By Zephyria 
The first emotion I felt towards Aska, who was saying inappropriate things in a space covered in blood and dust, was fear.
What on earth was this reckless behavior?
Aska always laughed loudly, cried loudly, and got angry loudly, expressing his emotions without restraint.
Every time I saw that, I felt pathetic. He was no different from a beast that ate when it was hungry, barked when it wanted to bark, and slept when it was sleepy, as if he didn’t care about what would happen later.
He was so pathetic that he sometimes looked like a fool, sometimes looked innocent, and was recklessly lovable.
“……”
I was always afraid that he would become too precious. I was always afraid that I would like him too much, cherish him too much, become too used to him, and that his existence would become too natural to me.
If I couldn’t protect him, how could I endure that sense of loss again? If I could never see him again, and if I had to endure the rest of my days alone…
So I kept pretending not to know and turned away, but in fact, I had known my feelings for quite some time. I couldn’t not know. It was foolish not to know.
“If you feel responsible for this…”
Even so, I didn’t know what to say, so I started talking nonsense, and Aska jumped up and punched me in the abdomen. It was the place where I had been injured by a fragment that flew in during the fight with Khalifa a little while ago, so I flinched and stepped back without realizing it.
His fist hit my stomach with a thud, but it didn’t hurt. A strange light had wrapped around my body earlier, and it seemed that everything had been healed at that time. I stroked my stomach, which didn’t hurt much, with my palm and muttered.
“It’s not because of you. Even if it wasn’t today, someday…”
“Ah, shut up. You need to fix that habit of pretending not to know. You know how I felt when I said this.”
“……”
Looking at Aska, who was getting annoyed, I closed my mouth with an awkward expression. He was so embarrassed when he was drunk and said things that weren’t a big deal. Where did that child go, who was being so coy and shy while acting cute?
“Are you sober?”
“Then would I not be sober after my ankle was sliced?”
“Why were you just standing there and letting it happen?”
“I thought he would leave if I just went along with it.”
Listening to Aska’s words, I turned my head and looked at Khalifa. He was still lying unconscious. Blood was spreading wider and wider around him, so it seemed like he would die if left like this.
“What are you going to do now?”
Aska came to my side, took my hand, and asked. It was such a weak force that it could be easily shaken off with a slight shake of my arm. It felt like insects were biting all over my body, but I couldn’t shake off that weak force and hesitated before saying.
“Are you asking me?”
“Then who should I ask? You have to decide.”
“Will you follow if I decide? Even if I just stay here and get caught?”
Aska sighed and looked at me with a strange expression that I couldn’t understand what he was thinking, then nodded. Seeing that, I asked again.
“If we get caught, we’ll die.”
“Will we really die? Mahir will probably figure out a way.”
“……”
I wondered why he was so calm, but it seemed he was trusting Mahir. I impulsively opened my mouth.
“Mahir is not actually our brother.”
“Not your brother? Then what is he? A sister?”
Aska, who had no prejudice, widened his eyes in surprise. I was speechless for a moment because it was so absurd, then added a beat later.
“Mahir is the son of the late Emperor.”
“The late Emperor? The previous Emperor? So you two weren’t biological brothers?”
“Yeah.”
My voice lowered slightly without me realizing it. Aska seemed to notice that, as he tilted his head.
“So?”
“Khalifa was the late Emperor’s brother.”
Since he probably knew the secrets of the Imperial Palace, Aska would now understand what I meant. But his expression was still puzzled.
In fact, I was still unable to grasp exactly what I was feeling. It seemed like the unnecessary conversation was getting too long, so I just changed the subject.
“But what was that light earlier?”
“It’s magic. I can use a little bit even in a sealed state.”
“I know that, but why did it heal just by holding hands?”
“……”
Aska, who had been answering well, shut his mouth. If healing was possible enough without having to touch mucous membranes, then why had he been doing such troublesome things until now?
Just because he wanted to? Because he wanted to see me flustered?
Aska glared at me with a sulky expression when I frowned, then turned his head away. The sight of him acting so childish made me chuckle.
“Anyway, whether he’s your brother or cousin, if you don’t want to be here, let’s just run away.”
I couldn’t easily nod at Aska’s words.
At first, of course, I was going to do that too. If Mahir found out that I killed Khalifa, how uncomfortable would he be? He wouldn’t show it, but I hated seeing Mahir uncomfortable when he looked at me.
I also hated feeling strange guilt, and I didn’t want to see him feel sorry.
So I was just going to run away with Aska, but there was a problem.
If we disappeared like this, all the servants working in Talim would not be able to avoid death. As Aska said, Mahir would try to find a way, but how long could he last in this situation where the evidence was so clear?
Wouldn’t I regret it if I ran away like this?
“……”
My head throbbed.
This was more of a problem than killing my father with my own hands.
Since I had already taken out Almas and caused a commotion, everyone would know that I had used force here. If I thought about it deeply, there might be a way to fix it, but I didn’t have time to do that right now.
It was because people were already coming here, so there was no time to hide or plot anything.
“When will they arrive?”
At my question, Aska, who was thinking about something with a serious expression, looked at the entrance of the Training arena and said.
“They’ve been stopping in the middle since a while ago.”
“Do you know how many there are?”
“There were three at first, but now there are two.”
With that number of people, it was likely that they didn’t know anything and just came here while looking for Khalifa’s whereabouts. Even if there was a loud noise from fighting, no one could enter the main building because of my orders.
I had bought myself some time.
