“The one who killed my grandparents, parents, and brothers is you, Your Majesty.”

“The Empire has never killed my flesh and blood. Your Majesty rules the Empire, but you cannot bend its myriad wills to your will. The Empire is yours, but the Empire is not yours.”

That bold and direct remark brought about regrets that were long overdue.

If he had known this would happen, he would have read the story carefully. It was a regret he regretted every time, but he still regretted it every time.

“I’ve always thought it was His Majesty’s special favor that allowed you to hide your identity and become an Imperial Knight Order’s commander, for he has looked out for us ever since.”

As far as he was concerned, as long as Cadel was a traitor, there was no reason for the Emperor to bring him into his ranks. Even less reason not to kill him. To the Emperor, he was nothing more than a noxious cancer, and yet he accepted Cadel.

He even entrusted Cadel with the power to appoint knight members……..

‘It was safe to say that he had absolutely no suspicion that I would commit treason. I even recruited an assassin this time. Still, it passed without any trouble. ……are those words true?’

But the Emperor’s eyes hadn’t lied when he’d claimed to have killed Jenga Lytos in the basement, and even if it was just to scare him, it would only serve to antagonize those who would pledge allegiance to him.

All sorts of lingering doubts filled his mind. Cadel swallowed hard a sigh and accepted his new siblings’ farewell.

“You’ll have to come back next time, Brother! You’ll have to play with me then!”

After sharing a light hug with cute Mikel, Helen hugged Cadel as well.

“I may not see you often, but I’ll always be rooting for you, Cadel. Stay safe and don’t get hurt.”

“You too, Sister.”

The last was Dionyl, who wanted to take Cadel outside the forest, but Cadel refused. When Cadel assured him that it was okay because he had Sorin, Dionyl could no longer insist.

“You do not need to consider us in your path. It is enough to be alive, so I hope our meeting will not be a burden to you.”

“Of course, Brother.”

Releasing Cadel from his tight embrace, Dionyl waved wistfully, a look of concern and affection on his face.

It was a brief encounter, and while no particular attachment was formed between the newfound ‘siblings’ in that short time, one thing was clear.

‘Even if I disappear, there will be someone who will continue the legacy of the Lytos family that will be restored through war.’

No ambition, no pretense of it, they were all meek, but they didn’t look like the kind of people who would ruin the family name he was restoring.

Time and time again, he looked back and saw his siblings standing where they were, waving to him. Until they were no more than a speck in the distance. Back in the forest, he spotted Sorin.

“……What have you been waiting for here?”

Sorin, who had been leaning against a tree perch, scrambled to his feet as soon as he saw Cadel. The meal hadn’t been long, but it wasn’t a short time to be sitting on the ground waiting.

“Why didn’t you just come in and wait comfortably? It was uncomfortable here.”

“It wasn’t my place to intervene.”

Then go find somewhere nice to kill time. A man as big as a battalion captain of the Guardian Knight Order sprawled out on the ground, shivering. If anyone heard this, they would think that the Lytos were the bad guys here.

Sorin glanced at Cadel, who looked disgruntled, and began walking ahead. It looked like he planned to get back in the carriage and head back to the castle.

After walking in silence for a while, Cadel spoke up as he gathered his thoughts.

“Did Sir Sorin know?”

“About what?”

“That my siblings are alive.”

“I didn’t.”

It was a neat answer. Cadel waited, but he didn’t add anything more. Puzzled, he was about to ask more questions when Sorin spoke up again.

“I found out a few days ago. The Captain of the Guard informed me while you were lying unconscious, with orders to bring you here.”

“It seems like you’re quite trusted.”

“It’s just because I don’t talk much. They probably thought there was little chance of your secret leaking out.”

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“I was surprised.”

“It must piss you off that a half-blooded traitorous bastard became a knight commander of the Empire, and then you saw the rest of us survive. Did you ever dream of making a sweeping arrest?”

In the end, Sorin’s discovery of his identity allowed him to confront the Emperor and safely become a knight of the Empire. But that was only the outcome.

Sorin had snitched on a foreign mercenary who had risked his life for the Empire. It was an act of no loyalty, no chivalry, no anything. Cadel wasn’t particularly angry about it, but he was curious about Sorin’s emotional state.

Sorin stopped walking at this question. Cadel pretended not to notice. Sorin took a few steps forward, then looked back and turned. His face was hard and rigid. Cadel didn’t want to argue, so he tried to dismiss it as a joke, but the answer was unexpected.

“Dirty traitor……. I never thought of you that way.”

“……You don’t have to keep it in front of me, in fact, it’s a great opportunity for me to get a preview of the world’s reaction when it’s all out in the open, so feel free to say it.”

“No. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Because I, to this day, still remember the people at House Lytos.”

