We need to talk.

Even though he couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he last heard those words, Deus recognised the situation he was in.

To put it positively, Deus’ family allowed him to live as he wished; to put it negatively, they had given up on him for choosing to live recklessly.

Darius was the only one who occasionally repeated the warning not to cause any trouble and to marry the daughter of the Bright Household.

Meanwhile, Deia never even spared him a glance and immediately showed disgust and anger if she happened to be in the same space as him.

Remembering how he had emotionally and decadently responded to Deia's reaction at the time, Deus was flooded with intense regret, like being hit by a wave of sand.

"Is your right arm okay?"

It was just a question uttered without much thought since Deus' right arm was now completely missing.

Deus nodded as he bitterly gazed at the empty space.

"It's just throbbing slightly now."

After that answer, there was another moment of silence, but eventually, Darius continued with his questions.

"You really are Deus Verdi, right?"

"...Yeah."

Just with that short answer, Darius could already clearly sense the contrast between Deus and Kim Shinwoo. This caused him to let out a bitter sigh and wipe his eyes with his thick hands.

"It makes sense now. No wonder I thought you changed too suddenly."

Darius had already heard everything from Deia. However, Deia couldn’t gauge his reaction, so that was why she initially remained silent to observe the situation.

"You… died?"

It was a question uttered with much difficulty.

Just that one sentence already made Deus feel so sorrowful that tears welled up in his eyes.

"Y-yes... that's right."

Deus sounded choked when he answered, his voice filled with a sigh tinged with self-blame for how his situation had come to be.

"How did you die?"

Darius asked with an uncharacteristic calmness.

No, beneath that calmness lay regret and sadness disguised as composure.

"I-I don't know. Before going to sleep... I think I took some drugs and drank alcohol, and also..."

Deus listed various possible reasons.

When he recalled everything he had done so far, he thought it was impressive that he hadn’t died sooner.

Darius' expression grew darker as he heard Deus articulate each of those words.

"..."

Once he was done listening to all the reasons Deus blurted out without much thought, Darius couldn’t even sigh. With a remorseful expression, he could only lower his head to stare at the ground.

Then, he turned his gaze towards Deia.

"Why did you hide it from me?"

"What would you have done if you knew about it?"

"What?"

With her arms crossed, Deia showed no signs of backing down, even against Darius, who was unable to hide his anger at this moment.

“What's the point of saying that, anyway? It's not like this bastard will be back in our lives. After all, he's already dead, you know. But we can make it seem like he's not. It's not like you don’t know how much trouble we would be in if we told the Bright Household he died, right?”

"Deia!"

As he scolded Deia for saying things that shouldn’t have been said out loud, Darius was so angry that a vein popped out on his forehead. Nevertheless, Deia still showed no sign of retreat.

"What! Didn’t you like that idiot too?! He’s not even our family, not even my older brother! But still, that person has taken care of me much more than my real brother ever did!"

"..."

“That person is still better than this fucking bastard who only got drunk, did drugs, or was emotionally unstable half the fucking time! All this bastard did was just moan about wanting to bed women everyday and cry in the mansion. In fact, he even kept urging the sibling he shared the same blood with to have a relationship with him!”

Unable to contain her anger, Deia raised her clenched fist high, but she slowly lowered it again as if trying to suppress her emotions as much as possible.

"Compared to this bastard, that person is much, much better."

She deeply lowered her head.

Tears falling beneath.

With tears drenching the ground around her feet, Deia sobbed like a child.

"Bring him back, you motherfucker. That person. Bring him back… my brother."

"..."

"You came to help? For him? Don't bullshit me. I was gradually starting to forget everything you did. I was just starting to remember the good things first, before the things I hated and felt disgusted every time I saw your face…"

Deia wiped away her tears and glared at him with reddened eyes.

"I don’t need a bastard like you."

Darius couldn't even response because he also knew how much stress Deia got from Deus.

In fact, the kind of hatred she harbored towards men was definitely created by Deus.

In the past, Deus would have immediately resorted to cursing and using foul language.

