Everything proceeded as planned.
Grand Duchess Lilian was imprisoned in the underground dungeon of Fenrir Castle.
To the very end, she insisted that everything she had done had been solely for the territory and Father, but no one stepped forward to agree with or defend her.
Her crimes were far worse than anyone could have imagined, and Father’s razor-sharp eyes were fixed upon her.
Besides, she had never been the sort to show affection toward those beneath her.
Vlad was moved to a sickbed.
Thanks to the powerful body and astonishing recovery he had inherited from Father, he opened his eyes after only a few days.
Once he heard of everything his mother had done, he voluntarily applied to join the Demonic Beast Subjugation Unit.
As the complicated matters were resolved one by one, the chaos that had covered Fenrir Castle gradually subsided.
Then my eldest brother returned.
***
His return was accompanied by a grand welcoming ceremony.
The news that the Grand Duchess and the Second Young Master had been involved in crimes had cast a dark mood over the territory.
Father wanted to direct the people’s attention elsewhere, if only slightly.
Today’s ceremony was the result.
Before the castle, countless soldiers stood in flawless lines on both sides, forming a road.
The knights stood in gleaming suits of full plate armor, displaying their grandeur.
I hid in a distant tree and watched the scene.
The sound of horses’ hooves came from afar.
“First Young Master Johan von Fenrir has arrived!”
A servant’s booming voice announced his arrival.
“WAAAAAAAAAH!”
The music heralding the ceremony blended with an explosion of cheers.
The musicians moved their hands with all their strength, determined not to be overwhelmed by the people’s applause and shouts.
A knight riding a white horse leisurely passed between the soldiers.
His hair, flowing down to his waist, looked as though sunlight had been melted into it.
His clear, translucent skin resembled freshly fallen snow, appearing almost cold.
Only his ebony-black eyes proved that he and I were brothers.
He looked over the cheering people before drawing the sword at his waist.
SHING.
A snow-white rapier decorated with gold displayed its beauty in Johan’s hand.
One of the three swords said to have been wielded by the Founding Emperor.
The weapon that had earned my brother the epithet of Saint, despite him not being a clergyman.
The Sword of Wrath.
‘Gram.’
Johan raised Gram high into the sky.
RUMBLE.
Dark clouds covered the territory’s sky in an instant.
Thunder resembling the roar of a wild beast shook the heavens.
“Strike.”
Johan’s quiet murmur.
But its aftermath was anything but quiet.
CRASH—!
Lightning struck.
The pale bolt resembled a javelin thrown by a god as it tore through the black sky and descended upon Johan.
“Aaah!”
An unknown woman’s scream overwhelmed the crowd.
She lost consciousness and collapsed, but no one called her fainthearted.
A chilling silence descended heavily.
Then a child raised a hand and pointed toward one place.
“Look over there!”
The people rubbed their stinging eyes and turned toward the end of the child’s finger.
The thick dust cleared, revealing a figure.
A young knight who had suffered no harm from the lightning that struck from the heavens,
standing in beautiful and noble splendor with a Holy Sword in his hand.
The Saint stood there.
“O Saint.”
Someone knelt before him.
“O Saint.”
The words spread like an infection, from side to side and front to back.
Before long, the countless people watching the welcoming ceremony knelt and lowered their heads toward him.
Johan smiled softly.
He slowly guided his horse toward the throne where Father sat.
TAP.
After dismounting, he knelt before the throne.
“First Young Master Johan has returned after completing the witch-hunting mission throughout the Empire.”
“You have done well.”
With rare pride in his eyes, Father looked upon the people bowing their heads toward Johan.
“You still enjoy drawing attention.”
Johan smiled gently.
“People need hope in times like these.”
He spoke as though he knew nothing, but his gaze brushed past the Grand Duchess’s empty seat.
GRIND.
I ground my molars without realizing it.
‘This feels disgusting.’
His bright smile overlapped with the one from my previous life.
[So that is the man.]
At that moment, an bewitching voice addressed me.
A violet temptress poked her head from my shadow.
Fafnir floated into the air, circled me, and pointed toward Johan.
[Your anger is directed at him. Pure rage, deep and potent.]
‘Is it obvious?’
I lowered my head and took a deep breath.
[Instead of doing that, why not reach for my hand?]
