# 126
Dearyn lit a small flame at the tip of Robin's bangs. It was a faint flame that barely burned a hair before it was extinguished.
But just the hair suddenly burning for no reason was enough to terrify the soul.
“Haaaah!!!”
Robin screamed in horror as he collapsed to his knees, stroking his hair and trying to put out what he imagined was a fire.
But the little spark had been extinguished a long time ago. However, Robin kept thrashing his body madly, searching for her like someone trying to escape from an imaginary flame.
"Ah! Fire! There's fire!!"
“Don't pretend, there's nothing.”
Deyarin said sarcastically, laughing lightly as if she were a villain enjoying his torment.
Only then did Robin stop moving and began to examine his body in panic. There was nothing. He touched his hair and clothes repeatedly, but he did not feel any heat.
Then he turned to Deyarin with eyes full of fear.
Deyarin shrugged her shoulders cheerfully and gave him advice in her own way:
"If you betray us again... your life might get a little annoying. Who knows? Maybe this time the fire will catch on your fingertips... or in your feet... or, unfortunately, in your eyeballs."
She didn't forget to tell him nicely that she was the one who did it.
Robin remained sitting on the ground, transfixed, staring at Deyarin from below.
“H… Did you have such power…?”
"Power? What power are you talking about? Maybe it's just a punishment imposed on you for not living a good life."
Deyarin smiled innocently as if she had done nothing.
You have successfully instilled terror in him. The idea of being burned alive is no less terrifying than the threats to kill the Second Prince.
“I think it's best if you stay away from the palace for a while and just take care of your dogs.”
“Yes...I will.”
"And don't use the flute to force them like you used to. Get to know them gently, even if you have to get bitten by them."
She herself made Ceres a being closer to humans in this way.
Even if her sacred powers helped her, love and care made up the bulk of this transformation.
Robin just nodded, unable to say anything in front of her confident advice.
“If you become a good friend of dogs, you might be able to survive even if the Second Prince sends something to assassinate you.”
"Yes!"
Only then did a look of relief appear on Robin's face.
Is it this happy? You don't know, Darren. He'll find out for himself later.
After she finished arranging the situation, Dearyn turned to Sirius.
“I'll act like this, it's okay, right?”
That was just a formal confirmation.
“You better do what you want, Diarren.”
“I knew you would say that.”
She was expecting this answer, but hearing it like this left a bitter taste in her soul.
She didn't leave it up to Sirius to deal with Robin because he didn't show any signs of anger.
Even though what happened was a betrayal that could have turned his life around again, Sirius showed no emotional distress.
Maybe because his feelings are not fully developed yet, or because he has lost interest in everything.
This made Deyarin worry. It seemed like he had no reason to live. So she was the one who exploded in anger instead of him.
“Then, Robin, get to work immediately.”
“Shouldn't I go with you to the ballroom now?”
"Why? What are you going to do there?"
“Perhaps... I will testify that I did not know all the faces of the members of the Eighth Company, and that the mistake was an oversight...”
Dearyn laughed sarcastically.
It seemed that this person had spent a very long time on the battlefield. Very naive.
That's exactly why everyone was manipulating him.
“The truth doesn't matter anymore.”
The Emperor first extended his hand to Sirius, but he did not abandon the Second Prince either.
The power struggle began between the second crown prince and Sirius, who was installed as the first crown prince.
The moral battle between the Second and Third Princes was already over.
In light of the new confrontation, the results of the previous conflict are no longer influential.
“From now on, it will be a battle of powers.”
Dearyn said as she grabbed Sirius's arm and turned around.
She has finished her training in dealing with traitors.
Now, an even fiercer battle will begin.
—
“Huh...!”
As soon as Sirius returned to the concert hall, the place was completely silent, and the atmosphere suddenly froze.
“……!”
Even the second prince, Endean, turned to him with icy eyes.
Despite the insult he received, the Emperor and Sirius remained outside the hall, and Charlotte and the Third Prince left early, making him feel like he was the owner of the council now.
The conversations about the absent were, of course, the most exciting.
In the absence of the relevant party, it was easy to plant lies and skillfully distort facts.
“So, is it possible that he wasn't from the 8th Company?”
“But he was actually at the front, wasn't he? Based on his fighting skills...”
“Maybe he was secretly gathering his strength somewhere, out of sight.”
