Editor: SleepyMango123
Proofreader: Lore
…
Under the dark sky, the little child was nesting in the hole he had spent a long time digging out of the garbage dump. There was a hole above and when he laid down, he could see the moon in the night sky through that opening.
Day after day, year after year, he had always been alone. Only the bright moon hanging in the night sky accompanied him.
This young child was used to looking at the moon, slowly closing his eyes in the moonlight.
Only with the company of the bright moon could he have fallen asleep peacefully. The moonlight from the hole shone onto his face, as if someone was gently stroking his forehead, coaxing him into a dream.
Even if the moon was hidden behind thick clouds on a cloudy or rainy day, he still felt that his little friend was looking at him behind the clouds, and he was not alone.
Every night, watching the moon as he fell asleep was the most peaceful and relaxing moment of his day.
In the heart of the little child, the bright moon that had been with him was the most precious treasure in his heart.
…
It happened suddenly and caught everyone by surprise.
The moon, which had been quietly staying in the night sky, suddenly seemed to be swallowed by something invisible, and, at a speed visible to the naked eye, it disappeared piece by piece from its original roundness.
The eyes of the child, who was lying in the cave quietly looking at the moon as usual at night, suddenly widened.
What is that?
Who is hurting it?
He opened his mouth, and his eyes widened to the limit, staring at the disappearing moon in horror.
No…
Don’t!
Don’t hurt it!
The child stretched out his hand helplessly but couldn’t grasp anything. He could only helplessly watch on as the moon, as if being swallowed by something, disappeared in the sky.
At this moment, he even had the illusion that his own flesh and blood were being swallowed.
His nails dug into the skin of his chest, and the intense pain surging from the deepest part of his body almost made him unable to breathe.
It was a feeling that was so painful that it made one go crazy—
The moon, swallowed by an invisible object, completely disappeared into the night sky. When it disappeared, only a pool of black and red remained like bloodstains, and the whole earth was plunged into a pitch-black darkness.
In the darkness, staring wide-eyed at the blood-red traces remaining in the night sky, the child’s distorted face was morphed into an extremely horrifying look.
His most precious friend, who had been with him since young, was killed and swallowed by something unknown!
He…had lost it forever!
…
…
The young man sleeping beside the bed suddenly opened his eyes, and his eyes reflected the golden-red luster of the light from the oil lamp hung on the wall.
He sat on the edge of the bed and lingered for a while, then he cast his sight on the bed.
The blond-haired child slept quietly on the bed, and his small body huddled into a ball on the soft bed. Bits of blond hair fell from the pale cheeks and scattered on the snow-white pillow.
The long fan-like eyelashes cast a shallow shadow on the pale little face. The child laid there, breathing. Even though his breathing was a little faint, his lips were not as pale as it was in the morning, instead revealing a slight redness.
As long as the child stayed still, his small obedient appearance was so adorable that it made one feel tender-hearted.
However, when he stubbornly lost his temper and ignored him, it made Heimos gnash his teeth with resentment.
Heimos looked at the hand he had been holding.
The child’s hands were small, fair, and soft, completely different from his dark brown calloused hands.
Just like Garlan and him, the two of them were in a completely extreme contrast.
He remembered the dream he had just now, and it happened when he was still very young.
At that time, he was still naive and regarded the moon that accompanied him every night as his most important little friend. Therefore, when a lunar eclipse happened one day, he watched the moon disappear before his eyes. The feeling of experiencing such loss made him painfully wail out like an insane person.
He had never felt that much desperation.
From then on, he always remembered the suffocating feeling of his whole heart being pinched…
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the moon to return to its original state and allowed the extreme panic and grief within him to ease.
Later, he gradually grew up.
As a child, the feeling of treating the moon as a treasure and as his only little partner was gradually forgotten by him.
It never crossed Heimos’ mind once he had gotten older. However, after many years, he had once again experienced the same despairing feeling as that time.
Seeing that the child’s throat was about to be cut by the dagger—
He seemed to have fallen back when he was young, unable to do anything, watching helplessly as his most important thing disappeared before his eyes.
The feeling of frustration and suffocation made him crazy with anxiety, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.
