When the duke and duchess returned home that evening, the family gathered to have dinner together.
"I heard you're planning to go to the countryside, father," Kim Namwoon remarked with his mouth full of food.
The duke wiped his mouth with the table napkin before answering "Manners, Namwoon. And yes, your mother and I plan to embark following the upcoming banquet."
"What kind of banquet will it be, Father?" It was Dokja who asked this time.
"It's a celebration in honor of the previous king, who elevated the kingdom to an empire."
Dokja simply nodded and carried on eating; only the clang of forks and knives against the plates could be heard.
However, the duchess broke silence.
"Would you like to come with us, Dokja?"
Immediately, he turned to face the duchess, "Huh?"
"You're always at your chamber anyways, it'd be good for you to get out for a bit and socialize," the duchess smiled softly and looked down as she cut her food.
Before he could answer, the dining hall doors opened. "Excuse me, Young Master," someone said, drawing the family's attention. A butler held a letter to him. "I'm sorry for interrupting your meal, Sir Dokja, but Lady Jiwon from the Min Count has sent you a letter," the butler said, While the family looked at him with curiosity, Dokja took the letter from the butler's hand, and opened it.
Sir Dokja,
How have you been lately? I hope everything has been well for you and your household. Do you have any plans to sneak out any time soon? My family has been keeping me at the manor like a prisoner, and I'm dying to go out to the city again. If you'd like, can we meet up at the popular café in the capital? I'd love to talk to you once more. I'll be eagerly awaiting your response.
Min Jiwon
As he read the letter, he unknowingly smiled, fondly recalling the night they spent at the night market with Heewon and Han Sooyoung. When he finished the letter, he looked up to see his parents smiling eagerly at him and Namwoon trying to glimpse the contents of the letter.
"What was the letter about?" the duke asked. The only other time he had seen his son look happy to receive a letter was when they were from Lee Seolhwa. He was glad to see Dokja had moved on from his previous crush, and that there was another person out there that could make him content.
"Oh, Lady Jiwon just asked to meet me at a cafe in the Capital," his voice trailed off as he noticed the duke and duchess' faces. "Did I say something wrong?" But he was startled when the duchess joyfully leapt to her feet and clapped her hands together excitedly.
"My son is finally going on a proper date?!" Kim Namwoon smirked at him, knowing where this was going.
"Mother, I'm n–, what?"
The duchess hollered for the maids to come in and demanded, "Maids, make sure to prepare his outfit and makeup, everything for tomorrow!!" The maids instantly nodded their heads and rushed off, ignoring Kim Dokja's protests.
----
So, here he was here in the café dressed to the nines. Townspeople passing by stared at his extravagant attire or gave him pitying stares as they saw him occupying a table all by himself. Apparently, the café's name was Sweet Café, and while it was recognized across the empire for its delicious pastries that supposedly appealed to all tastes, it was especially prominent as a date spot for lovers. He didn't know what to do and wanted to curse Lady Jiwon for picking such a peculiar meeting place.
Luckily, he spotted Lady Jiwon entering the cafe just as he was beginning to second-guess his life choices and waved her over. When she got to the table, Dokja stood up to greet her formally.
"Greetings, Lady Jiwon," he bowed, and Lady Jiwon did the same while holding the hem of her dress, giving Sir Dokja a gentle smile.
"Greetings to you as well." Kim Dokja then pulled out her chair for her, pushing it back in when she was seated.
Getting back into his seat, he continued the conversation "I'm glad that you arrived safely."
"Yes, actually, I was supposed to be here a while ago, but something came up," she said smiling, though she seemed a little rattled.
"What was it, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, yes, well... one of my maids was found dead in the forest." When she said that, Dokja flinched back, recalling the assassination attempt on him. All the running, constantly hiding, hearing the squelch of flesh when he lodged the knife in the a---
"Sir Dokja? Are you ok? I'm sorry for bringing up such a morbid topic."
He tried to act as if nothing had happened, "Of course, it's fine, I'm fine. I'm just.... shocked." Lady Jiwon was a bit flustered.
"I'm glad that you're fine...well, you can say that I'm very shocked myself."
In a whisper, he leaned towards her, "Did...did they find the....killer?" he asked, unsettled. She softly shook her head.
"Sadly, they didn't, but Raven Veil is the main suspect," Kim Dokja grimaced. That murderer was really starting to make a name for themselves now. If he decided to visit Biyoo any time soon, he'd make sure to be extra careful to look behind him.
Kim Dokja suddenly recalled an excerpt about Raven Viel from the novel.
[… the tall man donning a black veil and a blood-stained sword could be seen roaming about as the sun was replaced by the light of the moon. No one could see his face in the darkness, and when morning came, he vanished like a dream.]
Raven Veil
The he was the most enigmatic character in the book; regrettably, Dokja recalled lazily skimming through those few specific chapters of the novel, as it entered an arc where the character 'Kim Dokja' was put into the background and the main focus was on Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Seolhwa's blooming relationship as they attempted to solve the murderers occurring all over the empire in a gimmicky 'who-dunnit' romance plot. Since he wasn't really invested in that aspect of the novel, the climaxes and revelations of the arc went over his head. All he knew was that the murderer was a male, so he had to exercise caution with new acquaintances.
Just before he could respond, two people walked into the café, one of which he was painfully familiar with:
The crown prince Yoo Joonghyuk and Princess Yoo Mia,
When their eyes met, the prince's previously blank look changed to an annoyed scowl. Noticing her brother's attention had been averted somewhere else, Yoo Mia also looked in his direction. Upon noticing Dokja, she raised her eyebrows haughtily. Dokja knew how much she despised him, with how close the two of them were to each other. Anyone that was her brother's adversary is also her's.
"Um, Sir Dokja...?" Lady Jiwoo called out to him again. "You're about to say something…?" She had courtesy ignored his momentary shock at the prince's entrance. Kim Dokja quickly gathered his bearings. Right, the prince wouldn't do anything to him in public…probably.
He rubbed his temple and began to speak, "Ah! Yes, I was just curious if you had something specific you wanted to discuss with me. Since you reached out to me out of the blue, I figured there was something you had in mind. But if that's not the case then it–" but Lady Jiwon cut him off.
"Yes, you're right," Lady Jiwon lowered her head and placed her hands in her lap, unsure whether to continue or not.
Dokja waited patiently for her to gather herself together as he wondered what she was so worried about.
While Lady Jiwon was unsure if Kim Dokja would accept her offer or not, she hoped that at the very least that he would understand her. Finally, Jiwon glanced up, her eyes steely and her jaw set.
"Please be my fiancé, Sir Dokja."