Chapter 33: Chapter 30

Yoongi's lips turned upwards as he looked at the girl and after hearing her reply, he couldn't help but feel amused.

"This letter," Yoongi spoke up, "I hope you can help us catch the culprit."

The girl picked up the folded letter and opened it to read what was written within. As she read through it, her eyes widened a bit as she instantly realized what it was.

"Your highness, this..." She seemed to have wanted to say something but she was reluctant to.

"As you said, it's your duty to help protect this country."

The girl gulped as a response.

Yoongi smirked as he spoke, "Even if it means your father is guilty, you won't discriminate, will you?"

She looked at the crown prince with a sense of guilt and worry but she tried her best to hide her true feelings behind a smile as she nodded, "Country... Comes first. Family comes second."

"So I'll be looking forward to receiving your help."

The girl lightly bowed her head as she responded, "I won't disappoint you."

"..."

You already have!

Who are you putting an act for?

Country comes first and family second? What type of bullshit was that? It was clear as day that her beliefs were the opposite of what her mouth chimed.

Jimin stood up first and Yoongi stood up as well.

"By the way, what was your name?"

"..." The girl looked at Yoongi with a sense of disbelief as she heard this question.

This crown prince... Did he really just ask her who she was...? After having organized this meeting to talk to her?!

What type of joke was this?!

The girl was clearly offended but she still maintained a smile on her face as she replied, "Mirae. Hwang Mirae, your highness."

"Hmm." Yoongi nodded and turned on his feet as he walked out of the room.

After a few minutes, when they had gotten far away, Jimin broke out laughing as he commented, "That girl... Is interesting."

Yoongi didn't bother saying anything in return as he looked straight at the road in front.

Jimin nudged him lightly as he asked, "What does your highness think about her?"

"Hwang Mirae... She has a short life."

"..." Jimin was stunned for a split second as he heard this, "Whoa... As expected, you really planned her murder after that?"

"How dare she-"

"Touch you?"

"..."

"Flirt with you?"

"..."

"I wonder how Taehyung would feel about this." Jimin teased.

"..." Yoongi glared at the man and continued his sentence that had previously been disturbed, "How dare she betray the country?"

"Oh! That too." Jimin whistled.

"And... Who said you can call him by his first name?"

"Eh?" It took Jimin a whole minute to process what the crown prince was referring to and when he finally understood, he couldn't help but chuckle as he asked in a teasing manner, "Could your highness be jealous?"

"..."

Even Yoongi hadn't called him so intimidately so of course he didn't like to hear Jimin calling the man by his first name but was this feeling called jealousy? He'd have to learn more on the topic of jealousy if he were to categorise this feeling under that tag.

"I can't believe it! Your highness is really jealous? Hahaha... Your highness should stop drinking so much vineger and try calling him by his name too." Jimin leaned in closer to Yoongi's ears as he continued, "Maybe he'll like it a lot."

Yoongi stepped on Jimin's feet on purpose as he responded, "Don't call him by his name."

Jimin felt a jab of pain emmiting from his toe that had been brutally stepped on by this crown prince who was drinking jars of vinegar* all at once. He yelped in pain and picked his leg up when the crown prince was done torturing him.

*drinking vinegar is a way of saying somebody is extremely jealous.

"That hurt!" He shouted, without caring for his image. The elegant and gracefully cold general was clutching onto his feet and hopping around like a rabbit as he yelped in pain. It was truly a bit... Out of balance.

Yoongi went back to the royal palace along with Jimin and recieved the report about Taehyung and how he had climbed all the way up to Yoongi's room.

"Was he hurt?" Was the first question that Yoongi asked when he heard Hyun narrating the details.

Hyun shook his head as he replied, "I made sure he wasn't hurt. Not even a scratch was layed on him!"

It seemed that Hyun wasn't going to report about the huge 'scratch' that was left behind on Taehyung's neck by the help of General Jeon's blade.

"That's good."

Hyun gulped in worry.

If Yoongi were to hear about that 'scratch', Hyun would very well have to say goodbye to this wonderful world along with Jungkook who'd be forced to accompany him to the afterlife.

At this moment, he could only pray that the 'scratch' heals up fast and doesn't leave a scar behind. It was best if Yoongi didn't see it for now.

"Make sure that he stays there for the time."

"Understood, your highness." Hyun mentally let out a sigh of relief, "And..."

"And?"

"Crown prince Hanyu is here to pay your highness a visit."

Yoongi was silent for a minute and when that minute was over, he nodded his head once as he ordered, "I'll meet him."

"I'll go get him, your highness."

Hyun walked away and when he returned after ten minutes, there was a man who was being escorted all the way here by him.

"Your highness, It's a pleasure to meet you. Kim Hanyu, here to pay respect." Hanyu bowed down and greeted Yoongi politely.

Instead of greeting him back properly in a courteous manner, Yoongi laughed as he heard this greeting, "You're a crown prince and so am I. Why mind such formalities?"

Hanyu smiled as he straightened his back, "Your right. Since we both share the same title, there really isn't a need for me to be so formal."

Hyun suddenly noticed Yoongi stroking the hilt of his sword with his thumb and it made Hyun worry.

What was the crown prince thinking?

Killing Hanyu was out of the question!

This guy was different from Taehyung!

He was the queen's favorite!

If Yoongi were to act impulsively and wave his sword at the man's neck, Hyun wouldn't even have to bother coming back to work the next day, he could straightaway cross the yellow river*.

*yellow river- the path to the afterlife

"Since we have decided to drop the formalities. I'll cut straight to the reason why I'm here." Hanyu beamed.

"I'd also like it if we could talk about business first."

