The Switch (JakeHoon&HeeJake)

2

Jake

I am currently in the car as we drove to the palace of Zeviera where I will be betrothed to the prince in exchange for protection not only for the kingdom's throne but for it's people. My mother, the queen never really wanted me to be in the situation she was once at when she's my age but we don't have that much choice.

My kingdom has a good relationship with Zeviera and it is a great alliance but after my father died, no one was there to lead the military power. We were almost attacked and conquered before by a stronger kingdom but Zeviera helped us and we didn't suffer huge damages and loss.

Zequiero, that's my country's name and the name I don't want to be replaced by some conquerors we don't know. We're not really suffering because our kingdom is rich but it will only take a massive attack before it will all be gone. That's what they've been eyeing us on, our richness and our resources. After the attack, the king of Zeviera proposed an alliance between the two nations solely for the military but his wife didn't agree. According to the queen, a sudden alliance without a big reason could cause a massive red flag to other kingdoms and it could cause wars and destruction.

I know as a queen, she's also concerned for her kingdom because a sudden alliance of two kingdoms is seen as a red flag for an attack and those two kingdoms could be literally attacked at the same time. The sudden merging of two kingdoms looks like this, "Kingdom A and B are merging to attack Kingdom C so before that happened, Kingdom C will literally attack A or B or both".

That happened between two kingdoms before and now, they don't exist anymore. Well, one of them is still struggling to survive but it barely has anything because their people had been banished from all around the world and they only live there. It happened before I was born so I actually also want to visit there and hand some help.

Fun fact, that abandoned place is the kingdom of Segovia. My grandmother said that when it was still flourishing, it exceeds us because it is second to Zeviera as the biggest kingdoms in the world. But it is now a place no one wanted to set foot to.

The thing is, two kingdoms can always come together in alliance for a one time thing. But what we need is an alliance for a lifetime. An alliance, a partnership that will ensure us that Zeviera will be on our aid for protection and as partners, we will help them during their hard times.

Zeviera has this random event when it won't rain for a long time. It's not yearly but it will just do. It could happen once a year, twice, thrice or after three or two years. They won't have rain for a month drying all their crops and killing every poultry it could.

So because of that, the queen suggested the traditional way, marriage. However, none of the kingdoms have a princess. Zeviera bore two princes and I am the only child of my parents and obviously, I'm not a princess. That concerns us but the queen and king didn't mind as they really just want to help us because well, they're really close friends with us.

Plus, they said that it doesn't matter what are genders are, it won't hinder anything because a bond is a bond, marriage is marriage. Also, it's not like we're the first ones in history anyway, there are also cases like this long time ago.

I was arranged to the eldest prince I have met once my entire life and that meeting is five months ago when we were introduced.

I always say, in my head, this is for us, this is for our people. It is either me or them, I'd rather choose them.

"Your Highness, we're here"

My trusted driver, Hanbin hyung said as he opened my door. He's the son of one of the royal guards and has been with me when I was young. He's the one I trust the most among all the people working in the palace. I also brought my cousin with me, Jungwon. His parents, my dad's brother and his wife both were killed during that attack that made my mom decide on this alliance. We're all he had left.