D’Élysée had nothing to fear as an orphan. He always had his older brother looking after him. He had only seen his brother fight once in his life. It was the day his only sibling came home crying after being bullied by local thugs for being an orphan.

His brother quietly left the house and returned in a disheveled state. But he wore a proud smile.

“I-I taught them a lesson. So don’t cry anymore.”

His brother said. He claimed the thugs would have his teeth marks on their asses for the rest of their lives. As an afterthought, he recalled how awful the smell had been.

D’Élysée couldn’t help but smile back. How reassuring it was to have even just one person on his side in the world. It felt like he possessed the entire vast world.

After cleaning the wounds with a wet cloth, they went to bed together. There were no luxury items like disinfectant in their shabby home.

“D-D’Élysée, let’s live in a house like that someday.”

“What kind of house?”

“A house that’s cool in summer and warm in winter. With lots of sunlight coming in…”

“Sounds good. And there should be ten slices each of cheese and wheat bread on the dining table. Let’s eat until we’re stuffed every day.”

“That’s right, remember it well. We’ll definitely live in a house like that someday. Just hang in there a little longer.”

D’Élysée blinked his round eyes. He didn’t understand what he was supposed to be hanging in there for. Thanks to his brother’s devotion, he wasn’t enduring anything.

“Brother, later you’ll definitely…”

Before he could finish, his brother’s pumpkin-colored eyes blinked slowly, heavy with drowsiness. D’Élysée watched his brother drift off to sleep and gradually closed his own eyes.

“Commander…”

A faint sobbing sound came from nearby. It was a signal that the dream he never wanted to leave was coming to an end.

D’Élysée slowly lifted his eyelids. A soft silhouette was reflected in his pale green eyes. It was a dazzlingly white figure.

“How exhausted you must have been to go this far…”

The Pope wiped his reddened eyes. His trembling eyelashes created a sorrowful atmosphere.

“But, my friend, no matter how much you grieve, the dead will not return to life.”

A gentle hand softly enveloped D’Élysée’s.

“It may be difficult right now, but please calm your resentment.”

“…I’ve shown an embarrassing side of myself.”

D’Élysée stared at the ceiling like a soulless doll.

“I have no face to show, Your Holiness. If you order me to resign from my position as Commander, I will gladly accept.”

“N-No way! That’s an absurd thought! I, I…”

The Pope’s lips, as delicate as chamomile petals, quivered.

“I want none other than you, C-Commander, to remain by my side…!”

The Pope’s cheeks and even his forehead turned rosy. He looked as lovable as a young boy awkward in expressing affection.

“Your Holiness.”

D’Élysée slowly withdrew his hand from the Pope’s grasp.

The Pope, unusually, seemed unperturbed. He exuded an air of ease, as if he now had plenty of time.

“Your Holiness. There is only one thing I wish to ask.”

“Please, do tell me. Whatever is within my power…”

“Can you bring him back to life?”

“…”

The Pope placed a neatly unfolded check in the Commander’s hands. Creases remained on the check like indelible scars.

“If… I were to say it’s impossible?”

“Then I will leave to make it possible.”

“You mean you’ll step down from your position as Commander.”

The Pope smiled, appearing quite hurt. His dejected appearance looked as pitiful as a rain-soaked rabbit.

“I will… try to make it possible. It will be a difficult journey, but I’m willing to do anything for you, Commander. Just keep your position.”

The Pope carefully placed his hand over the Commander’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Please prepare yourself mentally. It will be a challenging journey for all of us. The little believer’s name was Egru, correct?”

“That’s right.”

At last, a small light returned to D’Élysée’s eyes.

“To achieve resurrection, several steps are necessary. The medium that will serve as the foundation is the most crucial element.”

“You mean…”

“We need the little believer’s corpse.”

The Pope said gently.

“Can you bring it to me? It would be much easier if vital parts like the brain or heart remain intact.”

D’Élysée recalled the Orc Chief’s words.

“The one who took Egru was the second guy who came. He wore a bronze mask and was very forceful. I was planning to bury him in our clan’s sanctuary, but he took the body away as he pleased.”

D’Élysée answered immediately.

“Gladly.”

***

Before heading to the Milfia Guild, D’Élysée stopped by his office. He wanted to check the letter left by the demon Orc the night before.

