"Your Highness..."
"Is the preparation ready?" Khittan asks. The man bows at him politely, but then he comes closer to him and whispers something.
"What do you mean?!"
"I'm sorry Your Highness..."
"Is he here yet?" he asks the man again.
"He is waiting in the discussion room,"
Khittan glares at Karin and Ivry. He sighs as he calls his assistants and instructs them discreetly. Both of them walk towards these two ladies.
"Lady Ivry, please follow me to the waiting room," the man invites her.
"What about Karin?"
"Malady, please follow me..."
"Malady?" Ivry's eyes enlarge. She watches Karin, who stands still and nods to the Khittan's assistant.
"What is going on here? I'm not leaving until you guys explain this!" Ivry puts up her stubborn head. She holds onto Karin's hand and pulls her closer.
"I'm sorry, Lady. But, this matter is private..."
"According to whom?"
"According to the Royal Council of Fransco. We have to escort Lady Karin to the discussion room," says the man.
"She just wanna go home to her bedridden grandmother. It's a matter of life and death here!" Ivry yelps.
Both of the assistants exchange glares.
"I'm sorry, Lady... But we only follow the orders from The Crown Prince..."
"Don't touch her!" Ivry hisses at them. Karin glares at these two and signals them to calm down.
"Ivry..."
"Why do they wanna put you on hold?"
"It's... It's just for formality, that's all. Don't worry..."
"Karin, are you a criminal?" Ivry directly asks Karin. The woman smiles and snickers a bit.
"I don't know. Maybe I am, according to my House and The Royal Council," Karin replies to her.
"House?"
"Excuse me, Lady Karin. But we have to go. The spokesperson is waiting for you, malady..." the woman politely urges her.
Karin nods. She turns her head towards Ivry and smiles. After that, she slowly follows the woman to the discussion room at the private airport. Leaving Ivry in a daze.
What is going on? She asks herself.
***
"As per request by the House of Sun, Lady Karin of Sun is prohibited from entering the country, let alone paying a visit to the house," the spokesperson of The Royal Council explains the matter while handing them an official document with the House of Sun seal.
"This is bullshit! We had the agreement that General Sun would withdraw the charges that he made against Lady Sun after the bike accident!" Khittan slams the table.
"General Sun claimed that the agreement was unofficial. It's a verbal agreement without any official documentation," the answer made by the man makes Khittan almost throw his hand at him.
"Khit, keep calm..." Karin holds his hand and pulls him to the chair. She then drifts her gaze to the man.
"If that's what my father wants... Then, it is what it is,"
"No! I'll do anything so you can visit your grandma-"
"I hope Grammy will forgive me..."
Tears roll from her eyes as she looks at the letter sent by the House of Sun to her. She knew the letter was sent without her father's consent as the one who signed the letter was her brother, the second in command. From there, she understood the whole situation.
Her father will never allow her to come home, even if he's the one on the deathbed.
"Hold on!"
A man runs into the room. He whispers something to the Royal Council representative. The man blinks his eyes.
"May I have the documentation?" he asks the man.
"It's so sudden, so we have to wait for a bit," responds the man.
"What's going on?"
The man bows a bit before Khittan.
"Your Highness, the Royal House has granted Lady Karin to enter the country. The rest of the documentation like the traveling visa and grand royal pass will be sent through fax soon..."
"But how?"
"I persuade your mom..."
It's Ivry. She enters the room with some documents. She stands there, looking frustrated but at the same time, she feels relief that at least there is something that she can do to help Karin.
"Ivry..."
"Save the explanation later, Karin. We have a flight to catch..."
***
"So, you told me that you're the eldest daughter of General Sun and when you're in your early 20s, you decided to leave to country and live on your own?" Ivry tries to recall the whole story.
Karin nods. She slowly sips the water from the stainless steel tumbler with The Royal Logo of Fransco.
"What's the beef between you and your father?"
Karin sighs. The question is quite hard to explain. The exact reason none other than General Sun used his patriarchal power to control every woman in the whole house.
"I don't know. To be precise, we had a little argument about something. And, I end up being chased out by my own House. Then, I had an accident. He made a deal with Khittan," Karin replies to Ivry. She doesn't wanna tell the whole story about how the Royal Council used to pair them up, the dream, the livestream scandal, and all sorts.
"Karin... Tell me everything. I know you keep things from me. You... And Khittan,"
Karin takes a deep breath.
"Actually..."