Their only difference is the length of their hair and their clothes.

Looking at the brothers sitting side by side, I think: If they wore the same clothes, it’d be impossible to tell them apart, wouldn’t it? If I had to differentiate between one and the other, I’d say the younger brother Yels.h.i.+ is a bit like an emotionless doll, but that’s still within an acceptable margin of error. If he stepped down from the throne, he would surely have emotions as well.

“I was born in this country.”

Saralegui smiles, holding the hand of the brother he hadn’t seen for thirteen years. Yels.h.i.+ just looks at him wordlessly, though the two of them seem to be able to communicate without words.

“Back then, Father was leading the Shou s.h.i.+maron army, and got injured in the sea nearby, staying in this country to heal his wounds. That was when he and Mother fell in love.”

Saralegui, on the other hand, looks a little shy talking about his own mother’s love life. After all that’s happened, I’m even more surprised at that, who knew he would have that sort of emotion too!

“During that time, my uncle ruled Shou s.h.i.+maron. But when we turned four, as the older brother I had practically no houryoku at all, so I had no choice but to leave the country. You guys might not know this, but quite a few s.h.i.+nzoku children have powerful houryoku. And most would show the symptoms when they were really young. You may not believe this…”

Saralegui laughs as he shrugs, and we, sitting on the other end of the wide table, can only wait for him to continue.

“But children with houryoku, even when they sleep, the bed will float in the air with them.”

“Sure sounds like something out of a horror movie.”

“For all I know, mazoku children have similar experiences. Yuuri, what about you?”

The two people without any maryoku beside me look unconcerned. But when it comes to mazoku who could cause interesting phenomena like that, I can only think of Miss Anissina. But if it was Lady Cherie, it might be something like waking up in the morning, to find a handsome hottie sleeping beside her for some unknown reason, or a ma-powered experience like that.

“But, you can’t leave Seisakoku just because you don’t have houryoku, right? Sure, it’s convenient to have houryoku, but even if you don’t it won’t affect your daily life, will it?”

“In this country…”

Saralegui raises the gla.s.s in front of him to moisten his throat. The skin on his neck is so white it makes me suspect if I can see the grape-colored drink through it. If my mom were to describe it, it’d be like the seaweed in our breakfast miso soup… This simile has been used too many times.

Yels.h.i.+ finishes the liquid in his cup at the same time. Twins are really impressive. I feel that even without houryoku, they should have some other mysterious, natural-born power.

I don’t know what’s that liquid filling the cups, maybe emperors like high cla.s.s grape wine? But I haven’t drunk a sip of it.

“In this country, people who can’t use houjutsu can’t become s.h.i.+nzoku. Our first ancestor was born from the blood of G.o.ds, so anyone who can’t use the houjutsu of the G.o.ds and their followers, will be treated as not a real s.h.i.+nzoku and thus despised by everyone.”

Saralegui states mildly, as though it’s nothing to do with him.

“It doesn’t matter how high your status is, there are no exceptions, only the slaves in this country don’t have houryoku. The opposite is true too, a baby born in a slave family, as long as they have strong houryoku, can get the same treatment as a future citizen. And if they’re willing to serve the country, they may even be promoted to a full-fledged soldier or official—just like the translator standing over there.”

Seeing someone suddenly point his way, the translator almost jumps in surprise, even his eyebrow-shaped white moustache stands on end.

“Because he naturally has the power to translate foreign languages!”

“Eh! Then wouldn’t anyone strong in languages…”

I am irresistibly reminded of Anissina.

“As a young child I had practically no houryoku. When my mother found out about that, she wanted to wipe away my existence. Because she’s a woman with strict demands, if I continued staying in this country, I’d probably have to live with the slaves, huh. Oh, yeah, how is Mother these days?”

Upon hearing Saralegui’s question, Yels.h.i.+ shakes his head, his hand held tightly in Saralegui’s. I can see their lips moving, but their voices don’t reach all the way here.

“Is that right, she’s not doing too well, huh… Then even if you tell here I came, she wouldn’t be able to tell what’s going on, huh? After all in her heart she’s long since gotten rid of her other son.”

“Aren’t you mother and son by birth!?”

I ask without thinking, how can there be such a cruel mother? Saralegui, though, replies noncommittally,

“We’re mother and son, that’s right.”