An extremely heart-wrenching feeling…
…
…
In the other room, King Camos and his subordinate Ziemuer continued their conversation.
“Heimos’ past…?”
Camos didn’t immediately reply to Ziemuer’s proposal. He touched the stubble that emerged from his chin, showing a thoughtful look.
Every child of the royal bloodline who came to participate in the selection of the King’s Brother had undergone an identity assessment to ensure that there were no problems with their identities.
Then, after Garlan and Heimos were selected, the Ombudsman1, which was directly under the command of King Camos, thoroughly dug into the past of the two princes of Aaron Landis.
Garlan’s past was very simple. Except for the fact that he was not favoured because his skin color was similar to that of his mother who was a lower-level nobleman, his environment was similar to that of others. The only difference was that because he was lonely and neglected, the children of the noble knights under the lord did not approach him, so most of his playmates were the children of low-level knights or even wealthy commoners.
However, Heimos’ past was full of twists and turns.
He was the only child of the former city lord of Ulrul, and the current city lord of Ulrul was the younger brother of the former lord, who was also Heimos’ uncle. He had two sons and a daughter under his name.
The previous generation of the city lord of Ulrul had difficulties in conceiving heirs and had no children of his own for a long time. When he was nearly fifty years old, he frustratedly pleaded with the Royal Palace to let his younger brother inherit the position of the city lord.
However, an accident happened. When he was fifty years old, his newly married young wife actually gave birth to a son for him. Having a son in his old age, Ulrul’s city lord regarded his young son as a treasure. However, before he could be happy for a few years, when his youngest son was only three or four years old, he was suddenly carried away secretly by the maid who was in charge of taking care of children.
With great sadness, the old city lord became gravely ill and finally died of grief, unable to see his lost child even in his last moments. Naturally, his young and strong brother inherited his position as the lord of the city and became the new ruler of Ulrul City.
Five years later, when a confidant of the old city lord was planning to leave Ulrul City due to the resignation of his post, passed through the slums and unexpectedly saw Heimos, who looked very similar to the old city lord.
After many verifications, it was confirmed that it was indeed Heimos, who was lost when he was five years old, and he was taken back to the city lord’s mansion. It was said that the current city lord, that was, his uncle, pampered him with parental love.
… Was it parental love?
Speaking of this, Ziemuer showed eyes full of disdain.
If it really was parental love, why did Heimos encounter four to five accidents in a few short years after entering the city lord’s mansion?
Moreover, the Intelligence Department of the Supervisory Office secretly found out that when the decree was sent to Ulrul City to request the lord to send the eligible Heimos to the Royal City, he used various reasons to excuse him, even concealed the incident from Heimos, and prohibited others from mentioning it to him.
Finally, if Heimos hadn’t been keenly aware of something wrong and seized the opportunity to take the initiative to find the messenger, perhaps he wouldn’t be able to come to the city.
Ziemuer had even thought more about it. At first, those things that happened when Heimos was still very young revealed some strangeness.
Why would a maid dare to do that kind of thing?
How did a servant smoothly abduct a baby from the heavily guarded city lord’s mansion?
And why did the old city owner die of a serious illness in less than two years?
…All of the above questions were very intriguing.
However, Ulrul City was a hereditary city. Economically, it belonged to one of Aaron Landis’ several important cities and was extremely powerful. Moreover, it wasn’t convenient for the Royal Palace to intervene in matters within the family.
After King Camos pondered for a while, he got up.
He said, “Go, let’s go and take a look.”
King Camos brought Ziemuer to Garlan’s residence. It was late at night when the oil lamp in the room was lit, and the fire was flickering in the room.
As soon as King Camos entered the house, he saw Heimos still guarding Garlan.
The young man sat quietly by the bed, his gaze falling on the sleeping blond-haired child. His expression was faint, but his gaze never turned away from the child.
It was not until King Camos entered the door that he turned his head, got up, and bowed his head slightly to salute King Camos.
Under the flickering firelight, Camos glanced at the dark circles under Heimos’ eyes.
He coughed slightly.
“Heimos, you go back and rest.”
The young man shook his head.
“No need, I…”
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted.
