Chapter 15 - The Blood of the Lie
"There are truths that do not break the heart...
...They break existence itself. "
There were only two men left in the room:
The Emperor.
And the one he called until then "brother".
Silence weighed, heavier than the wine spilled on the floor.
The Emperor broke the silence:
- "I heard that you found a girl who likes you...
Congratulations. "
Liyan clenched his fists, gently.
- "Thank you... Brother. "
But inside it, splinters of steel:
You who wanted to destroy it...
You smiling as if nothing had happened.
The Emperor stretched, as if he was still playing.
- "You know why I came, don't you? "
Liyan planted his gaze in his. An icy look. Inhuman.
- "... Yueyao "
The Emperor burst out laughing.
- "Ah! You really care about it. Even ready to challenge me?"
- "What tenderness. What a weakness. "
Then, without warning:
- "But that's not the real reason I came. "
Liyan didn't answer.
The Emperor approached. His shadow covered his younger brother. - "I think you're old enough, now... to hear the truth. "
- "I'm not your brother. "
A silence.
- "I am your father."
Liyan stepped back a step. His breath was cut off.
-"... What? "
"You heard that right. "
- "I am your father. Your "brother" never existed. "
Liyan fell to his knees. His hands were shaking.
- "You're lying... "
- "You... You looked at me, all my life... lying to me? "
- "You made me believe that I was your equal. Your brother. "
He whispered:
- "All my life, I wanted to be loved... not for my beauty, but for what I am... "
His eyes became red.
- "And now, you tell me that even that... was it wrong? "
A memory arises.
Blurred. Buried.
A child Liyan. Feverish. Too weak to walk.
A man, his "brother", taking him in his arms. Carrying it on his back, through the palace, in the middle of the night.
It was cold. He felt protected. He believed...
That he really mattered.
This memory, today, disgusted him.
He whispered, broken: - "Even that... it was a lie. "
The Emperor approached again.
- "I raised you not to be weak. Your existence was not planned. Your body, your face... were too beautiful. Too dangerous. "
- "I made you believe that you were my brother to better control yourself.
To better raise yourself without fuelling suspicions. "
He put a hand on Liyan's shoulder.
- "Don't cry, my son. It's not a drama. It's... politics. "
But Liyan got up slowly.
And in his eyes, there was nothing left.
No respect.
Neither hatred.
Just... a bottomless silence.
He replied in a calm voice:
- "You killed the child I was. "
He took a step towards the door.
- "You should pray that he will never be reborn. "
Then he left the room.
And the Emperor, alone, whispered:
- "Finally... he opens his eyes. "
End of Chapter 15