Just because of that superpower that doesn’t make a difference even if you don’t have it, she doesn’t acknowledge her own child. The society here is just too illogical, isn’t it? Although my mom always sighs, “You are your mother’s child, so you shouldn’t be so unpopular,” but there’s still a small difference in the tone and meaning.

“But Saralegui, why didn’t you mention to me that you were born in Seisakoku? Not only that, back when we were in Shou s.h.i.+maron, didn’t you say that be it your country or yourself, this is your first time contacting Seisakoku?”

This means that throughout that long journey before, he was always lying to me.

“Yuuri, I never lied to you. That’s because all that happened when I was young, so I don’t have any recollection of it myself.”

“Even so, you can’t have been completely out of contact these past thirteen years, right? Not only are you twins, one of you was the prince of your father’s country, and the other was the prince of your mother’s country, right? Even if there’s no diplomatic relation between the two countries, you should at least be able to communicate, right?”

“We did communicate after I ascended the throne, yeah.”

“During that time, Seisakoku was under lockdown, wasn’t it? I say, Sara, if you keep lying like this, careful you don’t become ‘the boy who cried dog’!”

Lord Weller knocks my stomach lightly, whispering,

“Sheep.”

“Eh, is it? Wasn’t it dog?”

“I like dogs! But I like elephants even more~”

“Oh, yeah, there’re elephants too. If you keep lying like this, your nose will grow longer, you know! When it does, then you’ll regret it!”

The men on both sides cover their faces with their hands exasperatedly.

“That’s something else altogether.”

“You guys sure get along well.”

Watching our comedy trio performance, Saralegui smiles lightly. That pair of brothers, though, be it in appearance or personality, they do have a slight difference. Compared to the open and active older brother, the younger brother is obviously much more reserved. Seeing Yels.h.i.+ act so docile and honest, my ‘emperor image’ for the past sixteen years is practically shattering into pieces. But then that quiet little brother suddenly speaks up,

“Actually…”

“Eh? You understand our language?”

I’m taken completely by surprise, turns out Yels.h.i.+ used the aforementioned translation houjutsu. But I feel he’s just an emperor who worked hard to learn foreign cultures. He raises his head to look at us, face to face, and his golden irises suddenly become darker.

“No, communication. Until two years ago. Until now still, lockdown.”

“It’s just as he said, Mother is very strict with her demands. Even if she misses her previous lover, she wouldn’t open relations between the two countries for something as trivial as love.”

Her personality is the complete opposite of our previous Queen, surely the two of them would never get along.

I touch the champagne gla.s.s in front of me lightly, its surface looks moist due to the condensation on the sides. The weather outside is cold and windy, but it’s way too warm inside the palace.

“Saralegui, I really can’t understand… Oh, right, then should I call your younger brother His Majesty the Emperor?”

“I think it doesn’t matter what you call him, right? After all he’s not familiar with the common language.”

That’s what he said, but to call someone I’m not close with by their name directly, I just can’t do that.

“Although we’re of the same age, the basic manners still have to be there. Speaking of which, I just don’t get it, why does Seisakoku have to stay under lockdown? Although your parents are from different countries, but they are still married, right? Isn’t this the best chance to open up your gates?”

After hearing his brother’s reply, Saralegui translates for us,

“It’s probably because they don’t need to import or export. This country has the capability to provide for itself, and they’re really happy with the way things are, too.”

“…But, changed.”

Yels.h.i.+ seems to reply immediately after his older brother. Although it’s just a few simple words, his tone carries an unwavering determination.

“Now isn’t Mother’s era anymore.”

“That’s right, Yels.h.i.+, from now on it’s our era!”

The twin brothers hold each other’s shoulders lightly.

“From now on it’s your and my era! We don’t need Father or Mother to intervene, the era of Shou s.h.i.+maron and Seisakoku is upon us. Although there’s still Dai s.h.i.+maron behind us, but as long as you and I are as one, that era will come soon enough.”

The younger brother listens to his older brother’s words, nodding in approval.

Watching this scene in front of me, I get an odd feeling, as though I’m watching clones in a prank. Are they really separate beings? It couldn’t be that there’s a giant mirror in front of Saralegui, could it? I keep feeling as though one of them is a reflection, lacking depth and warmth, while the other is the real person…

“You see.”