“This is the King’s order, Prince Heimos. Please obey the King’s order.”
Although he didn’t get a clear answer from King Camos, Ziemuer, who had decided to keep Heimos and Garlan at a proper distance, said so.
“You need to rest. There will be guards protecting His Royal Highness Garlan.”
Heimos was silent for a moment and lowered his eyelids. His eyes were hidden in the shadows, making it hard to see.
Then he nodded, turned, and walked towards the door.
However, the moment he stepped out of the door, he glanced back.
The firelight illuminated the golden-red eyes of the young man. He looked at the backs of King Camos and Ziemuer who blocked his vision, as if separating him from the child. At this moment, something unknown flashed across his eyes.
Then he turned his head back and quickly left.
In the quiet room, Camos stood by the bed, leaned over slightly, and looked at Garlan.
“Has he been sleeping continuously?”
“Yes.”
The skin of the child on the bed was originally white, but now that he had lost too much blood, his small face was even paler, making King Camos feel distressed when he looked at him.
He touched Garlan’s head, and the skin of the child touched by his fingers was so soft that he didn’t dare to use any force.
“It seems a bit hot…”
The man muttered and bowed his head, as if he wanted to put his forehead on Garlan’s head.
However, when the two faces were about to stick together, King Camos suddenly paused and then suddenly raised his head.
“Ziemuer!” he shouted anxiously.
“Yes?”
Ziemuer’s heart jumped, thinking that King Camos saw something wrong with Garlan.
King Camos stretched out his hand to Ziemuer in panic.
He said, “Quick, give me a razor!”
Ziemuer, “…”
King Camos, “Quick! Didn’t you hear what I’ve just said?”
Under the urging of King Camos, the priest of Shamash with an issue of cleanliness, blankly turned over the small bag on his waist that he had always carried with him, dug out the razor, and handed it to Camos.
He watched Camos hurriedly run to the mirror to shave and continued to be expressionless.
It ended in such a comedic way. HAHA
Jeanie
1an official appointed to investigate individuals’ complaints against a company or organization, especially a public authority.
Editor: SleepyMango123
Proofreader: Lore
…
Under the dark sky, the little child was nesting in the hole he had spent a long time digging out of the garbage dump. There was a hole above and when he laid down, he could see the moon in the night sky through that opening.
Day after day, year after year, he had always been alone. Only the bright moon hanging in the night sky accompanied him.
This young child was used to looking at the moon, slowly closing his eyes in the moonlight.
Only with the company of the bright moon could he have fallen asleep peacefully. The moonlight from the hole shone onto his face, as if someone was gently stroking his forehead, coaxing him into a dream.
Even if the moon was hidden behind thick clouds on a cloudy or rainy day, he still felt that his little friend was looking at him behind the clouds, and he was not alone.
Every night, watching the moon as he fell asleep was the most peaceful and relaxing moment of his day.
In the heart of the little child, the bright moon that had been with him was the most precious treasure in his heart.
…
It happened suddenly and caught everyone by surprise.
The moon, which had been quietly staying in the night sky, suddenly seemed to be swallowed by something invisible, and, at a speed visible to the naked eye, it disappeared piece by piece from its original roundness.
The eyes of the child, who was lying in the cave quietly looking at the moon as usual at night, suddenly widened.
What is that?
Who is hurting it?
He opened his mouth, and his eyes widened to the limit, staring at the disappearing moon in horror.
No…
Don’t!
Don’t hurt it!
The child stretched out his hand helplessly but couldn’t grasp anything. He could only helplessly watch on as the moon, as if being swallowed by something, disappeared in the sky.
At this moment, he even had the illusion that his own flesh and blood were being swallowed.
His nails dug into the skin of his chest, and the intense pain surging from the deepest part of his body almost made him unable to breathe.
It was a feeling that was so painful that it made one go crazy—
The moon, swallowed by an invisible object, completely disappeared into the night sky. When it disappeared, only a pool of black and red remained like bloodstains, and the whole earth was plunged into a pitch-black darkness.
In the darkness, staring wide-eyed at the blood-red traces remaining in the night sky, the child’s distorted face was morphed into an extremely horrifying look.
