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“Your Highness, someone has come to ask you for a personal audience.“ Han Yoojin had smelled the guard first before he had spoken; a bumbling beta who always smoked and never bothered to flick the ashes of his cigar further away from his uniform, he would have to make sure to ask Commander Kim Sunghan to change this man from serving Han Yoojin specifically.
Still, Han Yoojin turned around, looking at the man with a wide smile as he nodded, fingers twiddling with the golden ring. “Can you please take them to my personal solar? I’ll be there in a few minutes, I just promised HIs Majesty I’d stay for his entire archery lesson.“
Han Yoojin made sure to release a little bit of his pheromones to sell his words well to the guard who blushed and nodded before stumbling away loudly.
He held back the urge to laugh at the guard before turning back to look at the courtyard below him where he could tell that the majority of the royal guard was trying their best to avoid looking up at him as if Han Yoojin was a distracting presence to them and he might be considering that he was an omega and regent to the Kingdom but he had promised his dear dongsaeng he’d be there and Han Yoojin always fulfilled his promises to his beloved younger brother.
And King, don’t ever forget that. A small yet bitter voice spoke softly in his head. A small part of Han Yoojin refused to admit that he would always be slightly resentful that despite being the elder, showing more capability when it came to governance, he was not meant to be the heir.
Why?
For the simple reason that while Han Yoojin had been born first, five years before his younger brother, Han Yoohyun, the younger had in fact been born already presented as a dominant alpha and the throne was passed down through the alpha line, only passing through the omega line of descendants if the omega had an alpha child to succeed him.
And so, many assumed that Han Yoojin was resentful of his younger brother and would attempt to usurp him so those loyal to his younger brother were always on edge despite the fact that Han Yoojin had been the first one to declare loyalty for Han Yoohyun, had declared him as the rightful King after their father’s death and was currently serving as Han Yoohyun’s regent until Han Yoohyun finally turned twenty (thankfully, Han Yoohyun was eighteen this year; in two more years, Han Yoohyun would finally ascend to his throne while Han Yoojin retired to live in one of the distant summer villas away from the main palace).
Han Yoojin had ignored their dying father’s formal correction of the succession, had been the one to ignore the way their father wheezed that Han Yoojin HAD to be the next ruler instead of a monster like Han Yoohyun (his father acted as if Han Yoohyun had planned on being born already presented as a dominant alpha, planned on having a difficulty to express natural emotions), implored to Han Yoojin as he choked on his own blood to take control and seize the throne for himself.
Han Yoojin was the only one who heard his father telling him to use his dragon as leverage against his brother.
The Han Royal Family had been known for one specific thing that had led to their ascension to the throne and that was their control over dragons but the magic that had once flowed through their veins that allowed them to do such a thing had slowly been depleting itself and so, the ability to tame and mount a dragon was no long a specific requirement for ascending to the throne.
Until Han Yoojin found himself with a hatchling at the age of sixteen.
The court had divided themselves over the situation but in the end, recent precedent had been the one to decide the succession; after all, even if Han Yoojin had absolute control and possession of a dragon, that did not change the fact that Han Yoojin had presented as an omega which automatically annulled his claim to the throne.
Still, Han Yoojin played his part well; ignored Han Yoohyun’s suggestions to not take a wife and would instead let his hyung’s child take the throne, and would look for appropriate brides for the King —if he left the task of picking a bride to his dongsaeng then Han Yoojin would never have a cute little nephew to pamper and coo over—; would sit in court, smiling tightly before telling the courtiers to shut up and to start discussing the important things before he fed them to his dragon.
(Not that he actually would, his dear Peace would get indigestion if he ate one of those slimey disgusting courtiers, but the threat worked much better than he ever expected.)
His attention soon returned to the archery lesson his younger brother was currently taking, under the direction of Head Commander Song Taewon, but by the look on Han Yoohyun’s face, he wasn’t enjoying whatever the Head Commander was telling him which if he knew the two of them well enough, he was certain that it had something to do with the level of brashness and impatience that Han Yoohyun was known for.
And soon enough, Song Taewon finally dismissed Han Yoohyun from today’s lesson, realizing that he wouldn’t get better results with the younger alpha if the younger was irked and irritated. Han Yoohyun didn’t seem to care by the way he immediately bee-lined towards where Han Yoojin was standing.
