"My goodness! Dermilla!"
"Zachlis!"
Without a care for anyone else, the man who had arrived breathlessly threw his arms around Devran's sister, weeping loudly. Even Devran, who had been ready to shout at him, found himself unable to interrupt their reunion.
"Dermilla! Dermilla! Is it really you?"
"Yes, it's me."
"I can't believe it. By the gods... After hearing you were dead, I... I thought I lost you forever. Oh, thank the gods!"
Zachlis Hartan sobbed into Dermilla's shoulder as they clung to each other. After what felt like an eternity, Zachlis finally calmed down enough to speak coherently.
"I-I'm sorry, everyone. The shock of this... miracle... But what happened? Who are you all?"
"Do you not remember me, Sir Zachlis?" Devran's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Zachlis quickly shook his head. "No, of course I remember you, Devran. But what in the world is going on? Why is Zakail like this?"
Devran, still holding his sister's hand, his eyes red from his own tears, gave Zachlis a look that spoke volumes. But before he could say anything, Gakane stepped forward, sensing that the situation needed some easing.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Zachlis Hartan."
Zachlis turned his attention to him. "Yes, I am Zachlis Hartan."
"I am Gakane Volunwald, a member of Duke Peletta's Cavalry, assigned to investigate the disappearance of Devran Hartude. If I may ask, I thought you weren't supposed to return for a few more days due to an assignment with your order?"
"Ah, well, that's... complicated," Zachlis hesitated, glancing between them. "I received a letter during a funeral yesterday, claiming there was an urgent matter, but when I ran into a colleague in a village this morning, he told me there was no such issue. He suggested there might have been a mistake in the delivery of the command. So, I returned here at once."
Both Gakane and Devran's gazes instinctively turned towards Zakail, who had been avoiding their eyes since Zachlis' arrival. His face had turned stony, betraying none of his thoughts.
"Oh, Zakail. You planned to chase Sir Zachlis away and kill us all in the meantime, didn't you? But it seems your plan has unraveled."
"..."
"What do you mean by that?" Zachlis frowned, his eyes shifting between Devran and Zakail. "What did Zakail do? Does this have something to do with the news about Devran killing his family and committing suicide?"
Zachlis, despite his initial shock, was more perceptive than most would expect of a knight. Gakane
glanced at Devran before speaking slowly, his tone measured.
"Please, listen carefully to what I'm about to explain."
Though there didn't seem to be much affection among the family members, what Gakane was about to say would surely be a heavy blow for Zachlis, as Zakail was still his brother.
Ignoring Zakail, who was struggling against the shadow spirit that restrained him, Gakane began to calmly narrate the events.
"We believe Zakail is deeply involved in all of these incidents. The reasons are..."
As Gakane explained the situation, Devran, his sister, and the Awakeners all contributed, filling in the details and clarifying the sequence of events.
At first, Zachlis' expression was one of disbelief—utterly shocked by the accusations. But as the story neared its end, his face hardened into a mask of calm, his eyes cool and assessing.
"...and so, we joined forces and returned here, That is everything."
"I see... understood," Zachlis sighed deeply, as if the weight of the truth had finally settled upon him. His gaze swept across the room, lingering on his lover's tear-streaked face, Devran's wounded form, and Gakane and Jimmy in their somber black uniforms. Finally, his eyes fell on Zakail, who looked utterly drained, his defiance replaced with a resigned glare.
"Could we release Zakail, at least for a moment? I think we need to hear his side of the story."
"What? More of this...!" Devran began to protest, his voice rising with frustration, but Gakane raised a hand, silencing him with a gesture.
"Calm yourself, Devran. We'll release him, but only partially. We can't risk him escaping," Gakane said, his tone firm. "We'll only free his mouth."
"That's fine," Zachlis agreed, his expression showing that he had already accepted much of what he had heard. the shadow clone restraining Zakail to lower its hand, revealing his mouth.
"Brother, you don't actually believe their words, do you?"
"Zakail."
Zakail looked at his elder brother, who had just called his name. He forced a pale smile onto his face, but the smile was awkward, almost twisted, as if he struggled to control his facial muscles. The expression made him look even more unsettling.
"It's all lies," Zakail began. "You know I can't do anything like this. How could I betray Father and Sister? They're targeting me, making up stories!"
"…"
"If I were to conspire with someone, who would it even be? This is absurd! You know I have no interest in the lord's position. I'd give it all to you, if that's what you want. Then it'd be fine, right? You trust me, don't you?"
