"Take that thing away from me," Kirk snapped as the guard presented him with the golden headdress. It reminded him of the engagement he was meant to attend—with the noblewoman selected to be his queen. Everything was being hastily arranged, all because the king, his father, was gravely ill with an unknown sickness.
He had lied earlier, saying he was heading to the far side of the country. In truth, he only intended to stay outside the palace to investigate a growing anomaly around the kingdom—something he couldn't pursue inside the palace, where too many eyes watched his every move.
He began his investigation at the Port of Ayutthaya.
"Why did you stop?" Kirk asked as the guards in front of him suddenly halted. The horses neighed violently, and then—a spray of blood. The guards collapsed. In an instant, masked men dressed in red overwhelmed his escort.
Kirk clenched the hilt of his sword. "Shit," he cursed, watching his guards fall one by one.
I told Saint it was safer to travel alone, to blend in. If only he came with me instead. Where the hell is he now?
His thoughts were cut off when his driver lunged at him with a blade. Fortunately, Kirk was a seasoned swordsman. He dodged the strike, twisted the man's arm, and forced him to stab himself. With a sharp kick, he knocked the attacker out of the chariot.
The panicked horse bolted, dragging the chariot behind it. More guards—his own—were closing in with hostile intent.
Kirk fought back, slicing through them as they attacked. Outnumbered, he needed an escape. He steered the chariot into the woods, knowing the terrain would be harder for the guards to navigate. At the right moment, he leapt off. The chariot crashed, taking several guards with it. He dispatched the rest swiftly, blade flashing with precision.
But it wasn't over.
A fresh group of riders approached. Kirk braced himself. He wasn't running.
A sudden swoosh—a spear whizzed past his ear and struck the lead horseman clean through, continuing into the next. Kirk turned toward the direction it came from.
There they were—the same masked men who had taken down his escort earlier.
One of them, likely their leader, removed his mask.
"Saint?"
"Chao Fa Kirk," Saint greeted, bowing alongside his comrades.
"Seriously? Stand up—all of you. We're in the middle of a war," Kirk snapped, though inwardly, he was relieved. General Saint had come—with backup. And while Kirk had lived his life as royalty, he never liked being bowed to.
Together, they charged into battle.
✦ Scene Break ✦
"ฉิบหาย" (Shit.)
A sly smile crept across Lady Rebecca's lips as she caught her servant's stunned reaction. She had undressed in front of her—something routine for her—but Freen's gaze stirred something strange within her. Satisfaction, maybe. Or something deeper she dared not name.
Lady Rebecca had always been composed and confident, yet somehow, this lowly servant ignited insecurities she didn't know still existed. Every time Freen was near, she felt... unsettled.
She tried to dismiss it. A phase, perhaps. But the feeling lingered.
Freen's presence both soothed and irritated her. She hated watching her with that man—Kirk. The way he looked at Freen, the way he touched her... it made Rebecca's skin crawl. Was it jealousy? A hunch? She couldn't tell. All she knew was she hated seeing them together.
Flashback:
Yes, she had followed them—after Kirk had dragged Freen out of her quarters and into the grass fields beyond the mansion.
No, she wasn't a creep. She just didn't trust the man. He was too suspicious to be merely a palace scholar.
And yes—perhaps she was also concerned for Freen.
She wasn't hiding behind the bushes, not exactly. She just happened to be sitting nearby when they embraced. That's when she grabbed a rock, ready to throw it at Kirk.
"Is he forcing her to repay him—for saving her? Is this how he collects?"
But before she could act, Royal Guards appeared. Kirk shoved Freen away awkwardly, and Lady Rebecca dove into the bushes.
"What are the Royal Guards doing here?" she whispered.
"And what are you doing here, Lady Rebecca?"
"HOLY MOTHER GOD OF MARY—" she gasped, hurling the rock as a whisper brushed her ear from behind.
"Bloody hell, Mr. Lee! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
She clutched her chest, breath ragged. Mr. Lee sat beside her, chuckling softly.
"Just making sure we're not overheard," he said calmly.
She rolled her eyes, trying to regain her composure. "I don't know what you mean."
Mr. Lee smiled but said nothing. They both turned to watch the birds over the field.
Rebecca glanced at him. He wore a crisp white polo, black slacks, and his usual jumper. He wasn't your typical butler. Her father had found him on the streets and taken him in. No one really knew his past, but he had earned Mr. Armstrong's trust through uncanny intelligence—an understanding of things most would call unexplainable.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Lady Rebecca?" he asked without turning.
"I was admiring your smile, Mr. Lee. I didn't know you had such a cute one."
He grinned wider, slightly bashful.
"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were in love with me," he teased.
"Oh, please. Don't flatter yourself," she retorted, laughing. "But I will say... confidence suits you."
They shared a laugh.
