Chapter 77: [Chapter 077] We're not family
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A cold, damp winter forest path, as if ghosts could appear at any moment. The only presence between the two men, who were building up their killing intent like a wall, was the breath they exhaled. Noebian, staring directly at Roardnes' face, which was now full of cracks, spat out.
"So, it was you who took your love away. And Adrienne's death in the Grand Duke's mansion. It all originated from your brother, whom you've been trying so hard to protect."
Roardnes was gasping for breath.
'Adrienne heard this.'
The suddenness of her misfortune. The ultimate cause was none other than his brother, Bardeinal. That was the truth he had heard. That was why she had looked at him with such astonished eyes.
"But you think you can have Adrienne? Do you think everything will end and you'll be happy if you just kill me? No."
Knowing the truth isn't the end. It's just a new beginning. Noebian's voice seeped into Roardnes' mind like poison. Now, it was Noebian, with his dying face, who looked like the grim reaper, ready to deliver death.
"You either ignore the truth and have Adrienne, or you accept the truth and let go of Adrienne. There's no other choice."
A demon whispering to Roardnes, saying that he could never have Adrienne. That's exactly what his half-assed uncle looked like. As soon as Roardnes recalled Adrienne's tearful face as she told him he had been deceived by Noebian, his chest tightened. He felt an urge to pierce the heart of the demon who whispered that he could never have Adrienne and erase him from the world. Noticing the change in his eyes, Noebian also tightly gripped the sword he was holding. Clank! The swords clashed in an instant. The sharply clashing blades were only held by Roardnes. For Roardnes, whose entire body was practically a weapon, Noebian, who had spent years on the battlefield, was no match.
"Ugh!"
"Just die, you bastard."
Roardnes grabbed Noebian's collar savagely with one hand and pierced his shoulder with his sword at once. Even though his mind was filled with thoughts about Bardeinal, his determination to kill the demon in front of him did not disappear.
"Damn...mad..."
"You're the mad one. A filthy bastard who keeps a mistress behind Adrienne's back."
"Ugh!"
"Why don't you say that your brother told you to keep a mistress."
The blade of the sword, which had pierced his shoulder, went deeper as Roardnes' hand, with a savage smile on his face, tightened its grip.
"Dare you sell out your brother? Don't you know why your brother abandoned you? If you two had made such a plot, why would your brother have cast you out?"
Noebian, who felt the blade going towards his heart as he was pierced, quickly grabbed the sword with his hand. But it was futile. Roardnes' gleaming red eyes, filled with the determination to kill, showed no mercy. He was like a warrior on the battlefield, killing a monster.
"Tell me, why doesn't your brother save you if what you say is true?"
The blade, which was about to pierce his heart, stopped at that moment.
"Roan! Roan! Stop!"
Just as Roardnes was about to inflict the most painful death upon the devil, he heard indistinct mumbling, the clash of knights' weapons, and Bardeinaldo's panting as he ran out of breath. The light faded from Roardnes' eyes, which had been filled with a savage smile as he tightened his grip. It was the moment he looked up and met the desperate eyes of Crown Prince Bardeinaldo. Bardeinaldo, who had run at full speed, grabbed Roardnes' arm with his white, gentle hand and pulled him desperately towards him. Noebian's groans of pain echoed in Roardnes' head like mocking laughter.
"Roan! Roan! Are you alright? Uncle, are you alright?"
Roardnes, his body stiff like a rag doll, looked at his brother.
"What are you doing, Roan? That's not what I asked you to do."
Bardeinaldo's face turned pale, and he kept whispering to his uncle, asking if he was okay. At the same time, he ordered the knights who had come with him to call a doctor.
"I told you not to get involved yourself, but to leave it to the First Knight Corps! If you end up dragging your uncle out yourself like this..."
"Brother."
Bardeinaldo's voice, which had been scolding in a low voice, stopped abruptly. Roardnes' voice was too eerie.
"Did you ask that bastard to get together with Adrienne?"
Bardeinaldo's eyes, which had been filled with stern light, widened. He hesitated, and then his gaze turned to Noebian, who was gasping for breath while trying to stop the blood gushing from his shoulder.
"Is what he said true?"
"Roan, that..."
"I asked if it's true!"
The Crown Prince's eyes grew even wider. It was the first time Roardnes had been so angry with him. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the Crown Prince's eyes sank. At that moment, several knights approached to help Noebian with his treatment.
"Anyone who touches my prey will die a miserable death."
The knights turned pale at Roardnes' low growl.
"Roan, there are many people watching. Let's treat your uncle first, and then I'll..."
"If you don't listen to me right now, you'll return to the palace with your uncle's severed head."
