The Kingdom of Aurelis was known for its golden towers, its grand libraries, and its three princes who were raised like jewels polished under strict sunlight.

Prince Kim Jihoon, the third son, stood on the balcony of the East Pavilion, staring at the moon glowing like a polished pearl. He didn’t enjoy parties, especially not the lavish gatherings his father adored.

Behind him, the palace musicians tuned their instruments. The ballroom glowed with warm candlelight. The scent of cherry wine and jasmine petals filled the air.

Jihoon pulled at the silver embroidery on his silk sleeves. His mother used to adjust his clothes before every ceremony. But she had died six winters ago, and Jihoon had learned how to fix his own collar.

A servant whispered behind him,

“Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence.”

Requests.

King Alistair Kim never requested anything. Only commanded.

Jihoon nodded silently and walked inside.

The Ballroom of Aurelis

The chandelier glittered with a thousand crystals. Nobles swirled around in gowns of pastel colors. His elder brothers Crown Prince Daehyun and Prince Minseok stood in the center, greeting foreign royals.

King Alistair stood with a glass of ruby wine, smiling the smile he wore only during diplomacy the one that never reached his eyes.

“Jihoon,” he said without turning, “try not to embarrass this family tonight.”

“I’ll do my best, Father.”

“Your best is rarely enough.”

The words slid into Jihoon like cold needles, but he bowed slightly and kept his face calm.

Daehyun gave him a quiet, reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Minseok winked to lighten the moment.

But Jihoon’s chest still felt tight.

The Arrival of the Northern Delegation

The drums sounded one heavy strike, then another.

A hush fell over the hall.

A servant announced loudly:

“Presenting the royal family of the Kingdom of Winterthorn!”

Jihoon lifted his head.

Winterthorn.

A kingdom covered in frost and legends, ruled by King Rowan Choi a man known for strict discipline and unmatched loyalty to his people.

In entered King Rowan, tall, sharp-eyed, wearing a dark silver cloak trimmed with white fur. Beside him walked a woman with soft brown hair Queen Seraphina. And behind them…

Jihoon’s breath caught.

A boy about his age, dressed in midnight blue, with raven-black hair that fell slightly over his eyes.

Prince Jaehyun Choi.

Jaehyun walked with confidence, but not arrogance his steps calm, eyes curious. When he looked around, he seemed to examine everything with gentle calculation.

And for a moment just one his gaze met Jihoon's across the ballroom.

Jihoon felt heat rush to his cheeks.

Jaehyun slightly raised a brow, almost amused.

Jihoon immediately looked away.

Their First Meeting

Later, when the orchestra softened and guests mingled, Jihoon found a quiet corner near the royal garden doors. He inhaled the scent of moon lilies to steady himself.

A low, smooth voice spoke behind him.

“So the rumors are wrong.”

Jihoon turned.

Prince Jaehyun stood there, hands behind his back, a faint smirk on his lips.

“What rumors?” Jihoon asked softly.

“That the third prince of Aurelis is dull.”

Jihoon blinked. “People say that?”

“Oh, quite a lot.” Jaehyun leaned slightly closer. “But now that I see you, I know they’re wrong. You’re not dull.”

Jihoon swallowed. “Then what am I?”

“Beautiful,” Jaehyun said simply.

Jihoon's heart jumped. He stepped back, ears burning.

“Your Highness, please don’t joke...”

“I don’t joke when I see something worth admiring.”

Jihoon’s voice nearly died in his throat.

“Why… are you speaking like this to me?”

“Because,” Jaehyun said, “this room is full of people pretending to enjoy themselves. You’re the first person here who looks real.”

Jihoon lowered his gaze.

“…Thank you.”

For the first time that night, someone’s words didn’t hurt him.

The Moonlit Garden

Jaehyun nodded toward the open garden doors.

“Walk with me?”

Jihoon hesitated his father would scold him, Daehyun would worry, Minseok would tease him.

But something in Jaehyun’s eyes felt warm. Safe. Curious.

“I… yes,” Jihoon whispered.

They stepped into the garden, where glowing lanterns floated above the lily ponds like drifting stars. Crickets sang, and the night air felt gentler here.

Jaehyun asked,

“Do you dislike parties?”

“I do. Too many eyes.”

“Afraid of being judged?” Jaehyun said.

“Isn’t everyone?” Jihoon murmured.

Jaehyun looked at him sideways. “I’m not judging you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know you yet.” Jaehyun smiled. “And I’d like to.”

Jihoon felt something warm unfurl inside him.

