Chapter 89

"Serve me, Amethus."

Outside the shadows, the Breath of Light was blazing.

An excessive radiance shattered and scattered over me.

Shining golden hair, blazing blue eyes.

The determination was even beautiful.

"Why did I come to Arete? Why did I risk my life to lead you to follow me, and in the end, tell you the truth of your family?"

There was only one reason.

"It was you. It was always you!"

No lies, no secrets.

The true feelings of Shion Pollinglight.

"My nemesis, my greatest threat! This was the path to win you over!"

Every plan was for this moment.

To get my hands on the diviner Amethus, the future Ten Great Generals of the Empire.

If I were to keep him as an enemy, there would be no greater threat than Amethus.

So, I would make him mine.

His sword skills that could reach the sky, his intuition that could dig into every secret, all could be used for my secrets.

"I need you. I want you for my destiny."

The desire was so strong that I wasn't even embarrassed.

Before my passionate words, Amethus slowly opened his mouth.

"…By destiny, what do you mean?"

"No reason to hide it."

The Reclusive Prince revealed his secret, his vain dream.

"I will bring down the Empire."

"…!!!"

It sounded like something fell with a thud in Amethus's chest.

He almost fainted.

Bringing down the thousand-year-old Cordis Empire!

There was no crazier talk than this and the one who said these words was the 5th Prince Zionis, the son of Continua the Great!

"I will shatter the name of Cordis into pieces. No, I have to!"

He was the 5th Prince Zionis.

But what did that matter?

What could he do when his heart was on fire!

It was closer to resentment than destiny.

The Empire, the thousand-year Empire! The detestable Cordis!

"I'm going to the west. I will bring down the Empire from there."

After the Regression, I continuously poured out secrets I had never told anyone.

It was truly my sincere feelings.

I wanted to get Amethus and I had to.

"So let's go. Let's go together. Serve me, Amethus Aretion!"

"……."

The jade-eyed man could not easily open his mouth.

It wasn't strange.

What could he say after hearing such a deep secret?

It was as if the world he knew was being turned upside down.

Amethus carefully said.

"…A moment to think…"

"There is no such thing!"

I had no intention of giving him any leeway.

Even now, the Breath of Light was blazing, trying to find us.

From the beginning, I had this situation in mind.

I had been running towards this moment, to press and press Amethus and make him mine.

"Are you still clinging to Ferbias?"

I spoke as if I were piercing him and Amethus's lungs hurt so deeply that he fell silent again.

I moved my sharp tongue without rest.

"Do you trust him? What has he ever done for you? What has he ever done besides leaving your wound to fester and then trampling on it?"

"……."

"Did you think it would be different if Ferbias became emperor? But, look. Did he allow you to fulfill your family's long-cherished wish? No, he didn't, did he? He just kept you deceived, didn't he? If I hadn't told you, you would have never known about Ferbias's lies, the truth of the Aretion family, for your entire life!"

Ferbias lied.

Even though he must have known the truth about the Aretion family, he didn't tell him.

Despite knowing how Amethus had lived, bearing the name of Aretion, despite being his closest friend and despite Amethus dedicating his loyalty to him, Ferbias had always deceived him.

"……."

That's right, always.

He had been deceived all this time.

Since when?

Since when had he been toying with him?

It was natural for it to have been during the time they spent as trusted subordinates.

But what about when he was a security knight, or maybe, even since the academy, Ferbias had already…

"Ah…."

A sigh scattered into the air.

The truth was painful.

Just by tracing the events that had actually happened, his heart was being torn to shreds.

Thinking that all the beautiful moments he had cherished were built on lies and betrayal, he felt like he could collapse at any moment.

Even if he wanted to get up, he didn't know what to grab onto.

"Look back at your life. Have you ever received a reward worthy of your value?"

My words came flooding into the empty space in his heart like a tidal wave.

They weren't lies, which made it even harder to push them away.

"I'm not talking about your swordsmanship. Your devotion, your friendship, your loyalty! Did he ever respond to that extreme heart, even once-!"

"……."

"Didn't he just deceive you! Didn't he just humiliate you! Didn't he just think of you as a tool!"

The hand holding the double-edged sword trembled.

All the confusion and anguish turned into anger.

Where should this hatred go?

He hated those who had deceived him.

He hated those who had humiliated his family.

Every mouth that laughed at Aretion, the origin of every lie, was so hateful that he didn't know what to do.

"It's the Empire, Amethus!"

I shouted in an impassioned voice.

"Don't you know yet that it's all the work of Cordis!"

The radiance was thick.

The Breath of Light was approaching them.

It must have heard the shout.

Shion Pollinglight pressed on without a care.

"You must choose the last Aretion!"

Even the words "the last Aretion" were painful.

It revealed the weight he bore and the shame he had felt until now.

However, I presented a new path. I shouted that he could pay them back.

"Swear your loyalty to me. Then, I will grant you your family's wish and bring down the Ancient God that has become a monster."

