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Then I turned my head calmly to face the sight I had looked away from a while ago. I stared at Soricks who was behind the screaming man, desperately hoping that he would wake up but he did not. I must have unintentionally shown a sorrowful expression because without warning, Castor grabbed my head and turned it towards him.

“Since you told me that you liked me, I’ll listen to what you want. What do you want me to do?”

“D-don’t kill them please.”

‘Should I kill them?’ was what he seemed to be asking.

“Brother, you said that they have sinned. T-they must have been very bad people. That’s why you locked them up and didn’t give them any food. For a few days, I… I’ve tried not eating for a few days, it was really really hard and I got a sore throat afterwards. So I think they’ve suffered enough! Yeah?”

I did not want to see anyone die because of me anymore. No matter how hard he tried to kill me or strangle me, he could pay for his crime with something else. And also please just get me out of here. I prayed earnestly.

However, when I met his gaze instinctually I knew that would never happen. Castor flashed me a smile.

“Still, they did things that twisted and threatened to pull you down.”

“… Ah.”

“You’re afraid of me.”

As if I was being swept by a cold spell, goosebumps travelled down my spine.

“I’m sure one of them has said something bad about me. Don’t you think so? You said you liked me so tell me all the slander you’ve heard about me.”

“Ah, n-no, there was none.”

What was he talking about? He was the one who sent me there. He knew best that if he had not let me go there, Soricks would not have told me about you! He knew that I would have never been strangled if I had not been sent there.

It was too difficult to not show my anger. However, as I trembled, I maintained my smile and hid all the feelings that had piled up with a mask.

“I-I mean, brother, you were the one who sent me there. It’s fine since brother, you’re the one who sent me there, no? You told me to get you the Necklace of Skelos. I-I can get it for you if I just had a little more time.”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to.”

He whispered unbelievably softly.

I tried to look and see if the voice I heard in my ears truly belonged to Castor but when I stepped back, he pulled me back in.

“I’ve been watching.”

Castor rested his hand on my cheek before removing the patch I had placed on my scar.

“I did not feel very good when I heard that you got hurt. I wonder why.”

His long and scarless hand rested on my bare cheek.

“It must be because you were being tortured by someone who was not me.”

“…..”

“I didn’t know that I would like you this much.”

That was a lie. That was a complete lie. No one I ever knew would confess their like for another with such a cold and indifferent look. He liked me? Then why did he keep driving me to the brink with his unexpected actions? Obviously this was another one of his whims and another effect of his madness.

I was a doll hooked to a line swaying with the wind and I knew that Castor was only going to keep moving further away from me. He was someone who would whisper favourable words while pointing his sword at me at the same time.

This could not happen.

“Brother, hold on, wait. There’s something I really have to say!”

“I can hear it later.”

The sword rose to the sky and hung over the head of the nameless man. There was no one else in this room other than me and Castor.

‘No.’

Please. Anyone with good still left in their hearts, please stop this hellish madness. Please. As soon as I got up and got ready to run, the door opened vigorously.

No, more like it was destroyed upon entry.

“Your Highness!”

I wanted to wail and cry but I turned around with my eyes dry and saw a man standing firmly like a rock.

It was Hernan.

“Forgive my discourtesy, your Highness!”

And he was with Granius.

While I tried to come up with plausible reasons why they came here together, Granius fell on his knees.

“I forced the Duke to let me enter. I was being rude.”

Granius who was at least two heads bigger than Castor prostrated deeply at Castor’s feet. Following his movements, his long sleeves dragged on the floor.

“I had been surprised to hear that two of my children have been captured and brought to this place for no reason.”

“Aedile.”

“How could I not be punished for showing disrespect to the First Branch of the Empire. However, did you know that the Templar, Soricks, the one you brought to this Soletarium, is one of my distant relatives?” (1)

The smile that had been pleasantly hanging on his face till a little while ago disappeared and only dissatisfaction was left. Castor answered as he slowly lowered his sword.

“Well, I didn’t know.”

Rather than really not knowing, it sounded more like he knew but he chose to ignore it.

“Do I need to be interrupted when I’m punishing a sinner?”

Castor relaxed his expression and smiled as he lowered his gaze. The sight of the blade swaying mindlessly as if there was nothing around him suited what I thought of him well.

“Though I do not know what is going on here but I believe my distant relative has not done anything to warrant him being called a sinner.”

Granius spoke with his head bowed.

“Since Soricks is a templar, only a god can condemn him for his sins and god commit no sins.”

“I don’t know why I’m being questioned in my own palace.”

But Granius was not deterred and continued.

“Your Highness, I am Aedile of the Soletarium, someone who devotes all their energy to the administration of the capital and the security of the people’s lives. Could you please take my hard work into consideration and let them go? I shall then vow my unwavering loyalty to you.”

“I’m not accepting it.”

The gold in his eyes swirled around as if caught by a tornado. I could easily recognise the impossibly intangible power of Castor wrapping around and tightening its hold on Granius’ large body. But Granius remained silent and demanded the release of Soricks without letting out any details even when he broke out in cold sweat. Finally, Castor grimaced.

“Granius Sotenzium.”

Castor pressed and rubbed his face with his hand that was not holding the sword.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if the white-haired Duke just remained where he was. Well, how could he fight against your large body?”

