❖ royal courtyard

@♛ sofia c。 Ah, Sungchan thought bitterly, so it seemed she was aware that his words were not true. At that point, he figured he could have shown up with his hands all bloody and confessed he'd been overhunting and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

But he was determined to save face, and of course, to not be found lying to a member of the royal family on his first day of meeting them.

"If not for the approaching winter, Your Majesty, then I'm afraid I might be dealing with other natural causes," Sungchan explains, unhurried and calm as to not give any more of his lies away. "I've been seeing more wolves in the area as of late, and while they seem to avoid the sheep farms, they seem to favor our local deer herds."

"As a hunter, I've got codes I live by," he starts, but a voice laughs in his head because—no, he absolutely doesn't. "One of them is to let nature thrive on their own, and I'm afraid I wouldn't want to steal their primary food source. The wolves I've seen were very skinny, and I felt guilty thinking my hunting may have contributed to their lack of nutrition."

Lies. Absolute lies. Sungchan was an overhunter and a monster of the forest in every sense of the word. He could care less who starved as long as his own pack was fed. But no one would ever know, for he was adept at hiding his tracks. Most would blame a wild animal for this issue, only to remain unaware of the real predator lurking in the shadows.

"Rest assured I still hunt plenty for the kingdom, I just have to be more careful at times. I hope you understand, Your Majesty."

@✦ sungchan j。 From the intel she had, the hunters had varied until recently, when a young man with talent had been spotted and requested by the advisor to continue hunting trips for the best meats as the winter drew closer.

Sofia, admittingly, had been put in the background for various royal affairs, not out of personal neglect, but because the royal men of the palace could be stubborn mules. Most didn’t really know what to make of a princess like her. She had the traditional qualities her family had raised her in - molding her into a true lady with purity and elegance for centuries to be known for. Like her mother. But she had learned, at the same time, to adapt to her environments like a chameleon. And in this kingdom, under these peoples are her god, and blood…was essential… so she knew a thing or two about hunting, because she had hunted hybrids before.

The gentlemen was modest in his greeting as he looked upon her face and explained that the meat was at its best , and the deer were settling for the winter… odd. Sofia’s brows slightly twitched. That didn’t sound right at all.

“Are you sure that’s true?” She questioned the hunter. He was said to be among the best… could he really not find more deer? Them settling wasn’t a problem, as the time span wasn't correct… and she only knew this from studying to hunt in preparation for hunting hybrids years prior…

@♛ sofia c。 As the lone hunter standing at the table, Sungchan couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. There were plenty of other hunters in the kingdom, yet of all those men and women, they managed to find him and him only.

It could be some sort of elaborate trap, he thinks, or it could have been nothing, and he was just a little bit paranoid. Not that he really feared facing the royal family themselves, but more so the fate of his pack if something were to happen to him at their hands. It didn't matter how nice they seemed to be—to any hybrid, they were the enemy.

Now, as the only hybrid standing among human men, Sungchan felt as if he'd been singled out. Despite his completely human appearance during the day, there were some things only a bit of witch's glamour were capable of hiding—namely the abnormally sharp point of his canines, and the deep red of his irises. He could only hope it was working as he smiled warmly at the princess, bowing in reverence as she approached. Unlike the humans, he had no issues looking her directly in the eye despite what she might see if his glamour faded right then and there.

"Your Majesty," he greets, craning his head up first before standing straight. "I haven't brought much, but rest assured the butcher has given you the best cut," he says smoothly, all the initial suspicion draining from his voice. "I was lucky to have caught any deer during this season, they seem to be settling down for the upcoming winter."

It was a lie, in fact, it was too early for any animal to be doing so. If only Sungchan hadn't gone on a hunting spree prior, then there probably would have been more to spare, but she didn't need to know such things—didn't need to know that the same beast terrorizing their forest's wildlife was the same person standing before her.

@✦ sungchan j。 A bustling morning, per usual, washed over the palace, like how the sun's rays painting the sky each day, thanks to the god Arylis (praise him be). It was approaching lunch and Sofia felt slightly behind her intentions for the day. She had completed her morning lessons, prayers, meditation, as well as read of the King's completed paper work and took separate notes for her own records. She had nearly forgotten to eat, as her advisor continuously attempted to remind her of sustenance's importance, but she had looked up at the gold-laced grandfather clock in the library, and remembered the hunters and gathers would be in the courtyard now.

"Oh!" she dropped her quill and jumped from her lush petaled seat in the room, dreamy white gown releasing itself to it's full length onto the floor, just slightly hovering like a cloud from contact with the marble. Her flats clicked as she practically fly to the doors, the attendants barley opening them in time for her hands to reach to push.

"Your highness," the various maids and servants greeted with a bow as she glided down the hall.

"Good morning all," With grace and stature, her smile was given with each of staff she rested her eyes upon (though her gaze was quick as she had to make it to the courtyard before everyone disappeared).

"George, please store my notes and let his majesty know I won't be attending lunch this afternoon." Sofia called behind her to her personal advisor, as she picked up the front of her dress to allow her feet to move faster without catching fabric. It didn't appear she was running (as she only moved as lady like as allowed) but her calf muscles pushed her forward with pace until she turned the corner leading to the outside.

"Her majesty-"

"Thank you Lee," Sofia gently hushed the guard who's primary job was to announce her arrival and departure from spaces, passing him a nod of gratitude as she placed her hand on his shoulder while she moved through the courtyard doors, down the large pearl stairs, where various tables for goods were spread for the vendors to bring their material.

She released her dress from her hands, placing her right hand over her left on top of the fabric as she forced herself to move slower, reaching the bottom of the stairs in no time and walking up to the first table of fruit. She gasped at the expanse of colors, despite the colder seasons being upon them. "This is beautiful. Your labors must be properly acknowledged." she looked upon the farmers that did not wish to meet her gaze out of intimidation of her presence. Sofia looked down at their dirt-covered hands, reaching out to take one which caused the farmer to flinch at the unexpected touch. "Thank you Sir," she spoke warmly as there eyes met, holding his callouses in her baby-like-flesh from how soft the difference was. The farmer blushed and simply nodded, as she gently released his hand to be his again before moving to the next table.

"Our hunter," she noted as her brown orbs landing on the stature at the next table, wondering if he would meet her gaze or not.

@♛ sofia c。 if someone had told sungchan he'd be serving the royal family at any point in his life, he would have laughed at the absurdity of it. not a single hybrid worth their fur or feather would ever dream of working for the very same leaders who sacrificed their kind to some god every year, yet here sungchan was, hauling resources alongside a few other men as they approached the servants awaiting them at the courtyard.

while the humans walking beside him hauled baskets of fruits and vegetables, sungchan carried with him fresh cuts from the game he'd brought to the butcher earlier that morning. he still doesn't know how he ended up being discovered by the royal family as a skilled hunter, nor did he understand why they didn't have hunters of their own, but he decided he'd question all of it later when he wasn't doing manual labor.

as they approached the courtyard, a long line of tables stood before them for inspection. sungchan huffed as he unceremoniously plopped the paper-wrapped chunk of game meat onto the sturdy wood, sweating ever so slightly from the effort it took to carry such weight up the palace steps.

instead of an advisor like most were expecting to appear, however, one of the royals came out to greet them instead. sungchan raised a brow, but remained calm despite his speeding heart rate. he was sure he'd worn enough glamour to mask the natural red of his eyes, and could only hope it did its job to hide the rest from the princess' eyes.