‘There’s no choice but to beg while lying flat.’
The moment Callisto said he felt nauseous, Banessa was certain. He had been caught. He didn’t know how Callisto figured out their relationship, but for now, he had to plead.
If he denied it further, he’d surely be killed. He should use the excuse of the child, just as Sister had instructed. The child probably hadn’t even been conceived yet, but he needed to survive first. After that, he’d give it his best effort. Working tirelessly day and night might just make it happen.
He had no idea.
That he had shot himself in the foot.
As he bit his lip anxiously, quietly awaiting judgment, a low voice sounded above him.
“……Should I kill you?”
Banessa squeezed his eyes shut.
‘Would he kill me even though I have a child?’
Moreover, that child was Callisto’s niece or nephew. For Banessa, who had raised his nephew like his own child, Callisto’s reaction was incomprehensible. Callisto gritted his teeth. His words, icy and sharp, fell like a verdict.
“As I thought, I should kill you.”
“Brother! Please calm down!”
At this point, there was no other option. Banessa threw himself at Callisto’s legs, hugging them tightly. Callisto’s face twisted like a demon’s.
“You trash, let go.”
“Just a moment! It’s true that I’m trash, but!”
Banessa tensed his muscles to endure being kicked, raising his voice.
“I don’t think you understood what I said, so let me explain again! Sister might be carrying your niece or nephew! My child! How could you kill me?”
“Shut your mouth! Damn it! Is that why you snuck into my garden every day? You madman! How dare you sneak across my garden into my sister’s bedroom?”
“Ev-every day? No, how did you even know that?”
“What were the spirits even doing? They should have killed you the moment you set foot in my garden!”
“Why do you keep saying such terrifying things! What will you do if your niece or nephew loses their father before they’re even born? How will you face the child then? So please, calm down!”
“Calm down? You want me to calm down when you’re spewing such nonsense?”
“Yes! You need to calm down. I need to protect my child! I want to be a good father and protect them for life!”
Banessa, who had been babbling, suddenly hesitated. What if, by some chance, there wasn’t a child yet?
‘Then I’m really dead.’
Callisto would stop at nothing to kill him. In his mind, he saw himself desperately trying to protect himself and Callisto relentlessly pursuing him to kill him. Brother, who used dark magic to control the earth spirits, seemed terrifyingly… no, that wasn’t important!
“Of course, it’s just my suspicion for now. But both sister and I are healthy, so the chances are high! As you know, we met every day! Don’t be disappointed if it hasn’t happened yet! I will try my hardest to give you a niece or nephew as soon as possible!”
“Hahahaha! Hahahaha!”
Callisto suddenly burst into laughter. Banessa, who had been desperately trying to distract him, opened one eye slightly.
“Ha, hahaha.”
Callisto, clutching his stomach as he laughed, stepped back. Stumbling slightly as Banessa held onto his leg, he leaned against the window frame. Banessa quickly let go of his leg and anxiously looked up at him.
“Pfft, a niece or nephew, a child.”
Callisto laughed for a while, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. Watching him with a mix of anxiety and hope, Banessa saw Callisto’s bright smile directed at him. Reflexively, Banessa’s lips also curled up.
“Haha, brother. So now you understand what I was saying….”
“I must be dreaming. There’s no way you’d spout such outrageous nonsense otherwise.”
Callisto’s laughter deepened.
“Since it’s a dream, it’s fine to kill you, right?”
* * *
“Oh, come on! Are you crazy? You’re summoning a spirit to kill a fellow wing? If Her Eminence finds out, she won’t let you get away with it!”
“No need to worry about troubling the Saintess. This is a dream.”
“I keep telling you, it’s not a dream!”
“If it’s not a dream, then I have even more reason not to let this slide! You need to disappear so that a proper wing can be born!”
“Seriously, get a grip! You crazy human!”
“Ha, crazy human? Gayat! Did you hear that? It’s only right to get rid of trash immediately. Bury him underground…!”
“You’re hilarious. Do you think you’re the only one with a spirit?”
The two wings—or more precisely, the prince of the Holy Empire and the representative of the Principality’s delegation—correction, the future tower master of the Mage Empire and the consort of the Holy Empire’s emperor, were.
In the middle of a fistfight in the room.
They grabbed each other by the collar, swung punches, dodged slyly, yelled, got caught after trying to run away, did somersaults, and…
All the while, the earth spirit and the flame spirit watched the spectacle.
The earth spirit, resembling thick ochre-colored roots, shook its head. Then, noticing the flame spirit watching the fight with twinkling eyes, it grabbed it by the back of its neck.
「Calm yourself. This isn’t a fight for us to join.」
「But I received an order from the wing?」
「Our true master is the Saintess alone. The wings only act on her behalf. Even if we receive orders from the wings, we must not act against the Saintess’s will. Getting involved in this brawl between the wings is not in line with the Saintess’s wishes.」
「But it’s such a shame.」
「What is so shameful about it?」
「I want to fight too!」
The flame spirit chirped cheerfully. Truly, a spirit is a reflection of its master. The earth spirit sighed deeply. With a juvenile spirit like this one getting all excited, it figured it had to stay level-headed. Tightening its grip on the flame spirit’s neck, shaped like a tree root, it steeled itself.
Meanwhile, separate from the spirits, the two wings were still brawling.
Considering their status, it was ridiculous, but there was no other choice.
The spirits—or more specifically, the earth spirit—had refused to follow Callisto’s command.
Banessa, who had summoned the purifying flames in self-defense, had barely let out a sigh of relief.
「It doesn’t matter. I can just kill you with magic.」
Callisto, the tower master-to-be, immediately tried to cast a spell, and Banessa, with incredible reflexes, tackled Callisto.
