"Min Soo, get in here!" Appa's voice thundered through the corridor.
I sighed, my fingers tightening around the lacquered doorframe. It wasn't as if I had a choice. When the king summoned, even the most stubborn son had to answer.
Stepping into the war chamber, I was greeted by a cacophony of arguments. Ministers and generals flanked the room, their faces flushed from shouting. Appa stood at the head of the table, his eyes blazing.
"Are you deaf, Min Soo? I shouldn't have to call you twice!" he barked.
"Perhaps if you didn't shout all the time, Appa, I'd actually listen," I muttered under my breath as I walked to my seat.
"Speak up!"
"Nothing, Your Majesty," I said, barely masking my irritation.
Seok Hoon leaned in from across the table, his voice low. "You're going to get yourself killed one day, little brother."
"Let them try," I shot back.
"Enough!" Appa slammed his hand on the table, silencing the room. "This is not the time for petty squabbles. The kingdom is under threat, and you stand here bickering like market women!"
The generals exchanged uneasy glances, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"Report," the king commanded, directing his glare at General Kwon, a grizzled veteran who had served our family for decades.
"Your Majesty," Kwon began, his voice steady despite the tension. "The eastern borders remain unstable. The Buyeo forces have launched several raids, targeting our supply lines. If we do not act swiftly, they will cripple our defenses."
"Then act!" Appa growled. "What am I paying you for if you cannot even defend this kingdom?"
"It's not that simple," Seok Hoon interjected, ever the diplomat. "The Buyeo forces are using guerrilla tactics. They strike and disappear before we can mount a proper defense."
"And whose fault is that?" Appa spat, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Are my commanders so incompetent that they cannot outthink a band of savages?"
"Perhaps," I said, unable to stop myself, "if you spent less time insulting your commanders and more time listening to them, we wouldn't be in this mess."
The room fell silent, all eyes on me.
"Min Soo," Appa said, his voice dangerously calm. "Step forward."
I hesitated, but Hyejin's warning look from the corner of the room pushed me to obey.
"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Appa's tone was venomous. "You think your sharp tongue makes you a man?"
"No, Appa," I replied, meeting his gaze. "I think actions make a man. Something this court seems to lack."
His hand struck faster than I could react, the force of the slap echoing in the chamber.
"Out!" he roared. "If you will not respect this family or this throne, then you are of no use to me here!"
---
By the time I left the chamber, my cheek was burning, but my pride stung more.
"You should have kept your mouth shut," Seok Hoon said, falling into step beside me.
"And let him continue this farce?" I snapped. "We're fighting wars we can't win, trading human lives like cattle—"
"You think I don't know that?" Seok Hoon cut in, his voice low but fierce. "But we don't get to question Appa's methods. Not here. Not now."
"That's the problem," I said. "No one questions him. And look where it's gotten us."
---
The next morning, I was summoned to the training grounds. The air was thick with the sound of clashing steel and the shouts of soldiers.
"You will join this campaign," General Kwon informed me as he handed me a sword.
"I'm not a soldier," I argued, though I knew it was pointless.
"You are a prince," he countered. "And this is your duty."
The following days were a blur of drills and war councils. I was thrust into the heart of the campaign, witnessing firsthand the brutality of war. Villages burned, soldiers fell, and the cries of the wounded haunted my dreams.
"You've never seen this side of the kingdom, have you?" Seok Hoon asked one night as we stood on a hill overlooking the battlefield.
"No," I admitted, my voice hollow.
"This is what Appa fights to protect," he said. "But at what cost?"
I didn't have an answer.
---
Rumors about my refusal to condone the slave trade spread quickly. In the court, whispers turned into accusations.
"Your stance is dangerous," Hyejin warned me one evening.
"It's the truth," I replied.
"And the truth can get you killed," she said.
---
The final blow came during a skirmish near the border. We were outnumbered, our forces overwhelmed.
"Fall back!" General Kwon shouted, but it was too late.
As I watched our soldiers retreat, bloodied and beaten, a sinking realization settled over me. We were losing.
For the first time, the invincibility of the royal crown felt like an illusion.
As I turned to rally the remaining troops, a Buyeo arrow struck General Kwon, and the soldiers around me began to scatter. The enemy's battle cry grew louder, their forces closing in. The kingdom's enemies were no longer at the gates—they were inside.