first meeting

The air inside the grand temple of the sun god was heavy with the rich scent of burning camphor, sandalwood, and fresh marigolds. It was the day of the sacred Pooja, a royal ritual meant to bless the impending alliance between two powerful empires from across the seas.

Princess Taehyun sat gracefully on a silk mat before the holy fire, her wrists heavy with gold bangles and her hands painted with intricate henna. Her twin brother, Taehyung, was away on a diplomatic patrol, leaving her surrounded only by her royal handmaidens and the temple priests.

A few paces away, blending into the crowd of temple devotees, stood a stranger.

Jungkook, the Crown Prince of the great Jeon Kingdom, was traveling the world incognito on his royal tour. He didn't wear his embroidered silk robes or his dragon-crested headpiece today. Instead, he wore the simple linen tunic and traveling cloak of a commoner. He had slipped away from his private chambers entirely alone, eager to observe the kingdom of his future bride without the suffocating presence of his own royal court.

Jungkook paused, his dark eyes captivated by the foreign ritual. The rhythmic chanting of the priests, the crackle of the sacred flames, and the pouring of holy oils into the fire were entirely new to him.

Once the prayers concluded, Princess Taehyun stood up. Guided by her handmaidens, she walked toward the outer courtyard of the temple, where a crowd of poor and needy citizens had gathered. With a gentle smile, she began distributing bags of grain, gold coins, and silk cloths, speaking softly to each person.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Jungkook stepped closer, blending into the crowd of commoners receiving her charity.

For a brief moment, Taehyun paused right in front of him. She handed a coin to an elderly woman beside him, and the sunlight caught her face perfectly. From this close, Jungkook’s breath completely caught in his throat. She belonged to the legendary Sisodiya Rajput clan, and her beauty carried the fierce, undeniable pride of her warrior bloodline. Her large, expressive eyes and radiant smile struck Jungkook right to his core. In that single, breathless moment, he fell completely helpless to her beauty.

"Your Highness, the carriage is ready," a royal guard announced, and with a final graceful nod, the Sisodiya princess was escorted away.

Jungkook stood frozen, his heart hammering against his ribs, until a rough hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a nearby stone alley.

"Your Highness!" a breathless, frantic voice hissed.

Jungkook blinked, snapping out of his daze to see his head bodyguard, completely pale and sweating through his armor. The guard had been searching the entire city in a panic, terrified that the Crown Prince of the Jeon Kingdom had been kidnapped or assassinated in a foreign land. "You cannot simply vanish into a new kingdom without telling anyone! If the King found out—"

"I am fine," Jungkook interrupted softly, a distant, dazed smile on his face as he looked back toward the empty temple courtyard. "I was just... exploring."

That night, back in the lavish guest palace, the grandeur of his surroundings meant nothing to Jungkook. He dismissed his servants early and lay down on the grand bed, staring up at the silk canopy. But peace wouldn't come. Every time he closed his eyes to sleep, the image of the beautiful Sisodiya princess filled his mind. Her fierce yet gentle eyes, the grace of her movements, and the ethereal glow of her face haunted his thoughts, keeping him awake long into the night.

The Crown Prince of the Jeon Kingdom was completely captivated—unaware that the fate awaiting him at the altar would look identical to the woman of his dreams, yet be a completely different person.

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