‘I should have listened to Father’s warning.’
Oscar’s own empathy was slightly lacking, but he understood emotions well enough.
He’d grown up watching his powerful father live a controlled, rational life.
He had never truly grasped what could happen when someone with that much power lacked the proper education.
His brother’s killing intent had been a brutal lesson.
This man was dangerous.
His father, though terrifying, was rational.
He knew better than anyone not to use his power recklessly.
But his brother was different.
He would not tolerate anything that displeased him.
“I am leaving.”
Just like now.
As he strode forward, Oscar’s tension spiked.
Releasing him would be like unleashing an uncontrollable beast upon the world.
He’d been warned not to block the way, but…
“Brother, I beg you, reconsider.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Oscar knew he’d made a fatal mistake.
There would be no second warning.
His brother closed the distance with blinding speed.
Oscar threw himself back, but it wasn’t fast enough.
He barely got his arm up to block.
‘Thwack!’
“Ugh!”
He slid backward, a searing pain shooting through his wrist.
He gritted his teeth; it felt like the bone had fractured from that single blow.
There was no time to recover.
His brother charged again, his fist a blur aimed at Oscar’s face.
‘I’m too late…’
The sheer destructive force in that punch was palpable.
Oscar shielded his face, squeezing his eyes shut.
A strong body was useless against overwhelming power.
He braced for the agony.
In that instant, he felt another power surge from behind him.
And then…
‘BOOM!’
The sound was too massive for a clash between men.
As a violent shockwave threw him back, a steady hand caught him.
“Who taught you to close your eyes when you’re being attacked?”
“Father!”
Oscar had never been so relieved to hear his father’s calm, chiding voice.
“Fall back.”
At his father’s command, Oscar retreated without hesitation.
He wasn’t foolish enough to let pride stand in the face of such an immense power gap.
That day, Oscar witnessed something incredible.
He watched, speechless, as his father and brother clashed.
It wasn’t a fight between humans—it was a battle of titans.
He felt a wave of shame for his own arrogance, for ever believing he was strong.
The brutal conflict, too violent to be called a fistfight, ended when a blinding flash of light erupted, and his brother vanished without a trace.
The thought of the aftermath was daunting, but in that moment, all Oscar felt was relief.
If the fight had continued, one of them would have been gravely injured.
That was the brother Oscar remembered: an uncontrollable monster.
It was why he had desperately wanted to refuse this mission.
That day had taught him the terrifying extent of his brother’s power, and he had vowed never to cross him again.
“You want me to do what?” he had asked his father.
“I’ve found your brother’s location.
Take some men and bring him back.”
He had vanished so completely that Oscar had assumed he was gone for good.
But his father, it seemed, had been searching for him all along.
“I cannot go.”
Oscar’s refusal was swift and absolute.
He and his men were no match for his brother.
“Go.
That is an order.”
But defying his father was futile.
Once his mind was made up, it was unchangeable.
“Even if I go, do you think he will come quietly?”
“If you handle it wisely, it should be fine.”
Oscar was doubtful.
This was the man who had torn the estate apart for being blocked.
This time, he might raze the entire village.
Or slaughter Oscar’s men.
“Have you not noticed how quiet it has been?”
Sighing inwardly, Oscar looked up at his father’s words.
“There have been no rumors of a madman on a rampage.”
It had been over eight months since his brother disappeared.
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
There was one overriding fear concerning an uneducated Randolph.
That he would become a ruthless killer, leaving a trail of destruction wherever he went.
An act his brother might commit thoughtlessly would be a catastrophe for others, and news of such events traveled fast.
Yet, there had been no such rumors.
“Could he have learned to live among people on his own?”
“That is what we are bringing him in to determine.”
‘Go.’ His father’s eyes commanded it, and Oscar had no choice but to obey.
The one small comfort was that the risk of death seemed lower now.
While cleaning up after the rampage, he’d discovered something astonishing.
No one had died.
The knights were all breathing.
Many were seriously injured, yes, but their wounds were treatable.
‘…Does that mean he controlled his strength, in his own way?’
Clinging to that hope, Oscar had made the journey.
And what he found was nothing short of a miracle.
His brother was living a normal life in a tiny village.
He even had a companion, a woman to whom he spoke with formal respect—a fact that had made Oscar gasp.
When his brother, on the verge of exploding at Oscar’s blunder, had calmed at the woman’s gentle touch…
‘I was utterly terrified.’
He’d nearly become the first Randolph in history to faint from shock.
He was dying to know what had happened in those few months.
It was clear the woman was responsible for his brother’s transformation.
He had asked her to accompany them, but she had refused, gently but with an unyielding firmness.
There was a strange power about her that left Oscar feeling pressured, unable to insist.
‘Come to think of it, that was odd.’
The woman hadn’t been intimidated in the slightest.
Surrounded by knights, she hadn’t flinched, speaking her mind freely.
And for some reason, Oscar hadn’t felt offended.
Even when she had shut him down so decisively, he had simply listened, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
‘Perhaps it’s because she’s so remarkable that she could live with him.’
Maybe she had tamed his brother with that same quiet force.
In any case, when his brother had boarded the carriage so meekly, Oscar had allowed himself to believe he was truly socialized.
He’d stared out the window since they left, but Oscar had chalked it up to awkwardness.
It had been a long time, and he was curious about his brother’s new life.
“How have you been?” Oscar ventured, hoping a normal conversation was now possible.
His brother’s head didn’t move.
“How did you end up in that village?”
Again, silence.
A cold unease began to creep over Oscar.
This complete disregard for his surroundings was exactly how he’d behaved at the estate.
The man he’d seen in the village felt like a mirage.
Oscar realized his profound mistake.
The woman had been the key.
He had only spoken and acted normally because of her.
‘Come to think of it…’
To Oscar, his brother was just ‘Brother.’ Whenever he had tried to make conversation, Jayden never gave him a proper answer at the estate.
The family had investigated his past, but his origins were so bleak that there was little information to be found.
But the woman had called him something else.
“That woman called you Jayden.
Is that your name?”
At that, the blue eyes finally shifted from the window.
The gaze that met his was cold and indifferent.
Oscar’s heart plummeted.
He was thrown back to the moment he’d been struck down at the estate.
A phantom ache throbbed in his healed wrist.
‘He hasn’t changed at all.’
This was the same brother Oscar knew.
He immediately fell silent, resolving not to speak again.
If he went berserk now, there was no guarantee he would be calmed so easily.
‘We just need to get to the capital quietly.’
Determined not to provoke the beast, Oscar lowered his gaze.
‘I won’t die, but…’
No one had died that day at the estate, but many had suffered broken bones and torn muscles, requiring months of recovery.
There was no need to volunteer for a similar beating.
Oscar prayed for a peaceful journey.
As he watched his brother, Oscar was startled by the expression on his face.
Jayden was fiddling with the pouch in his hand, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery, but his eyes were unnerving.
Whatever he was thinking, it wasn’t rational.
He looked like he was suppressing a torrent of emotion, his eyes turning chillingly dark.
Oscar quickly averted his gaze and prayed with all his might that whatever his brother was imagining would not come to pass.
At least, not before they reached their father.