Dong Hee's entire world stopped. A mixture of emotions populated her mind: fear, paranoia, anger, and most of all regret. Why did I choose to pass through a longer route? If she were early, this would not happen probably. She kept on thinking how the Prime Minister got her baby.

Did he use force? Did he hurt my husband? Where is my husband? Where is Eun Jung?

Random static sounds pierced her eardrums gradually. It almost tore every muscle and bone in her entire head. She felt nothing, heard nothing. Her lungs shut its doors, rejecting any air to come in. Her heart ceased pumping as her ribs squeezed her little blood pump very tight. It felt like something immeasurably, invisible heavy thing pounded her chest. She felt like her body was destroying itself.

She swallowed, pleading fervently to the Prime Minister, "Your Excellency, please... please... hand me, my son. I am begging you."

She got down on her knees as the river of tears dripped down from her eyes.

For some people, the sight of a mother begging for her son's life would be one of the most heartbreaking sights ever. Some, but not for the Prime Minister. Instead of being moved by her actions, his mouth gradually widened, and he burst into laughter; laughter that echoed around the entire place, a sound which tortured the poor grasses and trees.

"Get up! Listen to me."

Dong Hee raised her head, and then her body followed. Hugging the baby prince in her chest, she did not dare to steal a glance at the Prime Minister's eyes.

Jung Ho's eyes sharpen in a glare as his lips curved into a grin. "You will have your son."

Dong Hee's eyes grew large in a mixture of surprise and doubt. How will I have my son?

Jung Ho proposed, "Let us play a game. I will ask you a question, and you shall answer in all honesty. After that, you give me something to do in return, and then vice versa. How is that?"

She was trapped in the Prime Minister's schemes. Resisting towards what he wanted might harm her baby and the prince. Even though it meant playing with a demon, and her chances of winning the game were low, she agreed to play with the Prime Minister's dirty tricks.

Dong Hee nodded and answered, "I submit, Your Excellency."

"All right, my turn first. My first question: Who is that baby?"

She knew he would ask it despite the fact that he knew that the baby she was carrying was the King's son. He wanted the truth to come out from her own lips. Hence, lying would be pointless.

"He is... the King's son."

Carving his lips into a half-smile, Jung Ho ordered Dong Hee to ask him anything to do in return for the game to continue.

"Your turn. Give me something to do. You better think about it first."

Without having any thoughts, she declared her request, "Please... please give me my son."

Upon hearing those words, the Prime Minister handed her the baby in an instant. It did not even take a minute. Dong Hee was able to hold her son. The word, 'happy' would be an understatement. No words in this world could describe her feeling now that her baby was in her arms. Her mind shut down momentarily, and she just focused on the presence of her baby. Together with the King's son, she wrapped the two babies on her arms.

"Your turn. Now, ask me a question." Jung Ho blurted.

Dong Hee sighed. What would I ask? If he would let us go? No. That will be a ridiculous move.

The Prime Minister would not make them go away that easily. Surely, he would ask her to do a lot of things. However, despite her negative thoughts, she still tried. Nothing was wrong with trying. It was better to be disappointed with the result rather than having regrets in case the tides chose their favor.

She mumbled, "Would you let us go?"

The Prime Minister shrugged his shoulders. "Definitely!"

Honestly, she was surprised by the Prime Minister's response. It sounded very suspicious. In fact, that did not make her heart flutter in joy. Instead, that made her very anxious. She felt the need to prepare for something far more dangerous. She had sensed it. The game would go extremely unfair. Of course, it was the Prime Minister's game. His game, his rules. He could break the rules any time he wanted to, and she could do nothing to reverse it.

"It is my turn again to give you something to do..." Jung Ho grinned.

"Give me the King's son."

That was it! She had expected it, of course. The Prime Minister was just being treacherous for staging this little game. All he wanted was a trade. However, Dong Hee could not fathom why the Prime Minister asked for a game instead of just demanding for a simple trade. The situation drove her crazy.

She did not have a choice. Running would be very dangerous because it might infuriate the Prime Minister, and he might decide to kill them. Pleading would be useless as well. The Prime Minister was not a type of person who easily gets swayed with tears because his character was darker than the dirtiest waters in the world.

Dong Hee's hands trembled with fear. She had no choice but to give up the baby prince, for their safety. She walked slowly to the Prime Minister and gave him the baby prince. Caressing the baby's hands, Jung Ho asked for his name. Dong Hee informed the Prime Minister that there was a name embroidered on the silk cloth where the baby was wrapped. He scanned the cloth and found the name at the lower part of it, near the baby's feet.

"Sae Yoo? This prince's name was Sae Yoo?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"All right! We are done."

"Uhm, Your Excellency?"

"I said we are done. This game is over. I am keeping my word. Now, go!"

Dong Hee genuflected, praising the Prime Minister's name. When she rose, she turned around and ran away from the Prime Minister. She felt relieved as if a big thorn was removed from her chest. Maybe that was it. The Prime Minister just wanted to have the prince. No more, no less.

Running freely at that moment was like one of the biggest luxuries she ever had. She ran against the cold gust of the wind, hugging her son. As of the moment, the thought about her husband and sister-in-law's whereabouts did not cross her mind. Her utmost priority was getting away with that insane beast, to safeguard her son.

