Ye Zhiyuan seized Faceless’ collar and slammed him against the door. He forced Faceless to raise his head as he glared coldly at the man from beneath the brim of his military cap. “One for Big Sister, one for our parents, and one for Ye Muo.”
Faceless trembled faintly, as if someone had grasped the dagger lodged in his heart once more. Sensations flooded his numb body. Every beat of his heart tugged at the wound. Even breathing was agonizing. He seemed to return to a time many years ago when he had just been informed of his sister’s death, his mother’s passing, how his father left the imperial capital with the remnants of their family.
He was tried in court. The judge stripped him of his Grantz citizenship and sentenced him to exile. He received countless requests for visitation in the three month detention period that followed. He rejected each and every one.
Faceless regretted that at times after being exiled. At least he would’ve been able to see his family one last time. Yet at other times, he believed he would refuse again if given the chance.
He truly believed he would never have the courage to face his family once more in this lifetime. Over the years, the mere mention of them would send him scurrying away like a rat.
He swallowed dryly. His voice was hoarse, “I’m sorry.”
Ye Zhiyuan let go. He watched as Faceless collapsed to his knees on the floor with a thump like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Faceless curled up and stared at the floor, which gradually blurred. “I’m sorry.”
Faceless remained in that position for a long time. He knew his words meant nothing, but they were the only things he had left to offer at this point.
“I’m sorry.”
Ye Zhiyuan looked down at him from above. He couldn’t see Faceless’ expression, but he could see the floor before the man growing wet.
It was a while before he approached Faceless. “Stand up.”
When Faceless did not move, he repeated, “Stand up, Big Brother.”
Faceless straightened in slow motion. Ye Zhiyuan tidied up his collar under his cloak.
“Mistakes are not something to be afraid of, Big Brother. Big Sister has forgiven you, and so has Father.”
He paused but admitted in the end, “And now, I forgive you too.”
Ye Zhiyuan pulled Faceless to his feet. “Face what you did. Accept it, pay the appropriate price, and live on properly this time.”
“Big Brother.”
He embraced Faceless.
Faceless’ arms tightened as he hugged his brother back. It was a long, long time before Ye Zhiyuan heard a sound of acknowledgement.
Ye Zhiyuan quietly stated, “Grantz has never recalled any exiled prisoners or allowed them to set foot on imperial soil again. His Majesty must have plans for you since he didn’t immediately have you executed. Make sure to seize this opportunity, Big Brother.”
Outside, Secretary-General Lin knocked and reminded them, “It’s time, gentlemen.”
Secretary-General Lin shut off his holomind. Exactly 20 minutes had passed. He straightened. “Let us go to meet His Majesty.”
……
Ye Muo quickly washed up and had dinner. He was both relieved and a little disappointed to be the only one at the table.
Adlet stood on the side with a smile and helped him tidy the silverware. “Your appetite is good today, You Little Highness.”
Ye Muo was a little sleepy after eating his fill. He yawned quietly.
“It should be your bedtime by now.”
Adlet handed the tray to the young butler by his side and said to Ye Muo in a quieter voice.
“I have placed your doll on your bed. The robot is at the head of the bead and probably charging right now. Before that, perhaps you should take a walk, Your Little Highness.”
“You ate a little too much at dinner. I don’t want you to have to take digestive medications again.”
Ye Muo was a little embarrassed as he made a quiet sound of acknowledgement. He’s only been a bit of a glutton when he was younger.
Adlet insisted on taking Ye Muo on a lengthy stroll before escorting him back to his room. “Sweet dreams, Your Little Highness.”
Ye Muo lay in bed for a while. He rolled around a few times.
Then his eyes snapped open.
He got out of bed and slipped out of his room. Just as he went downstairs, he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the hallway. Ye Muo vigilantly stopped walking.
Those were Dylan’s footsteps.
Before he went back to his room, Ye Muo carefully glanced that way. He froze. The suitcase Dylan was holding was very familiar to him.
It belonged to his uncle.
Ye Muo hesitated. He ended up heading downstairs. He stood aside and waited for Dylan to pass.
Dylan had noticed Ye Muo long ago. He was actually supposed to turn the corner to go to Norton’s study, but he walked past that intersection and stopped in front of Ye Muo.
Ye Muo lowered his head. He was somewhat tense as he looked at that pair of military-issue boots pointing to him.
Dylan frowned slightly at the thin pajamas Ye Muo had on. Although the temperature of the palace was kept constant, it was still on the low side.
“If I recall correctly, it’s past your bedtime by now.”
Ye Muo paused. Before he could explain, Dylan took off his jacket and draped it over Ye Muo’s head.
Ye Muo took hold of the jacket. After a moment of hesitation, he put it on. The jacket was way too big for him. The sleeves dangled over his hands.
Dylan straightened. “Tell me, what’s the matter?”
Ye Muo did not expect Dylan to be so direct. He subconsciously looked down at the suitcase Dylan was carrying. He hesitated, “This suitcase belongs to Uncle.”
Dylan raised the suitcase. “I suppose that’s true in terms of blood relations, yes.”
He crouched down. The uppers of his boots wrinkled. His clothes tightened in certain areas, outlining his waist and legs. He set the suitcase in front of him and opened it.
There was only a small box that had been secured inside and a photo frame. Dylan took the photo frame out and inspected it. Only after he finished did he hand it to Ye Muo.
“A gift from him.”
Ye Muo accepted it and looked down at it. Uncle treasured this photo as well. Although he never said anything, he would always surreptitiously walk over whenever Ye Muo so much as touched it and supervise him.
Yet now Uncle had given the photo to him. Ye Muo traced the photo with a bit of unease.
He spoke a few seconds later, “Is Uncle here right now? I want to see him.”
