Flight of Cendrillon

Chapter 10: The Castle Where Orphans Gather

Kaito could smell the faint scent of salt in the sharp cold air. 'Is this the ocean?' he thought to himself, 'At least... I'll have some experience with it before I...'

No. He would not have any enjoyment of the seas. He had limited time to carry out his plans.

He was certain that his own parents had ordered his assassination. There was no mistake any longer from observation. He'd built a careful case in his mind no matter how much he yearned for it to be false. That meant that somehow... Kaito himself had become an obstacle to their conquest.

From this point forward, his life was forfeit. He was going to die. Therefore... he had to make his death count.

And so he plotted out how he would assassinate his own parents.

He knew full well that such an action would not guarantee him any survival – the Loyalists had chosen to stand behind the King and Queen of Estmarch. The Prince meant nothing to them, nor did he believe himself capable of rallying them to him after committing parricide. Besides, their Honor Guard would be close and would shoot him dead within moments.

So his only choice was to make sure his shots counted.

That he end the line of House Shion in one day.

The Emerald Dawn would win, but he had no solution to stop both evils from darkening Estmarch. If he could only destroy one, at least that would give his people a fighting chance.

But the more he tried to work up the nerve to commit to the crime, the more his nerves shook. He had never killed a man. No matter how good of a shot he was, he'd never pointed his gun at a living person and expected to hit them. Now he was not only intending to break his own codes of pacifism, but he was to turn on the two people he'd loved the most for so much of his life.

'I should have asked Miku how to do this when I had the chance. But then... she hasn't killed anyone either, has she? I suppose that wouldn't have worked then.'

"Are you quite well, your Highness?" Dex asked.

Kaito tried to maintain his spirits. Dex was driving the vehicle, with Kaito the only passenger. "I have experienced a great many terrible events in these last weeks. Being reunited with my family only grants me a small comfort."

"Be grateful. Not all of us have that luxury."

Kaito tried to read between the lines. "Then Lord Grauwolf...?"

"They lined him up against the wall, along with everyone he was with. They didn't even care for the title – they even shot the footman as if he was responsible for it all. I'm all that remains. I was lucky the Loyalists made contact with me and that your parents trusted me with so much. At least when he died for me... the King told me he'd make sure my life mattered. That this coup ends with every last one of the bastards dead and everyone who helped them rotting. No matter what I have to do to make that happen..."

The car rolled over a wooden bridge covering a gorge, where Kaito could see a small river that no doubt emptied into the ocean below.

Kaito almost envied the young man's intensity. He had a goal, and nothing stopped him from pursuing it. How many had he already managed to kill simply because he believed it was right? 'And here I can't even work up the nerve to put an end to... my mother and father...'

Dex's anger began to calm. "I just consider it a great fortune that Lady Daina Rotfuchs had cancelled her attendance that night or I would even be without a fiancé. But she and her family are safe in Westheim... I doubt they'll return any time soon."