Chapter 27

When had I begun to feel such an ugly sense of inferiority toward my half-brother?

My younger brother had been a beautiful child.

His bright, flawless golden hair, clear blue eyes, pale skin, and large eyes made him the very definition of a beautiful young boy.

When I first learned that I had a younger brother, I had been genuinely happy.

Even if he was the child of a concubine, my younger brother born to a different mother.

I would have someone to play with.

I had to play with my little brother.

Driven by a strange sense of duty, I often visited his room.

My little brother would sleep peacefully in his cradle, and he had been so adorable that I still remembered the first time I had cautiously brought my index finger toward his tiny hand.

He had grabbed it with surprising strength.

“I’m your big brother.”

I would talk to him like that, and when I fussed over him too much and made him cry, I had panicked.

Then my wet nurse had scolded me.

Even so, I never learned my lesson and kept visiting my little brother.

His name was Dylan.

I thought the name didn’t suit his adorable face very well, but I called his name over and over again.

I even thought of nicknames for him.

Whenever I poked his cheek and told him to hurry up and grow, he would furrow his brows and puff out his cheeks in annoyance.

After I started visiting Dylan’s room almost every day, Mother called for me.

It was extremely unusual for my mother, the Queen Consort, to summon me.

She rarely left her room.

Still, I thought she must have loved Father very much.

And even as a child, I felt that she probably liked me too because I resembled Father.

When I entered Mother’s room, she hugged me gently.

She always did that.

Mother would always embrace me and whisper, “You are my child.”

“Mother…”

“Call me Mother properly. You are the one who will become King someday. I will not allow you to keep speaking so childishly.”

“…Yes, Mother.”

When I lowered my head dejectedly, Mother seemed to smile a little.

She gently took my clenched fist in hers and stroked my head.

“I’m saying this for your sake. Please understand.”

“Yes, Mother.”

When I nodded and did as she said, Mother was always pleased.

On the other hand, if I sulked because I disliked something even a little, Mother wouldn’t speak to me for a while.

No matter what I said, she would simply ignore me.

I hated Mother when she was in a bad mood, so I was always careful to gauge her mood.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about…?”

“Yes, that’s right. I thought there was something I needed to tell you, Gil.”

Mother smiled sweetly and looked into my face.

A chill suddenly ran down my spine.

I had a bad feeling about this.

“Gil, I hear you’ve been visiting the room of that concubine’s child?”

Mother’s face was smiling, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

The way she stared at me with those reproachful eyes was frightening.

Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt as though I had done something terrible.

My back instinctively straightened.

I was too afraid of being scolded to answer either yes or no.

Mother merely blinked slowly at me when I remained silent.

“Gil. Remember this well. That child is nothing but a hindrance to you. He is something you do not need in your brilliant future.”

Something you don’t need?

Dylan was still a toddler.

He had only recently started eating solid food.

Why would Mother say something like that?

But I couldn’t question her here.

I couldn’t argue with her either.

Listening properly whenever Mother spoke had become a rule in my mind.

Otherwise, she would surely become upset again.

“Gil, you are intelligent and such a good boy. My pride and joy. My dear Gilvalt. You understand, don’t you?”

“…Yes, Mother.”

“Never go near that cursed child.”

Cursed child…?

“W-Why…?”

The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

I immediately realized my mistake, but it was already too late.

Once words had escaped my mouth, I couldn’t swallow them back.

Ah, my tutor had always told me to choose my words carefully!

I squeezed my eyes shut, prepared to be scolded.

But Mother didn’t get angry.

She didn’t become displeased either.

She simply placed her hand against my cheek and smiled eerily.

“This is a secret between you and me. That child of the concubine is…”

“Huh?”

She whispered into my ear, but I couldn’t really understand what she was saying.

“That loathsome fox demon who has bewitched Lord Arion. Ah, why won’t he just die already?”

Mother giggled.

If I had only looked at her appearance, she could have been an angel descended from heaven, smiling happily.

