In the end, Saya returned to the palace without seeing Nagi again, under the pretext of poor health. She couldn’t muster any strength in her limbs, so this was true, in a sense. Upon returning, even worse news awaited her. Kyou’s execution had been confirmed.
Saya ended up in opposition to the boy, but even now, she didn’t hate him. She didn’t really intend to dethrone him. She simply wanted to freely be with Nagi. That was all she wanted. Regardless, the situation had become so serious. As a result, many people died. This boy who yearned for his older sister would also die.
Kyou was being held in the prison beneath the palace. The sight of him, far more haggard than she was, locked behind iron bars, caused Saya’s chest to tighten. The shadow of that haughty boy could no longer be seen.
“Si... Lady Saya.”
Kyou stopped himself from calling her sister. Saya was the Sovereign now. It felt unnatural to her. It made her restless.
“Kyou, um... Are you well?”
The moment those words left her lips, she regretted it. There was no way he was, but Kyou smiled back at her.
“Yes... We are well.” He had a smile on his face, but the emotions behind it were completely hollow. “Thank you for coming. We heard you had collapsed.”
“Mm. But I’m well enough to walk around now, so I came to visit you.”
“Thank goodness... Really. Thank goodness...” Kyou cast his gaze to the floor. “Um... There’s something We must tell you. Something We must apologize for.”
“What is it?”
“If possible, We’d rather nobody else hear this. Could we speak alone?”
“My apologies, but that isn’t possible,” Jubilia said.
This was the royal palace. It was different from Garuga Village. There was no way such a conversation would be allowed. Jubilia truly did look sorry. She was kind, so this boy’s state surely grieved her.
“But... this can’t be heard by too many people.”
“Jubilia. Could you have everyone else step aside while you remain?”
“If that is all, then it should be fine. All of you, wait outside for a moment. I shall guarantee Lady Saya’s safety. This is the Sovereign’s request. I shall take responsibility.”
The other knights who were here to watch Kyou excused themselves from the room.
“Jubilia will end up hearing, but it’s all right. She won’t tell others of what you say.”
Jubilia nodded. “Very well, please go ahead.”
“It’s okay, Jubilia is my friend.”
“Friend... I’m jealous you can be Lady Saya’s friend.”
Saya smiled at Kyou. “Aren’t you my little brother.”
Kyou hung his head even lower. “We’re not. That’s what We need to apologize for,” he said with a trembling voice. “During the revolt... the rebellion, Gratos confessed to me that you are not Our elder sister.”
“Huh?”
“There was dissent within the royal guards. Even if Lady Saya is the True Sovereign, the Sovereign’s Blood would simply be inherited by Us if you were to die. It would be fine to crush the entire rebellion, yourself included. But Gratos put such thoughts to an end. We were the only one he told why he did such a thing... We are a fake, he said.”
Kyou finally raised his head, but his gaze was completely hollow.
“It was apparently true that you had a little brother. You remained asleep when you awakened to the Sovereign’s Blood, so Gratos and the nobles of the time had to seat someone on the throne for face value. Naturally, they chose your baby brother... but he apparently went missing. Thus, We were chosen. You were the one to truly possess the Sovereign’s Blood this entire time. Your substitute could’ve been anyone. We... didn’t know any of this, and were raised while being told We had an elder sister. Not only that, We truly believed We were the Sovereign. We didn’t even notice We were being secretly fed Amrita, like a fool.”
Kyou hung his head down once more.
“Gratos didn’t tell this secret to anyone else. To protect Us. But Our execution has been decided now. Such a secret is too heavy for Us to bear alone.”
When Saya first heard that Kyou was the little brother she parted with ages ago, she didn’t know how to feel. She was truly at a loss now, but there was one thing for certain.
“We’re truly sorry.”
This boy, apologizing to her with tears in his eyes, looked ever so pitiful.
“Kyou, would it be better if I was your older sister?”
“Of course.”
“If we weren’t siblings, maybe we could’ve gotten married without any issues, you know?”
“Regardless, you had no intention of becoming Ours, did you?”
“Nope.”
“In that case, We would’ve wanted you to be Our elder sister. The thought that We had a relative out there supported Us all this time, after all.”
“Then you can call me your sister, as you always have.”
“Huh?”
Saya was surprised at herself as she said this. It just felt so natural when the words left her lips.
“Nagi is dearest to me. Jubilia is my friend. I decide such things about myself on my own. I was taught to do so, after all... So, you’re my little brother. That’s all there is to it.”
“Lady Saya, are you forgiving me?”
