Blood On Your Hands

I

Each betrayal begins with trust.

Cale Henituse stands before the Emperor of the Rowoon Kingdom.

His friend, his sworn brother, is now standing before him with a broken and ill-stricken face.

Living his life has always been his goal. He lived in the remote land of the Forest of Darkness with the rest of his people who chose seclusion. He would been blissfully happy for decades, and yet...

This man.

This good friend.

He considered this person to be a member of his family.

Finally, he decided to betray him.

"Haha." Cale laughs.

The man who cares deeply about his people, both the Roan Kingdom and the Dark elves, and is more willing to put aside his own personal plans to work for the greater good—looks down on him as his body corrodes from the dead mana he drank from the wine.

This cunning man and manipulative bastard—Cale thought that this man wouldn't become a threat to his life.

He should've known.

He should've prepared for the worst.

"I can't help it," Alver Crossman said. "They believe you more than I do."

This man's deceptive facade made Cale laugh even more.

Trust can be lost within seconds, takes a lifetime to regain, and is never as strong again afterward.

"And you decided to betray me? The man who put you on that throne?" Cale rises to grab Alver and yet, a thin, cold feeling suddenly pierces him.

Cale didn't scream. His hand still reading for Alver Crossman's neck.

Betrayal is never easy to handle and there is no right way to accept it.

The blue snow falls and the vivid, lonely moonlight shines upon him. He stared at it for a very long time.

His heart

He didn't mind what colour the earth would be thousands of years from now; he was laughing with a face no one knew.

Fear creates chances.

Chances create miracles.

Human lives are so insignificant that they seek solace from these deities who have taken life for a reason.

"I had faith in you."

He trusts this man as much as he trusts Lee Soo Hyuk.

"I... thought of you as family."

His voice was painfully awful.

"You have never taken me seriously, have you?"

Cale, whose tears are more valuable than money, fell on his cheeks like a broken dam.

"Your power."

Alver Crossman spoke.

"Your power will not help the Empire's future." His voice sounded serious, "It may have been different during the war... But as of right now..."

The emperor's solemn expression made Cale grit in anger.

"You are nothing but a source of uneasiness."

This man, whom he placed on that throne, has now decided to end Cale's life. He shouldn't have sent the children and Choi Han away. He shouldn't have let himself alone.