wanted to say much more, but the black leather whip in Mingyu's hand made him stop.

He was running out of time.

Kim Mingyu would do it, he would actually whip a man to death just because he didn't know that Wonwoo now had a fiancé.

He couldn't allow it, he couldn't let someone die in his name.

He made a decision then, realizing that a small crowd of people had gathered.

He couldn't see the faces of Jeonghan, or Soonyoung, or his little Chan, which was much better, because he wouldn't have been able to bear to see the terror in them.

He took a step forward and was sure that Mingyu had perfectly read what he was trying to do. The man's face hardened.

"I will forgive him," he said then, surprising the prince.

Wonwoo froze in disbelief. Mingyu was playing with him, he was playing with him in a very cruel way.

"You won't," Wonwoo whispered.

"I will," Mingyu repeated, staring at him, challenging. "If you assure me that you are really only mine, that I have nothing to worry about."

Wonwoo's mouth tasted bitter. Mingyu wasn't speaking softly, he was putting on a show, and that just embarrassed him, having to admit that in front of everyone destroyed him, but he would do it for kai, he would do it again and again.

"I am yours," he said to Mingyu, his head raised as high and petulant as only a prince could, with the challenge and pride in his voice.

Mingyu almost smiled.

"Your word is not enough," he, the executioner, declared.

Wonwoo looked at him exasperated.

"SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?" He shouted "HOW DO I PROVE IT TO YOU?"

And in response, the crazy Kim Mingyu approached him, he got so close that Wonwoo began to back away, and perhaps he would have turned around to flee, if Mingyu had not grabbed his arm and pulled him abruptly closer to him.

They were so close that Wonwoo's ears were ringing, so close that the world around him seemed to have dimmed, so close that he could have counted the general's eyelashes one by one, so close that he could feel Mingyu's breath on his lips when he said:

"Kiss Me"

And wonwoo closed his eyes.

Mingyu was a strategist.

He wasn't a bad person per se, but he was a soldier first and foremost.

He had no intention of murdering anyone unjustly, but he also had no intention of letting them see him as weak or stupid. Although he did not want this marriage, he would carry it out successfully, and to do so, he would eliminate anyone who was a threat.

He wanted it to be clear to all the servants in the residence that Prince Wonwoo now belonged to him, that he was his and no one else's, and that anyone who dared to even fantasize about him would suffer a cruel fate. It was a warning for this lover but also a warning for any others the prince might have.

And above all a warning for Wonwoo, so that he understood that he couldn't play stupid games with him.

He wanted to establish dominance, to show that even if Wonwoo carried the title of prince he couldn't command him or look down on him. Mingyu was always in control...

However he could admit that by kissing the prince he lost it a little.

Wonwoo had soft, warm lips. And Mingyu, who until then had only known Seungcheol's lips briefly, marveled at how intense a kiss could be.

He marveled at the way his hands seemed to have a life of their own, how his fingers explored the silk curtain that was Wonwoo's hair, how they ran over his slender waist, how they brought the prince's warm body closer to him, erasing a good part of Mingyu's most coherent thoughts.

The general didn't know what would have happened to him if Prince Wonwoo hadn't kneed him directly in the...

Mingyu let out a growl but backed away from Prince Wonwoo as he doubled over, one hand over the affected area. Maybe in the end it was in vain to marry that madman, he couldn't father children anyway after that blow.

"You're an idiot," Mingyu complained angrily.

"I?!" Wonwoo blurted out in surprise. "You're the idiot! Why did you do that?!"

"Because I'm your fiancé!"

Wonwoo kicked dirt in his face before he could dodge, making him cough.

Oh, Mingyu was going to kill him.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!" Seungcheol asked, alarmed, pushing his way through the servants in the garden.

He took in the scene once, at the man on the ground too scared and petrified to speak, and at his brother and Mingyu, inches away, grabbing each other by the collar of their shirts as if they were going to kill each other.

"Alright, everyone go back to your rooms," Prince Seungcheol ordered immediately, looking disapprovingly at the two men.

The servants immediately obeyed the man who would one day be their king, disappearing as if nothing had happened in the first place. To Wonwoo's relief, Kai also left, helped by two other guards. At least he had managed to save his life.

