Chapter 92: Black Death: Twin Souls [VIP]

"His Majesty--"

After nodding to Emperor Edmund III who appeared in the crystal mirror and Prime Minister Ulysses who stood behind him, Yaris, who was also attending the meeting via remote communication via the magic crystal, immediately sat down.

In the conference hall of Winter Castle, everyone collectively paid their respects to the emperor and his subjects, and then took their seats according to their status.

Edmund raised his chin and said arrogantly, "Thank you for your hard work in dealing with the Black Death in Dalavia."

"Your Majesty, we are simply doing what we are supposed to do as subjects."

“No, no…”

Edmund narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Xiao Yun. "Especially you, Grand Marquis Gaura—I should have reprimanded you for deserting your post, but considering that the people of Dalavia have survived this difficult time thanks to your brothers' selfless assistance, I can't help but worry that harsh criticism might lead to a major rebellion among the Dalavians."

"Dalavia is always loyal to His Majesty!"

Adlon emphasized.

"Yeah?"

Edmund looked at Adrian: "Your son doesn't seem to think so."

"Young people are inevitably impulsive and passionate. Once he officially inherits the throne of Duke of Dalavia, understands the agreement between Dalavia and the Empire, and offers his sword of loyalty to Your Majesty according to tradition, he will become mature and rational, knowing what he should and should not do."

"I hope so."

Edmund said this grimly, looking at everyone present at the meeting with a gloomy and expressionless look.

"Lucien, do you know how much I envy you? You were born with a lovely appearance and excellent taste, a warm, cheerful and likable personality... You take it for granted every day that you can be with your beautiful brother, and you won't be blamed even if your grades are a mess... But I have nothing, no youth, no vitality. In my twenties, I am already as dry and gloomy as a hundred-year-old man..."

"Your Majesty should return to your room immediately to take medicine and put an end to unnecessary fantasies."

Jarris interrupted Edmund rudely.

"ah……"

Edmund opened his mouth and licked his lips with his tongue, as if a beast was savoring the taste of its fresh and beautiful prey left on its lips and teeth, and a dirty light called distortion rolled across his cloudy eyes.

"Yaris, you and your brother are as beautiful as blooming flowers no matter what color clothes you wear."

"Are you distracted again?"

Yaris smiled gently and said, "If you can't maintain your spirits, you can let your most trusted Lord Ulysses preside over the meeting in your place."

"Yaris, you make a lot of sense, but I, I... Okay, I'll accept your suggestion and let Ulysses take my place. I'll sit back and listen to you all... just like every other imperial meeting..."

Edmund turned around and glanced at the short Ulysses.

Ulysses bowed his head. "My pleasure."

Then the meeting officially began.

…

…

Although he was short, ugly, and often teased by court ladies as a bat transformed into a human, Ulysses' ability as the Prime Minister of the Empire was unquestionable.

Under his chairmanship, the "Report Meeting on the Loss Assessment of the Dalavian Plague Incident and the Budget for Post-Disaster Reconstruction and Other Related Matters" which was expected to take an entire afternoon to sort out was completed in less than half the time. The verification of various data was completed and a basic consensus was reached on matters such as the allocation of materials needed for post-disaster reconstruction.

"——Thank you all for your hard work on everything in Dalavia."

Ulysses closed the folder with a tired smile on his face.

"The entire people of Dalavia are grateful to receive so much attention and support from the Empire after this disaster."

Adlon said insincerely.

As the Duke of Dalavia, he had an obligation to be loyal to the empire and the emperor, but when he thought of Emperor Edmund's indifference during the Black Death, his loyal soul was inevitably shaken.

"The people of Dharavia should be most grateful to my beautiful cousin and his lovely brother for having safely survived this disaster."

Edmund spoke again, and his sarcastic tone rekindled Xiao Yun's urge to follow the magic path of the crystal mirror to the Palace of Light and beat him up.

"They used selflessness, bravery, nobility, and dedication... to help Dalavia survive the most dangerous years. Adlon, how do you plan to thank them? How about giving them the Dalavia Knights?"

“…”

Adlon's face suddenly became extremely ugly.

"Why don't you speak, Adlon?"

"Don't say that, Your Majesty, I..."

"I don't quite understand you, Edmund."

Yaris suddenly spoke, looking at the emperor who was maliciously making things difficult for everyone with gentle eyes that couldn't even kill a butterfly.

"As believers of the Twin Gods and subjects of the Empire, everyone has an obligation to help Dalavia during the Black Death. Driving away the cloud of death and restoring health to the Dalavians is the sole appeal of our brothers in launching the aid operation for Dalavia."

"Really? You brothers really don't have any immoral demands?"