"I'm here to collect my brother."

"..." Yoongi chuckled as a response and it seemed to be a mockery towards this foreign prince who looked to be so confident, "I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Not possible?" Hanyu's smile faltered as he asked, "The reason being?"

"I'm sure you have heard about our policies. We don't let prisoners go just like that. Even if the person asking is a king."

"..."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"Prisoner... You say?" Hanyu seemed to be a bit stunned as he questioned, "May I ask his crime?"

"His crime?" Yoongi smirked but although it was hidden behind the veil, Hanyu could still sense that he was being played and mocked, "He jumped the palace wall, broke into the royal study, damaged a tree that had been painstakingly grown and infiltrated my bedroom. Does that sound like enough reason to arrest him?"

"I see..." Hanyu was speechless. It hadn't even been a complete day since he had been seperated from his younger brother and in such a short span of time, Taehyung had managed to cause so much trouble? It was a bit unbelievable but Hanyu knew his brother well enough to know that the man was certainly capable of doing everything Yoongi had listed.

"Since he's a prisoner, I can't let him walk away just like that. I hope you understand."

Although Hanyu believed everything the crown prince was telling him, somehow, he still felt that he was being tricked.

"He's a playful kid. I would like to ask your highness to be gentle with him. He's still growing, he'll learn with time."

Yoongi didn't know if he was supposed to laugh or cry as he heard this.

Why did hearing this man speak make Yoongi think that they were talking about a toddler?!

Yoongi couldn't help but shake his head as he chuckled, "He and I are around the same age. I wonder why would you treat him like a kid."

"He's my baby brother. It doesn't matter how old he grows, he'll always be a child in my eyes."

"Your relationship is commendable but I'm afraid, that excuse is not valid. It doesn't matter if he really is a kid or not. A crime is a crime and all criminals must be punished. I'm already being lenient enough to not sentence him to death."

"..." Hanyu didn't have a reply to that and it didn't look like yoongi was waiting around for a response either.

"You can rest assured, I'll take good care of your baby brother."

When Hanyu looked at the man's proud posture, he could feel that the topic had somehow shifted from bailing Taehyung out of jail to taking care of him...?

Hanyu couldn't understand what the crown prince was trying to say.

Was he trying to warn him and his 'taking good care' actually mean torture?

Hanyu shivered as he imagined his brother being tied to a pole, dripping in cold water and being tortured by this weird hidden-faced man.

In Yoongi's mind what he really meant by saying such a thing was entirely different. Surely, it was still out of topic but he wasn't threatening Hanyu by saying something like that.

He really meant what he said. With no hidden meanings.

He wanted to take good care of Taehyung and simply wanted Taehyung's brother to also know that he was planning on looking after Taehyung.

A big brother would surely be happy to hear that there was somebody who'd want to look after his baby brother but... Why was Hanyu glaring at the crown prince?

There was a clear misunderstanding and the only one who sensed that this misunderstanding had been caused was Hyun who wouldn't open his mouth to clarify things.

"Then I'll wait till he's out of jail " Hanyu bowed his head and got ready to leave the place.

"Then you'll be waiting for a long time. I wonder if the crown prince has great patience...?" yoongi smiled mischeviously.

"I can wait." Hanyu smiled.

Hyun had actually worried a lot when he got the news that Hanyu was coming here.

Two crown princes from enemy kingdoms, standing before each other. It was surely going to choatic but at this moment, weren't things a bit too normal?

Was it okay for everything to be so peaceful?

Hanyu said his goodbyes and left the place without wasting any further time.

After Hyun was completely sure that the man had left, he heaved a sigh in relief as he looked at the crown prince and asked curiously, "When did your highness come up with such a brilliant idea?"

The reason why Taehyung was in jail wasn't because of any of the crimes that were listed by Yoongi.

The real reason behind his bad luck was because of his brother Hanyu who wanted to take him back.

If Hanyu had never come here, Taehyung would have never ended up being blamed for things he did and thrown in jail for it.

It was Yoongi's quick thinking that couldn't come up with another way to keep Taehyung here. There was no other excuse he could give to keep Taehyung from leaving.

There was one way through which Taehyung wouldn't have to be forcefully taken away but Yoongi was unsure if Taehyung would willingly go along with that plan.

It was if Taehyung said it himself. If he turned his back on his brother and was firm on his decision to stay here, he wouldn't have needed to be put in jail but the time notice was too short and Yoongi didn't know if he trusted Taehyung with it.

That man was a hostage prince.

There was still a chance that he would happily go with his brother so Yoongi didn't want to take any chances.

He was more rest assured with having Taehyung locked away: completely safe and unable to run away.

___________________________________

A/n: Now... How many of you saw this coming? (be honest)

Yoongi is trying to protect Taehyung by locking him away in jail?!

The story is soon gonna enter the final arc of volume 1 (In fact, it has already started)

Thick plot twists and secrets to be revealed: some will make your blood boil, some will make you laugh along the way. Get your tissues ready cause tear showers are coming your way.

I saw a lot of new readers joining us. It makes me so happy! 🤩

Next update: 5 March 2021

I have been so lazy nowadays (~T_T)~

Need to pump out chapters but not in the mood to write. Need to write anyways or webnovel won't pay me fufufu~ Being a writer is hard!!

Being a college student is depressing!!

At this point, your votes and comments are the only things keeping me going and cheering me up.

Thank you guys so much for your support!

Life is hard but hang in there!~

I'm also with you!

Let's do our best!

Hwaiting!✨

Eat your meals on time and replenish your energy! Keep yourself hydrated and healthy!

And get some sleep!

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