[ PRESENT TIME ]
"So? Still nothing?"
For the rest who had always known Conan's father was just within their reach, they had no conscience in keeping him in the dark. Aries was the only person who had always intended to tell Conan, but the reason she hadn't told him until now was that she was waiting for the right time.
"What…" Conan moved his dilated eyes to Aries, still stunned at this surprise he didn't expect or wanted. "What is he doing here?"
"As you can see, he is still… recovering," explained Aries, setting her eyes back to the bed. "When Sunny arrived in Haimirich, she wasn't alone."
"He's been here that long?"
"We couldn't tell you — I think you already why."
Conan slowly curled his hands into a fist, clenching his teeth until his jaw tightened. He could feel his heart racing, making him almost out of breath.
"Why did she bring him here?" he breathed out, barely controlling his body from shaking.
"According to her, this man is Tilly — Abel's sister — friend. Sunny helped him because of their friendship and took him here. By his condition, we all agreed to assume the new monarch took the bloody way of overthrowing the throne," she detailed, followed by more important details of what Aries was aware of, avoiding adding more of her own assumptions since they weren't confirmed yet.
"There were many things we had yet uncovered, but what we are certain of was a little girl saved this man, and another cruel person rose to power." Aries slowly faced Conan; the latter didn't move an inch from his spot. "And that person, Maximus IV, your brother, is coming to Haimirich for reasons we do not know."
Conan kept his gaze on Aries, swallowing down the frustrating tension in his throat.
"She shouldn't have saved him," he said, dragging his feet inside until he was standing a meter from her. "She should've let him kill him."
Aries opened her lips but shut them again. She looked away from him, setting her eyes back to the man on the bed.
"I am not sure of the roots of your resentment toward this man, but I think Sunny made the right call. My gut feeling tells me we'll need him at one point, and my gut instinct never failed me, Conan." Her expression turned stiff as her breathing calmed down.
Conan gulped once more, holding his trembling fist to his side firmly. "If you kept this a secret from me, why are you telling me this now?"
"Obviously, because it is your blood kin that is about to cause a problem with mine." She cast him a sidelong glance. "I vowed to protect Haimirich and my people in it, and that includes you. I think we've kept it a secret long enough, and it is time for you to face this truth regardless of the personal vendetta you had against them."
"Moreover, I need you more than anyone right now," she continued, and this time, her tone was softer. "Abel knew them — those in the mainland — but his obsession for thrills had become a part of his existence. Sunny? just knew a thing or two and what she says was all there was. No one else in this empire knows about the mainland and the royal family more than you."
Aries slowly pivoted on her heel to face him squarely. "Fighting someone is not the problem, but fighting without knowing the enemy is dangerous. I… cannot afford to lower my guards." She nodded her head encouragingly.
"Help me… protect Haimirich, our friends, and our family."
Aries and Conan stared at each other in silence. The longer he looked at her, the more his fist eventually loosened as his tensed shoulders relaxed.
"Did you figure I would've sundered the filth of his form if you didn't ask me to leave my sword behind?" he asked, peeling his eyes from her to the man sleeping on the bed. "If only I had my sword, I would've split his shoulders from his spine."
"We wouldn't keep it a secret this long if we're not aware of what you could do to a defenseless man."
"Defenseless… life is hauntingly amazing. Once noble, now unbowed." The side of his lips curled up in ridicule; this was the least he could do to express his resentment to his father. "A place where he was excellence… he was marred, betrayed by his own noble ideas he would've served."
Aries peeked at him silently, pressing her lips into a thin line. His eyes were sharp and bore deep malice, revealing his disdain toward his own father. She didn't know the roots of his hatred, and she might not know the real reason for it in this lifetime. It was not like she was ready to hear how this deep grudge was formed.
"For now, we'll keep him and perhaps use him as leverage," Aries spoke after her prolonged silence. "Even though we had an idea, the mainland may have plans to lower the walls that had protected their lands. There may be more underlying plans we have yet to uncover. It's better to use everything — small or big — to its maximum potential."
"I won't kill him," reassured Conan, since that was what she was indirectly telling him. He turned his head to Aries, bearing a firm expression. "Giving him a release of death is mercy. It's better to see him so defenseless and have no control over his life. It's satisfying when someone who was so full of himself, and thought everything should adhere to his words, reaches this pathetic point in their life."
"That's reassuring to hear," she whispered, staying with Conan for several more minutes.
The two of them just stood on the same spot, staring at the person on the bed in silence. After a moment, Aries excused herself to return to her post. Reluctance was apparent in her eyes, but she chose to trust Conan and his level of rationality to control his urges to kill his father.
Standing alone beside the bed, Conan kept his eyes on his father. He looked just the same as how he had last seen him.
"You… are so lucky." His quiet voice pierced the still air. "But I guess that damn son of yours is luckier. I'm so envious he was able to hurt you this much."
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