The sunset light seeped through the freshly cleaned window. It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, he had been here with his brother.

‘Did my brother die in pain?’

It didn’t take long for the sudden question to consume his mind.

He wanted to believe that his brother had no lingering attachment to life.

After all, he had given everything, burning up his small body before departing. Surely, he must have felt relieved and at peace, escaping from his hellish life.

‘Yes, that’s right.’

Perhaps he met his fellow demons and smiled happily in the end.

But he had left alone. Despite being so afraid, no one was by his side, they said.

‘He was afraid of death.’

Given his nature of always considering others before himself, how difficult must it have been for him to utter even a single word? He must have suppressed and endured before making that difficult request.

D’Élysée placed the crumpled check on the desk.

It was clear at a glance. What his brother needed was not a check, but family.

“You’re a hypocrite too!”

The demon’s scream from the underground still echoed in his ears.

“Don’t even call him brother! While the child was starving alone, you were probably enjoying banquets! With your great human companions!”

It was true. He couldn’t refute a single word. Until the very end, he had only inflicted blind wounds on his brother.

The demon’s letter still lay neatly on the desk. It looked hastily made, torn and folded from a pocket notebook.

D’Élysée reached out, restraining his surging emotions. Despite the ample paper space, all that caught his eye was a single, insignificant sentence.

[Hate me if you must, but understand.]

The spelling was perfect. If it had been his brother, he wouldn’t have been able to write straight, so the green-skinned demon must have conveyed his last words for him.

‘If it were my brother…’

He would have surely stuttered.

D’Élysée had to force himself to grip the letter. To prevent it from getting crumpled.

‘To think that this pathetic last wish was all he could think of while dying.’

It seems he felt mortally sorry for sending his younger brother to the orphanage. To the extent that he played the villain until the end. He tried his best to the very end to alleviate any guilt his younger brother might feel for hating him.

‘The one who should really be hated is not me, but…’

It was incredibly naive. He wasn’t a good enough person to deserve such devotion. His life had been a series of calculations, everything driven by self-interest.

“D-D’Élysée, where are you going?”

“Just out front.”

“Okay.”

In the past, whenever he would go out carrying a glass filled to the brim with water, he could feel his brother’s watchful gaze pretending not to notice. If he watered the wildflowers with it, a content smile would spread across his brother’s face.

He just wanted to see that.

D’Élysée would deliberately tilt the water glass in front of the door where it was easily visible.

He could tell without being told. His brother was overjoyed to see his younger sibling being kind.

He wanted to be a good person, to live a good life.

The Church carries out justice. The Holy Knights protect such a Church.

Could there be a more perfect duty? D’Élysée established himself as the Commander of the Holy Knights. A sword protecting the Church, the embodiment of virtue. A position from which he could benefit all nations if he so chose.

He couldn’t fathom how much more his brother would have liked that.

But now, there might be no need to water the wildflowers anymore.

Not even a faint breath flowed through the office, sunken like a quagmire.

D’Élysée wanted to completely erase any lingering possibility. He knew that everyone must leave someday. But not now.

One thing was certain. He still couldn’t let go.

He clung to the departing back over and over again. He would never be able to send him away for good.

“…”

D’Élysée suddenly caressed the hilt of his sword. A strand of remaining reason screamed in his mind. That following his brother in death here was absolutely unacceptable.

‘There must surely be a more useful purpose.’

Even if it’s just for revenge.

With only one life left, he had to use it as efficiently as possible. He couldn’t carelessly throw it away, even for the 1% chance of revival.

You never know. In the process of the forbidden resurrection magic, there might be a way to exchange hearts. D’Élysée would gladly give his heart right away. To the point of tears.

Click.

As he put the check and letter into the safe, D’Élysée recalled the name the demon Orc had introduced himself with.

‘Ja… Ja…’

Whatever his name was, he wanted to praise him. Hadn’t that demon risked his life to enter the Papal Headquarters? If not for him, it would have been difficult to even determine his brother’s whereabouts, let alone his location.

D’Élysée decided to go find his brother. This time, he resolved to do whatever it took to not leave him in Levian’s hands.

‘In whatever form…’

As long as he’s alive.

Even if his body rots and stinks, he will love him. After all, his brother had loved him completely until the moment of his death.