The court was in a disarray, the salary eating officials restless and confined at their manors, the imperial investigation bureau working hard to uncover the corruption, and more guards at work, who were careful and conscious of even the smallest of things, and the hostage who caused all of this was walking down the city road, as carelessly as ever.
Having received the small hairpin from the crown prince himself, Taehyung seemed to have brightened up and was filled with joy, totally ignorant of the storm that he had invited.
After 6 heart-wrenching hours of searching and waiting, Shao Lan finally saw the young prince happily skipping down the street.
"Young master!!~" He sighed in relief, suddenly his knees went weak and he stumbled down on the ground. His body didn't have an ounce of strength left, he wanted to yell at the clueless perpetrator but he knew that he didn't have the right to so he just stayed quiet and kept kneeling down, his hands clutching the ground. It was as if he had been holding in his breath for those 6 hours and he could finally let it out, relief washed over him and just as that feeling passed, another, more stronger feeling started to bud, anger.
He snapped out in anger, "How can the young master be so irresponsible?!"
"S-Shao Lan? What are you doing on the ground? A new hobby?" Taehyung asked as he slowly placed the hairpin inside his pocket.
"How?!....... How can you do this?!" Shao Lan screamed in frustration, unexpectedly a tear trailing down his twisted face. "I'm your assistant here! Your only servant here! The only one who'll stay loyal to you! The only one that would protect you! What would I have done if you didn't return?! Why can't you think before you act?! Is it fun?!"
"....." Taehyung was speechless, not only because of the crying Shao Lan, nor due to his yelling but because the man had stopped referring to him as his young master.
The man who refused to call him by his name even when ordered to had started yelling at him casually. Never had Taehyung imagined it to be this easy to push Shao Lan to his limits. Only two days here and Shao Lan was already angered to this point. Having thought this, a sense of achievement aroused in Taehyung's mind.
Taehyung calmly asked, "Shao Lan..... Are you scared?"
"How can I not be scared? You're the only one deviant here to happily jump around on enemy territory. Fear is derived from the want to survive. If I'm not afraid, who knows where I'll find your corpse?"
"Haha.... My attendant is certainly knowledgeable." Taehyung chuckled
Shao Lan gritted his teeth as saw the young master laughing at him so calmly. If he could, he'd want to beat the crap out of the boy and teach him a lesson.
"But...." Taehyung stopped smiling. Although his smile was like the sun and could be considered to brighten the atmosphere in a heartbeat, once he stopped smiling, his glaring eyes could freeze a whole river and engulf the atmosphere in a horrid fear.
Fear, Shao Lan could certainly feel it for the first time. This fear couldn't be compared to being trapped in enemy territory, it was akin to having been sent to hell, with nowhere to run and a demon staring you down.
"Loyal to only me? Me or my mother?"
"L-loyal to you, young master." He stuttered
"Then explain to me why you sent a secret letter to my mother yesterday....?"
"...." Shao Lan didn't dare utter a word in response.
"Do you really believe I'm a fool?" Taehyung spoke, "Going behind my back to contact my mother?" Shao Lan couldn't help but feel a chill going down his spine, "Do you think I was fooled by you, do you believe you did a good job at diverting suspicion?"
"Y-young master...."
"Certainly you are the only attendant here to help me so I can't throw you in jail."
"Forgive me, young master. This attendant had failed to-"
"Shut up! Let me finish!" Taehyung cut him off. Shao Lan could feel goosebumps rising upon his skin, the atmosphere getting heavier by the minute to the point that it was physically affecting him, pushing him down on the ground, "You certainly are at the wrong here but I'll overlook it. But I suggest you be more careful in the future. The crown prince is not the only one with eyes and ears everywhere..... Now stand up."
Taehyung smiled once again and the atmosphere lit up in a heartbeat but the overbearing pressure Shao Lan experienced remained and for a second he felt as if he had just escaped from the jaws of a lion, he felt as if the young master he had been worrying for didn't need any of his worries, that maybe the young master was scarier than the heartless crown prince.
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"Your highness, the young prince went missing this morning and had returned just now," Hyun spoke
Yoongi clicked his tongue, "No need to report about the prince. I believe there's something more important you'd like to tell me?"
"Yes, your highness. It's about the attendant who came with the prince."
"What is it?"
After a split second of hesitation, Hyun decided to speak up, "It seems he isn't here alone."
"...." Yoongi stroked the hilt of the sword tied to his waist.
"The exact number is unknown but we have infiltrators, quite a few number of highly skilled shadow guards who only listen to the orders of that attendant. I'm afraid, even the young prince is unaware of their existence."
Yoongi smirked, "Unaware? You are certainly underestimating him. Unlike you, he might even know the exact number and location of those infiltrators."
"Is your highness suggesting that the young prince is planning to rebel?"
"Rebel? Probably not. He's just acting ignorant."
"How can your highness be so sure? What if you misjudged his intentions?"
"Of course I'm sure. He would never go against me."
Hyun was dumbfounded, "Your highness, how can you trust him? What's the reason"
What followed was a second of silence as Yoongi pondered over the reason.
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"Because he loves me....?" Yoongi chuckled
"....." Hyun was once again rendered speechless. Clueless, the more he observed the two, the more he felt like he was putting together a complicated puzzle with missing pieces, as if the two had a connection one could not decipher.
"You think I'm joking?"
"Your highness.... Your imagination is certainly...."
"You insolent fool! I'm serious." Although having cursed the man, Yoongi didn't seem to have been offended.
"Of course you are." Hyun agreed with a sigh, "The generals have received the invitation and are expected to arrive two days from now."
"That's good"
"The investigation has been successful so far. But....."
"But..?"
"I can't be too sure of it but something seems off. The higher officials who were expected to get caught have come out clean so far whereas the smaller ones have been caught with huge cases of corruption and are refusing to speak about it."
"So the fat cats seem to be on a diet and the small rats are the ones digging up the treasury?"
"It is certainly odd. A small officer committed suicide today after being accused of collecting a huge sum of unrecorded taxes. But the official and his family has been living off poorly in the last few years so what could he have done with the money?"
"This is certainly a false case. Investigate further. I want this court cleaned out thoroughly."
"Yes, your highness."
"And is there anything I should attend to tomorrow?"
"You have been invited to tea from the Hwang manor."
"Hmm..... Send a refusal."
"Then.... What does your majesty plan to do tomorrow?"
Yoongi smiled, "Send a letter to the peach blossom manor, I'd like to invite the young prince to accompany me for tomorrow."
"Yes, your highness." Hyun bowed and left to carry out the tasks assigned by the crown prince.
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The next morning, Taehyung woke up early and got ready excitedly, seeming to be in a happy mood. To Shao Lan, who hadn't dared to speak a word to Taehyung since yesterday, this happiness came as a bit of a shock, it seemed like the man who had threatened him had disappeared and the one left was the same old fool of a prince who only knew how to play and cause trouble.
"I'm heading out to cause trouble now." Taehyung beamed, "You don't seem to be in a mood to ask so I'm just telling you beforehand. Don't follow me"
"Y-yes young master."
To Taehyung, Shao Lan seemed to be nothing more than a fool who had been raised by a fox and was living under the wrong impression that he himself was a fox.
He had been suspicious of this person ever since he met him, in fact, he had kept his guard up against anyone from his own country. Maybe it seemed to be foolish to trust the enemies more than your own people but Taehyung could justify his reason to feel this way, After all, he had been betrayed and fooled by his own family, his own flesh and blood.
Being born as a prince for Taehyung was a curse, a curse that rendered him helpless and alone. He couldn't trust anyone. Before being thankful to someone, he had to question why the person wanted to help. And this natural loneliness would stay with one for eternity.
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"Your highness." Taehyung chimed.
Like always, the Veil was still there, hiding away Yoongi's face but even after being hidden from it, Taehyung could still detect a faint trace of a smile etched across Yoongi's face.
Yoongi, "You're early."
"Your highness had personally invited me, of course, I had to be early," Taehyung responded proudly.
The smile on Yoongi's face grew widder, "You must remember saying this."
"Ah...? Remember? Of course, I'll remember it." Taehyung answered, cluelessly.
"Better not regret it."
A sense of foreboding grew inside him, "The way you say it........ Stop scaring me."
Yoongi smirked, "Let's go."
As he got on his horse, ready to head out, Yoongi stopped and looked back at Taehyung who was still standing there without budging.
"What are you doing? Get on the horse."
"Ah! Your Highness seems to have been mistaken but...... A horse seems to be missing from here." Taehyung said carefully not wanting to offend the crown prince but the meaning behind his words were as clear as day, 'you idiot, I don't have a horse.'
Yoongi chuckled, "I'm not mistaken, nor are you. There's a horse right here.", He spoke as he patted his horse.
"Exactly! There's only one horse here, and it's occupied by your highness."
"Are you saying you're dissatisfied with sharing the same horse as me? Your words seem to offend me." Yoongi teased.
Taehyung blushed, "No! No! Not at all! This prince is just not deserving to ride with your highness."
"Deserving or not, I decide. Now get on."
Even after Yoongi having said this, Taehyung didn't dare move.
"Not listening to me? Fine, have it your way." At first, Taehyung thought that the crown prince would leave him behind and he started sulking in response but when he didn't hear the sound of the horse moving, he glanced up, only to find Yoongi standing in front of him. Too close, he thought in his mind. So close that he could now see that hidden face a bit more clearly. The features previously thought to be sharp and handsome now seemed to appear cute at a closer inspection.
The crown prince did not say a word and instead did the most unexpected thing ever. He picked up the man easily, placed him on top of the horse and he himself mounted the horse soon after. He caged his hands around Taehyung and tugged on the reins.
The horse went galloping off to god knows where with a shocked Taehyung and an equally ecstatic Yoongi riding on its back.