Episode 91

 

In addition to the imperial secrets the serpent might know, there was one more matter to discuss with him.

It concerned Melbrid’s future, as he would soon have to leave the imperial palace.

I had said I would send him away, but where was I supposed to send him?

“What should I do about Melbrid?”

“Wasn’t he supposed to return to the Count of Ritein’s estate?”

“He said he wouldn’t go there. Honestly, I’m not too keen on it either.”

“Is there an issue with the Ritein estate?”

“If the lack of problems counts as one, then yes. But if Lian is punished for treason later, Melbrid might get caught up in it as well.”

Melbrid was Lothania’s first love and childhood friend.

Knowing Lothania’s temperament, it didn’t seem likely that Lian would be forgiven. If Melbrid returned to the Ritein estate, it would be difficult for him to escape being implicated in Lian’s treason.

After all, the Count and Countess of Ritein were Lian’s biological parents, and their family was a branch of the Zernia duchy.

I wanted to create a plausible excuse for Lothania to spare Melbrid from punishment.

As I brooded over the matter, Vitrain, who had been watching me, asked, “Are you thinking of having him adopted into another family?”

“I hope so… but is there a family willing to take him in?”

“That would be difficult, wouldn’t it? Not only is he the brother of a traitor, but he’s also Lian Zernia’s sibling.”

“…Is Lian really that despised by the nobles?”

“While nobles generally don’t welcome beasts, he’s… particularly…”

Vitrain trailed off, but I understood what he left unsaid.

You reap what you sow. The old sages were right about living virtuously.

Even during the council meeting earlier, there wasn’t a single noble who sided with him.

All of them were red-faced, demanding why he hadn’t been executed yet. I knew it was his own doing, but it still left me feeling uneasy.

I let out a long sigh and stood up from my seat.

“I need to see Lian.”

If anyone knew about the secret passageways or a way to save his brother, it would be him.

* * *

A dark underground prison devoid of even a single ray of sunlight.

No shadow of a person ever fell upon the cell housing the serpent with venomous fangs.

Inside the cell, each day was unbearably long and monotonous.

Lian, who had taken to playing chess against himself using a bottle of painkillers, leaned back against the chair and gazed at the ceiling.

Staring into the meaningless darkness with a blank expression, he muttered softly.

“Will she really not shed a tear for me…?”

Humans, with their shallow and predictable nature, had always been laughably easy to read—yet Sione defied all predictions.

It had been that way from the start.

When she pretended to accept Lian’s proposal but countered with her own audacious offer, he had agreed out of sheer curiosity, thinking it would be amusing. That had been his mistake.

If he hadn’t come to desire her tears, he wouldn’t have caused his sister to cry.

Her smile, which belonged solely to him, had been so sweet. He’d thought her tears would be just as beautiful.

Wasn’t shedding tears for someone the most perfect way to prove one’s affection?

Smiles could be faked, but tears—tears were genuine.

To Lian, tears represented a sincerity he couldn’t even begin to mimic.

What would it feel like to be loved enough for someone to cry for him? What would it feel like to receive that kind of affection?

His curiosity had lingered all his life.

But the Sione he had wanted to cry for him had left with nothing but a cold gaze. Meanwhile, his sister’s tear-streaked face was etched into the dark ceiling, refusing to fade.

It wasn’t Melbrid’s tears he had wanted…

He’d thought Melbrid loved Lothania enough to cry for her. Foolish boy.

Lian imagined Sione’s face superimposed over Melbrid’s tearful one.

Then, tilting his head, he frowned.

He’d tried to picture the face he had wished to see just once before dying, yet the thought left him in an inexplicably foul mood.

Why?

With a serious expression, Lian straightened his posture.

This was indeed a grave situation.

He had staked everything on seeing Sione’s tears, but perhaps all his efforts had been in vain.

And now, he was facing execution. There wasn’t even time to undo his mistakes.

As he sat there, the darkness pooling in the small corner of his cell seemed to swell, as if it were about to engulf him. At that moment, the metallic sound of a lock being undone echoed from outside.

The creak of a heavy iron door opening followed, along with the sound of footsteps descending into the underground prison.

The steps stopped in front of the bars of Lian’s cell.

It was Sione.

Behind her stood Aiden and Vitrain, though they barely registered in Lian’s mind.

As if entranced, Lian approached the bars, carefully adjusting his facial muscles into a picturesque smile.

The dazzling smile seemed bright enough to banish the darkness of the underground prison, but Sione’s expression remained resolute.

“Your Majesty, I’ve been waiting for you,” he greeted her.

