Chapter 64: Flower Street (End) [VIP]
The bells celebrating Kucukia's rebirth rang throughout the city. Even on the next day, the next day... people's excitement did not stop. Whenever someone passed by, there would be carnival singing and happy dancing.
Hero-related items filled all stores overnight, ranging from lifelike works of art made by professionals to crude and clumsy things that looked like children's stick figures. Even unrelated clothes, bouquets, snacks, and drinks were labeled "Hero XXX's Favorite" and became best-sellers that the public rushed to own.
There were wandering artists singing and dancing on every street, and children wrapped themselves in bed sheets as cloaks, dressing themselves up as heroes who saved the city, shouting and running around in the busy streets with wooden sticks in their hands.
No one would blame them for being too noisy.
Everyone was immersed in a similar happiness, eating, drinking, cheering, dancing drunkenly, and falling into the fountain in the square.
…
“…Everyone seems to be having a great time tonight.”
In the brightly lit Xiaoyue Palace, a gentle voice broke the tranquility of the night.
"Um……"
Xiao Yun looked at his brother in confusion.
After two days of rest, his frail body gradually recovered. After bathing and changing into a loose white robe, he exuded a beautiful fragrance as charming as a rose blooming in the early morning.
"Aren't you happy?"
"I have no idea……"
Yaris stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the city where a grand celebration was taking place. He said quietly, "If an army attacked Kukuchia at this moment, the city would fall instantly."
"That will never happen."
"Why?"
"because--"
"Because the most ambitious person in the Western Continent is right in front of you?"
Yaris asked back with a smile.
Xiao Yun couldn't help but open his eyes wide, unable to believe that Yaris, who always seemed to exude the calmness, composure and confidence of a superior, had once leaned in his arms like a child, revealing innocence, anxiety, immaturity and fear.
At that time, he seemed like another person, or it was an illusion of the eyes.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like this, as if you're seeing me for the first time today?"
"I……"
Xiao Yun stepped forward, raised his hand and carefully lifted a strand of black hair that had not yet dried.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, I just suddenly feel that you are more beautiful now than you were yesterday..."
"Just that?"
Yaris narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Yes, that's all."
Xiao Yun released the black hair from his fingers. "You consider me your most beloved brother, so of course I love my brother too. We are two flowers blooming in the same garden. Although our appearances may not be exactly the same, we sway in the same wind and share the same joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness."
“…Okay! Okay!”
Yaris interrupted Xiao Yun with a smile, placing his slender fingers on his brother's cheek. "As long as you can accept my light and tolerate my darkness, I will tell you everything about me. I'm just afraid that if you know everything, you will dislike me and don't want me anymore."
"How is that possible!"
Xiao Yun protested loudly.
At this moment, Yaris suddenly put his forehead against his, and the tips of their noses touched slightly.
"us……"
He didn't continue speaking. His eyelids closed slightly, and his soft long eyelashes brushed against Xiao Yun's skin, evoking the most difficult-to-express worry in his heart.
(Can we really be together from now on? Love each other without a doubt like all the true E brothers in the world?)
(Why do I always feel like you're so far away even though you're clearly right in front of me? What are you afraid of?)
Xiao Yun thought anxiously.
Of course, these words were impossible to say.
…
…
The grand carnival of the Poseidon Festival ended with the snoring of drunkards lying on the street, but for the newly born Kucuccia, the future had just begun.
Alfonso walked into the Moon Palace in the morning light and glanced at the wine on the table from which he had only taken a sip. "Your Highness, haven't you rested yet?"
"ah……"
Yaris, who was standing at the window, turned around and glanced at the bloodstains on the end of Alfonso's cloak: "You didn't rest either."
"I'm so sorry..."
Alfonso suddenly knelt on one knee and spoke hoarsely, "You forbade me to kill indiscriminately, especially in front of you. But I... I'm sorry. After you and the young master left, I publicly executed Tales and his cronies in the name of a sacrifice to Poseidon. I hung their heads on pillars in the square for everyone to admire, and threw their bodies into the sea as this year's tribute to Poseidon."
"knew."
"Aren't you angry?"