‘Yours?’
[Do you not wish to sever his neck? To pierce his heart, crush his skull, tear off his limbs, and feed them to the lowliest monsters?]
She whispered beside my ear.
[Take my hand.]
Her languid voice felt like hot breath flowing into me.
[I shall fulfill your deepest desire.]
Her hand filled my vision.
If I took that hand, I could kill Johan right now.
Why drag things out?
How long was I planning to wait?
Just kill him here, right now!
I reached toward Fafnir’s outstretched hand.
‘No.’
SLAP!
I struck her hand aside.
‘If I kill him now, Johan will die as a Saint. I can’t grant him that glory.’
[And you are not afraid of the people’s condemnation and rejection?]
‘I’ve already endured more than enough of that.’
I shrugged.
[Tsk. How dull.]
She crossed her arms and clicked her tongue with a sulky expression.
[What a woman-crazed fool! I shall return to sleep!]
Fafnir melted back into my shadow.
“What woman?”
I looked down at the shadow.
“It’s all out of concern for the Empire.”
I muttered while trying to shake Melina’s face from my mind.
I turned my head from side to side several times before looking toward Johan again.
That was when it happened.
For a moment, I felt as though our gazes met.
It lasted only an instant, but his eyes seemed to see through the place where I hid.
“Let the banquet begin!”
Father shouted loudly.
Johan’s gaze, which had seemed directed toward me, turned toward Father.
The two of them entered the castle under the knights’ escort.
“Ha. That startled me.”
I had deliberately refrained from using mana so he would not notice me.
Had I known this would happen, I should have improved my eyesight and watched from farther away.
I climbed down from the tree and headed toward the castle.
The banquet was about to begin.
***
Late that night.
Chandeliers that had not been used in a long time performed their purpose once more, shining with brilliant light.
Attendants hurried between the vassals and nobles, carrying alcohol and food.
The vassals showered Johan with every extravagant compliment they could devise until their mouths ran dry.
The nobles beneath the duchy responded with applause and devoted themselves to expressing their admiration for Johan.
Considering most of them had once tried to attach themselves to the Grand Duchess, their rapid change of allegiance was nauseating.
I stood unnoticed in a corner of the banquet hall and tilted my glass.
The wine flowing down my throat was cool and refreshing, but it could not clear the suffocating feeling inside me.
“I’d feel more comfortable holding a sword and fighting enemies to the death.”
I muttered as I wished I could tear off the constricting decorations.
Now that I had apparently been acknowledged as a duke’s son, I had been given something ‘aristocratic’ to wear.
But it clung tightly to my body, and all the buttons and cords pressed against me until I felt imprisoned by the clothing.
The only merit of the needlessly extravagant outfit was that Mother had been delighted to see me in it.
I should slip away soon.
Trying not to attract anyone’s attention, I moved along the edge of the hall.
That was when it happened.
“Where is our youngest brother? I cannot seem to find him anywhere.”
Johan called for me in a loud voice.
Following his voice, every gaze in the banquet hall fixed upon me.
The vassals looked at me as though saying, ‘Of course you would behave like this.’
Father looked as though he would kill me if I failed to read the situation.
‘Damn it.’
He clearly knew where I was, yet he had pretended otherwise and called me out.
I abandoned my plan to quietly escape the banquet and raised the corners of my mouth.
“Haha! You’re the protagonist of today’s celebration, Brother. What good would it do for me to draw attention?!”
“Do not say that. This is the first time I have seen you leave your room and grow into such a spirited young man.”
He looked at me like an affectionate elder brother.
Even the vassals and nobles standing nearby forgot to look down upon me and smiled, creating a heartwarming atmosphere.
A chill ran through me.
Perhaps it was because I had personally witnessed just how far that gentle voice and innocent smile could fall.
“Grow into a young man? Compared to you, Brother, I’m still nothing more than an inexperienced child.”
I forced the words out.
Speaking something I did not mean made my body tense on its own.
Johan placed a hand on my shoulder.
“It appears our young brother is feeling unwell. May I take him outside for some fresh air?”
Before I could react, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and requested Father’s permission.
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you for permitting it.”
Johan answered brightly and bowed as though Father’s permission had genuinely delighted him.
“Then let us go.”
Holding my shoulder, Johan slowly guided me out of the banquet hall.