For the first time, his forehead was wrinkled and irritation clouded his face, evident that this did not work out as he intended.

“Your Highness.”

“Speak.”

“The reason why I did not pledge allegiance to Your Highness’ or His Highness, the 2nd Prince’s faction was because I was thinking of you, Your Highness.”

“So?”

“I thought that one day, if I had waited, you would come back. I kept my seat waiting for that day to come. I was your teacher after all.”

With his head still lowered, Granius seemed to be gritting his teeth. The fact that Granius used to teach Castor was new information for me.

“I will protect the Princess.”

… What? Instinctively, I looked at Granius.

‘Why was my name popping up here?’

I removed my eyes from Granius who remained still and upright like a bamboo tree and turned to Castor. His smile had been completely wiped off and nothing was left on his face.

Then, Castor closed his eyes for a while before smiling like a naughty child who found something new to play with.

“Could you say that you understand the Princess completely?”

“I don’t understand her as much as I understand you but I would think so.”

Even with Castor’s sneer, Granius replied calmly.

“She’s someone who is going to be completely ruined by you. Do you want to ruin another, just like what you did to the 4th Prince?”

I could feel a sorrowful tone in the voice I would always hear affection from and it felt terrible.

For a short glimpse, I saw his completely broken younger self. Before it was too late, his God had moved into his heart to keep Granius intact…

His brown eyes that had been through the passage of time had been lowered for a while before facing Castor with the openness of the ocean.

“First, the Princess alone is not enough to move me. Your Highness, it has been a long time since I had accepted God into me…”

The silent Granius lowered his head.

“The amount of time I held my breath waiting for you to turn around has been very long.”

A gust of wind blew.

“I can no longer stand watching your cruelty.”

“Then, what do you plan on doing?”

The hem of the Aedile’s white toga fluttered behind his back. Like a statue guarding its temple, he had been keeping his seat for a while but now, being pushed off a sheer cliff, he was saying goodbye to his student that he taught long ago.

“From today onwards, my God will be pledging allegiance to the Soleta Palace, the 2nd Prince.”

With his eyes shut tight, Granius said.

“Under His Highness, the Princess will never be able to become a full-grown adult. I will help the Princess on behalf of the two whom God was unable to save so long ago. Please, forgive your teacher who was lacking… Hopefully, I could give you my last advice as a templar.”

For some strange reason, at that moment, instead of Granius, Castor was staring at me.

“Your Highness, please stop what you are doing now.”

As he listened to his teacher’s last advice to him, he looked at me with a mixture of boredom and another unknown emotion. But then he lowered his gaze and moved his lips for a little while before his expression from before and the whispers he chanted disappeared into the air. I did not hear what he was mumbling.

“Well, if that’s what you think, go ahead. I am so sad to know that my teacher will be gone from today onwards… Aedile, I mean Sir Granius.”

“…..”

“I’ve been wondering who to place the responsibility on for this incident but did you think the child was this pretty?”

“I did not say that.”

Grinning, Castor raised his sword with a gentle expression on his face.

“It seems like my younger sister whom I only cherish has been manipulated by Sir Granius.”

He then stopped talking for a while to look at me.”

“This child who followed you instead fell into the hands of an old sly fox and was swung back and forth before being forced to stay in such a humble place.”

A brief flutter of emotion passed by his face and surprisingly, he looked like he was pitying me.

“That’s what old people tend to do. They’re such messy people who want to pluck pretty flowers and use them to decorate their belly. I like and care about my younger sister a lot, you see. I don’t want to leave such a child in your dirty hands and so, I no longer want to see you again in the future.”

He tilted his head before looking down at me and smiling languidly.

“Well, then it’d be best I kill you.” (2)

Everyone who was here and awake looked at him in surprise.

‘W-what is he saying?’

Goosebumps.

I no longer have my diary so that meant I would not live because there would be no time loop. Why now? Why?

Why are my deaths always because of some ridiculous reason?

It happened all at once. Granius got up and tried to protect me but Castor kicked him aside with his food and dashed towards me. It was already too late to dodge when all I could see was the sword flying in front me and his golden eyes flashing by like a mirage.

Hold on, I always thought I would be crying and wailing for my life when I reached the end but there were no tears. If I was going to die just like this, what was the point of surviving all this while? I would die if the sword so much as touched my neck. Now, when I died, I would no longer regress!

I shut my eyes.

Clang.

I could hear the sound of sharp objects striking each other. When my eyes opened again, I was breathing hard whilst being embraced by something white and soft.

“Haa. Haa.”

The firm and warm person was holding me tightly as if they would never let go. The scent of a sweet and soft blanket. In other words, it smelled cozy. When everything cleared up, I noticed the while hair against the light.

“Please stop, Your Highness.”

An exhausted voice could be heard from above my head.

“…. You said you wouldn’t do this anymore.”

It was a voice I never thought I could hear so close so quickly. As I was being held in his tight embrace, I realised that it was Hernandez who saved me.

T/N:

(1): I’ll be changing the address from ‘Xth Imperial Child of the Empire’ to ‘Xth Branch of the Empire.’

(2): To anyone who’s confused, Granius wants to keep the Princess under his wing but Castor did not like that and instead of doing anything sensible he decided that killing ash was the easiest way for that not to happen. 5head behaviour only