~Kevin
Candles and torches lit the halls of the palace, and it was the early hours of dawn. A request came from my father that he wanted to see me early. It was not unexpected - I knew he had been busy the last few months with meetings and taking down spies, as well as planning his next moves.
When I entered the throne room, my father was seated on his throne, surrounded by his closest advisors. In front of him, three men knelt on the floor, bound and blindfolded. Their shoulders trembled. Blood already stained one of their collars.
My father didn't greet me. He raised his hand and gestured silently.
Finally, he said, "Sit down, Kevin." His voice was calm. I sat down next to him; my eyes fixed on the bound men.
"We've identified the last Devotion spies in our forces," he began, tapping his finger on the armrest. "These three... We've taken everything from them. Every name. Every contact. They're the last ones we need to root out before we begin."
I didn't speak. I already knew what he was asking.
He turned his gaze to me—steady, unblinking.
"What do you think we should do with them?"
He leaned back, clasping his hands. "Should I execute them in the town square? Torture them in the dungeons? Or perhaps...you will take care of it. Now."
My stomach clenched. I looked at the men. They didn't beg. Perhaps they couldn't. Or perhaps they had accepted what was coming.
I didn't need to ask questions. I knew the truth. These men were spies—but not as he described them. In my eyes, Devotion was not the villain here. My father is the evil one, and I knew it. He had pushed this empire into darkness long ago. And now... he wanted me to follow him.
Silence fell between us. The pressure in my chest intensified.
I stood up.
I drew my sword and said, "If death is inevitable, it's better to kill them quickly. Let me do it."
A dark smile appeared on his lips. "As you wish, my son. I don't care either way."
There was no more hesitation. I stepped forward with my sword in hand. Fixing my eyes on the ground, I cut their throats one by one. The room filled with blood.
My father shouted from behind me, "Clean up this mess."
I wiped the blade clean and sheathed it. I didn't look back at their bodies. I just can't do it. My hand trembled a little, but I need to be stronger, just a little bit more.
He rose from his throne and faced me, his tone even colder.
"We will move forward," he said. War with Devotion is inevitable. But we must be united and strong. Which leads me to your sister."
My breath caught, but I kept my expression steady.
He continued, "She has been refusing orders and acting as if she has a choice lately." He sneered. "I sent a message to Ingocia. I told them we are dealing with internal problems. But that won't matter soon. The king and his son are coming here in person."
He grinned broadly.
"She'll marry his son, whether she likes it or not. Once our bloodlines are united, Devotion will fall quickly before us."
Then he slammed his fist down on the armrest.
"That's how we win, Kevin. With strength, control, and unity."
I held back my anger. After we fell into that trap, he became even harsher with me, I feel a tightness in my throat and a coldness in my hands, is this what helplessness feels like?
For him, image was everything. Strength was everything.
I kept my face neutral. "I understand, Father."
He stared at me for a long time. Then he came closer and placed his hand heavily on my shoulder.
"Don't let what happened during the trade distract you," he said. "I've already forgiven you. You're my son. And one day, this throne will be yours. When that time comes, you'll have to make choices even harder than this one—and you'll have to make them without hesitation."
I forced myself to nod. "I won't disappoint you."
But inside, I knew the truth—I would never be like him. Not in this lifetime. Even if it cost me everything.
I left the throne room, my steps steady and silent. My mind raced. I couldn't let this continue. War was coming, but it wasn't Devotion or Ingocia who would destroy Drayton. It was our father.
A feeling of helplessness runs through my whole body. I don't know what to do. But even if I has nothing in my mind, I had to start moving now...
Without hesitation, I made my way through the halls of the palace, sticking to the less crowded corridors.
When I arrived at Lily's room, I knocked softly on the door.
"I'm here."
Silence. Then the door opened.
Lily stood in the doorway, her piercing blue eyes staring into mine. She wore her workout clothes, her skin damp with sweat and a towel wrapped around her neck. Strands of her black hair clung to her face. She said nothing, just stepped aside and nodded quietly, gesturing me in.