The gazes pouring down upon us felt like a dense rain of arrows.
***
Outside the banquet hall, in the garden of Fenrir Castle.
Once we reached an unoccupied terrace, he released my shoulder and placed a hand against my forehead.
“Fortunately, you do not appear to have a fever.”
I barely restrained my surging killing intent.
“I suppose I was nervous because I’m unfamiliar with occasions like this. Thank you for worrying about me.”
“That is a relief.”
What was he trying to do?
Johan said nothing more.
An awkward silence filled the space between us.
“I should apologize first.”
He finally spoke again just as I was about to announce that I would return inside.
“For what?”
“To be honest, I did not bring you here purely because I was concerned about your health.”
“……Then why did you?”
“I also despise those who struggle to fill their already swollen bellies merely because they call themselves nobles.”
He was saying that aloud?
In my previous life, he had always smiled and never spoken ill of anyone.
Among those who learned his true nature, he had even been called the Masked Young Master because of his obsessive concern with how others perceived him.
He was plotting something.
Turning his back to my bewildered expression, he looked toward the night sky.
“Did you know, Pietro? My mother was also born a commoner.”
“I heard she was the daughter of the Raven Merchant Company, the greatest merchant company in the Empire.”
“Correct. Then do you also know this?”
Johan turned and looked at me.
“It was that temptress Lilian who killed my mother.”
I knew.
After falling in my previous life, the first person he killed had been Lilian.
Afterward, Vlad, enraged by his mother’s death, had undergone Demonic Beast Transformation.
I had assumed Johan learned the truth much later.
Had he already known at this point?
Why was he telling me?
Apparently interpreting my bewilderment differently, Johan continued.
“When I was young, she secretly had my mother assassinated. I heard that poison was placed in her food.”
“……How did you learn that?”
I questioned him without realizing it.
He caressed the flowers in the garden.
“Pietro, I have loved plants since I was very young.”
He plucked a blooming red rose.
The thorns pierced his tightly clenched hand, and blood spread across it.
“While exploring the castle and calling it an adventure, I happened to witness something. A cook was boiling a flower I had never seen before and mixing it into the banquet food.”
He continued in an animated voice, as though recounting the actions of a character in a play.
“As a child, I immediately went and told Mother. I warned her that something unfamiliar had been added and that she should not eat the food.”
His eyes, measuring and categorizing me, turned in my direction.
“Do you know what happened?”
“……She ate it.”
“Precisely. Mother dismissed my concern as a child’s needless worry. She said she could not refuse to eat at a banquet held for a guest. She consumed the food and died shortly afterward.”
“And that guest was…….”
“Lilian, of course.”
What was I supposed to say?
I would rather fight a massive Demonic Beast with my bare hands.
What was anyone supposed to say in a situation like this?
Unable to offer any answer, I felt his hand settle upon my shoulder again.
“Do you understand, Pietro? The ones who will weed out the rotten Fenrir territory are not the nobles, the vassals, or the knights. They are nothing but weeds that must be torn out by the roots.”
He had exposed his wound and approached me.
His words were tempting enough to sway even me.
“I believed I was the only one. I wandered across the Empire to acquire the reputation and trust necessary for my purpose. But after hearing what you accomplished, I realized I was wrong.”
Anyone would have been tempted.
“Only you and I can do it. Only you and I can help Father and defend the Empire.”
Someone who shared the same wound and the same enemy was asking me to join him.
Who could easily refuse?
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Ask.”
“Why do you like plants?”
“Is that not obvious?”
Perhaps I would have believed him,
had I never seen the look in his eyes in my previous life.
“They are living things that will wither if I do not permit them water and sunlight. How could that not be a grave responsibility?”
The gaze of a man who viewed others as objects to manipulate and control as he pleased.
An obsession bordering on madness that allowed no variables.
The eyes of a control-obsessed man driven mad by his mother’s death.
I met his gaze.
His eyes seemed to pierce through me.
“It has grown late.”
I was the first to speak.
“The guests must be waiting until their necks ache. You should return.”
I arranged something resembling a smile across my face.
“You may go inside. I shall tell Father that you were tired.”
“Thank you, Brother.”
We turned our backs upon each other and walked away.
In completely opposite directions that would never overlap.