Chapter 30: The King’s Guilt
In the corner, the headmaster stood beside King Alexander, speaking in a low, unreadable tone. Something shifted in his eyes as he they talked. The anger from earlier disappeared. First, it had been grief—but even that was gone now.
It was replaced by nothing.
As if the storm inside him had died all at once, leaving behind only silence. Sylas had seen that look countless times—on the faces of mothers, fathers, and siblings of those who had fought and died by his side.
That man wasn’t angry anymore. He wasn’t mourning. He just... didn’t know what to feel.
It was that moment when a parent thinks, ’That could never happen to my son.’
That was a man who had lost a part of his heart.
He hugged the headmaster. Sylas gripped his sword, trying to fight ’this feeling, damn it,’ he thought. ’I didn’t want to. I had no other choice.’ He gritted his teeth.
Even during his time as King Arthur, he had never gotten used to seeing parents lose their children. And he could never bring himself to say, "Your son died in battle, and he is a hero."
He looked at the title card they gave him.
Then he crushed it between his fist.
Ray wasn’t a good person, but guilt still clung to him. His chest tightened the more he thought about it. In the end, he had still taken someone’s son.