You Said You Wanted Us to Break Up - Chapter 57

Demian looked out the window of the carriage.

Now that they had clearly entered the North, the types of trees passing by outside had changed.

He blinked with the eye that remained on the right side.

The reduced field of vision felt awkward. Having lived his entire life with both eyes, it took time to adapt, and above all, he felt quite uncomfortable due to the lack of balance.

On the way to the North, he hadn’t even held the reins once; he had to be cooped up in the carriage.

Still, he thought, it was better to have a world with half his vision and his father dead than a world with his father alive and complete of his sight.

Since he lacked the cold temperament to hide his feelings like Iswen, it had been a torment for Demian while Capren was alive.

Capren, who did not trust people, tried to control everything around him by any means necessary.

Among those who he struggled to put a leash on were his two sons.

He even scraped together nearly extinct magic from the continent to control his sons.

Demian had to give up one eye, and Iswen one leg, and only after killing their father could they escape from that magic.

The death of their father had similarly restored freedom to Iella.

Iella. Demian recalled his younger sister, whom he hadn’t seen for over three years.

The Iella in his memories rarely smiled at him. She would either avert her gaze, lower her head, or, if neither was possible, she would cast her eyes down with a gloomy expression.

To see a smiling face of the child, he had to go back further into the past.

“Demi.”

Until the time she called his name with a clumsy pronunciation due to her missing front teeth.

Iella had no recollection of such memories. Demian knew this, but whenever he tried to recall memories with his sister, he inevitably had to go back to times only he remembered.

After that, he had avoided Capren’s gaze, hardly managing to exchange a single word.

“…Still, I wish you would come back with me.”

The words escaped his lips before he even realized it.

When Iella returned to the South, Demian planned to give her everything she should have enjoyed.

He would provide her with a peaceful life where no one spoke ill of her and where no one hated her.

Iswen would fully support his plan.

If there was any guilt toward Iella, it would be more than significant; it certainly wouldn’t be small.

“I will marry Iella off to the new Raslet.”

That decision was made by none other than Iswen.

Though he was not a man of many words, Demian knew that he always felt sorry for his younger sister.

He didn’t know Iella’s true feelings, however.

Due to their complete lack of honest conversations, Demian couldn’t predict what decision his sister would make.

“Surely Raslet wouldn’t deceive her, would he?”

Such anxieties crossed his mind.

Iella had lived confined to the house and didn’t know much about the world. So if a man set his mind to it and played tricks, it would be harder for her to resist.

“See, I told you I should have gotten her a tutor.”

Demian grumbled unnecessarily about his absent brother. After all, it was Iswen who had hindered Iella’s education, so his resentment was justified.

In a situation that was already like spilled water, it was also a pointless complaint.

Demian turned his gaze back outside the carriage. The scenery passing by was distinctly different from the South.

In any case, there was only one thing he wished for.

For his sister to return with him.

The carriage bearing Rowen’s seal passed through the castle gate before long.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

I stood inside the castle gate, watching the carriage approach. Sioden stood beside me.

My body trembled at the thought that Demian would soon appear before me. As I shrank back slightly, Sioden took my hand. His extremely high body temperature tightened around my hand without causing pain.

I recalled what Sioden had said the day he promised to protect me from anything if I wanted.

“I understand that you need time to think. I can wait as long as you want, so please feel free to respond.”

However, since that day, it seemed Sioden had realized that he didn’t need to wait for my answer.

If I had to choose between Demian and him, I would undoubtedly choose Sioden. Even if it meant carrying all the complicated emotions between us rather than returning to the South, I would stay in the North.

The soft yet definite closeness between us proved that fact.

I couldn’t blame his intuition. It was all true.

Soon, the carriage came to a stop.

Demian, who got out of the stopped carriage, was wearing an eye patch over one of his eyes.

Demian enjoyed physical activities, so he sometimes ended up getting injured like that. Of course, engaging in such rough sports was considered quite unusual in the South, but who would treat Demian that way?

He had a temper that could make him shout even in the palace if he got upset.

Thinking of that remarkable temperament sent a chill down my spine. I flinched involuntarily, and Sioden tightened his grip on my hand a little.

Demian and Sioden didn’t even exchange formal greetings. It was the first time Sioden had been so rude, but it was common for Demian to act as if he had never learned proper etiquette.

As Demian strode toward us, he called my name.

“Iella.”

His golden eye, which could only see out of one side, brushed past my face and shoulder, then fell to the hand I was holding with Sioden. He glared at my hand, and Demian furrowed his brow. He was indeed an unpredictable character.

Forcing a smile before causing a scene in front of so many eyes, I said,

“Hello, Brother. It’s been a while.”

* * *

I led Demian to the reception room of the main building.

The reception room was already prepared for guests.

As soon as Demian entered the room, he looked at Sioden and said,

“I’d like to speak with my sister alone.”

Sioden regarded him with a cold expression.

“Unfortunately, that’s not a request I’m inclined to grant.”

His voice showed no hint of regret.

The Sioden I knew usually tried to suppress his emotions even when he was furious, so it was surprising to see him speak in a way that seemed solely intended to provoke someone.

Demian glared at Sioden as if he could kill him. It felt dizzying to witness such behavior that was typical in the South carried out here.

Before Demian could do anything, he said to Sioden,

“I want to be alone with my sister for a moment.”

Sioden’s profile twitched as he coldly stared at Demian. It seemed he wasn’t pleased with that request.

However, when he turned to look at me, his face had already softened.

“If anything happens, send someone immediately.”

“I will be waiting,” he whispered softly, briefly squeezing my hand before letting go.

Once Sioden left, Demian was left with only the attendant.

In the room where we were truly ‘alone,’ silence began to settle slowly.

Demian, who had organized his surroundings as if he had something to say, fell silent and started to scrutinize my face now that it was just the two of us.

I didn’t want to be the one to speak first to Demian if I could avoid it, but enduring the silence was too difficult. Eventually, I forced my reluctant mouth to move.

“Have you been well? What happened to your eye…?”

Demian didn’t let me finish.

“It’s nothing.”

He waved his hand dismissively and asked,

“Have you been okay?”

“Yes.”

It was a typical response one would expect in a casual greeting, but Demian frowned as if he were dissatisfied with my answer.

He grumbled,

“I’ve heard how Raslet treated you, and ‘yes’ is all you can say…?”

Demian, who seemed to be complaining about something everyone already knew, suddenly said,

“Let’s go back to the South together.”

I had expected this.

His words revealed the very purpose of his visit to the North, and I felt a lump in my throat. To keep my emotions from showing, I bit the inside of my cheek.

Demian continued to explain.

“Father and the Crown Prince are dead. The Crown Princess has ascended the throne, and my brother has become a duke.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking somewhat troubled.

“It means there’s no one to bother you if you return to the South.”

Demian’s face turned slightly red. He glanced around awkwardly as if embarrassed.

Soon, a voice filled with a mix of excitement and tension fell over me.

“Now, let’s live together.”

It was one of the most horrifying things I had ever heard in my life.