Chapter 94

“-No!”

Inside the blanket was Shadi Shandor.

Seeing her lying so quietly, he rushed over.

“Shadi! Shadi Shandor-!!!”

He shook her slender shoulders like a madman.

But she didn’t wake up.

The sockets of her eyes were still empty.

Amethus, filled with terror, placed his finger under her nose.

“Please, please…!”

A sobbing plea.

Soon, a faint breath touched his finger.

Amethus collapsed to the ground.

She was breathing.

Shadi Shandor was alive.

Only then could he take a ragged breath.

“…Ah.”

He buried his face in his hands.

Tears leaked between his fingers.

“…Thank God. Thank God…”

He felt pathetic.

He felt utterly repulsive, feeling relieved that Shadi was alive even after he had just taken Ubias’s life.

Yet, he could not let go of this relief.

A joy close to elation surged up.

“But…”

The relief was only momentary.

Soon, a question seized his heart.

“Why…”

“She won’t wake up.”

Shion said, sniffling.

The night wind was cold.

For a child’s body so drained of strength, it was even sharp.

“You know, don't you? Sometimes people who suffer a shock to the head don’t wake up. Isn’t it called a coma?”

“…Why?”

A dazed voice flowed out.

“Why, why…?”

Amethus asked with a miserable face.

He thought he had finally cut the knot that had bound his family and his life, but what was this?

Why was this happening to him?

Shadi Shandor was alive, but she was in an unbreakable sleep.

Shion said this was the reason Ubias had to die.

To his shame, a man known as the Diviner, only questions remained.

“…What happened, in the meantime?”

***

This was what happened after Amethus left.

It was a continuation of the events that occurred on the day Ubias was found to be the Imperial family’s pawn.

“Just wait, Captain Shadi…”

Shadi said.

She told him to trust Amethus and wait.

But Ubias couldn't accept it.

It was a difficult feeling, as isolated as this rocky island.

“I don’t know about that.”

His voice was resolute.

“I’ve seen too much. I've been sick and tired of seeing how much power can change a person from the inside out.”

“…”

“Captain Shadi, you’re the same, aren’t you? You know better than I do that that’s just how humans are.”

“…Captain Amethus is different.”

“CAPTAIN!!!”

Ubias roared.

“I respect Captain Amethus. How could I not! But he is a man of the Imperial family now!”

The man took a step forward.

Even though she couldn’t see, Shadi Shandor felt threatened and took a step back.

“To me, the only captain is, Captain Shadi!”

He grabbed Shadi’s wrist.

Shadi Shandor felt fear from the feeling of his rough grip.

Only then did she realize what it meant that they were the only two left on this rocky island.

“You know, don't you? You already know, don't you?”

Ubias Uterbeum handed himself over to his heated emotions without even realizing it.

“You know how I feel, how I think of you…”

“Back away, Ubias Uterbeum!”

Shadi cried out sharply and pulled her hand away.

The wrist he had grabbed ached.

She took a dagger out of her pocket.

Seeing the stark blue light of the blade, Ubias realized what he had done and his face flushed red.

“…Ca, Captain. No, this is…”

“…I’m disappointed. Truly disappointed.”

“…I’m sorry, Captain, I’m sorry…”

Ubias’s voice was a whisper, like a dog caught in the rain.

He had forcibly grabbed Shadi, the very slender wrist of the captain he served, even if it was just for a moment.

He was ashamed of his actions.

“It was because I was anxious… I was anxious, that’s right, I was anxious…”

He felt as if a knife had been stabbed into his gut from self-loathing.

“…What is Captain Amethus looking for? No, is he even really looking for something?”

“…It’s true. You’ll find out soon.”

Shadi Shandor knew that Amethus was pursuing the 5th Prince, Zionis.

But it was a secret she couldn’t tell anyone.

Even if Ferbias Caseptus himself came, she couldn’t say anything without Amethus’s permission.

“Can’t you tell me?”

Ubias pleaded earnestly.

“I followed you here without a word. The task only has a few days left, right? I should be able to know that much. I won’t tell the Imperial family…”

“…I can't.”

“Why? Why not?”

What kind of secret was it that she was pushing him away like this?

Shadi felt sorry for Ubias.

He was a subordinate she had worked with for years.

Seeing him so desperate, her heart softened. She shook her aching wrist.

“It’s true that Captain Amethus has a family’s long-cherished wish, but this mission is definitely separate from that. It’s for the next Emperor. We just can’t reveal it yet.”

“Is that so…”

“It’s really almost over, just a little bit more.”

“…If you say so.”