Only the words she spoke were as ominous as those of a devil.

“I want to kill that child too. Don’t you think Lord Arion needs nothing but my children?”

Mother gently stroked my cheek as she poured poisonous words into me.

They felt as though they were slowly eating away at my body, as though my mind itself were being poisoned.

Looking back, I was sure Mother’s words had possessed that kind of power.

“Gilvalt. If something stands in your way, eliminate it.”

“You were born to become King.”

For a while, I couldn’t believe Mother’s words.

I secretly went to see Dylan without letting her find out.

Perhaps because of what Mother had told me, I felt somewhat guilty whenever I saw him.

But I thought Dylan must have felt even more insecure with a mother like ours, so I continued visiting him anyway.

Dylan grew bigger, and he became quite talkative.

He was quick to understand things, and I secretly admired him for it.

“Big Brother. I think this is wrong.”

I had been quietly working through an assignment given to me by my tutor in Dylan’s room when Dylan pointed at an answer I had already written.

He alternated his gaze between the answer and the reference book before deciding on his own that it was wrong.

“Dylan. You haven’t learned this part yet, have you?”

“Yeah. But here. Your answer doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, you’re right about that… But then you wouldn’t be able to solve it.”

“If you do this here… and bring this number over there, wouldn’t it become an equation?”

Just how much information could that tiny brain of his process?

I was amazed by his talent.

And jealous of it.

“Big Brother! Look! I made a magical artifact!”

At the time, I had still been struggling to create my very first magical artifact.

I had been researching it by myself because I wanted to give one to Father for his birthday.

“Big Brother, you do it like this.”

Dylan solved in a few minutes a problem that I had spent an entire night thinking about.

He had been a baby who couldn’t even walk until just recently.

“Father praised me!”

In the end, I failed to make a magical artifact while Dylan received Father’s praise.

I somehow forced myself to smile.

“Gilvalt. Apparently Dylan managed to create a magical artifact. I have high hopes for you too.”

I thought Father was speaking to me.

But he was talking about Dylan.

“Prince Dylan has incredible magical power, apparently! I heard he even made a magical artifact.”

“Prince Dylan is amazing.”

“Prince Gilvalt is working hard too, though.”

“It’s talent.”

Even the servants compared us.

It was humiliating.

The only person who praised me was Mother.

Her stomach was swollen, and she would probably give birth to my sibling soon.

Once my real sibling was born, would Dylan no longer be needed?

“Big Brother, happy birthday. This is a new magical artifact I made.”

On my birthday, Dylan smiled as he handed me a wrapped present.

Inside was a magical artifact that looked like a piece of jewelry.

It was the very thing I had wanted to give Father but had failed to create.

I knew he hadn’t meant anything by it.

Looking at Dylan’s face, shining with expectation, I could tell he simply wanted me to be happy.

Dylan’s magical power was abnormal.

Even if it was something that could eventually bring about his destruction, I couldn’t help envying it.

A sharp smack echoed through the room.

“You always surpass me, as though you’re deliberately rubbing it in my face.”

You, who hadn’t even been given the education required of the future King.

You, who were free to play however you pleased.

You, who were forgiven whenever you failed.

Why did you keep surpassing me?

Why had you been given greater talent than I had?

Everyone compared me to Dylan.

Everyone.

No one recognized me.

No one looked at me.

Dylan’s face twisted in confusion, as though he had no idea what was happening.

That only irritated me further.

“Never come near me again! You lowly child of a concubine!”

It had all started with a small accumulation of things.

“Gilvalt. If something stands in your way, eliminate it.”

Perhaps by then, it had already been too late.

“Lord Gil.”

I woke up to a gentle voice and the feeling of my body being shaken.

A girl with pale skin and beautiful silver hair was standing before me.

“…Mira…”

“Yes. What is the matter, Lord Gil?”

The one calling my name so gently was my fiancée.

Mira pulled up the shawl draped over her shoulders and coughed lightly.

