SYMDF 28

Chapter 28

 

“Don’t lay a hand on Ion.”

“…Hand? Did a filthy bastard just tell me that?”

Vernian’s face reddened with rage. His clenched fist trembled as though he might strike Camillus at any moment. But then the Crown Prince recalled his father’s words:

“If you remain so pathetic, how can I possibly entrust this Empire to you? Use your head—drive him North.”

Grinding his teeth, Vernian forced his temper down.

Before him, Camillus coolly clasped Ion’s hand and pulled him gently upright.

“Let’s go back, Ion. I’ll take you home.”

Ion hesitated. Can he really do this? If Camillus leaves here with me, what will happen next? But with Camillus’s steady pull, he yielded. He had already decided staying here was too dangerous.

“Then, excuse us—”

“You’re not leaving!”

Vernian lunged like a predator, seizing Ion’s opposite arm. The smaller boy’s body twisted helplessly between the two. Camillus’s voice sharpened into steel.

“Remove your hand, Vernian. Or I’ll take your arm off.”

But Vernian stared back without flinching.

“Do you even grasp the situation? This is the Crown Prince’s palace. The instant you set foot here, you crossed the line. Do you want exile to the North? Or another cage in that cursed tower?”

Vernian’s shout rang at such volume it rattled Ion’s head. He winced, unable to even cover his ears, both arms wrenched in opposite directions.

And when Vernian gestured toward the magic circle still faintly gleaming underfoot, Ion’s head spun with sudden, throbbing pain. The tower. Just the thought made his temples pound, as if some sealed memory pressed to the surface—yet the system said nothing, no lock undone.

Vernian abruptly yanked Ion’s arm higher, hard enough to bruise the white flesh beneath his sleeve.

“What? Do you think your precious savior will rescue you again?”

Ion cried out, pain breaking from his throat. Camillus’s jaw tightened; he growled through clenched teeth.

“I told you—let him go.”

“And look. Your savior looks weak now, hm? Cursed into frailty. Isn’t that right, Ion?”

Vernian’s smile glittered false. To others it might look gracious, but Ion saw the darkness lurking in his pupils. His fingers crushed tighter, threatening to snap his bones if he dared stay silent.

“Release me, Your Highness. Y-you’re hurting me…”

At Ion’s strained voice, Camillus’s restraint broke. He tore Vernian’s hand away and pulled Ion behind him, shielding him fully with his back. His blue eyes bore down on his younger half-brother.

“I’m going North nowhere. I’m not going back to that tower either.”

And then, icy-voiced, he stepped close enough that only Vernian could hear:

“But if you keep stalking Ion… I’ll show you exactly how terrifying the ‘monster’s power’ is. Here. Even now.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes flared wide. His chest thundered as the threat pressed down—his brother, born a “mutation,” whose strength had always been whispered about but never seen. In this moment, there was no mistaking it. The menace was real.

Still, Vernian forced a sneer, covering his fear with defiance.

“You dare threaten me? You bastard spawn—”

“Shut. Up.”

Camillus cut him off midword, the force startling Vernian into silence. His hand shot to Vernian’s immaculate cravat, yanking him forward. Lips brushed his ear as he hissed:

“Know your place, Vernian. I won’t endure this anymore.”

“…Know my place? And if you stop enduring—what, you’ll take the throne from me?”

Camillus laughed coldly.

“Think I couldn’t?”

Rage finally burst. Veins stood proud on Vernian’s temple as he snarled.

“You filthy—!”

But his kick missed only air. His fist was caught midway, halted as if swatting a child. Camillus shoved him back effortlessly, sending him sprawling ingloriously across the floor.

Shaken, Vernian stared upward in disbelief. Strength? Actual strength? He had always believed his body superior. But this proved otherwise.

And in front of his own knights, his own attendants—his lie stripped bare—it was humiliation searing him inside out.

“You—what are you…?”

His words stumbled. The shock was too deep.

Camillus, however, looked down with detached cruelty.

“Don’t you see? You’ve never even been my equal. Not in power, not even in wit.”

The words struck like whips. Vernian’s face burned red. His eyes clung beyond Camillus’s frame—to Ion.

To Ion’s slight shoulders, steadied by Camillus’s grip. To Ion leaning against him naturally. Flame licked in Vernian’s chest.

Ion.

The sunlight caught and shimmered on his pale hair. Vernian’s pulse pounded with want.

“Seize Ion Craiger!”

Ion froze as his name rang like a decree. His head snapped to Vernian—and in that instant a knight surged forward, tearing him from Camillus’s side. Swords surrounded him before he could blink.

“Ion!”

Camillus’s composure cracked, his blue eyes wide. He had not anticipated it. Knights encircled the boy as Vernian rose, brushing himself off with vicious satisfaction.

“What are you doing, Your Highness?!” Ion demanded weakly, staring at the insane gleam in Vernian’s smile.

“What am I doing?” He pushed through his knights, leaning close behind Ion to whisper.

“I’m putting you in your place. Don’t you realize? For centuries, your precious House Craiger has been nothing but faithful dogs of our Crown. Even now your oh-so-loyal father gifted His Majesty the wool trade of the West.”

Ion faltered. He hadn’t known. Not with memory missing.

Vernian chuckled darkly at his speechlessness.

“They even call your father the most obedient dog the Empire’s ever had. Pathetic, isn’t it? Maybe that’s why he’s been leashed so easily.”

Vernian’s hands clamped onto Ion’s shoulders.

“So stay still, Ion.”

Revulsion rippled down Ion’s spine. He thrashed instinctively, but Vernian’s grip only tightened.

“Vernian. Take your hands off him.”

Camillus’s voice hardened—but Vernian only smirked, dragging Ion’s body against his chest, one arm possessive, as though mocking his half-brother.

“Quiet. One slip of my hand and what happens if his mana stone shatters?”

Ion gasped as cold fingers slipped beneath his collar.

A tug—

—and the pendant came free, swinging in Vernian’s hand. In the sun’s shine, the gem glowed blue. Camillus’s stone.

And now, Vernian held it.

Footnotes

• “Monster” (괴물): Vernian’s cruel epithet for Camillus. Camillus chooses here to threaten that very power back at him. 
• Exile to the North / The Tower: Vernian wields these punishments as leverage. Both represent imperial rejection and control. 
• House Craiger’s Trade Concession: Wool trade rights sacrificed to Crown; highlights their subservience and what Vernian mocks as “doglike loyalty.” 

Mana Stone Pendant: Camillus’s life-force artifact—prized gift Ion wears. Vernian seizing it reveals both envy and obsession.