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kidrauhlschik · 7 months ago

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Let the World Burn ~ I.N. 4

4. Drunk in Love

In the end, he managed to forget that a king is nothing without his queen.

Part 1, 2, 3, & 5 will be linked in the master list above!

Pairings: Jeongin x Reader (and some love triangles among the way.) enemies to lovers, royalty au!

Warnings: ANGST, implied smut, war, aggression, anxiety, depression, death, please let me know if i miss anything... (this was heavily inspired by the song “Let the world burn” by Chris Grey.

Word Count: 3.8k??

After Minho had been in Rexerum court for two weeks, he understood the gist. You and Felix thought him the ins and outs, you'd caught him up with everything you could tell him that you hadn't already told on the weekly letters you'd sent to him.

Now, he was prepared to join court, not as an outsider, but as your ally. You were nothing but grateful. Yet, you were scared. Minho was the head of guards. He would not stand for Jeongin's disrespect. You considered warning him, but at this point, you'd much rather see him make decisions on his own, rather than to be influenced by you.

You, Felix, and Minho stand outside of the council doors, before the guards.

"Alright Min, welcome to Rexerum." You give him a humorless chuckle before the guards open the doors for the three of you, you standing in front, with the two following close behind.

Jeongin nods to the new invitee at court. Chan had told him that you needed support from home, and he just waved it off.

However, he couldn't help but wonder... Why did you need help from Eldoria? Were you that upset here?

Minho bowed before the king, "Your majesty, I am Lee Minho, head of Eldorian guards. At your service." To which Jeongin nodded in acknowledgment.

You took your usual spot beside your husband, Felix next to you and Minho next to him. Then, the king began to speak.

"There are words that Aurora's troops are heading towards our borders. We need assistance." Immediately, the king makes eye-contact with Minho.

"What may you suggest King Jeongin?" Minho asks with no hesitation.

Jeongin clears his throat before he proceeds, "As our countries are united-" The king gets interrupted before he can finish his sentence, "Are they?" Minho asks challengingly.

"I beg your pardon?" The king asks offendintely as the rest of the council looks to the ground so they can hide their expressions.

Minho continues, "I am saying, that our lands are united, yet, I have seen my men put their lives on the line for your country, but Eldoria has received nothing but empty promises from you. My king." The last two words come with a bite. You know when Minho is angered, and it seems as if he held that anger in until he saw the king face-to-face.

"I am your king! You shall not disrespect me in such way."

"I am a citizen of Eldoria. YN is my princess, my future queen. You are nothing but her husband. I would love to see you try to lead MY troops without me. Go ahead, King." You stare at Minho in pure astonishment. You are used to him speaking this way in your home country, but not to strangers. He could lose his head if you weren't there to protect him.

"You will not disrespect me in my own court!" The king begins, but your best friend put some sense into you.

"Our court!" You intercept. "This is our court Jeongin. Not yours. Do not talk down to my men. Anything Lee Minho says, I will stand behind. So take his words as mine. Do not undermine us." The council stays silent beyond that.

Minho speaks up first. "Well how about we send our leaders forward," The room stands still, "Send our strongest troops, we can take out their disposable troops. Aurora is desperate, like you are." Jeongin looks away at his words, mad, but listening. "I am willing to stand in front. As the head of troops, I refuse to let my soldiers sacrifice themselves before me, and with all due respect, I cannot even see you as a man if you cannot say the same."

"I am a king." Jeongin stands tall.

"Then show us, your highness."

Jeongin scoffs. He takes a glance at Chan before he makes eye-contact with you. "I will stand in front of my troops. So be it Lee Minho, let's both stand with our best troops against theirs."

Minho hides a smile with a cough. Only you and Felix can see his smugness. "Let's proceed with a plan then."

The plan was set, in less than two weeks, the troops, king, and one of your best friends, would be heading out for war.