“Are you feeling unwell? You didn’t have to come.”

“No. I couldn’t attend your birthday party the other day, so I wanted to at least celebrate with you properly, face to face.”

Mira gave me a soft smile and sat down beside me.

“Did you remember something unpleasant?”

Mira smiled as she took my hand.

She was two years younger than me, yet she had a warmth and sense of acceptance that reminded me of a mother.

“How can you tell?”

“It was about Prince Dylan, wasn’t it?”

I opened my eyes wide in surprise, and Mira giggled.

She continued laughing like that for a while before suddenly stopping.

She looked straight at me.

Her eyes weren’t smiling.

“Did you invite Prince Dylan’s fiancée to become your concubine?”

My shoulders jumped pathetically, and all the tension drained out of me.

She might have seemed soft and fluffy on the surface, but she was anything but careless.

Mira instantly changed her serious expression back into a smile.

“Well, seducing young ladies was nothing new for you, was it?”

“…You make it sound terrible.”

“Oh? You took advantage of your fiancée not attending the party to surround yourself with young ladies and even interfered with Prince Dylan’s fiancée, didn’t you?”

“…That was…”

“It can’t be helped. There is a possibility that someone as physically weak as me may not be able to give you an heir.”

I silently sank deeper into the sofa.

The fire in the fireplace crackled before us.

“…I feel like Mother is the biggest obstacle to me becoming King.”

Mira said nothing.

And I had no intention of saying anything more either.

I simply let out a deep sigh.

“That was a slip of the tongue. Forget it.”

“I know Prince Dylan’s secret.”

Mira smiled sweetly.

I stared at her in shock.

“…How?”

“Oh my, don’t underestimate the Chatterese family’s intelligence network. If you investigate that incident, it becomes obvious right away.”

“This is not something to joke about.”

“I know.”

Mira coughed lightly before giggling again.

That was right.

This woman was the one who resembled Mother.

She would ensnare people with her sweet, gentle appearance before slowly drawing them into her grasp.

“You know what will happen if you tell anyone.”

“You’re surprisingly concerned about your little brother. You do care about him, after all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That is a disgrace to the royal family. It is a state secret that cannot be allowed to leak outside…”

“You’re too soft.”

Mira’s cold hands cupped my cheeks.

Even though the fireplace was burning warmly, her hands were always cold.

“Using him is too lukewarm. Someday, he’ll turn the tables on you. Eliminate your enemies. Surely you understand that better than anyone?”

Mira slowly withdrew her hands and coughed again.

She pulled up her shawl and slowly stood.

“Happy birthday. I’m on your side, Lord Gil.”

With those words, Mira left.

“…Who knows.”

She had a calm, gentle-looking face, but there was nothing but darkness in her heart.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Thinking about it, I felt like my half-brother, who probably hated me more than anyone, was actually the easiest person to understand.

Would he be cold all alone?

What I had done to Dylan when he was young was unforgivable.

Even if Mother had been involved, isolating him within the royal palace had gone too far.

But that didn’t mean I had any intention of apologizing and making peace with him now.

Even if I apologized, I didn’t think he would forgive me.

And honestly, as long as he continued to support me, I didn’t care whether he hated me or not.

For better or worse, Dylan wasn’t attached to anything.

He wouldn’t go out of his way to oppose me, resign from supporting me, or do anything troublesome like threaten my claim to the throne.

Even though I couldn’t say that I knew Dylan particularly well, I understood this part of his personality as if I could see right through him.

He was bored.

Fundamentally, he wasn’t interested in people.

Of course, he hid it well, but for some reason, even that part of him irritated me.

“Besides, with such a good fiancée, he should be fine.”

She was quite the gutsy young lady.

I chuckled as I remembered the angry expression on Dylan’s face that I had never seen before.

It had been my first time seeing him that angry.

With someone like her around, perhaps Dylan would calm down a little.

Compared to my own cunning, scheming fiancée, I could only sigh to myself.