"Greetings, Sir Dokja," the butler welcomed him as he arrived in front of the Lee manor.
"Please follow me this way". Dokja complied, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and his coat in the other.
Knight Heewon had also accompanied him here. Since she'd completed her mission in the capitol, she returned to serving as his personal knight. Arriving in a garden, they could see Lee Seolhwa's figure facing away, serenely admiring the garden around her. But when the butler announced Dokja's arrival, she turned to face him, a genuine smile lit up her face.
Despite the trouble that 'Kim Dokja' had caused her until now, she was still happy to see him. He took a seat after Lee Seolhwa had gestured to him to do so. Heewon stood further back into the garden to give them privacy, while the butler left after serving the two their tea. "Thank you so much for accepting my invitation, Sir Dokja."
He gave the heiress a smile, "Of course, how could I refuse such an invitation. It's always a pleasure to spend time with you, My Lady." At that statement, her smile briefly wavered as she looked away, seeming a bit restless. Dokja couldn't help but feel a bit bad, since he already knew what she was stewing over. So, he tried to defuse the tension. "Oh, Lady Seolhwa, I bought you a gift."
He presented her with the flower bouquet he had bought. It was a mix of vibrant flowers of many colors. From what he could recognize, there were large yellow sunflowers, orange chrysanthemums, violets, and white daisies. The flowers were wrapped together in thin, beige papers and tied together with a pink bow.
"Ah, please don't feel as if you need to give me so many presents, Sir Dokja," she murmured as she took the bouquet, putting on a strained smile. Originally, he had no intention of bringing anything, but Sooyoung persuaded him to at least buy the flowers, claiming that it would be insulting to a woman to show up without anything. After telling this to Lady Seolhwa, she let out a small laugh. Unlike her smile earlier, her laugh was mirthful this time around.
After that, they conversed about a variety of topics, the tension between the two draining away. As expected, Lady Seolhwa was extremely pleasant to converse with. She was well spoken and very knowledgeable on a multitude of topics. Her passionate speaking made up most of the conversation, with Dokja only chiming in occasionally to offer his own opinions.
"…And what about you Sir Dokja," she looked at him curiously. "Have you had anything interesting happen to you in recent times?" she asked.
"Haha, my life has been quite monotonous as of late, I don't have any interesting stories to share, unfortunately."
Ah, if only that were true…
"Oh, but I do have a little secret I've been hiding from my family." he said, leaning in deviously. The Lady drew in a bit closer, intrigued." A few nights ago I snuck out of the manor with Han Sooyoung and my personal knight." he whispered.
Lee Seolhwa's eyes widened in surprise for a bit before she started giggling softly, covering her mouth. "I didn't know that Sir Dokja had the courage to sneak out, especially with Sir Hades and Lady Persephone always watching."
They laughed together, before gazing at the garden together. After a moment, Dokja internally braced himself. Both he and Lady Seolhwa already knew what they came here to say, it wouldn't be right to procrastinate having that conversation any more than they already had. "Lady Seolhwa, if I remember the letter correctly, you had something important to discuss with me, correct?"
Turning to face him, her smile vanished. She nodded her head, taking a breath and setting her shoulders back. While Dokja thought that she'd need a bit longer to prepare herself, not even a second after she did that did she look him in the eyes, her face having a mixture of determination and apprehension.
"Sir Dokja...please stop pursuing me, I can't return your affections." She spoke out resolutely and bluntly, just as she had to the crown prince.
"..."
"Even if you despise me for this, I-"
" I understand Lady Seolhwa."
"H-huh, I-I'm sorry?" Seolhwa was taken aback. Looking her straight in the eyes, Dokja reiterated himself.
"Lady Seolhwa, thank you for your honesty. Even if you can't return my feelings, I'm still glad to have you present
in my life." The heiress blinked a few times before slumping back slowly in her seat, not expecting his acceptance to be so quick.
She twisted her hands together, the remnants of her nerves from earlier making her fidget. "Thank goodness." she muttered, but she still sent a doubtful look at him. "But are you really sure-"
"Yes, Lady Seolhwa," Dokja interrupted," even if you reject me, there won't be any hard feelings between us. But would you consider us remaining as friends?"
