Point of no return (2)

You better not die. You are going to become Big Brother, and Big Brother will live a very long time. We still have so many adventures and joys to share.

With such a grimace, Edwoyn could have buried his family in the backyard and I wouldn't have noticed... I couldn't let silly beliefs extinguish his hope.

"Don't jump to conclusions without evidence! Let's consider the facts instead: the king is ill, which is unfortunate but it happens. However, that's not your case. The magical explosion didn't harm you, and its power suggests you're in the best shape."

"Unfortunate?" he scoffed. "It's far beyond mere bad luck: everyone around me is suffering! Grandfather and his three brothers died of illness before they even reached fifty, his sister was killed in the Great Revolt, my aunt Celestina from a horse riding accident, and now my father is next in line. Without mentioning my mother's depression…” he ended up whispering. “Initially, I thought like you, that it was just bad luck, but the more I think about it, the less natural it seems."

Had someone been planning for years to assassinate each member of the Gasencourt family differently? Such a plan seemed far-fetched... but then again, intuitions didn't arise for no reason.

The fact is, the government spent its time disseminating lies and staging through the media, so it's difficult to confirm their version. Not to mention that the prince himself could also be fed lies, which didn't help me. If it was indeed true, then all these incidents had been covered up because I had never heard of any deaths other than his grandfather's.

"Do you really find that suspicious? There's nothing to say that the accidents weren't assassinations for power issues, the depressions for personal problems, and that you aren't passing on a rare genetic disease."

"Well, it's not genetic actually, my grandfather didn't have the same disease as Father. The official version says they both had epilepsy, but that was a lie to preserve our legitimacy. Elsmont suffered from early-onset dementia. His condition deteriorated so quickly... As for Father, no one could diagnose him. He started coughing up blood, then began having paralysis crisis until recently slipping into a coma..."

Like the Revolutionaries, many were willing to kill for the throne, and this year of succession was the perfect opportunity.

"Hmm... This looks like an attempt at magical poisoning."

"What's that?" he raised his head.

"A prohibited spell that targets a person's vital energy source and suffocates it until they die. The main symptom is progressive weakening. But this hypothesis can’t work because all Asyrian sovereigns receive a magical baptism during their coronation."

"Yes, I see! The King's Blessing immunizes them against all poisons, so they couldn't have been poisoned… So what really happen to them?"

I crushed the scattered straw underfoot.

"It makes no sense! The physicians must have identified your magical malfunction, there's no other explanation!" I complained.

"A magical malfunction? Does that mean there's a dysfunction in my vital energy? What kind of condition is this?"

I lay back proudly on my pile of hay. "It's not a condition; I just invented the concept!"

I pulled a piece of straw and toyed with it, bending it until it broke. Edwoyn stared at me for a long moment, somewhat disillusioned by my trickery.

Having lost interest in me, he stood up. "Listen, I'm not here to waste time on unfounded theories. If you have nothing constructive to add, I'd really like to go home this time.”

"I was deadly serious," I retorted, my voice annoyed.

The stem between my fingers snapped.

"Perhaps... you have a different relationship with magic?" I tried again, picking up another stem. "Maybe your magical affinity works differently from others? If you learned to control magic without incantation sand, with your potential, you'd have so much more freedom!"

I kept the broken piece of straw and twisted the remaining intact ones rather than discarding them. Edwoyn's body froze at the mention of the word freedom. Every muscle fiber seemed to move towards me, filled with curiosity and hope for that elusive freedom. With all his willpower, he fought against this attraction and pretended to head towards his horse in the corner. The receptive horse lifted its head and sniffed Edwoyn's hand, hoping for a treat. Even though it found none, it didn't turn away and allowed itself to be petted on the muzzle.

"My parents refused to teach me the art of magic. They had their reasons," Edwoyn said. "Magic is so powerful that it can easily lead to abuse. Such temptation should never be within reach of a man in power. I agree with them, and that won't change."

Curious about his perspective, I stood up to better understand him. Magic isn't a source of corruption. Corruption comes from deep within the heart, and once it consumes someone, nothing can stop it. Magic merely facilitates the process, but depriving ourselves of magic in our society is like denying ourselves air to breathe. Instead of fleeing every temptation, I believe it would have been more useful for him to learn what it means to be reasonable.

