CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: THE BALL(9)

-_-

"Think what you must, I’m done with this conversation. You should go back inside, interact with those women and choose a damn wife. I’m married! Married, my ship has sailed, so leave me alone.."

Radomir sighed as Min-jae walked away, he wanted Kaizar’s permission to leave Meical at least before he implemented his plans but it seems the only way to have Kaizar, is to force him marriage apart.

By the time the ninth lady stepped back into place, the hall grew still. The choosing ceremony was meant to be simple, predictable, a practiced ritual of smiles and anticipation.

The nobles watched with bated breath, waiting for the king to name the woman whose family would rise with her.

Radomir, seated upon a throne too grand for any heart to bear, lifted his hand. No one expected him to look beyond the line of women, yet his gaze slid past jeweled gowns, past pearls and hopeful eyes, to the shadowed end of the hall where Min-jae stood.

The gesture he made was small, barely more than the extension of a finger, but its meaning tore the room wide open. "I choose Kaizar Amagi.."

The title rang heavy, striking marble, gold, and bone.

For a moment, there was no breath in the room at all, not even from Min-jae. A soft rush of disbelief followed, like a tide turning foul.

Gilbert, the master of ceremonies, stepped forward, his voice trembling despite his attempt to keep it dignified. "Y-Your Majesty... Kaizar is.." His throat closed on the word. "He is already bound. He is—"

"I am fully aware.." Radomir’s calm, nearly gentle voice cut in, the tone one uses when reminding a child that the world is not theirs to choose from.

His eyes did not leave Min-jae’s, holding no triumph, only claim.

The nobles erupted, their reactions spreading like fire through dry grass, catching, leaping, and devouring.

Min-jae’s breath returned to him in one sharp stab. He had prepared himself for many outcomes before stepping into this hall, but some traps one never fully allows themselves to believe in.

How foolish... How deeply foolish.

The mask covering Meical’s face cracked as he tore it from himself, the sound echoing like a blow. "That is my spouse.." he said, no formality, no title, no hesitation..only the truth, flung raw into the open.

A hundred eyes snapped to Min-jae, looks pity, annoyance, the air around him suddenly felt un-breathable

Radomir didn’t blink, there was nothing Meical could do at this point.. "Governor Vukasin, your marriage still stands. His status stands. So does my decision."

Meical took a step forward, disbelief giving way to a jagged understanding that the one thing he cherished had never been safe.

"You think I will allow this?" His voice was low, the voice of a man who had killed without hesitation and would again.

Radomir lifted his hand as a smile appeared on his face. He truly enjoyed taking what did not belong to him.

The guards moved before Meical could. Holding him in place.

Min-jae didn’t speak or move, his silence was calculation, cold and precise, turning like a blade inside him. So this is how you choose to move, Radomir.

"So long as I’m still breathing.." Meical said, struggling against the guards who forced him to his knees, "you will never touch him."

Radomir looked at him as one looks at something already decided. "Take Governor Vukasin to the dungeons. Let him think for a while there.."

Min-jae finally moved, but the guards were already there, their hands closing around his arms, not roughly, but firmly, carefully, as one carried something valuable.

He didnt bother to fight; to fight now would be to accept the frame Radomir wanted: the desperate, the cornered, the powerless.

And Min-jae was none of these.

Radomir rose, his cloak falling like a shadow thrown long across the hall. "Bring Kaizar to my chambers."

Min-jae smiled darkly as the guard dragged him behind Radomir.

Now he mind was made up, he initially didn’t want to stain his hands with blood.

But Radomir had gone too far.

The music had stopped. The nobles stared, afraid to blink. Gilbert’s voice wavered as he announced the closing of the ball. Meical’s voice followed them as they dragged him away, calling Min-jae’s name as though it were the last true thing left in the world.

Min-jae didnt turn back, if he did, he would not be able to walk forward. And Radomir knew that, that was exactly why he had done it.

The guards closed the door behind him with a soft thud, leaving the two men alone in the room.

Radomir turned, just preparing to speak, when Min-jae slapped him before he could utter a word.

The strike was sharp and clean.

Piak!

Radomir’s head turned with the force, his cheek slowly brightening under the skin.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Min-jae’s breath trembled once, then steadied.

His voice remained controlled, without rise or break. "What is wrong with you? What is it that you want from me??" he asked.

Radomir blinked once, slowly, but didn’t touch his cheek or step back. Min-jae continued, each word a controlled blade: "I don’t want to marry you. I am already married. Is that so impossible for you to understand? Let me go."

His voice cracked on the last syllable, not out of weakness but because the rage was too tight to hold.

Radomir watched him with a stillness Min-jae remembered far too well, the kind that always came before someone made a terrible decision. "You’re angry, I understand.." the king said quietly.

Min-jae let out a humorless laugh. "Brilliant observation."

Radomir finally moved, stepping closer but not enough to touch. He looked at Min-jae like a man trying to confirm something real. "You think this is about possession.." he said. "Or pride. Or that I want to ruin your marriage."

-_-

Min-jae’s expression sharpened.

"What else could it be? This was your grand plan wasn’t it? You never planned on choosing a wife."