"Why are you angry?"
Yaris gave a beautiful yet dangerous smile. "Things like Tales, whether they are hanged in public as criminals after trial or beheaded as this year's tribute at the Poseidon Festival, are all meant to please the people of Kukuchia, aren't they?"
"so--"
"Next time you do something similar,."
Yaris answered as if it were a trivial matter like "It's a nice day today."
He even patted Alfonso on the shoulder.
"Remember, before Lucien, I was a leader who saw bloodshed."
“…”
Alfonso stood up and turned to see Xiao Yun walking into the room.
"Lucien—"
Yaris smiled as he walked towards his brother, hugged him, and said with a beautiful face: "You don't look well."
"Romila said that the 'Priest of the Sea God' broke through the magical blockade of the 'Mentor of the Dark Night' and escaped from Kukuchia."
"really……"
There was a smile in Yaris's eyes.
"Aren't you surprised?"
Yaris' voice was also filled with a faint smile: "I deliberately let the 'Priest of the Sea God' escape."
"ah?"
"Of the two greatest magicians in the world, apart from the 'Sage of Death' who lives in seclusion in the Death Desert to guard the ruins of the Eternal Empire, the other two are both black magicians. If the balance of restraint between them is broken..."
"Brother, do you think the 'Dark Night Mentor' is more dangerous than the 'Priest of the Sea God'?"
"'Dark Night Mentor' is nothing but an old dog who doesn't keep his word."
Yaris took hold of his brother's wrist.
The Seagod Priest had long been in collusion with the Dragon Emperor, but what he cared most about was the Seagod Cult he founded and the worship he received from the coastal people, making it difficult for him to develop a deeper connection with the Dragon Emperor.
[The "Dark Night Mentor" has always had ambitions to rule the world. 7 has repeatedly infiltrated the True Human Empire to spy on it. His soul has long been marked by the Dragon Emperor, and he is often unconsciously controlled and acts for him.]
Therefore, I deliberately let the Seagod Priest escape. He's vindictive, and after escaping Kukuchia, he'll relentlessly pursue the Dark Night Mentor, destroying everything connected to him and indirectly sabotaging his plot.
【I see. 】
Xiao Yun suddenly understood.
Yaris let go of his hand, poured a glass of amber wine and handed it to Alfonso, while he picked up the unfinished wine on the table.
"I want to talk to you about something important."
"What is it?"
Alfonso took the glass and stared at Yaris.
"I'm going to give you a chance to choose again, Alfonso."
Yaris said in a strange tone: "You have embarked on a path full of curses and resentment. This is a road with no future. When you become king, you will lose everything: no relatives, no friends, no love, no dreams, no warmth, no trust, and even no nights without nightmares... lonely, terrified, standing alone in the ruins of the world..."
"I know."
"No, you don't know..."
Yaris said with a look of sorrow, "In the past, I considered myself the executor of fate, arrogantly pushing you onto this path with no future. But now, after going through so much, I want to give you a chance to make a new choice."
“…”
"As long as you take off the Death God Ring I gave you, you will be liberated and free."
"Then what?"
There was a fierce glint in Alfonso's eyes.
"After taking off the ring, our destinies are completely separated!"
“…”
"When you chose me, in the name of fate, to be your king, the one who would bear all the burdens, I already knew what would happen in the future. I willingly jumped into the fate you gave me, willingly surrounded by curses and resentment, and forever alone..."
"The night before I received the Death God's Ring, I had a dream. In it, I walked through a palace ablaze with hellish flames. Corpses piled up in the path I passed. Everyone was dead, the earth was dead silent, and two black moons hung in the sky... Between them was the Death Throne of flame and darkness. You slept on the throne, so beautiful, so gentle, so distant... Exactly like the mythical Ya..."
"I walked towards you, but as I climbed, I was pierced by countless swords... I rolled down the stairs with blood holes all over my body... I crawled towards you again and again, and rolled down again and again..."
"...When I was about to die, you woke up. You stepped down from the throne and embraced me, like a mother holding her dying child. You said to me gently: 'Poor Alfonso... This is not your fault... Everything is arranged by fate... Fate has determined that you can only go this far...'"
