beta
okay so my thoughts/theories as of chp 20! keep in mind this is just my surmising and not hate towards any characters rn just trying to get my thoughts out and hear other theories! super long so sorry in advance if you decide to read this lol
i think chanryang has clear markers for 'will kill his twin when the times comes bc he wants to be king' more so than we are realizing from the peeks we get into his mind/motivation. the fact that he is the 'weaker' twin i think has made him more spiteful and power hungry than howol realizes, esp bc she had all this freedom while he didn't. i think he loves her, but the greed for the throne will consume him. kinda in a hunger games like i want to survive even if i am weaker kinda way. this illness may have even given him this mindset since he was prob thinking about all the things he would be doing if he had the health that howol did from birth (prob thinking that he would be making more impactful moves - while howol clearly acts her age he thinks he would be precocious when in actuality i assume he would act more like howol even if he was healthy bc he wouldn't be worrying about his health). anyways we can really see a glimpse of maybe him having more worries/seeing her as a true rival to the throne in chp 13/14 when he worries that she may be put in a group with sanho and gyudam. while at first and maybe in reality this is just him worrying about his sister being around suspicious people that dislike her, these 2 characters were also the literal images of the 2 groups that are not immediately loyal to the royal family aka the dissenters and neutral party. while he could seem worried that she will be treated badly, these 2 groups also represent the obvious dissent for chanryang as the more obvious heir to the throne. these 2 groups sanho and gyudam rep are the 2 groups howol would likely need to bring to her side if she were to stand toe to toe with chanryang as a crown princess candidate. he knows his sister very well and knows how 'charming' her personality is, which could account for his worry. yes he could just be worried for the sake of howls happiness and safety, but i can't help but see more to his worries than just familial ties. as for what i believe will happen in regards to the prophecy, i think that when the times comes for them to graduate/the official heir is chosen, chanryang will ensure he is picked (i think the twins will also gain some distance in the coming years bc of their own individual goals). idk if he will try to assassinate howol himself or send his own people to do it, but i think some sort of battle will occur and howol will flee/be forced to enter a contaminated area and that is how the 'disappear into the shadows' line will be fulfilled. since these contaminated areas are essentially areas with no 'sun' they are in the shadows, which would make it a clear way for the prophecy to be fulfilled in a way they wouldn't expect - after all, it's the royal family, they have centuries of killing their own blood to succeed, it's not crazy that myohwa thinks that they are doomed to 1 lives and 1 dies. but i think the fulfillment of the prophecy will take place mid-story, and then after years of 'exile' howol will return from her time in the contaminated area and the two will fight over ascension to the throne again or chanryang dies and howol ascends the throne (maybe illness driven). that's my theories but lmk if anyone agrees this story is just swirling in my brain rn