Tipping the Scales - II

The pallor that comes over her amuses Daean. His mouth twitches as he struggles to conceal a grin. Instead of dwelling upon his former fiancee's distress he turns his slanted eyes upon the disgruntled crown prince instead. There is resentment there, for certain. Daean did not find it acceptable to bow down to men younger than him, who knew lesser than him at least in his opinion. A few years at Pyeongju cannot make their royal highness any more worthy of usurping his lands than he had been at birth; the witch's spawn, that's what he was, what he'd been always. 

His mouth twitches at the thought of his scheme, he had everything planned out for his cousin, just the way people of Silla would prefer it. He smiles now, hiding behind a mask of politeness that none could point fingers at and addresses the frowning boy, examining his sister's gift over her shoulder.