CHAPTER 7:PITY CASE

Lee Kwon was in a kneeling position, the back of his cloth were torn, his hand was tied behind his back, the whole assembly gathered, but their heads were bent down, the King and Queen were sitted, while Min yu and Seugh min stayed by the side of their parents, Eun Chen stood by the corner, another whip on his back but he didn't flinch, the back of his torn up cloth was covered in blood, Min yu and Seugh min refused to make any eye contact with their brother, it was very painful to see him get whipped like that, they had both pleaded with their mother, but she still remained adamant, the King also couldn't bear to look at his son getting whipped like that, the only two who were watching was the Queen and Eun chen, the Queen was for pleasure, and Eun Chen was out of curiosity, he was resilient, his eyes were emotionless, but his hands were fisted tight, his objective was to make this less enjoyable for the sadistic Queen, she took pleasure in his pain so no matter how painful it was he had to endure it instead of succumbing to it, finally the last whip on his back, the whip was bloodied red, the executor bowed his head to the Queen, Lee Kwon panted, beads of sweat silently fell to the floor, the ropes were finally untied, but he still knelt down there, " this is a warning to anyone who disobeys me, you shall face the same punishment, DO YOU HEAR ME!!!", she yelled in a commanding tone. " Yes your Highness", said the assembly in unison

Lee Kwon turned to Eun Chen who still stood at the edge, he looked up at the Queen, then he smiled, the Queens eyes grew wide with shock , " I know you thought I will cry in pain for your pleasure,...., but then again you are wrong my beloved mother", said Lee Kwon standing up with a smile, his movement were careful and slow due to the pain on his back, " I have every right to enter this palace because I am the King's son", said Lee Kwon. Go young hit the hand of her throne furiously, " how dare you speak such foul words from your mouth, you rights were revoked from you even before you were born", said the Queen in fury, " then I will get that right, I will earn it", said Lee Kwon, the whole assembly were full of mummurs, but Seugh min and Min yu looked at each other in total confusion, the King was left wide eyed, while Eun Chen stood there curiously watching as Lee Kwon stepped forward to the staircase of the throne, he faced the assembly before him, " he didn't care if his wounds stung at this moment, he didn't care how the salt in his sweat was pricking his injury, he just didn't care, " I Lee Kwon , son of his Highness King Lee Jung yoo, known as the bastard son to most of you, will be dueling for his birth right", said Lee Kwon confidently, there were gasps, everyone was surprised, Eun Chen smirked, he was indeed an idiot

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Min yu and Seugh min helped Lee Kwon to his feet as they strodded to his room, since he was not allowed to use the infirmary at the palace, Eun Chen and Maidservant park followed from behind, he had fainted after giving such a courageous speech,they say him down, Seugh min and Min yu gently removed his torn, blood stained to robe, then his cloth presenting him bare, Maidservant Park darted her eyes away,her eyes were full of pain and frustration, this wasn't the first time she was doing this, it always pained her everytime, "we will take it from here my princes", she said bowing her head, Seugh min nodded , we will call in one of our royal physician", said Min yu, Eun Chen and Maidservant park nodded, then bowed their head, Min yu nodded, then he suddenly spotted Eun Chen hand that it was all bruised, he looked up at her, " what happened to your hand, it's all bruised up", said Min yu, Eun Chen looked at her palm, clenching it up, "oh....., it was just a minor accident, I am a bit clumsy I kept on tripping on my feet and repeatedly landed on my palm", said Eun Chen bowing her head, Min yu nodded, "soak your palms in herbal water, it will help you heal it up faster", said Min yu, " thank you for your concern your Highness,....I will do just that", she said bowing her head, Min yu cleared his throat before leaving, Seugh min smiled then waved at her before leaving.

"Don't you think Lee Kwons maid is so pretty", said Seugh min, " I saw the way you were looking at her, you like her don't you", said Seugh min with a teasing smile as he nudged his brother repeatedly, " that wasn't why I was looking at her, she just looked so familiar ", said Min yu, " anyway,.....do you think Lee Kwon was bluffing about him fighting for his birthright, he has never wielded a sword in his life", said Seugh min worriedly, " it's nothing, he just did that to provoke the Queen and besides I don't think father and mother will grant him that", said Min yu, Seugh min sighed in relief, " you are right, they won't allow it", said Seugh min.

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" I will go heat up some water for his bath, just watch him okay", said Maidservant Park, " yes ma'am", said Eun Chen, then she left , leaving both Lee Kwon and Eun Chen in the room, Eun Chen walked over to Lee Kwon, she bent down slowly, their faces at a very close proximity, carefully assessing his face , " how can someone be this stupid and the same time good looking", she thought, her eyes drifted to his back, there were both old and fresh wounds on his back indicating that this wasn't the first time he had been whipped, he sure was pitiable, she backed away a little and heaved, his wounds were deep, but where she came from, the most lethal punishment was death by beheading, lichen, disembowelment, or dismemberment, she herself had witnessed all this . She put up an iron scissors which was sterilized, putting it over a candle flame , she gently pressed it on his wound making a sizzling sound, he groaned clenching the fabrics of his blanket, " if you were awake , why did you pretend to sleep ?", " I didn't want to see those eyes of pity ", said Lee Kwon, " you know you have never wielded a sword in your life, yet you want to duel over your birth right, guess that is the easiest way to get rid of you, I don't have to dirty my hands", said Eun Chen with a half smile, Lee Kwon scoffed, " I was daring,....it was courageous, wasn't it", he said , " it was stupidity ", said Eun Chen frankly, dropping the scissors on the iron on the floor, " you planned it again didn't you, you knew you weren't suppose to be at the palace , but you showed up", said Eun Chen , Lee Kwon managed to sit himself up, " it was a coincidence and maybe it was fate, it was a fifty fifty bet, I took my chances, I wasn't expecting you to either come to the relics room or not to come, I wasn't expecting you to expecting much, but you proved me wrong, I risked your life and I also risked my own life protecting you, we can call it even", said Lee Kwon with a smile

