Chapter 279

Vorbuk stared at Sebastian in silence for a long time. The tension was heavy between them as they both were struggling with different forms of regret, guilt, and at the same time a sense of relief. He could not stop himself from feeling relieved at the sight of a familiar face. Even if that face was the one of someone who had once made him feel abandoned.

"... Why are you here, Sebastian?" Vorbuk questioned him while acting as if he had not heard a word that was said. Was he ignoring the apology? Perhaps.

"I thought I would find you here so I came to the palace." Sebastian seemed to not even think about his answer before giving it. The answer was a simple way to refrain from telling him too much. There were many things that Sebastian was hiding from Vorbuk. He had to be cautious in how he answered him.

Prince Leo was not sure what was the problem between the two of them, there was only thing he could not stop himself from asking, "Are you a royal from Cadirade? Why do you look like the royal family..."

Sebastian's expression seemed to freeze, his eyes filling with a sense of longing over being asked about his connection to the Cadirade Royals, "I once was... A long time ago."

"A long time ago? You-" Prince Leo was cut off from talking.

Sebastian smiled politely as he added on, "I am much older then I look."

He was not lying to the prince about being older then him. Indeed his age was much more then any one of them could fathom. There was no need for him to tell them exactly how far his age extended.

It was known that as ones level rose in the mortal realm their lifespan could extend along with it. That was the reason very few people lacked in learning at least the basics of controlling their mana. The better one got at controlling their mana he could gain a chance at living a longer life. What mortal could not become tempted by lengthening their lifespan?

Not all mortals succeeded in getting far because most needed time and practice. This was due to mortals not realizing at a young age how much they would desire to do so. Magic was common in this world so from childhood it was common for children to lack interest in mana control. It was not until the child grew up that they would regret not practicing more in their own childhood.

Prince Leo still felt strangely about Sebastian even if he could accept the idea of the man being older, "... I have not heard of anyone from the royal family like-"

"Invalid. I left the family long ago. You would not have heard of me because the family does not exactly condone leaving the royal life." Sebastian quickly tried to stop the prince's questions.

Vorbuk flinched at the sound of that familiar word. A part of him felt strange hearing it come from Sebastian's mouth. Choosing to ignore that feeling he knew there were other things he needed to discuss with the man. The sound of the two of them bickering was not helping his stress.

"The family would still have-!" Prince Leo was getting annoyed.

Vorbuk jumped in to put and end to their argument, the look in his eyes growing more serious as he asked again, "I was not asking how you got to the palace, Sebastian. You know what I wanted to ask you."

"... Are you sure you want me to answer that here?" Sebastian was not trying to be rude by asking him this question. It was a serious topic that only the two of them understood the meaning of. He was offering Vorbuk a chance to discuss it more privately. A chance to avoid telling the prince about where he really came from.

I should send them both out before asking him. Vorbuk thought after hearing those words. Those words made that thought come so naturally that he almost did not realize it himself at first. After realizing it he put more thought behind his answer.

No, should I tell the prince? It was not a small matter about himself. The more he thought about it the more he found it hard to find the right answer. If anyone the one person he would want to find out the truth about himself would have to be...

"Aoki, get out." Vorbuk ordered.

Unlike Ashley who would have struggled with being told to leave, Aoki quietly stepped out of the room without much fuss. He was not as desperate to follow his master around. There were times when Vorbuk even found himself pondering over how loyal Aoki truly was. The vampire was not originally bound to him because he wanted it. But his discretion made giving him orders easier then Ashley at times.

"Why did you send him out?" Prince Leo was able to catch on quickly that something was going on with Vorbuk. It was impossible for him to not see how sluggish his mood had become since entering the room.

"There is something we need to talk about, Leo." Vorbuk said earnestly.

There was no reason to hide everything from the prince. The prince had already come to consider the beast as family to him. At times he had even noticed the wolf acting strangely and felt that something was off about the beast. The longer he struggled with this decision the more it would only come to drive a wedge in their friendship.

Friend? Just when did I start to consider him as such a thing? Vorbuk was not sure when he started to feel close with the prince.

In his old life the closest thing he had to a friend was the man who taught him that there was more to life then the darkness, Sebastian. He had never thought of Sebastian as a friend however because he was more like a teacher or possibly even a brother. The only person he had met who could bring him to consider them a friend had always been the prince.

"Your choosing to tell him?" Sebastian's quiet mumbles to himself could be heard by Vorbuk. It was obvious that his choice to tell the prince had stunned Sebastian slightly. He seemed to not have expected him to choose to tell the prince the truth about himself being from another world.

"Tell me what?" Prince Leo did not like the way the man was acting in front of him. There was something about him that made him feel frustrated just looking at him. The more stunned the man looked the more annoyed the prince seemed to feel.

Vorbuk hesitated before walking towards the prince as he spoke, the prince seeming to take a step back as he neared, "I know Sebastian because we are from the same place."

"Alright?" Prince Leo was confused by that statement. Vorbuk was a beast so naturally he would have been expected to grow up from within the bounds of the mountains outside Cadirade where he was found. If Vorbuk came from where Sebastian had then it would only make the prince consider the possibility that the beast had been raised in captivity somewhere.

Vorbuk new the talk he had to have with the prince would be long. It was not only long but took hours. The more he talked about his past life the more confused the prince was at first. When things began to sink in the sun was already going down.

Half the day had been spent with the three of them alone in that room. Afternoon had come and the result at the end of the conversation was a prince who's expression seemed to be one of someone struggling with everything he had been told. There had not been a single word said from the prince as he stood up and left the room.

Vorbuk felt his heart thud hard within his chest as the prince left the room in silence.

Perhaps he needed time to process everything we had told him? Vorbuk tried to understand what the prince was thinking when he left.