However, now, he slowly stepped down from the bed, knelt down, and banged his head on the ground.

"I'm sorry.”

"...!"

Deia's eyes trembled because the Deus she knew would have never resorted to kneeling and apologizing to anyone.

However, after crossing the threshold, accepting the end of his life, being sent away by Kim Shinwoo, and making a decision for someone else’s well being only at the last moment, Deus had managed to change, albeit slightly.

"Bull…shit!!"

However, if he expected the victim to accept his apology like that… It would never happen like he thought it would.

Deia gritted her teeth and tried to vent her anger again. However, Deus, who was still on the ground, shouted once more, his voice resounding in the room.

"I'm already dead. But before I leave, please let me do something for our family."

"..."

"The reason I'm here now is for the person you wanted to wake up."

"Fuck..."

She wanted to demand that he leave immediately, but she couldn't. She didn’t know what Kim Shinwoo was doing, but it must have been serious enough to wake up Deus, who was already dead.

Although her brain understood this, her heart still couldn’t. Her anger had reached the top of her head. However...

"You..."

Deia slowly covered her face with both hands. She lifted her head high to conceal her tears.

"The wounds you gave me will never disappear."

He had hurt her too many times.

Being family, their bond was too close. It left no refuge for the sharp words and actions that ensued.

The scars that were inflicted were the kind that could never be healed.

"However..."

New voices and memories were overlaid above those deep wounds.

- Just give me 5 minutes every day.

That request asking for just 5 minutes a day to show his changed self was their new beginning.

- It is the opposite. I took over Deus' body.

At her wish for him not to lie to her, that man revealed his true identity without any hesitation.

- He might be pitiful, but he does not deserve sympathy. Nevertheless, in the end, he departed with regrets about his own life.

Even when he revealed the final moment of the true Deus Verdi, his words showed consideration for her.

- You may not want it, but I will make an effort to be an older brother you can be proud of.

Did he know?

Deia treasured the bear keychain she received when they had dinner together at Graypond.

"The memories I shared with him have overshadowed all the wounds you gave me. I won’t… forgive, hate, or deny someone like you."

"..."

"But I will forget. That's how I will overcome the past."

Deus already felt grateful that Deia would do at least just that. However, he didn't say it out loud.

He didn't feel deserving, and Deia probably wouldn't have wanted to hear his thanks too.

That was the conclusion of an already distorted relationship.

Watching as his siblings each offered their own answers, Darius slowly approached Deus with a mix of complex emotions, gently placing his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder.

"What you did to Deia is definitely unforgivable."

"...”

Darius met Deus’s gaze as he slowly lifted her head.

"However, as the eldest, I lost sight of my responsibilities."

"Brother…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't lead you down to the right path."

Darius offered an apology as he reflected on his past, how he ignored his broken younger brother, whom he didn't want to see despite being the eldest son.

"Keugh!"

Seeing her eldest brother embracing his younger brother, who was now shedding tears, Deia slowly stepped aside.

Even though she had put an end to her relationship with Deus, she had no intention of interfering with Deus’ relationship with the eldest son, Darius.

Deia stepped outside, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting for a short time.

If Findenai were here, she would have probably already been puffing on her cigarette.

Deia continued to stand with her arms crossed, considering it a suitable way to pass the time. Soon, Darius stepped out of the room.

Upon seeing Deia outside, he briefly paused. However, he soon realized why she was waiting for him.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

Deia's eyebrow furrowed at his response of asking something he already knew.

"Do not imitate him."

"Ahem."

After immediately getting caught trying to imitate Kim Shinwoo, Darius awkwardly coughed and quickly turned his head, but Deia persisted in her questioning.

"Whether you acknowledge him as your brother or not doesn't matter to me. To me, he is the only second brother I have."

"..."

"I do not care if you do not acknowledge him."

At Deia's bold declaration, Darius looked down at her for a moment, then chuckled and gently placed his hand on her head to pat her.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Deia grumbled, irritated by the sudden touch, but she didn't push his hand away.

