The Trial

Third-Person POV:

"Shall we begin?" the chief judge asked, drawing everyone's attention in the room. Her tone was soft, not too loud, but it managed to get everyone to focus on her. The atmosphere was still the same, but not as cold or tense as it was before. Even so, Darien still felt anxious.

He knew his and Eirian's fate was now in Aidan's hands. If it didn't follow the path in his plot idea, they would either be exiled from Serenity or separated.

'Do I need to get his attention? But how? I don't even know what made him help me and Eirian before... What should I do?' Darien thought, his face furrowed in concentration.

His brother saw it and immediately gave him a small pinch like an ant bite on his arm to get his attention.

When Darien let out a small "Ouch" and then gave his brother an annoyed glare, Eirian just shrugged with an innocent face, but his expression seemed to say something like, "You're stressing yourself out again. Do you want to go back to the hospital?"

Darien wanted to argue back, but the chief judge's voice stopped him.

"But, before we begin, I would like to ask you two something. Whose power was that just now? It's better if you are honest, as lying won't bring you any good..." the woman asked in that soft and warm tone. Even though her face looked serious, her voice was as if she didn't want to scare the two unfortunate children.

The writer felt his anxiety lessen; he immediately understood what the chief judge wanted. She wanted Darien to be honest and explain why it happened. She is giving a chance. She was willing to hear his explanation first, and that gave Darien a moment to breathe, even if just for a little.

But his eyes changed from nervous to sad when he remembered what the chief judge had said earlier.

'... But, sometimes lying is better... I know it...,' Darien thought as he quickly put his mask back on. Darien made himself look like a scared and innocent child with his small frame, trembling physical body, which made people feel pity and want to hug him to comfort him.

Of course, Darien wasn't aware of how people were looking at him or what they were thinking, but he was aware of what he was doing.

Honestly, he wished he didn't have to act so weak and pitiful, but right now, he was just a small boy who easily got sick, as fragile as a sakura flower that falls when the wind blows or when it's touched.

But his heart and determination were strong. He wanted to save Eirian, and he was willing to do anything to make sure the two of them stayed together.

The hazelnut-haired boy came out from behind his brother's shadow, standing in front with a brave face, even though he was still anxious, which was clearly visible on his face, because everyone was looking at him now.

His eyes darted for a moment to see if Aidan was looking at them, and yes, he was looking at him with a bored and tired expression, his earlier one, but he also looked a little curious. That gave Darien a little confidence.

Meanwhile, Eirian was looking at his brother with a worried expression. He could feel his heart pounding fast from worry and fear. He was worried that Darien was pushing himself too hard again, and he was afraid of losing him.

He didn't know why, but every time Darien didn't stand behind him, but instead stood in front. it reminded him of the real Darien leaving him behind. He was afraid that Darien would leave him, too.

"... That was actually me. The power that came out just now is mine... I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to... go out of control like that. I'm sorry...", Darien said, sounding very guilty. His voice was small but could be heard throughout the room.

The room became silent; it wasn't the same suffocating silence as before. It was a different kind of silence; he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Darien didn't know why everyone was silent, because as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately avoided staring at their eyes and instead stared at the floor beneath his feet out of nervousness.

He was an introvert, after all. That was one of the reasons he hid his identity as a writer.

Darien was still staring at the floor as if it was more interesting to look at, and yes, his eyes widened a little when he saw some small gems on the floor. 'Seriously... How rich is this kingdom?'

Meanwhile, the chief judge was still silent as if she had been struck by a magic spell that made her speechless. She immediately gave a fake cough because she realized everyone was quiet, which made her feel a little strange about it, and a little cough from her snapped everyone back to reality.

The novel writer itself raised an eyebrow, feeling confused. He then lifted his head again to look at the chief judge, and several people now looked awkward. 'Huh? Did I say something wrong?', he thought, unconsciously tilting his head to the side with a naive look. Which looks so cute to several people.

Kee!

Everyone immediately turned towards the sound, and it turned out to have come from the Queen herself. The beautiful woman quickly looked away with an expression as if she didn't know anything, even though her ears betrayed her because they were bright red.

'... Ah... Is it...,' Darien immediately opened his status window as if to quickly check something before others could see, except for Eirian, the brother who had permission to see Darien's status window.

Eirian raised an eyebrow as to why Darien had opened his status window. He didn't see his brother's face right now, as if he already understood why everyone was like that. His expression was like, "You have got to be kidding me right now."

"Ahem!"

The two brothers and everyone else immediately tried to focus back on the main problem at hand. As soon as the chief judge felt she had everyone's attention again, she continued to ask Darien.

"Okay, Darien, thank you for being honest. Actually, you and your brother, Eirian, didn't have any magic power before, right?"

The two brothers looked at each other with confused expressions before turning back to the chief judge and nodding as a yes. The silver-haired woman gave a small smile and a nod of understanding.

"... It's just like that boy Hirayuki... he actually informed us before you two were brought here that you asked permission to use one of the training rooms to test your power, right?

To see whether you had any power or not, because from your status window, Darien, it was said that it didn't show what power, is that right?" the old man asked in turn. Darien just nodded with a bewildered expression.

"That means, it wasn't on purpose, and from the new video footage we got... Hmm... It looks like the power suddenly went out of control before it hit the training room's ceiling... How did the ceiling not break?" the man on the chief judge's right side muttered.

