Brother

Yuuka walked along with his soldier after sneaking out to the other side of the castle. He wanted to talk with Captain Rargo Quince. Rargo had suffered way a lot in recent moments.

He walked in the night, and he entered Rargo's camp.

As he lifted the curtain, he saw a man sitting on his chair. Yuuka couldn't see his face with his head on the table, but he saw that he was suffering great pain.

"Hello there, Captain Quince."

As Yuuka called him out, Quince raised his face from the table, his hair was messy, and his eyes were red. He either hadn't slept since the last night, or it was due to tears that he shed.

"Commander!!"

Seeing Yuuka had his smile, all of the stress was gone in a hint of a moment. The relief on his face was clearly visible in his happiness.

"..."

Yuuka's reaction was a dissatisfied look to Quince, who instantly recognized his mistake and stood up and gave Yuuka, a salute.

"I'm sorry, Sir. It won't happen again."

Seeing the Apology, Yuuka lowered his demeanour and talked to Quince calmly and appreciatively.

"I accept your apology, Please take a seat. I need to talk to you about a lot of things."

"Yes, Sir."

Rargo seemed quite relaxed and immediately gave Yuuka a chair to sit on and took a seat on the other.

"First, I would like to highly appraise your respecting command, the fact you controlled all the army and followed the orders even after such an attack. I am truly impressed."

Rargo smiled and nodded as he began asking questions himself.

"How did you all survive, the attack seemed to be quite deadly. How else survived? Are other captains ok?"

"Both Levi and Vincent are Fine. Yes, the attack was quite deadly, and the voice sold us out there but it seems we have come to a truce for the time being."

"A Truce?"

"It is a deal without any words or actual points, they will protect me from any danger for their purpose they didn't tell me, but it seems anyone around me is not safe."

"How are making sure about securing you? and threatening us at the same time?"

"A gun. A gun from a foreign land has excellent range and unbelievable precision. They have the power to shoot anybody in a radius of 2km. They have total control over our lives if we are anywhere near the castle."

"It is really bad for them, do you have any countermeasures in place?"

"No, unfortunately, is out of my power to protect anyone but, they are trapped in the castle. So, they need you to distract the castle defences enough that they could break out without any problem."

"..."

"I know, it seems troubling for us but don't worry. Also, the attack and planning of the army here will be done by the three of you, now."

"What?"

"Yes, I have received information about how the queen is hiding in some other location, I will receive the army at the port and send a portion of them to you and the rest will look for the queen."

"But there is a lot of risk in doing that, there are a lot of things the three of us aren't prepared to handle."

Rargo made typical arguments that Yuuka tested on Vicent and Levi. Still, Yuuka knew he had to trust his captains and entrust them with duties.

"I have already tested you the last night, you did your best at doing everything and successfully made the attack, we can be in this position because of our capacities."

"...."

Rargo was startled by all the words of praise by Yuuka, it was almost as if he was trying to throw him off of something.

"I think I should be taking my leave now, I wish the three of you can earn success."

"Sir, please Stay the night. The mosquitoes and bugs at night are quite deadly in the nearby area. It will be better to leave early morning than now."

Yuuka looked down and gave it a thought,

"I understand. Also, I wanted to hand you this."

Yuuka held something in his right hand which he handed to Rargo.

"What is this?!"

It was a bright badge present on the soldier of Asphodel's army uniform. Rargo first was confused, but then it hit him like a truck.

Seeing Yuuka's remorseful eyes could only mean one thing,

"I am sorry. Your brother died in the assault the last night. We could not find his body, so this is the only thing. I can give you."

"..."

Rargo was at a loss for the words, the earth below his feet just sank. He was feeling empty, the world around him got dark and bland, and emotion rushed through his mind.

Memories came the happy times with his brother came to him, but there was he could do to save him, it was already over for him. His expression folded and constantly moved his face and lips.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss. I am shamed I could not do anything-"

"-Please Sir, do not say words like these."

Yuuka was surprised by Rargo's response.

"I know what I and my brother are fighting for, The moment we left Asphodel behind we threw our lives. He died for his country and people."

"....and so will I."

With tears going thought his face and his voice becoming weak, Rargo kept on speaking

"We are soldiers of Asphodel, the house of burning flames and death. We are ready to die because we know and understand the value of our sacrifices. He lost his life and I will not let it go to waste and I believe nor will you."

Yuuka could see nothing but unwavering discipline, the words spoken from the bottom of his heart even in remorse and sadness. His tears were worth more than a piece of jewellery or any treasure in the world.

"I won't."

Yuuka smiled and nodded to Quince's request. As he left Rargo's camp and moved a distance away, he could hear a scream of pain and sadness from the camp.

"Does time heal all wounds or do we just learn to accept pain? I wonder what is the answer to this."

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