“Hyung, you’re here.“ Han Yoohyun spoke softly, a small baby alpha purr emanated from the younger’s chest as he leaned down for Han Yoojin to give him some encouraging headpats. A part of Han Yoojin was relieved that Han Yoohyun didn’t feel embarrassed about being coddled as if he was still a pup but the other part of him knew that it wouldn’t look good for him if people saw that he was ‘belittling‘ their king.
Still, Han Yoojin patted his dongsaeng’s head, cooing softly with praise for Yoohyun and his archery skills which were far exceeding expectations.
“I’m glad you had a fruitful lesson today, Yoohyun-ie. I have to go, there’s a guest I must tend to. We’ll have dinner later together, okay?” Han Yoojin spoke gently, arming his heart to not weaken at the sight of Yoohyun’s sad face.
Han Yoohyun huffed as he nodded his head, obviously displeased but refusing to start fussing in the courtyard where everyone could see him. “Alright, I’ll see you later, hyung.”
Han Yoojin smiled as he bowed in deference to Han Yoohyun before making his way to his personal solar where his guest was waiting for him; as he walked there, Han Yoojin thought of all the people he had spoken to or written letters to and realized that no one had requested an audience with him formally so he wondered who was the person currently sitting in his solar, eager to speak to him.
Han Yoojin had kept walking towards his solar, smiling and greeting those who greeted him with eager reverence.
Soon, he was stepping into his solar but he stopped at the entrance when he sensed a particular scent filling the room; it was sandalwood mixed with wine, along with a hint of muskiness that could only be associated to an alpha.
Great. Han Yoojin internally sighed as he stepped inside, making a bit of sound with his footsteps. “I apologize but I had a prior commitment, you can understand, I assume?”
Han Yoojin stilled when he reached the fireplace, where his guest was sitting at the divan, looking at Han Yoojin with an almost indescribable look. The guest in question, was an incredibly handsome man; he seemed to be quite tall —even taller than Head Commander Song who was practically the tallest man he had the pleasure of knowing— as well as well-built, his frame was the frame of a warrior who had honed himself like a weapon through training and warfare; his hair was an odd shade of blonde, almost as if he was looking at captured rays of dawning sunlight; his eyes glowed an almost out-worldly shade of gold, as if Han Yoojin was staring at the gold used for Han Yoohyun's crown; his face was handsomely sculpted, as if God himself had slowly sculpted every grove and line of him.
This man was an alpha, a most noble one at that; Han Yoojin personally knew every single lord in the kingdom, save for one and that was Duke Sung Hyunjae who was in charge of the Southwestern region of the Empire.
This man was most definitely him.
“Duke Sung, I am pleased to make your acquaintance, I fear it took me a while to realize it was you but I like to think its permitted since you refused to appear at His Majesty's coronation.” Han Yoojin spoke, tone calm and collected as he sat down on the chair placed in front of the divan where the Duke sat, legs crossed with a straight back.
Duke Sung chuckled as he bowed his head in feigned reverence before he answered. “Oh, Your Highness, we've met before, you were just very young to remember meeting someone like me.”
Well, can't dispute that. Han Yoojin bitterly thought as he fiddled with his ring; Duke Sung was thirteen years his senior, and would've definitely ignored a young child clamoring underfoot.
Han Yoojin sighed before he continued, trying his best not to express his disdain for the Duke on his face. “Well, what business do you wish to discuss with me, my lord? I am almost certain that its not to apologize for missing His Majesty's coronation.”
Duke Sung hummed as one of his gloved hands moved to grab something kept inside of his coat, revealing a letter before handing it over in Han Yoojin’s direction. “True, I have nothing to apologize for, in fact, I'm here as a messenger.”
Han Yoojin stared distrustfully at the letter before he grabbed it, seeing that it was already opened, his gaze noticed the torn wax seal with the Royal Family's crest of arms, pulling out the letter and unfolding it to begin to read the contents of the letter, his blood freezing in his veins as he read.
He was certain that his shock was evident on his face, was certain that his hands had begun to tremble for his heart was wavering for the first time ever since he took up the Regency.
And yet, Han Yoojin could only hear the piercing screeching made by a dragon —his dragon, his dear Peace— from the direction of his pit; Han Yoojin and Peace were connected, from the moment Peace hatched and acknowledged Han Yoojin as his rider, their hearts were connected and so Yoojin’s happiness was Peace's happiness and his sorrows were Peace's sorrows.
Han Yoojin immediately snapped his gaze on to the smirking Sung Hyunjae —the fucker didn't deserve to be named by his title if he dared to come and try to blackmail the crown— before he hissed out. “Where did you find this?”