“Don’t you mean sister?”
“Sister...”
Tears fell from Kyou’s eyes. His gaze was no longer hollow. He was unable to stop the flood of emotions once his tears started flowing. Saya moved to wipe his face through the iron bars when Kyou grabbed her with both hands. He cried as he clung to her.
“Sister... We’re sorry for being so shameful.”
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Even Jubilia is crying.”
“Huh? Th-That’s not...” so Jubilia started, but her eyes were moist.
“It’d be nice if my real brother was still alive.”
“That’s true. Even if the details of his disappearance are unknown, it’s possible, considering he’s a noble,” said Kyou. “Perhaps he looks far more like an adult than we do.”
“You’re right. It’s not necessarily true he lived without knowing anything about himself like we did.”
“Sister, your case was because of sickness; there was no helping it. We were simply a fool.”
“Enough of that already.”
Kyou finally smiled for real. It brought Saya relief to see this.
“If he’s alive, then that means I have two little brothers. I wonder if that means he’d be your brother too?”
“That’d be nice... If so, all of us can...”
Kyou smiled again, but stiffened up completely.
“What’s the matter, Kyou?”
“It’s nothing.” All light vanished from his eyes once more. “We don’t have the right to say such things...”
“Say it, Kyou. Aren’t we siblings?”
Saya stared at him. Kyou returned a slight nod. The wall covering his heart had become ever so brittle during this conversation.
“Sister... We...”
Kyou’s words dribbled out. They were far too weak and fragile for the words of one who reigned over Agartha for centuries. They were his honest and true feelings.
“We don’t want to die...”
“It’s okay,” Saya replied instinctively. “I’ll protect you. You’re my little brother, after all.”
After leaving the prison, Saya and Jubilia quietly proceeded down a corridor.
“Jubilia, can I ask something of you?”
“That depends on the request.”
Saya cut right to the chase. Jubilia’s voice was stiff, seeing as how she already knew what Saya was about to ask.
“I want to save Kyou.”
“I believe that would be difficult to accomplish.”
“I know, but as the Sovereign, my word should hold some weight, right?”
“The former Sovereign has incurred far too much enmity. Even if you vouch for him...”
Saya could understand why Jubilia trailed off.
“You’re right. I can’t even free myself from this place. Lernaean and the others are the ones to decide on that...”
Saya stopped walking. She hated the idea, but there was only one person she could go to.
“I’m going to see Lernaean.”
Regardless of the sudden visit, Saya was easily allowed to enter Lernaean’s office.
“Lady Saya herself has come to visit. There’s no way I could refuse a meeting, is there now?” Lernaean said, seated in his chair with his arms spread out elegantly. Saya really did hate this man.
“Lord Lernaean, please clear the room,” Jubilia said.
Lernaean nodded and waved his hand lightly, which was all it took to empty the room. There were only the three of them present now. Lernaean didn’t require any guards to begin with.
“Now then, what do you need?”
“I want to save Kyou.”
“I see...”
Even Lernaean was slightly bewildered by this request. His discomposure showed for the briefest moment before he replied.
“He is your enemy.”
“But he’s my little brother.”
Lernaean thought it over for a moment. Saya wavered over whether or not she should mention the truth, but decided to cut to the chase.
“I know he isn’t actually my little brother.”
“So he told you... Still, you consider him as such regardless?”
“You already knew.”
“Of course I did. Well, I suppose only Gratos’ inner circle knew. They’ve all been executed already. I assume he’s the only one Gratos told. Nevertheless, this secret cannot be released to the public. Doing so would actually increase demand for his head. Someone who wasn’t even royalty posed as the Sovereign, after all.”
As always, Saya was unable to read Lernaean’s true intentions behind his disinterested speech.
“Well, sparing his life would be difficult. He’s an especially bitter enemy to Cobalt’s commoners. They will definitely demand his death.”
“But if you were to say otherwise...”
“Even if I do, or if you do, it wouldn’t be possible. There’s no way of sparing his life through proper means.” Lernaean folded his fingers together and leaned forward on his desk. “If the prisoner is to vanish, however... It would be rather hard to execute him, wouldn’t it? Much like when you were abducted from the Garden.”
“I wasn’t abducted. I left by my own will.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. For some reason, the security there was insufficient, so that boy was able to use the opening to abduct you. The soldiers protecting the palace are devoting themselves to provide the best of security, but we’re short on hands right now. It wouldn’t be strange for the prison guards to be insufficient on a certain day. It’s possible such a day could overlap with a moonless night. By coincidence, of course.”