There's no rule stating that a prince must be a good person. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t be a bad person either.
“I have an assisting type of darkness power.”
Salzaal places his fingers on his bracelet. “Such as a captive spell, an incarcerous spell, or a curse spell.”
…More like assisting death. This fiendish type of power really suits you well, Salzaal!
If there’s a poll for the evilest person in this kingdom or a person who deserves to be executed the most, I’ll vote for you ten times! Unfortunately, there’s no such poll. Never mind, I will note it down as a future project…
“But…Cass Bedivere is quite different.” He takes his hand off the bracelet. I feel like the color of the bracelet got duller. “Because his power is a destructive type of darkness power.”
“...”
“It is not as intricate as my power…” The prince smirks. I can see the madness in his eyes. “It's a power that is a bit too merciful towards the victims…poof…everything is all gone.”
That sound is…as gentle as a wind.
But, at the same time, it is also heavy that it makes my heart tremble.
“By using just a single hand…”
Everything will be destroyed.
That's…
“That's…fantastic, don’t you think!”
“What?!!”
If only I had this power, then my brother wouldn’t be topped, (cough!) I mean, I would be powerful enough to drive away all of the people who have their eyes on my brother! As for my brother's crush, I would get rid of that person as well!!
Seeing me like this, but I used to watch soap operas every night! And I'm also adept at acting like the evil mother-in-law or the wicked sisters of the protagonist, who try to get rid of the protagonist's lover…but wait…damn it! Those characters often die at the end, right?! Never mind, tonight I will try to list out the ones that redeemed themselves at the end!
But…but what if my brother happens to have a crush on Nigel or Hareve?
Those are two major factors! I may be able to use the compromising method and our brotherhood with Nigel. But for Hareve, I…I…may have to hug my brother tight and cry while threatening to kill myself if he chooses Hareve!
It seems like my reaction has triggered something within the prince as his face twists. “Do you understand it's fatality? A destructive power! De-struc-tive!”
“I understand! Clearly!” I emphasize, then get startled a bit by the other's expression. “But so what? My brother has a destructive power, then what? It's so cool and wonderful, right?!”
Salzaal frowns. “Cool and wonderful? Are you stupid, crazy, or dumb? Destruction is not cool! Those kinds of power are dangerous. Don’t you think that someday your brother might 'accidentally' destroy this town or kill someone important and bring down your family! Perhaps, your brother might not be able to control his power and 'accidentally' kill you!!”
I feel like something is not right. Is Salzaal lecturing me?
When I look back at his wickedness, I think it's just all in my head.
“Well…so what then?”
“What?!” Salzaal's expression is incredible.
“If he destroys this town, I will run away with him! If he kills someone because of this power, I will also run away with him!” I pound my chest with my fist. “I'm biased against people I don’t care about. That's none of my business! If he kills someone, then what? Those are the people I don’t know. I won’t feel sad about someone I don’t even know!”
I am neither a protagonist nor the main character.
Why should I appeal to strangers?
“You…You damn!!”
“I know it’s wrong, partial, and very bad. But what about it?” I tilt my head. “He is my younger brother, so why do I have to take strangers' side instead of his? If it's his 'intention', then I will do everything to make him pay for his actions. But if it's an 'accident', then I will do everything to keep him alive and correct it.”
Salzaal scowls. His angry expression becomes even more intense before he bites his lip.
“Are you dumb? Hey! Where has all your conscience gone?”
“They're still there, but they may not be the same as what you think,” I replied before hugging my brother tightly. “There's no way a dead person can be brought back to life. Even if my brother dies, that person won’t come back to life either. At most, it might help the other party to feel like they've received justice, and there will be one more family who suffers from grief.”
I am asking myself.
What exactly is justice?
Is death the only way to pay for everything?
Every time I went online, I would see a series of condemnations that wanted the offenders to die. It made me question myself.
Is that…
Is that what we really call justice?
What if we let them live and make up for their wrongdoings? But every time I said something like this, my sister would always tell me that I was overly optimistic. Since that was her perspective, I didn’t say anything further about the rest of my thoughts…
“I don’t understand why making up for their wrongdoings is too merciful or overly optimistic…” I look at Salzaal. “If they're alive, they can still feel and breathe, which means they're able to know and we’re able to see…
The moment when they're being condemned by society, the moment when they're being cast out, the moment they're not being accepted in this world…even the moment when they want to die but cannot die. Why don’t people see that as a 'recompense'?”
“...”
“Why does nobody ever think that…” I ask before furrowing my brows.
“Death…is too merciful?”
I've always wanted to tell her this.
I am not overoptimistic. I just view the world in the way I think it should be. Viewing the world in which I never understand…
But because she saw me as stupid, I became stupid. Because she viewed me as over-optimistic and overly nice, I became those two—if these were her wishes.
Nonetheless, she would never have a chance to know…as she is no longer in this world.
Suddenly, Salzaal begins to laugh.
I don’t understand why he begins to laugh out of the blue, so I decide to move back a bit. In my opinion, Salzaal doesn’t seem safe to be with…I hope my brother won't become like him.
“Brilliant…This is brilliant!” He laughs himself to tears while hitting the armrest with his hand as if he has met a slapstick comedian, of whom there is none in this world. Thus, I think he has already gone crazy. “Death is too merciful? God! You're so cruel!”
…I don’t want that compliment from a person who plans to kill his own father.
After he’s done laughing, he stops before smirking. “Hey! I like you, but I regret that you don’t have the power of darkness. Don’t you agree that if we paired up with one another, it wouldn’t be bad? Are you interested in becoming the future king’s advisor?”
It wouldn’t be bad? As if!
