Chapter 30: I’ve Shown Everything There Is To Show (4)
Keter placed Ultima down on the pile of straw in the hay storage of the stable and said, “You can open your eyes now. There’s no stable keeper at this hour, and the soldiers don’t come near here after lunch because of the manure smell.”
Ultima was alive. There was a clear handprint on his neck that looked like he had been strangled, and he had been slammed into the ground so hard that it shook. The sound was loud enough for his ribs to break and his organs to twist, but...
Crackle...
Suddenly, Ultima sprang up. He raised his upper body, leaned against the pile of straw, and wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve.
The loud sound was a trick. Ultima’s body hadn’t actually hit the ground; Keter had slammed his fist into the ground instead. It only appeared that way to those watching from afar. Ultima was alive, but he wasn’t relieved. Keter, who had deceived the eyes and ears of everyone, was now blocking his path.
“Meticulous bastard. Even in that situation, you were thinking about fooling the onlookers.”
Ultima and Keter had known each other since childhood. It was more of an ill-fated destiny rather than a coincidence. They were both abandoned orphans, so they often crossed paths because they had similar places to stay and similar things they could do. Because of that, Ultima was constantly compared to Keter, who always came in first at everything, no matter what.
Of course, Ultima wasn’t a fool. He tried multiple times to kill Keter—as that was how things were done in Liqueur— but each time he ended up beaten and robbed of everything he had.
“You always acted reckless, but you always had a plan. And I was always the victim.”
“I didn’t bring you all the way here to reminisce about the past.”
“Ugh, right. So, you’re saying you can protect me—or rather, my company? The Sefira family can?”