The younger brother stands up suddenly, holding his brother’s hand as he walks across the room and opens the large window, revealing a balcony that allows us to enjoy the courtyard below. Our gazes follow his downwards, and see an armed platoon walk into the square.

Turns out they’re fully armed soldiers, more than one thousand or two thousands of them. The squad stretches past the wide center court, all the way out of the large gates. The silver armor and unsheathed weapons, under the last rays of the setting sun, sparkle bright red, looking just like the color of blood.

Seeing their Emperor appear together with Saralegui, the atmosphere on the scene immediately boils over, not only do they hammer their swords, spears, s.h.i.+elds and other metallic weapons, they also start loudly praising their king.

With, Yels.h.i.+, between his fingers!

With, Yels.h.i.+, between his fingers!

I’m shocked by their earth-shaking and pa.s.sion—

“S-sorry, no matter how I listen I still hear them yelling, ‘between his fingers’.”

No matter how touching it is, the effect is dampened by that kind of slogan.

“That’s what foreign languages are like.”

Josak, who’s long since used to foreign cultures, knocks me on the back and says,

“Thank goodness it just sounds like between his fingers, don’t you agree, Young Master?”

“That’s right, stuff like that normally can’t be said in front of people.”

Yels.h.i.+’s excited face is reddened, as he waves back at everyone indulgingly. Saralegui watches him wave from the side, basking in his glory, then turns around to look my way and says,

“Lord Weller, seems like the truths you must report to Dai s.h.i.+maron have expanded a little more.”

The Dai s.h.i.+maron amba.s.sador who was called out, wordlessly waits for him to continue.

“You can tell Berard the Second: Shou s.h.i.+maron and Seisakoku join forces, ama.s.sing a huge military power. But first you must be able to go back and report that.”

With that he grabs the emperor’s arm, and forcefully pulls him into the room. The yells of ‘With, Yels.h.i.+, between his fingers!’ rage on, and don’t seem to be stopping any time soon.

“And then tell him: Shou s.h.i.+maron have negotiated with s.h.i.+n Makoku, and signed a deal with the mazoku. But first you have to see if you can report that too, of course! Oh, yeah, Yuuri—”

“Waa! Mn, w-what’s the matter?”

Unconsciously I had gotten caught up in the atmosphere, so when I reply I stutter a little.

Saralegui continues smiling that smile I saw when we first met, and then he puts his hand on the table. Underneath his slender white fingers is a pale blue piece of paper.

“As the king of Shou s.h.i.+maron, I hope to sign a contract with His Majesty the 27th Maou of s.h.i.+n Makoku.”

The two of them are even equal in height, and when they stand together, the two faces are at the exact same height. The older brother’s mouth curves into a brilliant smile, while the younger brother appraises me and the paper on the table seriously. Seeing their completely different att.i.tudes, that’s when I really feel it deeply, ‘Ah~ The two of them really are separate individuals.’

Maybe it’s so he can read the tiny writing, Saralegui is wearing his gla.s.ses even indoors. As long as they’re covered with those pale-colored gla.s.ses, I can’t see the original color of his eyes.

“Shou s.h.i.+maron does not wish for the relations.h.i.+p with the mazoku to worsen. I hope that as long as we don’t interfere with each other’s territory, we can maintain a semi-permanent, peaceful relations.h.i.+p, do you agree?”

“That really is… more than I can hope for.”

If Saralegui’s sincere about it, that would be a miracle ball directly in the strike zone.

If he’s sincere…

“Then please sign here.”

Saralegui scrutinizes the tiny-worded doc.u.ment from top to bottom, his beautiful finger stopping on an empty box at the very bottom.

“Then I’ll start.”

A servant with no sense of presence respectfully offers the stationary. He acts as though he’s offering some great gift, but all that lies in his palms, held together, is a pen. Saralegui takes it and signals for him to leave, then grabs the gla.s.s on the table and smashes it, using the gla.s.s shard to cut open his pinky unhesitatingly.

“Your turn, Yuuri.”

“Alright, wait a…”

“This is too premature.”

