"Look who's here," one of the other girls whispered to me under her breath.

We were watching the sexy blonde walk into the room. His assigned female was practically throwing herself all over him and I felt embarrassed for him. I'd arrived here with my Seed Bearer a little over an hour ago. We were the second ones here—apart from The Exquisite One and his female since it was his home. The Radiant One and the girl assigned to him had arrived only a couple of minutes before us.

I'd met a couple of the women over the past few days. Just last week, I'd become friends with one female when she had come with her Seed Bearer to the house I was calling home for the next year. We had bonded over the fact that we found we had mutual connections. It was thanks to one of these connections—a person who worked for the Oracle—that I'd been able to glean much information about the seven Seed Bearers, especially Park Jimin.

"Why that intruder is still allowed to be one of us is beyond me," I replied at the same volume. My lip curled up on one side while I watched the couple's every move like a hawk. "Where do you think he has to sit when they're going out? It can't be inside the carriage since she'd take up all the room."

"I wonder if they have to hook up another couple of horses to help pull the heavy load," my ally added, giggling at the thought. "And what's with that dress? She looks like a giant grape with fat limbs trying to escape."

"I don't know, she looks kind of pretty. I like the way her hair looks," the other person with us said. She instantly shut up and cowered as I glared at her.

"Don't you know that women who do not have black hair are witches," I scoffed, unable to believe how naive this girl was.

"I heard only witches have colourful eyes," my friend stated with conviction.

"She's got them, too. Look how green they are, it's like they're possessed," I said. "What happens if they're successful and they have a Seed Bearer? Do we really want a hoard of witch children taking over our kingdom?"

As I looked around the room, I discovered that every Seed Bearer had his eyes on her— 'Elenor' she'd been introduced as by the butler. I started to roll my eyes as I watched a group of the men head over to talk to her and the blonde bombshell. I managed to quickly turn the action into a flirtatious smile as I caught the eye of my Seed Bearer.

I hated that each of the Seed Bearers were looking at her like she'd hung the moon and stars. It made me sick that Jimin could even bear to have a foreign freak touching him like that. I mean he's royalty for God's sake, yet he's acting like a common peasant who is lusting after the forbidden princess.

I scoffed at how this heifer was getting more action from her male than I had gotten for mine. I was prettier, much thinner, and had the right hair and eye colour. Yet the Seed Bearer I was assigned to wouldn't reciprocate any of my advances. I'd tried being the sweet, meek and mild woman that I had studied to be. All that had resulted from that was him pulling away when I tried to hold his hand during a walk along the stream that ran through his land. I had pretended to be scared when he took me to the theatre. I hoped he'd comfort me but instead, all he did was keep watching, with his hands clutched in his lap. I'd tried something each day to get closer to him; nevertheless, not once was I met with any attention or affection.

I'd come to the decision that I had been assigned to a dud of a man, one who was more interested in people of his own gender than a beautiful woman. I was desperate for this year to result in a successful outcome, and I was starting to think that I needed to take things into my own hands if that was to happen. Hell, I'd do anything to fall pregnant, even if it meant I had to seek another Seed Bearer to be the father of my children.

'And I think I'll start with that one.'

୧‿︵‿๑︵‿୨💜୧‿︵‿୨💜୧‿︵๑‿︵‿୨

I watched as a small group of the assigned women went into the bathroom. My jaw clenched as I saw that the foreign imposter was with them. She must be some kind of witch as she was able to put everyone under her spell. Well, everyone but me. I was immune to her sorcery. Maybe it was because I observed everything and was more astute than the others. I could see her for what she really was.

While she was distracted and out of the room, I decided this would be my chance to start planting the seeds of interest in Jimin's head. It was my one chance—especially with how he was standing alone on the paved courtyard outside the dining room. I sauntered over to him, making sure to swing my hips in a way that was alluring, but not obvious. Even though his back was to me, I wasn't putting all my eggs into his basket; it wouldn't hurt if my seductive dance captured more than one fish.

"It's so pretty out here, isn't it?" I cooed, making my voice soft and breathy.

