Betrothed To The Prince...

Some nice time

When Pete woke up, he saw a face of a woman looking at him with tender gaze, her eyes were speaking volumes. Pete sat up immediately while greeting her. "It's alright love. How are you feeling now?" the woman inquired.

"Better mae..." Pete replied. "Can you at least explain to me what has happened?" the empress asked. Pete nodded but then looked at his maids who stood close by. They understood too well and then excused themselves, walking out of the chamber leaving the two alone. The doors were closed soon after and the empress had her full attention towards Pete.

"Can you tell now?" the woman asked. Pete then began to explain the events that happened and how he ended up rushing back to his chamber. The empress felt her heart break while listening to it. She was aware about the behavior of Ae and she knew what the crown prince was up to.

"I know Pete that you wouldn't like to hear this but you must have seen him with the concubine. There is another castle not long from here where the concubines stay. These are usually women who are trying to draw attention of the prince for their selfish motives. Though the king himself wanted to end this system, some of the people were against it. It's only possible to demolish it completely if the crown prince himself decides to discontinue having them around and letting them go off. It will be better for all and will help to restore the faith of the people in royalty. I myself am against this." The empress explained.

Pete felt bitter hearing it. Right from the time he got married, there wasn't even a single thing that he could think of to be nice. He had been having all the bad experiences from very start.

"Don't feel disheartened my dear. Love and lust are two different things. Just be yourself and keep doing what you think is right. And I am sure, Ae will see the goodness in you." The empress assured. Pete tried to convince himself that this can be true but to the deepest core of his heart, he couldn't believe a single word about this.

He tried to smile and nodded in response and the women patted his shoulder. "I know it's impossible to believe but I can assure you that everything is going to be fine." She assured. Though Pete wasn't in a condition to continue talking he still tried to show some interest since the woman in front of him was not an ordinary person but the empress herself and also his mother in law.

After a while, the maids returned back to inform them that the dinner was ready and Pete couldn't escape it this time. He mustered up all his courage and braced himself for the worst as he walked out of his chamber accompanied with his mother in law.

When they arrived at the dining table, Pete could see that everything was ready and the emperor was waiting for them. "Sit down my dear." The empress said as she moved to occupy her place. Pete spared a glance around and to his luck, there was no sign of Ae. Thankfully it was a relief for him since he wouldn't be able to bear the sight of that person.

"Don't worry... He wouldn't be joining us for dinner. He had already left with some of the knights for a small trip. He won't be around for a week or so." The empress assured. Pete felt at ease when he heard those words. He didn't know why he was feeling better when Ae wasn't there around.

A week without his presence was like a blessing for Pete since he won't have to stumble upon him to hear those mean words or the threats. After the supper, Pete returned back to his chamber accompanied by his maids who quickly began to tidy up the bed. Pete changed into comfortable clothes and then asked the maids to go back and rest as he moved to lie down.

When he finally had some free time, his gaze landed upon the gifts brought by the surgeon. He picked up the hair pin and began to examine it. It was a beautiful masterpiece, custom made with his name engraved over it. The beautiful pattern of flowers added more to it's beauty and no one could actually believe that this little beautiful thing which looked so harmless was a deadliest weapon.