Chapter 52: Chapter 52

CHAPTER FIFTY

Jimin ended up getting inside the throne room where Namjoon is. He was brought by the guards when he told them that he is the 2nd Duke, Park Jimin.

Namjoon watched Jimin walking towards him with a scowl evident on his face while the strongest Duke had a smirk plastered on his. "Now look who came back."

Jimin growled at the guards beside him, and Namjoon dismissed them.

Jimin huffed, astonished at his sight. "I, for sure wanted to kill your guards there. But I couldn't, since they are our fellow vampires."

"Oh." Namjoon cooed, chuckling and looking at Jimin in disbelief. "Are you accepting yourself as a monster now?"

"I never said monster." Jimin snapped at him. "I said vampires."

Jimin might have hated the vampire race, he still couldn't risk hurting others. He still have the heart that is as soft as a pillow.

"Vampires are monsters, Jimin. Just like Taehyung is." Namjoon hissed back making Jimin glare at him even more.

Namjoon wasn't any different to Jimin who hated the vampire race. They were both turned into a monster without any permission, and the only reason was to 'protect and save' them. Even with both of their cruelty and madness, the older Duke was more monstrous in a way—to think that he was the one who stabbed Jimin leading to him being a monster as well.

"Be my right hand, Jimin." Namjoon proposed with a smug look on his face. "You will gain the whole world as well."

"What?" Jimin snorted, bitterly.

"Be with me in ruling this world, I will give you what you want." Namjoon's smirk widened as Jimin gritted his teeth in anger, clenching his fist.

But the next sentence softened Jimin up. Namjoon knows that would make him not able to deny to the offer.

"I will give Ha Na to you."

Jimin froze making Namjoon smirked successfully as he managed to trigger the desire inside the young Duke. He walked towards Jimin who just stood there with wide eyes and walked around before leaning on his ears.

"Don't you want to find her? Don't you want to save her?"

Jimin could easily feel the smirk on Namjoon's face and Namjoon could easily feel the rigid breathing of the young Duke who seemed overwhelmed by the older Duke's proposal.

"What do we do?" Namjoon flicked, facing Jimin and mocked him as much as possible. "Seokjin hyung seemed to have lost her on their way out of the palace."

Jimin's breath hitched, gathering his thoughts all together. Ha Na and Jin escaped the palace? He seriously thought Seokjin was inside the palace—in which he is, in the dungeon. But Jimin was unaware of that.

In his mind, that is slowly brainwashed by Kim Namjoon, Seokjin and Ha Na escaped. When in the first place, Jun sent him to save Seokjin. Is this a trap? Did Jun just betrayed me? Or did Namjoon lie?

Just by Jimin's expression, it made Namjoon smile in victory. It was his chance to get Jimin on his side. "She's out there in the forest so lost, probably dying. While Seokjin is being punished right now."

That made Jimin sighed in relief thinking that Seokjin is really inside the palace. His eyes narrowed at the older, brows furrowed and confused as soon as he realized what the elder Duke was trying to say.

Namjoon looked away and glanced at the door before yelling. "Get the princess in!"

Jimin turned around, revealing the princess—Princess Junsoo on the door with guards behind while she was wearing an elegant dress like nothing happened inside the fucking palace, and that made Jimin internally cursed.

Junsoo took a deep breath before walking towards the two as she bowed down to the both of them with utmost respect.

"Princess..." Jimin trailed off, dumbfounded by the princess's presence. Namjoon stepped forward as Jimin noticed Junsoo reacted with a flinch, slightly stepping back.

"Now what happened to Ha Na?" Namjoon questioned while Junsoo whimpered, looking at him with clear fear in her eyes.

"I s-saw Jin," She stuttered with Jimin seeing her body trembling so hard. "I saw h-him carrying her out of the palace."

"And what?" Namjoon let out a scoff making the young princess even quiver in fear.

"She is dying."

And that, Jimin felt his whole world collapse around him. Namjoon managed to chuckle knowing it hit Jimin to reality that Princess Junsoo can't lie in serious situations like this even though she's a little bit playful. It honestly left Jimin speechless.

Namjoon let out a fake sigh, just like his whole existence. "Too bad that she didn't even become a Queen yet."

He looked at Jimin who is still dumbstruck and still in his slow paced process. "How about I make her my Queen?"

Junsoo flinched and stepped forward as soon as she heard those words. Because there's no way in the world could she let the Duke steal her brother's soulmate.

That's against the fucking vampire law.

"Namjoon! No!" The princess yelped, sending death glare towards the Duke who is the same age as her without any hint of fear in her eyes, managing to get courage.

Namjoon laughed at the princess, mocking her. "Woah. You two siblings are really good at protecting each other."

The Duke fixed his attention back to the younger Duke. "Do you even know why you got out of the dungeon?"

Jimin snapped out of his trance, still tongue-tied as he listened to Namjoon. "Besides Taehyung using you as a tool to do some whatever mission—I don't really care, she agreed to marry him in exchange of letting you out of the dungeon."

Jimin inhaled sharply, a lump forming in his throat as he tried to hold back his tears.

"Isn't it like killing two birds with one stone?" Namjoon chuckled.

"Hyung—" Jimin paused, shaking his head as tears threatened to fall. A lot of questions wanted to be let out but he needed answers. "I don't care about any of that."

It's true. He doesn't care about anything. He was beyond worried of what is happening. It's important to him to find his lover but he is also a Duke who helped Taehyung ran the entire world.

Taehyung is his best friend—first ever best friend and his number one most priority.

"It's just—“ Jimin gulped, trying to suppress his tears. “How could you betray Taehyung like this? How did you even..."

"I took advantage of the situation, Jimin." Namjoon answered truthfully in a nonchalant way. "The moment Ha Na came in his life was the moment Taehyung got weak and that made me had the chance to attack him. Isn't it great?"

Jimin fell on his knees, bringing his palms over his face and covering it in disappointed. He blamed himself for not protecting everyone at the palace, especially Taehyung and Ha Na. "Even so, y-you shouldn't h-have—"

"Your majesty!" A deep voice announced behind the massive close door. "The former king is already here!"

Namjoon smiled—pathetically smiled as what Jimin thinks before yelling to the guards to let him in. Jimin stood up from his position, turning around to meet Taehyung—his best friend for more than hudred years with bruises all over his body while he was aggressively dragged inside.

If Jimin was tortured in a span of 3 days, he couldn't compare what Taehyung had gone through in just a matter of hours—how cruel could Namjoon be?

"Taehyung-ah!" Junsoo yelped, crying for her younger brother who was weak and brutally tortured—no one could even recognize the latter anymore.

Jimin's lips parted, tears immediately streamed down his face as he watched Taehyung in the Princess' arms.

"Now, Jimin. I will give you a chance." Namjoon stood beside him. "Kill him and Ha Na will become yours, then you will rule the world with me."

Namjoon glanced at the siblings. "Or you will die with him, without even having Ha Na."

RISEN

Written by Hannah (daddiehoseok)