In a matter of minutes, only idiotic Mingyu, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, Jisoo and Chan were left, plus of course Seungcheol and Wonwoo himself.

Apparently, everyone had decided that Seungcheol's orders didn't apply to them.

The crown prince turned around, looking furious, and Wonwoo took a step back, scared. Jeonghan was at his side in a second.

Mingyu gave him a dirty look, but Jeonghan again pretended he didn't notice.

"Can you explain to me..." Seungcheol asked, speaking slowly but menacingly, "what's going on here?"

"LET HIM EXPLAIN IT TO YOU" Wonwoo accused while he pointed a finger at Mingyu "He is to blame for everything."

"I found him with his lover in the room" Now it was Mingyu's turn to accuse him, crossing his arms simply.

"WONWOO!" Seungcheol exclaimed in surprise, still not being able to accept that his brother behaved that way.

"I was finishing things right!" Wonwoo excused himself, raising his arms. "I wanted to explain to him that today I found out that I had a fiancé! It would be strange if I never warned him, in the long run it could bring us more complications."

Seungcheol seemed ready to kill both his brother and the general here and now so Jeonghan cleared his throat and took a step forward, putting himself between Seungcheol and the two idiots.

"What Wonwoo did is certainly reckless," he accepted, ignoring the incredulous look of protest of the prince in question. "And I understand why General Kim took offense, and I also know the laws, however, Prince Seungcheol, I ask you and your general to reconsider the situation again, until this morning Wonwoo was a free man in his mind, obviously he had a person he cared about and like the gentleman he is, he wanted to put an end to it in the best way, although he couldn't achieve that goal."

Jeonghan had put into exact and much more cordial words what Wonwoo had tried to explain. From the corner of his eye he could see Mingyu rolling his eyes, but Wonwoo didn't care if that stupid man believed him or not anymore. Now that Kai was safe Mingyu could eat shit.

Seungcheol, on the other hand, seemed to believe every word that came out of Jeonghan's mouth because he simply nodded and sighed.

"I guess it's only fair that Wonwoo can put his affairs in order," Seungcheol agreed, "he really hasn't even had time to take it all in yet. Now, Mingyu and Wonwoo, I would like to avoid these types of problems in the future, if you have problems in the relationship, resolve them in privacy."

Wonwoo almost vomited when he heard the word relationship and wanted to reply that he would never have a relationship with Mingyu, however the warning look from Jeonghan and Soonyoung stopped him.

"We'd better all go back to our rooms," suggested Jisoo, who until then had been silent. "The princes and the general have had a very long trip, and our prince Wonwoo has had a day full of emotions. The rest would be good for all of us"

Seungcheol couldn't agree more.

"I concur. Please everyone go back to sleep. Tomorrow at breakfast we can sort things out better" he ordered.

Soonyoung finally let out the breath he had been holding, grateful to be able to pull away, and Chan stepped forward to his brother, taking his hand.

"Hyung, can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked wonwoo, knowing his brother would need something like that.

And as always when it came to Chan, of course Wonwoo perked up, if only a little.

Seungcheol had scolded him so much that Mingyu felt like his ears were bleeding.

While he was lying in the bed that the crown prince occupied, looking at the ceiling, he had heard that he was: a fool, reckless, an impulsive, a madman and an idiot.

And Mingyu knew that he had been all of those things indeed, he genuinely didn't care, he had done what he had to do to send a clear message.

Yet, strangely, he couldn't stop thinking about the softness of the prince's lips, or his small waist, or the way his hair felt as it passed through his fingers. Wonwoo's hair was so soft it might as well be water.

"You have complicated your relationship with Wonwoo," Seungcheol said, finally regaining the general's attention. "I know my brother, I know he won't forgive you for this easily."

"And what was I supposed to do, Seungcheol? Allow him to sleep with that man while I was under the same roof?" He asked, annoyed, "Your father warned me, people in the palace talk about it, even you know it. Wonwoo is a rebel, an improper person, an irresponsible person. If I shake his hand he will take my arm, he needs someone to remind him of his place."

Seungcheol sighed, he knew that Mingyu had heard everything that was said about Wonwoo in the palace, he knew that many times he had complained about Wonwoo's absences with Mingyu, however, the words did not do justice to his brother.

