Hmm…
…
After what Alith said, I thought for a while what my next step should be.
I expected him to be emotional. The mont I realized what he was trying to do, I guessed that he wouldn’t want to give up easily, that he would think in a one-sided way when he had finally made the decision he hadn’t been able to make until now.
I just... didn’t expect him to hate himself so much.
Because not all transford wieras are like that. The majority of them, even if they have such thoughts in the early stages of their existence, accept it relatively quickly. There are even so who don’t care at all, depending on their personality.
Alith, on the other hand... couldn’t accept his situation. He couldn’t run away from Saligia because he needed them. He couldn’t tell his family the truth because he was scared. Maybe he thought of leaving them both and just disappearing, but... he couldn’t.
How should I approach soone like that?
Should I deal with his fears and anxieties harshly as I had planned beforehand?
Or should I think of sothing else...?
I’m not sure.
...
I found myself, and also Alith, wrapped in silence while I was thinking.
...
After a while, though...
Okay.
I think I’ll just do what I do when I’m in situations like this, when I’m not sure what to do.
"You think you deserve to die, but you don’t want to die."
I’ll just...
"You want to stop deceiving your family, but you don’t want to leave them."
Go with my instincts.
"You want to be free from Saligia, you don’t want to work for them, but you need them."
I will say the first things that co to mind.
"You believe you are not Alith, but you are everything he is... and more. Since you have no other identity, no other personality, you have no choice but to be him. You are his clone."
It’s such a bundle of contradictions...
"And... I’m giving you a possible scenario in which you can work your way through each and every one of them."
He didn’t look up, he kept standing still, as if he couldn’t hear .
But... he was.
Otherwise, his trembling wouldn’t have suddenly stopped and he wouldn’t have focused on what I was saying.
"You are a selfish person. It’s obvious that despite what you believe in and what you want, you do the opposite."
Just like the ’’ I was when I first ca into this world.
"Just... let it go."
And... ah.
The way I still am...
"Don’t be limited by the choices that are forced upon you, do what you want within you. Make your own choices. You’ve not experienced anything you’ve ever been through because you wanted them to happen. You have always... been crushed under orders, rules, responsibilities, and emotions. But... don’t you think it’s worth a try, when the ’end’ is already so close?"
And, finally, he moved. He raised his head slowly, turning his unfocused eyes on .
"You’re already here, chained. Don’t you want to... try? If you succeed, you won’t die. Your problems will be solved, you’ll be free of Saligia. And if you fail... nothing will change. Do you really want to give up, even in a situation like this?"
I ca especially close to him, using the tip of my cane to force his head up and make him look at more upright.
"Are you really willing to accept all of this... even though you don’t deserve any of it? After all these years of keeping everything to yourself, hiding, deceiving, being stripped of your freedom, and having no choice but to simply ’follow orders’... are you sure you want to push aside the chance to finally be free of it all, free of your chains?"
I looked into his eyes, not missing a single mont.
"One word is enough. And I will do everything I can to get you out of here."
And... he looked at , the sa way.
"One word, one word that expresses your true desires."
Okay, yes, fine...
Anything is enough, as long as he ans it.
I didn’t say anything else after that, I didn’t need to. I just... needed an answer right now.
And so, the silence enveloped us harder than ever.
…
…
…
The prince was silent even as the seconds ca together to form a minute.
But, then, he broke that silence not with his words but with his actions.
He tried to avert his eyes for a mont, but then hesitated and did not.
He opened his mouth, his face contorted, but he did not speak.
He waited a little longer.
His eyes began to twitch, his expression wrinkled. His heart beca unstable, I could feel it even from here, his breathing even beca labored.
Yet, in spite of all these complex emotions and thoughts, he was able to pull himself together a little bit.
The first word out of his mouth was...
"I- I want..."
It was exactly what I expected to hear.
"I-I want to... I want to live. I... I don’t want... to be a pup-"
He stopped himself, gritting his teeth as if he didn’t like what was coming out of his own mouth.
"Slave. I just... just..."
He smiled, even if he had to force it. It was such a... tiny smile that it looked strange. And yet, it was a smile as heavy as it was tiny.
