Chapter 38.1: Broken Door

Yehey!! Bonus Chapters 2/5

Theodore was facing his brother in a modest room he had rented on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

His brother, seated in a chair, has his cheekbones propped on the armrest. The languid, blank look on his face showed no emotion, but depending on how you look at it, you could say that he was in a bad mood.

He spoke, hoping that was the case, "I'm so happy. I can't believe Big Brother came all the way to such a place just to see me."

He smiled sincerely, but his brother in the front didn't say anything. So, Theodore teased merrily.

"Even alone, without an escort! No matter how many times I've asked to meet and talk to you, you've never replied to me."

"..."

"It's been years since I've talked to Big Brother like this. No, maybe this is the first time! Just us, brothers, only with no outsiders present!"

After a brief snicker, Theodore's face twisted a little.

"For her sake, Big Brother should listen to anything I say."

With that thought in mind, he felt something deep in his chest, as if burning bits and pieces of his heart away.

"You're wasting my time."

His brother finally spoke, but he sounded terribly cold.

"You summoned me. Now tell me what you want."

"That's harsh for my precious Big Brother to say."

"I don't have to talk to you at all."

Theodore clicked his tongue at those words.

"Hey you know what? You are in no position to defy me. I've kidnapped your beloved girl, so show me a more flustered look! Ah, don't tell me you actually don't care about that girl?!"

He said that in an attempt to provoke him, but he knew that couldn't be true.

Even Theodore thought that it was a stupid farce when he first heard of it. At the end of the day, that was his brother returning with a bride from a foreign country.

High-ranking nobles had determined that she was probably a hostage. For a long time, their father Emperor had been ordering his elder brother to marry for political gains.

Marry a princess from another country and control her under the Garkhain imperial family.

It was his father's policy, and something he himself had carried out. Theodore's late mother was also a princess of a once prosperous country.

His brother must have chosen a suitable woman from another country to respond to his orders and brought her back. Initially, Theodore was of the same opinion as the nobles.

He sensed that something was amiss when the message that arrived prior to his brother's return carried orders to 'gather maidservants for his betrothed.'

He had Elise undercover as a potential handmaiden while he investigated the flow. Then he was informed that his brother was going to prepare a detached palace for his bride and live there as soon as it was ready.

That would have been impossible if he intended to set up a wife as a mere window dressing. All he should have to do was to build a birdcage in a corner of the main castle, feed her and leave her alone there.

He didn't have to live with her.

Of course, that made me jealous.

When he heard that he set her free and gave her a field, he wanted to trample the arable land.

But he stifled his childish envy. He was convinced that Rishe Ilmgard Wertsner would serve his purposes.

At this moment, he could actually talk to his brother.

He was ordered to 'stay away,' and when they met in the castle, he wasn't even allowed to speak to him. But they could now have a conversation in person.

"What you're doing doesn't mean anything."

"Doesn't mean anything?"

Theodore chuckled.

"At the end of the day, to Big Brother, I'm just a useless and worthless stranger, who is only related to you by blood. I thought this time, you'd realize that even a useless brother could do harm to his brother. But let's get to the point."

Theodore imitated his brother and propped his cheeks on the armrest. Then he said, "What I want, of course, is to be the next Emperor, Big Brother."

Did his brother ever anticipate this request? Or did he simply not care? Either way, the expression on his face remained unchanged.

He found that deeply boring.

The night I called her into the chapel, he had given me such a cold stare...

As expected, his demands for succession rights and the like wouldn't sway his brother's heart.

To Theodore's knowledge, that girl was the only weakness of his brother so far. And now she was in his custody.

Of course, he had to strike there.

Theodore stood up and continued to threaten his brother.

"Did you hear me? If you want Sister-in-law back in one piece, you must step down from the first line to the throne and give it to me. If Brother won't comply, I don't know what I might do to her."

"..."

"I would hate it when that happens. You look like you're unconcerned, but you're actually worried about her, aren't you?

He took a step towards his brother.

"I know she really means a lot to Brother, doesn't she? Much more than me, whom you didn't even want to see, or our sisters whom you sent away from the Imperial Capital! You care about her, interested in her, and want to keep her by your side. Do you know why I know that much? Because I've been watching you for so long!"

Theodore took another step forward. He approached closer - a distance that he normally wasn't allowed to go.

"The life of the person you cherish is in my hands. You must be really worried. You must be at your wits end! The fact that Big Brother came out to answer my summon without an escort this late at night proves it more than anything else!"

The thought that he actually said such words to his elder brother made his vision distorted and woozy. When he finally stood in front of his brother, he looked down at him and whined.

"Hey, tell me, Big Brother! Tell me, who doesn't even hold a candle to you, 'I've lost this time around. You win, Theodore.' Admit it brusquely, and step down as the Crown Prince. That..."

He rested his hand on his own chest and told his brother, "My life will be fulfilled with that alone."

"..."