Between the capital and the border lies the trade city of Creta.
First Prince Theseus had established his residence there.
Although terrorist activity was mostly concentrated in the capital, this also meant that imperial knights were rarely dispatched to ambiguous regions like this.
As a result, when incidents occurred in such places, it was usually up to the local lords to handle them.
But what’s the state of the world these days?
Due to Emperor Abraham’s decree that strictly limited the number of standing troops in each territory, there were only a handful of places that could respond properly when trouble broke out.
It was to deal with these uncontrollable situations that Theseus had come.
His movements were quite public. Naturally, at first, assassins and terrorists targeting him appeared.
“Hmph…”
However, after he crushed them all with sheer force, Creta became the most peaceful city of all.
Everyone in the city revered Theseus as a hero.
And then one day, an uninvited guest arrived in that peaceful city.
“Help me!”
A girl, bleeding all over, being chased by someone.
Theseus moved toward the girl who was being pursued.
It was a simple matter.
“Stop. What’s going on here?”
“Th-Theseus?!”
The thugs chasing the girl instantly realized who he was the moment he stepped in their way.
Red hair and golden eyes. The symbols of imperial blood.
An overwhelming presence.
Theseus, the hero of Creta.
There wasn’t a soul who didn’t know who he was, nor anyone unaware of how foolish it was to go up against him.
In the end, faced with the immovable wall that was Theseus, the thugs had no choice but to lower their heads and retreat.
“Ha… This is a trade city, and all sorts of riffraff come crawling in.”
Even with the weight that the name Theseus carried, incidents in Creta never stopped. It was simply because so many people came and went.
Theseus was getting utterly fed up with it all.
“Anyway… what am I supposed to do with this?”
He hesitated, looking down at the girl who had fainted in relief once she realized she was safe. After a moment’s thought, he headed to a nearby hospital.
The doctor, whom he was familiar with, frowned the moment he saw the girl in Theseus’s arms.
“You’ve got too much of a savior complex.”
“It’s just who I am. Can’t help it.”
“Tch.”
This wasn’t the first time Theseus had brought someone in like this.
The doctor couldn’t help but nag him, since he always showed up with people who clearly had some sort of story behind them.
But the very fact that he could speak so freely showed how close he and Theseus were.
“Leave her here.”
“Yes, I’m counting on you.”
“And stick around for a while. If any troublesome visitors show up, you’ll have to deal with them, won’t you?”
“Haha, of course.”
After that, Theseus visited the hospital frequently to check on the girl’s condition.
Every time she saw him, she trembled as if anxious and kept her mouth firmly shut, as if she couldn’t speak at all. But still, Theseus didn’t give up.
He was the kind of man who was called a “hero”. He was kind and full of justice.
He did everything he could to help the girl.
Even though she never opened up to him, it was obvious she was recovering and her health was improving day by day.
That peaceful daily life continued for a while.
And then, when rumors about the Second Prince Loki and rumors that had started in the capital finally reached Creta…
“It’s been a while, brother.”
“Loki…?”
Second Prince Loki arrived, leading his personal guard, to visit Theseus himself.
With deep green hair, yellow eyes, and dressed in lavish scholar’s robes, Loki Vicious von Miltonia greeted him with a snake-like smile.
“Ah, I hope you’re not uncomfortable just because we’re half-brothers?”
“…Let’s talk outside.”
“Is that really necessary? You see, my business isn’t with you, brother. I’ll simply take care of what I came for and be on my way. Unless… you have something to say to me?”
“Business? What kind of business could you possibly have in a place like this?”
“Oh, I’ve heard someone I’ve been chasing for a long time is here. So I came to find them.”
“Is that so?”
Theseus wasn’t a fool.
As soon as he heard Loki’s words, his mind immediately went to the girl he’d rescued not long ago.
This must have all been part of the plan from the start.
Every step of it….just a setup to establish justification.
“And who exactly are you here to capture?”
“They’re likely in the room you’re currently guarding, brother.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“I think so too. For you to be harboring a criminal like this… I suppose I’ll have to get past you, won’t I?”
“What I meant by unfortunate—”
Shrrring.
Theseus drew his sword.
Everyone present felt the shift in the air.
“—was that you actually believed that was enough to defeat me, Loki.”
***
Theseus stood firm, shielding the girl as he faced off against Loki’s personal guard.
Even with such a burden in his arms, he didn’t falter.
In fact, without making any major movements, he was able to overwhelm the elite guards and knights of the imperial order who served Loki.
The battle spilled out of the hospital and onto an open field, where Theseus found himself surrounded.
But no one, not a single one of them, truly believed they could break through the wall that was Theseus.
“You’re every bit the older brother I remember.”
“Give it up, Loki. That’s not enough to take me down. This time, your arrogance has gone too far.”
“Arrogant? Brother, when have I ever been arrogant? That hurts. After all, didn’t we spend our childhoods together?”
“……”
However, Loki too showed no signs of losing his composure.
Half of the imperial guards he had brought with him were already collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath from exhaustion.
The remaining half, unable to come up with any effective strategy, stood around hesitating and were just watching.
Most of the people passing through Creta had either quietly slipped away or hidden themselves, holding their breath in the face of such overwhelming violence.
And yet, only the two imperial brothers continued to speak with ease.
“I lost my mother before I was even born. That’s why Lady Aethra, Her Majesty the Empress and your mother, became my parent. Of course, it was a nanny who raised me, but I still remember Lady Aethra’s love.”