They walked slowly, shoulders almost touching, their steps falling into the same rhythm.

A Secret Seen

From the balcony above, King Alistair Kim watched with narrowed eyes.

He did not like the sight of his youngest son smiling with the prince of Winterthorn.

Not at all.

Queen Seraphina Choi also noticed from afar and nudged her husband playfully.

“Rowan,” she whispered, “look. Our son is socializing. With the shy prince.”

King Rowan gave an approving nod.

“He needs friends,” he said quietly.

“Especially someone gentle like that boy.”

Neither king realized

that this night

would one day shatter both kingdoms.

The First Crack in Destiny

As the lanterns glowed above them, Jaehyun stopped walking.

“Jihoon,” he said softly.

“I want to see you again. Tomorrow, if possible.”

Jihoon looked stunned. “Tomorrow?”

Jaehyun nodded. “I’m only here for a week. I’d like to spend some of it with you.”

Jihoon’s heart trembled like touched water.

“…I’d like that too.”

Their eyes met under the lantern light.

Two futures intertwined themselves quietly

unnoticed by the world,

unwelcomed by fate,

but unstoppable.

And somewhere deep inside them both,

a quiet seed of love was planted.

A seed that would one day bloom into something

beautiful…

and heartbreakingly destructive.

To Be Continued....

TinyTreasureBook

The next morning arrived wrapped in pale sunlight and soft wind.

Aurelis usually woke to the clatter of merchants and carriages, but today the palace felt gentler, quieter almost as if it knew something delicate was beginning.

Jihoon woke early, something rare in itself.

He sat on the edge of his bed, fingers touching his lips without realizing. He hadn’t slept much; his mind kept returning to Jaehyun’s voice, to the warmth in his eyes.

It felt unreal…

someone wanted to see him.

Not out of duty.

Not out of politics.

Not out of expectation.

But out of choice.

He stood slowly, feet cold against the polished marble floor, then chose a soft blue robe embroidered with white silk threads. His mother’s favorite color combination.

As he tied the sash, he whispered, almost shyly:

“…I hope he truly meant it.”

---

Breakfast Among Princes

In the east dining hall, Daehyun and Minseok were already seated.

Crown Prince Daehyun looked elegant as always, long black hair tied neatly, golden armor plates resting on his shoulders like a second skin. Minseok, with his fox-like grin, waved at Jihoon dramatically.

“You’re glowing,” Minseok teased, eyes sparkling.

“Did someone confess to you last night?”

Jihoon nearly choked on air.

“W-what? No!”

Daehyun raised an eyebrow. “Someone caught your attention, then.”

Jihoon’s cheeks burned bright.

“I… met Prince Jaehyun.”

Both brothers paused.

Daehyun sipped his tea.

“He is a strong prince. Sharp mind. Respected.”

He studied Jihoon's face. “But be careful. Winterthorn is our father’s rival.”

Jihoon lowered his gaze.

“I know…”

Minseok leaned in playfully.

“So you like him?”

Jihoon hid behind his cup. “I didn’t say that.”

Daehyun smiled faintly... the quiet, protective kind.

“Just don’t let Father see too much. He finds danger even in harmless things.”

Jihoon nodded.

But he couldn’t deny it

his heart was already beating at the thought of seeing Jaehyun again.

---

The Garden Rendezvous

The palace gardens stretched like a sea of greenery, filled with moon lilies, glowing moss paths, and cascading water fountains that caught the morning sun like scattered diamonds.

Jihoon arrived early, thinking he would wait alone.

But Prince Jaehyun was already there.

He stood near the koi pond, hair slightly messy from the breeze, his winter-blue cloak brushing the grass. When he turned and saw Jihoon, he smiled.

Not a polite royal smile.

Not a political mask.

A smile that reached his eyes.

“You came,” Jaehyun said softly.

Jihoon’s breath caught.

“I said I would.”

“And I hoped you would.”

Jihoon looked down shyly, fingers touching a nearby flower.

“You’re early…”

“I was afraid you might not come,” Jaehyun admitted.

Jihoon blinked.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Jaehyun moved closer.

“Because most people come to me for status… but you came with sincerity.”

He tilted his head gently. “And sincerity is rare.”

Jihoon’s heart warmed, delicate as silk.

---

A Walk Among Falling Petals

As they walked, Jaehyun asked quietly:

“Why does the third prince of Aurelis hide from crowds?”

Jihoon hesitated before answering.

“I don’t hide. I’m… just out of place.”

“In your own kingdom?”

“In my own skin sometimes,” Jihoon said, voice soft.