When things get unfavorable, the First Crown Prince becomes the prince who pretended to disappear in order to gain power in secret, and then suddenly returns to steal the glory from the Second Prince by impersonating a member of the Eighth Company.
What limitless imaginations.
“Ah, uh... you're back.”
Those remaining in the ceremony hall greeted the First Crown Prince with a hesitant and tense greeting.
As for those who decided to be loyal to him, they ran to his suite in advance and accompanied him as he entered.
The rest, who had not yet decided on their position, were still frozen in their places inside the hall.
“We came with him!”
“It's like a victory parade, the important person can't be absent!”
Those standing in front of the new guests' door took the initiative to defend Sirius' entry, and had already changed their allegiance.
But most of the people remaining in the concert hall were not those who could move easily. They were confused and did not know how to react, so they merely exchanged glances and remained silent.
In a party atmosphere, it is customary to show friendliness regardless of partisanship, but Sirius was such an influential person that even the pretense of friendliness was difficult to do.
“I didn't expect you would come back.”
At that moment, the second prince, Enden, came forward.
Dearyn, without realizing it, grabbed Sirius's arm tightly out of tension, ready to set fire to the Second Prince's hair if he dared to commit a foolish act... Truly, it was a touching and sincere sacrifice.
“I was so confused before that I couldn't even say hello.”
Endean approached Sirius with a fake smile.
“It's been a long time, big brother.”
But Sirius did not answer. He just stared at him silently.
Endean raised his eyebrows and smiled more pointedly.
“Aren’t you going to return the greeting because you are still upset about the previous misunderstanding?”
“Misunderstanding?”
Dearyn almost sneered openly even though she was standing in front of the Second Prince. It was ridiculous.
She wanted to intervene, but she knew it was time for Sirius to speak for himself.
Sirius finally opened his mouth and spoke slowly:
“This is the first time I hear you calling me ‘brother’.”
“Haha, really?”
“And the first time we looked at each other directly.”
“Ha…apparently true.”
Although they were born in approximately the same period, their meetings were always formal before the Emperor, and they never had a friendly relationship.
They knew each other well, but they lived as strangers. They had never exchanged words like “brother” or had a friendly conversation before.
Endin, finding himself in an uncomfortable situation, decided to pretend to be calm and continue the conversation with a smile.
“Thank God I now have the chance to clear things up. There seems to be something wrong with you being in Unit 8. I didn’t recognize you because of your appearance, so I had to say that you are a fake.”
Just moments ago, he was saying completely different things. But now he is making up a new story very smoothly.
“How did you end up on the battlefield? Did you go of your own free will? I created the Eighth Unit just to give the poor children a way to survive. It is true that the training was hard and there were those who fled or died in the war, but do not distort the matter.”
“……”
“Since you were there yourself, you know no one was forced to join.”
In reality, children were bought from slave traders — children who had lost their minds due to kidnapping and trauma — but legally, no one was forcing them. In this twisted sense, he was not officially guilty.
His words were full of deceit.
“It appears that Charlotte has been offended in some way and fallen victim to a misunderstanding.”
The word “misunderstanding” was repeated often.
Although Sirius remained silent, Endean's speech sounded like a natural dialogue. He spoke so confidently that people around him began to believe him.
“Ah, so that's what the story was?”
“Then the Second Prince did not make a mistake?”
“Perhaps the Third Prince only intervened out of moral zeal?”
His supporters were ready to expand this “port,” even if it was narrow.
Since Sirius did not publicly object, some considered the debate over.
“Come on, let's have a toast.”
Someone called the wine server and the glasses began to be loaded.
In the absence of the Emperor, the party returned to its festive atmosphere.
The band played dance music, and the smells of wine and food spread throughout the place.
While Sirius' presence shocked the atmosphere for a moment, things began to return to normal.
“To the safe return of my older brother.”
Endean raised his glass in a toast, as if he were the master of the party.
He was celebrating Sirius' return, but he was actually hogging the spotlight.
Dearyn's eyes narrowed.
She could not remain silent about this scene.
“Let us toast to the true hero of war.”
She spoke suddenly, before the others repeated the toast to the Second Prince, and raised her glass.
The faces of those present froze in the moment.
Who is this madwoman who dared to interrupt the Second Prince's toast?
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