Sorin’s face didn’t show a hint of pretense as he said it. Even when Cadel frowned suspiciously. After a moment of silence, he crossed his arms and spoke.

“Is that so? All this time I thought Sir Sorin had informed the Emperor of my identity, but apparently not.”

“That’s right. I snitched on you.”

“……Doesn’t it seem a bit incoherent?”

“It is in memory of Lytos that I have sent you to His Majesty.”

Do you know what you are talking about? Cadel blinked his eyes in confusion, then burst into laughter.

“Sir Sorin doesn’t seem to have much of a way with words.”

“I know.”

“If you do know, can you explain it to me properly, instead of just spouting off a bunch of chopped-up words? Are you saying you don’t hate the traitorous Lytos? You didn’t hate us so you sent me to His Majesty? You probably didn’t send me knowing that the result would be like this.”

Sorin was no more prone to mood swings than Lumen, but right now it was clear that he was panicking. A most incongruous emotion indeed. Cadel did not laugh at him, however, and waited for him.

“……It certainly feels that way from your perspective.”

“It’s not something that can be felt that way, it’s something that can only be thought of that way.”

“I explained to Dreyfe that we needed to get you to His Majesty before your identity is revealed and the Empire suffers. As you said, I’m not very good with words, and it was hard for me to come up with a good excuse. But it was literally just an excuse. Because…… I was there, that day, that place.”

That day, that place. The words still lacked context, but Cadel could recognize what he was trying to say. Cadel’s expression hardened, and he spoke in a low voice.

“Which side were you on?”

“The Guardian Knight Order is always His Majesty’s people.”

“…….”

“I was just a rookie then, not a battalion captain as I am now, and the Guardian Knight Order was not a large one. That’s why I, a mere rookie, was called to such a place, and my assignment was to keep the damage from spreading.”

Sorin gripped the scabbard tightly, reliving the horrible memories of that time.

“You must remember that too, the agonizing cries. It was a battlefield of people killing people. All I could do was disrupt their attack on Lytos in the name of limiting the damage around me, but it was useless, for Jenga Lytos had already turned against the Empire.”

“You could have just left it at that. Literally, isn’t Jenga Lytos a traitor, and isn’t Lytos a family of traitors?”

“Even then, I couldn’t believe it. That he’d done something that would harm the Imperial family, the Empire. And…… I noticed something strange.”

“Something strange……?”

“The commander and senior knights I traveled with, they’d disappeared. Without a word to the rest of us rookies. When I found them again, they held unfamiliar children in their arms. ……I didn’t see who they were. I didn’t look at them on purpose.”

Could it be that those children were Cadel’s siblings? If this was true, then what was the Emperor’s reason for making such a decision?

If he wanted to protect House Lytos, he should have stopped those who would harm it. Moving stealthily and saving a few young survivors would not bring back a fallen family.

Sorin continued, his words becoming increasingly unintelligible.

“Officially, on that day, House Lytos was exterminated without a single survivor. Tainted with the filth of a traitorous family. But to this day, the people in the Empire still miss the Lytos, remembering the history they built and the pride they held. ……I’m no different.”

“…….”

“So when you showed up, when I determined that you were another survivor of House Lytos. I knew I had to bring you before His Majesty. If I was wrong, you would die, I admit. But I didn’t think you would have come to us without a death wish, and that was the reason for my decision.”

It was an unexpected story. It didn’t seem to contradict anything he’d heard from Dionyl. There were eyewitnesses and evidence, and he didn’t feel like denying it. Cadel Lytos might have, but Shin Yeohwan was a third party, and he could be more objective.

Sorin did not avert his eyes at the stares directed at him. There was a sincerity to his words that made up for his lack of eloquence.

“All I know is that there was something special between His Majesty and Jenga Lytos in the past that we do not know, but……. I have a hope, a hope that is nothing short of greed, that you might be able to rebuild the fallen house, and return Lytos to the Empire once again.”

“……I didn’t realize Sir Thorin was so fond of House Lytos.”

“I’m only loyal to the Empire. I just think Lytos’ presence is necessary to protect it.”

Sorin, who had resumed walking, stood behind Cadel.

“The same goes for the Scarlet Scales Knight Order you lead. I may not be able to cheer you on from the front, but I take responsibility for bringing you here.”

After a brief eye contact, Cadel turned away with a faint smile. Tilting his head, he spoke in a light tone, as if he hadn’t heard the whole story.

“You don’t have to take responsibility, for if it weren’t for Sir Sorin, I’d still be a knight of the Empire, so keep your thoughts to yourself. It was nothing to me, anyway.”

……Was it?

Sorin muttered briefly and stared at Cadel’s slowly receding back. His return to the Empire was fate, whether he chose it or not. Sorin hoped that his ‘fate’ would flow in the same direction as his own.

If that was the case, he didn’t mind being a handful of ashes in the face of that great destiny.