"Wonwoo is much more complicated than you think," he said, sitting on the bed next to his friend. "And also much more delicate. If you don't open up to him, if you don't show yourself as you really are, Wonwoo will end up seeing you as his enemy."

Mingyu closed his eyes, seeing the pale face of the prince he would have to marry again, the concern for the guard so clear on his face, the vivid relief at seeing Jeonghan at his side, the eyes full of love with which he looked at Chan.

"I don't mind being his enemy, if that means I get him to do his duty."

Wonwoo would make Kim Mingyu pay.

He was sure. He would make him hate him, he would make him live a real nightmare in his marriage.

As he pretended to sleep, ignoring Jeonghan's sharp gaze on him, and the snoring of Chan and Soonyoung hugging him on either side of his bed, he found himself fantasizing about all the ways he could humiliate Mingyu, all the ways in which he could make him end this marriage and how he would later humiliate him in front of everyone, accusing him of not keeping his promise.

The only bad thing was that he was still ashamed, and shame had always been an emotion that kept him up at night.

He couldn't sleep feeling his cheeks burning, and above all, he couldn't sleep with the memory of his body's reaction to Kim Mingyu.

How he had felt warm in every corner, how a shiver of pleasure had passed through him when the general's rough hands ran down his back, until they reached his waist, how his lips had felt when they rested on his...

Wonwoo clenched the sheet in his fist. He would assassinate Kim Mingyu.

The next morning, Mingyu was in his room long before the prince opened his eyes and understood what was happening.

Chan and Soonyoung were already there, sleeping with their arms around the prince, and to Mingyu's chagrin, so was that man named Jeonghan. In fact, he was the one who opened the door in the first place.

"I didn't know that the spokesmen now stayed in the princes' room during the night," he snapped with disdain.

Jeonghan gave him a polite bow.

"I will only stay if one of the princes requests it," he explained, knowing full well that the general would not be happy to know that Wonwoo had asked specifically for him.

However, both he and Mingyu knew that he couldn't do anything about it, there was nothing incriminating, Chan and Soonyoung had obviously spent the night there too.

"Why isn't he awake and ready yet?" Mingyu asked, frowning as he moved freely around the room, as if it were his own.

Jeonghan knew that there was still about an hour and a half before breakfast would be served, he had the intention of waking up the men who were sleeping peacefully in a little while longer, he didn't see why Wonwoo would have to suffer so early, even so, he lied.

"I was going to wake him up."

Mingyu gave him a look of annoyance and went forward to pick up the prince.

Wonwoo, much to Mingyu's chagrin, looked perfect even while he slept, with his long ebony hair spread in loose strands across the pillows, his cheeks flushed, and his soft lips parted.

Mingyu swallowed the lump in his throat surreptitiously, just the night before he had kissed those lips and it hadn't been... horrible, as he expected.

He pushed that thought out of his mind and focused on the prince in front of him, the slacker who slept in.

"Prince Wonwoo," he said harshly, while shaking his shoulder, managing to wake up Chan and Soonyoung at the same time.

Wonwoo, however, seemed to be sleeping like a stone because he made no attempt to get up.

"Prince Wonwoo!" Mingyu protested irritably. "You are the owner of this property, your duty would have been to get up first and ensure that breakfast was being prepared for Crown Prince Seungcheol."

Mingyu was sure enough that he had spoken loud enough to wake up anyone who was human, but Wonwoo remained asleep.

Frustrated, Mingyu shouted, "Prince Wonwoo!"

And this time Wonwoo did respond, although the response was like a blow to his face.

"Jeonghan-ah," Wonwoo murmured, his voice a mix between a gasp and a... moan.

Mingyu stood up straight, his face expressionless.

"You have half an hour to get ready or I'll drag you to the dining room and I don't care if you're dressed or not," he growled before turning around and leaving.

It was obvious from the way he said his spokesperson's name and from his flushed cheeks what kind of dream he had been having.

As soon as General Kim left the room, Jeonghan kicked the prince in the ankle but Wonwoo didn't care because he was laughing.

"Great, now he's going to hate me even more," Jeonghan protested, wanting to speak seriously but the hint of amusement could clearly be heard in his voice. "You're going to get me spanked in public."

"He won't," Wonwoo assured him, finally standing up and ignoring Chan's serious look. "You're my spokesperson, you're safe. Seungcheol wouldn't approve of you being publicly whipped, and that fool Mingyu is a general, he wouldn't be as brazen as that to spank you because I was supposedly dreaming about you."