“Why?”

Sione asked with an impassive expression.

Lian, his face radiant like sunlight, replied with a playful glint in his eyes.

“Because I wanted to see you.”

“And what do you plan to do now that you’ve seen me?”

He hadn’t planned to do anything in particular. He had simply… wanted to see her.

But admitting that he had waited for someone who might not come sounded absurd, even to him.

Though it was his own emotion, he couldn’t rationalize it.

So he fumbled for a different reason.

“I have something to ask you.”

As he worried about what he’d say if she asked what he intended to ask, Sione’s next words came as a relief. They weren’t a question.

“I have something to ask you, too, Lian.”

It always pleased him to hear his name from her lips.

Brightening slightly, Lian nodded eagerly.

“Ask me anything.”

“The secret passages of the palace—do maps of them exist?”

“Yes, they do.”

“They do? Where are they?”

“Here.”

Lian placed a hand over his heart.

Lian pointed at his head with his finger.

Sione suppressed a sigh as she stared at the tip of his finger, where the roots of his black-dyed hair were beginning to show traces of gold.

“Not there. Is there no other place? Perhaps His Majesty kept one separately…”

“Not to my knowledge,” Lian replied.

Sione narrowed her eyes and scrutinized his face.

But the face of the untrustworthy liar showed nothing but an impeccable fake smile, forcing Sione to let out the sigh she could no longer hold back.

Lian asked with a cheerful smile.

“Do you need the map of the secret passages?”

She did.

Whether to use it in an emergency or to block the passages entirely, she needed to know where the entrances and exits were located.

After all, if by some chance someone else stumbled upon an entrance, who knows who might suddenly appear in her office?

When Sione nodded reluctantly, Lian’s smile grew even broader.

“What will you give me if I give you the map?”

“I’ll let you live.”

Before Lian could start rambling about wanting her to cry, Sione preempted him.

Though his punishment had already been decided, Lian himself had taught her that negotiations required audacity.

Lian, who fully expected to be executed, tilted his head curiously.

“You mean you won’t kill me?”

“I’ll spare you until Lottie awakens.”

“The Crown Princess might awaken tomorrow.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. That’s as far as I can keep you alive.”

Once Lothania awakened, all authority over the empire—including control over the beasts’ leashes—would transfer to her.

Lian’s life would be no exception.

Lian quickly discerned Sione’s true intent: to reveal the truth about the emperor’s death to Lothania once she awakened.

After all, once Lothania became the master of the beasts, it would become impossible for anyone to lie to her.

Knowing exactly who would wield the blade that would sever his life, the former imperial serpent made a new proposal.

“If Your Majesty visits me on the 1st and 15th of every month, I’ll provide you not only with the map of the secret passages but also with all the information I know.”

Even in such a moment, Lian was still Lian.

If it had been anyone else, they would have asked for something different—perhaps their sibling’s safety or a more comfortable prison life.

It wasn’t an unreasonable demand, but it wasn’t an easy one either.

To check on him monthly, watching him slowly waste away, and resist pitying him—Sione wasn’t sure she could manage it.

But ignoring him as he died alone didn’t sit well with her either.

So, she nodded.

“That information had better be worth it.”

“You’ll be satisfied.”

Lian grinned confidently, but his face froze at Sione’s next question, delivered with a neutral expression.

“What should I do about Melbrid?”

How odd.

She had already given him a way out of the serpent’s yoke and handed over the enormous wealth of the Zernia duchy, yet the issue with Melbrid was far from settled.

The child who used to laugh and toddle towards him with tiny hands outstretched now seemed to have grown into an exorbitantly costly smile.

The image of his crying sibling, which had haunted him, once again flashed before his eyes.

“What do you mean, ‘what should I do about him’?”

“He refuses to return to the Count of Ritein’s estate.”

A crack appeared in Lian’s composed brow.

Clicking his tongue at the thought of his perpetually useless parents, he asked, “Where is he now?”

“He’s staying at the Crown Princess’s palace for now, but the nobles are clamoring for him to leave.”

“Has Marquis Wolffs demanded his removal?”

“He was the most persistent about it.”

Lian let out a deflated sound, his lips curling slightly.

The scheme of Marquis Wolffs to push Melbrid aside and force his son into Lothania’s life was so transparent it was almost laughable.

Not a chance.

Did the marquis think his son could even catch Lothania’s eye, already accustomed to Melbrid’s presence?

And it wasn’t just appearances.

Lian snorted at the thought of his perfectly flawless younger brother, only to realize the one imperfection in Melbrid’s life was him.