Chapter 438: Alban (2)

Edward POV

My eyes fluttered open to the sight of a small, delicate fox nestled against me. It was being gently petted by a boy with wide, curious eyes. Confusion stirred within me as I took in my surroundings. The room felt confined, foreign...well at least I think that it's a bit confined. I couldn't help but contrast it with the grandeur of the chambers I'd grown accustomed to as a prince.

"There you go, you're up," a soft, innocent voice chimed in, breaking through my thoughts. I felt a gentle tap on my cheek as I tried to make sense of this unexpected scenario.

"Where-where am I? Who are you?" My words stumbled out, a jumble of uncertainty and disorientation.

The boy seemed unfazed as if he'd been expecting my confusion.

"My name is Vincent Silver, you may call me Vince." he introduced himself, "This little one is our cute guardian, Buddy Paw."

"Wait, Perseus' brother?!"

"Yeah, that's me." he said with a smile, "Anyway, you're safe now, your wife and kids are in the mess hall, and...ah, almost forgot, please try not to contact anyone, my brother needs people to think you're dead."

"Why?"

"The chaos, the demons will then take advantage of it...a lot of things, anyway, it's beneficial for you as he's targeting the demons."

"So...I'm not dead?"

"You wouldn't even have a chance of having a conversion if he wanted to kill you." he said such a scary statement with such a nonchalant face...as expected of people from the village, "Besides, there's a lot of those recording crystals in the castle...if anything, it would have been cheaper to kill you but blame him for his hesitance."

"Um...where am I?"

"You're at the village's bunker, everyone will accommodate you and spare you as long as you don't attempt to contact anyone, if you need anything, find a person named Rosa, she's here often, anyway, since you're up, I'll head home to our private bunker now, goodbye Edward."

I'm...alive?

*****

Alban POV

"We're finally alone." 

"Right, let me just-" he said while making a feeble attempt to escape

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"How is it going with Leilah?"

He nodded cautiously, clearly unsure of where this conversation was heading.

"She's amazing. I enjoy spending time with her," he replied, trying to keep the tone light.

I remember the early days...there was me...standing in our garden...entranced by the sight of her. She moved gracefully among the flowers, her laughter dancing on the morning breeze. My twin sister, Leilah, possessed an ethereal beauty that enchanted all who crossed her path.

From childhood, I adored her. She was my confidante, my guiding star through the labyrinth of life. Our bond was more than blood, it was that of dreams, and intertwined destinies.

Her infectious laughter was my anthem, her happiness my life's purpose. I found myself weaving intricate plans to shield her from life's harshness, to keep her cocooned in a bubble of safety. I couldn't bear the thought of anything tarnishing her innocence, her purity.

And she then one day...she was gone...only to return...with him...suppressing the surge of protectiveness that threatened to rise within me, I forced a smile, albeit a strained one, as I greeted them both. My sister's joyful expression, her laughter ringing through the room, seemingly oblivious to the uneasiness churning in my gut.

I struggled to mask my conflicting feelings, painting a facade of acceptance while wrestling with the turbulence in my heart. The fear of losing the person who meant the world to me battled against the desire to see her happy, even if it meant sharing her with someone else.

Deep down, I knew change was inevitable. But accepting it, embracing the idea of my sister finding happiness with someone else beyond our intimate world...

Perseus POV

I don't know what's happening, but I attempted to like hypnotize him by staring into Alban's eyes, and it seemed that he was daydreaming because it was easy, I then strained myself a bit to see what he was thinking about...and...this guy has weirder feelings for Leilah than Saber has for Dawn.

How the fuck did he manage to hide it so well? How come none of his siblings know this?

"Wait, what the fuck did you do?!" he demanded, "Why was I in a trance?"

"I was trying to escape?"

"Right, why are you here? Why are you stealing from our greenhouse?"

"I was planning to make an expensive bouquet to gift to your sister, also to plant some and use them for our wedding, we're engaged."

"You're what?"

"We're...engaged?"

"My sister married...a gigolo?"

"Wait, what the fuck?! That's what you gotta say?"

Uh...oh...his eyes are starting to look like Leilah's now, and it's not cuz they're twins...

I didn't like the look in his eyes, so I ran to a spot where there was no spatial disruption to stop me from using teleport to get out of there, he rung the alarm, but no one could catch me with my speed, luckily I poisoned the soil and the grass in the courtyard, just to do something to the important guys who comes to visit the demon lord.

Though, it's overtime damage or whatever. It'll take a while for any of them to notice the symptoms and by then, they should already know the damage needs some really expensive healing to barely reverse.

Then I felt an eerie energy in the air. BAM! A blast of dark energy announced the Demon Lord's arrival, landing with all the flair of a superhero right in front of me. The air crackled with an electric kind of menace as they straightened up, grinning like they owned the place. I mean he did, but...you know what I mean, his smile was quite arrogant.

"Who are you?" he demanded, "And why are you in my castle?"

"You're stopping me personally? Awesome."

"That voice...Perseus?"

"Right, my disguise," I then turn back to normal, "What's up man, long time no see, Alban is like, super pissed though."