She responded with a firm nod "Yes, of course."
Dokja nodded back, "It's settled then,". A relieved silence washed over them both.
Though, before the other of them could really enjoy it, the butler that had led Dokja and Heewon in earlier had come back. "Forgive me for interrupting, Lady Seolhwa, but you have another guest," he said before bowing.
Taking this chance to excuse himself, Dokja started to stand from his seat. "Ah, perhaps that's my sign to leave…," he started, but the heiress stopped him from going, making him sit down again.
"Who is this guest?". The butler hesitated before answering Lady Seolhwa's inquiry, taking a worried glance at Dokja first.
Bowing his head, the butler responded, "I'm sorry My Lady, but perhaps it would be best if you greeted them yourself."
Dokja couldn't help but scowl. Giving him an apologetic look, Lady Seolhwa excused herself. "Sir Dokja, please wait here, I'll be gone for just a moment."
He nodded as she turned to go. Taking his chance to enjoy the next few moments alone, Dokja sipped his tea and watched the chattering birds flying through the garden. Now that the heroine had properly rejected him, the best strategy would be to stay away from her. However, since she also rejected the crown prince, it should be acceptable for him to be friends with her, right? He didn't have any plans to start pursuing her again and Yoo Joonghyuk would have no reason to cut him down for just getting along with her.
When Dokja heard people entering the garden, he turned toward the entrance to greet Lady Seolhwa back, but immediately grimaced as he spotted the figure accompanying her. Well, speak of the devil. When their eyes met, Yoo
Joonghyuk's narrowed, his body exuding a murderous aura when his eyes landed on Dokja. Lee Seolhwa guided the crown prince to the table.
After a tense silence, Prince Joonghyuk had the audacity to taunt him. "Are you not going to greet me? Showing such disrespect to the Seoul Empire's prince will not be tolerated."
He drawled out, crossing his arms. As much as he didn't want to, Dokja conformed, getting out of his chair to bow to him, a hand over his heart.
"Greetings, Your Highness, thank you for blessing us with your presence today" Dokja gritted out, a painfully forced
smile on his face. Prince Joonghyuk gave him a blank look, giving him no response as he sat down in the seat Lee Seolhwa had previously occupied.
Lee Seolhwa took the seat between the two men at the table and started looking
anxiously between the two, not sure how to break the tension that had reintroduced itself to the space. Determined not to let himself get caught up with the crown prince for too long,
Kim Dokja turned to the heiress and bowed once more. "Lady Seolhwa, thank you for the tea and the nice conversation today. But now that you're preoccupied with Sir Joonghyuk, I best get going."
The crown prince taunted him yet again. "Hmm? Does my presence really bother you that much, Kim Dokja?" he asked, leisurely drinking his tea.
This arrogant bastard… Dokja could feel his eyes start twitching.
He clenched his fists, and in his trained customer service voice, said, "Of course not, Your Highness, I simply didn't want to impose myself on you and Lady Seolhwa's time together. But if you insist for me to stay, then I shall",
and then sat back down in his seat afterward. He wouldn't back down from the prince's jabs at him. Plus, this was some pretty good exposure therapy to get used to the bastard's presence. Lady Seolhwa tried giving Dokja a placating smile, which he appreciated. Dokja felt guilty that she'd been caught in the middle of their spat, even if Yoo Joonghyuk was the one that wouldn't leave him alone. As Dokja gave her his own grateful smile, the crown prince obnoxiously cleared his throat, redirecting Lady Seolhwa's attention to him.
"Ah, right Your Highness, what brings you here?" she asked.
As the crown prince turned his full focus to her, Dokja could sense a shift in his entire character. His eyes sparkled warmly, his body radiating so much affection it was practically spilling out. It wasn't everyday one could see such adoration from Yoo Joonghyuk of all people.
He looked at her as if she was his whole world. They would've made a wonderful couple, Dokja knew that best.
"I simply wanted to see you, my lady, "he said, giving the underworld heir a murderous side eye.
