THE COMBATANT||KTH

CHAPTER 19

"Regent, we need a regent to look after the kingdom." The grey-haired minister places his hands flat on the table and speaks in a monotonous voice.

The old king's coughs echo through the vast cabin and the assistants come surging to him with water and tonics. He takes a deep breath and pats his chest to steady himself and licks his dry and wrinkled lips to start speaking again.

"We shouldn't let the folk know about prince Jeon's condition. It's going to cause a racket among them. The kingdom is already destroyed. We can't kill people's hope too." He leans back in his chair and rubs his forehead with his fingers.

"Announce among the people that prince jungkook is under rehabilitation and will recover very soon. Let them know that Erewhon is helping us in establishing security and restoring the villages." He orders the announcer and he bends, taking his edict.

"But your majesty, who will be the regent?" Another minister raises his voice to gain the attention of the board.

"Park Jimin of Erewhon."

....

"Why isn't she here yet?" Jimin's eyes worriedly roam around the hall in search of Naaila.

"Mia went to get her. Don't worry." Jin places a hand on Jimin's shoulder and gives him a small reassuring smile. Jimin nods his head at him and resumes his search for the princess again. Jin sighs and shakes his head.

"Here, have a glass of wine. It will calm your nerves." Namjoon takes a glass from the table and hands it to the younger one.

"Thank you, prince Kim" he takes the glass and chugs down it in one go.

"It's hyung for you." He scrunches his nose and smiles at the shorter guy, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere.

"Namjoon Hyung." He whispers to himself and returns his smile. He glances around the hall to find Hoseok chatting with the king and looks away towards the door again.

...

"Taehyung is waiting for you at the entrance of the hall," Mia says and walks along with her. Naaila nods absentmindedly. Mia tucks some strands of Naaila's hair behind her ear and smiles at her.

"You look beautiful, as always." She runs her hands on her arms in a comforting way. Naaila relaxes her body in the warmth of her hands. She feels thankful for Mia, trying her best to make her feel relaxed despite the plummeting circumstances.

They walk through the hallways and on the last turn, she could spot Taehyung standing at the large closed door with yoongi by his side. The silk on his body was shining under the light of the red torches lit up all along the hallway. His back faced her and he looked so tall and dominant with the golden crown on his head.

Yoongi spots the women walking in their direction and signals taehyung to look back. Naaila looks down to avoid his gaze and walks along with Mia.

"Good evening, your majesty." Mia grabs his attention and he nods at her. His gaze remains fixed on the female standing before him, her eyes avoiding meeting his gaze.

"Please give us a moment." He looks at Yoongi and then Mia. They nod and bow to the couple before walking to the side entrance to enter the room.

"Princess jung" he speaks out in an extremely low and deep voice. Naaila gulps nervously but doesn't look up at him. She could hear him letting out a deep breath and before she could lift her head, his fingers touched her chin and lifted her head. His face was just a few inches away and he had his torso bent over hers to look at her at the same level.

His face was pure art, perfectly carved in the right places. His sharp features were engraved and fit like the right puzzle pieces into his face. A mole on the tip of his nose, one eye with a monolid and the other with a double, He had full lips, the lower one a full pink and the upper one a shade of pink mixed with his skin tone.