MBHE | Chapter 1.5

Carpe had straight, flowing hair, while Iellon’s hair, no matter how much it was brushed, would become disheveled as soon as he turned around. Except for their hair color, there was hardly anything in common between them.

Yet, they were family. Rachel was sure of that.

A family bound by a stronger bond than anyone else in the imperial palace. Their fence was sturdy, and it sparkled too brightly for two children to have built it.

The problem was that it was too noble to exist here. The love between brothers, which would have been a beautiful story anywhere else, was a crime here. Like a deer walking into a pack of wolves, offering its neck.

The clever prince, Iellon, who surely knew this, couldn’t hide his joy and smiled shyly. Rachel, who had known Iellon for quite some time, took a moment to appreciate the expression she saw for the first time before slowly standing up.

Though he was smart and would manage well, the worry didn’t disappear, perhaps because she was getting older.

“It’s presumptuous advice, but please be careful.”

This was also gratitude for showing Rachel, who had become accustomed to the deaths of noble children while working in the imperial palace, a new possibility.

The prince, who grasped the entire context in an instant, smiled, narrowing the eyes someone once whispered were creepy.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely get my happy ending.”

His confident face seemed like a child’s reckless confidence and, at the same time, like a seasoned hunter’s certainty. She quietly passed over the incongruity of two things that couldn’t coexist being in one place.

“To do that, shouldn’t you stop getting hurt? Especially wounds you could have avoided.”

“It wasn’t because I wanted to… Anyway, thanks for the treatment.”

Iellon, getting off the chair, touched the wound a few times as if to check it and then looked directly at Rachel.

“Though I hope it never happens, if you ever treat Carpe, give him a candy afterward. He’s a kid who smiles over a single candy.”

Then, the prince waved his hand and left the room. The old healer left alone could only smile helplessly and shake her head.

♣ ♣ ♣

Eventually, the cookie incident spread throughout the entire imperial palace. Houston was sentenced to severe punishment for attempting to assassinate a prince. News quickly spread that he couldn’t endure the torture-like punishment and lost his life.

Perhaps it wasn’t a crime worthy of death. But a scapegoat was needed. As Iellon swung his sword, feeling a bit bitter, he lowered himself to the small body running towards him.

“Carr, you’ve become such a crybaby lately. Why are you crying today?”

Carpe, his tiny face wet with tears, clung to Iellon with a sorrowful gesture.

“Houston…”

Ah. So it reached your ears after all. Even though he expected it, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of despair.

Dilla, who had approached with a soaked handkerchief, hesitated and stopped. Glancing around at the surrounding gazes, Iellon moved with Carpe in his arms towards a less crowded garden.

The garden, with its uniformly trimmed grass and trees planted to look as beautiful as possible, was so pretty that it was a shame no one was there to see it.

Sitting on the grass with Carpe in his arms, Iellon watched as Dilla sat alone on a bench, the soft breeze brushing her cheeks.

Dilla, glancing over, leaned comfortably against the bench. The medicine secretly given seemed to have worked well. There might be scars, but if the wounds had healed, that was enough.

“I-Isabella told me. Sniff, that there was something bad in the cookie, and that’s why Houston died. But it was Philip who gave the cookie. Philip was smiling. You said it was delicious, hyung. I don’t understand any of it…”

I had hoped you’d remain unaware. It had only been a few days since I boasted about never lying, and now I hated having to confess how bad a person I really was.

‘If I were stronger and more powerful, would you not have cried?’

But Iellon knew that no matter how strong he became, he could never completely stop Carpe’s tears.

He didn’t want to raise his precious brother as a frog in a well. Carpe, growing up innocently, thinking the small round sky was the whole world, would certainly be cute, but still.

The water-soaked blue eyes, filled only with sadness, stared at Iellon. He briefly thought that if the sky reflected in the well were like those eyes, one could be happy even in the well.

“What all this means is…”

The grass tickled his palm as he touched the ground. Blades of grass peeked through his fingers, swaying in the breeze. He alternated between wanting to pull them out and wanting to leave them forever.

“It means hyung loves Carr very much.”

“Huh?”

“It means hyung loves Carr very, very much.”

