The Queen's Harem || BTS in History

Chapter 49: I'll free you all

As the guards arrest the knights, the whole court starts murmuring while Eunsang stares in amusement.

"HEY???!!!" Hosung looked visibly confused.

"There has been a mistake!" Jeonnguk frowns.

"What is the meaning of all these, your majesty?" Jin asks.

Sian grins, "There have been no mistakes!" Shows them the arrest warrant with the queen's phoenix seal on it and the entire court gasps.

Eunsang couldn't help but smirk while the knights stared at the arrest warrant in shock and disbelief.

"Queen So has reported that the knights are traitors. One of them has recently dared to sneak into my room. Today they have helped flee notorious criminals. The worst of all....they have killed Lord Cha and pretended it was an accident!" Sian said and Soyoung frowned at stared at him in shock and disbelief.

Sian looked at her and smiled, "Isn't that right, my queen?"

Soyoung frowned and stared at him while Eunsang chuckled, clearly enjoying everything. He wasn't disappointed by his husband's surprise at all.

Sian whispered, "Agree to whatever I am saying if you don't want to see your husbands paralyzed for the rest of their lives!"

Soyoung clenched the armrests hard and gathered up all her strength to nod. She couldn't make eye contact with the knights and felt her heart was tearing apart.

"Do the accused have anything to say?" Sian asked.

The knights stood there speechless while staring at Soyoung in disbelief. They felt betrayed and heartbroken.

"I guess not! They are accepting their crimes....take them to the dungeons from where they helped the criminals flee!" He smirked and the guards dragged the knights out.

"The court is dismissed!" Sian said and looked at Soyoung with a smirk before gesturing to Eunsang to follow him.

Soon everyone leaves the court, leaving Soyoung alone.

Soyoung gets up and pulls herself together, "I must see them...I must find a way to get them out of there..."

It wasn't hard for Soyoung to find the secret dungeons because, after the arrest of the knights, the location of the hidden dungeons was revealed to the entire palace.

As Soyoung entered the dimly lit dungeon, she saw all the torture devices that that sent shivers down her spine. Soyoung dismissed all the guards immediately and she could feel the air hanging heavy with tension as Soyoung stepped into the cells. She heard the clinking of the heavy chains and saw the knights chained up in the dungeons.

"Oh, look who came to see us..." Yunki scoffed, "To what do we owe your humble visit, your majesty?" He asked. "Are you here to see us suffer?" Jimin frowned

Soyoung was taken aback by his behaviour, "What are you saying?"

Jimin, his eyes ablaze with anger, stepped forward, his voice a seething whisper, "Soyoung, we did everything for you....we loved you and tried our best to understand you. Tell us, is this all part of your plan? Are you here to see us suffer?"

Soyoung's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she struggled to find the words. "No, you must believe me. I had no hand in this...I didn't report anything about you all. I didn't go against you all!"

Jeongguk, who once promised to be by her side forever, shot back bitterly, "You expect us to believe that? The arrest warrant had your seal on it. Was the scroll that he is hiding in his room a secret pact between you both to eliminate us like this?"

Soyoung stared at him in disbelief as tears finally rolled down from her eyes, "He blackmailed me to stamp the arrest warrant! And the pact? How do you know about the pact? And no it is not about what you are thinking...."

"Then what is it about?" Jeongguk demands answers.

Soyoung looks down, "I...I can't say" She couldn't say the truth for their own safety.

"See...you can't even say it because you know what I am saying is the truth!" Jeongguk turned away from her.

Soyoung goes closer to the cell, "Jeongguk!" She looks at the others, "You all must trust me...please..."

Hosung said while gritting his teeth, "Sian has us here because of you....are you so eager to embrace him now? We saw you by his side. We saw you wear that crown he thrust upon your head. You even wore matching outfits with him. You even pushed us away from the imperial villa the other day just to be alone with him."Soyoung's voice quivered as she tried to explain, "I-I don't love him...I am not with him. Please trust me...it is all his doing!"

Taehyun grabbed the bars of the cell and said, "We asked you to leave with us but you refused....it's all because of him, isn't it? You have fallen for that handsome cruel man! If not then why are you hiding the truth from us?! You are just like him...hungry for power!"

Namjun shook his head in sorrow, " Our love? How could you allow such a thing to happen?"

Desperation filled Soyoung's eyes as she said while grabbing the bars, "Please, I love you all, but my hands are tied. I can't reveal the truth, or the consequences will be worse. I'm doing all I can to find a way to free you."Yunki, his voice laced with betrayal, said, "You speak of love, but we see nothing but lies. Perhaps you've come to enjoy being by the king's side."Tears fell from Soyoung's eyes, "You all can't be accusing me of such nasty things right now! Don't you all have any trust in our love?"Jin, the eldest and wisest, finally spoke, his voice holding a hint of doubt, "We will watch, Soyoung. Prove your loyalty to us, for we are torn between our love for you and the distrust that now clouds our hearts."

Soyoung left the dungeon while sobbing, the knights, wounded and misunderstood, were left to fight with their feelings of betrayal and the fragile hope that maybe Soyoung is telling the truth.

She went out and looked at the entrance of the dungeons with a heavy heart, "I shall gain back your trust....I'll find a way to free all of you!" She looked at the guards and said in a stern voice, "The knights shall not be harmed....if I see a single scratch on them, you all will be in trouble. Is that understood?"

All the guards gulp as they nod and bow in unison.

________________________________________________________________