It's Definitely You|| PSH

21.

The Nashirans were busy holding long, heated meetings with their ministers and advisors almost every day now. Ember had yet not discovered what the purpose of the theft was, the extra papers that the duo took serving as decoys for the actual document. Besides, a source reported the guard only ever reported the lockers being ransacked, adamantly denying the possibility of the two intruders ever wandering into any other section of the library.

The king was enraged, of course, but the reports of his corruption and dealings could be quickly dealt with. The real problem was that they took the princess away too. Of course, he was the king, omnipotent and having complete command over the entirety of Alhena. But a few states still showed some rebellion. Some officers were too loyal to the royal family and some looking for an opportunity for their own rise in power and refused to comply saying that Ember didn't belong to the actual royal clan. His marriage to Pearl would've secured his place and forced them to follow his every word. Now that the princess was nowhere to be found, his plan of getting the ministers to submit willingly was in shambles. Of course, he could just get them killed and replaced, but that could raise suspicions among the neighbouring nations. That was the last thing he needed with his plans of taking over the continent so close to their fulfilment. He was at his wit's end trying to find the kidnapped princess.

He hunched down over the coffee table of his room, massaging his head to relieve his slowly growing headache as he crossed off the locations that had been checked for the princess off the map. He groaned out of frustration, how hard could it be to find five people? He heard a knock on his door, followed by a few pants. 'Come in,' he shouted from his seat.

'Your Highness,' A breathless minister entered Ember's chamber, bowing before handing him a letter with Nashira's seal. 'We've received a letter from Prince San claiming that he has found the princess.'

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Ember practically jumped down his chariot, walking briskly to where the Nashiran King and queen stood. San stood next to Pearl with a welcoming smile slapped on his face. 'Remember, you have to keep up the act till he's inside.' He spoke, still maintaining his fake smile and beaming down at the bolting Ember who halted, giving San's parents a deep bow before crushing Pearl in a hug and lifting her in the air.

'Oh dear, you don't know how worried I was!' He spoke, shedding crocodile tears.

'Don't worry, I'm fine now.' She reached up to wipe his face, grimacing when he decided to hold her hand and plant a kiss on her wrist.

'How did you find her?' He turned to Prince San.

'Our soldiers found her, Prince Mingi, and their guard lying unconscious near our borders. One of the guards who was a part of my convoy happened to be there,' He pointed at Hongjoong who bowed at Ember. 'He instantly recognized who they were and got them here.' Ember nodded, thanking Hongjoong and turning back to Pearl.

'Do you know who the people who kidnapped you were?' Pearl shook her head no, explaining how their faces were covered up and retelling him the story that was predecided in one of the meetings. He sighed, nodding in disappointment as he followed San to the bright hall of the palace. 'I'm still glad they found you. I don't know what I would do without you, Princess.'

'Probably get all our loyal ministers killed and get them replaced by your corrupt little dogs too.' Pearl thought as she stepped away from him, her face hardening once they safely secured all exits and an array of weapons were pointed towards the man. He had drawn his own sword too, enraged at the betrayal. He turned to the royal family, 'What's the meaning of this, your Highness?' He asked the King of Nashira.

'That is what we should be asking you, Ember.' He barked back, throwing reports of encroachment and sanctions for the upcoming invasions of the surrounding countries that Yunho stole from the lockers. The documents that he threw didn't even tell a third of what other horrid thing he had planned. When the reports and proofs reached the other kingdoms, they were horrified at the realization of what could've happened if the maniac went through with his plan. Most of them immediately agreed to take action, mainly the large kingdoms, while the smaller kingdoms took some time calculating their odds before deeming the threat too big to consider other options and joined in with the rest.

He took a look at all the documents thrown on the floor, his breath getting stuck once he realized what they were about. He turned back to Pearl, hoping to ensure at least his power is secured inside the kingdom. 'Pearl, dear, love,' He crawled to the princess on his knees, taking her hand in both of his. 'I don't know what they've told you but I ensure you there is nothing going on. I would never do this. Don't you trust me, my love?' He rose to his feet. Pearl finally let the disgust show on her face, stepping back and withdrawing her hands from the stunned king. More guards filled in to replace the princess as she joined the Nashiran family. 'You believe them over me?' Ember stepped forward, his face twitching as waves of anger crawled all over his skin. He was struggling to hold himself back.

'Say whatever you have to say in front of the council.' The King interrupted, gesturing for the guard to escort the livid Ember into the courtroom. 'We have a guest waiting for you there that I'm sure you'll be... ecstatic to see.' The soldiers escorted Ember into the court of Nashira where kings from the surrounding kingdoms sat, handing each other paper after paper of all the sinister deeds he had done or planned for the near future. Encroachments, human trafficking, assassinations and most importantly, sanctions for war. Ember had planted assassin groups in each nation waiting for an order to kill every single royal family on the continent of Lupus and then take over the country with the giant army he formed. Searches for the assassins were still ongoing in many countries, while many had already tracked them down. Many of the groups decided to willingly surrender, having been forced into this deal by the King's officials that threatened to harm their families. That was the case with Nashira.

Ember was brought to the centre with his arms chained. He struggled against the guards, trying to break free from their grip as he walked. His eyes widened at the sight of the document from the private library being passed around among the kings. His eyes followed the piece of paper till they finally reached a familiar set of hands and he finally looked up. 'You wench!' His gaze finally met the queen's, the crazed look from the night two years ago finally back on his face. The queen smirked down at the maniac, sending him into boiling anger that took over his entire body. His facade has finally fallen.

'Ember Hammer.' The queen rose to her feet, 'You've been found guilty of treason to the Nation of Alhena.' She stepped down the stairs to stand at eye level with the crazed man. 'You'll pay for this crime with your life.'

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'Seriously his name is Ember Hammer?' Wooyoung shrieked for the umpteenth time. 'What a weird name!'

'I can't believe that he's going to be hanged,' Hongjoong spoke from his seat. 'I mean, it's the feared king of Alhena, the one who feeds his enemies to dogs.'

'I know right? What a plain ending to such a maniac.' Wooyoung added.

'What? Did you want him to explode into fireworks or something?' San chuckled from where he sat with Wooyoung's head in his lap.

'That would be a sight to see.'

'Also, he didn't feed anyone to his dogs. All he had were little pugs.' Mingi added.

'So Seonghwa was right all along?' Hongjoong stood up from his seat, eyes widened as he gaped at the Alhenans with shock.

Ember: CAUSE BABY, YOU'RE FIIIIRREEEWORKKS *explodes into sparkles*

Just so you all know, this is the second to last chapter. There's only one chapter left now :')