"certainly."

"In that case—"

Edmund looked at Xiao Yun and said, "Lucien, right now, present your sword to me! Accept me as your sword master!"

“…”

Xiao Yun was silent.

”

.

"Yeah, I can't."

Xiao Yun's expression was calm.

"Why?"

"Because my sword already has a master."

"Who! Who is your master!"

Xiao Yun tilted his head.

“…”

Yaris didn't answer.

He looked at his brother tenderly and smiled.

"Lucien, happy twenty-second birthday!"

"-Birthday? Is today your birthday, Lucien?"

The naive Adrian was completely unaware of the unusual atmosphere and looked at Xiao Yun in astonishment.

Xiao Yun nodded: "I was born late at night, close to the next morning, so my parents set my birthday for tomorrow. But my brother believes that late at night still belongs to today, so he says happy birthday to me every year on this day."

“I hope I’m the first one to say happy birthday to you every year.”

Yaris expressed enthusiastically.

"I'm not surprised by this... But I still can't understand why you brothers have such a strong bond. My brothers and I don't have similar intense feelings..."

Edmund muttered, and suddenly raised his voice: "Lucien, to whom did you give your sword? Who is the master of your sword?"

"Yaris."

Xiao Yun said without hesitation: "I swear to protect him forever and be his knight."

“…I suddenly don’t know what to say.”

Edmund's eyes instantly lost all emotion, and he looked at Yaris with an inhuman, emotionless, and creepy look: "Perhaps human emotions are just so complicated and difficult to explain, but these are not important... They are not important at all..."

He seemed to have finally regained his correct emotional state and smiled at Yaris: "Dear cousin, can you give me your sword?"

"I'm sorry, but the moment I was chosen as the high priest by the oracle, God became my master."

Yaris showed the Twin God Ring on his left ring finger: "I cannot make anyone in this world the Sword Master, even if he is an emperor and calls himself a god."

“…”

Edmund's expression became strange again, his eyes, sunken due to his weight loss, widened. "...Do you really think I know nothing? You and your brother have always looked down on me, thinking I'm unworthy of sitting with you to discuss state affairs! More importantly—"

"His Majesty!"

Jarris interrupted Edmund's complaints. Although his voice was mellow and soft, it was full of majesty and strength that could not be disobeyed.

Edmund closed his mouth involuntarily.

"The Yula Royal Family is the ruler of the Sun Empire, but before the Yula Royal Family became the ruling royal family of the empire, the empire had already existed for 4,800 years, with more than 30 dynasties changing! For the people who have lived on this land for generations, the Holy Family, with a history of 5,000 years or even longer, represents the existence of the empire even more than the royal family!"

"—Is that so? Is the Holy Family truly more noble than the Royal Family? If one day, the five thousand years of heritage that the Holy Family is so proud of is proven to be the biggest lie in the history of the Western Continent, how will you brothers bear the consequences?"

"This problem—given that it's almost impossible to happen, I can't offer any advice on how to handle it right now."

Yaris spoke gently, his eyes, as bright as a night lake, flashing with a suspicious light.

"...Okay! That concludes today's meeting."

Edmund stood up weakly and announced the end of the meeting.

Before the light of the crystal mirror completely went out, he suddenly asked, "Yaris, for the honor of the Holy Family and the stability of the Sun Empire, you can do anything, right?"

…

The meeting did not end immediately after Edmund's crystal mirror went out.

Adlon raised his head and looked at Yaris: "Your Highness, the Grand Duke, the hospitality of you and your brother will never be forgotten by the people of Dalavia and me. Although we cannot say such words in front of His Majesty."

"We brothers hereby accept the friendship of Duke Adlon and the people of Dalavia. We also ask that you be extra careful in the future."

Yaris said gently, "The darkness has only been temporarily dispersed. It may return at any time."

"I see."

Adlon gave a bitter smile.

He stood up and saluted Yaris: "I deeply apologize for the offense and neglect I have caused you over the years."

"I have always been happy to understand my mother, and I have never truly hated you."

After saying that, Yaris glanced at his brother and said, "Lucien, I just left the divine tower yesterday and I'm afraid I will miss your birthday party."

"Your smile is the best birthday gift I could ever get."

Xiao Yun said without hesitation.

"...But I still feel guilty and uneasy. I hope to be by your side as soon as possible and spend a night full of laughter and joy with you."

Yaris bit her coral-red lips lightly. Her soft movements matched with her delicate features, like ripe fruit on a branch, naturally exuding a hint of decadence.

…

…

Lucien...Lucien...

A voice so gentle that it seemed to penetrate every cell in my body rang in my ears.

Xiao Yun knew that it was Yaris who was talking to him through the dream channel again.