Jaehyun slowed his steps.

“What makes you feel that way?”

Jihoon touched his wrist unconsciously... where his father’s grip had bruised him two nights ago.

“I don’t always meet expectations,” he whispered. “Good at reading, but bad at leading. Good at empathy, bad at politics. Too soft in a house of steel.”

“So?” Jaehyun said.

“Not everyone is meant to be steel. There’s beauty in gentleness.”

Jihoon blinked up at him.

“Do you truly believe that?”

“I believe it because I see it,” Jaehyun replied.

And in that moment, the wind carried a shower of white petals between them, like the world itself was blessing this strange, young bond.

---

A Sudden Interruption

But peace never lasts long in palaces.

A loud voice echoed behind them.

“Prince Jihoon!”

Jihoon stiffened instantly.. his body recognizing the tone before his mind did.

King Alistair approached, cape sweeping behind him like a storm cloud. His eyes flicked from Jihoon to Jaehyun, sharp and aware.

“So this is where you have wandered off,” he said coldly.

Jihoon bowed immediately. “Forgive me, Father—”

“I did not ask you to speak.”

Jihoon’s stomach twisted painfully.

Jaehyun stepped forward politely.

“Your Majesty, I requested the prince’s company. I apologize if it inconvenienced you.”

King Alistair’s eyes narrowed at the Winterthorn prince.

His voice hissed like a blade unsheathed.

“The princes of Aurelis do not wander with foreigners without my approval.”

Jaehyun’s jaw tightened... but he kept his composure.

“Prince Jihoon,” the king said sharply, “your presence is required in the West Wing.”

Jihoon bowed again, heart sinking.

“Yes, Father.”

He cast a small, apologetic glance at Jaehyun.

Jaehyun gave him a tiny nod... one that said it’s alright even when it wasn’t.

Jihoon turned to follow his father, steps quiet, shoulders sinking.

But before he left, Jaehyun called softly:

“Jihoon.”

Jihoon paused and looked back.

Jaehyun held his gaze and said,

“Will you meet me again?”

Jihoon’s lips trembled into the faintest smile.

“…Yes.”

King Alistair’s glare darkened, but Jihoon didn’t retract his words.

Jaehyun smiled... the kind that could melt ice.

And Jihoon walked away, following his father’s shadow, feeling Jaehyun’s eyes warm against his back…

as if someone finally saw him

and cared enough to look twice.

King Alistair didn’t speak as he walked.

He didn’t shout.

He didn’t warn.

He simply entered Jihoon’s private chamber, closed the door, and turned toward him with the cold silence of a man who lost all patience long ago.

Jihoon stood trembling, hands clasped tightly behind him.

“Father… if I have disappointed you, I..”

The crack of a hand striking skin echoed like thunder.

Jihoon’s head snapped sideways, cheek burning, eyes watering instantly.

He stumbled but didn’t fall.

“You dare shame this family with the son of Winterthorn?” King Alistair hissed.

Jihoon swallowed hard.

“I only spoke with him...”

Another slap.

Harder.

“You are a prince,” his father growled.

“Not a fragile girl who wanders after pretty faces.”

Jihoon lowered his head.

It hurt.. physically, emotionally... but he knew arguing would make it worse.

“You will not meet him again,” Alistair said sharply.

“You will not speak to him.

You will not look at him.

You will not think of him.”

Jihoon’s voice cracked.

“But Father, I...”

The king seized Jihoon by the hair and slammed him to the floor.

“You shame me,” he spat.

“You shame this kingdom.”

Jihoon bit back a cry, tasting metal on his tongue.

“From today,” the king declared, “you are confined to this room.”

Jihoon’s eyes widened. “Father...”

“Silence.”

Guards stepped forward.

“Lock every window.

Guard every door.

He does not leave this chamber unless I command it.”

Jihoon’s stomach dropped to ice.

His heart pounded in panic.

The king left without another word, leaving Jihoon shaking on the floor... bruised, bleeding, but most of all… trapped.

Days passed like cold winters.

Jihoon couldn’t leave.

Couldn’t breathe fresh air.

Couldn’t see sunlight except through the tiny cracks where curtains met.

He stood by that crack every evening, wondering if Jaehyun also looked toward Aurelis hoping for a sign.

He tried everything... sending a message with a guard, calling a passing maid, tapping the window twice at night hoping someone below would hear.

Nothing worked.

Every knock on the door made him jump.

Every voice outside made him hope it was Jaehyun.

But it never was.

At night he cried quietly, face buried in his pillow.

