Turning
chapter-124

"But why do you, standing before me, seem so healthy?"

That was the first thing Kishiar brought up, something he hadn't even discussed with Yuder. When Yuder and Revlin both turned to him with surprise, Kishiar gave a slight, apologetic smile.

"I have my suspicions, but I wish to hear it from your lips."

Revlin's lips quivered slightly. He hadn't expected Kishiar would want to hear about that first.

'But it's not so different from what I planned to say anyway. It's okay.'

The boy took a moment, thinking about a precious person trapped, slowly dying without even a sip of water, and once again found his courage.

"You're...correct. As you've said, I've had a weak constitution since birth. It wasn't until about a year and a half ago, after my awakening, that my health improved to what it is now."

For a moment, Yuder saw a fleeting emotion pass through Kishiar's red eyes. It disappeared too quickly for him to accurately identify, but he was certain that Kishiar had wanted to hear this answer.

"As I thought."

Kishiar responded curtly, nodding with a smile.

"Good. Let's start from the beginning. Whether it's information or assistance, I'm prepared to listen."

"I understand. However, as time is short, I'll try to explain as simply as possible. Is it alright if I send further details with a letter through Jack later?"

"That's fine."

Kishiar's permission was granted. Revlin's golden eyes looked to the floor. He slowly opened his mouth, recalling a past that felt both very distant and just yesterday.

"As you may know, being a noble with noble blood, in our Apeto family, it's common for particularly frail children to be born. Just as I was."

From birth, Revlin had been incredibly weak. Not only was he unable to run around like other children, but he frequently coughed up blood without any discernable cause. Although he was especially weak, it wasn't surprising, as it was common for children of the Apeto family to be born with such a constitution. His eldest brother, Aishes Shand Apeto, was also weak, often fainting.

In the Apeto family, this phenomenon was referred to as children born with "Blood of Blessing." However, Revlin always thought that it was more of a curse than a blessing.

The current Duke of Apeto fathered seven children between two deceased wives, but four died in childhood, leaving only three sons alive. Among them, only the second son, Lenore, was in perfect health.

Revlin lived each day waiting for death. There was no happiness in his life. But then, a miracle happened. The power of the Red Stone, said to have fallen from the sky, gave him a strange ability.

Compared to others who could slaughter hordes of monsters with a flick of a finger or spew sword aura, Revlin's ability was pitifully insignificant. An ability to transmit his voice to a specific target was of no use, apart from negating the need for whispering.

However, since awakening this ability, Revlin's health gradually improved. The number of days he was not ill increased until, after a few months, he could walk and run properly.

"But how could such a miraculous event occur?" The Duke of Apeto, taken aback, called upon his younger brother Beltrail, one of the twelve senior priests, and for the first time became aware that his youngest son was an Awakener. Ordinarily, this would have been a matter of profound shame. However, Beltrail proposed that Revlin's awakening might have altered his inherent frailty.

Most dismissed this as foolish speculation, yet one person, the second prince Lenore, wished to lend credibility to Beltrail's claim.

"The reason was simple. Lenore desired to usurp the successor position from my eldest brother, Aishes."

If they discovered a method to amend the frailty passed down in the family through this research, Lenore was driven by the ambition that he could potentially claim the position of successor from Aishes. The Duke of Apeto also showed interest in this idea, leading them to initiate research on the Awakeners in the basement of the annex.

"My uncle and brother committed horrible acts there. They sincerely believed that by mixing the blood of an Awakener, they could extract and eliminate the 'Blood of Blessing' of Apeto. Even after a year and a half with no significant success, the research is still ongoing."

Revlin's expression brimmed with disgust as he discussed this part.

"Uncle Beltrail initially wanted to use me as the test subject. However, my father wasn't fond of that idea. That's the only reason I escaped their experiments."

Revlin was fearful of his uncle and brother. Lenore, being his elder brother and understanding Revlin's frailty, provided him with an escort out of a sense of charity, but Revlin felt no gratitude towards him.

