The Cruel Prince |norenmin| ~~ Discontinued

XXIII

Splash! 

Jeno groaned the moment the cold water splashed his face with force. Where was he? He looked around, still feeling dizzy after the unknown elf knocked him out earlier. Dust was dancing in the air, in the dip sunlight that entered the dark room through a small and dusty window. Somewhere in his right, on a simple chair, the same masked elf that caught him was sitting. Behind him, in his surprise, a tall young man, who wasn't an elf at all, was standing, holding an empty bucket in his right hand. 

"I still don't get it. Why did he want to kidnap him?" The guy with the bucket asked the elf who sighed beneath his mask. 

"Because he saw what happened with the girl." The elf replied coldly and glanced at Jeno, who was still looking around the room dumbfounded. "You're a friend of Renjun's right?" 

Renjun... 

Jeno widened his eyes after hearing the name. How did they know him? 

"Don't worry, we're friends with him as well, but we can't let you leave. Boss's orders." The same masked elf replied, but this time he stood up and took the bucked from the tall guy's hand. Jeno followed his movements until he reached a closed door and knocked at it. 

It immediately opened, revealing a half elf male and behind him, in Jeno's shock, the small figure of a small human named Renjun. The silver haired male widened his eyes when he saw him and pushed the tall half elf away. 

"What's the meaning of this?" He asked the elf coldly and knelt to untie the chains that were holding Jeno. The elf couldn't help but stare at him. He looked scary. "If this is what you call training then I don't want it Jaehyun." 

The elf only managed to chuckle as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jeno was soon able to stand up from the ground and he accepted Renjun's hand when the shorter wanted to help him stand up. 

"Thanks." Jeno mumbled before looking at his two kidnappers and the half elf guy. 

"Wouldn't Lucas be mad?" The tall human asked the elf named Jaehyun who hissed at him while taking his mask off, which revealed a really handsome face. 

"Why did you tie him like that?" Renjun asked, but didn't move towards the three. "And why didn't you tell me?" 

"The prince decided to do so, not us." Jaehyun replied and started making his way towards the two. "He said we couldn't kill him since his dad is the king's right arm. Still, if he goes around telling everyone you killed a faerie, who's gonna die?" 

Renjun flinched next to him, sign that he already understood why they kidnapped him. 

"He won't go around and tell the others." The silver haired male looked up at him and showed Jeno a small smile. "He even buried her in his yard." 

"Of course he did." The half elf mumbled. "Who else knows beside him?" 

"Jaemin and an elf named Jisung." Jaehyun replied in Renjun's place which made the half elf gasp. "Stop acting so surprised Yuta, it was obvious the prince was with them too." 

"Wait a minute." Jeno took a deep breath before continuing. "You guys work for the prince? Like Jaemin's brother?" 

"Is it that hard to believe boy?" Jaehyun hissed and showed his claws out of annoyance which alarmed the tall male. Jaemin watched him place his hand on the elf's shoulder, but surprisingly, that calmed him down. "We can't let him go, not now." 

"That's obvious." Yuta replied and went closer to them. "We can keep him here for a while and tell Lucas that Renjun didn't agree to see his friend chained to a wall." 

"Of course I wouldn't agree when he helped me so much." The silver haired male replied and crossed his arms. He glanced at Jeno again. "You won't try to escape right?" 

A soft chuckle escaped Jeno's throat. "That depends on how you guys treat me." 

 ⚜️⚜️⚜️

By the end of the day, Jeno had his own room and he promised not to leave the underground. Renjun had to explain to him what he actually did for the prince and what those three were. 

"We just want to help him get to the throne after his dad will decide to retire." Jaehyun explained while they were all sitting at a big table. "He's our best choice, even if other elves don't see this." 

"What about Jaemin?" Jeno decided to try and ask, even if he already knew the answer. 

Yuta laughed while Johnny just managed to smile. 

"He's too young and stupid." Jaehyun was the one to reply again. "He won't be a good king even if he tried to become one." 

"Those are some harsh words to say about someone." Renjun replied, remembering the night Jaemin let him sleep in his room. He had a kind heart, he just didn't know how to show it. "I'm sure that if he tried, he would become a good king for this world." 

Renjun already felt the burning stare Jeno gave him, but he decided that it was for the best not to make eye contact with him. 

The silver haired male noticed that Jaehyun wanted to say something again, but the elf was interrupted by the prince, who suddenly stormed inside the room. Everyone froze and when Renjun saw Lucas's face, he already realized something bad happened. 

"When they told me you killed a faerie I never thought you killed a princess." Lucas's words made Renjun froze. His heartbeat suddenly increased. 

What did he just hear? 

"W-What?" He barely managed to ask that simple question. 

"You killed the princess of the Sea." Lucas said again and slammed his hands onto the table, right next to Jaehyun, who didn't flinch at all. "That means war."