"Love," she scoffed.
"You don't believe in love?"
"I believe in compatibility," she said, looking away. "Love is fleeting. Unreliable."
She didn't really mean it—but her parents' cold views and her father's expectations had shaped her cynicism.
"And you?" she asked.
"Love is the reason why I exist in this world." He gave a figurative answer to Lady Rebecca's question, which made the young woman frown.
"I suggest that we go back now to your residence before they figure out you are out without their permission, Lady Rebecca." Mr. Lee got up and offered her a hand, but the lady didn't accept. He chuckled as he noticed, not far away from them, how synchronized the two women were.
"This universe is really magical and mysterious," he commented.
"What was it, Mr. Lee?" asked Lady Rebecca, hearing Mr. Lee say something but being unable to catch it.
"I said I know a shortcut where they won't notice us sneaking in," Mr. Lee said. The lady's eyes widened in surprise and curiosity.
"Really? That could be our chance to finally get inside without getting caught," she responded with excitement.
Mr. Lee chuckled at Lady Rebecca's childishness.
Mr. Lee then led the way to the back of the mansion, as he had already told Miss Nam to prepare the window they would use to get in just before he went out to look for the lady.
But he was shocked that Miss Nam hadn't done as he told her—the window was closed.
But Lady Rebecca chose to stay and was about to change her mind when she decided to do the same—but without Mr. Lee's knowledge. So, she chose to use the front door of her room. But as she opened the door, Freen and Kirk were already standing in front of the room.
And she had no choice but to entertain the man. But then, it gave her the chance to get to know the man, which is why she invited him to have tea.
"Would you like to join me for tea, Mr. Kirk?" she asked with a composed expression.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Khun Nop."A royal guard gets the attention of Nop while he's sitting on the balcony, facing the beautiful view outside the palace, drinking his tea in his residence within the palace grounds.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked, still admiring the blue sky.
"General Saint is here," the guard informed him.
"Let him in."As he spoke, a man with a long scar on his left eye entered with a furious expression and stopped behind Nop.
"Brother, what's so urgent that you remembered the way to your little brother's residence? It's a surprise you still remember my home; I was afraid you had already forgotten me. You know you are my favorite brother of all time," says Nop as he stands and embraces his stepbrother, General Saint.
But the latter didn't bother to embrace Nop back and just stood still, clenching his jaw.
"Is it you?" General Saint straightforwardly asked Nop.
"What did I do now?" Nop replied, confused by his stepbrother's sudden change in demeanor.
General Saint took a step back and looked Nop in the eye."I heard about your involvement with the rebels," he said sternly. "You know that goes against everything I stand for."
"I have no idea what you are talking about, brother."Nop simply denied it, turned his back to his brother, and returned to sit near the balcony. He gestured to the maid to get another cup, and the servant obliged.
Saint just stood there silently, observing his brother.
"Why are you looking at me like I am a criminal? Why don't you sit down with me and let's drink some tea?"He invited Saint, personally pouring tea into the cup handed to him by the servant.
Saint sat across the table and leaned his arms against it, not drinking the tea, and looked Nop in the eyes with seriousness.
"Why did you do that to your own cousin?" Saint asks.
"Can you be more specific? I have a lot of them," Nop answered, grinning and drinking his tea, not making eye contact with his brother.
"Do you really think I wouldn't know about your illegal business at the port? Letting foreigners bring smuggled goods into our kingdom and gaining from it as their accomplice? You are a shame to this family!The evidence against you is overwhelming, and I cannot turn a blind eye to it. You have betrayed our trust and tarnished our family's reputation. And I cannot believe you were able to ambush your own bloodline just to satisfy your selfish desires. Your actions will cause irreparable damage to our family, and it will take a long time for us to recover from this, if ever. I hope you understand the gravity of your actions and are prepared to face the consequences."Saint's long sentiment didn't even make Nop flinch.
"Don't let the time come that I will be the one to cut your horns, brother."General Saint got up from his seat, while Nop just smirked at his brother's remarks.
"Haha, you are still the funniest and most dramatic brother I ever had. If I didn't know you better, I would really believe that your name, Saint, truly suits you. But that's another story for another day, my beloved Saint brother."Saint clenched his fist and started walking out of the place when—
"Why are you so worried? He's fine. I knew it would hurt you, so I didn't kill him—at least not yet. I wonder what people would think, especially the prince, knowing that his strong knight and shining armor has his deepest secret lying beside him."Nop said, grinning.
"I don't know what you are talking about."Saint faced him with teary eyes but still wore a stern expression.
"Then, we both don't know anything. It's that simple, brother."Nop said this before getting up and whispering something in Saint's ear that made him tremble—yet he still managed to maintain his composure—before Nop tapped Saint's shoulder.
General Saint, along with his soldiers, left the place in silence that day.