The Seven Wonders | BTS

40. Promises

Namjoon stared at Agnes' kneeling figure, trying to process what he was seeing, not believing that a few words had convinced her to hand over the crown to him. There was a silence as he stared at the young girl, the laurel crown shining in her hands, the absolute symbol of his rule finally in his grasp. He did it, somehow, in between all the chaos, he had done it.

"I was wrong about you, Kim Namjoon," Agnes spoke slowly, looking up from under her fringe, dark eyes now filled with hope and realization. Namjoon stared back, still understanding what exactly had happened, what exactly had lead to this fruitful situation. "You are no coward, you are no weakling. You, the wonder of Aarde... you are a brave man. You know mercy, you know kindness. You have the qualities of a King and have full right over your kingdom."

"I," Namjoon struggled to find his words, his throat closing due to the shock of it all. "Thank you, Agnes."

"It is my pleasure, Aarde's King," Agnes bowed once more before standing up, stepping backwards once Namjoon held the crown and stood back to watch him wear it.

Instead of wearing the laurel crown, however, Namjoon stared at Agnes even more, the thought of how much pain and suffering she had to endure under Hel's militaristic government to reach a rank high enough to become Aarde's ruler paining him to the very core. Again, she was a child. She wasn't meant to be aware of violence and death over loss, she was supposed to be under the care of her parents, only caring about how she would spend the day and how she would have fun. She was supposed to be an innocent child, not a murderous weapon.

But the look in Agnes' eyes told Namjoon otherwise. Despite the horrible mentality that had been branded in her mind, deep down she was still a child, a child who yearned for love and a mother's touch, a child who wished for attention and praise. A wave of responsibility washed over him and he could see Yuna in her place, staring at her proudly. What would Yuna say if she were here? He knew exactly what it was.

"Thank you, big brother Namjoon."

"No, Yuna," Namjoon whispered underneath his breath. "I thank you."

With that thought in mind and a solemn yet sincere smile on Namjoon's face, he let the laurel crown rest on his head after Yuna's figure slowly disappeared. A surge of power shot through his limbs as his gem started to glow brighter, an inscription appearing on its core. King.

It seemed like the skies of Aarde rejoiced at the return of their rightful king, the sunlight piercing through the dark clouds and illuminating the formerly barren lands of the kingdom. Being made aware of the Helian ruler's fall, the Aardeain men stripped off their armor and fought the Helian soldiers, telling them to run off back to their own kingdom. Namjoon could see the events unfold from the window of the castle, watching as Aardeians started to gather and cheer for their democracy.