Ubias Uterbeum tilted his head up.

The night sky was dark.

He let out a deep sigh, ‘Hooo---’.

His heart was heavy with the self-loathing from his rough behavior.

If it was separate from his family’s long-cherished wish, then…

“…”

Ubias’s face, which had been looking at the sky, hardened.

He slowly lowered his gaze.

He stared intently at his captain with the empty eye sockets.

“…No, wait.”

A flame began to rise from deep within his eyes.

“…It’s true that he has a long-cherished wish?”

It instantly blazed up, as if to consume his entire body.

“Captain Shadi, you knew.”

The certainty of betrayal.

Uncontainable rage.

“You already knew he was an Aretion.”

The blood drained from Shadi Shandor’s face as she realized her slip of the tongue.

That confirmed Ubias’s suspicions.

He growled like an animal.

“And you followed him all this way, right to the doorstep of the island of Arete.”

“…Ubias, that’s…”

“SHUT UP!”

A roar.

“I knew it!”

He raged and screamed.

“It was a lie, wasn’t it? ALL of it was a lie, wasn’t it?”

It was a good thing it was night.

It was a good thing Shadi was blind.

His face, contorted with rage, and his flowing tears.

He must have looked truly repulsive.

“You were in on it too! You were just attached to that Aretion who was trying to reclaim his family’s power, using ‘looking for something’ and ‘it's for the next Emperor’ as excuses!”

“…That's too much!”

“You’re the ones who are too much! How many more excuses do you need when the next Emperor doesn't even know about this?!”

Ubias was practically yelling.

The Imperial family had always been pressuring Ubias.

Demanding he report Amethus's every move.

But he hadn't.

He had followed them all the way to the island of Arete, reporting only the minimum amount of information to avoid suspicion.

The Imperial family must have known very little about their journey.

This was the result of his torment.

He had been an informant planted in the Special Operations Unit by the Imperial family from the start, but he had grown too fond of Shadi and Amethus.

He had endured it all, caught between two impossible positions.

He had wanted nothing to harm his two captains whom he respected.

“…I, I was honest. I dug up my ugly past because I wanted to trust you. But…”

He had revealed his impossible situation and the orders from the Imperial family just as they were.

Even though he knew he would be scorned.

What he got in return was an agonizing sense of being an outcast.

It was Ubias's burden alone.

“Again, and again…”

Thick teardrops rolled down his cheeks.

“…I was a fool again, all by myself.”

He tried and tried, but he was only rejected.

Even the blind Shadi could feel his viciousness.

“I’m just in the middle of your little love games again, a fool all by myself.”

“That’s not it! It's a real mission, there is a purpose! When Captain Amethus returns, I can explain everything…”

“And what if he doesn’t return?! Will he?!”

He pointed at the island of Arete.

Didn't the whole Empire know the story of the Aretion family?

How foolish they were, and how vile!

“You need to snap out of it too! You dedicated yourself to him, even going blind, but did he ever hold your hand? He entered the Imperial family and didn’t contact you for years, did he?!”

“…”

“Do you think the next Emperor’s number one confidant would even look at a woman with southern blood?!”

“How could you say that!”

Shadi Shandor’s hand trembled with rage.

But Ubias did not back down.

Instead, he took big steps toward her, pressing her even harder.

“You people! How could you do this to me! You must have really thought I was a fool. You must have thought I would just grin happily and do whatever you told me, even if it was just to clean up after your little romantic getaway, isn't that why you're acting like this?!”

He reached out roughly to grab Shadi’s wrist.

He didn't care that a long wound was left on his cheek from Shadi’s dagger.

Ubias cried in anger.

He screamed at her, with tears streaming down his face.

“I blessed you! Even though it stung, I just endured it! But how, how could you…! Captain Shadi! You know how I feel about you, but you still…!”

“Ubias! Calm down, Ubias…!”

Thump, a sound was heard.

Soon, the voices stopped.

“Uh…”

Shadi Shandor collapsed.

It seemed she had slipped on a slippery rock and fallen.

But she didn't move.

Ubias stared down at her blankly.

“Captain Shadi, Captain, Captain…”

He called her, but she didn’t get up.

He shook her closely, but she wouldn’t wake.

Ubias’s face turned white.

“Th, th, this is…”

He couldn't believe it.

“How, how could this happen…”

The captain of the Imperial Security Bureau’s Special Operations Unit losing consciousness from a fall.

Even though it had been a long time since Shadi had been in the field, and even though she had been weakened by the after-effects of Rami Labuhr, how could she fall so easily?

He finally looked up at the sky and sighed.

