Simon took a bite of his Meat Pie.
He could taste the savory fragrance of the meat and spices in the dish. It was so appetizing that he was soon taking one mouthful after another.
"Slow down, brother, there is more from where that came from," Juno said with a grin as Rode sliced another portion for him.
"I guess I am hungrier than I though..." said Simon. "This meat pie is really good, why don't you have some, brother?"
"Like I said, I'm not that hungry."
Simon placed his knife down.
"Brother, I was actually planning to ask you something..."
"And what would that be?"
"The knights from yesterday," continued Simon, "I was wondering how they were able to accompany us without your other knights realizing that they were impostors?"
Simon watched his brother's jaw tighten.
"Didn't your knights Sir Eli and Sir Trix find it suspicious that they were different people?"
Juno held his tongue and remained silent.
Simon turned to look around the area.
He saw his brother's two knights standing guard by his carriage, but there was no trace of the bearded knight anywhere.
"By the way, brother, did you see that bearded knight that was with me yesterday?"
"The bearded knight?" his brother coldly asked back. "He was nowhere to be found when morning came. We're suspecting that he was collaborating with the rest of the bandits you killed yesterday."
"That can't be!" Simon said with a frown. "That knight was the one who helped me kill those bandits! Why, if it wasn't for him, I would have been killed as soon as I stepped outside of my carriage!"
"Is that so..." Juno looked pass him.
Simon followed his gaze and noticed Rode standing behind him.
"I'm afraid the bearded knight is no longer here. He probably ran away during the night," said the attendant.
"He probably got scared after seeing how... 'heroic' you truly are," Juno told him with a sneer.
It was an expression that Simon was very used to seeing, yet this time, the malice behind it was so undisguised that he instinctively knew that something was wrong.
"Brother, are you playing another trick on me?" he asked Juno in a flat voice.
The grin on Juno's face suddenly disappeared.
"Of course not, why would I play tricks on my dear brother the hero?" he quickly replied.
Simon cleared his throat.
"I just can't help but think that you're planning to make fun of me, like you and brother Largos used to do when ever you see me practicing my sword in the courtyard." His brows knit together as he made an effort to confront his brother for the first time.
"I have always respected you as my elder brothers," he continued, clearing his throat once more, "but I can't help but wonder why you always like to pick on me, even though our other brothers were also there..."
"Ah," Juno smiled at Simon. "That is because you never give up," he explained. "Seeing you, a skinny boy practicing with an oversize sword every day, though you were just an insignificant prince who would never have a chance on the throne was just..."
Juno paused and stared at Simon.
"Annoying."
Simon's eyes widened at his brothers words.
His cold degrading eyes stared at him as if he was back on the dusty courtyard floor, writing in pain as his brothers kick him to the ground.
"W-what do you mean..." he coughed.
"I have always thought that an idiot like you would simply throw that stupid bastard sword away and stay out of my sight, like the rest of our useless brothers. But no. You learned to raise that sword and wield it around with those twig arms of yours. All you knew were two move. Just a straight down slash and a stab. Yet you kept at it, even though not a single instructor wasted their time to teach you anything useful."
Simon coughed some more, too lost for words to answer back.
"I told father to send you to the Behemoth expedition to get rid of you," Juno went on. "I was hoping that an eyesore like you would be able to slow that monster down, or at least fill its stomach enough to satisfy it and make it easier for me to slay it. But no. You had to be the 'Hero'."
Juno stood up, staring down at Simon who kept coughing on his seat.
"I didn't want to believe it at first. It was just impossible for something like you to be better than me in anything!" he sneered. "I guess it is true what they say, that the gods prefer ignorant idiots over proper nobles like myself."
Simon's cough started to rattle in his chest.
Soon, he was spitting blood.
"So you see, brother," Juno glared at him, "this is the last resort I could think of to get rid of you."
"But... you are my brother..." Simon gasped. "I look up to you... I trusted you..."
Juno simply glared at him.
"Eli, Trix."
"Yes, your highness?" the two knights approached their table.
"Get rid of the trash."
"As you wish, your highness."
"No..." muttered Simon.
The two knights approached him as he clawed at his rattling chest, his cough, getting worst by the minute, but he refused to stay still.
No.
He had had enough.
All his life he had endured for he was just a lowly prince.
He had always looked up to his eldest brother.
He was his own flesh and blood, his idol, his hero.
But now, all reason has gone as he saw the disgusted look on his hero's face.
The two knights drew their swords.
They rushed at Simon who held only a bread knife in his shaking hand.
"Time to die, hero," said Trix with a snarl in his lips.
"No!" shouted Simon, blood sputtering out of his mouth.
He raised the knife he held and parried the knight's sword to his right.
The knight looked surprised.
He had underestimated the young prince and didn't expect him to quickly raise the serrated blade to his neck.
Sir Trix looked bewildered as warm blood splattered from a gush on his neck.
"Eli!" shouted Juno, pointing at Simon with a shaking finger.
Simon faced the remaining knight and didn't bother waiting for an attack. He jumped at Eli first, before the other could even raise his long sword.
The last thing Sir Eli saw was the point of Simon's knife, rushing at his eye.
"Your highness, run!" said Rode as he placed himself between the two brothers.
Simon picked up Sir Eli's sword and stared murderously at Juno.
"Stay away from – "
A simple whip of the wrist sent the attendant's head flying to the ground.
"Swords... are so light..." Simon said between bloody coughs. "So easy... to use... so easy to kill..."
And with his last, painful breath, Simon severed the head of his brother from its neck.
Simon stared at the horrified look plastered on his brother's lifeless face.
Juno's cold, degrading gaze was no longer there.
He stared at it until his sight went darker, and sweet death took the pain in his chest away.
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bad ending 💀
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