Aldren was at a loss for words.
He couldn’t understand how a child his age could be so ruthless.
And yet…
He was.
Finally, Aldren looked at Adrian and asked,
“Your Highness… you won’t even spare my family?”
“I already told you. It wouldn’t have mattered whether you ran away or not,” Adrian replied.
Aldren leaned back in his chair.
He took a long look at the ceiling and let out a deep breath.
Then he asked Adrian once again,
“Adrian… how long do we have?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Oh. Since you are a dead man walking, you will even forget your manners.”
He paused.
“You know, there are things worse than death in this world, right?”
Aldren nodded.
“You are right, Your Highness.”
He took another breath.
“So how long do we have?”
Adrian remained silent for a moment.
“How long do you need?”
He looked directly at Aldren.
“The least I can do is honour a dead man’s wishes.”
Aldren replied,
“Your Highness, I need one day to settle all my affairs.”
He paused.
“And if possible, I would like to avoid the execution.”
His expression became serious.
“And for my family… please reconsider.”
Adrian thought about it for a moment.
“I can give you a day.”
He paused.
“I can reconsider the method of your death.”
Aldren looked at him.
“But sparing your family is something I cannot compromise on.”
As Adrian said this, the girl remained seated in the room, watching him.
She had been there the entire time.
Watching him casually talk about killing innocent people as though it was nothing.
Aldren lowered his head.
“Then, Your Highness… would you give them a week’s worth of time?”
Adrian fell silent.
He thought about it for a while.
“Okay.”
He looked at Aldren.
“A week it is.”
“That’s the most leeway I can give you.”
Aldren slowly rose from his chair.
Then he turned around and left, returning to his house.
Adrian remained sitting alone in his office.
The girl was still there.
She looked at him.
“You really are cruel.”
Adrian didn’t respond.
“Why are you killing the innocent family members of his? They never irked you, did they?”
“No.”
Adrian’s answer was immediate.
“They never did.”
“Then why?”
Adrian looked away.
“They can come back for revenge any day.”
He paused.
“And that will waste many of my resources, which can be used elsewhere.”
The girl stared at him.
“Look at you.”
Her voice was filled with disappointment.
“You have forgotten everything about ethics and morality.”
She paused.
“Are you a barbarian now?”
Adrian finally looked at her.
“He is still here, you know.”
He stood up.
“But to do that, I should not be wasting my resources on people who would plan petty revenge against me.”
With that, Adrian left the room.
He got into his carriage and ordered the driver to take him to Denk.
When Adrian found Denk, he told him everything that had happened.
He made him understand what had happened to Aldren.
The mighty Aldren Morcant…
Was now awaiting execution.
Adrian looked at Denk.
“You have one shot at revenge.”
Denk stared at him.
“You can kill Aldren before his execution, if you want to.”
He paused.
“You have one day to make up your mind.”
Adrian looked directly into his eyes.
“Decide what you want to do.”
“Then follow through with whatever you decide.”
With that, Adrian left.
He then went straight to the Valewood Bank.
The bank was now under his control.
Adrian went through all of its financial records, carefully calculating how much he could actually pay out to the depositors.
He had originally announced that he would return fifty percent of their deposits.
But then he remembered the dead family.
He remembered the little girl.
And for the sake of decreasing his guilt by even one percent…
He made a decision.
He would repay everyone in full.
Adrian would take over all the assets and liabilities of the Valewood Bank and treat them as though they were part of the Royal Bank itself.
It would be expensive.
It would hurt.
But he would do it.
Later that evening, one of the bank employees came to meet him.
It was the same employee Adrian had used to obtain information about the Valewood Bank.
Adrian immediately knew what he wanted to talk about.
But he didn’t initiate the conversation.
The employee stood before him nervously.
“Your Highness…”
He hesitated.
“Please tell me…”
He swallowed.
“Were you the one who started all this?”
Adrian gave him no reaction.
The employee looked at him again.
“Please tell me, Your Highness…”
His voice trembled.
“It wasn’t you.”
Adrian remained silent.
Once again, he gave no response.
The silence stretched on.
Eventually, Adrian spoke.
“Go home.”
The employee looked at him.
“Come back tomorrow.”
Adrian lowered his eyes.
“You are not in a state to hear any answers right now.”
He turned around and left.
The moment the door closed behind him, Adrian spoke.
“Evran.”
Evran appeared.
“Take care of him.”
Adrian paused.
“Make it painless.”
Evran didn’t ask any questions.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
And followed through.
As soon as Evran left, Adrian looked up.
The girl was staring at him once again.
She didn’t say anything.
She didn’t need to.
Adrian knew.
This time, instead of arguing with her, Adrian quietly left the room.
He pretended that he hadn’t noticed her.
He went straight to his mother.
He wanted to escape.
Escape the responsibility.
Escape the guilt.
Escape everything that had happened over the last two days.
He climbed onto his mother’s lap, trying to lose himself in the warmth of her embrace.
But the girl knew no walls.
She simply appeared in front of Adrian.
Sitting there.
Watching him.
Adrian turned his head away.
He didn’t want to look at her.
But he knew.
He knew what he had done.
Whether she watched him or not…
Nothing changed.
Back on Earth, Adrian had a family.
His parents had wanted nothing more than for him to succeed.
They had given him everything.
Their dreams.
Their time.
Their efforts.
Everything they had was invested in helping him succeed in life and to have their dreams fulfilled by him.
But there was one thing they had never given Adrian.
Peace and quiet.
They never loved him simply because he was their son.
They loved him because they believed he would accomplish something for them.
They were investing in him…
Expecting returns.
But here, in Asterra, things were different.
His mother, Elara, wanted nothing from him.
She didn’t care whether he became King.
She didn’t care whether he conquered kingdoms.
She didn’t care whether he became the greatest ruler in history.
He could always come to her.
He could rest in her lap.
And receive the love he had never truly received from his own mother.
Yet even that was becoming difficult.
Because Adrian was keeping her in the dark.
He couldn’t tell her what he had done over the last two days.
And that secret was eating him alive.
Even in his mother’s embrace…
The warmth he had always found there seemed to have disappeared.
Elara noticed.
She didn’t know exactly what was troubling him.
But she knew something was wrong.
So, without prolonging his suffering, she gently caressed his hair and said,
“I don’t know what’s troubling you, Adrian.”
She paused.
“But don’t worry, my son.”
“I will always be on your side.”
She looked at him lovingly.
“Because you are my child.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
For the first time in days…
The weight on his chest eased slightly.
And finally…
Adrian was able to rest.