heard the hitting sound several times in a row. I opened my closed eyes gently. Tristan fell at Aurestâs feet with a broken chair leg. Aurest threw the legs of the chair at the knights who had pulled out the sword late.
âHey! Get this one right! Canât you catch it? You incompetent idiots. Ah! Itâs a waste of money that I give you every month.â
The knights kneeled one knee and lowered their heads.
âIâm sorry! Your Highness the Crown Prince. Kill me.â
âIf you ask me to kill you, is that it? Is it the end if you say youâre sorry for me? Do you know what just happened? Erin almost got hurt!â
âIâm sorry, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Iâm sorry. Your Imperial Highness.â
Aurest threw away the remains of the chair and threw the vase to see if his anger was already resolved. Blood was flowing in the faces of the knights who were beaten without avoiding. Aurest looked more excited at the sight of blood.
Someone else is going to die.
I slipped a hold of Aurestâs arm.
âCalm down, Iâm fine. Iâm not hurt at all. Look! The dress you gave me is clean, too.â
âYou may be fine, but Iâm not!â
Aurest, whose arm was caught by me, didnât run anymore. But he whittled his teeth into it.
âDidnât this son of a bitch, who didnât even know he was risking your life, almost hurt you badly?!â Aurest pointed a finger at the fallen Tristan on the floor. âBut what? Shouldnât I kill a single sound in that situation? Do you want this so bad?â
âBeautiful things are bound to be poisonous. Itâs worth it.â
I laughed with joy at the tip of my nose. Aurest clicked his tongue.
âHuh! I am very brave and have good speed. Thatâs lovely, but I donât know who you took after.â Aurest swept his face several times as if to calm his anger. He breathed a deep sigh as if he had calmed down.
âBut itâs too dangerous for you. Iâm going to break it somewhere.â Aurest trampled on Tristanâs hand wriggling on the floor.
I canât believe itâs this way!
I screamed and held him tight.
âNo! I donât want to have anything that has a lot of scratches, and even flaws! Please let me decorate it in a whole and perfect look!â
Aurest groaned and put his feet away. He kicked Tristan on the head with his cleaned foot. Despite the Crown Princeâs insulting attitude, Tristan only curled up and showed no unusual reaction.
âAs you got older, your tastes have become very good. It seems like yesterday that I was worried about the problem with your aesthetics being around a funny-looking clown.â
A funny-looking clownâŚ
âWell, I understand your meaning of reluctance to have flaws, but donât you say youâre going to scratch the rose thorn? Itâs just breaking a little so that it canât hurt you.â
âJust kill me.â
âYeah. When I think about it, I donât think it would be bad to just kill and stuff it. Itâs not necessary to make it as slave. The use of handsome guys is endless.â
âPlease kill me.â
It was a voice as dry as the ground cracked by a long drought.
Aurest, who was talking more about the colorful use of handsome men, glanced at him and kicked Tristanâs side. Tristan uttered a blocked groan.
âWas it you? I never allowed you to tell me, so shut up.â
ââŚPlease kill me for being disrespectful to the attempted assassination of the Imperial Family.â
Aurest changed his face to see if he knew that Tristanâs attempts to attack me were not just anger, but suicide attempts.
Tristan leaped up his almost wound-filled body. As the knight of the oath, one knee kneeled and the other set up, and put his arm on it. And looked up at me.
It was a sympathetic face. The hair was tangled and tangled with blood and dust, and there was sadness in the black eyes. The swollen, bursty, blood-flowing lips moved slowly.
âYour Imperial Highness, please kill me.â
âItâs not the son of a traitor who attempted to assassinate me.â
Aurest looked somewhat displeased, but I was still there with his arms folded in front of his chest. When Aurest spoke, the quiet knights threw up.
âIf itâs not me, then itâs not.â
âGuys. They said no.â Aurest quenched the knightsâ complaints in a single word. Tristan continued with a harsh, cracked voice.
âYour Imperial Highness, please show me mercy and give me a chance to die like a knight.â The image of the knight asking for his death seemed more sad than humiliating. Perhaps leaving Tristan dead here is the choice for him die here.
But, Lord Tristan. I cannot allow your death. Iâve been asked to do you a favor in Vathorliaâs stead. I need you to fulfill my and Vathorliaâs long-cherished desire.
Even if you feel pathetic and sad, please stay alive.
As long as youâre alive, thereâs a second chance, a third chance.
I got a second chance to please the man who killed my friend and hide my hatred.
So you do the same. Iâm sorry to force you on my way.
I grinned as I folded my fan.