When she was about to pass by a huge tree, a few paces away from the Prime Minister, she heard a rapid hissing sound of the wind going towards her. With a quick sideward glance, she saw a blurred image of a thin line traveling like a speed of lightning, passing a few inches near her face. It almost hit her! To her horror, she saw what that thing was. It was an arrow shot at the trunk of the tree.

Gasping in fear, she turned around slowly, her curiosity killing her. The audacious grinning face of the Prime Minister from afar welcomed her sight. What made her shudder in fear were the number of hwarangs aiming crossbows at her.

"Run!" the Prime Minister laughed boisterously.

Biting her lower lips, tears from her swollen eyes flowed again. There was no single way she could dodge those arrows. She did not even know if those arrows were poisoned or not. She started giving up. The last string of her hope started to vanish into the thin, cold air. Closing her eyes, she hugged her baby tight.

"Il Woo. Forgive your worthless mother. I have failed to protect you."

She was ready to be shot. Standing on the green grass on the foot Ojin Hill, she had marked to the Heavens the death of a powerless mother who had failed to protect her innocent son. The Prime Minister signaled one of his men to shoot an arrow. He could just order all his men to shoot her, but he did not. Up until the end, he still thought of playing with her.

A hwarangdo shot an arrow, but it missed. It was on purpose. The Prime Minister yelled at her, ordering her to run but she did not. She stood there like a statue, barely moving a single muscle.

"That is what you get for serving the wrong person," Jung Ho uttered.

"All right men, shoot!"

Just as when all his men aimed delicately their arrows at Dong Hee's back, one of the hwarangs noticed moving silhouettes going towards their directions from afar.

"My Lord, something is coming from that direction!" the hwarangdo pointed to far right.

"Halt!" the Prime Minister ordered.

Narrowing his eyes, Jung Ho stretched his head to recognize what those were. The silhouettes grew bigger, making them recognize that those were horses. As the horses galloped closer to them, the riders' features became more vivid because of the faint light coming from the moon. They were his archenemies: the King and Dae Wong, with some hwarangs as well.

With an arched eyebrow, the Prime Minister signaled one of his hwarangdos to get Dong Hee as quickly as possible. A young hwarangdo unsheathed a dagger and dashed to Dong Hee. The poor nurse did not have the chance to run, afraid to be shot. Upon catching Dong Hee, the hwarangdo covered her mouth and pointed a dagger to her neck. He dragged her quickly towards the Prime Minister and gagged her with a piece of cloth. The Prime Minister ordered the hwarangdo to bring her inside the palanquin. The hwarangdo bowed his head, and he continuously dragged Dong Hee inside the palanquin.

Unfortunately, the King had failed to catch up the most critical seconds of Dong Hee's life, her wager between life and death. Suppose the King was earlier or they had moved at a faster speed, there would be a higher chance that she would be saved rather than being completely frightened to a hwarangdo pointing a dagger in her neck while inside the Prime Minister's palanquin. As the horses screeched, marking a complete stop a few paces from the Prime Minister, the King jumped off and stomped quickly towards his brother.

"Jung Ho!"

Everyone was dumbfounded with a rare moment, hearing the Prime Minister's name.

"Sire, what are you doing here?" Jung Ho asked, smiling.

"Stop these pretentious acts! Where is Dong Hee?"

"Who is that? I was just here to breathe some fresh air."

"I am no idiot! You know why I am looking for her... Really? Breathe some air together with some hwarangs with crossbows?"

"They are my guards, Sire. Again, you were misunderstanding things."

Jae Joong did not have the luxury to play jokes with his brother. He stated his intentions for meeting him. Wanting to settle things peacefully, his face became neutral, relaxing every muscle, toning down his voice. Seeing the King's sudden change, the Prime Minister did not respond. He stood there, with his crossed arms and sardonic face.

"You still do not get it, do you? I am doing this for the whole kingdom. I am saving the royal family. What do you think will happen if the people knew about...?"

"Stop!" Jae Joong spat out.

He continued, "Please?"

It was a peak and valley of twisted emotions, hot and cold, fury and calmness. The King's shifts in emotions were abrupt yet calculated. He knew the word, 'please' should not come out from a ruler's mouths easily. It spelled weakness or even incompetence at times, but he really wanted to save the Head Nurse, his son, and the whole kingdom at the same time. He waited for seconds until it turned into minutes. The Prime Minister did not consider his humble plea, ignoring his compassionate words.

The King gave up. Time was ticking too fast. Now, he had decided to do his alternative plan. If you could not persuade a person through a decent talk, try persuading him using harsh actions. As those sayings ran through the King's head, he went back to his men, leaving the Prime Minister confused.

"Jung Min!"

The boy's name traveled through the Prime Minister's ears, crashing his eardrums gradually. It made him flinch a bit, thinking differently. Why would they bring the child here? Was the child even there? Why did I not notice? He shook his head slowly to erase those negative thoughts. Anchoring his eyes to the King, he was distracted by a movement from Dae Wong's back. Curious, he walked a little forward just enough to recognize who or what that was.

"No. I better be not thinking it was him."

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