"No, it's somehow funny."

"What is."

"To suddenly gain another younger brother at this age."

"That's... "

"Why are my younger brothers all so unusual?"

Darius withdrew his hand from Deia's head, smiling somewhat delightedly as he continued talking.

"If they were even half as much like you, I'd have fewer worries."

After leaving such a firm statement behind, Darius returned to his study.

Watching his retreating figure, for the first time...

"We are family."

Deia thought Darius was reliable.

However, a moment later…

"De-Deia! What should we do with this?!"

If only Darius hadn't made such a big fuss when he brought over the invitation the Clark Republic sent to his study, Deia might have started to trust even the eldest son by now.

"How can you not maintain the atmosphere like this for even half a day?"

"A-Ahem!"

With a forced cough, Darius pretended not to hear. Deia grabbed the invitation from the Republic and checked it.

"A banquet for the Peace Treaty?"

It was a banquet to mend the strained relationship between the Griffin Kingdom and the Clark Republic.

The invitation specifically included the name of the Soul Whisperer Deus Verdi, whose presence was indispensable for this incident.

Seeing it, Deia felt a headache coming on.

"Why did they send this directly to us, and not to the Royal Palace?"

"Exactly. Especially when they know that Deus is dead."

Darius was right. With its strange implications, this invitation seemed to reveal an aspect of the Clark Republic.

"Sigh, let's contact the Royal Palace immediately. It seems that these Republic bastards are up to something."

"Got it!"

"Also, please! You bastard! If you were as reliable and cool as just a moment ago, shouldn’t you at least make an effort to maintain that image for a day?!"

Deia grumbled a complaint at the end, but Darius had already ignored her outburst and left after turning his back.

"Sigh."

There was no time to dwell on complicated personal concerns. While holding the problematic invitation in her hand, Deia closed her eyes tightly once again.

With everyone’s eyes across the continent focused on Griffin and Clark, ignoring this invitation would make it seem like they were rejecting the other side’s offer of reconciliation.

Attending the banquet could have many advantages.

Although she didn’t know what Clark Republic was up to, they were still the first to bow their heads.

This action could lead the other countries to perceive that the Clark Republic had acknowledged their own faults.

However, many areas of this sound suspicious.

The way they suddenly bowed their heads and hosted a banquet for reconciliation at this time.

Furthermore, they sent the invitation directly to the Verdi Household instead of the Royal Palace.

Moreover, they even invited Deus Verdi, whom they already knew was dead.

Feeling uneasy about all of these factors, Deia's attention was drawn to the message written at the end of the invitation.

It was unclear when it was written there.

Written in elegant handwriting, it gave off a strange sense of pressure.

- Please return the item you took.

"Item?"

Deia pondered for a moment, wondering if Deus had brought back anything, but she immediately frowned.

She almost made the mistake of crumpling the invitation.

"They want us to return the Saintess’ left arm?"

They were demanding the return of the former Saintess Stella's left arm, which Deus was determined to retrieve even at the risk of his own life.

"Sigh."

Realizing the situation's complexity, Deia couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

To put it bluntly, Deia's personal impression of the Clark Republic was fucking awful.

However, given the Griffin Kingdom's position, they couldn't maintain a hostile stance towards the Clark Republic.

Through the Marias Great Forest incident, they realized that even the Jerman Kingdom beyond the desert was eyeing them covetously.

Being potentially attacked from both sides, the Griffin Kingdom urgently needed to regain a neutral position with the Clark Republic.

In that case, the best course of action was to return the left arm and let the Soul Whisperer attend the banquet for the sake of peace.

However, the problem was…

"Arrrrghhh!"

The current Deus Verdi wasn’t the Soul Whisperer.

"I can't ask that moron to go to the Republic!"

They could deal a significant blow to the Clark Republic by having Deus Verdi, whom they thought was dead, attend the banquet.

"You…! Son of a bitchhhhhh…"

Deia leaned back in her chair and gazed at the ceiling, murmuring wistfully.

"When will you return?"