The night breeze swept gently through the gaps between the marble pillars of NEO Castle. Moonlight poured slowly across the white stone courtyard, as if it, too, was keeping the secret buried deep within these walls. Behind a moss-covered wall, untouched by the eyes of any guard, two shadows stood far too close. Their breaths mingled, but their voices remained locked in silence.

Jung Jaehyun stood tall, his hands trembling just slightly. Not from fear. But from holding back a longing that threatened to explode inside his chest. In front of him stood the princess, dressed in an evening gown meant to be worn only before the visiting prince from the northern kingdom, who was set to propose tomorrow. Jaehyun had never liked royal garments. Too luxurious. Too layered. Too theatrical. But tonight, seeing it on her, the gown became the most beautiful curse he had ever witnessed. Because it should not be the northern prince who saw her like this first.

For years, he had served as the princess's personal guard. Not because it was assigned. But because the princess herself had chosen him, pointed him out with her soft voice in front of the royal council. Everyone thought it was a sign of trust in his skill as the kingdom's most loyal knight. What they didn't know was that every night, behind the curtains of her chamber, by the dim glow of lanterns, near a lake far from the castle, the princess had once whispered, 'If I have to die tomorrow because I love you, I won’t regret it.'

They knew it was wrong. They knew their love was forbidden, punishable by death if discovered. But how could Jaehyun pretend to be a neutral protector when his heart had belonged to her since the day he first swore his loyalty?

Jaehyun did not just guard her life. He guarded her heart, her dreams, and every quiet laugh she ever entrusted to him in secret. But tonight was different. A grand event awaited tomorrow. A prince's name from the neighboring kingdom was now spoken as a future king. There would be a celebration. And the princess would have to stand at his side. Not Jaehyun's.

His heart felt like it was pierced by a thousand arrows. Not just from jealousy, but from the fear that their love might truly lose to reality. Tonight, Jaehyun did not come as a knight. He came as a man too deeply in love with a princess. With eyes still calm, but a voice shaking like a storm barely held back, Jaehyun looked at the girl who had stolen all his courage.

"I'll fight the whole kingdom if that's what it takes to keep you mine."

**[ WELCOME TO AU NCT! JEONG JAEHYUN IS HERE! HAVE A NICE DREAM<3 ]**