The best thing to do was to use the ship that came to pick up Fatima at the port today. First, I would sneak out the people who were going to leave, including Aska, and I would stay behind…
“……”
Thinking that, I suddenly turned my gaze, but Khalifa was nowhere to be seen. A chill ran down my spine, and I sharpened my senses sharply. Aska put strength into my hand and opened his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking.”
Aska’s face, illuminated by the moonlight, was paler than before, and his eyes were shining crimson. It looked like the color was changing as if smoke was swirling.
“Let’s just say you died here.”
“……”
While I was worrying, Aska seemed to have been thinking about this and that. When did he sneak Khalifa out? Or did he kill him? Without a trace? I was holding his hand the whole time, so when did he do it?
There were many things I was curious about, but I put all that aside and asked the question I wanted to ask the most.
“Are you really not going to regret it?”
Aska looked at me at my question. The pupils of his eyes, which now looked almost black, seemed to be thinner and longer than usual. I wasn’t even creeped out by his reptile-like appearance, and I wasn’t in my right mind for thinking he was beautiful.
Actually, it seemed a little strange, but it was okay because it suited him well.
“Can I be honest?”
It wasn’t a difficult question, but Aska, who had been silent for a long time, asked. I nodded at the obvious words, but Aska shook his head as if he had changed his mind in that short time.
“Never mind, I just won’t say it.”
“Why?”
“Anyway, I don’t hate it. You can just go to your room for a while.”
I grabbed Aska, who was about to run away right away.
“Where are you going?”
At my question, Aska raised his hand and made his nails grow long. It seemed he could use it even with the Sealing Magic on.
“Are you going to kill them all?”
Aska was horrified when I asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“Are you crazy? I’m just trying to scare them. They might get slightly hurt, but I won’t kill them. Let’s just say a monster suddenly broke into the Imperial Castle and you both died.”
Only then could I understand Aska’s intentions. It didn’t seem like a good plan, but it wasn’t that bad either.
Given the situation, there was no other choice.
“Aren’t you going to get caught?”
“I’m going to put them to sleep, so you don’t have to worry. I’ve used it on you a few times, and you don’t wake up even if I bite you and draw blood.”
“Anyway, go and come back. Let’s talk when you get back.”
If Aska was determined to hide his presence, would there be anyone who could find him? He had a history of sneaking into Sa Dillin, so I wasn’t too worried.
“What happened to Khalifa?”
I asked Aska one last time as he was about to leave. But just like before, Aska rolled his eyes and avoided answering.
“I’ll go and come back first, so let’s talk about it later.”
“Do you want to undo the Sealing Magic and go?”
“No, it’s nothing, so it won’t take me even 5 minutes to go and come back.”
After finishing his words, Aska disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“……”
Only then did I take a breath and look around the Training arena, which had been completely destroyed. The frozen blood and water melted, making the floor muddy. I avoided the dirty puddles and went to the Harem, thinking.
If I framed it as the work of a monster, it wouldn’t be a problem that I used force, and Mahir would take care of saving the servants of Talim. According to the rules, they should die with their master, but Mahir wasn’t the type to just stand by and watch that happen.
With Khalifa dead, who would stop the next Emperor?
“……”
It was better for Mahir, who would now become Emperor, if I was gone. Most of Mahir’s close aides hated me, and because of the late Emperor’s precedent, I, as the Emperor’s brother, would only be a source of trouble.
And if Mahir had been taking care of me out of guilt, then I would rather…
“Cough…”
While walking with confused thoughts, suddenly something hot surged up and filled my mouth.
“?Surprised, I wiped my mouth with my hand, and blood came out. I had a bad feeling for a moment, but before I could think any further, my knees buckled. The moment I fell to the floor, a pain that blocked my breath completely consumed my body.
My mind became faint every time an indescribable pain surged in like a wave. As I was drowning in the blood I was vomiting, I barely raised my head, and a complex five-pointed star pattern, turned upside down, was burning brightly in the dark night sky.
It was an unrealistic sight, but I couldn’t even be surprised. It felt like my intestines were twisting, breaking into pieces, swirling, and being finely ground inside my stomach.
“……”
I must have lost consciousness for a moment due to the unbearable pain, and when I opened my eyes, I was lying face down on the floor. I blinked a few times and barely raised my head again.
The burning light and pattern were gone, and the sky in that place was cracking and tearing apart. The cracks writhed as if they were alive, creating a huge hole. And as if waiting for it, something began to crawl out from inside.
That was just the beginning. Unidentified creatures poured out like water bursting without warning.
Kkyaaaaaak!
I was jolted awake by a chilling roar that resembled a scream.
I had said to frame it as the work of a monster, but there was no way Aska would have done this.
Aska, who knew what would happen to me if the Sealing Magic suddenly broke, would not have used his power recklessly. He didn’t show it, but Aska had been careful in everything since that incident and controlled his power.
But if the seal suddenly broke, it meant that it was a dangerous situation that he couldn’t even care about that.
Ah, I should have gone with him.
I regretted it late, but it wasn’t the time to be blaming myself. I had to go quickly to figure out what was going on and save Aska…
“……”
Save him and run away… No, first, those monsters…
I couldn’t even get up, but I just reached out with the thought that I had to go quickly, but my mind was getting more and more blurred.
I couldn’t even see in front of me anymore, and I couldn’t tell if this was reality or not. I desperately called out his name while quickly losing consciousness, but in the end, no sound came out.
-End of Part 1.