Chapter 53

For a while, dull noises echoed across the beach.

It was the sound of two grown men tumbling and wrestling.

“Let go of my brother! You’ve tormented him enough!”

“Damn it, you meddling brat!”

By now, they were both throwing punches indiscriminately. They engaged in a scuffle that Egru would have desperately tried to stop if he had seen it. Yet the two seemed to relish the confrontation.

“You think I didn’t know you were thinking about fucking your brother as soon as you manifested as an alpha?”

Crack.

Levian gripped D’Élysée’s wrist as if to break it. It was the hand holding Egru’s note.

“You think you’re any different from me?”

Before the grip on the note loosened, D’Élysée struck Levian’s head with his other fist. The area near his temple, marked with scar lines, turned bright red.

“It feels like just yesterday when you were constantly yelling at your brother, asking when you’d grow up!”

They ended up rolling to a spot damp enough to be wet by the waves. Several more fierce exchanges followed. With each roll, sand stuck to their backs fell off in clumps. Throughout it all, both tacitly limited their actions to keep the note from getting wet.

Beep beep beep.

A ringtone sounded. It was coming from Levian’s pants pocket. Regardless, the two were preoccupied with punching each other.

Beep beep. Beep beep beep.

But the ringtone wouldn’t stop.

“Damn it…”

Levian frowned without even checking. He seemed to already know who the caller was.

“Hey, I need to take this.”

“…”

“I won’t snatch it! Damn it! I said I won’t snatch it!”

Beep beep beep.

Despite trying to ignore it, the persistent ringing caused D’Élysée’s expression to crumple as well. They finally pushed each other away simultaneously. Shaking out his fist, still pulsing with blood, D’Élysée stepped back a good distance. His heavy breathing was swept away by the sound of the waves.

Levian gritted his teeth as he pulled out his communication device.

“…What.”

D’Élysée watched Levian holding the device. His rapid breathing had long since calmed.

“What the hell are you talking about! I wondered why you suddenly contacted me! Why should I do that?”

The sight of his disliked face contorting in real-time was quite a spectacle.

“No way, damn it! All I have left is…!”

His angry voice was buried under the increasingly fierce sound of waves. But with his excellent hearing, D’Élysée could hear clearly.

‘Only him.’

However, the voice of the person on the other end of the call wasn’t muffled. It seemed to be restricted by some security magic.

“Fine! I said fine!”

Levian shouted, running his hand down his face.

“Damn it, I just need to hand him over, right? What do you mean confirm he’s dead, you can tell just by looking! Yeah!”

Click. After hanging up, the communication device sank into the fine sand without a scratch.

Levian picked up a discarded cigar butt nearby and took a long drag. But no smoke came out, as if the ember had died.

“…Take him and get out.”

Levian said, tossing the butt aside and standing up again.

His attitude had suddenly become docile. Like a circus bear with a leash, all life seemed to drain from him in an instant.

‘Whatever change of heart he’s had…’

D’Élysée was not one to miss an opportunity.

“Where is he?”

“Do you see any building other than this villa?”

“He wasn’t inside.”

“The rooftop.”

Levian firmly grabbed D’Élysée, who was about to rush off.

The hesitation revealing his honest feelings lasted only a moment. After handing over his brother’s note, D’Élysée hurried off again.

[Belovud yonger bruther D’Élysée, deer frend Levian. I’m sory for cauzin so moch truble al this tiem. I’l defintly cum back somhow.]

There was only one reason he handed over the note.

‘Levian’s name was written on it too.’

He didn’t want to disregard his brother’s feelings out of selfish desire.

“Hey!”

A shout came from behind as he moved away.

“Damn it, why am I just ‘dear’ when you’re ‘beloved’?”

I guess I’m loved and you’re just adequately precious.

There was no need to explain the obvious fact.

D’Élysée headed straight for the villa without a word. It was an impressively large building, as empty as its owner.

It took no time to reach the top floor. He climbed without hesitation, but his hand suddenly paused on the rooftop door handle. D’Élysée stood in front of the door for a moment, tidying his hair and clothes.

Creak.

The door gap slowly widened.

In the spacious area, there was a single sunbed and parasol. Even from a distance, various cheese dishes were messily piled on several tables.

Amidst the vivid yellow, his brother lay as if on vacation.

“…”

D’Élysée approached with silent steps. As if being careful not to startle someone sleeping.