"From that moment on, I knew everything! I was chosen by fate, and I also chose fate... I was destined to meet you, I must obey you and do anything for you... anything... anything..."
He repeated it in a trance as if he was bewildered by something mysterious and ethereal.
(This person...is more like a young man chasing an unattainable dream than an ambitious man longing to become king...)
Xiao Yun thought tremblingly.
Alfonso's persistence and determination made his heart feel a sharp pain.
(If I weren't his half-brother, Yaris might not even look at me... He was born with everything the world desires: beauty, elegance, composure, wisdom. Even the emperor would feel ashamed in front of him...)
"So you've made up your mind? No matter what happens in the future, you won't doubt your decision today and will unwaveringly choose me?"
"Yes, no matter what happens in the future."
Alfonso's eyes burned as he looked at Yaris's incomparably beautiful face, which revealed the madness of being intoxicated by the poisonous wine of fate.
"I see."
Yaris drank the remaining wine, looked at Alfonso with eyes as deep as a night lake, and said calmly: "I will continue my promise to you until the end of fate."
"I accept."
After saying this in a decisive tone, Alfonso drank the wine that Yaris gave him and left the room.
…
…
After Alfonso left, Yaris slowly walked to the window and looked at the white figure outside the window that was gradually disappearing from his sight with a complicated expression.
"Are you curious about what I just said to Alfonso?"
"……yes."
Xiao Yun hesitated: "I don't understand why you..."
"I like Alfonso very much, but I can't have too much contact with him..."
He turned around and said sadly and calmly, "He is the messenger of death prepared for me by the gods, and every time I see him, I get closer to death, yet he himself knows nothing about this... because he is the person in this world who least wants to hurt me... You are even more reluctant to hurt me than you..."
"In that case, why do we still..."
"Because fate—"
Yaris stared at his brother and said, "Fate has chosen me. Whether I like it or not, I must reach this point."
"Can't fate be changed?"
"I don't know... but no matter what, I am always happier than Alfonso."
He smiled, hugged his brother, and whispered in his ear: "The end of Alfonso's road is eternal loneliness, without mercy, without warmth, and no night without nightmares... But I have you, you accompany me..."
[All the turmoil will find the final peace under the cold soil, and only we will become the eternal "we"... We will be together forever...]
…
…
"Alfonso—"
Alfonso, who was on the balcony, had already turned his head before hearing the shout: "Ah, Lucien, what do you want from me?"
"My brother and I will return to the Empire of the Sun tomorrow."
"Let's go back together?"
"He's going back to Maga to recuperate, and I'm going back to the Gola territory."
Xiao Yun walked over to Alfonso and placed his hand on the balcony railing. "My brother sent a magician to deliver a letter to the Priests of Denos, asking them to quickly persuade the nations of the Western Continent to recognize your status as co-ruler of Kukuchia."
"Why choose co-governance? Don't you want to have Kukuchia all to yourself?"
"Kukukia is too far from Gora. I currently don't have the ability to effectively govern Kukukia thousands of miles away while living in Gora. Furthermore, Edmund has been keeping an eye on my brother and me. If I openly claim exclusive sovereignty over Kukukia, he'll use this as an excuse to further embarrass us."
Xiao Yun said, "Besides, your people also made great efforts in the conquest of Kukuchia. If the gains are not as good as their efforts, they will inevitably resent you. Therefore, co-governance is the best option."
"All right……"
"Finally, my brother and I agreed that gaining experience ruling a large city before officially marrying Freya would allow you to achieve your political ambitions more quickly. After all, your plan is to gradually undermine Freya's power and seize her country after marriage..."
"Perhaps I will order the killing of all Barakhanian nobles who attend the wedding on my wedding day and directly seize the country by force."
Alfonso smiled faintly, as if he was joking.
“…”
"If I do this, will Your Highness and you condemn me?"
"I think... my brother wouldn't allow you to do something so extreme..."
"Yes, your brother has always been kind and gentle and cannot stand the sight of blood..."
A strange smile played on Alfonso's lips.
"...Why do I feel that your tone of voice is a bit harsh?"
