Chapter 95: Blind Loyalty.

“We’re… not going to fight with them?” Ezra asked, his brows knitting together.

None of this made sense.

If there were survivors, which he strongly doubted, there should have been a team assigned for it already.

That was the basic strategy.

“Where exactly are we supposed to look?” Ezra continued. “Would there even be survivors here? With all of this?”

He gestured vaguely at the ruined village around them.

Kaelis didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he cut down another Dark One that stumbled toward them. The creature collapsed into the dirt with a dull thud.

“We already did what we had to,” Kaelis said calmly. “Now they’ll clear the horde. The two of us can search for any survivors that might be hiding.”

Ezra stared at him.

’That didn’t answer anything.’

From the corner of his eye, he noticed movement.

Helios.

The prince was riding toward them, his silver hair catching the wind as his horse slowed to a stop nearby. His sword flashed once as he cut down a Dark One that lunged too close.

When he looked up, the concern on his face was obvious.

“Kaelis,” Helios said immediately. “What are you talking about? Survivors? Where?”

Kaelis glanced at him.

“Somewhere.”

Ezra blinked.

That was it.

’Somewhere?’

That was the answer.

’What kind of useless answer is that?’

Ezra looked toward Helios.

Helios was already frowning.

“This wasn’t mentioned yesterday,” Helios said, his tone tightening slightly. “Or earlier today. We weren’t told about any survivors.”

His eyes sharpened.

“What are you doing?”

Kaelis finally turned fully toward him.

And for the first time since the battle began, Ezra noticed something strange.

Kaelis’ expression was serious.

Completely serious.

There was none of that usual warmth he showed toward Helios. No teasing. No easy familiarity.

Just cold focus.

“This is my discretion,” Kaelis said.

“And the information I received.”

He paused briefly.

“Aamon doesn’t know about it.”

Helios frowned deeper.

“But I know there are survivors.”

“Then send someone else,” Helios replied immediately. “You’re the one leading this operation.”

“Exactly.”

Kaelis’ voice remained calm.

“Brother, I am the one leading.”

Which means it is my decision.”

His gaze shifted slightly.

“And this time, you will follow it.”

Ezra’s eyes widened.

“I have decided that Ezra Belloren and I will be the ones to save the survivors.”

The words landed heavily.

Both Ezra and Helios stared at him.

’What the actual—’

Ezra felt anger rise immediately.

Kaelis wasn’t just making a strange decision.

He was openly dismissing Helios.

Right to his face.

’You ungrateful—’

Ezra was about to snap.

But Helios suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

Ezra stopped mid-step.

He looked at Helios in confusion.

“Your Highness—”

“Alright.”

Helios’ voice cut him off.

“I understand.”

Ezra blinked.

Helios turned his head slightly toward Kaelis.

“I was only concerned for my captain,” Helios continued calmly. “He just returned after five years. Searching for survivors might throw him off.”

Then he looked at Ezra.

“Go ahead.”

“We’ll clear the Dark Ones.”

Ezra stared at him.

No.

No, this wasn’t right.

This wasn’t good at all.

And somehow that made him even angrier.

’He just disrespected you, Helios.’

Ezra looked at him in disbelief.

Was he really just gonna take that?

Kaelis didn’t argue further.

He looked at Ezra for a brief moment, then turned away.

“We should go,” he said. “Now.”

Ezra’s jaw tightened.

Behind them, Helios remained silent, but it looked like he was already preparing to return to the others as they pushed forward to clear the horde.

Before leaving, Helios glanced at Ezra one last time.

The look in his eyes was steady.

Encouraging.

Almost as if he was telling him to just go along with it.

Ezra clenched his teeth.

’Fine.’

If Helios himself wasn’t going to challenge it, there wasn’t much Ezra could do without causing a scene in the middle of a battlefield.

Still irritated, he followed Kaelis deeper into the village.

More Dark Ones staggered between the houses.

Some rushed them.

Those ones Ezra cut down without hesitation.

Others wandered slowly through the narrow streets, their movements sluggish and unfocused.

Kaelis dealt with those.

Their swords moved constantly as they advanced.

Steel flashed.

Dark bodies fell.

But the farther they went into the village, the fewer creatures appeared.

The streets grew quieter.

Only the distant sounds of battle echoed behind them where the knights continued clearing the horde.

Ezra’s thoughts churned the entire time.

Kaelis.

Helios.

That conversation.

