Chapter 40: CH 40

“Sister?”

When I didn’t respond, Cassadin called my name as if this were unexpected. I mustered up a smile and answered him.

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Your answer is a bit late.”

The Crown Prince clicked his tongue and interfered.

“Can’t you see that the Lady is not at ease?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but this is a matter between me and my sister. And as it is late, my sister and I will be heading back now.”

The Prince glared at Cassadin with a dumbfounded expression. But Cassadin didn’t return as much as a glance to the Crown Prince and was staring at me instead.

“Let us go back, Sister.”

Having the feeling that someone was strangling me, I hurriedly tore my gaze off Cassadin. I decided to gain permission from the dumbfounded Crown Prince, who was looking at us, and took our leave.

“Your Highness, I greatly appreciate what you have done today. May we meet again in the future.”

“Will you be coming again next time?”

“Yes. Don’t you like that I’m coming to the palace, Your Highness?”

“As if. You are always welcome here.”

The Crown Prince didn’t hide his joy as he laughed aloud. Because I had my gaze fixed on the Crown Prince, I was unable to see Cassadin’s expression.

“I have promised Milady your safety, so I will contact you immediately if the Grand Duke does anything suspicious.”

“Thank you.”

“May you have a safe trip back.”

I bowed to him and left the garden with Cassadin.

It was already dusk when we boarded the carriage that would take us back home. And pretending not to notice Cassadin caressing the end of my fingers, I turned my eyes toward the scenery outside of the window.

“Why aren’t you looking at me?”

The voice questioning me sounded so low, that I felt a little guilty for doing so. Hearing his voice, I felt a hot lump lurch up inside of me.

“Do you really not know?”

I slowly turned my head to meet Cassadin’s eyes. His eyes were still in a crazed state as he looked at me. When the deep purple eyes found under his long eyelashes found mine, they curled into an arch.

“Why are you looking at me with such eyes?”

“How exactly am I looking at you, Sister?”

His tone resembled that of a child who wanted to be noticed for his naughty actions. The temperature of the hand caressing me was so hot that I thought my skin would burn.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly from his eyes and heat, so I clenched my eyes tightly.

“Sister.”

Cassadin’s breathy voice arrived in my ear. He released his grip on my hand, only to gently embrace me with his toned arms. With me now in his arms, he quietly muttered,

“Just how am I looking at you to say such a thing?”

His breath was hot as it grazed my ear. The little bit of playfulness mixed into his voice sounded like a mischievous devil’s.

“Sister, you are my sister.”

“…”

“My one and only sister. The only one that exists in the world.”

‘Do I really seem like your sister in your eyes?’

I wanted to ask him, but I felt like we couldn’t turn back once I heard his answer.

Was this racing heart I could hear mine or Cassadin’s?

I was afraid to ask, so I silently stayed in his embrace.

“Master! Where are you?!”

As soon as Kindel arrived at the palace after being urgently called for assistance, he immediately started to call for his master the moment he got off the carriage. His neat butler uniform and unstained monocle seemed to represent his organized nature, just like his owner.

“Are you Kindel?”

Hearing a voice call out his name, Kindel stopped and turned to the voice’s owner. A man with golden hair and golden eyes was staring down at him.

The golden irises sparkled as if the moon in the sky were broken to pieces and sprinkled into his eyes for decoration. It was no exaggeration for the man with golden eyes and hair to be called the small sun of the empire.

Recognizing the man as the Crown Prince at first glance, Kindel hurriedly bowed his head and greeted him.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Let’s skip the formalities.”

The Crown Prince waved his hand in dismissal as a corner of his mouth rose up.

“Why don’t we take a moment to have a conversation?”

Hearing that, Kindel raised his head and fixed his monocle.

The old butler was incredibly flustered by the unfamiliar man’s request for a conversation, but hiding his surprise, he responded,

“….A conversation?”

“Yes. A conversation.”

To be requested a conversation when he had not yet found his master. How surprised would he be when told the news that his master had suddenly collapsed in the banquet hall?

To think that his heart condition, which had been fine even in prison, had suddenly been triggered at the banquet. There had definitely been an incident at the banquet hall that had caused his master’s heart to bear more than it could handle.

Seeming to have read Kindel’s thoughts, the Crown Prince then said,

“Do not worry. I will send you to where your master is once we finish talking.”

Just what did the man have to say to him for the Crown Prince to be requesting the attendance of a mere butler like him? An uneasy train of thoughts was running through Kindel’s mind.

Was he going to ask questions about the lawsuit Damian had filed against the imperial family? Or was he going to question the reason why Damian had hidden his heart condition?

Whatever the topic of the conversation was, one sure thing was that it wasn’t going to be good. It had already been 50 years since he had worked at Damian’s duchy.

And the wise butler’s feeling was correct.

“Before the Great Duke collapsed, he didn’t ask for a doctor but a butler instead. You, to be exact.”