Dokja's hairs stood on end. He averted his eyes away from the crown prince and groaned internally. If that willful bastard had just let him leave, he wouldn't have to be here as a third wheel!
Lee Seolhwa's face had taken on a forced smile, giving Dokja an apologetic side eye before responding. "I'm honored that you want to meet me, Your Highness, but I'm sure that's not the only reason you've traveled all the way here, right?" she inquired.
The crown prince gazed at Dokja briefly before turning back to Seolhwa "The princess, Yoo Mia want to see you becau-"
"Your Highness, is this because of 'that'?" Lady Seolhwa interrupted, her voice and expression serious.
Obviously wary of speaking about this topic in front of the designated third wheel of the group, they communicated with each other with their eyes. Dokja could only stare at them, neither of them acknowledging his presence.
Pursing his lips, Dokja stood up. The crown prince and heiress's gazes simultaneously landed on him. He put on his best smile as he picked up his coat from the back of the chair.
"Lady Seolhwa, it seems like you and His Highness have a pressing private matter you two are eager to converse
about. Once again, I won't impose on your discussion, so I'll take my leave now. Please excuse me." Dokja stated firmly, bowing to the both of them, his hand over his heart once again.
Luckily, this time Yoo Joonghyuk didn't try to drag him back to the table. Seeing her master walking away, Heewon reclaimed her place behind him, making sure to bow to the crown prince and lady Seolhwa from a distance before exiting with him.
"I have to admit Sir Dokja, I thought you'd engage in combat with the crown prince.", his knight looked at him curiously.
"… I'd like to prevent any violence between us from now on." He had no plans to die, thank you very much.
Exiting the garden, the two were making their way through the corridor when they came
across a man with a massive, bear-like body that was heavy-set with muscles. Despite his intimidating stature, his face is warm and
endearing. With his wide jaw, thick brows, and shaved black hair, it wasn't hard to identify him.
Lee Hyunsung: The crown prince's personal knight, and one of the few people outside his family circle to gain his complete trust.
He smiled warmly and bowed at the two when he spotted them. Dokja smiled back at him. Lee Hyunsung had been a character close to his heart as he read through the novel originally. He was one of the few characters on Yoo Joonghyuk's side that had wanted to give Kim Dokja a chance, despite the way he was treated by the Underworld heir.
When the knight saw Dokja smile back, he visibly flinched back in shock, likely
astonished from his previous experience with 'Kim Dokja's' arrogance and the way he ignored the knight's existence in previous encounters.
Dokja really wanted to laugh, but he restrained himself and acted as if he hadn't seen it.
The two made their way out of the castle and into their carriage, which departed back to the Underworld's Manor swiftly.
As the carriage drove on, Dokja wondered what Lady Seolhwa and the crown prince were talking about currently. Maybe about their chat from that evening in the garden? He shook his head and glanced out the carriage
window at the passing trees. As curious as he was, it wasn't in his right to stick his nose into their personal affairs anymore.
Continuing to look at the passing landscapes, Dokja noticed that the path they were traveling on had brought them from the capital to the forest near his home. Biyoo popped into his mind again.
"Stop the carriage," he ordered, and as it slowly halted Heewon looked at him, confused. He was met by a gust of fresh air as he exited the carriage. Noticing that Heewon had followed him out, he called to her. "Heewon, you can just leave me here." Dokja could see the trepidation on her face.
"But, your Highness, this is a forest! There could be dangerous beasts here, sir!" Dokja shook his head
"The mansion is just over the hills, I just want some fresh air,". The knight wasn't persuaded, her face pulled into a frown. Dokja pushed on.
"I had a bit of a tense conversation with Lee Seolhwa, especially with the crown prince's arrival, so I just want to be
alone for a bit", Dokja explained, feigning a weary slouch. Heewon searched his eyes, trying to see any sign of deceit, but relented.
"I understand, sir, but please be careful," she said, clutching his hands tightly. She released him and made her way back to the carriage.
As it drove away Dokja waved it goodbye until it was out of sight.
Okay, Biyoo, here I come.