"Collusion," Yoongi spoke up as he took a step towards old court official Hwang, "Corruption," His voice sounded to be filled with joy and yet it still managed to send a shiver down Old Hwang's spine, "Assassination," The sword in his hand seemed to be glaring as it swung slightly in his hand, "Treason."
The crown prince stood right in front of Old Hwang with his sword raised against the man's neck, "Should I name more?"
Old Hwang gulped and a cold sweat rolled down his forehead as he looked back at Yoongi whose glaring eyes were only lightly visible under the veil.
His muscles tensed up as he opened his mouth to say something but just as his adam's apple rolled forward, he felt it touching the sharp blade of the sword. Whatever he was about to say got stuck in his throat and in the end, he was unable to say anything in defense.
Yoongi smirked as he tilted his head and asked, "Uncle Hwang, I really didn't expect you to have done so many things behind my back. My father trusted you so much so naturally, I thought you'll be the last person who'll go against me."
Old Hwang's face turned white as he dare not say anything to that. Even he knew that it was all bullshit, but he was still unable to call it out. Yoongi had never trusted him or liked him just like he had never approved of this crown prince. Their hate and dislike towards the other were mutually shared.
In fact, everyone knew that the two always had a sword pointed at each other and it was only a matter of time before one of them swung it.
It just so happened that Old Hwang tried to swing it first, but Yoongi ended up being the faster one.
"Uncle Hwang, I really don't want to believe it but you've left me no choice. Since your daughter had already surrendered and gave you out like this, I also did some digging of my own. Only after I had collected enough proof did I completely believe it. You have really disappointed me," Although he had said this, there wasn't any trace of disappointment in his face as he continued, "I would have loved to let you go with a light punishment, but I'm afraid the crimes you have committed can never be forgiven just like that. If I let you go today, I would only be encouraging such things to happen in the future."
It was all bullshit. He was simply sugarcoating his every word and everyone knew it, however, nobody would dare say anything about it.
A small snicker could be heard disturbing the tense atmosphere and it came from Taehyung who was thoroughly enjoying the situation. Yoongi acted as if he was deaf and didn't bother turning to look at Taehyung who had disturbed his serious speech.
"As the crown prince of our great country, Mingyu, I cannot be biased towards anyone. I shall choose death before being labeled as an unfair ruler." Yoongi beamed happily. The words he spoke not at all matching with the way he spoke them.
Old Hwang hung his head low as he heard this and in the next second, he started chuckling lowly.
Yoongi seemed to be amused as he heard this.
"Have you finally lost it, Old man?" Yoongi asked in an almost whisper.
Old Hwang lifted his head up to shake his head as he responded, "Your highness, I'm laughing at my own bad luck."
Yoongi seemed to have wanted to laugh as he heard this, he leaned in and whispered in Old Hwang's ear, "Old Bastard, there is no such thing called bad luck. It's all your own doing. How do you feel now that you've fallen for your own trap?"
Old Hwang's laugh seemed to have choked him as his face dropped and he gritted his teeth as he whispered back, "Just kill me already, you piece of shit."
Yoongi leaned back once again with a delighted smile on his face as he stated, "Court official Hwang, Advisor to the late emperor, I shall now declare you as a traitor of Mingyu who had committed unforgivable sins and shall now be given the rightful punishment for all your crimes."
Old Hwang seemed to have already guessed what Yoongi was going to say next so he simply stood there with his face twisted ugly.
"Two days from now, you shall be beheaded on your daughter's birthday." Yoongi added wickedly, "I hope you get reincarnated and receive another chance to attain the forgiveness of the heavens."
Lady Mirae who was kneeling down till now immediately stood up as she heard this, "Your highness! This isn't what we talked about! What do you mean beheaded?!"
Yoongi turned back to look at her as he asked, "If you have any problem with my verdict, you might as well join him."
"..."
"To see a father and daughter bond be so strong that they accompany each other in death, it would be refreshing for everyone to see such a spectacle," Taehyung chuckled mockingly as he leaned back on the backrest of the throne.
Lady Mirae had a constipated facial expression as she kept her eyes on the crown prince.
Yoongi sheathed his sword and walked over to her side. Just when she thought he was coming to talk to her, he passed by her nonchalantly and went to Taehyung's side.
Taehyung smiled happily as he opened his arms as if trying to invite Yoongi to come over and sit in his lap while hugging him but Yoongi only chuckled as he saw this.
He had already shocked everyone enough by making Taehyung sit in his seat. It was enough. After all, he didn't want to give everyone a heart attack.
He patted Taehyung's head and sat on the hand rest of the throne instead.
Taehyung would be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed that Yoongi didn't come and sit in his lap but the head pat still made him gay*.