“……”
“She treated me without discrimination, and you, Brother, treated me like your real younger sibling. Do you remember?”
“I remember. Which is why we should put an end to this pointless conflict, Loki.”
Among the current imperial family, there are none who share the same mother.
The ruthless nature of the imperial household made it too dangerous to protect them.
Only children who have not yet come of age were granted protection.
After that, survival requires proof of one’s own strength.
Even Lady Aethra, the Empress and Theseus’s birth mother, was no exception.
One morning, she was found with a knife embedded in her heart.
It was an assassination. It was common, if not trivial, in the imperial palace.
“Brother, you no doubt strive to be a good man, just as she wished. But I am not the same.
I want to become emperor and change everything, so that no such people can ever be born again.”
“I have no desire for the throne.”
“But that’s not what those around you think. If you truly didn’t want the throne, you should’ve lived quietly in the shadows.”
“……”
“Well, what’s the point in saying all this now? You and I are both bound by countless invisible things, aren’t we?”
Loki sneered.
No matter how great their strength or power, they were both shackled by countless unseen forces.
That was true for Loki who aspired to the throne, and for Theseus who had renounced his imperial title.
The name of the thing that bound them was expectation.
Loki. The second prince who was ruthless yet decisive with cold blood in his veins.
Theseus. The first prince who burned himself for the sake of the people.
Both were trapped, in their own ways, by the weight of expectation.
“Brother, do you know what the people who expect me to become emperor are really thinking?”
“They believe in your wisdom, no doubt.”
“You’re being generous in dressing up my ruthlessness. But, well… fine. In the end, it’s all a matter of how you choose to call it.”
Loki shrugged his shoulders, then stepped toward Theseus.
Clang!
At that moment, with a metallic sound, a line was drawn in front of Loki’s feet.
Theseus was no fool.
Allowing the person who posed the greatest threat right now to come close just because they were having a conversation would be a foolish mistake.
Loki, recognizing Theseus’s response, raised both hands and stepped back once again.
“In any case, people rely on my ruthlessness. Then what about the ones who rely on you, Brother?”
“I’ll say it again. I…”
“Your goodness! They place misguided hopes in your sense of justice!”
The First Prince Theseus had given up everything tied to his imperial status.
And yet, he still enjoyed overwhelming public support—
Because the ignorant masses continued to see him as an imperial.
What blinded them so thoroughly was the sense of justice Theseus upheld.
“Brother, I’ve never once believed I could defeat you by force.”
“……”
“I told you, didn’t I? The one I’m here for isn’t you. It’s the girl you’re protecting.”
Loki let out a hollow laugh, then ran a hand through his hair.
The veins bulging on his forehead revealed the tension simmering beneath the surface.
“Hand over the girl.”
“I can’t do that. No matter the reason, I can’t approve of this method. If she’s truly committed a crime, then let a proper trial deliver the verdict.”
“A proper trial? Ha! What a joke.”
Loki lazily lifted one arm and pointed at the girl hiding behind Theseus.
“Do you even know who she is?”
“……”
“Brother, like I said before, I don’t hate you. Nor do I hate Lady Aethra, who treated me like her own child.”
“If that’s how you feel…”
“That’s exactly why!”
“……”
“I can’t let the one who killed Lady Aethra live, can I?”
It was a statement that froze the entire place.
The girl hiding behind Theseus trembled uncontrollably.
Loki had never intended to overpower Theseus with force from the beginning.
Defeating the First Prince Theseus required something else.
The way was to shatter the justice and goodness he so proudly upheld.
The one who killed the mother he loved dearly….could Theseus truly forgive someone like that?
“Brother, I’ll handle the dirty work. So please, just hand over our enemy.”
“……”
Theseus said nothing.
In reality, he too had once spent years searching for his Mother’s killer.
Though he had never found the culprit… deep in his heart, he always carried both the love of his mother and the sorrow of losing her.
So then, what would he choose? Would he carry out revenge? Or stay true to the justice he claimed to uphold?
“Loki.”
“Yes, brother. Have you decided?”
“I’m sorry.”
Theseus took off his cloak and draped it over the shivering girl.
“I’m not that foolish.”
“Well, I suppose that depends on how you look at it.”
“Perhaps. But first, let me ask you this. Do you really believe someone her age could have been the assassin for that incident?”
“Haha, I see. Was it too clumsy? It’s been over twenty years since Lady Aethra passed. The lie was too obvious, wasn’t it?”
Loki shrugged.
The bulging veins on his forehead had long since disappeared, and only a snake-like smile lingered on his face.
“Still, it’s true that the girl is connected to the assassin. To be precise, she’s that assassin’s daughter.”
“……”
“Oh, I don’t need to tell you what happened to the assassin, do I? She’s already dead.”
“Then you’re saying you’re holding that child accountable for her crime.”
“Yes, that’s right. No—wait. That’s not quite it. I’m not holding her accountable.”
Cough!
At that moment, the girl Theseus had been protecting coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“The punishment has already been delivered.”
Would someone as capable as Loki really have failed to catch a single young girl like her?
Of course not.
His business was already finished. That’s why he had let her go.
From the start, this entire setup had been orchestrated for this very moment—
To shatter the justice Theseus stood for, head-on.
The smile on Loki’s lips twisted into something even more grotesque, while fury ignited in Theseus’s eyes.
In the midst of that volatile standoff—
“Oh my, excuse me for a moment.”
A clown appeared.
“Sorry to interrupt while you two are having such a serious moment, but I’ve got something to say.”
It was as if a shrimp had wandered into a fight between whales.
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