"Because this is the only thing I can do right now."
Alfonso turned his head and said sarcastically: "Lucien, you don't need to work hard to get everything I want, but I can't hate you because he doesn't allow me to hate you."
"He is..."
(Yaris?)
Alfonso smiled bitterly. "Don't worry, I will never hate you, although my heart is becoming more jealous of you every day."
“…”
Xiao Yun couldn't help but look at Alfonso's handsome and dangerous profile, trying to explore his inner thoughts.
(Alfonso, is becoming king really what you're pursuing, even at the cost of your humanity? Why do you persist in going down this path, knowing that the end is eternal loneliness and despair?)
(What exactly are you looking at when you look at Yaris? Is it the embodiment of a dream or the destruction of fate?)
Alfonso said nothing.
He seemed not to notice Xiao Yun's gaze and was concentrating on looking at the square below the balcony.
In the square, the people of Kucukia were surrounding Tales's rotting head and laughing loudly.
…
…
On the day the Holy Duke's fleet left Cucuccia, the citizens thronged the port.
The people shouted that the Holy Family had liberated Cucuccia from the clutches of Tales and that the Archdukes were angels who had brought light to Cucuccia.
"Long live! Long live!"
"May the gods always bless Kukuchia!"
"Lucien! Lucien!"
“…”
The people's shouts grew louder and louder, and the old men and women waved flowers or held high portraits of members of the Holy Family, cheering with tears in their eyes.
"The city has changed its owner, but its citizens only hate that the one who stole it arrived too late."
Looking at the crowds pouring in from the shore like streams flowing into a river, Yaris said sarcastically.
"Because the rule of the Talese family is unpopular."
"Yes."
Yaris looked up, pointed at the Paradise City on the mountain and said, "This castle reminds me of Edmund..."
"ah?"
"Edmund is a pitiful creature. He hates the people because he fears them. He knows that this is not the age of gods. In this age dominated by humans, the will of the people can change the fate of the country and even the fate of the world."
Yaris spoke gently, frowning his delicate eyebrows.
"He has a firm grip on the empire's army, but the army doesn't make him feel safe. Because the army is made up of people, and the army won't kill everyone for him. An emperor who loses his people will eventually lose his power."
"The Emperor Who Lost His People..."
Xiao Yun couldn't help but think of the afternoon when he and Alfonso jointly captured Kucukia.
(One hundred and twenty volunteers from the Lower Cucucchia, who united to resist the brutal rule of Thales, request to join the team!)
(Twenty guards from the Second District of Lower Kukuchia come to surrender!)
(Seventy-two guerrillas from the Southern District Underground Resistance Organization hope to be accepted!)
(……)
That day, the news of surrender coming from all directions and the cheers of citizens on every street left a deep and exciting impression on Xiao Yun.
"A tyrant's rule is like a castle built on sand. No matter how hard and stubborn it appears, it cannot withstand the tide of the people..."
Xiao Yun was inspired.
Hearing this, Yaris turned his head, his eyes sparkling.
"So we must always trust the people and rely on the people. At the very least, we must make the people believe that we always believe in them and stand with them. Because only with the trust and support of the people can you accomplish anything."
"Whether it's religion or faith, it ultimately offers people faith and hope. For this faith and hope, even in the face of despair with no tomorrow in sight, these tiny people persevere undeterred, supporting us from behind, and continuing the fight in their own ways."
“These words…”
"I never said these words to Alfonso."
“…”
"Have you always been curious about the relationship between Alfonso and I?"
"...Yes, I want to know what kind of person he is in his brother's eyes."
"he……"
Yaris said in a gentle yet cold voice, "He's six years older than me and grew up in a dark corner where the sun never shines. When I first met him, he had nothing and knew nothing, but he had a pair of clear and pure eyes. He wanted to get everything, wanted to know everything, and wanted to stand at the highest point in the world."
