Chapter Text
Y/N's POV
The air inside the royal conference room was too still. Not stale, but heavy, as though it knew the weight of the decision that would be made within its walls. Gilded panels lined the room, cool-toned light filtering through stained-glass windows depicting histories I barely cared for. This wasn't my kingdom. Not yet, anyway.
I sat upright in a velvet armchair that felt too stiff for something meant to be luxurious. The carved wooden table between us felt more like a barrier than a bridge. I eyed the man across from me carefully.
Prince Bang Chan.
He was poised, collected—too collected. He wore his princely armor well, not in gold or medals, but in perfectly tailored black with understated royal embroidery. His fingers were interlocked on the table, his expression unreadable save for the occasional twitch of his eyebrow when the silence dragged on too long.
"So, we agree this is a matter of convenience, not romance?" I said finally, my voice smooth but cool.
He tilted his head slightly. "That’s what was proposed, wasn’t it? A union for stability. Your title, my inheritance."
He didn't say it cruelly, but there was a glint of curiosity in his eyes. As though he wanted me to challenge him.
I didn’t. “My country needs a monarch who is seen as stable. A husband who lends legitimacy. Your grandfather wanted this union, but I’m not here to be a placeholder princess.”
Bang Chan nodded, brows softening just a touch. “And I’m not looking for a puppet queen. I may have obligations to the crown, but I’m not in the habit of controlling others.”
That surprised me. The kindness in his tone didn’t match the steely restraint in his posture. Still, it was better than I expected.
I pressed my fingers together in thought. “Then I have one condition.”
His eyes lifted to meet mine.
“A house. In the countryside. Far from your kingdom and mine. Discreet. Secure.”
There was a flicker of something in his gaze—concern? Curiosity? He didn’t ask why.
“Agreed,” he said after a pause. “I’ll have my team start the arrangements. Anywhere in particular?”
“Somewhere with trees. Oak forest, preferably.”
That, for some reason, made the edge of his mouth twitch upward. A near smile.
“I like trees too.”
It was the closest thing to warmth we’d shared so far. I didn’t return the smile, but I did let my shoulders drop by a fraction.
We discussed logistics for another hour. Schedules. Public appearances. Our roles after the wedding. We talked like politicians. Strangers navigating a legal contract.
Still, there was a strange ease in our mutual understanding.
When the meeting finally adjourned, Chan stood first, pushing his chair back with the gentleness of a man raised to be watched. He extended a hand.
“Until next time, Your Majesty.”
I rose slowly and placed my hand in his. His grip was firm, his hand warm.
“Until next time, Your Highness.”
And just like that, the deal was sealed—not yet in ink, but in the unspoken promise between two people too guarded to hope for more, but too honest to pretend they weren’t trying.
Bang Chan’s POV
Y/N was exactly what I expected—and nothing like I expected.
I’d read the reports. The news. I knew about her parents’ deaths. I knew the rumors about her closed-off nature. What I didn’t expect was the way she seemed to carry herself like she’d already won the war—cool, calculated, yet undeniably regal. Not brittle. Not a damsel. Just... distant.
It made sense, considering her past. But I wasn’t in the business of digging up old ghosts, especially not at a first meeting.
She didn’t flinch from hard questions. She didn’t hide behind diplomacy. That made her dangerous in a way I could admire.
But the mention of a countryside home—that lingered.
Why that, of all things? There was a tension there, something unspoken. Not strategic, but personal. She didn’t want a hideaway for political maneuvering. She wanted peace. Safety.
And something in me—some aching piece that still mourned the parents I lost long ago—recognized that same hunger in her.
When she took my hand, her touch was soft, hesitant. Not cold. Just… wary. I understood that too well.
I didn’t know if we’d ever be more than political allies. But in that moment, I knew I wanted to try. Not just for my grandfather. Not just for the crown.
But for her.
And maybe for me, too.