The room was spacious and smelled faintly of steel. In one corner was a seating area with a table surrounded by couches. In the other corner, there was a special training area with equipment. Her sword leaned against the wall, and a broken training dummy lay in the corner.
"What's wrong?" she asked calmly.
I didn't waste any time.
"War with Devotion is inevitable. My father has removed all the spies. After you disobeyed him again, he will contact the King of Ingocia and tell him that he has solved his internal problems."
I looked into her eyes.
"They're coming here. The king and his son. The meeting is set and you will be forced into this marriage in front of everyone. You can't refuse."
Her expression didn't change. Only silence. That's when I started to notice. Her personality had completely changed after the trade. She had become much more disciplined and bolder, even refusing direct orders from my father. What had changed her so much?
Slowly, she walked over to the small table by the window, picked up her bottle, and took a sip. She turned her eyes to the cloudy sky outside.
"I knew he would do something like this," she said. "He wants to corner me and leave me with no choice. Typical."
She turned around, folded the towel, and threw it on the chair.
"How much time do I have?"
"About a month," I replied.
She nodded once. "Good. That's enough time."
"Why?" I asked, surprised.
"To figure out how to solve this before he forces me to."
I watched her, calm and steady. Underneath it all, I could see that she was starting to plan her next move.
"Thanks for the clarity," she said, walking past me and picking up her sword.
She glanced at it, then met my gaze again. "I won't let our father do as he pleases, Kevin. You know that, don't you?"
I nodded slightly. "I know." I stood and looked at her. "Let's prevent this war from happening, no matter what. If we can, we must remove him from the throne and find out who's pulling the strings."
Lily breathed deeply but didn't immediately say no. She knew it was the best decision. "Removing him from the throne? How exactly are you planning to do this? It's impossible."
"If we don't," I continued, "he'll use you to merge Ingocia with us. And when that happens, he won't hesitate, he'll attack Devotion."
I could see the irritation in her eyes. "I just hope he dies..."
I'm not surprised she said it. He never treated her like his daughter. I've always had these thoughts, but he's my father, I couldn't do it... He's moving slowly, but with a clear goal. And if we don't do something, it will be too late.
Lily took a deep breath again, then met my gaze with new determination.
"What should we do now? Do you have any plans" she asked.
I exhaled. "Let's start delaying the coming of Ingocia empire. I'll talk to my loyal men. We need to start moving."
Lily nodded.
I put my hand firmly on her shoulder. "I'm going to need your help with this." I paused for a second. "I wish I can get some help from Devotion too, that man Yuri, I'm sure he can help me with this, he's strong as hell."
Having someone from Devotion on our side could be very helpful. He could serve as a bridge between the two empires while we work to end the war between them.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking then said with a serious look. "Listen brother, that guy Roy. You should talk to him, I think it's a better option, he'll be understanding and he's also pursuing the same goal as you." She looked at me and continued. "If you could explain to him what's going on, I'm sure he'd help you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Roy, the guy that helped you there?"
Lily nodded with her serious look remaining.
I crossed my arms and looked down for a moment and closed my eyes. Roy Celgius. His name was whispered on the battlefields. A cold warrior. A logical man. But also... someone who doesn't follow orders blindly. Maybe she was right, I didn't know exactly what Roy and Lily's past was and I wasn't going to ask her about it, but if my cold sister who didn't give a damn about men trusted him enough to suggest his name to me, then he's definitely trustworthy.
I gave a slight smile and looked at Lily again. "Is that so?"
Lily nodded again, her gaze steady. "While I was there, I found out that his position was very high, so it probably wouldn't be a problem for him."
I let out a deep breath. "Hmm yes. I trust you, sister. I'll reach out to him. Then let's meet him soon."
Lily's surprise. "Meet him? Us?!"
I need to get Lily out of this room. She's bolder now, so it wouldn't be a problem for her. I looked at her sharply and said, "Yes, we will. You're getting out of this room. I feel like you're hibernating here."