" You didn't argue with the Queen when she gave you such a harsh punishment, were you expecting me to feel sorry for you!", Lee Kwon smirked , " I haven't forgotten the fact that you are a cold hearted assasin", said Lee Kwon frankly, there was silence for a while before Eun Chen heaved, " you won't be able to bear with me", said Eun Chen , " then I will try harder each day", said Lee Kwon, " if you don't win that duel..., I will kill you", said Eun Chen seriously, Lee Kwon nodded, " once everything is over , we are practically strangers, we are nobody to each other so that means anywhere we meet you are still my enemy", said Eun Chen, Lee Kwon nodded, " that means I will not spare your life ", said Eun Chen, Lee Kwon managed to get in a kneeling position, " I give you my word, we will be enemies when this is all over", said Lee Kwon extending his hand, there was silence , after a long stare at his hand , Eun Chen finally took his hand in hers shaking it, Lee Kwon smiled,, finally he had someone who would change his miserable destiny, "just so you know,..... I don't go easy on my enemies", said Eun Chen with a half smile on her face.

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Han jum was sitting in his chambers, when somebody knocked in the door, " my lord , are you in", asked the person behind the door, someone from the inside yelled, " you may enter, the lord is in", said the man, the person behind the door came in, " my lord", he said bowing his head low then looking over at the person who had previously told him to come in, Han jum signalled for the man to leave, the man bowed his head before leaving, " did our mean find Eun Chen", asked Han jum, we saw her at the forest, but we also encountered the King's men and the crown prince, , if she was following that route, that means she wanted to get her sword from the relics room", said the man, Han jum looked at the man curiously, " if she has the audacity to go to the relics room, Someone in the palace must be helping her, but she will still need a royal to open that door", said Han jum.

" Our men reported back to us, they said that Eun Chen never made it to the relics room, the only people that were found there was Lee Kwon and his maid", said the man ( Jung gi), " his maid?", said Han jum quizzically, " yes my lord, his maid, her name is so-ra, she's a new face", said Jung gi, his men won't be able to recognize her since her face was always covered, he was the only one that knew how her face looked like, but she won't be able to enter the palace premises, if someone was not backing her up, that so-ra and Eun Chen , could they be one in the same , " observe that maid so ra for sometime, we have to be careful, the Queen must not find out that we have found Eun Chen, and make sure run Chen never crosses the boundaries of the palace ", said Han jum seriously, " yes my lord", said Jung gi, bowing his head, then he finally turned and left, if so ra and Eun Chen were one in the same , that means he didn't have to push himself anymore, if Eun Chen was indeed in the palace, all his plans will automatically be set in motion, after all she was the center of all his plans, but just what was she planning

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" How dare him try to oppose my command, who does he think he is,he has no right to step his feet on the palace ground", said the Queen angrily, " I will talk to him, the beating must have gotten into his head, he wasn't thinking straight at that time ", said Jung yoo, the Queen heaved in annoyance , if she had only killed him then, their lives will be peaceful , she should have killed him along with his mother that day, she looked at Jung yoo, " your son is breaching the contract little by little, all those people died because of one boy, remember that and put him back in his place", said the Queen as she left to her chambers while the King heaved.

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Seugh min sneakingly walked over to the maids quaters stopping at a door, he smiled while straightening his robe, he knocked on the door, he heard approaching footsteps, then ehe door flung open, it looked like the girl was about to say something to someone thinking it was her fellow maid, but her mouth went shut, looking at the man before her, her eyes softened , Seugh min without wasting much time pulled the girl into his embrace, " I na , I missed you so much", said Seugh min hugging her tighter, I na pulled away and slapped him on his face , " why didn't you tell me you were leaving huh...", said I na in an almost teary voice, Seugh min pulled her in again, hugging her tighter, he was gravely remorseful, " I'm sorry,.....it was an impromptu trip, I couldn't tell you because I was also not aware, it just came all of a sudden, "I'm sorry", he said, I na tensed body relaxed as she wrapped her her hands around him, soaking into his warmth.

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It was morning, Eun Chen was wrapping a white satin cloth on Lee kwons upper body after applying ointment, she carefully and gently wrapped it, till it was completely covered, bringing in his inner wear, cloak and robe, she helped him put on his cloth, carefully aiding his hands to his sleeves, all of a sudden Maidservant Park came in hurriedly, her face drained of it's colour, Lee Kwon looked at her curiously, " why, what happened, why do you look so pale", asked Lee Kwon, gesturing for Eun Chen to pause, "young master,....y.....your father the King is here", said Maidservant Park, Lee Kwon heaved, he knew why his father was here, it was to persuade him to withdraw the statement of yesterday, " tell him..., I will be with him shortly", said Lee Kwon, Maidservant Park nodded as she left to pass on the information, " he wants you to withdraw the statement you made yesterday", said Eun Chen while helping him to wear his robe, " I know that he will ask me that, he will never be on my side", he said , Eun Chen finished wearing his robe and stood in front of him, while Lee Kwon faced her, " I have been obedient all my life, but this time I choose to be daring", said Lee Kwon, Eun Chen smirked as she nodded to his statement.