Jeonghan was really trying his best to keep a straight face and not laugh, but it was obvious that he was failing, Chan on the other hand didn't find it funny.

"Hyung" he protested, taking Wonwoo by the hand. "Don't be like that with Mingyu, I know he's not giving you a good impression but I swear he's a good person, you two could get along if you tried"

Chan was, to the knowledge of absolutely everyone, the light in Wonwoo's eyes, and he had never denied him anything, however there were things that even the young prince found impossible.

"I will never moan Jeonghan's name in front of him again" was what he offered to his brother, it was the most he could promise him when it came to Kim Mingyu.

Chan was not satisfied but he dropped the topic.

Wonwoo then bathed and dressed with Soonyoung's help, as always. He usually took considerable time in caring for his appearance, but this time he hurried, deciding on a simple, dark blue garment and a simple ribbon of the same color to tie his hair to the middle of his back. .

His hairstyle was not neat, but some strands hung loose around his face. Wonwoo had the impression that this made him look charming and at the same time, it would surely annoy Kim Mingyu.

After finally being ready, he asked Jeonghan, Chan, and Soonyoung to leave him alone.

It wasn't unusual for him to venture into the corners of the residence aimlessly, but this morning he had done it on purpose, wanting to further upset Mingyu when he went to his room to take him to breakfast and didn't find him.

Unfortunately for him, he found the general on his way to the large doors that separated him from the outside.

"Prince Wonwoo," he said, giving him a mocking bow. "Trying to escape?"

Wonwoo rolled his eyes and walked past him, without stopping. Maybe if he saw that he was going to leave, Mingyu would leave him alone.

... Evidently he didn't do it.

Mingyu walked behind him at a leisurely pace, his eyes scanning the surroundings, taking in the scenery.

The sun was already hanging firmly in the sky, but the cold weather of the morning still dominated. The wind blew softly, shaking the tops of the trees, and the general could clearly hear the birds singing.

He wondered if that was what the prince liked about that place in the middle of nowhere, if the peace and tranquility that seemed to emanate from the place were what kept him here, making him a stranger to the capital.

The truth is that this place had nothing more that a prince could want.

Well, there was Jeonghan, Mingyu reminded himself bitterly. But was that man enough to tie Prince Wonwoo to this place? There were also beautiful men in the capital. Would Mingyu have been beautiful in Wonwoo's eyes if they met in the capital under different circumstances?

Mingyu shook his head.

"You really are shameless," Wonwoo complained, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Do you plan to bother me even after everything you made me suffer yesterday?"

Mingyu caught up with him in two strides.

"It seemed right to accompany you," was what he said, crossing his arms "So you don't take another lover along the way."

Wonwoo shot him a venomous look, making the general have to fight back a smile.

"Why would you care?" he snapped.

"I am a jealous man," he accepted, more than anything to see how the prince would react.

He totally ignored him, and this time Mingyu couldn't contain his smile.

In this devilish place there were not many things, however, Mingyu found himself surprised to see so many people at this time of the morning in the small plaza, and he was even more surprised to see how everyone continued with their lives, as if there were no prince walking among them.

Without thinking, he put a hand on his belt, where he kept the knives.

"It's not necessary," Wonwoo told him, having barely seen him out of the corner of his eye. Mingyu had to admit that the prince was much more cunning than he seemed.

"What if someone tries to attack you?" Mingyu whispered, approaching the prince who had stopped at a fruit stand and was examining some apples carefully.

"And you were going to protect me?" He asked mockingly, handing the man a gold coin and taking an apple that seemed perfect to him. "You are truly a gentleman, Kim Mingyu."

Mingyu ignored the irritating tone in his voice.

"I'm serious"

"No one will attack me," Wonwoo finally assured him, noticing the seriousness of his tone. "This is not the capital, those things don't happen here."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I've been walking freely for a year, and I'm still here," he explained with a shrug.

Mingyu was speechless, but finally moved his hand away from the knife.

Wonwoo had a guard as a lover, and yet he used to walk around the town alone? The general spared him any comments on that.