But there's nothing fun about being reasonable, is there, Aurora? teased an unwelcome voice in the corner of my mind. Especially when you've already tasted power. Absolute control... there's nothing better! Why bother with his consent? Just use me, and all your plans will come to fruition without delay!

"Stubborn, nobles are all stubborn," I muttered, a bit irritated. "Yet, you were the ones who brought magic to this kingdom and made it your pride, isn't that ironic? You may still claim it was out of necessity to lift us from the technological ore crisis, but we both know it was solely to make your lives even more leisurely."

The majority of nobles used the most vulnerable to perform menial tasks. The development of magic at all levels had provided them with new tools to exploit others.

That's what they call 'progress' in this wonderful country! Why deny yourself when you can get everything with the snap of a finger? Use me, Aurora, the parasite voice continued to mock in my thoughts.

"Magic is just another source of energy. Father always ensured it was safe and accessible to all. I'm sorry you have such a negative view of the nobility, but you can't let one bad experience stereotype an entire social class."

"One bad experience? Are you completely blind?” I gritted my teeth. “I swear, it's not prejudice; nobles really are bastards, every single one of them! Look: you're being shielded every five minutes by the best doctors in the country. Do you think they haven't noticed your little magical malfunction? They must have informed your parents. You know what that means?"

"My parents aren't liars," he snapped back. "I've never shown anything abnormal, so it's logical they wouldn't have seen anything!"

"Your parents constantly lie to the people! They abandon them to their fate, you've seen it with your own eyes in Luleath! So why would it be any different with you? You're just one of their puppets, fool! Their cheap morality is just to ease their conscience while they involve you in their schemes. They do all this to control you!"

"They do all this to protect me! Because they love me!" he cut in with a trembling voice.

He shouted with all his might to avoid facing the truth. The hand that was stroking Prince's cheek withdrew, clenching in frustration. He still couldn't look me in the eye, and I knew this time it wasn't out of fear, but shame. He was on the verge of tears and refused to show weakness. Rather than admit defeat, he preferred to contain his emotions as much as he struggled to believe in his own arguments.

You don't have to be ashamed. You couldn't have known they were using you. Now that you know your weaknesses, you need to correct them, or you'll never become free.

"If I couldn't go out as I pleased, it's because of prowlers like you who are just waiting to kill the next king! If they kept things from me, it was to spare me torment!"

"Of course, love justifies all crimes, I should have known!"

"And you, how do you justify your crimes?! Because of you, I can never see them again!" he exclaimed.

"I'm not to blame if your parents are such massive scum that Asyrian people hire me to kill you."

"You're the scum!" he protested. "You don't even care what you destroy by accepting your bounties! I'll tell you: you're destroying the entire kingdom, the peace, and the happiness of thousands of innocents! You've done far more harm than my parents ever could. Now that Father is in the hospital and I'm dead, there's no one left to protect Mother from the Council's persecution!"

The prince took a short pause to catch his breath.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Mother is not well-liked at the palace. They think she should be replaced because she hasn't borne enough children, because she's too weak. Until now, the politicians have only used intimidation because Father and I protected her, but who knows what they're doing to her right now? By trying to play the savior, you've only made things worse!"

"Wait? You think your mother is innocent?" I scoffed. "I don't approve of the ministers' behavior, but believe me, she's no better than your father. If they cared about you so much, they would have let you out. They would have trusted you and you wouldn't be in this mess. It's obvious they couldn't care less about you."

"No, that's not true!" he insisted, gasping for breath.

Edwoyn was even more closed-minded than at the beginning of our conversation. It was a reflex of self-protection because I had reached his limits. If I pushed further, I risked ruining any chance of building trust between us. The magical outburst had shaken his deepest beliefs, and to recover, he needed to sort through his thoughts, preferably away from me. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to drop the matter for now, as pressing on would be counterproductive. I had done all I could to open his eyes to the path ahead, but only time would truly convince him.

Words are powerful weapons that can open fresh wounds, some of which never heal. For my part, I've turned all my wounds into strength. You can do the same and become invincible, Edwoyn. If this power truly belongs to you, whether it's a blessing or a curse, I will make good use of it.

