đźź Chapter 66:
🟧 Narrator's POV:
The face of Number One was finally revealed before the king and his court—now hostages in his grasp. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the prime minister, Orfin. King Orik couldn't believe his eyes; he froze in bewilderment before his gaze widened in shock.
"Impossible… you two look alike?" he asked, incredulous as he stared at them both.
Orfin examined the king's stunned expression, as well as the speechless courtiers, before a mocking smile curled on his lips.
"Hehehe… what amusing faces you're all making—especially yours, Orik," he sneered, giving the king a sharp glare.
The king tried to understand the reason behind this resemblance. Only one logical explanation came to mind.
"Are you… twins?"
Number One clapped slowly, mockingly.
"Well done, well done, Your Majesty. You figured out we look alike because we're twins…" he said with thick sarcasm. Then he turned his head in an exaggerated gesture of disdain before continuing in a sharper tone: "Ugh, how ridiculous. Of course we're twins—what else would we be?"
His smile faded into a stern expression as he went on:
"After your dragon and those two strangers attacked, I decided to alter the strategy. There was no longer any need to hide and steal the crystal in secret. I contacted my brother and told him everything. His 'exposed betrayal' was part of the plan."
Orfin continued:
"We both possess the Skill mental telepathy, so he received everything directly. No need to hide any longer. We'll execute our plan openly now."
"But you... look like a weaker version of Orfin."
Despite the striking resemblance, the king noticed a clear difference between them — Number One's face looked pale, as if he were ill.
Number One replied:
"Don't judge the stronger one by appearance."
Curiosity flared in the king's chest; he leaned forward and asked with tense anticipation:
"So… who exactly are you?"
Orfin smiled faintly and began weaving a tale, his voice almost nostalgic:
"Once upon a time, long ago… there was a kingdom suffering from poverty and famine. The people wished to depose their king.
Then a young hero appeared—a man who saved the kingdom unexpectedly after discovering a new resource that transformed its economy.
The people admired him so greatly that they chose him as their new king. The previous king left… abandoning the throne and his two twin sons behind."
As the story ended, realization dawned on the king and his court. King Orik suddenly recalled two names from the past; his lips trembled as he spoke:
"Could it be… you are the sons of the previous king Taril… his twin sons, Khefi and Rey?"
Orfin lowered his head in a proud, almost ceremonial nod.
"Impressive, Orik. After all these years, you still remember our real names. How ironic that one of us was meant to be king—and the other his support—but instead, a commoner like you, Orik, took our throne."
The king's eyebrows tightened in anger.
"What do you want? To reclaim the throne?"
Orfin shrugged with cold indifference.
"Reclaim the throne? No. We're not interested in that. Listen, Orik—we're not doing this out of hatred for you, but out of hatred for this nation. We wanted this kingdom to fall from the shadows… but a direct attack turned out to be far more efficient. Watching this kingdom collapse again is delightful."
Number One then asked his brother to show the hostages their "special discovery."
"Rey, show them."
Orfin—Rey—took out a glowing red stone and held it up before the king.
"Just as you discovered the Vitalis Crystal, we discovered the Explosive Ruby. I read about it once in old records. From that moment, we sought it out until we found traces of it throughout the land."
Shock washed over King Orik as he realized the truth: these two didn't want their kingdom back.
They wanted it destroyed completely.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city's less populated districts, Prince Elnar and Ryo were hiding after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Number Two.
Elnar was severely injured, and had it not been for Ryo's intervention, he would have died in that battle.
"Thank you, Ryo… if you hadn't come, I wouldn't be standing here."
"This is my duty, Your Highness. But we didn't exactly escape unscathed. He might find us again."
Despite this, Elnar couldn't stop worrying about the chaos in the capital, the palace, and his brother. He had already learned from Number Two himself that they had been deceived by Prime Minister Orfin.
"The palace must be under their control by now… We were completely fooled by Orfin. Everyone is in danger."
Ryo then asked about the army commander, who was supposed to be with Elnar earlier.
"Your Highness, what about the commander? He was with you."
"He was badly injured as well. We were separated during the battle. Many fell on our side… I only hope he isn't among them."
Elnar clenched his fists in frustration.
"We outnumbered them, yet… they weren't as few as we thought. And the fact that they knew about our attack—this swung the entire battle in their favor."
Ryo began estimating the enemy's forces.
"Leaving aside the regular members of the gang—their numbers are large—there are only five of the Numbers themselves. But Number Five is with us, so that leaves four."
Elnar paused, realizing something.
"Speaking of Number Five… where is he now?"
Ryo answered calmly:
"I let him roam outside the academy. If anything happened there, he would handle it."
"You think he'll actually do that?"
"He doesn't seem interested in betraying us anymore. He no longer sees himself as one of them."
As they hid, Elnar wrapped bandages around his wounds with Ryo's help. After enough time passed, he made his decision.
"We must continue… Even if we were deceived, we won't fall."
Ryo asked:
"Your Highness… with your injuries, can you still fight?"
"Ryo… no matter how bad the injury, I must fight as long as I can. That is my duty as a prince—whether I like it or not."
Ryo smiled softly.
"In that case, I'll stand with you."
Suddenly, applause echoed from above.
"How touching. I almost shed a tear."
Flying atop a bird, dressed in the black uniform of the Numbers—
Number Two had found them again.
"Shall we begin a new round, Prince Elnar?"