"Zakail."
The way Zachlis repeated his name made Zakail's breath hitch. For the first time, he saw something in his brother's eyes he had never seen before—coldness. The older brother, whom Zakail had always regarded as filled with pointless ideals and irritation, now looked at him with chilling detachment.
"Enough with the lies."
A cold shiver ran down Zakail's spine.
"Did you really think your behavior over the past year had gone unnoticed by the family?"
"...What?"
"You've always been the greediest among us brothers, but never willing to work for it. Even when Father paved a path for you to become a scholar, you threw away the opportunity and began associating with suspicious people about a year ago. Did you really think we wouldn't notice?"
Zakail's eyes widened, his lips parting in shock.
"Wha—what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the reason Father rushed to pass the lordship to our sister. He feared you would drag dangerous forces into our territory. He didn't trust you, and neither did the rest of us."
Zachlis sighed, his gaze heavy as he looked down at his younger brother.
"But it seems we were already too late. I never imagined you'd go so far as to involve my lover, just to satisfy your greed. It's impressive, in a twisted way. You knew exactly what would make me lose my sense of reason, and you acted on it."
"No, brother, that's not true! Please, listen to me! Are you really going to throw away your own brother because of these baseless accusations? Are you really going to let a commoner lover blind you to the truth?"
"Zakail, her name is Dermilla," Zachlis said calmly. "No… now she bears the name of Devran. She is Dermilla Hartude."
Zakail's frustration boiled over. "What does that matter now?"
"It matters more than you realize," Zachlis replied coolly. "Far more than a brother who tried to kill my lover and deceive me with a fake letter to send me away."
Zachlis pulled a letter from his chest, his expression unreadable.
"If this letter wasn't truly sent by the Knights, then we need to find the culprit, don't we?" he said coolly, his gaze fixed on Zakail. "It might be interesting to bring in those who claimed to have captured and tortured Devran."
"I didn't send it."
"Do you think they'll say the same?" Zachlis shot back. "If you truly had no interest in the lordship, then explain why, as soon as I returned to the castle, so many servants insisted you were the one expected to inherit. They were convinced, Zakail, that you would become lord."
Zakail's face twisted in anger and frustration. "That's just... just stupid commoners babbling!"
"Oh? Then I suppose there's no issue if I claim the lordship for myself."
"What? But… you're in the Knights…"
Zachlis's voice was calm, yet firm. "If it means being by Dermilla's side, I don't care where I am. It might even be better to inherit the lordship, marry her, and send you away."
Zakail's weak laugh came out strained. "Haha… That's a lie, right?"
He searched his brother's face for any hint of a joke, but there was none. Zachlis's cold eyes remained unmoved.
'No, it can't be true,' Zakail thought desperately, his mind racing. 'He's lying just to shake me up. My brother would never leave the Knights to take over a small town's lordship. That's impossible. It's not true.'
But the longer he looked into Zachlis's unwavering gaze, the more his confidence wavered. If Zachlis truly chose to claim the lordship, there would be no power that could overturn his decision. Zakail knew this all too well. No matter how much he tried to reassure himself, anxiety gnawed at him.
The tradition from the east was older and stronger than law itself. Even the people of Apeto couldn't challenge it. No one would dare oppose the eldest son inheriting his father's estate, even if they were only a year apart in age.
Zakail felt his grand dreams, the ones he'd thought were just within his reach, crumble in an instant. His entire plan had hinged on becoming the lord of Hartan. But if he couldn't secure the lordship, what then?
Would anyone offer a chance to someone like him—the youngest, incompetent son of a noble family?
"No… it's not true. It's not true!" Zakail shook his head, his panic rising as he writhed in place. "That's not what you really mean, right? Right? Brother, you said you were fine as long as you had her! She's back alive, so why are you doing this to me? Don't I deserve any pity—?!"
Before he could say more, Gakane motioned for the shadow clone to cover Zakail's mouth once again, silencing his desperate cries into muffled groans. Zachlis, who had been watching his brother reveal his greedy gaze and his increasingly frantic struggle, sighed deeply before turning his back.
"Thank you,"
"Do you wish to hear more from him?"
"Well, as you can see, there's nothing more to hear. The circumstances are clear enough."
There was no trace of sympathy left in Zachlis's eyes. He ran a hand through his hair, his face showing only weariness.