Chapter 50

Chapter 50 – Justification and Betrayal (2)

※Note: This is another POV-version of chapter 46!

Distria pressed down on Acacia’s healing wounds. He raised his fingertips and pressed against the delicate part, and squeezed it. He could see the aching pain and the blood flowing. Distria’s dry gaze reached Acacia. His lips opened.

“I don’t like that there are things I don’t know.”

“….”

“Say it.”

“…… What do you mean?”

Acacia’s calm gaze collided with Distria’s gaze. Distria smiled brightly. He covered his eyes with one hand. The moment he lowered his hand, Distria’s eyes became ferocious. In a lower voice that contained anger, he questioned Acacia.

“What have you been doing?”

“…… taking a walk.”

—CRASH

Distria lifted the bottle of wine and struck Acacia on the shoulder. It happened in an instant. Remnants of the wine bottle splashed on the floor. Red liquid poured down his shoulder. Whether it was blood or wine, it was unknown. Acacia looked down at his right shoulder, studded with glass. Acacia tightened his arms, clenching and opening his fists repeatedly. He felt his tendons tighten and stopped his action.

“…… That’s all I did.”

“You make me look like an idiot.”

Distria scoffed. He grabbed Acacia’s neck. He gave more force and knocked Acacia down. Pieces of broken bottles were lodged behind Acacia’s back. Acacia could not feel much agitation in the great pain.

Acacia was just worried. What will happen if Distria finds out that he is, entirely, helping Arne? Quite a long time has passed. Acacia did not open his lips. Feeling the blood draining out of his body, Acacia thought of death. Even before his death, he worried about Arne.

Acacia knew he could defeat Distria. He knew he could pick up the broken shards that had fallen to the floor and kill Distria in one breath. He knew, but he didn’t do it. He didn’t know why either. Why won’t he?

“…… That’s all.”

Acacia sighed softly. No expression or emotion.

“…….”

Distria let him go. He looked at Acacia with ferocious eyes and brushed his hair once.

“I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Distria came out of the room. Acacia got up and tried to treat his wounds, accustomed to it. He looked in the mirror and pulled out the shards that had been lodged in his back. Blood was dripping. The metallic smell he was used to now did not feel like the smell of blood. It smells so normal. The smell of his own blood and the wounds were fine.

Acacia was troubled. Is this the right thing to do? Was it the right thing to do not to send Arne even though it was possible? It was already over. Acacia closed his eyes.

He didn’t let her go, his greed. He acted out of his own selfishness. Everything that would happen as a result was a part of the small price he had to bear. It didn’t matter if it was Distria’s abusive language and violence. He could handle anything, as long as she wouldn’t get any problems.

This was not Arne’s though. All of them are just his self-consolation. Acacia mocked himself.

It was all my selfishness.

Distria felt a strange displeasure in his emotions. It didn’t matter who Arne slept with. He didn’t care if she was assaulted. But why do her having sex with Raphael feel so unpleasant now? Because he lost control of his toy and was about to die?

He heard that Lepis had prevented Arne from dying. He was silent for a moment. For some reason, he should have been engulfed in rage. After quite a while, he could barely open his mouth.

“…… really?”

He looked inside the nobility council. It was about killing Raphael, who lowered the nobles’ level. Distria cherished Raphael. He was the one Distria had chosen, and he was instrumental in making Distria emperor. But apart from all those things, he was angry with Raphael.

“It’s like you want me to kill him.”

“…… I always asked.”

Distria knew that when Lepis posted the report, he didn’t say anything other than the content of the meeting. He knew that Lepis was trying to use this to deal with Raphael. Distria wasn’t offended by what he would have been originally offended by. Distria closed his eyes.

“…… I’ll think about it.”

Distria handed the report to Lepis. Lepis left the room. He closed his eyes. He wanted to kill Raphael. It was an irrational thought that came to him in a moment. Distria stood up. He made his way to Arne’s room.

Arne’s room was filled with the smell of blood. The unpleasant pungent smell tickled Distria’s nose. The floor was still stained with blood that had not yet been erased. Lepis was neat and clean. Distria knew that Lepis had not cleaned the room properly to provoke him. He knew he was playing on the board Lepis had set. But that fact was not offensive to him.

“…… They said you were going to die.”

He didn’t even know why.