It terrified you, not much for Jeongin, but for Minho. As aggressive and stubborn as he is, you know that he will lay out his life on the line for a cause. Although it is selfish and childish for a queen, you don't want him to be selfless. You want him to be safe.

All the stress in planning and affairs leads you back to your safe space.

However, you did not expect for your safe space to be invaded by the vermin that is the king.

"What are you doing here?" You ask, before he notices your presence.

He doesn't seem shaken, "This is my garden."

"Ours."

He chuckles to himself, "Have you come to challenge me once again?"

"Challenge you? Hardly. I have far more important matters to attend to than to waste my time on petty disputes with you." You turn to leave, but his voice stops you before you could take a few steps.

Without turning to face you, he continues, "Oh, of course. How could I forget? Your "important matters" always seem to conveniently align with undermining my authority."

"Is this what is all about? Your authority?" You scoff, "Your ego is as grand as your castle walls, yet just as fragile."

Jeongin finally stands to face you, "Fragile? You think my rule is fragile? You underestimate me, my dear. I am the king! The foundation upon which this kingdom stands."

Now that he faces you, you have a reason to challenge him, "And yet, your kingdom trembles beneath the weight of your tyranny."

A king and a queen with their own birthright may be the worst combination, neither of you were willing to back down.

He laughs incredulously at your statement. "Tyranny? Is that what you call it? My perfect rule. My loyal followers. The strength of my country. Is this what you call tyranny?!"

You held your head high before him, "You mistake fear for respect. A true leader earns the loyalty of their people, not demands it"

For a second, Jeongin hesitates, almost as a loss for words, but he recovers quickly, "Loyalty is earned through strength, not weakness. And weakness is something you seem to know all too well."

Why must he always this that way? Why is everything strength and terror to him? Why should the world be lead with an iron fist?

"Strength is not measured by the length of one's sword, but by the compassion in one's heart."

That earns you a hearty laugh from the king. "Compassion? You speak of compassion as if it were a weapon. But mark my words, queen, in this game of thrones, compassion is a luxury we cannot afford."

Done with the conversation, you approach the roses in the garden, hoping to grab a few before you gather yourself to your chambers.

As always, the king interrupts you, this time he holds your wrist in his hand.

His hand on yours brings electricity to your joints. You hadn't touched your husband in such a way since your wedding night. All the walls that you built specifically for him, seemed to shake with a mere touch.

What happened to the anger you had? It is most likely still be there, but the delusions you'd built since childhood, couldn't help but poke their heads through the cracks.

You have to hold your heart aside, "Is that everything you have to say?"

"What do you mean?" He always speaks with you as if it were an inconvenience so why is he, all of the sudden, acting as if he cared for what your opinions were.

He fixes his collar and continues to speak, "Well, you've been so outspoken at our councils. Where did your backbone go? Now you have a chance to talk to me face to face. Why don't you show me the real you?"

That makes you laugh out loud.

"You've known the real me. Before all of this bullshit. Before we even met." Your words leave bewildered.

"What?"

You try to remove your wrist from his hold, but his fist remains strong.

"Did you forget my letters or something?" You ask indignantly. "Let me go." You demand.

"Letters?" His grip weakens.

You pull your hand to your chest, finally leaving his grip. "The letters I sent you every damn week! Do not act like a fool! You have known of me since I was a child." You drop the flowers in your hands and glare at him one last time. "Do not be a pawn in a game of king and queens."

You walk away before you could hear his last words to you.

" I never received a letter from you..."

"I'm bored." Minho says as he opens your doors, disrupting you and Felix from your intense chess game.

"That's tragic." You say, still in deep concentration.

"I don't understand how the two of you have been twiddling your thumbs inside of these four walls for a year." He walks towards your window and opens the curtains. "Let's go horse riding, yeah?"

Without looking up, Felix responds. "Lady Rose and the king take their daily horse ride at this time." Which makes you roll your eyes in annoyance. How did you end up second to a mistress? The Eldorian princess you once were would laugh at your predicament.

