Ryo noticed that Zilthai was about to withdraw to his shadow when an idea crossed his mind so he stopped the creature from doing what he was about to do.
"Don't come back to my shadow if it's not necessary. I want them to get used to your presence so they won't freak out when you suddenly appear by my side."
"As you command, my Liege."
Ryo fell into contemplation about how to explain Zilthai's origins since the head butler of this household knows each and every servant that was working for them so no one suspicious could sneak in.
Especially now considering what happened to Rei. Zilthai felt his Liege's worries so he spoke tentatively hoping that it'll solve his master's issue.
"My Liege, this humble servant acquired a mind altering skill from the phantom and this humble servant suggests using it on the head butler to implant an idea of my existence in his mind." Zilthai said seriously.
"Should I be wary of that newly acquired skill?" Ryo asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, my Liege. This humble servant would never dare harm my Liege and before I could even do so, this humble servant would perish according to our bond. The skill is only effective on human beings." Zilthai said with his head down and was in a half kneeling position to show his complete surrender to his master.
"Good, then I entrust the head butler to you. Just be careful around my family since they're pretty sensitive especially now." Ryo said as he nodded in acknowledgement of Zilthai's surrender.
"Yes, my Liege." Zilthai said and prepared a cup of tea for Ryo while they waited for the maid to inform him of what happened to Rei.
They didn't wait too long as a knock broke the silence of the night. Hearing Rei's permission, the maid went inside and was momentarily surprised to see another servant that she hadn't seen before, in the young master's bedroom before Zilthai's powers worked wonders. The maid's eyes were unfocused for a moment then went back to its original dull expression as if nothing happened.
"Bocchan, Damien-dono requires your presence in Rei-sama's chamber." The maid said and bowed her head as she waited for Ryo.
"Alright." Ryo said as he stood up and walked to his brother's chamber.
Zilthai and the maid were following him from behind respectfully and without making unnecessary noise. They soon arrived at the said chamber. The maid knocked on the door and the butler went out of the chamber to greet them.
"Bocchan, they are waiting for you inside." The butler said respectfully as he stepped aside to let Ryo enter.
The butler looked at Zilthai with eyebrows raised as he recalled if the man was employed in this household. Before he could even question the man, he 'suddenly' remembered that the man before him was indeed a servant of this household.
'His presence must be very weak, that's probably why I had a hard time recalling details about him.' The butler thought.
The butler thought as he closed the door of the bedroom to give his masters the privacy they needed. He was already briefed on what happened so he must thoroughly check the servants once more to make sure that a similar situation would not occur again.
When Ryo entered the room, he saw that both his parents were present. His mother was sitting by the bed while his father was behind his mother with his hands resting on her shoulders. They seemed to be talking about something before he went in, and when he did, 3 pairs of eyes looked at him, all were filled with affection.
Ryo wasn't used to receiving stares like that so it made him quite uncomfortable but he suppressed the feeling as he made his way to his brother. His brother was sitting on the bed with his back propped on the bedframe and a pillow was underneath to support his back. Ryo kissed his parent's cheeks as a greeting then looked back at his brother who was also looking at him.
"Onii-chan, what happened to you? How are you feeling?" Ryo asked even though he already knew what happened.
He wasn't as worried as he sounded since although he held the slightest bit of familial affection for his brother, they barely interacted ever since he transmigrated to this world, and the cold interactions didn't improve their relationship even if he wanted to.
Although he spent so much effort in saving him from his (Rei) dilemma, it was for convenience's sake in the future. Oh and also because the remaining feelings that the original Ryo left behind urged him to do so.
"I'm feeling better now." Rei said with a smile, though his eyes were filled with guilt.
"Your brother was possessed by a phantom for a long time through his nanny. However you don't need to worry about it anymore since the phantom has been purged and your brother is recovering now." Damien explained, deliberately saying only the general idea so that his youngest son wouldn't think about this matter too much.
"Is that so? Thank goodness you're alright now, onii-chan." Ryo said as he acted like he was really relieved and elated that his dear older brother was finally okay now.
Rei felt warm from his parent's concern, especially his younger brother. After everything Rei had done to Ryo, his younger brother still had the heart to be concerned about him.
He felt happy but he also felt remorseful. Although he felt his younger brother's sincerity, he could still see the distance between them. He couldn't even muster the courage to touch his brother since he felt too guilty for everything.
"Ryo… I'm sorry for everything that I did to you. I alienated you and treated you coldly because I was afraid that if I didn't distance myself from you, that phantom would manipulate me to physically harm you. I couldn't tell anyone what happened to me since the phantom was always with me, constantly whispering in my ears, manipulating me. Although I'm under the manipulation of that phantom, it doesn't change the fact that I hurt you with my actions." Rei said with remorse as he looked down, remorseful.
Ryo didn't expect that this prick of a brother of his would apologize like this to him. Rei had been treated harshly ever since he arrived in this world so he thought that Rei's character setting was naturally like that.
Ryo couldn't say anything as he felt a sudden pain in his chest that was gradually spreading. His hands started trembling as he tried to suppress the turbulent emotions that were wreaking havoc inside him. He felt quite detached from the emotions he's feeling but he can still feel it.
"I…I'm really sorry… I know a simple apology won't be enough but I just…I'm just apologizing to let you know that I deeply regret hurting you. I don't expect you to forgive me but I hope you'd give me a chance to redeem myself."
Rei was clutching the sheets tightly to somehow alleviate the nervousness he was feeling. He had been alienating Ryo for the past 7 years so he wasn't expecting that things would change overnight. He looked up and was startled when he saw the torn expression on his brother's face.
Ryo, who had been trying hard to suppress the turbulent emotions he was feeling, suddenly lost control of it. His tears started streaming down uncontrollably no matter how much he stopped it from flowing out.
Amidst of it all, he realized that it wasn't him that was crying, it was the original Ryo, or at least the remnants of the original Ryo.
'Ryo, did you hear that? Your brother doesn't hate you.'
Ryo let himself cry to let out the stuffy feeling in his chest. He felt glad. Even though the real Ryo was no longer here, he was still able to witness this scene from somewhere. Probably in heaven. Who knows. Ryo felt like he was able to liberate the original Ryo from one of his grievances.
Since he was now occupying the original Ryo's body, he'd at least help him be liberated from, if not all, most of his grievances even if it's troublesome. As Ryo bawled, his family comforted him.
Even though the night was cold, warmth was overflowing from that room.