Lord Weller suddenly interrupts. To the suzerain of Shou s.h.i.+maron—Dai s.h.i.+maron, if their va.s.sal state were to sign a treaty on their own, it would definitely cause them a lot of trouble.

“Your Majesty Saralegui, if you don’t give the other party a chance to confirm the contents and think about it closely before forcing them to sign, it’s not impossible for the other party to declare the contract null in the future.”

“You sure are desperate, aren’t you, Lord Weller?”

The king of Shou s.h.i.+maron can’t help but laugh out loud, and then he hands the pen and doc.u.ment to me.

“Do you think that if you step out to stop him, Yuuri won’t sign this contract?”

Saralegui’s words have double meanings as he stops Lord Weller, after all he’s seen some certain things that happened on the s.h.i.+p. I, on the other hand, wanted to take the pen and sign, but maybe it’s because I’m too nervous, but I tried and failed twice in a row.

“No, you’re wrong, I won’t give up signing just because a certain someone stops me. But right now someone has stopped me, so I won’t sign before I understand the contents of the contract. W-wait a while for me, I’ll just look through the contract once. I’ll confirm the contents first, if there’s anything illogical in the contents, won’t it be a pain later?”

This isn’t a record card of a compet.i.tion, neither is it the name list for tomorrow’s starting lineup, but it’s an important doc.u.ment regarding the fate of an entire country. That’s why I need to take my time and read it carefully, it doesn’t matter even if you want me to stay up all night.

But my gaze following the tiny words immediately stops.

“Your Majesty?”

I stare at Josak, his expression full of suspicion.

“What a bother… This is written in the Seisakoku language.”

In front of me is nothing but foreign words I’ve never seen before. If it was the common language we used, I can still pick out the words I understand. But these unique handwritten words that look like a montage of a bird flying presented in simple lines, to someone like me who doesn’t know translation maryoku, it might take a fairly long time to decipher. Save me, Miss Anissina!

“How can I possibly understand this? Why isn’t it written in our usual language, but written instead in a language only this land uses?”

“It"s so that Seisakoku, as an impartial third party, can serve as a witness in the peace treaty between both countries. That"s why I had the draft written in this country"s language. I had it written like this so that Emperor Yels.h.i.+ can serve as a witness. I didn’t think that you wouldn’t bring a translator with you, but after all it turned out like this because of a sudden twist in events, so it can’t be helped. If you’re okay with it, shall I recite it for you?”

“A-anyway please read the basic outline for me, later I will borrow a dictionary and slowly look it up.”

I raise my right hand to press against my temple, my headache’s getting worse and worse. Maybe my actions surprised him, because Saralegui chuckles lightly before reading out the basic outline of the doc.u.ment.

“It’s basically like this: Shou s.h.i.+maron and s.h.i.+n Makoku will henceforth be equals, there will be no difference in status between the two…”

Just then there’s suddenly the ‘ker-dong’ of a chair falling. Everyone’s gazes gather on the young Emperor Yels.h.i.+, who’s standing there motionlessly, his originally white face now even more bloodless.

“It can’t be, right?”

“Yels.h.i.+?”

He grips his fist tightly, saying through shaking lips,

“It can’t be… Sara, didn’t you say the mazoku… were to obey… Shou s.h.i.+maron…”

“Yels.h.i.+, it’s not like that!”

“But…”

“Hey, Sara, what are you guys saying?”

Breaking free from his brother’s grasp, the younger brother bends over and reaches his hand out to s.n.a.t.c.h away the doc.u.ment. The gla.s.s is knocked aside by the impact, the liquid inside spilling all over the tablecloth, dampening the pale blue sides, and then rapidly spreading.

“But, isn’t this so that Sara’s country can be strongest power, that’s why… Ah!”

Before Yels.h.i.+’s hand can touch the doc.u.ment, he loses his balance and falls to his knees. He holds the left side of his face, raising his head to look at his older brother with a gaze of disbelief. Turns out Saralegui gave him a slap, but he immediately kneels down, putting his hand on his younger brother’s shaking shoulders, and another hand plastered to his younger brother’s swollen red cheek, caressing it lightly,

“Yels.h.i.+, I didn’t hit you because I hate you, please forgive your older brother, I was just scared by your pure heart. I’m so scared I’ll lose the younger brother I finally got back just like that.”