She hummed and said, "OK, whatever..."
Something felt right about this. If Roy really wants to avoid wars, it will help. I can tell that he is as strong as me. If that's true, it will be easy to achieve something here with a clear plan. Having a leader from Devotion with us here to help would be the best thing, but we need to hide his identity. It could make things worse if they knew about him. Now I just hope he accepts a suicide mission like this. Also, he would need a strong excuse to come here.
"Oh, by the way, I asked around about him a few months ago. He's recovered very well, and he's in excellent shape." I said, looking at Lily.
Her lips curved into a small, comforting smile. "Oh, thank you."
I said nothing. I quietly walked out of her room.
"Where do you think yourself going?" she said suddenly behind me, calmly yet with a hint of challenge.
I stopped and turned around, looking at her in surprise. She had already picked up her sword, raised it, and pointed it at me with a mocking smile.
"I want to test the results of my training," she said, her eyes sharp and questioning. "Come with me to the training ground if you have time."
I blinked, then slowly smiled, enjoying this. It was the first time Lily had challenged me to a sparring match. I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away.
"That's surprising," I said as I returned to the room. "But you know me; I never refuse a sparring request."
I put my hand on the hilt of my sword and looked at her playfully. "Especially if it's my little sister."
She tilted her head slightly, amused. "Then stop talking and let's go."
We entered the hall side by side and went directly to the training ground. It was the early morning hours.
At this hour, the training ground was quiet, lit only by glowing lamps and dim sunlight. The air was refreshing, but the place smelled like ash. The large training ground was fenced in on all sides, with the castle wall running along one side. Shields and weapons of all kinds hung on the wall. On the other side, targets were positioned for archers to practice shooting arrows. I warmed up my muscles by moving my shoulders before our fight. I stepped onto the ground, sword in hand, and Lily followed me, quiet.
Her smile faded; she was completely serious.
We stood facing each other a few feet apart.
"You're not going to change your mind?" I asked, holding my sword lightly.
She relaxed and turned her neck to the side. "I warn you, if you underestimate me, you might lose a hand or a foot."
I laughed. "I'm just giving you one last chance to change your mind before I win."
The moment she smiled, she lunged forward faster than I expected.
Our blades met with a soft sound in the empty field. I blocked her first strike, stepped back, and countered with a low blow. She smoothly dodged and pivoted, striking low in an attempt to catch me off balance. I barely dodged it; I was surprised by how fast she was.
"You've improved," I said, circling her.
"Focus," she replied, tightening her grip.
Our spar blades clashed repeatedly, and our feet shifted over the ground. I pushed her back once, then again. Each time she recovered, she came back stronger. I could feel her stamina, footwork, and patience.
Her fighting style made it seem like she wasn't trying to win. In fact, I am now in a defensive position and can't break free.
Suddenly, a direct strike to my neck came from the left. I block it at the perfect moment. Her fighting style has completely changed, and it's suddenly too hard to block her strikes. What happened? There's something off about her.
Wait, she's reading and memorizing all of my movements! She's changed her fighting style to break through my defenses. She wasn't trying to win. She was building up to it!
If I don't break free, I'm going to lose.
She anticipated my next move before I made it. As I raised my sword to feint left, she didn't flinch. She ducked, spun, and, with precise timing, rotated her sword smoothly and struck the side of my leg with the flat of her blade. Then she brought her sword to rest gently against my neck.
I froze.
"You won..." I said breathlessly, laughing.
She stepped back and lowered her sword. A few drops of sweat appeared on her forehead. "I told you not to let your guard down."
I looked at her for a long time and thought, She's even stronger than me now. I knew she was strong, but I didn't expect her to become this powerful.
I smiled. "I guess I'll have to train harder from now on to keep up with you."
Lily sheathed her sword. "Don't worry," she added, throwing her towel over her shoulder. "If you work hard, you'll catch up with me eventually, big brother."
I laughed, relieved that she had become so capable. Together, we could change the system my father had created here. The real work was just beginning.