The way Kaelis had spoken.

’You were way out of line.’ Ezra thought angrily. ’He was only trying to understand the situation.’

Ezra swung his sword again, cutting down another Dark One that stumbled toward him.

Black blood splashed across the dirt.

’Who the hell do you think you are?’

Another creature lunged.

Ezra stepped aside and drove his blade through its chest.

The body collapsed at his feet.

His grip tightened around the sword.

’Talking to Helios like that.’

The more he thought about it, the more his anger grew.

Kaelis walked ahead of him as if nothing had happened.

Completely calm.

Like the entire exchange meant nothing.

Ezra couldn’t take it anymore.

“You were very disrespectful, Your Highness.”

His voice cut through the quiet street.

Kaelis didn’t stop walking.

He didn’t even turn around.

He simply continued forward.

Like he hadn’t heard a word.

Ezra’s eye twitched.

’Did he just ignore me?’

The anger in his chest flared hotter.

They cut down two more wandering Dark Ones as they passed a broken cart lying in the middle of the road.

But now there were barely any left.

The village was almost empty.

And Ezra had reached his limit.

Before Kaelis could take another step, Ezra grabbed his arm.

Hard.

He yanked him back and forced him to turn around.

“While I’m still being respectful as a knight,” Ezra said sharply, “you shouldn’t ignore someone who’s talking to you.”

’Rank be damned.’

“You’ve grown quite a mouth on you since your little vacation,” Kaelis said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Or maybe you’re forgetting the difference in our ranks.”

Ezra didn’t release his arm.

He simply stared at him.

He had years worth of anger and frustration, and he was going to do some unloading now.

Kaelis let out a quiet breath.

“But since I’m not particularly fond of hiding behind rank,” he continued, “I’ll answer you.”

He pulled his arm free and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why don’t you just listen and see the truth for yourself?” Kaelis said calmly. “Or… wait.”

His eyes sharpened slightly.

“You’re only angry because of how I spoke to my brother, aren’t you?”

Ezra’s jaw tightened.

Kaelis shrugged lightly.

“I’ll apologize to him later.”

Ezra stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s it?”

His voice rose slightly.

“You disrespect him after everything he’s done for you. You drag me into some secret mission that Captain Aamon doesn’t even know about. And your solution is to just apologize later?”

His glare hardened.

“That’s your answer?”

Kaelis tilted his head slightly.

“What exactly do you want from me, Captain?”

His voice stayed calm, but there was an edge beneath it now.

“Or is it because I’m not my brother?”

His eyes locked onto Ezra’s.

“So you’re letting yourself be a hypocrite and disrespect me instead?”

Ezra scoffed.

“Only if you were worth respecting, Prince Kaelis.”

The words came out cold, making Kaelis’ eyes widen.

Ezra continued.

“What is this for you? A redemption?” His gaze sharpened.

“Prince Helios spends years carrying this kingdom on his shoulders, and the moment he stumbles you suddenly decide to erase your reputation as the royal rake?”

The words hung in the air.

For a moment, Kaelis just stared at him.

Then he laughed.

A short, disbelieving chuckle escaped him.

“Oh… wow.”

He shook his head slowly.

“So that’s it.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“No matter how many times I tried to get along with you, you always looked at me like I was dirt. It was because I decided to have a little fun?”

Kaelis leaned forward slightly.

“Ezra Belloren… watch who you’re speaking to.”

Ezra didn’t back down.

“What are you going to do?”

His voice was calm now.

Almost challenging.

“One thing I’ve learned, Your Highness, is that rank and title matter.”

He took a small step closer.

“But reputation matters too.”

Ezra’s eyes hardened.

“I may have disappeared for five years, but people still remember who I am.”

His voice dropped slightly.

“And if I wanted to, I could report you to Captain Aamon right now for ignoring the mission and running off on some secret plan.”

The tension between them thickened.

Then Kaelis suddenly snapped.

“This isn’t about the mission anymore is it? Not even the fact that I disrespected Helios, which by the way, wasn’t even that bad.”

His voice cut sharply through the quiet street.

“It’s because of your BLIND loyalty to Helios, Ezra Belloren.”

Kaelis stepped closer, his expression darkening.

“Let’s stop pretending.”

His eyes locked onto Ezra’s.

“All of this?”

He gestured vaguely toward the battlefield behind them.

“It’s because you want to be by his side right now.”

“That’s–”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep