Royals of the South

Chapter 29: Decisions

"I never knew he admired you like that. I actually thought he'e gonna poison you when he cooked you dinner. But I see you alive," Taehyung shares his thoughts.

"He must be hurt," you mutter.

"He is. I can see it in his eyes. But a royal knows his own duty. Unfortunately, Heeseung understands that duty all too well," Taehyung faces you.

"Are you okay with that?" You ask him.

"Him being hurt? Absolutely not. Never did I want him to be hurt. Of all people, you definitely understand what's going on," he answers.

Duty

Duty

Royal duty

You shake your head because you do understand what he is pertaining to.

"But why me?" You ask him.

He starts walking again so you follow without a word.

"Because the kingdom needs you," he answers without looking back.

"You mean my riches?" You deadpan.

"Sweetheart, you're penniless at the moment. A poor duchess might I add," he states the obvious.

You got embarrasses at your statement.

"My apologies my king," you say.

"Apology accepted. Besides, The Southern Kingdom is rich enough to support anyone. Strong enough to protect anyone and soon will be stronger because of you,"

You set your lips into a straight line.

"You can take back your keeps and riches whenever you want to, just tell me," he adds.

"Your own people are probably still working there," he reminds you.

He's right, only your immediate household were killed. Your people there were kept to keep everything running. Your caretaker must still be in there. Even your inn keepers. They're probably tired and hungry.

You only nod and hum in response.

With everything the king is offering, your heart still says no.

No

Taehyung deserves better.

He leads you to your room where Sunoo is waiting with a warm milk in his hand. He bows when the king was about to leave.

"Good night darling," the king kisses your cheek.

You bow to him and say, "Good night your majesty," and close the door.

Sunoo looks at you with query eyes. He hands you the milk nonetheless and folds his arms over his chest.

"What?" You ask him.

He playfully wiggles his brows and grins.

"Is it true?" He asks you.

"What?" You sip from the mug.

"I saw how the king just kissed your cheek. Not to mention, his endearment to you. Did you accept his proposal?"

He shake your head no and starts heading to your bed. Sunoo follows you there and helps you get into your bed and tucks you in.

"Why not?" He prods.

"Because—" you stop yourself.

"Because what?" He pushes.

You fell silent.

"Tell me, do you like someone else?" He asks.

You look him in the eyes. Sunoo sighs and nods.

"Heeseung will be more devastated," you comments.

You slap his arm.

"Hey! Don't make me feel more guilty. Heeseung is a good prince. I'm sure he'll get over this," you say.

"So who is he?" He ignores what you just said.

You look away.

"I feel like he's someone I know," he studies your face.

You stay silent.

"Just tell him already," he holds your hand.

"I'm sure prince Jungkook will —" you cut him off.

"He's not interested," you quietly said. "Please, don't tell this to anybody. I don't wanna risk our stay here. This luck is already enough. I'm not dreaming of something bigger. Being involved with them is already a big deal,"

Sunoo understands you. But he believes you deserve something great after everything you've been through. He personally hasn't seen Jungkook treat you like the king but there's a reason why you fell for him. So he trusts you on that.

"I'm not going to make you areive at a decision immediately. This isn't something to be decided on a one night only. Take your time and arrive at a decision when you'r really sure. No second thoughts," your brother encourages.

You smile at him.

"What a great man you have grown into Sunoo. Your wise words are unfathomable," you appreciate.

"Probably because I spend most of my time with an old soul. Dr. Namjoon speaks and thinks that way. Especially when he was still recovering from his sickness just when we arrived. He even said to live our lives to the fullest and that we only live once,"

You nod in amazement.

"If multiuniverse really exists, I hope we were Southern citizens. This kingdom is far separated from the other kingdoms we've been to. It's as if we were natives here when you know, the king freed us," Sunoo expresses his feelings.

You place the mug to the side and offers a warm hug to Sunoo. He gladly scoote to you and hugs as tight as you.

"You still need to explain why you went missing," he scolds you.

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Unedited

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-Haeun🦋