His most precious friend, who had been with him since young, was killed and swallowed by something unknown!
He…had lost it forever!
…
…
The young man sleeping beside the bed suddenly opened his eyes, and his eyes reflected the golden-red luster of the light from the oil lamp hung on the wall.
He sat on the edge of the bed and lingered for a while, then he cast his sight on the bed.
The blond-haired child slept quietly on the bed, and his small body huddled into a ball on the soft bed. Bits of blond hair fell from the pale cheeks and scattered on the snow-white pillow.
The long fan-like eyelashes cast a shallow shadow on the pale little face. The child laid there, breathing. Even though his breathing was a little faint, his lips were not as pale as it was in the morning, instead revealing a slight redness.
As long as the child stayed still, his small obedient appearance was so adorable that it made one feel tender-hearted.
However, when he stubbornly lost his temper and ignored him, it made Heimos gnash his teeth with resentment.
Heimos looked at the hand he had been holding.
The child’s hands were small, fair, and soft, completely different from his dark brown calloused hands.
Just like Garlan and him, the two of them were in a completely extreme contrast.
He remembered the dream he had just now, and it happened when he was still very young.
At that time, he was still naive and regarded the moon that accompanied him every night as his most important little friend. Therefore, when a lunar eclipse happened one day, he watched the moon disappear before his eyes. The feeling of experiencing such loss made him painfully wail out like an insane person.
He had never felt that much desperation.
From then on, he always remembered the suffocating feeling of his whole heart being pinched…
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the moon to return to its original state and allowed the extreme panic and grief within him to ease.
Later, he gradually grew up.
As a child, the feeling of treating the moon as a treasure and as his only little partner was gradually forgotten by him.
It never crossed Heimos’ mind once he had gotten older. However, after many years, he had once again experienced the same despairing feeling as that time.
Seeing that the child’s throat was about to be cut by the dagger—
He seemed to have fallen back when he was young, unable to do anything, watching helplessly as his most important thing disappeared before his eyes.
The feeling of frustration and suffocation made him crazy with anxiety, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.
An extremely heart-wrenching feeling…
…
…
In the other room, King Camos and his subordinate Ziemuer continued their conversation.
“Heimos’ past…?”
Camos didn’t immediately reply to Ziemuer’s proposal. He touched the stubble that emerged from his chin, showing a thoughtful look.
Every child of the royal bloodline who came to participate in the selection of the King’s Brother had undergone an identity assessment to ensure that there were no problems with their identities.
Then, after Garlan and Heimos were selected, the Ombudsman1, which was directly under the command of King Camos, thoroughly dug into the past of the two princes of Aaron Landis.
Garlan’s past was very simple. Except for the fact that he was not favoured because his skin color was similar to that of his mother who was a lower-level nobleman, his environment was similar to that of others. The only difference was that because he was lonely and neglected, the children of the noble knights under the lord did not approach him, so most of his playmates were the children of low-level knights or even wealthy commoners.
However, Heimos’ past was full of twists and turns.
He was the only child of the former city lord of Ulrul, and the current city lord of Ulrul was the younger brother of the former lord, who was also Heimos’ uncle. He had two sons and a daughter under his name.
The previous generation of the city lord of Ulrul had difficulties in conceiving heirs and had no children of his own for a long time. When he was nearly fifty years old, he frustratedly pleaded with the Royal Palace to let his younger brother inherit the position of the city lord.
However, an accident happened. When he was fifty years old, his newly married young wife actually gave birth to a son for him. Having a son in his old age, Ulrul’s city lord regarded his young son as a treasure. However, before he could be happy for a few years, when his youngest son was only three or four years old, he was suddenly carried away secretly by the maid who was in charge of taking care of children.
With great sadness, the old city lord became gravely ill and finally died of grief, unable to see his lost child even in his last moments. Naturally, his young and strong brother inherited his position as the lord of the city and became the new ruler of Ulrul City.
Five years later, when a confidant of the old city lord was planning to leave Ulrul City due to the resignation of his post, passed through the slums and unexpectedly saw Heimos, who looked very similar to the old city lord.