But he couldn’t bring himself to look down.

Even as he reached the sunbed under the parasol, he couldn’t face his brother directly.

D’Élysée took time to blink. Beyond the rooftop railing, the red man appeared as a tiny dot. Levian stood frozen, his face buried in the note. The distant sound of waves faintly echoed in his ears.

His pale green eyes turned downward very slowly.

‘…Perhaps.’

His brother might have been dead since the moment his pheromone scent disappeared. There had only been one reason for him to continue such a tumultuous life.

“Um, D’Élysée…”

The memory of his brother’s last appearance at the Papal Headquarters came to mind.

“Can I hug you just once?”

“…Not now.”

‘Why?’

D’Élysée questioned his past self.

‘Why wasn’t it okay then?’

His blank eyes gradually welled up.

His brother remained as he had died in agony. Amid the vibrant, lively scenery, only his brother’s time stood still.

“D-don’t do this…”

Seeing the dried blood on his small lips, D’Élysée’s knees gave way helplessly. He was in a wretched state.

Though his clothes were clean, not a single bloodstain on his skin had been wiped away. As if to confirm that he was already dead.

“D-did it hurt a lot?”

D’Élysée frantically examined his brother’s wounds. Blood and sweat were caked in his chestnut-brown hair. Moreover, someone had cut it with shoddy skill, leaving it sticking up like weeds.

Still, he was dazzling. No matter what state his hair was in, his brother’s essence remained unchanged.

His battered body felt so light. As he hurriedly embraced his brother with careful hands, he caught a glimpse of a thin, broken stick protruding from his belly. It was the shaft of an arrow still embedded in his soft abdomen.

“I-I’ll…”

D’Élysée picked up his brother without hesitation. He was a bit stiff and very cold due to the preservation magic. He rushed down to the basement where the domain transfer portal was located.

“I’ll fix you, brother. This time, I’ll…”

Once unleashed, his emotions refused to calm.

‘I knew it…’

His brother wasn’t someone who would abandon him without reason.

This is bad.

Already, he missed those rough, calloused hands.

“I can’t lose you twice.”

D’Élysée stepped into the portal, cradling his brother.

***

Considerable time had passed since the demon massacre instigated by the Empire.

The clouds of war now loomed over the eastern and western continental territories.

The Papal Headquarters.

Only the sole neutral zone in the central continent maintained a precarious peace.

It was thanks to the foresight of the benevolent Pope.

The Pope neither supported the Empire nor took the side of the opposition.

“Did you sleep well, little believer?”

In the underground laboratory of the Papal Headquarters. Under the blue-tinged lights, a gentle voice echoed.

“Good evening.”

Salvanel said with a bright smile.

“I understand you’re happy to see me after so long, but…”

“Grrrr.”

“Would you please let go of this first?”

The self-proclaimed Orc half-breed, resembling a pea, was gnawing on Salvanel’s arm.

“Woof! Woof!”

“If I gave you a human body, you should speak human language.”

“Grrrr, woof!”

“Why are you angry as soon as you’ve come back to life? I even gave you a much stronger body. Ah, I’ll teach you how to speak gradually.”

Timing it with the next bark, Salvanel swiftly pulled out his arm. Blood seeped through the white sleeve. However, he didn’t seem to mind much.

“Wait a moment. I’ll give you some rice porridge with plenty of sugar. If you eat solid food right away, you’ll surely get sick.”

“S-saw…”

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of you from now on.”

“Saw… everything…”

“What?”

Salvanel asked while turning around to tidy up the operating table.

Tweezers, scissors, bone powder, and flesh were dumped into the trash bin.

Among them were mana stones that had completely lost their light. They were still transparent and clean.

“More importantly, you speak quite well. You must have lived quite long for a stray dog. You’ve seen and heard a lot, haven’t you?”

“You… killed… me…”

“What should we name you?”

“My… fr-friend…”

“Doggy is too crude, isn’t it? Now that you’re human, why don’t you choose for yourself? I’ll get you a list of popular names in the Empire. How about Karn? Or maybe Tarn?”

“Left alone… in the dark…”

The large dog inhabiting Egru’s body whimpered with a sad face. The body stumbled as it tried to stand on two feet, then collapsed back onto the floor.

“Why… only me…”

Salvanel smiled gently. The answer to the tearful question was simple.

“Because animals are innocent.”