"elder brother?"

[During the afternoon meeting, there were other people present, so I couldn't tell you a lot. I can only talk to you through the dream channel tonight...]

"Yes, I understand..."

Xiao Yun opened his eyes and found himself floating in the vast starry sky.

Yaris's figure slowly emerged in the darkness. He was wearing a simple and light white robe, with exquisite decorations on his hair, neck, wrists and ankles. His sparkling black hair was even deeper and more beautiful than the starry sky behind him.

[I'm sorry about my birthday...]

"You've already given me the best birthday gift. Without your remote assistance in publicly performing miracles to inspire everyone's confidence, and without your continuous delivery of supplies and volunteers through the temple system, I would never have been able to defeat the Black Death in Dalavia on my own."

[But this is far from enough...far from enough...]

Yaris raised his hand and stroked his brother's hair.

【Did you know there is another version of the Twin Myth? 】

"Another version?"

Long, long ago, a god so ancient that even his name has been forgotten fell into an eternal slumber... Before his true form fell asleep, a portion of his consciousness solidified and created a pair of twins... In the kingdom left behind by the ancient god, only the twins enjoyed a seemingly endless happiness... Until they saw the land below, and saw the world where the fate of all beings was toyed with by gods other than themselves...

The twins then descended into the desolate world, guiding people as humble and fragile as ants and as resilient as weeds to cultivate the land, create writing, accumulate knowledge, and move towards civilization... People were grateful for the twins' kindness and worshipped them as their supreme gods...

Humans are so innocent, pure, pious, and lovable that when the twins realized they had stayed on this land for too long, they... even their appearances had been reshaped by human emotions... They accepted this change, voluntarily giving up the glory of the gods, and remained in this world forever as the twin gods who guide human civilization forward...

Yaris' words were filled with strong pity and sorrow, as if everything he said at the moment was his personal experience.

Xiao Yun's heart was also filled with indescribable admiration and longing, and he even felt a near-desperate grief from Yaris's words.

(What happened in the past of Planet Ella?)

Why, when I hear him tell this fairy tale, do I feel such a strong sense of homesickness… My hometown… Where is it… Me… And who am I…?

"Brother, this mythological story, which is not recorded in almost any text, is the true origin of this planet's belief in the Twin Gods, right?"

[I don’t know… Perhaps only at the end of time, the end of the universe, will we know what the truth is…]

Yaris's voice was as ethereal and soft as a veil in the wind.

Xiao Yun quickly raised his hand and grabbed his wrist, which was so thin that it could be blown away by the wind at any time.

"Brother, I'm sorry for saying something in the Dragon Emperor's Black Pyramid that could put you in great danger."

【oh? 】

Yaris looked at his brother intently.

What happened?

"The situation is probably like this..."

Xiao Yun briefly described what happened inside the black pyramid.

After listening to his brother's story, Yaris smiled gently.

"Lucien, you never need to worry about me being put in danger by these statements. Godalu and Miranda were too low-level and only understood the first half of the rumor. So, when you pointed out the contradiction, they believed it without hesitation. But in the second half of the rumor, this contradiction has already been perfectly resolved."

"What's the second half?"

[The High Priest is a container that seals secrets, and the container cannot apply the secrets to itself.]

"container……"

Xiao Yun felt a strange feeling in his heart again.

Recalling Adlon's words—

Is the sacred family that has been passed down for five thousand years truly the bloodline of the Twin Gods? What is this noble and glorious high priest who is destined to live past forty?

(Is my coming to this world just a coincidence of fate? Or...)

【what's on your mind? 】

"I wonder... why we were born into this world... Is it because we long to spend the good times together day and night on this planet, or..."

When fate permits, we will naturally understand everything. In fact, even the gods who dominate the fate of the planet Ella must obey the absolute power from a higher dimension, which scholars call the "Golden Rule of the Universe."

Yaris lowered his head and kissed his brother's fingers.

All we need to do is love and believe. Believe that love can create miracles, and believe that twin souls born of love can sense each other's existence even across the universe.

(…Twin souls? Yaris, what exactly are you hiding from me?)

Xiao Yun was stunned unconsciously.

He pretended not to notice the strong emotions in Yaris's words and told Yaris about Alans's promise.

"...He would make such a promise to me, which shows that his status in the Assassin's Order is extraordinary."

For thousands of years, the "Assassin's Order" has been shrouded in mystery. Even I only know that the Order's headquarters is in the Eastern Continent. It's a troublesome existence that even the Dragon Emperor finds vexing and unwilling to provoke... Regardless, with Alans's promise, we have another trump card... And with trump cards, the more the better, isn't it?