Saralegui keeps comforting his younger brother, who’s even more pure and straightforward than he is. Finally the younger brother seems to understand his older brother’s intentions, and nods lightly.

“I’m not, angry.”

“Thank goodness.”

The younger brother’s hands fall to his sides, and he doesn’t touch his face any more. Poor thing, surely the damage dealt to his heart, must be a lot of intense than the physical pain.

But now I finally understand the contents of the contract, so I must thank His Majesty the Emperor for that.

“Sara—”

“Please don’t hate me, Yels.h.i.+.”

Josak purposely clears his throat, as though he’s interrupting a conversation between lovers.

“I’ll clarify this beforehand.”

The spy says “After all letting outsiders see your brotherly conflict isn’t very nice” as an opening, and then explains a little about foreign culture.

“The two of you should be real grateful you’re s.h.i.+nzoku. If you were mazoku, this would have become a marriage proposal between twins—and then we’d be in a legendary complicated situation… What a bother, they don’t understand.”

The s.h.i.+nzoku brothers act all unconcerned about it. I lower my head, watching the way they protect each other and seem to get along so well, and, thinking that something’s really wrong about this, I ask in a serious tone,

“Saralegui, what on earth is written there?”

The surface of the paper I grab is rather smooth, it should count as high quality paper in this world, huh. Since it’s for a contract, of course they’d use high quality paper! But this piece of paper has been dyed purple from the right corner to the middle.

“Can’t you say it, Saralegui?”

The Shou s.h.i.+maron king’s signature has been stained beyond recognition.

“Yuuri, what he said just now was fake. Yels.h.i.+ isn’t that familiar with diplomatic matters, he thought the draft we did beforehand was the final product.”

“Don’t kid with me!”

“It’s true, I’m not kidding, you know! This contract…”

“The truth is nothing you said about what’s in there is true, right!?”

The white fingers grab the table cloth forcefully. Those lips, as beautiful as flower petals, twist due to the change in his emotions. Those irises staring straight at me, because of the pale-colored gla.s.ses, their color can’t be determined. So I’ve been completely fooled by this honest-looking appearance, of someone who’s similar in age to me and yet cheerfully working his best to rule a large country. But now that I really think about, it was all probably his act.

I wasn’t betrayed, I was conned.

This is all my fault for being too stupid.

“I don’t know what kind of tricks you played, but you brothers are in it together to trick me into signing an equality treaty, so you guys can have all the benefits, right? Because you know that the king of s.h.i.+n Makoku is a big, stupid rookie. That’s right, I’m as stupid as a rookie, but I never thought that you’d look down on me that much, and you still think I’ll be fooled by your simple tricks, I truly feel so bad I wanna cry!”

Just then there’s the sound of what might be Josak unsheathing his sword. That was the first threat.

“But, so sorry, Saralegui. Even if your plan succeeded, and I accidentally signed on that stained piece of paper, s.h.i.+n Makoku won’t idiotically obey that contract. After I go back, there are many, more capable people who can take my place.”

“I don’t mind that, Yuuri.”

Saralegui raises his chin, his hands on his hips as he stands crookedly. There’s even an arrogant smile on his lips, the piteous look from before long gone. The one before me, is a c.o.c.ky, unwavering, yet earthly king. Although he’s just a teenager, his smile now makes him feel old and cunning.

“Even if those ministers you’re so proud of go against the contract, I don’t mind, because then I can use this excuse to declare war. If s.h.i.+n Makoku deny the contents of the contract and start a war themselves, even better. This way we won’t be criticized by the other countries, and we can start a war with our heads held high, so we’ll definitely win.”

“You…”

“I won’t be as daft as Father’s generation, signing that sort of half-a.s.sed contract. If it was me, I’d definitely beat the other side up until they can never rise again.”

My stomach starts heating up, until I feel like smoke will billow out from my ears. Not only am I angry at Saralegui, whose att.i.tude has made a completely one-eighty, but I’m also angry at myself for being fooled by this guy’s flowery words. I naturally lower my voice,

“In your plan, how did you mean to deal with me?”

The boy whose parents are a king and queen respectively, says the scary words unhesitatingly.

“I planned for you to die, y’know!”

