Chapter Text
The spread of the important news of the kingdom was highly affected by the rains that pounded without any intention of stopping since the morning.
Only the castle and the main palace, along with a few businesses and maybe some homes had found out about the assassination that had taken place some time ago, and reactions were… really more than interesting. A low amount of people showed their outrage over it, wanting justice to happen in that very second, unable to accept it. Nonetheless, those were rather isolated cases and the general consensus of most of the population seemed to simply be indifference, maybe surprise as well but that more about the fact a king was murdered, not about it being exactly Iryuu. In fact, some people were happy about the news—though not many.
"Oh, really?"
"Maybe it's for the better…"
"That guy had absolutely no idea how to be a leader, I'm certain that the next one in command will be far more decent."
“How unfortunate.”
"It was probably one of his many children taking on revenge or something."
"...Unexpected, but he had it coming."
Were some of the thoughts that peasants had regarding the news. Iryuu was not a well-liked individual.
In the meanwhile, the castle where the events took place was totally in flames (figuratively, because it would be a real disaster if it was literal). No one was exactly sure what to do, a headache shared by all (but some more than others). It was an event never seen before in this kingdom, with no protocol whatsoever… Even though it was bound to happen to this guy at some point, maybe.
However, amongst all the people, a certain individual stood out the most in his attempts to help.
Kenta Satozuka was, initially, a butler who only specialized in helping prince Nayuta, but still ended up dealing with many other issues—and would just deal with more considering how everything was like now—, possibly the most dedicated and "passionate" person in the castle.
Although, this tendency to deal with this many things leads him to ruin, collapsing from time to time due to the stress it brought him; he always looked tired, eyebags almost permanently there at this point.
"The timing sucks, but there's something I need to handle outside," Nayuta warned, approaching Kenta. "Can you watch over everything for now?"
Kenta rubbed his eyes, dropping the notebook where he wrote down everything he saw relevant to consider or to plan, and with an uncharacteristically low voice, at first he was going to protest, "I am not really sure whether…" he quickly interrupted himself, "No, don't do it. Your highness, they might have you in their sights as well. I need to ensure your safety."
"It's more important than you could ever think of, don't suggest that."
"...Be careful, I ask you for God's sake," Kenta muttered, keeping his look worried as he watched the man leaving just like that, so mysteriously.
Determined to find the man again, Nayuta walked slowly through the surroundings of the castle in the rain, only focused on getting close to the meeting point he first indicated, despite the heavy rain. His steps were slow but steady, a cape made of wool protecting him a bit from the drenching water—it was good material against the rain, after all.
"The tavern I told him to go to is ridiculously close to the castle, no way he could've gone to one of those that were far away." Nayuta overthought, something which he never did. The tension of it all subtly affected him, a fact he preferred to overlook but it didn't stop pressing him internally. In the end, the death of his father implied maybe a thousand problems for everyone living in the kingdom, but instead of thinking about that he just shook his head and continued on to his destination.
After walking for a while that felt almost endless, he saw an establishment from which some sound was coming from and a slight illumination was coming out of the windows. Unmistakably, he realized it was the tavern he had given as a reference point. He skirted the area and directly went to the nearby green area—the grass was surprisingly high, but in it he could notice enough that something that looked like black hair peeked through the grass. If it was not something weird like a corpse lying around: it had to be Ryo, so in a cautious manner he headed towards it.
And exactly, when he got closer he could confirm that it was the man he'd been looking for. Ryo stared blankly into nothingness, hugging his legs as he sat in a fetal-like position. It was cold so he definitely looked for some warmth; if he stayed there any longer he might end up with hypothermia, and at this current point his immune system would have been weakened enough to risk contracting a virus more easily.
"I was going to say we should just talk here, but I think a talk this important deserves something more worthy," Nayuta said without even greeting him. "Follow me."
Looking up, Ryo replied, "yes." He nodded weakly as he stood up, and opened his mouth for a second, tempted to speak—however he decided against it quickly and just hugged himself while he walked.
Stepping faster than him, he watched Ryo's action out of the corner of his eye. “It's fucking freezing… I think I left you out too long. I hadn't given much thought to the weather, or the location in the first place.”