âYouâve just been stripped of your knighthood. A man who is not a knight canât die like a knight, can he?â
* * *
I
ordered the knights and servants to wash and treat Tristan. Tristanâs determination to die rather than survive alone is unlikely to change easily. But I canât say in front of Aurest, âIâm actually your motherâs partner in Vathorliaâs favor, so donât think about dying, dream of revenge.â
Is Aurest going to die right now?
Aurest, who came back after a blow on the head of the knights, asked me.
âWhat are you going to do with Tristan? It wonât be easy to beat the guilds. Donât you need help?â
It is obvious without hearing that Aurestâs âhelpâ is a violent way of doing things.
âDonât worry. Iâve got my own way.â Tristan, who came back, was tightly shackled with chains. Just in case the knights surrounded him.
Tristan kneeled his knee in front of me in the chair.
âWhatâs your name?â Tristan raised his head. Deep black eyes met eyes.
âTristan Rowenthal of Rowenthal Duchy.â
The dust and blood were washed away and the red and blue excitement remained on his clean face. I see open his face. The tight-lipped lips and straight eyes were much like someone in the past memory.
VathorliaâŚ
Something was piling up inside. I closed my eyes for a while and woke up.
âTristan. Do you hate serving me more than dying?â The answer came quickly.
âYes.â
âThere must be a reason for dislike. Can you tell me why?â I put my hand on Tristanâs shoulder. His body became stiff. âNo matter what you say, I wonât be rough on you, so be honest. I donât want you to be scratched.â
âHonestly?â
âYes, honestly.â
Tristan was silent. His mouth and forehead were momentarily distorted and then returned to normal. He spoke with an expressionless face.
âI donât want to bow down to the man who took all my family members to live a life of little importance. Please kill me.â
âItâs just like a tree to take away. Didnât you feel like you had to be a gentleman and aim for revenge opportunities?â
The knights are buzzing. Tristan raised its head lightly. There was definitely a gale in the dark eyes, like a sea at night where even the depth was unknown.
âWhat are your intentions?â
âI thought youâd do that, so I asked.â
He dropped his head again.
âI grew up as a knight. I donât do such mean and pathetic things.â
Did he just say mean and pathetic?
Thatâs right.
It is mean and pathetic to seek revenge with oneâs head down on the enemy. So my life has been mean and pathetic all along. But Tristan, you shouldnât say that.
It is an insult to the life of Vathorlia, who has been bowing to the emperor all the time and waiting for the right time.
If you really know the story, you shouldnât insult Vathorlia, who was worried about you and didnât bring you into the rebellion.
When I opened my mouth, a voice of emotion came out.
âDo you want some bad news?â Tristan did not answer. I didnât want an answer either. âI have no intention of killing you. You donât know if I kill someone else instead of youâŚâ Tristan didnât budge.
Letâs see how long it will last.
âLetâs see, the housekeepers who have served Rowenthal for generations, the men who manage the mansion, your men who fought on the Western Front, ¡¡¡â
The silent Tristan flinched and responded. He seems anxious to think of his men on the western front.
âIâd better start with your men, too. Your menâs throats will run away as long as you stretch out to death.â
ââŚâ
âDonât even think of doing yourself a favor. On that day, the day you lived, the neck of a number of your men would be gone. What if they attack me? I havenât decided yet either. If youâre really curious, try it. I wonât stop you.â
Tristanâs eyes were wandering somewhere on the floor. After a long silence, he squeezed it out.
âIt is not justifiable to strike the innocent in the neck.â
âWho says they are innocent? There is no soldier who did not commit a crime, and it is what happens when you name it sin in the first place.â
âAre you saying youâre going to frame them? Because of me?â
âYes. Do you want an innocent person to die because of your single stubbornness?â
I looked down at Tristan. Tristan glared with his mouth shut. I think Iâve shaken enough. Youâll think itâs better to live once you have many lives on your neck.
âOkay. Youâll be confused, too. Iâll give you plenty of time to think. Think carefully and answer.â
âWait, ¡¡!â
âDidnât I say Iâd give you time with my own mouth? I wonât separate anyoneâs neck for a while, so donât worry.â I got up from my seat. The chair pushed back and squeaked. âIâll see you next time, then,â I turned around and gave instructions to the knights. Aurest, who was following me, smiled.
âSolitary confinement?â I shrugged.
Tristan had no time to mourn the death of his family.
After youâve been grieving as much as you can and organized your emotions to a certain extent, youâll realize that youâd better be alive.
Youâll think youâll have to get back at him alive.
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âIf you think in a quiet place, youâll realize what youâre doing for yourself.â
Auest, who was listening to me, burst out laughing at me.
âYouâre a very cruel part of me. You donât know how easily an isolated person can be ruined, or you know.â