Chapter 107
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------
Chapter 107
'This is bad.'
I opened my mouth in shock.
Belzeon was the most terrifying person in the Basilian Family.
Of course, Kieran was frightening too, but in a different way.
When Kieran did something insane, I only thought, 'I should have seen that coming.'
But when Belzeon did something insane, it felt like an unforeseen catastrophe was descending upon us.
Especially since he was capable of doing such unhinged things that even Kieran was taken aback.
"What in the world is happening..."
Miliod wiped his chest with his hand and checked on Lemil first.
After confirming Lemil was alive, Miliod shouted back indignantly.
"The Hebaeton Royal Family!"
It was an accusation that a count's house stuck in the Eastern Remote Region had no business touching royalty.
Of course, it meant nothing to Belzeon.
Belzeon asked quietly.
"If they're royalty, should I simply let them kill my brother right before my eyes?"
"...That's not what I meant."
Miliod tried to make excuses hastily, but couldn't think of a plausible counterargument and stammered.
"It seems you don't understand the situation properly."
Belzeon continued coldly, then stopped as his hand moved toward his waist.
One could carry a sword within the Holy Empire, but certain locations prohibited their entry.
He had left his demon sword behind when entering the assembly hall where the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony participants gathered.
His hand, passing over his empty waist, smoothly picked up a small knife from the tea table.
The knife, meant for cutting the bread served with tea, was not particularly large.
The blade was not especially sharp either, rather dull.
But the moment it entered Belzeon's hand, its presence transformed entirely.
Belzeon spoke as if providing a perfectly logical explanation.
"Even if I kill the Hebaeton prince here, it would be self-defense."
Miliod cried out convulsively, catching the scent of madness flowing from that calm voice.
"Seize him!"
The Holy Priests belatedly scrambled into action.
They were not trained knights, and their movements were clumsy and full of gaps.
Belzeon easily evaded them and was about to swing the knife swiftly when—
"Brother Belzeon...!"
A small hand grasping him made him stop.
His crimson eyes turned toward me.
I sent him a desperate look with urgent eyes.
'Snap out of it, you madman!'
If I let him kill Lemil here, it would all be over.
Though I had used the fairy's power and pushed it into Lemil's body, it didn't show on the surface.
Only Lemil would have felt that strange force pressing down on his divine power.
'But I can simply deny knowledge of it.'
Being the first to notice the runaway power was something I could easily explain away with a reasonable excuse.
If I played Miliod's mistake to my advantage, I could actually turn this into a situation favorable to House Basilian.
Yet I couldn't fathom why the one person who understood this better than anyone was thrashing about so recklessly in such excitement.
"...."
As Belzeon hesitated, the Holy Priests rushed forward and seized him.
Despite being restrained by grown men, Belzeon showed no fear—only a hollow laugh caught in his throat.
'Phew....'
I exhaled a breath of relief inwardly.
At least Belzeon had regained his senses—that was something to be grateful for.
He threw the knife he'd been holding using only the strength in his wrist.
The blade flew through the air like a hidden projectile, slicing cleanly before embedding itself deep in the sofa.
It landed just beside the nape of the unconscious Lemil's neck.
Miliod and the Holy Priests drew sharp breaths, their bodies going rigid.
Belzeon glared at Miliod.
His once-neat hair had become disheveled, falling across his forehead.
Brilliant crimson eyes gleamed between strands of deep indigo hair.
"I will lodge a formal protest regarding today's events."
Belzeon declared savagely.
"In the name of House Basilian."
***
My strides down the corridor were swift and fierce, each step devouring distance.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart had been pounding relentlessly since earlier, far too violently.
The force of each beat threatened to suffocate me.
Belzeon clenched his molars together with force.
He struggled not to hold his sister in his arms too tightly.
The continuation of the Basilian Family.
It was the mission left to Belzeon, the most vital pillar of his entire existence.
"I'm counting on you, Belzeon."
Ever since Mother had implored me with that faint smile, I had lived solely to protect the Basilian name.
But....
Belzeon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
Why had I failed to endure?
I knew I needed the Cardinals' support, that I should have held back without question.
When I came to my senses, I was already on the verge of swinging the knife.
Had Chesa not stopped me, I would surely have killed the Hebaeton prince.
Even knowing it would destroy House Basilian.
"Brother...."
A small voice awakened my mind from the brink of complete rupture.
Belzeon came to an abrupt halt.
He set Chesa atop a low decorative cabinet nearby.
Perched on the cabinet, Chesa looked as adorable as a doll.
Chesa squirmed, finding the awkwardness of standing at eye level with him.
Belzeon gazed at Chesa quietly.
A small frame not yet fully matured.
Though accepted as Basilian, she lacked the bloodline and thus had not inherited the robust physique and strength of the family—a sister endlessly fragile, who would shatter like glasswork if confronted with malice.
An infinitely vulnerable younger sibling.
"Chesa is a Fairy. A Fairy with power strong enough to become a queen."
Kieran's words flashed through my mind.
"But she's still young and inexperienced. Her heart is tender, she lacks cunning, and she readily unleashes her power to help others. Even in situations where she herself might be in danger."
"So we must watch over Chesa and care for her."
Kieran had smiled quietly after saying that much.
At the time, Belzeon thought he had understood the full meaning of those words.
But he had been utterly wrong.
The moment I saw her small figure rushing without hesitation into the jaws of death, the first to sense the rampaging sacred power—
Something snapped in my mind.
Drawing the knife and swinging it had been an act committed while already half-mad.
The fury was terrible.
I felt as though I would lose my mind over a child who could not fend for herself.
Today I had managed to stop it, but that reprieve applied only to 'today'.
There was no guarantee that fortune would continue to smile upon me.
Belzeon called out my full name in a clipped, measured tone.
"Chesa Basilian."
At that, I straightened my posture like a soldier snapping to attention.
Belzeon stared at me without so much as a blink.
The longer his gaze lingered, the more cold sweat trickled down my skin.
Unable to bear the suffocating silence that stretched on, I stammered out words.
"I'm sorry...."
"For what."
...."
That was precisely the problem—I didn't know.
As I merely watched his expression, Belzeon turned his head to the side, struggling to contain his anger.
He suppressed the ragged breath threatening to escape.
Closing his eyes tightly, he swept his hair back and opened his mouth again.
"What do you think I am to you?"
At his distant question, I parted my lips.
My expression betrayed that I didn't understand why he was asking such a thing.
Belzeon slowly opened his mouth.
A swarm of words churned inside him like angry hornets.
Don't die before my eyes.
Don't make me helpless and frustrated, unable to protect anything.
From the moment I accepted you as part of House Basilian, you became a child I must protect.
With you, the family I wish to safeguard becomes whole and complete.
Why do you so carelessly abandon me?
Will you leave me and die just as Mother did?
The torrent of emotions threatening to spill forth was so chaotic that even Belzeon himself was taken aback.
Steadying my heart, determined not to behave like a foolish child, I filtered and refined my words carefully.
"If you regard me as your brother."
I wanted to speak with cold rationality and deliver a lecture.
But it did not go as intended.
Words I could not filter escaped between my parted lips.
A helpless plea followed in a somber voice.
"Please don't do anything dangerous...."
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------