“…”

“I find that quite strange. It would be much easier to say that he has a heart condition, is it not?”

Pausing for a moment, the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow in Kindel’s direction, then continued.

“Would you happen to know the reason why the Great Duke had hidden his condition?”

A hasty lie might only increase the imperial family’s suspicion. That was what Kindel had concluded.

“To speak the truth… It was because Master’s heart disease cannot be cured by a doctor.”

“It cannot be healed by a doctor?”

“Yes. We had called every single doctor known to practice the best medicine in the empire, but not a single one was able to heal Master’s heart disease. Since there is no benefit in Master’s condition being known to the public, we have decided to hide it.”

Kindel bowed deeply to the Crown Prince and continued to speak.

“I greatly apologize for the inconvenience this may have brought to Your Highness. My master has done nothing wrong. It was I who suggested he hide this condition, so he had only done as I asked.”

“You seem to care much about your master. Does that mean you are willing to accept the punishment for hiding the Grand Duke’s illness?”

“Yes. Everything is my fault. Master has no fault. So if Your Highness wishes to punish someone, please punish me. Your Highness.”

I had a dream for the first time in a while.

It was a dream about my past life after I had died. My corpse had been burned by Kindel in order to hide the evidence.

Crackle, crackle.

When a fire erupted from my body, the body turned into black ash and flew away in the wind. I must have become a spirit after dying, as I was watching everything from the sky.

It was surely my corpse that was burning down there, but my spirit’s eyes looked emotionless as they looked down at the corpse.

Maybe it was because I knew this was a dream. Or maybe it was because this was happening after I passed.

Once my corpse had completely disintegrated into ash, the scene I was watching suddenly started to swirl, and I was standing in a new location.

The new setting was the palace.

It was in utter chaos. The palace that had once boasted its golden shine was now splattered with the crimson blood of people.

“Help!”

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

The screams of people rang out in the air, and the knights who were supposed to protect the palace were slaying the people they should be protecting.

“Rebellion! It’s a rebellion!”

“The Knights’ Commander of the palace has revolted!”

Hearing that the palace’s Knights’ Commander had caused a rebellion, all the people fell into a panic. As if they intended not to leave a single survivor, the palace knights killed whoever their eyes fell on.

“His Majesty has already been killed!”

“Why have the heavens abandoned us?!”

“Oh god! Please save us from this evil!”

Desperate cries of people came from all around me. The imperial knights ruthlessly slew the people, looking up at the skies and praying as they yelled.

“The worn sun has fallen. It is now the age of the true sun!”

Every single time the crimson capes of the knights flapped in the wind, another person collapsed on the ground without even a chance to end their scream.

This was definitely a dream, but why was it so vivid? It was a much more shocking sight to see than witnessing my corpse burn.

Just then, I saw a familiar-looking man.

The man’s scarred hand caught my attention.

However, I had healed the scars on his hand.

The cape he was wearing had been dyed in the blood of so many people that it no longer held its original color.

In the man’s hand was the great sword belonging to the Knight’s Commander.

The hilt made from pure gold had a red seal embedded in it, and as if to prove the number of people it had slain, the sharp blade had blood flowing down it.

Bloodied silver hair fluttered in the wind. And the purple eyes under them looked so empty, that they seemed to be completely devoid of anything.

The man who had been watching over the knights from a distance suddenly looked up at the sky. At the same time, the empty eyes looked up at me, and I woke up from my dream.

“Huah!”

When I woke up, I found myself in the carriage. I must have fallen fast asleep in Cassadin’s arms.

“Sister?”

Next to me was Cassadin, who looked down at me with a concerned expression. And as if checking if he was really Cassadin, I raised my hand towards his face.

It was the same face as the Cassadin I saw in the dream, but it was also definitely different.

The man with blood in his silver hair and a face devoid of emotion couldn’t be Cassadin. A nightmare was just a nightmare.

But the nightmare must have been quite shocking, as droplets of sweat were rolling down my forehead.

“Sister, you’re sweating so much…”

Cassadin wiped away my sweat with the back of his hand. Out of uneasiness, I wrapped my arms around his body. Cassadin then froze for a moment before patting my back as he whispered to me,

“Have you dreamt a nightmare?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry. Aren’t I next to you, Sister?”

Just as I had done to Cassadin before, he gently placed his lips against my forehead, then continued.

“You don’t have to be anxious any longer, Sister.”

There was genuine warmth in his words. The eyes that had wrapped around me like a serpent were gone once again, and Cassadin had returned to being an affectionate younger brother.

“Once we return to the mansion, I will tell you everything I have been hiding.”

“…”

“Sleep a bit more, you must be tired. I will wake you up when we arrive. Don’t worry, you won’t have another nightmare.”

Hearing that, I fell fast asleep again. And just like Cassadin had said, I didn’t have a single other nightmare.