*Don't choke after reading that XD
'Gay' here literally means to be 'happy'.
Old-time literature XD
But then again, both meanings of the word can fit in here kekeke
Taehyung wrapped his right hand around Yoongi's waist as he leaned his head on his back. Yoongi didn't seem to mind it as he kept his head facing the court officials.
"Uncle Hwang would be given his punishment, but this doesn't mean the others would be off the hook so easily. The officials that had colluded with him and betrayed the kingdom would receive the same punishment as him." Yoongi shifted in his seat as he got a bit more comfortable in Taehyung's hold, "As for those officials who were killed and wrongfully accused, their families would receive a hefty sum given by the royal court." He sighed as he added, "The money isn't supposed to compensate them for the loss of their family member, but it's a promise to the soul in heaven that I will continue to look after their family left behind."
What followed was a moment of silence and nobody knew who was the one who bowed down first and shouted, "Long live the crown prince!"
The others also followed and soon the court was lively with the praises of the generosity and fairness of the crown prince.
Yoongi looked down at Lady Mirae and stated, "As for you... Since you have come clean and helped me gather proof on your father, I shall not give you a harsh punishment."
Lady Mirae gulped as she heard this. Her feelings not at all reflecting on her face.
"You shall henceforth be exiled from Mingyu."
It was like a bolt of lightning had struck down on her, but all she could do was scoff and chuckle at her own fate.
She sighed and bowed, her head hitting the ground with an audible 'Thud'
For the crown prince to be so tricky wasn't something new, in fact, she had already expected something like this to happen. He said he would only be exiling her father, but he straightaway announced a death penalty for her father's crimes.
For the same crown prince to exile her from the country wasn't something totally unexpected.
It was within the realms of expectations and hence, this was the reason why Lady Mirae wasn't shocked at all.
She lifted her head slightly and smashed it on the floor lightly once again as she muttered, "Forgive me, your highness."
Yoongi didn't say anything to that.
"I have tried my best to be loyal to the land that gave birth to me, but if your highness says that I did something wrong, I would naturally not question it," Her words were like verbal swords aimed to poke at the crown prince, however, they were still covered with politeness and hence, Yoongi couldn't do anything at the moment.
But Taehyung was different. He chuckled as he called her out for it, "Young miss, by saying such a thing, aren't you trying to question his decision?"
"..."
"Can you really be confident and say that everything you have done till now was all done with the countries best interest in mind and with no other selfish reasons or desires?" Taehyung seemed to be amused as he questioned, "If you're confident, can you swear it on your life?"
Lady Mirae was silent as she dare not answer that question. If she lied and swore it on her life that she was completely innocent, she knew what the next move against her would be. How could she not have seen through it? The crown prince knew a lot more than he let on! If she swore it on her life, she was sure that evidence would be pulled out against her and her life would be taken on the spot.
The crown prince had already shown his kindness towards her by not taking her life so why would she want to go and force him to send her to hell?
The 'Thud' of hitting her head on the ground was heard once again and it was followed up by her next words, "Your highness must forgive me in your heart for all the immature mistakes I have made. I would happily comply with your verdict. Although it hurts me to be separated from my motherland, I dare not say that your highness has been harsh to me. Your kindness knows no bound and even after leaving Mingyu, my prayers would forever be with this land and its crown prince."
She lifted her head and banged it on the floor once again as she cried out, "Long live Mingyu! Long live the crown prince!"
Yoongi seemed to be quite satisfied as he heard this, but there was no joy on his face as he looked at her with eyes that could only be said to have a rather dead look in them: with absolutely no emotions attached.
"Long live the crown prince!"
"Long live Mingyu!"
"Long live the crown prince!"
"Long live... Mingyu!"
She was the only one shouting and her voice seemed to be breaking with that last sentence.
"Hyun, take her away from here," Yoongi ordered immediately.
Hyun bowed as he heard this and walked over to her side, pulling her up by the arm as he softly spoke, "Let's go, Lady Mirae."
For one last time, she picked her head up and looked at the crown prince. Her forehead was red and seemed to be slightly bleeding: the result of constantly hitting her head against the hard ground. Her eyes were also just as red and in them, there was a hint of hatred. Yoongi thought she would cry and yell out that she had been wronged, however, what he saw was something he would have never expected.
Her lips... They were curled up in a devious smirk as she mouthed something that couldn't be heard and Yoongi who wasn't a lip reader could naturally not decipher what it was, but Taehyung noticed it.
'Go to hell!'
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I really liked today's power couple Taegi. Yoongi be delivering death and Taehyung be laughing as he helped dig the graves XD
Next update: 12 April, 2021 is a lie
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