The prince, much to Mingyu's annoyance, seemed to have absolutely no plans for the day, he simply wandered around, buying fruit when he felt like it, or books, and even fabrics. He almost never talked to Mingyu, and when he did it was obviously to annoy him even more, however Mingyu couldn't say that that was the worst thing he had ever done in his life.

Wonwoo looked natural among the people, and these people seemed to like Wonwoo. Maybe a little too much.

Mingyu did not miss the furtive glances and blushing cheeks that accompanied the prince wherever he went, from both women and men.

In the Palace it was said that all the princes had been blessed in terms of their appearance, however Wonwoo was the one who had brought the most favor from the gods. And as Mingyu looked at that face, adorned by the soft strands of unruly hair, he had to admit that maybe they were right.

"Would you really do it?" Mingyu asked him suddenly, when the prince sat on the edge of a fountain, about to eat his third apple.

"Do what?" Wonwoo asked in response, looking lost.

"Receiving the whipping, for that guard," Mingyu finally explained.

Oh.

Wonwoo had been right the other night, when he thought he saw understanding in Mingyu's eyes, of course the general had been able to read the course of his actions.

"Yes," he answered simply, raising his chin.

Wonwoo was a prince through and through, so stubborn, so proud. Mingyu didn't know if he wanted to shake him again, or...

"Why?" He asked, confused, he realized that he really wanted to know that, he wanted to understand what had that guard that would make a prince willing to be publicly whipped to spare him.

It's not that Mingyu would have ever accepted that offer, he hadn't even thought about whipping the guard in the first place, much less whipping a prince, he wasn't crazy, but it bothered him to know that Wonwoo would put up with that humiliation and pain for such a simple man.

In response, the other man shrugged his shoulders.

"It's what you do... when you feel affection for someone," he explained to him as if he were a stupid child.

And Mingyu felt the blood rise to his cheeks, because in these matters he really was a child. And he was surprised to know that he was ashamed that the prince had experience with lovers and he did not.

Wonwoo looked at him very carefully then, his shrewd black eyes studying him, Mingyu didn't know what his face revealed but he hurried to speak, before the prince could somehow guess his inexperience and naivety.

"And Jeonghan? Do you feel affection for him too?" he asked the prince, injecting into his tone all the mockery he was able to muster.

Wonwoo opened his mouth to respond, but any words he said were drowned out by the high-pitched scream that cut through the quiet of the morning.

In a second, people started running in his direction.

"A demon! A demon!" was what was understood between the screams.

Mingyu quickly put his hand on the handle of his knife and extended the other towards the prince to get him out of there, but Wonwoo was no longer where he had been sitting.

"Damn" Mingyu muttered, looking around him frantically.

Had it been an ambush? Had someone kidnapped the prince and used the crowd to get their way?

If so, they underestimated him, this was a town with much fewer people than there were in the capital, they would not be a match for Mingyu.

The general didn't think twice and weaved through the crowd, finding a table and jumping onto it. Prince Wonwoo was tall, it would be impossible to miss him in the crowd.

And sure enough, Mingyu found him quickly. But no one kidnapped him.

Prince Wonwoo was running for himself, very fast, faster than Mingyu would have believed a prince capable of...

Heading towards the screams.

If Mingyu hadn't been a trained general, he had to admit that he wouldn't have been able to track down the prince, much less in a forest as dense as this.

He brushed away the branches that got in his way, cutting his palms a few times, and trying to ignore how the loose branches on the ground scratched his calves.

"Prince Wonwoo?" he asked but got no answer.

He found him shortly anyway, standing in the middle of the forest. His posture tense, staring straight ahead.

"Wonwoo?" he called out to him, forgetting about formalities.

The man still didn't turn around.

Mingyu frowned, ready to fight with the prince, how did he think of running like that? Why was he in the forest? And above all, why didn't he respond?

"Look, if you..." Mingyu began angrily, but his voice died in his mouth as he witnessed the scene in front of him.

A woman,
dead.

Not just dead, torn to pieces.

Her mouth was open and her eye sockets were empty. There was no blood, however, from the lack of smell it was obvious that her body was fresh.

"Wonwoo..." Mingyu said softly, trying to take the prince's hand to lead him away from the scene.

but Wonwoo didn't take his eyes off the woman. His face was white, livid, he seemed to want to vomit but he didn't move.

"It's happening again" was what the prince said.