"Damn it... ack!"
"Stop moving, already! I can't heal you like this," Augustus grunted as he tended to Marcus's wounds.
The two were in an abandoned house that seemed bigger than normal. Despite the rotten wood that held it in place, it seemed to have a strong composition to continue standing strong.
As the moonlight illuminated the room, an eerie atmosphere was present, ready to eat everyone alive.
"Thank you for your service, chef. I will never forget your generosity," the prince bellowed, turning his gaze to Belfer, his unconscious form lying on the bed.
The child, meanwhile, simply sat beside the aged butler, watching over him.
"The name's Augustus, as I have told you already. As for generosity, I am just doing what I feel is right." The chef covered his wounds with ointment, his eyes narrowed, and his focus unwavered.
"Hmm... where is Revan? I haven't seen him since you two brought us here."
"He's outside. Said that it's too boring in here," Augustus replied, his hands working swiftly on bandaging his wounds.
Marcus winced as he felt the pressure of the bandages, yet he endured, knowing how it was for the better.
"I am truly grateful that Revan saved me, but I must return to my kingdom as soon as possible. I have been gone for two days, so my father must be worried about me." Marcus tried getting up, but his body stiffened as a rush of pain surged through his body.
"Oi oi! You're wounded, your highness. It's best not to move too much." Augustus settled him down before turning to Belfer and the child. "Besides, your companions would need to rest for the day."
Marcus sighed. He was right. Not only was he himself too injured by that battle, but Belfer and Dolfordo were in no shape to move either.
"Aww? Leaving so soon, Prince Marcus?" The prince turned to the doorway to find Revan entering the room, his lips curled to form a smirk.
"Ah, Revan..."
"Nah, he won't be leaving till tomorrow. Trust me on that," Augustus replied, standing up as he adjusted his apron. "Want something to eat?"
"Yeah! Gimme the beef!"
"I was asking Prince Marcus. Not you, Revan," Augustus retorted with a deadpan expression, prompting the black-haired man to pout in response, averting his gaze from both of them.
"Food... I'll have whatever you make for me. Just make it good."
"Gotcha!" With that, Augustus headed to the kitchen, ready to cook something nice for the prince.
"Say, Revan..."
"Hmm?"
"Are you sure you couldn't have come earlier? I ask this because, from what I saw, your timing of arrival was too perfect."
"Oh, I had actually been spectating the battle since you killed that drunk retard," Revan replied, his casual demeanor making Marcus narrow his eyes.
"I knew it... But why? Why wait and merely observe?"
"It's simple, actually. You see, I get bored pretty easily, so I thought of observing your skillset and your character during this situation."
He turned his gaze at the prince, his ruby-red eyes shining with mischief. "Turns out, you were far more than I had initially expected. Someone who truly had the strength to back his pride, as well as the caring nature to surrender when your people are in danger. That's pretty nice."
Marcus clicked his tongue in response. "Yet, all this would have been prevented had you intervened earlier."
"And what good would that bring? It would be super boring. And besides, it's not like I was actually gonna let you die or get tortured. I had everything in control."
"What about Belfer, then?" Marcus growled, his teeth gritting together. "This wouldn't have happened to him if you didn't care about boredom and did the right thing."
"The right thing... isn't that kind of wrong to say, Prince Marcus?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, what's wrong and what's right is upto the person's own belief. Some may say killing is wrong, some may say it is right. The same can be applied to this logic and everything else. You say my earlier interference would've been the right thing, but I say that it isn't." He leaned on the wall, his hands in his pockets.
"All I am saying is that you can never be sure who's right and who's wrong. In the end, right and wrong are subjective and merely moral constructs created by humanity. To say that there is only one right and one wrong would be heretical in my opinion."
"Heretical? You say that, but what if the right thing is agreed upon by everyone? What if the right thing is logical, whilst the wrong thing is harmful?"
"Again, subjective comes into play," Revan replied, his gaze finding the moonlight. "No one will agree on one right. It's impossible because otherwise, this wouldn't be humanity. As for logic and harm, your enemies would surely say that the logical thing you did was the wrong thing to do. The harm you did was the right thing to do. In the end, it is still subjective."
His ruby-red eyes caught the boy's skinny form. "The boy's father believed that beating his child wasn't the wrong thing to do. Rather, it was natural, and no harm was being done. Of course, you would disagree, but that wouldn't automatically declare that what you dislike is objectively wrong. If right and wrong were truly objective, then most people wouldn't commit atrocities whilst saying that they are doing the right thing."
Marcus pursed his lips at those words. Revan seemed to have a point. Whilst what seemed right and what seemed wrong was something he didn't plan on doubting, his words really needed to be studied.
If everyone acted simply due to their own perception of right or wrong, then wouldn't that be arrogance? Wouldn't that assert a heavy pride in a man's heart?
I may be prideful myself, but I know full well how too much pride can cost me...
"Say... what do you think of Aethelgard?" The prince asked, his voice hoarse as he stared at the ground, finding it interesting for some reason.