Meanwhile, Darien blinked many times with a stupid expression. It was as if he wanted to pull his hair out and scream now, but he did it in his mind. 'Dammit, Hikaru! Of course, there's CCTV in this world too! This world might be a fantasy world, but they seem to have some technology from my original world... Ugh, my head.'

"Yes, it seems the power you possess, Darien, is very dangerous," the chief judge said, suddenly cold and serious, making Darien shrink and swallow nervously, before the chief judge suddenly gave a small but comforting and gentle smile.

The hazelnut-haired boy felt confused and tilted his head to the side again with that naive face, and so did Eirian. The Queen tried to fight for her life, not to embarrass herself again because of the cute aggression she got from these brothers.

'... Too adorable!', she thought.

"The older brother has a unique power, just like our Crown Prince, and the younger brother, the only one in our kingdom to have a mysterious but strong and dangerous power. This is the first time the two of them have a power.

No one has ever taught them, and they don't have any experience. Now the changes in this world, everything, so-"

Bam!

"So! We should ignore what this boy has done to our kingdom!?" The chief judge couldn't finish what she was trying to say when an old man from the group of nobles on the left suddenly yelled, after slamming the table in front of him loudly.

The "bam" sound made Darien flinch hard. He immediately held his chest with both hands, and his eyes widened. Then, before he had a chance to react, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him towards them.

His heart almost stopped, but when he saw who grabbed him, it was Eirian, which made Darien feel relieved. He immediately hid Darien behind him, with a full protective aura and a serious and angry expression at the man.

Aidan, meanwhile, looks interested in how this situation turned out now. 'Oh, he has a brother complex. Same as last time...', he thought, remember the first time he met these two brothers.

"Should we forget what that boy has brought upon our kingdom!? All the people are scared and panicked now, and those who are outside can't get inside. They can't go back to their family homes because of this boy!"

The noble was still yelling while pointing his finger at the shocked Darien, and Eirian, who was glaring hard at the man as if he was warning him that he would bite that finger if he didn't put it down now.

Darien felt even more scared and confused. He was afraid of what disaster that old man was talking about. He still doesn't know what had happened outside, but from the reactions and what this man was yelling about, it was more serious than the Grim Reaper incident.

Without realizing it, Darien gripped his brother's sleeve tightly and was trembling a little from anxiety. The hazelnut-haired boy could feel the pain in his chest again. 'No... Not now...'

"Hey, you rich old man, it's true, it's my brother's fault, but do you have to yell like that? I might not know what's happening outside right now, but if you keep yelling at my brother like an immature person, I will bite that finger."

Everyone was shocked, while Aidan blinked many times with a disbelieving look. Darien looked at his brother as if he had lost his mind.

The man, on the other hand, was red from anger and embarrassment. This time, he focused on Eirian, looking full of disgust and a sharp glare, but Eirian didn't even flinch. Instead, he glared back.

"What did you say, boy? Heh... Are you crazy? How! Do! You! Not know! What a disaster, your brother! HAS BROUGHT UPON US!"

"Oh, I'm sorry then, because we couldn't know. We were immediately dragged to our room without getting a chance to see the situation outside, and then dragged here, and now a disgusting rich old man is yelling at a boy who doesn't know anything."

Silence. Everyone was stunned by Eirian's reply, which was calm and steady, even though there was a lot of anger and hatred in his tone. And Darien? His mouth was hanging open as if it was about to touch the floor.

'Eirian! Are you going crazy!?'

"You! YOU BRAT! Did your family not teach you to respect your elders, huh!? Oh... That's right, you two are orphans. That's why you're so rude, like--!"

"So, what's wrong with us being orphans? At least, we know where to show some manners. I only respect those I feel are worthy of respect... Not like this old man. I don't think you're worthy," Eirian replied. This time, he gave a small smirk as if he was satisfied to see the man was speechless.

'... This is not the right time to argue with someone who's a high-and-mighty type, Eirian' Darien thought, as if he wanted to cry dramatically. He turned to look at Aidan's reaction, and the man looked amused.

'Are you serious?'

"... This boy... Don't you know your brother's power is very dangerous!? It can destroy this kingdom! That's not including your own mysterious power!

Your Majesty! We need to stop these children! They are dangerous! Especially the one with the crimson red eyes... His power... It's terrifying. It doesn't feel safe. Our kingdom will be in danger if he continues to stay here!

I'm sure that boy is a demon's son! I mean, just look at his eye color. It doesn't match the people here! And his terrifying and dark power! We need to stop this boy from staying here!"

That made everyone think for a second time. Darien tightened his grip even more, feeling frustrated. Frustrated because it made sense and was logical for them here.

He knew he wasn't a demon son; that was impossible because he was the one who created the character of Darien and this world. But the people here must think he's a demon's son. After all, there's a rumor that the demon king has a son.

'... Darn it... What should I do? If this continues, everyone will think I'm a demon's son...'

"A demon son?" Eirian muttered as he couldn't believe what he had heard. Darien was immediately startled, not because of Eirian's tone as if he wanted to kill someone, but because he felt a strange aura from his brother.

'... This is not good... I think I know what this is...'

"Yes! Who else is he is not the demon's son that people are talking about!? Your Majesty! We might need to--Hik!"

Gasp!!!

"Eiri-niichan!?"