Dylan straightened. “He’s probably with Big Brother right now.”
“Although I will allow you to call him ‘Uncle’, you should keep in mind he is an exiled criminal. Yes, he was never in a position of power, but the laboratory he was stationed at participated in your creation. He should have been executed. The fact that he was merely exiled should be considered a stroke of luck.”
Although Norton has intentions of using the man, it was unlikely he would ever be truly free even as a double agent. Arachnid’s foundations were just too deep to uproot under normal circumstances. If everything played out without incident, Ye Muo would probably never run into the man again in this lifetime. Therefore, it was better to crush his hopes now instead of later.
Dylan continued, “Be prepared to never see him again.”
A tremor ran through Ye Muo’s frame. He looked down at the photo silently for a long time.
Dylan frowned. “Go to bed if you understand.”
Dylan soon noticed something wasn’t right. He bent down and forced Ye Muo to raise his chin. Ye Muo’s eyes were rimmed with red and already glistening with tears. His eyelashes couldn’t stop trembling.
Dylan’s touch seemed to break the dam entirely. Even as Ye Muo’s tears gushed out, he tried to not blubber, “Even if he’s sentenced to d-death, can’t I see him o-one last time?”
Dylan froze. He let go with a jerk as if he had been burnt.
His voice was tinged with helpless bewilderment as he backed off a few paces, “Perhaps…perhaps you can see him. Once.”
Finally, he calmed down enough to maintain a semblance of normalcy. He subconsciously shifted all responsibility to Norton, “These are Big Brother’s orders. I can’t do anything about it. That man will probably be sent away as soon as the meeting ends. All of the doors in the palace are locked. If you can manage to open the doors leading to the main hall, you may be able to see him one last time.”
Dylan deliberately remained ambiguous, “I can try to open the doors for you, but there’s no guarantee I have the appropriate permissions.”
Ye Muo wiped his tears on his sleeve. He grabbed Dylan’s sleeve like he was afraid the man would run off. “Then let’s go.”
“Just to try.” He added.
Dylan stared at the sleeve he was holding. Ye Muo grew embarrassed. He loosened his grip before letting go entirely.
Dylan took his hand instead. “Let’s go.”
……
Ye Zhiyuan and Faceless followed Secretary-General Lin to the main hall.
Ye Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief on the way here. Norton would only use this place when he was meeting the people of Grantz in an official capacity. This was good.
As the doors opened, Secretary-General Lin gestured for them to head inside. They followed the carpet inside.
Norton sat high on the throne. Standing tall on either side beneath the high platform were Ano and Adrian.
Ye Zhiyuan and Faceless approached before dropping to one knee. The only thing that could be heard the entire time were the subtle sounds of shifting cloth.
Faceless took off his cloak and hat to reveal his features. He bowed his head particularly low.
Norton sat there in all his regal majesty. He first turned his gaze on Faceless.
“Do you know why your younger brother is only a legion commander despite his abilities, why Ye He and Ye Yun have to work harder than their peers just to receive equal consideration?”
“Because of you.” Norton stated bluntly.
A tremor ran through Faceless’ frame. He hoarsely admitted, “Yes, it’s all my fault.”
Adrian gossipped with Ano in the channel: [Really? I thought Big Brother didn’t care about someone’s background when he appoints people.]
Ano’s expression didn’t change. [I know. Yes, Ye Zhiyuan was overlooked for a while due to concealing a person of the Grantz bloodline– aka Ye Muo– but his ability and relatively young age as a legion commander bode well for future promotions. Big Brother is probably saying these things to break through his mental defenses faster. He wants to inspire enough guilt for the man to devote himself to whatever task he’s given.]
[Tsk. That sounds way too troublesome.]
Yet Ano understood Norton after spending all these years by his side and dealing with Arachnid. He explained:
[Grantz has located and attempted to turn individuals associated with Arachnid many times before, but we failed every time regardless of their position. We’ve also attempted to insert our own people into Arachnid, but they either failed or remained in the outer circle. Faceless is the first agent on our side from the inner circle. If doing this will turn him to our side or at least make it more likely, it’s not a bad deal.]
“I sentenced you to exile before. Do you agree with this sentence?”
“I’m more than grateful, Your Majesty. I will have no complaints even if you intend to execute me.”
Faceless wanted to say more for his family’s sake, but he remained silent in the end. He wasn’t worthy to bring up such things.
Norton continued, “Now, I am willing to give you one more chance for the sake of the antidote.”
He stood and regarded Faceless from above. The man could not help but hang his head even lower.
“I need you to stay in Arachnid and act as Grantz’s spy. Pass on all information you believe to be valuable. I will allow for everything to be considered military merits under your name. When Arachnid falls, you will be permitted to return for a second trial.”
“You may or may not survive. You may or may not spend the rest of your life waiting for encrypted orders from Grantz as you live a double life. I will not offer you anything now, but should you survive, I will return your name and citizenship to you using my authority as the emperor of Grantz. That is my only offer to you.”
Faceless replied almost immediately, “I accept, Your Majesty. I accept.”
Ye Zhiyuan raised his head and respectfully stated, “Your Majesty, I would like to use my accumulated military merits in exchange for partial mitigation of his crimes.”
Adrian shook his head. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid there’s not enough.”
Norton glanced at Ye Zhiyuan before returning his gaze to Faceless .
“That’s your younger brother.”
“Any mistake you make will implicate him. You do not want to find out the lengths I will go to for vengeance.”
Norton blatantly threatened Faceless with Ye Zhiyuan to their faces.
Faceless shook his head. His hands were trembling under his cloak. “No need, Your Majesty. Thank you for your consideration.”
Despite how weak his voice sounded, his stalwart conviction was somehow conveyed to the others.
