Kingdom

71. Laws of Magic (10)

They stride through the garden in silence, the only exception being the few awkward comments from Joon about the beautiful architecture of the Palace. It seems that the Prince wants to ask Yoongi something else, yet he doesn't dare to. Yoongi himself wants to ask so much more, yet remains quiet.

The heat of the day makes Yoongi's eyes feel heavier than they already are, closing down on their own. He forces them open a few times, almost dozing off as he walks. Maybe he should have taken Jin's advice to nap before seeing anyone today. Yet, it is too late for that now.

Joon seems no less dizzy than the King, his gaze lost in the distance, his mind busy with worries of his own. The Prince has forgotten his robe in the reading room but Yoongi himself didn't realize that until they were already far from the library building. Namjoon is quite absent-minded indeed, exactly as Jin said. The Prince seems to be walking in another dimension, furrowing his forehead at some thought, completely unaware that he is marching through the gardens without his Royal robe.

No wonder his sister runs around the Palace in her nightgown. She is just as reckless as her brother, if not more. Hopefully today she is dressed appropriately, not promenading around the gardens in her nightgown, in bright daylight. That would be...

Yoongi stumbles and almost falls on his face. Luckily, Joon grabs his arm and keeps him stable.

"Are you okay?" Joon asks.

Yoongi nods and hurries forward, feeling rather embarrassed. Is it because he tripped or because he imagined Nori in her transparent dress... better not to know. Better to forget that accident completely.

Shortly, they reach the King's quarters and enter the long corridor leading to Yoongi's rooms. He sends the guards away, and enters the reception room with Joon following at his feet.

As soon as Yoongi closes the door behind them, a large raven flies in through the open garden doors.

"What is this?" Joon steps backwards, almost tripping.

"Another message from Yona. I already got one this morning." Yoongi reaches out his hand and the raven circes above him. The paper attached to the bird's leg disconnects and falls into the King's palm. He closes his fingers around it and hides it in the inside pocket of his robe.

"I should go visit her tonight after dinner, she is getting inpatient and annoying." Yoongi mumbles to himself. "It will do me some good to be out of the Palace for a bit. To get some distraction..."

He turns to face Joon but finds the Prince looking down on him with ice-cold eyes.

"It's disrespectful if you go to your lover days after the wedding, don't you think?"Joon says. "Are you that desperate for her? Can't you control your desires?"

Yoongi clenches his teeth together, trying to suppress the wave of annoyance that rises in him. "Namjoon, do you know anything about women at all? Yona is jealous and restless, she needs to see me to calm down. This is not me being eager to satisfy my desires, it's me being diplomatic."

The King's words seem to irritate Namjoon even more. He steps forward, his jaw tensing. "You care more about that witch than my sister. Imagine how that might bug me a bit."

Yoongi's face remains emotionless, but his voice bites with heavy sarcasm. "Prince Namjoon, I imagine you used to leave your lovers hanging because your sister needed you to read her a fairytale before bed. I presume you had no serious relationships, official concubines or even thought about other women because you felt obliged to protect little Nori ...Your experience with women must be limited to random visits to the ginseng house, once in a full moon. So please don't lecture me about how I should deal with my mistress."