"Aethelgard? I'd say that it's surely the most advanced nation in Varkana. However, it is deteriorating from the inside. Corrupt nobles. Relaxed residents. Weak military. I doubt it would last for another million years."
"Corrupt? Relaxed? Weak? This is the largest and strongest nation on the planet. How can you say that it is collapsing?"
"Don't you see the riots? The rebellion? It's obviously been going on for who knows how long. Not to mention the fact that the greed of various nobles, mages, and several other high officials weakened the kingdom's economy, military, and other administrative factors as well."
Pushing himself off the wall, he focused his gaze on the prince. "You may not see Aethelgard's decline, but it is there. Can't blame you, though. The other citizens can't see it either. Only those with true insight, like your father, can truly understand what the kingdom is facing."
"My father...? You're saying he's fully aware of what you're saying?"
"Duh! It's obvious. He's the king, after all!" He narrowed his eyes, an unreadable glint etched in them.
"Why... why didn't he do anything?"
"He didn't have faith in this empire."
"... huh?"
"This kingdom seems to have fallen too far. He believes that recovery is impossible, and even though I tried talking him out of it, I am fully aware that he's still in doubt."
"I see... does that mean Aethelgard needs to change?" Marcus asked, his eyes narrowed, his lips quivering as his gaze gave off something... vulnerable.
"Yup. It does. Not just on a physical level, but also on a mental and spiritual level. Aethelgard's higher-ups should take responsibility for the corruption they've spread and work on fixing it. Only then can we fix the public, who also seemed to have grown lax," Revan replied, a yawn escaping his lips.
That yawn is fake as hell. I can tell that much.
"You seem to talk a lot about corruption, but you haven't provided any evidence for it," the prince remarked, tilting his head slightly.
"Evidence? It's clear, and you know it. You saw it for yourself, did you not? Aethelgard's behaviour towards the poor child, their lack of interest in a drunk man running in the streets, and not even contributing the slightest to improve the nation's morals, or even simply doing as simple as setting up a small charity."
He turned to the child, his gaze lingering on him for a moment before turning back to Marcus. "Let's take the dead minister Tharon as an example of corrupt nobles."
"Minister Tharon? He's a respectable individual who—"
"Who wanted to kill the rebels indiscriminately without caring even an ounce as to why they were acting up against the empire at all. He didn't stop to think that there must be some logic behind it. All he did was see that some pests were causing trouble and that he needed to put an end to it. Does that sound noble and respectable to you? A man who doesn't care for others, even though he's in charge of Social Security?"
Marcus sighed, his fingers brushing his hair upwards from his sweaty forehead. "Minister Tharon had observed the patterns of the rebels and seen through their true nature. It's because of this that he didn't care about giving them mercy."
"Oh really?" Revan scoffed, leaning closer. "Then do tell, what did you learn from his observations? What is their true nature?"
Before Marcus could reply, Revan interrupted, "Don't kid yourself. There is absolutely nothing at all that the man brought to the table. Now do you understand why he was targeted by the rebels?"
"He was one of the exact corrupted nobles whom the rebels were against..."
"Bingo!" Revan smirked, winking in approval. "And since they found out that Tharon was against them, they decided to kill him. Now that wasn't so hard to deduce, was it?"
"It wasn't hard to deduce... just hard to admit..." Marcus replied, his hand holding his face as he gritted his teeth in frustration, his brows furrowed and veins popping out of his forehead.
Just then, Augustus finally returned, a tray filled with beef stews and burritos.
Upon seeing it, Revan's eyes seemed to shine with a childish admiration, drool escaping his mouth as he gazed at the food in awe.
"What are you so excited about? I have seen food that looks better than this," Marcus remarked, a scowl on his face.
"Heh! You don't know real food. That beef right there is a masterpiece. A narrow-minded prince like you wouldn't understand."
Marcus narrowed his eyes, his lips pursed in response.
"All right, all right. Enough. Just know that most of this is for his highness and his companions. Revan, you and I will have the leftovers," the chef remarked, stiffening Revan as his expression morphed into that of pure shock, his eyes widened with horror.
"HAH?! How can this be?!?! This is cruel, Augustus!"
"And I don't care," Augustus countered before turning to Marcus. "Here, have as much as you want."
Marcus took a stew, prompting the chef to approach the child, who was sitting beside Belfer.
"Hey, kid, take some."
Upon seeing Dolfordo's hesitation, Augustus's gaze softened, a wry smile on his face. "Come on, don't be shy. It's just food, and I bet it's tastier than anything you've eaten before."
"I can guarantee that much!" Revan exclaimed from the back, his mouth full from the burrito he had snatched from the dish when the chef wasn't looking.
Ignoring Augustus's popping veins, Dolfordo took a burrito in his hands and tasted it in his mouth. His cheeks flushed as he savored the taste and the feel of the burrito in his mouth.
"Good, isn't it?" the chef asked, to which the boy nodded eagerly.
"I think... it's time things changed..." Marcus remarked, prompting everyone in the room to turn to him.
"Revan, Augustus... I believe it's time that we change Aethelgard..." He declared, a spark of resolve in his eyes.
"... for good."