"Yeah, it's beautiful out here, especially with how everything is in bloom."

"Like me," I said. I pulled out my best aegyo by putting my hands under my chin and puckering up my lips into a flirty pout.

Jimin let out the sexiest giggle, which made me preen with happiness. Step one of capturing his attention was on its way. "How is your time with The Ethereal One? Has he been treating you well?"

"It's going well, but—"

I wondered whether I might have found myself in a happy circumstance by coming out into the courtyard. Not only could I learn some helpful hints to get my Seed Bearer to open up, but I'd also get to flirt with Jimin in case I needed to go down that route. Right now, I was thankful Eomma had encouraged me to have sex with some of the black-haired men. If things went well, I'd get to show either my Seed Bearer or Jimin—maybe both if I was lucky—that I knew how to satisfy and pleasure them. I made a mental note to think of a plan to ensnare them using my flirtation skills and feminine wiles. Once I'd reeled them in, I knew I would have no issue getting them to impregnate me.

'After all, doesn't everyone want the best genes for their young? And who would be better to be the mother of their children than the most beautiful woman here?'

I was about to bat my eyes to lure Jimin in and ask him for some advice when she came back, holding two glasses.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't bring you back one," she said. I hated how soft her voice was and how Jimin's eyes lit up as watched his assigned female with a bright smile on his face. "Here, you can have mine. I shouldn't drink anymore otherwise we might be making some pit stops on the way home."

"We can stop as many times as you need, Baby. It will give me more chances to show you the kingdom."

'Ugh, Baby? Really? This is going to be harder than I thought.'

"You know what, let me get you one as you are the guest in our lands. My cousin, a ship captain, has been lucky enough to go to other places with his job. He brought back the recipe for the most delicious drink. I'd love for you both to try it. I'll be right back."

As I walked away, I thought of the woman I called my grandmother and how she always taught me to engineer outcomes with my actions. Both she and Eomma were the ones who helped mould me to best become someone assigned to a Seed Bearer. The newest outcome I needed to achieve was to gain Jimin's trust. This was in case I needed him as a backup if my Seed Bearer continued to neglect me. To engineer this, the first step was that I needed to make it seem like I liked this fat witch. I once read that I should keep my enemies closer than my friends, and that was what I was going to do with her.

It didn't take long until I reached the bar that had been set up. The butler behind the bar was paying me no attention until I licked my red-tinted lips and flipped my long hair over my shoulder. Maintaining eye contact, I used my best seductive voice to ask him if I could make a special drink for my two new friends. The whole time I was looking at this average servant, I had one man in mind: the blonde who I wanted to impress.

I smiled brightly as the butler signalled for me to come around the back. He grabbed the items I needed, and I prepared four drinks with skilled hands—one for the three of us and one for my Seed Bearer. Happy with the soft pink shade, I instructed the butler to bring them over for me. I led the way towards where she, Jimin and coincidentally, my Seed Bearer, were standing.

"I made you one too," I said in a soft tone. I smiled as I carefully grabbed a crystal glass and handed it to the man I was assigned to. I was telling Jimin and Elenor about my cousin. He brought back a drink from another land, and I told them they needed to try it."

I watched with eager eyes as all three of them brought their glasses to their lips. A proud giggle came up as the two Seed Bearer's eyes widened in amazement. It was exactly the reaction I was wanting. My Eomma's words rang through my mind: 'You get more success catching flies with honey than vinegar.'

"This is so delicious!" my Seed Bearer praised. He sounded genuinely happy for the first time since I'd met him. "What is it?"

"My cousin calls it a Gin Sour. He brought the liquor back with him from a trip to Europe. Unfortunately, there isn't any gin here, so I had to use soju but it tastes very similar to what my cousin made for me."

I noticed both men were taking more sips, but the sound of a muffled sob came from the witch beside me. I was in the middle of bringing my glass to my lips when I watched her run away. I hadn't even engineered this possibility, but I had to admit it was a happy outcome indeed!

* Any idea on who the villain is?