As he lay back, Carpe, with a confused expression, lay down beside him, clinging to him. The warmth that naturally followed was endearing.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

As he rubbed the child’s soft cheek, a butterfly fluttered above his head. Perhaps it was drawn to Carpe’s sweet scent.

“It has a lot to do with it. Because.”

“Because?”

“People are born to love others.”

A question mark seemed to float above his silver hair. His small face was always full of expressions. When Iellon kissed his forehead, Carpe, as if used to it, placed his hand on Iellon’s cheek.

“People are too weak to live alone. That’s why love was created.”

“But hyung is strong.”

“Hyung is strong because Carr is here.”

In the distance, Dilla was seen enjoying the quiet breeze with her eyes closed. It was fortunate she was there for Carpe. Otherwise, the child’s small back might have felt the whip.

Iellon, who had just thought it was fortunate someone else suffered, bit his tongue with his canine tooth. In front of him, blue eyes filled with pure trust gazed at him as if looking at someone extraordinary.

It was so beautiful it felt undeserved.

“With love, you can stay together. No matter how much you hate, love keeps you by their side.”

That’s why babies instinctively love the parents who care for them. Even if they’re not great parents, it’s hard to sever love at will.

Recalling the person who had told him this, Iellon blinked, feeling a strange sting in his eyes, though he wasn’t crying.

“And hyung loves Carr more than anyone else in the world. That’s why Houston died.”

“…”

“Hyung is too weak to live without Carr…”

The young hero simply looked up at his brother. He didn’t frown, tilt his head in confusion, or pout his lips, saying it was a lie.

“Then, is love a bad thing?”

Iellon shifted his gaze from Carpe to the grass, lying flat on the lawn. As he pulled at the grass entwined in his fingers, roots soaked with soil came out.

“Love isn’t bad… hyung is bad.”

The seemingly messy roots are essential for the grass. The visible blades are just so pretty that they seem less important.

“Why is hyung bad?”

Carpe, genuinely curious, crawled on his knees and took the grass from Iellon’s hand. He gently placed it back in the hole in the ground, patting it carefully.

You are a single flower blooming alone in the barren desert, the only star shining in the dark night sky. Was loving you such a great sin? Was it a sin so great that it required someone’s life in return?

“In this place, you’re supposed to love yourself the most, but hyung is too weak and loves Carr more.”

He knew it was just a complaint. Though he had already chosen his path, the fact that someone died because of him lingered in his heart, and he felt sad but unworthy of crying. He hated himself for acting pitiful now, having been born a villain.

Carpe, having patted the grass with little chance of survival a few more times, suddenly stood up. Even though he was small, lying down made him look up for a long time.

The sunlight pouring down from above Carpe made it impossible to see anything. It was so bright that Carpe, standing in the shadow, spoke in a very determined voice.

“Then I’ll become a strong person.”

“What?”

“I’ll become very, very strong and protect weak people. I’ll protect hyung too. I’ll make sure no one gets hurt no matter who they love. So don’t cry. Okay?”

Carpe, once again snuggling into his arms, stroked Iellon’s cheek and looked at him.

The child’s warmth was hot, his breath ticklish, and he always shone so brightly.

“Hyung’s not crying.”

“You’re crying.”

“Hyung’s not a crybaby like Carr.”

“Carr’s not a crybaby either.”

“You cry at the drop of a hat.”

“When I’m sad, tears come out. What can I do?”

He’s only five, but it’s strangely hard to win an argument with him.

‘Is it because he always says the right things?’

Judging by the position of the sun, history class had already started. The tutor was very strict, and he didn’t want to give him any reason to nag, but if he had missed this moment for just one class, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

As he hugged the small body, a sweet scent wafted over. It was no wonder butterflies were drawn to him. He feared even bees might come. The flower blooming in the desert would one day grow into a great tree, providing shade for many. Realizing this, Iellon slowly closed his eyes.

“Hyung, are you asleep?”

But for now, it’s still just a small flower, so until it grows, it’s hyung’s job to shield it from the sandstorms.

“Sleep well. Have sweet dreams.”

Right?

As always, a free breeze blew from somewhere. It felt like the world nodded in response to Iellon’s question.