"And then you—"
"He manipulated 'Ninomiya' to mock me, calling me arrogant, conceited, and cold-blooded. And that's exactly what happened. During the days when you weren't by my side, unable to bear the fact of being abandoned, I became increasingly selfish, willful, dark, and jealous. Simply because Alfonso's eyes held a clarity and purity I never possessed, I lured him off the right path and into endless darkness, causing him to lose his way and depriving him of love, family, and friendship... I watched him continue down the wrong path, his eyes losing their former clarity and innocence, his cheeks no longer gleaming with the light of life, and his body emanating the darkness of a demon..."
There was a flash of pure darkness in Yaris's eyes, as if it came from the deepest part of the universe.
"The sad thing is, even at this point, Alfonso still doesn't know that what he truly wants is neither the crown nor me. He's just chasing his own dream, a beautiful, fragile dream he had as a teenager. He firmly believes that as long as he turns his dream into reality, he will get everything he desires. He has no idea of the sacrifice, fear, and destruction that his dream will bring to the world when it begins to come true..."
"So you a few days ago..."
"Well," Yaris said with a wry smile, "I sincerely wanted to set him free at that time, hoping that through marriage with Freya he would return to the right path and become king in a dignified and upright manner. But he didn't seem to think so... He was very persistent..."
"Well……"
Xiao Yun remembered what Alfonso had said to him.
Just as he was thinking about whether to tell Yaris what Alfonso said about Freya and the throne——
"Your Highness..."
Alfonso appears.
He seemed hesitant, even stuttering, his voice trembling.
"What's the matter? Why are you standing at the door? Come here..."
Yaris gave Alfonso his signature gentle smile.
The clear and gentle greeting brought Alfonso back to his senses. He walked up to Yaris like a knight addressing a princess and said tremblingly, "I'm getting married next month."
"Well, I know you're going to Barakania to marry the Golden Princess Freya. She's one of the most beautiful women in the Western Continent, with long hair that shines like gold. Although she has a somewhat tough personality, you've won her heart, and she's willing to be your wife."
"Yes, Your Highness, Freya is a beautiful woman, but...but..."
Alfonso's cheeks flushed red. "You are incomparable. When I stand in front of you, I tremble with excitement, afraid that my rudeness will hurt you..."
"There's still a lot of time before we sail, let's sit down and talk slowly—"
Yaris deliberately changed the subject: "What do you want me to give you as a wedding gift?"
"I don't need a gift. My wedding with her is destined to never be completed..."
"What did you say?"
"I plan to kill her and all of Barakhania on our wedding day..."
"Do you know what this means?"
Yaris's voice suddenly became stern: "When you walk into the hall filled with corpses and put the crown on yourself with your blood-stained hands, a curse will follow. You will become a demon that brings a bloody storm to the Western Continent."
"I know, I know that if I seize a country with such brutal and barbaric means, the people's opposition and hatred will turn into flames and ignite the land, but I, I have no choice. Freya is not going to give me a chance to choose. She is plotting to kill me on the wedding day, and I must kill her before she draws her knife and stabs me."
"How could this be? The letter you sent me two months ago said she was deeply in love with you..."
"A month ago, she found out that I was the one who killed her brother two years ago...but that incident..."
"I know about that, and it's not your fault."
"Froya doesn't think so. She and her father believe that I started plotting against their country two years ago... Although I did want to become king through Barakaniya, two years ago..."
"I see."
He spoke slowly, rose silently, and walked into the dark corner of the room: "Ulysses——"
"Your Highness..."
The Magician Prime Minister stepped out from the shadows, holding a handful of documents in his hands. "Your Majesty, please sign these documents."
"The conversation just now—"
"I heard it all."
Ulysses whispered.
"Alfonso will be getting married to Flora next month. Choose someone who is smart, reliable, and flexible to be the witness."
"Your Highness..."
Ulysses's eyes made Xiao Yun, who was watching from the sidelines, feel a little sorry for him.
"Your request... I cannot accept your request... This is a crime worse than treason!"
"If Alfonso dies in Barakanya, I will suffer an unprecedented defeat. You don't want Edmund to kill my dear brother, break my hands and feet, and send me in a box to the East Continent, do you?"
“…”
"Even so, you still want to reject me?"
“…Everything will be as you wish.”
Julius, a short and thin man, knelt down with a sob and kissed his fingers, his gray eyes like the sun that had burned out.
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