Sung Hyunjae smiled as he leaned forward to reply. “I did not find that, Your Highness but rather, your royal sire had it sent to me prior to his death.”
When Han Yoojin wanted to open his mouth to refute the idea that his ailing weak father wouldn't have had so much foresight when he was lying in his deathbed but Sung Hyunjae continued, practically shutting him up. “Did Your Highness truly believe that the late King was a fool that you could easily outwit? Your Highness has lied to the entire realm, refused to obey the succession as the late King declared it. I refused to attend the princeling's coronation because it was intended to be yours, not his."
“What do you want? What do you desire?” So you don't spread this around, so you don't show this to the court and Han Yoohyun, who deep down believed that our father might have changed his mind about him. Han Yoojin held back his words as he bit down on his lower lip until he tasted iron on his tongue.
Sung Hyunjae stared at him before chuckling, extending a hand towards him. “All I want is to have your hand in marriage, Prince Yoojin.”
Han Yoojin knew that he made a specific disgusted gesture with his face, earning himself another delighted chuckle from Sung Hyunjae, as he hissed out. “And what? Do you expect to do well on my father's original will? Did you fashion yourself a kingmaker, Sung Hyunjae?”
“Not at all, you're the kingmaker here, not me.” Sung Hyunjse spoke, his golden eyes glimmered as if with joy. “I have no desire for national governance, I am quite pleased to serve a country lord with a beautiful and wise omega as my bride.”
Han Yoojin scoffed before leaned in to sneer in Sung Hyunjae's face. “I'll make your life a living hell, I might even feed you to my dragon if you annoy me too much.”
Sung Hyunjae did not back down, instead he leaned towards Han Yoojin, their faces were so close their breaths were mingling, his breath fanned over Han Yoojin’s swollen lips. “As long as you kill me with your hands first, I'll be glad to be dragon-feed.”
Han Yoojin sincerely wondered what the fuck was wrong with this man.
As a dominant alpha of the most noble descent, there were few things that were out of Sung Hyunjae’s reach and there was nothing he wanted that he wasn't able to acquire on his own; for example, at the shy age of twenty-one, he desired his sire's title and power and Sung Hyunjae had him eliminated and soon rose to the rank of Duke.
But he often wondered if a dominant alpha had its match in a dominant omega, they surely had to exist; he had read the histories and archives in which it was discussed that they served as perfect matches for one another, that while a dominant alpha could wreck havoc on all that stood in its way, a dominant omega could make the alpha heel with a mere flick of their finger.
Sung Hyunjae had never had the pleasure of meeting a dominant omega, had only met the regular omega whose company he only sought out when his rut approached.
Sung Hyunjae firmly believed that as a dominant alpha, it was only befitting that his mate and perfect match was a dominant omega but sadly, there seemed to be an absolute lack of dominant omegas in the realm; sure, as far as Sung Hyunjae knew, the realm only possessed two dominant alphas: the young princeling who was born already presented as a dominant alpha and himself.
Well, that’s what he believed until he found himself loomed over a young pup who was making flower crowns in the royal gardens, using the Queen’s beloved flowerbeds as his materials. The pup seemed to notice the shadow that darkened his morning and turned to look upwards to find himself looking up at Sung Hyunjae with wide eyes before the pup smiled sweetly, instead of immediately getting scared and running away like all the other pups Sung Hyunjae had met had done before. “Are you lost, my lord?”
Sung Hyunjae had visited the royal palace because he was supposed to swear absolute fealty and loyalty to the king, since he had taken up the Dukedom for himself; during his stay, he had heard all about the emotionless second prince who was born already presented as a dominant alpha, who had no emotions whatsoever and his older brother who everyone hoped would manifest as an alpha as well, to avoid allowing an emotionless creature to ascend the throne.
Sung Hyunjae was sad to disappoint the realm for this first prince would not be the alpha the realm wished for so fervently; he had heard that dominant alphas and omegas could recognize each other with just a look, he had thought it a stupid wives’ tale and yet, he knew instinctively that this prince would present as a dominant omega, mayhaps the Gods had hoped that he would serve as a compliment to his younger brother in accordance to the Han Royal Family's penchant for incest to ensure their lineage remained pure but too bad for them, as Sung Hyunjae had the honor of finding him first.
He would only have to wait for Han Yoojin to come of age first.
What a pity, he’d have to yearn for so long.