Chairman Chester: I am...., don't know what to say, My Lord, I just don't want to risk everyone that I have worked with for so long on such a dangerous mission
Marcus's hopes immediately faded from him the moment Chester said it.
Lord Marcus: Sir, Chester, please
Chester responds with a shaken voice.
Chairman Chester: I must decline, my lord, as I do not want to put both my family and the people close to me getting punished. You have done so much for me, but...….
Lord Marcus: I know what the worst outcome might turn out to be, but please think about the future of the country
Chairman Chester: I understand it well, My Lord, but I can't bear to see them bleed. I am deeply sorry, My Lord, I just can't
After this, Marcus walked out of the organization and returned to his mansion.
Marcus looked at his desk; a letter had been delivered to him, and his wife had also left a small note stating that this letter was an urgent matter.
Marcus opened the letter,
Back in the palace, White Lappen and King Juvian lappen, as working on a proposal and Juvian, the king, approved the proposal.
Lord Yane, the younger brother of Lord Erefeild, was called to his brother's see.
Lord Yane walked into his brother's office, and he sat down. with a happy expression on his face
Lord Yane: brother, you're calling me, I'm just planning our trip to enjoy ourselves
Erefeild, look at Yane. and notice that Yane's finger got another ring full of rare diamond type and an expensive glowing stone embedded in the ring
Lord Erefeild: Tell me, where did you go for these past few months
Lord Yane started to get a little nervous. He looked at Erefeild's eyes and immediately turned away.
Lord Erefeild: Don't try to avoid me, Yane. Tell me where you have been?
Lord Yane: I was…., I was in the Engkor Empire, I have built a good relationship with one of the Engkor Empire's royal family members
Lord Erefeild: So, how was he like? Did you manage to get anything useful for our kingdom?
Yane immediately had this lighter moment with his brother, and he returned to his comfortable tone.
Lord Yane: Yes, Brother, I know it will be difficult, but i determint to build a friendship with the Engkor Empire, having such a powerful ally, boosts our country's present
Erefeild responds with a smile on his face.
Lord Erefeild: Yes, it will indeed, it certainly will
Then his smile dropped, and Yane looked at his brother and slowly felt anxious again.
Lord Yane: Brother?
Erefeild slapped Yane in the face, causing him to fall off the chair. Then Erefeild stood up, walked across his desk, and walked toward Yane.
Lord Yane: Haaaa,
Yane crawls backward toward the door as Erefeild walks toward him,
Lord Yane: Brother, please, brother, I didn't mean to. Please
Erefeild walks toward him and grabs his brother's cloth. He lifts up his hand and is ready to slap Yane again, but as Yane uses both of his hands to cover his face from his brother, Erefeild pauses. He looks at his brother's pathetic state, begging like a child. Yane Maefen, who is so young and so new to the real world,
Erefeild felt this heaviness on his chest. His eyes started to tear up, but before the tears could drop out of his eyes, Erefeld clenched his fist and grabbed his younger brother's cloth even tighter.
Yane can feel the tighter grip on his clothes, and he can feel that this slap will be even stronger.
Erefeild let go of his brother and walked back to his desk. He adjusted his chair to the window behind him and tried to hide his face from Yane.
Yane opened his eyes and saw the back side of the Erefeild. He stands up.
Lord Yane: Brother? I…..
Lord Erefeild: Enough, I don't want to hear anything from you. You should know how much I treasure a family member, especially one who shares the same flesh and blood.
Sometimes I also question myself about whether you and I even have the same blood at all, because the difference between us is so wide and so big, and today is the most devastating and crashing day I have ever felt since the day our father and mother died in the War.
Yane started to felt incredible heavy on his shoulder, as he heard Erefeild's voice become more and more shaking.
Lord Yane: I'm sorry, brother. I just...…. felt like I deserve something rewarding.
Lord Erefeild: Sorry? You're sorry, no, you don't need to be sorry, It find becuase it's already broken. I see someone as my only family member, who will walk the same bridge as me, someone I trust, someone I feel like a close flesh and blood just lying straight infront of my face.
You can leave. I don't want to see your face for a week or so.
Lord Yane: Brother, I…..
Lord Erefeild: Leave Yane.
Yane then left, Erefeild tried to relax, then he remembered the day that Yane was born.
Erefeild's Father: Listen, Feild, I know you are an adult now, your brother may be just born, but I'm sure he will be just as great as you. Look after him and teach him what you can.
Erefeild: But before he even became an adult, I'll already be a middle-aged man,
Erefeild Father: I know. Son, but I don't want you to bear the burden of all that responsibility by yourself.
Erefeild remembers that moment; He then opened his desk drawer, and on the bottom of the document, he picked a small painting of a woman.
He looks at the painting, and the deep pain in his chest becomes stronger as he looks at her painting.
Lord Erefeild: Balisha. If only you were still alive, I would at least still have you by my side.
Erefeild looked at the window and stared at the garden. Then he stood up, lifted the chair, and threw it at the door. He pushed the documents and accessories on his desk to the ground, threw things around to ease his anger and frustration.
Then he punched the wall, again and again, until his fist bled. He then walks toward his desk and holds on to it to balance his shaken body.
He still holds on to the Balisha painting,
Erefeild: Were I the lone wolf this whole time, I thought I had an ally, people I could trust and lean on. So, why Despite there being so many of them, why do I feel so lonely
Erefeild fell to his knees and leaned on his desk. He then fell asleep, and when he opened his eyes, it was already morning.
He still wears the same clothes. He then stands up, adjusts his clothes, and walks out of his office.
Despite his office still being a mess, Erefeild walked out in the hall with his normal expression, almost like nothing had happened,
But his eyes are struggling a little to keep them open,
He walks, he tries to see many things in the garden, the flower pot, the maid, and people walking and greeting him, tries to fill his mind with new things, but the weight still remains.