Chapter 78 - Sympathy and Comfort

“Cover your mouth with your hands. Don’t even make a breathing sound until it gets quiet. Can you do it?”

Covering her mouth with both hands as Benhiram said, Azriel nodded. Even beyond the basket, he smiled small as if he knew that she nodded, “I am your brother. I will protect my sister.”

The boy, who murmured as if to swear, breathed quietly after covering himself with a corpse. Not long after that, she could hear sounds of armor and horses’ hoofs. Rough voices conversed with each other.

Azriel closed her eyes. As if they would not see her if she did, she shut her eyes tightly with all her might. The smell of a corpse mixed with the stink of trash, the feeling of muddy filth, the sound of Benhiram’s breaths beyond the basket, and the clinking of armors that were nearing— Her heart was pounding as if it was going to crush.

They hid pretty well for being children, but they were inevitably clumsy. The knights who discovered the trail of things having been dug up from the floor and the pile of trash approached.

“Is there a rat here?”

A long spear penetrated into the corpses. The edge of the spear grazed Benhiram’s cheek and penetrated into the basket, sticking in around Azriel’s feet.

“…!”

Azriel almost screamed but managed to stop the urge by covering the mouth with both hands. After stopping to breathe, she slightly opened her eyes. Light poured in through the weaved basket. The knights who lifted up a corpse that they penetrated with their spear discovered Benhiram who was haunching down.

“Urgh, it’s a little child.”

“The order is to eradicate. There’s no exception.”

A knight coldly replied to the other’s murmur. She could hear the sounds of a quiet conversation, clanking, and a swish as if a sword was taken out, horses’ heavy breathing, armors clashing with each other and then—

“Arrrgh!”

It was Benhiram’s scream.

“…!” 

Azriel grabbed and moved the basket away without even thinking, and pressed her mouth recalling her brother’s warning not to make a sound. Her head spinned because she held her breaths for a long time but she could not dare to breathe.

She heard something collapsing followed by someone’s gasp and groan. Again, the sound of rumbling, crunching, and something falling was heard. After that, the sound of horses’ hoofs gradually grew further away.

Azriel stayed there only breathing through her nose for a long time. Smell of blood reeked. Ominous hunch rose from the tip of her feet like a bug. Her face, which was still covered by her hands, became wet with tears. Suppressing her tears, she managed to withstand the time. She pushed away the basket and crawled out only after the surroundings turned completely dark.

“Benhiram?”

In the dirty street, she saw something like a stagnant puddle. Since it was dark, she could not see clearly. As she got close, the smell of blood grew heavier. Her hand that pushed the ground was wet. She lifted her hand to see it in the moonlight. It was red.

“Blood—” She could not breathe. Trembling, she crawled on the puddle. She groped in search of her brother and something was caught at the tip of her hand. “Benhiram!”

It felt cold and horrifying that it even felt scary. However, it was indeed her brother’s arm. Azriel pulled it without thinking.

“Benhiram, no…”

The body which was supposed to be at the edge of it was no longer there. Only lumps of blood were scattered in the puddle of blood, “Aaahhhh!” she screamed and probably passed out. She became alone like that.

‘If I didn’t take Benhiram’s mana, if he were a wizard instead of me, he wouldn’t have died like that,’ she thought. ‘I must’ve been a real curse to him. I took away his mana and life—’

Azriel covered her mouth, panting. Her sight turned blurry.

“Azriel?” Rhema approached her. Long and graceful hand lifted her chin. “Are you crying?”

Discovering the tears in her eyes, he was shook. Azriel bit her lips and tried not to cry. Rhema opened his mouth, closed his mouth, opened his mouth again, blinked a few times, and barely spoke.

“…You were merely more outstanding than him. It’s not that you absorbed your twin’s mana because you wanted it. You don’t have to feel guilty about it, Azriel.”

Those were reasonable words. However, her emotion could not be convinced by logic.

“But if he were a wizard, he might not have died,” Azriel whispered in a tearful voice.

At last, a streak of tears went down her cheek. Her tear touched his hand which was holding her chin. Rhema vacantly looked at it. Then, he slowly spoke.

“Don’t make such a meaningless assumption. Does it change anything? You and I both did not choose to be born this way.”

“Rhema?”

“But we can still choose how we live. So, instead of wasting time, try harder and be the best wizard, so I can boast that my mana has made that great wizard.”

“Those words—”

“This is what my sister told me a long time ago, Azriel.”

“Your twin sister?”

“Yes.”

Her tears stopped. She steadily went over those words. Agonizing and blaming herself would change nothing. Since she received the mana anyway, it was better to utilize it rather than letting it rot, blaming herself. It could be an ordinary saying, but since it came out from someone who experienced it first handedly, it became quite special.

‘What would Benhiram say?’

She imagined with an aching heart. Benhiram, her kind brother, smiled, sparkling his golden eyes in her imagination.

‘It’s unfair for me to have it all. It’s the portion you need to have rightly.’

Benhiram she knew would probably say that. He was always sorry for her that he was the only one with a name and was loved.