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Chapter 53
Selphius and his eldest son, Darius, returned to Pelln.
It was early morning, close to dawn, but the mansion became noisy when news of the lord and his eldest son’s arrival spread.
As always when Selphius returned, all the servants lined up neatly in front of the mansion gate.
“The gate has opened.”
The butler announced while tension filled the air.
Kailus, wearing a military uniform, stood at the very front of the lined-up people with his hands behind his back.
He was standing next to Violet, who was pacing anxiously.
Kailus swallowed bitterly.
‘It must be because of Darius.’
Kailus had often welcomed his father with his mother when his father went out on military campaigns. That was why he could clearly feel the difference in his mother’s reaction.
Unlike before, when she greeted her husband in a businesslike and unmoving manner, she now looked like someone waiting for a family member separated by a long farewell.
A long line of carriages passed through the gate and stopped one by one in front of the mansion.
The knights riding beside the carriages got off their horses at the same time.
They bowed silently in front of Violet and Kailus, and soon the captain of the knights opened the door of the largest carriage.
A huge man stepped down.
His silver armor shone faintly in the early morning light.
Violet gave him a formal greeting.
“Welcome back. I am glad you returned safely and in good health.”
The servants standing behind also lowered their bodies respectfully.
Selphius looked over the scene without emotion, then finally turned his eyes to Kailus.
Kailus also bent his waist politely toward his father, whom he had not seen in a long time.
“I was deeply moved by Father’s safety and victory news. I sincerely congratulate you.”
The voice came out with difficulty from his dry throat.
It was early morning, and he was going through puberty, so his voice sounded rough and broken like metal.
“……Kailus.”
Selphius stared at him for a few seconds before finally recognizing his second son.
“Young Master Kailus. Oh my goodness. I almost didn’t recognize you. You have grown up!”
The exclamation came from Noem Wagner, the aide who stood behind Selphius.
Selphius still looked at Kailus with unfamiliar eyes.
After the simple, dry greeting ended, Violet looked around.
“Um, where is Darius….”
Before her words could finish, a tall figure stepped down from the carriage right behind them.
Golden hair shone clearly through the dim morning air.
It was Darius in the kingdom’s military uniform.
Kailus turned his head to look at his brother, whom he was meeting after ten months.
“Kail! You’ve grown a lot. Your voice has also gotten deeper. How have you been?”
Those friendly words felt like a spell that froze him.
It was simply a statement of fact. During the ten months Darius was away, Kailus had grown more than ten centimeters.
On the other hand, Darius was past the age of rapid growth, so the height difference between them had become much smaller.
There was still a difference, but now it was only about one or two hand spans.
Yet for some reason, Kailus felt smaller.
Kailus quietly watched Darius smiling gently at him.
He looked tired, but there was calmness and confidence in his posture.
His neatly refined facial features and tightly fitted military uniform made his well-built body look more mature.
He didn’t seem much different from ten months ago, but at the same time, he felt like a completely different person.
Darius showed a faint smile toward the frozen Kailus.
“You haven’t changed.”
Then he lightly brushed past Kailus’ shoulder.
Kailus wanted to curse, but his throat felt tightly squeezed, and his voice wouldn’t come out. It felt like the ground beneath his feet was sinking.
“Mother, I have returned now.”
Darius saluted Violet loudly.
“Yes, I am glad you returned safely. You worked hard.”
After wiping the tears forming in her eyes, Violet hugged Darius.
Darius also laughed deeply and held her.
The unstable boy who once wandered with anxious eyes had returned as a mature adult with steady, grown eyes.
A few days later, a medal awarding ceremony was held in the royal palace.
The main hero of this expedition victory was the Duke Diern father and son, especially Darius, who unexpectedly showed outstanding achievements.
His unit guarding the rear had secretly captured royal fugitives — members of the royal family and high officials who were trying to defect.
Capturing the leadership of a country that was trying to abandon and escape was an enormous achievement.
The queen personally praised Darius and hung a medal engraved with the royal crest on his chest.
It was natural that this became Darius’ solo debut stage.
“As expected of the son of the kingdom’s best sword. He is different from the very beginning.”
“Who would have thought he would achieve such a great military feat on his first campaign?”
People clapped and poured out endless praise.
“The Duke must have nothing to worry about regarding his heir.”
Kailus, who attended the medal ceremony to escort his mother, felt like the ground was collapsing under his feet again and again.
Even though he brought his mother to the royal palace by his father Selphius’ order, she refused to hold his arm.
Instead, she linked arms with Darius and walked around among the nobles.
As if her son was only Darius.
In the end, Kailus stopped trying to escort his mother and sat down heavily at a corner table.
Then he stared blankly at the scene of her smiling while surrounded by many people from far away.
Had his mother smiled so brightly recently?
Thinking about the past, Kailus tilted his head back and washed his face with dry hands.
For the past ten months, he had dreamed a sweet dream.
Darius sometimes returned to the mansion even during his busy school semester, so it was the first time he spent such a long period of ten months alone with his mother.
So he hoped that his mother would slowly turn her attention toward him during that time.
He thought he had grown just as much as Darius and showed excellent skill, so he could take Darius’ place.
Naively.
But the returned Darius had grown so much that it made all the training Kailus had struggled through look ridiculous.
It was not only physical growth.
Battlefield experience, walking between life and death, and seeing a wider world had given Darius maturity.
Kailus, who felt it the moment they met, felt his pride badly hurt.
When he barely crawled his way closer and looked up, the man was standing high above him.
Even his mother’s affection, which Kailus tried so hard to hold onto, was easily taken by him.
His father’s treatment toward Darius had also changed.
Others might think Selphius was always a cold and expressionless man, but Kailus, who observed him carefully, was the first to notice the change.
Toward his eldest son who had distinguished himself on the battlefield, he looked satisfied.
If before he looked at his lazy, drifting son with disappointment or indifference, now he seemed to recognize him as a successor.
Kailus felt the small change in distance within just a few days, and it felt like his insides were crumbling.
In the royal banquet hall, people passed by him while whispering and glancing sideways.
The words “Darius’ younger brother” were sometimes heard, but no one called his name.
No one talked to him or acted as if they knew him.
In contrast, around Darius, people were packed so densely that only the top of his head could be seen.
The royal palace, which he visited for the first time, was as magnificent and beautiful as it was painfully lonely.
A world divided into light and shadow. Isolation and alienation.
Kailus, who tasted that feeling again after a long time — something he used to feel only during Darius’ birthday parties — let out a self-mocking laugh.
He had not realized how big the one existence beside him was.
Because of her, he had forgotten this miserable and terrifying feeling for several years.
When he was with Riez, it felt like they were the only two people left in a different world, and he felt the illusion that everything was fine.
It was the fear he had worried about when he once cruelly decided to push her away.
As he feared, this was the result of becoming dull and intoxicated by habit.
To reverse the four or five year age gap, he must not continue like this.
Following Darius’ footsteps was not enough.
That meant it was far from sufficient.
That day, after returning to the mansion, Kailus made a determined decision.
To cut off the sweet poison he had been drinking.