"Nion... No, Dandenion was my escort, assigned by Lenore."

One day, Lenore coincidentally found an Awakener the same age as Revlin, even sharing a birthday, and he assigned him as both a conversation partner and escort for his younger brother. Although Revlin and Dandenion had entirely different statuses and personalities, they shared the same age, birthday, gender, and awakened powers. These small similarities soon made them close friends.

"We were friends at first. But... as we started to rely on each other, our feelings began to change..."

Revlin bit his lip and lowered his head. Even Yuder, who was not particularly interested in his or others' feelings, could guess what followed. Eventually, Revlin continued to speak as if he had made up his mind.

"I fell in love with Nion first. Nion had repeatedly said no. If I had stopped then, things might have been better... But I was too greedy, and I ended up getting caught by Lenore."

Lenore was incredulous that a commoner Awakener would dare to have eyes for his noble-blooded younger brother. Dandenion was dragged away and imprisoned in the annex, and Revlin was placed under close watch. That was the end of it.

"Once my brother calms down from his anger, he quickly forgets what he was even angry about. But I couldn't do that. How could I forget about Nion?"

Revlin had no power to save Nion. The best he could do was to beg the servants to prevent him from dying of starvation in his cell. If no one would save him and Nion, he would have to find another way. He swore he would sell his family name, for which he had never felt a shred of gratitude since birth, if it meant saving his lover.

“If you ask me to find evidence of the experiments my uncle and brother conducted, I can certainly do that. But please, save Nion in return. Nion is different from me, he's healthy, kind, and powerful. He is too young to die like this... I believe it's a waste,” he implored.

He tried his best to speak calmly, like an adult, but Revlin ended up failing towards the end. Yuder was caught in complex emotions as he watched Revlin weep, his face, usually as pretty as a doll, twisted in anguish.

In his previous life, the seat of the Duke of Apeto had ultimately been taken by the second son, Lenore. The original heir, Aishes, had died suddenly even before Emperor Katchian took the throne, and the previous Duke of Apeto had passed away a few years later. He hadn't heard any stories about the third son, Revlin, but since he never heard of him having any siblings when Lenore became the Duke, it was likely he had died.

While he didn't know about the deaths of others, Aishes's death had caused quite a stir. Even after numerous thorough investigations due to suspicions of foul play, the death was remembered as one with a definitive conclusion of natural causes.

‘After I became the Commander, I never heard of such horrifying deeds being committed in Apeto. Could it be because the second son, Lenore, who desired the position of the heir, promptly discontinued the fruitless experiments after the first son, Aishes, suddenly died, and he obtained the position of heir without much trouble?’

It could be possible if all Lenore wanted was the position of the heir, and everything else was merely a means to that end.

From the beginning, the claim that the blood of Awakeners could alleviate or cure the hereditary frailty of a noble lineage was lunacy.

The Warden of the Apeto family he met in the East said they were gathering Awakeners entering their reproductive period to produce a 'blessed child' in Apeto. Considering the absurdity of that story as part of the experiment to achieve their goal that Revlin mentioned, he was genuinely horrified for the first time in a while.

‘After committing such insane deeds, once he became the Duke of Apeto, he lived the most quietly.’

While Yuder was reflecting on his past memories, Revlin managed to suppress his emotions and lifted his head. His clear golden eyes stared directly at Kishiar and Yuder alternately.

“I apologize. Some dust got into my eyes. But I think this should be enough for you to surmise the situation.”

Revlin, who held back his emotions and raised his chin with dignity as if he hadn't been crying, clearly showed his prideful nature, not wanting to elicit sympathy at a negotiation table due to his youth.

“I will provide any additional information you might need, as long as you point out what you deem necessary.”

Now, the ball was back in Kishiar's court. Yuder briefly observed Kishiar's expression, which was hard to read.

"So, you're not trying to provoke sympathy, but rather you strictly seek help in exchange for information. May I ask why?"

The first words that Kishiar finally spat out seemed to directly attack Revlin, who had just managed to regain his composure.