Mister (Future) Tyrant, please don’t beckon others over to go to hell with you!
“Ah…well, soon we'll be together anyway. ” My eyes twitch when I hear that from 'the person who can see the future'. Did he secretly put a curse on my life? “Put Cass Bedivere in front of me, I’ll seal his power. If this kid happens to use his own power, people will know that this ritual is fake.”
And then you’re going to die faster, right? That’s not bad…no… Then my brother will also die as well? What a shame…
Though I don’t trust the Prince of Darkness, I really love my brother, so I end up walking towards Salzaal. However, it seems like I’m a little too far away from him. “Come closer. I won’t bite you.”
But you will kill me instead…?
To tell the truth, since being in this room with him, I absolutely don’t trust him.
After I walk closer until my knees touch the backrest, Salzaal places his hand on Cass’ head. I’m scared…this person won’t squeeze my brother’s head until it splits apart, right? But as I think about it, this guy is also in the route that Cass can choose…well, maybe he wouldn’t do anything to my brother?
Once I’m convinced, I look at the blackish-gray light coming out of the prince’s hand. If the black light coming from Cass on that day gives out an aggressive vibe, then Salzaal’s color gives out a depressing vibe. It really makes you want to jump off a cliff.
I think if he forms a cult of darkness in the future, he might gain enough money to rebel against his father…god damn it, what am I thinking?! I’m the protagonist’s older brother; please stop having negative thoughts!
Or else I may join Salzaal’s cult without being aware of myself…
While I’m spacing out, I stop when I see Salzaal’s face getting closer to Cass until his lips nearly touch my brother’s forehead. And before I could know it…
Whack!
My hand has already smacked his head…
His red eyes glare at me before he lowers his voice. “You dare hit my head? Do you want to die, Bedivere…”
“You’re going to kiss my brother!” You’re sexually harassing a child! You shameless bastard! How vulgar!
I’m afraid of you, but if it’s about my brother, I won’t back down!
Salzaal sneers. “Do you really think I want to kiss a child’s forehead? A handsome guy like me can easily find pretty women with nice foreheads to kiss.”
I nod in assent. “I know, I know. You’re a prince, you’ll be able to pay a fortune anyway.”
Salzaal’s expression seems to get more brutal.
“Hmph. Aren’t you curious why your brother is still asleep?” The corner of the Tyrant Prince’s lips curls up. “I put a curse on that child since you first stepped into this room because I don’t want to listen to a baby crying…it’s annoying. Otherwise, I might unintentionally kill him before seeing his face.”
Woah…
You bastard.
“…This is the same child you said is your future darling, even though he is barely seven months old…” I smile. You wouldn’t kill him, right?
“That’s why I wonder how someone like me will be able to fall for this kid. I get annoyed very easily.” Salzaal furrows his brows to imply that he is not afraid to kill him.
I swear to god! Once I get out of this place, I will tell my brother, teach my brother, order my brother, and persuade my brother to stay away from Prince Salzaal!
Like, if he sees Salzaal, even two meters away, he shall run immediately!
“It’s fine if you don’t want me to lift the curse, since I’ve already sealed Cass’ power. Even if he sleeps for the rest of his life, it doesn’t affect me anyway.” Salzaal speaks in a nonchalant manner. “As for you…even if you have the power, it’s not going to affect anything. Your guardian spirit is…whatever.”
Salzaal waves his hand as if to change the subject… My brother falling into a slumber for the rest of his life doesn’t affect anything?
It does! It does a lot!!
It does affect me!
“Er… Salzaal.” I smile timidly and Salzaal raises his eyebrow. Perhaps, he doesn’t feel comfortable around me, therefore, I should try to increase our intimacy a little bit. “Ahem…Salsal.”
…The corner of the prince’s mouth twitches. “I swear if you say that damn 'nickname' again, you will die and the Bedivere family will end here.”
Sometimes I just want him to meditate to calm his mind, so his anger can be lessened. King Arthur, you should bring your son to a sanctuary every once in a while!
By the way, is his nickname really Salsal? A sweet nickname that doesn’t match his personality at all…
“Salzaal…I am sorry. So…so please help me to lift my brother’s curse!” The curse that you put on my brother and doesn’t lift it yet…
“No.” He instantly refuses. As expected of a secret character who’s playing hard to get. “I don’t want to see your face anymore. Just get out already.”
“Salzaal…”
“You’re annoying! Ah! You hit my head when I was going to lift the curse, so I take that as a rejection of my goodwill. And now what do you want? You’re lucky I didn’t chop off the hand that smacked my head!” His red eyes glower at me. “Now, get out of here before I become annoyed…oof!”
Salzaal’s mouth has been closed.
His red eyes are wide-open in astonishment. I press it onto his lips even further. I’m not sure if this method will be able to lift the curse, but at least it seems like the best way to try…
Because he doesn’t want to lift the curse at all.
Hence, I need to 'steal' it from him.
I cry.
I am sad.
My brother’s forehead is no longer pure!
Salzaal’s lips, which are being placed on my brother’s forehead, make me feel sad, but I don’t have much time to think. I need to do this because he’s playing hard to get. Once I’ve stolen a kiss from the prince and sacrificed the virginity of my brother’s forehead (I’ve always dreamed of being the first person to kiss his forehead!), I sprint out of the room while he is still stunned.
I don’t even care about the startled gaze of the old butler. I rush into the horse-drawn carriage and tell the driver to take off immediately.
A few moments after the carriage left, I let out a sigh. Phew…such a relief. Then about five minutes later…
“Aarghhhhhhh!!”
A shrill scream from hell, which belongs to Salzaal, begins to echo throughout the castle.