Author: aji (あじ)
Translator: sleepingjay
Warnings: flashback, (not graphic) torture, implied sexual abuse
At the appalling scene unfolding right before my eyes, I simply stood there, frozen and at a loss for words.
My fingertips, which had gone cold, were twitching.
I knew this.
This scene. I knew it better than anyone.
“—You worthless fool!”
“Aaagh!”
“Listen well. This is your punishment, to get rid of that disgusting monster inside you.”
“Gggh……. Please, stop, Brother.”
A terrible amount of blood gushed down from the torn skin. A pool of blood had formed at the boy’s feet, turned rust red and black.
The boy’s arms were chained high above his head, and each time he was hit by the whip, he cried out and his stick-thin body shook.
Even so, nobody would save him. His eyes, which had lost their light, told of this tragedy.
Everyone knew.
There was nobody who didn’t know what was taking place in this room, a room so chilling it stung the skin.
“…..For, give me….. Brother……”
The boy’s body was so white and bloodless that it was a wonder he was still alive.
He could have died, here, in this dismal stone basement. But he didn’t die, because in that tiny body resided an enormous amount of magic power.
The young man who was called ‘Brother’ by the boy took pleasure in tormenting his own younger brother. The proof was straining against his pants, boiling with despicable lust.
“Is that so, then you have recognised your mistake?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“……ut.”
“Tbe kjca ab yf obgulnfc klatbea gfmbuclrlcu sbeg ojeia? Lbk vjgf sbe qeii remt cbcrfcrf.”
“Ctt—”
Ccbatfg atgff rklcur bo atf atbgcs ktlq, jcv atf ybs ibra tlr nblmf, tlr fsfr yeiulcu. C rlcuif ilcf bo afjg agjlifv vbkc ogbw tlr uijrrs fsf.
Llr rlifca rmgfjw, bo mbegrf, vlvc’a gfjmt jcsbcf.
“So, sorry……. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, forgive me, please, I’m sorry,”
What was the boy thinking at this time?
Perhaps I was the only one that understood.
With a snap, it had broken. It had shattered unceremoniously and disappeared into the void, but the boy was so exhausted he couldn’t even spare a thought for what he had lost.
“Hmph. You dwarfish monster. Is this how you played your way into the king’s good graces? I suppose I’ll have to exorcise you myself after all.”
“…….”
Like a proud “protagonist” on stage.
Having thrown away the whip, the young man declared proudly. Then he released the young boy from the chains. When the boy sank to the ground, he seized his head, and said with an extremely unsightly face.
“Understood?”
Enduring pain so terrible even the cold didn’t reach him, the young boy reached out towards the man’s crotch—
“…….”
In this world, there were many, many sad sufferings we couldn’t do anything about.
Too many of us have encountered such misfortunes, such that counting our numbers had become useless.
However, the pain and the resentment planted in me couldn’t be swept away with words like that.
Yes, I could never forget.
The humiliation received, the despair inflicted on me, I could never forget nor leave it behind.
“It’s been a while.”
“……”
A boy stood next to me, who was standing in a daze.
The boy, wearing a mask to hide his eyes, had a chain dangling from his neck, and his arms and legs were wrapped up in bandages.
“I thought you’d forgotten all about me, Lilius.”
“…….Would it be a sin for me to forget?”
“Hmm, I wonder.”
Tilting his head, the boy took a step forward. When he turned to look back at me, he sang in a childlike manner.
But that voice of his had no temperature, and was only ringing with emptiness.
“You must keep your promise.”
Promise?
“Did you forget everything? Even the things you must not forget, have you forgotten it?”
The boy exhaled a breath pityingly.
“It’s no good to forget, Lilius. It takes hate to keep you alive.”
Then, the boy seemed to regain his composure, and said to me whilst taking on a teaching demeanour.
I couldn’t get any words out.
As if there was a gaping hole right in my body, I didn’t want to think about anything. I couldn’t muster the strength.
Like sand slipping through my fingers, the endlessly repeating gruesome scenes of the past scattered and disappeared in the wind. I watched it all in silence.
“Right, it’s time to go, isn’t it? Bye-bye, Lilius. I hope we meet again.”
It was only at this moment, when he waved his hand slightly, the boy seemed to have gained a hue.
Aa, we would see each other again.
Because, you and I—
*
“—Silly Lilius. There’s no point loving someone in this transient world. In the end, all we will taste is despair.”
*
The moment my consciousness emerged.
From the far distance, the boy, alone, said in a voice that seemed about to break.
oh my god. poor lilius, his own brother was a monster :((
please, it is okay to move on! It is okay to love and be loved.
thanks for the chapter <3
His own brother did that…?! Calling him a monster is an undestatement. But Lilius’s own past self might be an even worse enemy to his current hapiness. I hope Jill will help him go through this and that Lilus won’t try to distance himself again.
Thank you for the chapter!!
Lilius deserves to be loved, I hope that the little boy find his peace and don’t appear ever again. 🙁