He hated crying... it always made him feel weak.

But loneliness had teeth.

And they bit deep.

In Winterthorn’s temporary quarters, Jaehyun paced daily.

He sent letters.

Messages.

Requests for walks.

All were returned unanswered.

He even went to the East Pavilion himself.

“Prince Jihoon is indisposed,” a guard said coldly.

“Indisposed how?” Jaehyun demanded.

“Not your concern, Your Highness.”

Jaehyun’s nostrils flared.

He wasn’t used to walls being built around someone he cared for.

He wasn’t used to feeling powerless.

His mother, Queen Seraphina, watched him with concern.

“Jaehyun, darling, who is this boy to you?” she asked gently.

Jaehyun whispered, “Someone I cannot ignore.”

On the seventh night, Jihoon broke.

His eyes were swollen from crying.

His throat hurt from holding sobs back.

He wrote a letter with trembling hands.. ink smudged from falling tears.

When he finished, his fingers were stained black.

He waited until his guards changed shifts, then whispered desperately to a young servant who brought his dinner.

“Please,” Jihoon begged.

“Give this to Prince Jaehyun. I’ll do anything. Please.”

The servant hesitated, fear in his eyes.

“His Majesty forbade...”

“Please,” Jihoon whispered again, voice cracking.

“He’s the only one who will listen. The only one who will believe me.”

The servant trembled but nodded.

“I will try, Your Highness.”

Hope fluttered painfully in Jihoon’s chest.

He watched through the window crack as the servant ran across the courtyard toward the Winterthorn quarters.

Jihoon pressed his fingers to the glass.

“Please reach him…”

The servant gave Jaehyun the letter while panting, terrified.

Jaehyun ripped the seal immediately.

And as he read...

his hands began to shake.

The letter said everything:

The beatings.

The insults.

The confinement.

The bruises hidden under long sleeves.

The threats.

The loneliness.

Jihoon had written:

“I wanted to see you.

Just once.

Father says I embarrass him.

He says people like me deserve isolation.

Jaehyun… I’m scared.

I don’t know how to get out.

You were the only good thing in that place.”

Jaehyun’s vision blurred with fury.

His mother gasped when she saw his expression.

“Jaehyun.. what’s wrong?”

Jaehyun crushed the letter in his fist.

“War,” he growled.

Queen Seraphina stepped back in horror.

“War?! Over a prince you met a week ago?!”

“You don’t understand,” Jaehyun hissed.

“He’s suffering. He’s alone. His father is a monster.”

Queen Seraphina grabbed his arm.

“Jaehyun, think...”

But he had already made up his mind.

“If the King of Aurelis hurts Jihoon again,” he said darkly,

“I will burn that kingdom to ice.”

Jaehyun sent a reply to Jihoon... a letter full of promises, of rescue, of fury.

In it, he wrote his entire plan:

“Prepare. When the moon reaches full in three nights, I will strike Aurelis.

You will be free.

I swear it.”

But Jihoon never read it.

Because King Alistair intercepted it.

And the moment he saw Jaehyun’s war plan written clearly on the page, he smirked coldly.

“So. The Winterthorn boy thinks he can outsmart me.”

He ordered the entire army to prepare quietly.

Aurelis was ready before Winterthorn even marched.

Winterthorn launched the attack under a silver full moon.

Jaehyun rode at the front, fury blazing in his chest, heart pounding with one thought:

Jihoon. Jihoon. Jihoon.

But the moment they crossed the first hill...

Aurelis soldiers surrounded them from every direction.

Jaehyun’s eyes widened.

“…He knew.”

Swords clashed.

Arrows rained.

Horses screamed.

Winterthorn was overwhelmed.

And in the chaos…

A royal guard slashed at King Rowan Choi.

Jaehyun saw it too late.

“Father...!!”

Rowan fell from his horse, blood pooling beneath him like a spreading shadow.

Jaehyun dropped to his knees beside him, voice cracking:

“Father, stay with me...please...stay...”

King Rowan took one staggering breath.

“Be… a better king… than I ever was…”

And then he went still.

Jaehyun’s scream tore through the battlefield.

Queen Seraphina, watching from the carriage, collapsed to her knees, wailing.

Winterthorn withdrew, shattered.

Aurelis celebrated its victory.

But in Winterthorn…

A broken prince stood drenched in blood, holding his father’s sword.

And that night,

Prince Jaehyun Choi became King Jaehyun Choi.

His heart frozen.

His grief burning.

And the world didn’t yet know...

this was only the beginning.