“Why…?”

***

“…Captain.”

Ubias called out quietly.

It was still night.

On the island of Arete, the secret of the Aretion family was being revealed, but he had no way of knowing.

“Shadi, Captain…”

There was no answer.

Shadi Shandor couldn't wake up.

Ubias had laid her down carefully in the blanket, but there was no sign of her waking up.

Even though he wanted to deny it, he knew.

He knew that she might never wake up again.

“…Please, just answer me… just answer…”

In the pitch-black night, the sound of the waves was mournful.

A wide night sea and a single isolated rocky island.

Ubias Uterbeum was also alone.

The darkness seeped through his collarbones and seemed to wrap around his heart, and he was terrified.

It was dark and dark.

It was frightening and frightening.

So much so that he couldn't even tremble.

“It’s so long…”

He huddled up and cried.

He couldn't bear it without huddling his body as much as possible.

In fact, even huddled up, it was still unbearable.

It was that kind of darkness.

That kind of fear.

The searing loneliness hurt him to the bone.

“…This night is too long…”

***

“That’s what happened.”

Shion Pollinglight said.

“And then he waited for us all this time. You understand why he greeted you with a dazed face, right? Minor details may change, but the big things always happen the same way.”

“…Shadi.”

Tears flowed from his jade eyes.

He gently caressed Shadi Shandor’s face.

Her skin was cold, perhaps from the sea breeze.

He wanted to hug her to warm her, but he was afraid he might break her.

He just continued to stroke her cheek gently and endlessly.

He just cried as he looked at the empty eye sockets that were now empty because of him.

“Prince Zionis…”

Amethus raised his head.

“Even if I break my oath of loyalty, there is something I must ask.”

“You’ll have to die too, you know?”

“I will follow you there.”

At his sharp tone, Shion shook his head.

“Go ahead and ask.”

“…How did you know?”

He was asking about what happened with Ubias and Shadi.

How could he have known about the events that had occurred on that night they could not have known about?

“…You didn’t even witness any of this yourself, yet you speak as if you knew beforehand.”

“I don't need to see it to know. Shadi Shandor’s brooch has a function that records the sounds around it.”

“That doesn't explain it.”

Amethus asked sharply.

He was already holding Shadi’s brooch in his hand.

It had no communication function.

But just in case, he clenched his fist tightly.

So that no sound would leak out.

“How did you know that Shadi’s brooch had such a function? And you didn't listen to the audio recorded on the brooch, did you?”

“Ah, you’re the one who heard it. And later, you told me about it.”

“…Pardon?”

The bewilderment was thick.

Amethus couldn’t even bring himself to ask again.

Shion just grinned, as if asking why he was so surprised.

“I’m telling you, you told me. I asked you why you carried a woman’s brooch so carefully, and you made me listen to the recorded audio.”

“…Your Highness, do you know what you are saying?”

“Yep. I know it very well. And then what did you say? You said you kept it on your bedside table and that she still hadn’t woken up after 10 years, and that’s why you hadn’t married and lived alone. Do you know how much liquor I gave you just to hear that story?”

Shion continued calmly.

“When I knew you were leading the Special Operations Unit and that you were pursuing me with those two subordinates, I was certain. I was certain that fate would flow in the exact same way.”

Before the regression, it wasn't a rocky island.

The Amethus of that time didn’t pursue Shion.

However, he had left the Imperial family for a while for another reason, and I heard he was accompanied by Ubias and Shadi then, too.

And yet, somehow…

“It’s so fascinating. The location is different, the time is subtly different, and the reason for the journey is different, of course. But the result is exactly the same.”

“…I don’t, I don't understand…”

Amethus didn’t even have the heart to get angry.

“…You said I did that?”

There was only bewilderment and shock.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t remember it.

Every word didn’t make sense.

And yet, there was a strange persuasiveness to it, which was bizarre.

“When did something like that happen?”

“About four years ago.”

Shion revealed a smile full of secrets.

“In other words, about 15 years in the future.”

“…I don’t, I don't understand. I have no idea what you’re saying, Your Highness…”

“You don’t understand?”

He was still lying down.

A helpless, sprawling child, but with just his tongue he still churned up his heart.

“You really don’t understand, Amethus?”

His blue eyes were deep.

“Just as your decision to serve me is a great gamble, I’m also making a huge gamble. I'm telling you my biggest secret.”

The Reclusive Prince had many secrets.

That was the truth and because of that, he wanted it.

A single confidant to help him with this secret.

“I am a regressor, Amethus.”

He confessed his secret.

“I’m living my second life, having gone back 19 years.”

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