At a tavern, a few hours later.
After advising the two apprentices to report to the Queen to have Rai re-arrested he headed to the village at the bottom of the hill. There is another reason why he came with Kain. The moment he entered the tavern he spotted the man with his usual smiling face sitting in the far corner. Rhys sighed as he walked over and takes a seat opposite.
"You know, I only just returned. You could give me a heads up before asking to meet with me."
"Then should I have dropped by the palace?"
Rhys frowned hearing those words. "So you do understand that Lyn wants to meet with you?"
"Of course she does. But, I can't bring myself to see her just yet."
"You don't have to feel so guilty over what happened with Lethia."
"You heard the testimony from her head knight didn't you?"
During the battle with the dragon, he not only encountered his brother but Zepher and Lethia's head knight was there. The latter confessed that he was a spy from Prince Andrew's fraction.
'However, before I knew it I had genuinely fallen in love with her. Because of that, I betrayed the Prince. But, Lethia she never liked me. The reason why she accepted me as her knight and why Prince Andrew slipped me in as a spy is because I looked like you Prince Zepher.'
"To be loved so much, and not have the person look your way even once. To have that person look at another. It is a feeling I understand all too well."
Rhys couldn't miss his pained gaze and tone. "But even now you like Lyn, right?"
Zephyr chuckled. "Did you come here so you could show off? I hear you two have become close again, congratulations."
"That sounds so sarcastic." Rhys sighed. "Honestly, have you not thought of getting married? I mean, you regained your status as a Prince didn't you?"
"The reason Lyn did that was so she could cut me off. It is her way of rejecting me. If I am her brother again, I certainly cannot marry her."
Indeed, when he first heard the news. Rhys immediately thought, 'How cruel. But if she is doing this, it translates to her relationship with Kazuya going well.' But there was another theory.
"What did you do Zepher?" Rhys gaze is dark as he asked. For Lyn to take such drastic measures, Zephyr must have provoked her somehow.
"I tried to sleep with her."
At those words Rhys felt a surge of anger. "Zepher, you bastard." He stood up and grabbed hold of the man's collar. "Why the hell did you do that?"
Is it not for her to expetiebce something so terrible at the hands of those scumbags? Why on earth did somebody she know and trust betray her like that?
"I figured if I slept with her, I would find out whether or not I truly wanted her."
"Zepher!" Rhys exclaimed in disbelief.
What on earth is this man trying to say? How dare he treat Lyn like that?
"I don't know why you are pretending to be a saint. Did you not whisper such cruel words to the women you slept with in the red light district before?"
At those words Rhys bit his lip. He hated his past self. No matter how lonely or pain he was in, why did he do all that stuff? If he didn't meet Lyn again, would he have continued living that deranged life style. But this man cares so much for Lyn. It is hard to believe that he would do something like that. Even when Zepher's people kidnapped Lyn, when they met again Rhys could tell that Zepher treated her very well.
Is he lying? No, this man would not need to say such a lie. There must be something else that he is missing. Rhys let's go of Zepher and sat down.
"Meet with Lyn and apologize."
"I see, your as smart as ever."
"So, did you lie?"
"No, I really did try to touch her. But let's see, I didn't behave like those thugs did."
"Then-"
"It wasn't quite consent either. You know how Lyn ascended the throne as the Queen, and chose Kazuya as her husband but didn't marry him right away?"
"That is because of the mess Lethia made right? Naturally she would focus on rebuilding the places damaged from the war, and the famine."
"That was the formal reason she gave everyone, but the reality is different. On the night of her engagement banquet with Kazuya, Lyn got very drunk and I took her back to her room. Kazuya kept the guests busy. If both of them left it would have been a hassle."
"She got drunk?" Rhys repeated.
That is not like her at all, he wonders if something happened?
"She was drunk, and seeing her like that I lost control. But even then I tried to leave the room. However she kissed me and led me to the bed. It was only when I got rid of her garments and mine did I realise that something was wrong. When she flung her arms around me and said, 'Rhys, I miss you.' I immediately understood."
His eyes widened hearing those words and he clenched his fists. 'I shouldn't have waited until that battle to erase her memories. If I had done so sooner, then perhaps Zepher and Kazuya wouldn't have gotten hurt.' How did Zepher feel touching her only to hear her call the name of another man?
"People say we are similar after all. Lyn in that weak state easily mistook me for you. When I saw her like that I remembered Lethia, that girl was also the same. How much pain did she endure?"
"Zepher, I know it's strange for me to say this but you are not at fault. You cannot be expected to control another person's emotions. It's not your fault that you fell in love with Lyn, nor is it your fault that Lyn fell for somebody else. Nobody is to blame here."
This situation is tricky because nobody can be blamed.
"Then whose fault is it that she married a false King?"
At those words Rhys frowned. "Even if it is you, you cannot talk about Kazuya like that."
"Everybody is saying it, the fact that the current King fainted during the coronation is a bad omen."
"That was because of his illness."
"The crowd didn't get a good look from where they were sitting but the elder council did. When Kazuya touched the sphere that determines your status in the Kingdom, there was a lightning shock. That lightning shock is what caused him to faint. Kazuya's status in the Kingdom shouldn't be a King."
"Stop."
"Rhys, you have returned now. It's time for you to take your rightful place."
*Unedited*