“Don't believe me if you don't want to,” he replied. “You'll see for yourself soon enough. As for me, I'll investigate this 'curse'.”

He didn't react to me at all. Was he turning his back on me, sulking like a petulant child?

What an ungrateful person! Can't you see I'm trying to help you? You can't avoid our contract indefinitely. There's only one way out of all this, so stop resisting...

"I understand you don't want to deal with magic, and I won't force you as long as you can keep up with me. However, you must at least learn to control your raw magical energy. I recommend mental strengthening. If you know your limits, you can prevent accidents."

Edwoyn slammed his fist against the wooden panel of the stall. The horses stirred, startled by the noise. In a foul mood, he cut short the discussion:

"Keep your advice to yourself. I've heard enough."

With this grim declaration, he disappeared into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Well done, Aurora. You've really rubbed him the wrong way.

I was willing to bet he had locked himself in his room to sulk. A laugh tinged with disappointment escaped me. Nobles always made a show of themselves as if the earth should stop turning at their slightest frustration.

Some things never change, it seems...

I spent a few minutes admiring the structure of the stable’s roof with an empty mind. That's when I realized the ingrate had left without tidying up the equipment we had used for training.

"Where do you think you are, impostor? This isn't your palace; you could at least clean up after yourself..." I muttered.

The now pounding rain drowned out my words. It was decided; he would do fifty push-ups at our next training session. Hopefully, that would bring him down a notch. Exasperated, I threw one of the practice swords within reach. It spun like a propeller and wedged itself between the bars of a stall door.

A perfect throw, as usual.

Jaspe, Justine's mount in the aforementioned stall, startled with a loud whinny.

"Oh, no need to overreact! Contrary to that stupid prince, you're useful to us; I'm not going to hurt you."

I delayed my return to the house to clear the stable. Horses seemed intent on nothing but soiling their bedding… I refilled the feed troughs and gathered the manure into bags for fertilizer. Though not the most enjoyable tasks, I maintained a sense of calm and used the quiet to plan my next moves.

I had to ensure the prince didn't confide in Justine more than me. The more they communicated behind my back, the more problematic it would be for me. Manipulation worked best when the parties involved weren't collaborating to uncover my double-dealing. That's precisely why I needed to tell my version of the magical accident to my superior before the prince had the idea to visit her.

Divide and conquer.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the prince had more to offer me than I had imagined. Justine would be equally surprised when she heard my story. It would give her one more reason to turn a blind eye to my little manipulative experiments.

Everything was going perfectly. My trap was set. Soon enough, he would begin to doubt everything he believed he had achieved in his life. He would then realize the hypocrisy of this world. Corrupt nobles. He would feel terribly abandoned. Alone. Desperate. That's when he would turn to his one and only benefactor. The only one who believes in him. His soulmate.

It would hit him hard. All that he lacks. All that he could accomplish to feel alive. That he absolutely needed more freedom to achieve his goals. However... no freedom without power, and no power without magic. I was his number one obstacle. If he wanted to rid himself of his ownership seal and our lifelong contract, he had to start by beating me at my own game.

Conclusion: his immediate goal was to learn magic and surpass me in that field. Only by killing me would he be free. But of course, that would never happen. I had stifled any ambition in him long ago, and he would remain loyal to me. He would love me and protect me, just like Big Brother.

Big Brother... Ah, we are so far from that now...

Who was pulling the strings in this kingdom? Where would this 'family curse' affair lead us? How could the prince wield magic more powerful than mine? I had knocked him out, drugged him, and struck him in his most vulnerable areas, all without him defending himself out of survival instinct.

Since his abduction, he knew his life was at stake. He had never been in such mortal danger. So why wait for a safe training session to defend himself? It was such a poorly calculated move that it couldn't have been intentional. If, as he claimed, it was a survival reflex, then one question begged to be answered: what triggered this reflex if it wasn’t survival instinct?

I had punched him a bit harder than the rest. What made this different from my other mistreatments? The answer struck me like lightning: it was an experience of imminent death. Before, I had never truly intended to kill him, but with this punch, I had used my full power. My true power. He felt that small difference in my magic, something no one had ever managed. This detail changed everything. Absolutely everything.

If my suspicions are confirmed, then Edwoyn is just the beginning of a new apocalypse...