The sight of blood splattered, which should have been familiar, felt horrifying today and was unpleasant. It was annoying. He wanted to wipe the blood from the floor. Arne’s hazy pupils reached Distria. He breathed in for a moment. A strange, bizarre, strange feeling engulfed his body.

“Is it because of that bastard?”

Distria was furious at the messed up state he had expected.

“…… If you kill him, you won’t want to die anymore.”

Arne’s body tilted. His heart sank, and the anger and any emotion subsided. He held her firmly. He caressed her trembling back. At the sound of Arne’s rough breathing, Distria felt a strange emotion. It wasn’t sexual excitement.

Just, strangely, one side of his heart ached. He didn’t know that feeling. Arne’s lips parted. Distria slowly waited for her to speak.

“Who…… ?”

He hoped that Arne would be ruined. He hoped she fell into the abyss. He had the same crown as him, but he didn’t like her looking good. He was crushed, torn and tattered, and he has nothing of light. He didn’t like the way she opened her eyes to weak hopes and chased it.

However, he didn’t want her to forget him. It would be absurd for her to forget him after enduring the ordeal he gave her. Distria barely opened his lips. This is a hate-filled emotion. Because if not, there’s no way he can be so angry about something that doesn’t matter.

“…… I.”

Distria took a deep breath.

“…… I don’t know who it is.”

If the brief moment before Arne’s mouth opens feels like an eons of time, was he finally crazy?

“…… no.”

Distria was relieved. He had no idea what was so reassuring. Why, he liked that Arne didn’t forget him. Why didn’t he like Arne’s expression that fell into the abyss? He didn’t know. Distria muttered softly.

“Before I get Rewan, I have to kill that bastard first.”

“…… under.”

Raphael smiled sadly. He didn’t understand the situation now. He looked at the sword that pierced his abdomen and laughed outrageously. The ridiculousness was stronger than the throbbing pain in his stomach. Raphael knew he was going to die someday. However, he did not know that Distria would kill him himself.

Originally, Distra didn’t use his own sword when he killed someone. However, he stabbed Raphael proudly. Is it because he is of low status? Even in the face of death, Raphael was mocking himself in thoughts of his status. He thought that it would be easier for him to get out of it by death if he couldn’t get out of it until he died anyway.

“…… Why….”

He forced his lips to open. His speech was blurred at the sight of having to raise his words to those who killed him. It was habitual behavior. Until the very end, even at the very last moment when Distria killed him, Raphael was a loser. Distria’s lips parted.

“Just.”

Distria looked at Raphael with indifferent eyes. Raphael’s form collapsed. Raphael was not particularly shocked by his words. Raphael thought he was dead anyway. He was not alive just because he was breathing. Because he wanted to live happily. He thought that living was not living.

Distria drew the sword that pierced Raphael’s abdomen. The red blood was dripping down. Like nothing. He had been by Distria’s side for several years, and he was the one who went through the brink of death like Distria. But nothing happened. The red blood soaked his hands. Distria lightly wiped the blood.

“Send him to the torture chamber.”

It was just blood, unpleasant and thick. Why is it okay now? He didn’t know. He looked at the blood splattered on the floor. He looked at his blood-soaked hands. It didn’t matter. Distria was enveloped in an unknown strangeness.

Distria didn’t really like uncontrollable emotions, things he didn’t know the cause of. He killed everything that evoked those feelings. For example, the person who gave birth to him, the siblings who were born by using another stomach, or his real siblings. He should have killed Arne too. But he didn’t want to. Even then, he didn’t like Arne who confuses him like this.

Having washed his body and changed his clothes, he knocked on Arne’s door. He grabbed Arne’s arm as she looked at him with a curious look.

“Go.”

Distria lips’ were raised in a smile. He couldn’t hold back his laughter. She saw Raphael’s figure facing death. How will she react?

Will she laugh? Will she be afraid? Or will she be sad? It would be nice if she was happy. He wants her to show an inhuman side that rejoices even when she kills others…….

In conclusion, Arne was neither happy nor sad. She wasn’t even indifferent. She just stared at him with an unknown look. In that instantaneous moment, in that expression of nothing, or perhaps an expression of sympathy. He felt his already dry, crackling heart split.

Distria killed a lot of people. However, he never once had sympathy for the dying.

At the end, Distria kept thinking of Arne’s eyes looking at him. He couldn’t forget it. It was annoying. Why does she keep bothering him? Distria laughed coldly.

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