As soon as Roardnes took out a dagger from his pocket, Bardeinaldo's gentle face hardened like stone. His patience didn't last long. Roardnes aimed the dagger at Noebian without hesitation and threw it.
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
The knights who were standing nearby awkwardly rushed forward. The dagger, which had been aimed at Noebian Trovica's neck, was firmly lodged in Bardeinaldo's shoulder. Bardeinaldo had thrown himself to block it. Roardnes felt as if all the blood in his body was draining out. Groaning in pain, Bardeinaldo pushed the knights away and knelt in front of Roardnes. Roardnes stared at the scene as if he were seeing a hallucination. It was a tragic scene where the little sun of this country was kneeling before his most problematic younger brother, the imperial prince.
"Why... why are you doing this?
"Please. Just save my uncle's life. This is my brother's wish. I'll tell you everything you want to know. Please..."
Bardeinaldo begged desperately, his face contorted in pain. If he had just said no or denied it, Roardnes could have killed Noebian Trovica without any regrets and covered it up. Bardeinaldo's pleas and requests burned Roardnes' heart black.
****
In the carriage, where an awkward silence lingered, Bardeinaldo, who had his head bowed like a criminal, opened his mouth as they came into view of the city gates from afar.
"It's all my fault, Roan."
Bardeinaldo lifted his face, which was stained with tears. His face was pale under the moonlight, and his lips were pale. Roardnes blinked slowly as he looked at his shoulder, which was roughly bandaged.
"I didn't know your love for her was so intense. I wasn't in my right mind back then. In the West, I was trying to overthrow the Empress and make Epero the Crown Prince, and in the East, I couldn't bear to be outdone by the West."
The trembling voice of the Crown Prince echoed through the carriage, but Roardnes just stared blankly at Bardeinaldo, who was making excuses, without reacting.
"I thought you just liked the princess, that you had a childish desire to have her."
Roardnes closed his eyes tightly, as if to ignore the heartbreaking excuse.
"...She's not even family."
A hoarse voice, mixed with scorn and a sigh, escaped from beneath his closed eyes.
"She was the first person I've ever received comfort from, even though she wasn't family."
It wasn't just because she was pretty. It wasn't just a childish desire.
"Except for my mother and my brother, she was the first person I wanted to be with."
***
Young Roardnes first saw Adrienne when he was about ten years old. That day was one of the saddest days of Roardnes' life.
"Glory to the departed! Glory to Ronta!"
"Glory to the departed! Glory to Ronta!"
The body of his beautiful mother, Queen Retinia, was laid in a glass coffin surrounded by beautiful flowers. More than a month had passed since this grand funeral had begun, but Roardnes could not accept reality.
"Your Highness, you must never cry."
The nanny quietly and sternly said from behind. Young Roardnes wanted to say, 'How can I not cry when my mother has passed away?', but he kept his mouth shut because Bardeinaldo and other distant royals were also attending the funeral with a stoic expression. Occasionally, there were noblewomen among the mourners who wiped away their tears, but no one wept openly. Roardnes barely managed to suppress his surging sorrow and desperately searched for a place to hide when Bardeinaldo left for a moment. As soon as he hid his small body behind a large statue, tears burst out. His mother, who had been accused of giving birth to a prince with evil eyes, had loved him regardless of what others thought. Bardeinaldo was the same. No matter what people said beyond the palace walls, he was his beloved youngest son and brother.
"Waaaaah!"
He bit his lower lip until it bled and cried loudly for a while, but then he suddenly covered his mouth, startled by a sad cry coming from somewhere.
"Adrienne..."
"Waaaaah!"
The sobbing sound didn't come from his own mouth. Roardnes froze, thinking his own sound had leaked out, and then, startled by the voices of a girl and a boy, he poked his head out from behind the statue. Under the bright sun he had so bitterly resented, a girl with even brighter blonde hair was sobbing.
Her small head, covered in a black bonnet, trembled, and she kept wiping away her tears as if she couldn't help it. Even when her brother, who seemed to be her older brother, hurriedly handed her a handkerchief and held her in his arms, it was of no use. Anyone who saw her would think her mother had died. Even the attendants who had strictly told her to never cry, saying she had to show the dignity of a royal family, couldn't help but smile awkwardly as the girl sobbed pitifully.
"Adrienne, what kind of rudeness is this in front of the Empress?"
"B-but... hic... but..."
When her father, seemingly, spoke sternly, the girl tried not to cry and mumbled. Burying her face in her small hands, she cried for a long time and eventually left the funeral hall in her brother's arms. Roardnes stared blankly at the entrance of the funeral hall until Bardeinaldo returned to his place, following the disappearing image of the girl with his eyes. Perhaps because someone else had cried for him, he didn't realize for a long time that he was no longer crying, so surprised was he.
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