A Royal Mess

Part 22

Y/n POV
Will Jungkook be angry if I reject his proposal? Will he punish me like Taehyung says? Huh.. Maybe I should keep stalling until he asks me again.
Chaotic thoughts fill my head as I stare at the gloomy sky from the window.
Suddenly, I hear loud commotion coming from outside the room.
Out of curiosity, I pop my head out & see a bunch of guards stomping towards Jungkook's room. A few moments later, Jungkook steps out of his room in his sleeping robe. Then, he follows the guards as they turn back around & stride right pass my bedroom again.
"Your Royal Highness, what's going on?" I ask him.
"I'm not sure. You should come with me too." He frowns.
We walk in silence & I begin to realize where we're heading.
Why are we going to Jungah's room?
"They are inside, Your Royal Highness." One of the guards says as he pushes the door open for us.
I'm utterly petrified when I see Taehyung kneeling on the ground, both hands tied behind his back.
"What's going on?" Jungkook asks.
"Your Royal Highness, I've found the thief. It's him." Jungah points at Taehyung.
Thief?
"After you told me that you lost the emerald ring that you were going to give to Y/n eonni, I commanded the guards to search for it & they found it inside his room." Jungah places a gold ring with cushion-cut emerald on Jungkook's palm.
Shocked, my hand instinctively covers my mouth to muffle my gasp.
Jungkook stares at the ring for a long second before clutching it tightly in his fist.
"Why did you steal it?" He clenches his jaws & asks Taehyung.
"I didn't steal it! I swear!" Taehyung exclaims, denying the allegation.
"Take this thief out of my sight & throw him into the dungeon!" Jungkook barks.
"No!" I spontaneously yell.
"What?" Jungkook slowly turns towards me, his voice eerily flat.
"I- I mean, shouldn't we investigate it first?" I stutter nervously.
"What else is there to investigate? The ring was found in his room. Do you think the ring has legs & found its own way there?" He tilts his head & asks sarcastically.
"N-No.. I- Your Highness, please say something. You know very well that he would never do such thing." I look at Jungah for support but she turns her face away from me.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Take him away. Right now!" Jungkook growls.
"Wait! I didn't do it! I swear to God! I didn't steal the ring!" Taehyung keeps screaming as the guards drag him out of the room.
Fear & anxiety overcome me. I want to shout & tell them to stop, but I know that whatever I say now will only make matters worse. Thus, I lower my head & keep silent.
"Go back to your room." Jungkook says to me all of a sudden.
"Pardon?" I lift my gaze & meet his stony one.
"I'll order some extra men to guard your door tonight, so don't worry & go to sleep."
"T-Thank you, Your Royal Highness, but I don't think that's necessary."
"That thief managed to sneaked into my room so it's better to take some precautions, don't you think?"
"Y-Yes, Your Royal Highness." I nod obediently.
"Guards, escort her back to her room. Now go." He dismisses me with a flick of his wrist.
My gut tells me that Taehyung is innocent, yet I have no idea how to prove that.
I think Tae was set up by someone, but how do I convince Jungkook of that? What if Jungkook truly believes that Taehyung stole the ring from his room? What if he decides to execute him? What can I do to save Taehyung?

Jungkook POV
Once Y/n has left the room, I turn my focus to Jungah.
"Is this your plan of getting rid of him?"
"Brilliant, isn't it? Aren't you grateful that you have me as your sister?" She smirks.
"So that's why you took that emerald ring from me. You should've told me beforehand. I was confused for one second until I saw the ring."
"What are you going to do with him now?"
"I don't know. I still haven't decided." I shrug.
"What do you mean? You have to execute him right away!" She exclaims.
"No. Y/n will hate me if I do that." I immediately shake my head.
"You do understand that Y/n will never give herself fully to you if he's still alive, right?"
I bite my lip, contemplating about what she says.
"You don't have to execute him in public. Just order the guards to finish him quietly & tell Y/n that he kill himself due to extreme guilt. If you can't do that, I can arrange that for you." She adds.
"You can?"
"Yes, of course! I'll get my hands dirty so you don't have to, my dear brother."
"F-Fine. Please do that for me."
"Alright. I assure you that all your problems will be gone by tomorrow morning." She smiles.
"Wait. Are you saying that you're going to do it tonight?"
"Yes, the sooner the better. Don't worry, Orabeoni, just go to sleep & leave it all to me. Have a nice dream." She kisses my cheek & exits the room.
He's really going to die this time. No one will come in between me & Y/n again. I should feel ecstatic, but why do I feel guilty? No. Ignore your stupid feelings. He was going to take away what's yours. Yes, he deserves this. He deserves this.