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Across the city, in the heavily guarded war room of the foreign fortress, the atmosphere was starkly different from the peaceful temple. Large parchment maps were laid out across a heavy oak table, weighed down by golden daggers.

Jungkook stood over the table, his soft, dazed expression from the night before entirely gone. He was no longer the wandering traveler; he was the fearsome Crown Prince of the Jeon Kingdom. His eyes ran coldly over the borders of the Sisodiya Rajput kingdom.

"The alliance through this marriage is just the first step," Jungkook murmured, his voice cutting through the silent room like ice. "Once the princess is wed to me, our influence will anchor into this soil. We will study their defenses, their trade routes, and their army. Step by step, this kingdom will belong to the Jeon empire."

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the corner of the room. A clumsy young mapmaker had accidentally knocked over an inkwell, the dark fluid ruining a meticulously drawn border map. The room went dead silent. The mapmaker instantly dropped to his knees, trembling violently. "M-Mercy, Your Highness! It was an accident!"

Jungkook slowly turned his head. His eyes were void of any warmth. In the Jeon Kingdom, everyone knew the terrifying truth: Crown Prince Jungkook was brutally cruel. He never showed a soft side to anyone—not to his servants, his soldiers, or even his own parents. To him, weakness was a sin, and mistakes were unforgivable.

"A man who cannot control his own hands cannot be trusted to handle the kingdom's secrets," Jungkook said softly, though his tone carried the weight of a death sentence. "Take him to the courtyards. Fifty lashes, and banish his family from the capital."

As the guards dragged the screaming man away, Jungkook didn't even blink. He simply stared back down at the map, his mind briefly flashing to the gentle, radiant smile of the princess he had seen at the temple. She was a prize to be won, and he would have her, along with her entire empire.

Meanwhile, inside the golden walls of the Rajput palace, a very different kind of chaos was unfolding.

"Give it back, Taehyung! It’s mine!"

Princess Taehyun was currently chasing her twin brother around a massive marble pillar. Taehyung, holding a beautifully carved wooden practice dagger high above his head, grinned mischievously, his sharp eyes dancing with amusement.

"You call this clumsy handling a warrior's grip?" Taehyung teased, ducking as his sister threw a silk cushion at his head. "If you're going to cross the ocean to a foreign kingdom, you need to learn how to properly defend yourself, little sister! I'm just helping you practice."

"I am older than you by two minutes! And I don't need to fight, I am a princess!" Taehyun huffed, stamping her foot as she tried to tackle him for the dagger. They were fighting like wild cats, completely throwing royal decorum out the window.

"Enough, both of you!"

A commanding, gentle voice echoed through the corridor. The Queen Mother entered the pavilion, shaking her head at her twin children. Taehyung instantly lowered the dagger, and Taehyun smoothed down her creased royal attire, both of them suddenly looking like innocent children.

The Queen walked over, a soft, melancholic smile on her face as she looked at her daughter. "Taehyun is getting married in just a few days. She will leave across the seas to her in-laws in the Jeon Kingdom. Taehyung, you should be treating her with kindness. Once she is gone, you will miss her terribly."

Taehyung crossed his arms, letting out a loud, dramatic scoff. "Miss her? A big NO on that, Mother! With her gone, the palace will finally be peaceful. I won't have anyone stealing my favorite horses or complaining about my loud sword practice."

Taehyun gasped, pinching his arm hard. "Oh, really? Just wait, Taehyung! When I am gone, you'll have no one to hide your broken arrows from Father!"

The twins glared at each other, but beneath the bickering, a deep, unspoken sadness lingered in the air. They had been inseparable since birth, sharing the exact same face, the same laughter, and the same soul. Neither of them knew that Taehyung's boast about never missing her would come true in the most tragic way possible—because she would never actually leave his side.

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