After saying that softly, he takes back the doc.u.ment in my hands. He reads it again, lamenting the failure of his plan. But he looks very happy.

“My plan was to let you die in a little accident after signing the contract—the seas around us are just like that torrent, so nothing’s impossible. But that was the initial plan, after sailing with you, I changed my mind. Because I found out that the Maou really is very interesting. So I planned to leak the false information of your unfortunate death, and then keep you here.”

He sighs in a tone of endless regret,

“I wanted to keep you as a pet.”

Although that sounds like his sincere thoughts, but he is after all the man made out of lies, so not a single word he says should be true.

“As long as s.h.i.+n Makoku thinks you’re dead, things will go as I said, your ministers or the next king would probably immediately declare war, huh? Even if the truth leaks out, and they know you’re still alive, then you’ll still be the best hostage possible.”

“Too bad, Saralegui, but I won’t be killed or imprisoned!”

The Shou s.h.i.+maron king, immersed in his dastardly plot, reaches his hand for me lightly. The neatly manicured pale pink nails slide down my cheek to my chin.

“Yuuri, it’s not too late to turn back now. It doesn’t matter even if you know the plan, don’t you want to work together with me? All you have to do is sign on the contract, and I’ll let you go back, then you just have to convince those mazoku. This way you can maintain that peace you want, and can get a portion of the power. What do you think? Not a bad plan, right?”

“You want s.h.i.+n Makoku to become a va.s.sal state of Shou s.h.i.+maron?”

“That’s right. Not only Shou s.h.i.+maron, but even the Seisakoku that you see will eventually become mine. Do you know what power this country has? Manpower and houseki in abundance, so there’s no shortage of soldiers and weapons. And most of the people here are excellent houjutsu users; as for the slaves that usually can’t be used, I just have to train them to use the sword, then they should be able to work as disposable p.a.w.ns on the battlefield. This country itself is an endless treasure trove, Yuuri.”

Kneeling on the ground, Yels.h.i.+’s expression suddenly brightens, maybe it’s because he put together the words he can understand, and misunderstood that Saralegui is praising his country, huh? If he can understand this completely, he would probably be very disappointed in his older brother’s words.

“Of course you can continue being your Maou, and you can be the king of the second largest country in the world, too. If you want, the Weia Islands that belong to Shou s.h.i.+maron, and that annoying Hyscliff land can all go to you. As long as our three countries work together, then even Dai s.h.i.+maron wouldn’t dare try anything. And then that would be our era—one where no one gets hurt, the era that belongs to us.”

“That isn’t our era!”

The bottom of my spine suddenly heats up, my ears whirring in rhythm with my accelerating heartbeat.

“Saralegui, that’s just your own delusions.”

I suddenly feel as though the friends.h.i.+p I felt from this man, is already a thing of the distant past. And all of it was a lie, there was never any friends.h.i.+p between us.

“Too bad, but usually it’s the Maou who makes that offer to the hero. The pattern is the same in every game. Do you know why?”

I knock Saralegui"s finger off my chin.

"Because it"s fun that way."

In the back I hear the "clink" sound of the handle hitting the sheath again. That was the second threat.

“Saralegui, your plan isn’t fun in the slightest, it’s too self-centered. I want to quit, I can’t go along with Shou s.h.i.+maron"s game.”

The threat this time finally forces Sara to snap his fingers for the servants and soldiers awaiting orders in the room. Including those completely unarmed, there are at most less than twenty of them. With these numbers alone they shouldn’t be Josak’s match—as long as Lord Weller doesn’t fight as our enemy. Also, as long as I don’t lose control and go on a rampage like a bawling baby out of rage.

That’s the most dangerous thing. There’s a special kind of pain near my lower abdomen. Before it rushes up my spine and controls my brain, I must find a way to suppress it with my own power—take deep breaths, try to break apart the gathering power.

“I don’t think that these few people can take you down either. Besides, I even let that exceptionally strong guard of yours carry a weapon and attend, so of course I made other preparations beforehand!”

The boy king turns around and gives his kneeling little brother the warmest smile, holding out a hand to help him to his feet, and calls his name in a gentle voice.

“Yels.h.i.+.”

And then he gives an order in the language we don’t understand.