After many verifications, it was confirmed that it was indeed Heimos, who was lost when he was five years old, and he was taken back to the city lord’s mansion. It was said that the current city lord, that was, his uncle, pampered him with parental love.
… Was it parental love?
Speaking of this, Ziemuer showed eyes full of disdain.
If it really was parental love, why did Heimos encounter four to five accidents in a few short years after entering the city lord’s mansion?
Moreover, the Intelligence Department of the Supervisory Office secretly found out that when the decree was sent to Ulrul City to request the lord to send the eligible Heimos to the Royal City, he used various reasons to excuse him, even concealed the incident from Heimos, and prohibited others from mentioning it to him.
Finally, if Heimos hadn’t been keenly aware of something wrong and seized the opportunity to take the initiative to find the messenger, perhaps he wouldn’t be able to come to the city.
Ziemuer had even thought more about it. At first, those things that happened when Heimos was still very young revealed some strangeness.
Why would a maid dare to do that kind of thing?
How did a servant smoothly abduct a baby from the heavily guarded city lord’s mansion?
And why did the old city owner die of a serious illness in less than two years?
…All of the above questions were very intriguing.
However, Ulrul City was a hereditary city. Economically, it belonged to one of Aaron Landis’ several important cities and was extremely powerful. Moreover, it wasn’t convenient for the Royal Palace to intervene in matters within the family.
After King Camos pondered for a while, he got up.
He said, “Go, let’s go and take a look.”
King Camos brought Ziemuer to Garlan’s residence. It was late at night when the oil lamp in the room was lit, and the fire was flickering in the room.
As soon as King Camos entered the house, he saw Heimos still guarding Garlan.
The young man sat quietly by the bed, his gaze falling on the sleeping blond-haired child. His expression was faint, but his gaze never turned away from the child.
It was not until King Camos entered the door that he turned his head, got up, and bowed his head slightly to salute King Camos.
Under the flickering firelight, Camos glanced at the dark circles under Heimos’ eyes.
He coughed slightly.
“Heimos, you go back and rest.”
The young man shook his head.
“No need, I…”
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted.
“This is the King’s order, Prince Heimos. Please obey the King’s order.”
Although he didn’t get a clear answer from King Camos, Ziemuer, who had decided to keep Heimos and Garlan at a proper distance, said so.
“You need to rest. There will be guards protecting His Royal Highness Garlan.”
Heimos was silent for a moment and lowered his eyelids. His eyes were hidden in the shadows, making it hard to see.
Then he nodded, turned, and walked towards the door.
However, the moment he stepped out of the door, he glanced back.
The firelight illuminated the golden-red eyes of the young man. He looked at the backs of King Camos and Ziemuer who blocked his vision, as if separating him from the child. At this moment, something unknown flashed across his eyes.
Then he turned his head back and quickly left.
In the quiet room, Camos stood by the bed, leaned over slightly, and looked at Garlan.
“Has he been sleeping continuously?”
“Yes.”
The skin of the child on the bed was originally white, but now that he had lost too much blood, his small face was even paler, making King Camos feel distressed when he looked at him.
He touched Garlan’s head, and the skin of the child touched by his fingers was so soft that he didn’t dare to use any force.
“It seems a bit hot…”
The man muttered and bowed his head, as if he wanted to put his forehead on Garlan’s head.
However, when the two faces were about to stick together, King Camos suddenly paused and then suddenly raised his head.
“Ziemuer!” he shouted anxiously.
“Yes?”
Ziemuer’s heart jumped, thinking that King Camos saw something wrong with Garlan.
King Camos stretched out his hand to Ziemuer in panic.
He said, “Quick, give me a razor!”
Ziemuer, “…”
King Camos, “Quick! Didn’t you hear what I’ve just said?”
Under the urging of King Camos, the priest of Shamash with an issue of cleanliness, blankly turned over the small bag on his waist that he had always carried with him, dug out the razor, and handed it to Camos.
He watched Camos hurriedly run to the mirror to shave and continued to be expressionless.
It ended in such a comedic way. HAHA
Jeanie
1an official appointed to investigate individuals’ complaints against a company or organization, especially a public authority.