Whether it was through forming a seal or uttering an incantation, if magic were cast, it would really be the end!
Thus, the brawl had begun.
“Let go, you bastard! If you don’t want to die!”
“Ugh, wasn’t hitting me once enough?!”
“Once? You think I’ll settle for one hit after all that nonsense?”
“Fine! Hit me! Hit me more! Keep going!”
“Fine. I’ll grant you that wish. So let go of my hand!”
“Let go of my hair first! It feels like it’s all going to fall out! Argh! You crazy lunatic of a brother! If all my hair falls out, you’ll take responsibility!”
Despite all the shouting, neither of them was seriously injured.
That was because Banessa had dodged every single one of Callisto’s punches.
In fact, Banessa could have subdued Callisto anytime he wanted.
Just as Callisto was skilled in magic, Banessa was a master of swordsmanship.
Not only did Banessa overpower him physically, but he was also well aware of human weak points.
If he struck him on the back of the neck, as one would subdue an assassin, it would be over.
But Banessa couldn’t bring himself to do that. After all, Callisto was Dana’s brother.
Even though on the outside he seemed like a mad dog, inside, there lived a romanticist.
He had the dream of being welcomed as a husband by the brother of the woman he loved.
Because of this, Banessa had been showing Callisto some leniency, but there was no sign of him calming down.
Banessa was starting to feel unfairly treated.
‘Wait, was I the only one in love here? If sister hadn’t come to my room in the first place, none of this would’ve happened! And besides, it was my first time too! It’s not like sister was the only one at a loss!’
As his thoughts reached that point, the delusion he had recently discarded began to resurface.
Julios, who cherished Leticia, and Leticia, who followed Julios.
The image of the two, so harmonious, like real siblings.
Suddenly, the unfairness Banessa felt surged, and he yelled out.
“Ha, seriously. Brother, I wasn’t going to bring this up, but aren’t you way too different from His Highness?”
“What? Who?”
“Julios! You’ve met him too! He’s a prince just like you, or well, royalty, whatever! But why are you so different? Huh?”
“Different? How am I different?”
“Do you know how much Julios cherishes our Saintess? As if she’d fly away if you blew on her, or disappear if you held her too tight! He treats her like his own sister!”
“Whether the prince from the Principality cherishes the Saintess or not, what does that have to do with…”
Callisto paused.
As he looked down at the yelling Banessa, a particular scene naturally came to mind.
Shortly after Julios’ resurrection, Leticia had cried her eyes out beside him.
And Julios, hugging her tightly, had shed tears with her.
As Banessa said, under the bright moonlight, the two of them had looked incredibly affectionate.
Unfortunately for Callisto, Banessa’s continued complaints soon twisted that beautiful memory into something absurd.
“Try acting like Julios! Cherish me like he cherishes her!”
“Ha, like the prince from the Principality treats the Saintess, you want me to treat you like that?”
In his mind, Julios’ face morphed into his own, and Leticia became Banessa.
The image of him tearfully embracing Banessa and telling him he had endured so well.
Callisto squeezed his eyes shut. His stomach began to churn.
He had spent far too long locked up in his research lab, and his condition was at rock bottom.
On top of that, hearing Banessa’s nonsense the moment he came out had made things worse.
And now, having imagined such a deranged scenario, his body couldn’t take it anymore.
In the end.
“Urk.”
* * *
Callisto leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Meanwhile, Banessa, having just washed his hair, checked himself in the mirror.
After confirming that all the vomit had disappeared, he clicked his tongue.
“Feeling better now?”
Callisto opened his eyes wide.
Despite his exhausted body, his gaze remained fierce.
“Give me a towel, you trash.”
“Well, look who’s talking.”
Banessa grumbled as he handed him a wet towel. Callisto irritably accepted it.
As he wiped his mouth, Banessa plopped down in front of him. Callisto’s expression grew even fiercer when Banessa sat in front of him.
Unfortunately, though, he didn’t have the strength to lift a single finger.
Noticing this, Banessa smirked. He ruffled his wet red hair and asked,
“Hey, by the way, brother.”
“Shut up. Don’t smile.”
“No, listen first, then tell me to shut up.”
“There’s no need. Everything you say is nonsense.”
“Are you still picking a fight? Let’s just call it even since you threw up on my face earlier, okay?”
“How is that my fault?”
“Then whose fault is it?”
Callisto, feeling a surge of anger, opened his mouth.
“Because you said something crazy! Telling me to act like the prince of the Principality and look at you like you’re the saint. Such horrid… Ugh.”
Callisto covered his mouth, shuddering. Even with his stomach empty after retching, he still felt queasy.
Banessa averted his gaze and trembled slightly. Even though he had brought it up first, the thought gave him chills.
“You were about to kill me, brother. I had no choice but to say that to stop you.”
“Ha, you said something that horrible just to stop me?”
“What else could I do?”
“Damn it. It’s burned into my brain! That insane thought won’t leave my head!”
Callisto shuddered.
“Well, that’s great. Why don’t you cherish me according to your imagination?”
“Please… please, shut up. Trash. Stop saying such horrid things!”
“When will you stop calling me trash, anyway?”
“Until you die.”
“Do as you wish.”
With that, Banessa glanced at Callisto.
Then, in a more subtle tone, he brought up what he had originally intended to say.
“But seriously, brother. Do you really hate me that much? Don’t you think I’m much better than that Duke Alt or whatever his name is?”
“Better…?”
Callisto, wiping his mouth with the wet towel, instinctively opened his mouth.
Then his face twisted in frustration.
Of all the things, Banessa had hit the nail on the head.
Damn it, as much as he didn’t want to admit it.
Banessa was, indeed, better than that duke.
Leave a Reply