Minho laughs, "Then let's ruin their little date."

"Minho, you know things in court are tense." You back away from the playing board, finally paying attention to your best friend.

He takes his coat off, getting comfortable on your bed, dramatically sighing before he continues, "You know you are the queen right? Did you forget when your mother shut all the castle doors when one of her maids stole her wedding ring?"

You laugh at the memory. "My mother was a bit... irrational at times."

"So why can't you be irrational as well? From what I've learned, the two of you have been sitting as decorations here before I showed up." Minho's words get to you, but he doesn't understand Rexerum court yet. Things don’t work the same as they were back home, affairs are handled in silence. You have to keep your cards to yourself.

Unlike you, Felix gets drawn up with his childhood friend. "What do you suggest Min?"

Minho sits up, mischievously. "I say, we show them a bit of Eldoria while I'm here. Since you spineless ducks can't stand up for yourselves, I say we show them how to have fun." He looks at you and Felix, hoping one of the two would catch his bait.

You and Felix exchange doubtful looks, but before you could say anything to back out, your advisor speaks up. "I say we do it. It would be nice to show them what we're made of." Felix's courage catches you off guard, but he'd been acting weird lately, so his decision only shocks you in the slightest.

Before you know it, the three of you run down to the cellar. You probably look out of place. Running like children through guards and servants all staring at you in bewilderment. Felix and Minho wearing their usual suits and gems, as you run with them in a full gown, beige silk that you have to pick up in order to not trip on your skirt. Your laughs echo through the halls.

Before you know it, the three of you are sitting in a dark corner, seeing who could stomach the most wine.

It may not have been the best decision, but you felt safe with the two of them. No matter what happened, they'd have your back.

With slurred words, Minho masks, "Wait, wait," You and Felix stop your giggles to listen to what he has to say. "So all the letters the king sent you... they were written by the queen?"

You put your wine glass down in frustration. "That's what Chan said."

"Why do you believe him?" Minho asks.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Minho downs the rest of his glass, "Because it seems a bit convenient. Why would the mother of the king care for your feelings? She was a ruler, she knows that matters of diplomacy are above matters of the heart." You and Felix await for further explanation, but Minho seems a bit annoyed that the two of you aren't reading things the same way he is. "Only someone that cares for Jeongin's heart would do such thing."

You and Felix still stare at him waiting for further explanation. "You fucking idiots. Bang Chan wrote those letters. He cares for Jeongin, and what a coincidence that he grew close to YN so quickly."

You were about to dismiss him before he continued, "I am just saying, as a fellow strategist, that's what I would have done."

Maybe it was the alcohol induced boldness, but you couldn't help yourself. "Why don't we go ask him then?" Before either of the two could stop you, you run to the king's chambers, Felix and Minho close behind. Felix trying to stop you, and Minho ready for the show.

Jeongin's guards immediately stop you at his door, "I apologize your highness, but the king is occupied at this moment."

That typically would have been enough to turn you away, but you lacked shame at that moment, so you would not pass up a moment of courage (foolishness).

"As your queen, I order you to let us through." You say as confidently as possible, despite trying to hold back your laugh at the fact that it all seemed like a game to you.

The guards hesitate before they stand aside, which is enough for you to push forward and throw the chamber doors open.

You first make eye-contact with Rose, who looks outraged. Then, you look at Jeongin, who seems desperate. Usually, you'd try to read the room and asses the situation, but instead, you ignore the tension between the two. Minho suggested to show them Eldorian fun, and that is what you intend to do.

"Lady Rose! Fancy meeting you here. You look lovely, how was your horse riding date today?" You're never so bold, always aiming to stay decent and subtle, it catches her off guard.

"It went... Uhm... Okay?" Is all she could muster in the spot.

"I am so glad. Now, could you go and act your rank with the rest of my ladies? I have to speak with the king." You've never feared her, but at the moment, you no longer chose peace, letting the chaos rise. That may have been Minho's doing, but you accept it gracefully nevertheless.