“This child is an excellent houjutsu user, and it’s because he has houryoku, that he was chosen as Mother’s heir. He could use the houjutsu to control houseki however he liked even when he was just an infant.”

Just then, there’s an intense pain in my right pinky, as though it’s about to be bent in half at the roots.

“What…”

“Your Majesty!?”

I hear Josak and Conrad yelling my name, as I slump into kneeling on the ground. Completely unable to stand, I carefully look between the fingers I’m gripping tightly, only to see the pale red ring I’m wearing on my right pinky emit a faint light, while the pain it brings is even more intense than its glow.

The screams I can’t suppress leak out through my tightly clenched teeth.

“Your Majesty! Take it off, quickly!”

I grip my pinky and ring finger tightly, bending my back to hold the part the hurts. The insides of my eyeb.a.l.l.s keep heating up in their sockets, the tears even flying out, and then someone says in my ear, “It’ll be easier if you yell”, but I can’t tell anymore if it was Conrad or Josak.

“Have you forgotten, Yuuri? We’re friends, so we exchanged the ring and necklace. I took my long-estranged mother’s houseki to trade with your maseki. That’s the ring my beloved mother, who despised me and pretended I didn’t exist, left for me, you know! No matter how you look at it, I still think this maseki of yours is more valuable.”

Saralegui takes the blue maseki down from around his neck, solemnly untangling the hair that wrapped around it, and then dangles it at eye-level,

“So pretty. There’s even something like a crest engraved on it.”

My tears drip in front of my knees.

“But I don’t need it anymore.”

He’s just like a kid who got tired of a toy, throwing the maseki and the stone away, All I see is the maseki reflecting the newly-risen moonlight, sparkling once before falling out the window. And I can only watch it disappear in despair, only watch as that maseki that I kept hanging in front of my chest for so long disappear from sight.

“I advise you to take that ring as soon as possible, too! Don’t worry about me.”

“…How do I… remove…”

No matter how I pull and tug at it, that coral-like ring just won’t budge from my pinky. The skin around it has already been tugged at until the skin broke, bleeding. Saralegui, who knew this would happen, laughs,

“Easy, just chop off your finger with it.”

Right then I want to do just that, so my hand reaches for Conrad’s sword. But he grabs me immediately, forcing me to give up that notion.

“You can’t!”

There’s no time to listen to him, so I quickly turn around, and reach my hand out for Josak’s short sword, right then he has his arm around my back. But he doesn’t stop me, instead roaring at Saralegui,

“Is it that emperor’s doing? Is that guy doing something to the stone!?”

Yels.h.i.+, obeying his brother’s orders, approaches me unconcernedly, looking at my expression of pain with one of disbelief. He pushes his hair behind his ear in the same movement as Saralegui’s, touching my shoulder with his fingertip, seemingly shocked. Although my pain doesn’t stop increasing, I still can’t help but respect the fact that even the color of their fingernails is the same.

I get up with a speed so fast even I can’t believe it, pulling out the sword at Josak’s waist, pointing the tip at Yels.h.i.+’s throat. But even in the face of this situation, he still has a clueless expression on his face, like a newborn lamb who doesn’t know what fear is.

“Yuuri, do you want to kill me? You, who was always so gentle, want to kill him?”

Hearing Saralegui’s words, the few Seisakoku soldiers pull out their swords and get into their stances in unison. It’s okay whatever they want to do, after all Conrad will help me deal with them.

“Your Majesty, allow me.”

“N-no… We can’t.”

I shake my head continuously. But not at Josak, at my own inner thoughts. He is after all the emperor of this country, if anything happens to him, then what!?

“Stop!”

As I yell that out loud, I throw away the sword as well. Only killing him will get me out of this torture, and to break free from that temptation, I need an immense effort. The clanging of metal rings out in the tense atmosphere.

“Don’t… kill him…”

I order myself again, but without someone to support me and my feet stumbling over each other, I fall back a few steps.

“Your Majesty!”

There isn’t a wall behind me, and the balcony railing I finally touch is round and thick, so my fingers, scalding hot with pain, can’t get a grip on them at all. In that second I could still wonder how many stories this is, but before I get an answer, my entire body is already flying mid-air.

It won’t hurt anymore.

All that’s left is to fall, just like that time.