Seven flames in my blue eyes.

Septem Arcana.

"If you don't, let's die together with the Breath of Light. Wouldn't that be an apology to the Breath of Light?"

The jade eyes trembled.

The Reclusive Prince, holding a secret, was forcing the diviner.

"This is your final choice!"

***

"……."

Amethus let his double-edged sword hang.

His anguish had subsided by then.

His organized thoughts were all looking in one direction.

It was the complete opposite of the life he had lived so far, but it felt strangely peaceful.

The truth of his family, the betrayal of his friend, the enemy's revelation.

In the midst of his swirling heart, his intuition raised its head.

It whispered as if it didn't care what its owner's intentions were.

Don't you already know?

Aren't you just pretending not to know?

"…Your Highness."

The jade eyes slowly looked at me.

Then, he took one, two… five deep breaths.

Deeply inhaling and exhaling.

A small peace bloomed in the repetition of deep breaths.

"Do you have the power to bring down the Breath of Light?"

"I do, the Fourth Secret."

The Fourth Secret was the most powerful.

It could even bring down an Ancient God.

"But it's a dangerous power. If I use it once, I can't move a single finger for several days."

If it ended at that, I would be very lucky.

Before the Regression, I had been unconscious for several weeks, not days.

But I didn't say that. It was information that I didn't need to share.

"So, promise me that you will serve me. That you will bring down the Empire with me."

"…What would you do if I attacked you after you brought down the Breath of Light?"

"A man who can break a promise is not fit to be my subordinate. But you don't have the function to break a promise."

"…You speak of people as if they were golems."

"Then why did you live like a golem? You've lived like a golem, and now you're talking about being a person."

Amethus chuckled.

When he heard it like that, it was truly the case.

He had always lived by fitting himself into the mold of a loyal subordinate.

So, there was no way he could have lived like a person.

"If I serve you, I would be betraying His Highness Ferbias. Can you trust that a person who has betrayed once will not betray twice?"

"That's the point, Amethus. A person who would betray me wouldn't ask a question like that."

My Second Secret, 'He does not trust'.

There were no comrades.

There were only subordinates.

But the feelings I had for Amethus, this persistent enemy, had already come to resemble trust.

Was it because we had risked our lives to clash with each other so many times?

"Ha, this is the first time I've ever received such a courtship…"

"This is the first time I've ever had to beg like this."

"…I guess so. My life must have been like this all along so that it would end up like this."

Amethus raised his head and looked at the sky.

"Very well, Your Highness."

His heart was already broken.

It was natural that it would lean when I grabbed and shook it.

"Instead, one condition."

"What is it?"

"I have two subordinates outside."

Shadi Shandor and Untes Ubias Uterbeum.

They were the loyal ones who followed him to the island of Arete (Amethus, who was still unaware of Untes's betrayal, thought so).

If he were to leave for the west alone, Ferbias's anger would surely be directed at them.

Amethus could not bring himself to abandon them.

"Allow me to take them with me."

"That's a ridiculously low price for your worth. They're competent, aren't they?"

"Of course."

"Then, they are welcome."

I smiled.

I didn't reveal a single secret or lie and extended my hand with a bright smile.

"Your Highness."

Amethus did not take my hand. Instead, he knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.

"I don't know why you want me so much."

He wasn't sure.

Amethus didn't know me.

"However, I promise from now on that I will serve only you, and even if you abandon me, I will not abandon you."

However, his anger and hatred toward the Empire pushed him.

The fact that I felt the same way guided him.

That was why he knelt.

He looked back on his life. He didn't know where it would lead, but he decided to follow this little boy.

"I dare to swear, I dedicate all my loyalty to you, Your Highness Zionis."

"I have abandoned that name."

The Reclusive Prince said.

"Call me Shion. Shion Pollinglight."

"Pollinglight…."

"My surname is also a secret. Just like your surname is."

Amethus had heard of the surname Pollinglight before.

The Great Witch of the Silver Dragon Magic Kingdom in the north definitely used that surname.

Was I related to the Great Witch?

The question surged, but he swallowed it down.

It was unnecessary.

"Hmm."

I hummed.

The heat was blazing.

The Breath of Light was heading directly toward them.

It seemed we had been found out after all.

As the sun had risen, it was even more intense and powerful.

"…Good. It's early, but it's time for the secret."

That monster was regaining the power it had when it was an Ancient God.

I thought that even Nico Nereyades, or someone even higher, a Ten Great General of the Empire, would be needed to stop it.

Seeing the immense threat rising, I muttered quietly.

"Stay back, Amethus. If you get caught up in this, you'll be in danger too."

***

I made a promise long ago.

"I will swallow you."

I cried out before the vengeful spirits born of the Empire.

I pleaded with millions of despair.

For my destiny.

I was sure that they, too, had this burning heart.

That one day, I would bring down the Empire.

"So, become my secret."

The Fourth Secret of Shion Pollinglight.

'He contains.'

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