Because it was summer, it wasn't cold, so Iseul didn't mind being wet. Carefully she sat down on the bench and looked at Chul-yeo's back as he stood staring out over the courtyard. After a while his shoulders slumped and he turned around. With open hands he lowered himself on the bench next to his brother and finally he said: "The king wanted to know if I would be ... compliant, if elected."

The two younger boys cocked their heads and Du Ho opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Iseul squinted. "I don't understand," she finally said.

Chul-yeo looked at her. His mouth became rigid as he explained: "Your friend was right. Apparently I have the people's vote. The king has been informed of my skills with the sword and he fears the outcome of the last exam will be in my favor. Should that happen, there is a chance the people will demand my appointment as crown prince."

Iseul was smart enough to understand the consequences, if the council would not heed that demand. It was as she feared, the king never had any real intention of putting a commoner on the throne. Then why did he allow them to enter the selection in the first place? She was about to ask the question, when Chul-seok asked: "So? You would deserve it. Why wouldn't you become crown prince?"

Iseul lowered her gaze as Chul-yeo answered: "The king explained it to me. About his design in placing a woman on the throne after him." All eyes turned her way, but Iseul kept hers firmly on Chul-yeo.

He continued: "There would have been opposition in the council if he would simply choose one of the daughters of the True Bone families, so he wanted to make it the lesser choice of two evils. If not a commoner as a controllable king, than at least a girl. A man would have his own ideas, it would change the existing rule too much."

"The king said that?" Iseul was shocked.

With a sigh Chul-yeo shook his head. "No, but I could understand the meaning behind his words well enough. He asked me if I would heed to the councils wishes. If I would obey their every command, become their puppet, so to speak." He paused and after a long, silent moment said: "When I told him I would want to do what was best for the people, he offered me the chance to become Hwarang."

This time it was Du Ho who said: "I don't understand."

Chul-seok was faster, and angry he explained: "Become Hwarang or go home, right?"

His brother bowed his head and Iseul pressed her lips together. Was this what was going to happen to her? To be offered the chance to become a puppet queen or leave the selection? Would soldiers be coming for her next?

Suddenly Chul-yeo looked up and he fixed his intense gaze on her. "I told him I would stay as Hwarang, that means I'm out of the selection. He wants you to become crown princess, Iseul, but he only wants you there as an extension of his own arm. You will be completely helpless in your position."

Fear gripped her on the inside and with a voice that she could hardly contain from trembling, she asked: "Then what am I supposed to do? Leave while I can?"

Vehemently Chul-yeo shook his head and he rose. "No, I want you to become strong. I want you to win this selection and when the day comes that you will be crowned queen, I want you to have the backing of the Hwarang so you will not be oppressed by anyone who would use you."

Chul-seok stood up next to his brother and as Du Ho followed suit he declared. "Then I will also withdraw en become Hwarang."

Du Ho added: "We will make sure the council knows where the real power lies."

Quickly Iseul lifted her hands. "You're getting ahead of yourselves. The king might want to make a girl winner of the selection, but I'm not the only girl left. And if I screw up this final test, no one will even want me to become queen."

A new voice suddenly rose up from behind a pillar. "Then we'll just have to make sure you win, won't we?"

Iseul's eyes flew wide open when Jae-sung stepped forward. His hair was dripping and the fabric of his clothing was dark from the rain. How long had he been standing outside the pavilion, listening?

With a grim expression, Jae-sung turned to Chul-yeo. "You're certain the king is going to choose a woman?"

Chul-yeo cocked his head and seemed to ponder whether or not to trust the intruder. After almost a whole minute, he relaxed. "Yes, I'm certain. Right before I was allowed entrance, I heard talking inside the throne room. The prime minister and the king were discussing the best way to have everyone accept their choice."

Her grandfather ... Iseul closed her eyes. Did he really scheme that far, just for her to become queen? When she opened her eyes again, Jae-sung was staring at her. There was determination is his gaze.

"What?" she nearly spat at him.

He squinted, took one step closer and looking down on her he said: "Then let's make sure it's Iseul that gets chosen."