"Could you please repeat yourself my queen?" She asks challengingly.

"You heard her Rose." The king is the one to intercept, which catches everyone by surprise.

Your lady looks at him incredulously, but when he doesn't budge, she looks at the ground and walks away with a sneer. If looks could kill, you'd be having tea with the grim reaper.

"Now, how should I address this invasion." Jeongin looks at the three of you.

"I could show you a real invasion." Minho whispers to himself, aware that he was still loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room.

"Min." You say in an attempt to calm him down.

However, Jeongin seems unaffected in the slightest. "I just want to know as to why I owe the honor."

Felix has been silent for dangerously too long, but that ended with the alcohol.

"Why are you such a dick?" Minho miserably hides a laugh, but you and Jeongin stare at Felix in shock.

"Felix!" Is all you can say, but your brain is hardly clear enough to say much else.

"I am just voicing what everyone is thinking." Felix pouts and begins to look around the room. "Your chambers are huge my king, why is your wife in such shit chambers?"

"Are your chambers not up to your standards?" The king disregards Felix and walks straight to you.

"Don't disregard me!" His deeps voice booms through the king's chambers. Everyone stills. Felix switched from your giggly friend to a headstrong man in a blink of an eye. For a second, he resembles the king, and the thought scares you.

"The queen is fucking perfect and you are an idiot to ignore her. You are a shit king to a kingdom that is two seconds from falling apart. You are foolish to sleep with other women. You want to know what I think? Even though you may not even remember my name. I think that you are distracting yourself from reality in the hands of another, too foolish to see that you were handed by the world, and you are rejecting it for a life in purgatory." He walks towards the king, standing a couple of inches away from his face. "Tread carefully my king. You never know when your world may flip upside down." A staring contest begins between the two men. Felix bold on alcohol, and Jeongin high on power. As you stare at them in complete astonishment, Minho is the first to gather his senses.

"Alright Lix, time to go."

When Minho grabs the younger man's shoulder, Felix only shakes him off. "Minho, you wanted to show Rexerum our colors, here are mine." He grabs Jeongin by the collar, "Stand with YN as a man, otherwise, I will."

Jeongin pushes him away in outrage, but before he could say anything, Minho stands in front of Felix.

"Forgive him my king." Like always, the last word is hard for him to say. "He has had a little too many drinks, allow me to take him away. Please forgive him." He quickly drags Felix away without interacting with the king more than he had to.

Even you are at a loss of words.

"What do you have to say?" Jeongin asks.

"Absolutely nothing. You should be aware that I stand behind my countrymen." You feel out of place, about to follow your friends out of the room.

"What the hell?" Jeongin stops you before you walk out. "What did Felix mean by that?"

"I do not understand what you are talking about." Your hands rest by on your sides. Awkwardly trying to figure out what to do in the strange room. A year of being Jeongin's wife meant nothing now.

"He practically confessed his love to you." Your husband stares at you, awaiting a reaction.

"Why does it matter to you?"

He walks towards you and puts his hands on your shoulders. "You are my wife." He says as if it meant anything.

You couldn't help but to laugh at him. "Yeah and Rose is your lover."

"Why does it matter to you all of the sudden? Jeongin asks as he walks towards his closet, seeking something more comfortable.

"It matters because you have no say in what I do or who I get involved with. It is not as if you were a decent husband."

As he grabs his robe he responds, "Then what do you want from me"

"I want you to respect me, as your queen, not your wife. I do not care for your affection anymore."

He stares at you, maybe in bewilderment. "Are the servants not respectful enough here?" He questions.

"The servants are perfect. The one who lacks is my own husband, the king. Forgive me if I am blunt, but as your wife, I will say, you are nothing to me." He seems offended by your words, almost confused.

"I am nothing to you?!"

A/N: Turns out, I'm a liar - one more part to go lol

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