"I want to keep being with my f- family... I want to be ’Alith’..."
I slowly withdrew my cane, but his head did not fall back down.
Just as I wanted an answer from him... he expected sothing from .
"All right."
I turned away, I didn’t look at him anymore, I didn’t need to.
"You’ll just have to... wait a bit. Is there a problem?"
...
When I didn’t get any answer, even for a short while, I was just beginning to think that he had fallen silent again when...
"No."
A confident voice echoed behind .
"No... problem."
And so, I replied with the sa confidence.
"Good."
Then, I stepped out of the silence spell and turned to the guards before leaving Alith’s cell.
"My work is done. I request another eting with the king, I will report back."
*******
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Normally, I could have requested an audience with the king and received approval a few hours later.
Actually... I shouldn’t even have been able to request a direct audience with the king, considering the laws here.
But there was soone above the law, and that soone was the very person I had requested an audience with. So, this ti, I didn’t even wait. The guards took directly to the place where I was to speak to King Faelan as if they had been ordered to do so beforehand.
It was the sa room as before. Even the location was exactly the sa. King Faelan... either hadn’t moved at all or had rushed here as soon as he knew I had finished talking to Alith.
Whichever the answer was... the result was that he was in front of now.
He was looking at with calm but... curious eyes.
"What did you learn from him?"
But I... didn’t satisfy his curiosity.
"..."
"?"
I kept silent.
"Won’t you speak?"
And I kept doing so.
"Hey..."
Finally, his brow furrowed and tiny wrinkles appeared on his smooth face. Still, I kept doing what I was doing.
"It’s not funny, whatever your point is or whatever you think."
I was looking for... an opening.
Hence my silence.
But he never showed what I was looking for.
He hid it really well.
"Answer, or it won’t be pleasant."
And he was going to keep hiding it, apparently.
There was no need to be silent any longer.
"You already know."
I leaned back after what I had said, not caring that he was a king.
And he... paused, even though the person in front of him was a re count of Cevilian.
It was not a cowardly step back, of course. In fact... his expression was even more serious than before, but just as puzzled.
"I know what?"
He kept pretending.
At least...
"Everything I’m going to tell you here."
He would go on until I told him I knew the truth.
And that’s exactly what happened.
He narrowed his eyes, his expression turned cold.
I didn’t mind too much.
"After all... you listened to the entire conversation, even though I specifically asked for a one-on-one with the prince."
His expression didn’t change a bit.
"Every single detail. You know everything, right down to the expressions and reactions we made as we spoke. Do I need to... tell you what happened?"
And how do I know he did that?
"You..."
No, unlike most of the ti, I don’t have a logical explanation for it this ti.
I just... know.
Instinct.
Just one that I’m absolutely sure is right.
"You’re really smart."
And that’s what confird my prediction.
"I wouldn’t say I’m smart, I’ve done a lot of stupid things."
King Faelan... had a bit of a strange reaction to my comnt. He seed surprised, yet he didn’t dwell on this specific comnt at all.
I continued.
"What do you think?"
Not caring about the formality or anything.
"About what you heard."
Which he didn’t care about either. He gave a brief glance, but he didn’t press. Instead, he took a deep, really deep breath in and out. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
"I am... not sure."
He was confused, apparently.
Quite normal, given the situation we were in.
But... at least he was thinking. He hadn’t shut down his logic, crushed by his anger and sadness and the bitter truth he had learned, and he hadn’t ignored the whole conversation between Alith and .
He could look at Alith... as a ’person’.
"At least you realize that he... is innocent, right?"
But, nevertheless, he chose not to answer this question.
"He is not the one who killed your son. He’s soone... forced into his body, soone almost... pathetic, with no identity other than his mories."
He remained silent.
"You, and I an not only you but the Aroniel Family with this, may not see him as your son, you may find it difficult. But he... sees you as his family. You’re the only thing that has allowed him to escape everything he’s been through for twelve years. And he fights for you. He is ready to die and throw away the life he was happy with, just for you."
But then, as if uneasy, his left hand moved slightly.
It was as if my words were sinking in, making it even more difficult for him to make a decision.
But I had no intention of stopping.
"Are you really sure he deserves it?"
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