Nayuta is, more than anything, someone that barely spoke—besides, his words always left his mouth in what looked like a cold, maybe annoyed tone, always serious and uncommunicative which was not an amazing combination. So, in a way, he was surprised about Ryo being so quiet, at least compared to him. What was he hiding behind those eyes?
“Uh?”
“Ignore the horses.”
Certainly, a horse stable was not exactly an extremely appropriate spot for a conversation that was supposed to be quite serious, but at this hour and under these weather conditions, no one should be here—nor anyone would unexpectedly enter, which was the most important thing. Also they were indoors which automatically made it not as cold as outside… So, it wasn't actually that bad.
"I had never seen these up close. I think animals are nice," the man with noticeably longer hair stared at them deeply, a small curvature in his lips forming in that countenance that had only looked miserable before.
"We ain't here to talk about that," he emphasized with a frown, he wasn't annoyed but he always preferred going straight to the point instead of chit chatting about horses or something. "So your name is Ryo and 'they' made you kill that guy… What about your last name?"
"Sir, I don't have a last name."
"You're alive. You have a last name."
"But I don't feel that way, and I only remember my name. I wasn't called by it, though…"
"What's with that crypticness…"
He wasn't even sure himself if his words were an actual complaint or not, but confusion was definitely well set in both his mind and face. Nayuta always came to conclusions really quickly, but if this man kept speaking in such a peculiar way, were they even going to get anywhere with this? He required more precise questions to continue.
"And, where are you from?"
"I can't say that."
"Hah? Just say it."
The young man's blue eyes went to the side with unease clearly reflected, his nervousness represented by the way he gulped down. "Don't tell anyone, if anyone finds out what I said, then…"
Nayuta showed some interest, "Something as dumb as a place shouldn't be that serious, don't you have a much bigger problem…? So, I guess you are not from here."
"Nemorosum."
"There? All I'm aware of is that it's small and close to Iris, though their ruler doesn't seem to really like it either. What could be so bad that you wouldn't want to talk…"
The way his body language worked described everything perfectly. Shakily, he made eye contact again. It was awkward and unsure, and his eyes were going elsewhere anyway. Something made him way too anxious.
"I was not born there, but most of my life I've been stuck in that bad, dangerous, risky place... No escape for me nor for anyone that was with me. And...and, having to talk about it...think about it, hurts..... My physical integrity is always in danger, at no time when I have breathed I have not been afraid, I don't know if I will go back there alive, and... and…"
Ryo's words were ambiguous—very unclear and barely made sense, but regardless, that broken tone of voice showed absolute fear, assimilable to the regret of the act committed a while longer that slowly crept back in; he really wanted to be specific, but dwelling on the subject was becoming more complicated. He kept looking all around, as if someone was watching and listening as he had grown accustomed to it always happening, but it was just the two of them and the horses. Temporarily, Nayuta considered pushing him a bit to keep talking, but decided for the sensible thing to do; allow him to let loose on his own.
"It's just... Ever since I was small they tested what my body and mind could endure... torturous punishments... and it's still like that and I think it will continue even though I've grown up... No, I'm going to die right away when I'm there. I don't think I should be living because of what I did before, but…"
Nayuta interrupted his words at that very second, "And even after all of that, are you going to continue living over there?"
"I have no other choice…"
The red-eyed man stared at him in silence and walked closer to him. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and stretched out his arm, opening the hand he had been holding closed all along. Though he looked serious, he looked equally confident. "You're not telling me your whole story, I know that. In this very second, you're away from there, that's one step closer to detaching yourself from that life."
"..."
"I doubt you're evil. Obedient and self-aware, there's a certain role that wouldn't hurt you... Just like I wouldn't mind one more servant. Let's make a deal. If you can keep giving me more information about Nemorosum, I'll take you as my new butler and you'll have a new life, out of whatever misfortune has ever befallen you."
All this time, Ryo had listened surprised, his eyes wide open; he never thought he might have a chance to finally rebuild everything, and right there it was being offered to him by the very son of the man he had killed. Initially, he hesitated, but still slowly brought his arm up and took his hand.
"...I want to redeem myself…"
For the first time in a long time, his eyes had some sparkle in them.