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Side Story: To You Far, Far Away 4
For Armin, the past was something to let go of.
Even his father, whom he had saved at the risk of his own life, was just part of the past for him. Sebastian couldn’t do that. He wanted to meet Armin’s father. Of course, not in a good way. It wouldn’t be a comfortable or happy meeting for either side, but the more unfortunate one would certainly be Armin’s father.
“At least in the past life, he had some luck with parents,” Sebastian clicked his tongue. Even though they had made him angry by calling the squirming child an idiot, considering the era, it wasn’t such a harsh thing to say. How bold must the child born with him have been?
Moreover, they were parents straightforward enough to turn their backs on the emperor for their son’s sake. Especially the father, who couldn’t hide his discomfort throughout, even as he watched his son receive the emperor’s favor and rise rapidly. He had even declined his own promotion. He always felt extremely guilty, as if he thought he had sold his son for the family’s glory. And the son, quite consistently, never acknowledged his father’s feelings. Lee Shin-yeon lived mostly happily until his death. With his fair and kind nature, he was well-liked. His decisiveness, typical of a principled person, meant that the tasks he took on were always handled clearly. Although many disrespectful words circulated due to him being the emperor’s lover, they rarely reached Lee Shin-yeon’s ears, and even when they did, his response of “His Majesty cares for me” with a gentle smile prevented the malice from being conveyed.
Come to think of it, life seems to go around in similar circles.
Lee Shin-yeon had been so worried when he went to the Western Small Barbarian Territory as a young general, and now Armin as a child soldier…
“I hope you break up,” Richard suddenly said, getting to the point. Sebastian couldn’t help but look at him with eyes that said, ‘Whether born as a woman or a man, this bastard is always born as a lunatic, isn’t he?’
“In his past life too, Shin-yeon never escaped that label. Our parents were very upset about it. I know Shin-yeon was happy. He was probably satisfied until the end. But Your Majesty, he was the heir to this family. He was the only legitimate son of the family and had a royal as his mother. A descendant of a noble family, his sister was a queen, and… he himself was capable. If it weren’t for the emperor’s favor, he would have become as renowned in the world as his father. Such a person died being treated as a male prostitute all his life. Just because of love.”
This was why he disliked this woman.
Sebastian, or rather Wu Gi-ryeon, glared at Lee Se-yeon. Lee Se-yeon and Wu Gi-ryeon had been engaged since childhood. The two were a politically perfect couple. Perhaps if Wu Gi-ryeon hadn’t loved Lee Shin-yeon, they would have ended up together. And they might have become the most plausible emperor and empress in the history of the Hwa Empire.
However, between them was Lee Shin-yeon. One loved him too much, and the other had grown up with him from the womb. Naturally, they both cherished him and came to hate each other. It’s quite ironic that only after hating each other so much did they come to understand who the other was and what they wanted.
Wu Gi-ryeon was almost immune to all poisons. He had deep knowledge of medicine, especially poisons, and even trained his body with poisons to protect himself. For such a Wu Gi-ryeon, Lee Se-yeon was the only one who could attack him with the poison of words. She knew well how to hurt Wu Gi-ryeon to the point of death.
Even reborn, her sharp skills remained. Sebastian swallowed a lump of something indistinguishable between pain and anger, recalling the numerous injustices Lee Shin-yeon had to endure “just because of love.”
Lee Se-yeon, or now Richard Schnieke, a well-respected clergyman, looked straight at Sebastian and said,
“Must he be eternally insulted again just because of love? Because of your so-called love, must he live being treated as a gold digger again?”
“So, are you still obsessing over your brilliant brother?”
When Sebastian asked, Richard’s eyes widened.
“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t recognize whose name Armin Schnieke is? It’s your brother’s name. The soldier who died because of child soldiers, Armin Schnieke.”
Not much is known about Richard Schnieke’s childhood, and it wasn’t easy to find out. However, while investigating Armin, Sebastian explored his entire surroundings and discovered a very interesting point about Richard Schnieke. At the age of thirty, Richard met a twelve-year-old child soldier and gave him his brother’s name. That brother had volunteered for an expeditionary force in the year Richard turned eighteen and died caught up in a child soldier’s suicide bombing. Then Richard, who had been a good enough student to aspire to Fates University, suddenly entered a theological college.
The Schnieke brothers were born in the countryside. In a close-knit and closed community where they knew how many spoons each other had, the orphaned brothers relied on each other. More precisely, Richard depended on his brother Armin. Richard was a prodigy known to everyone in the village, and Armin volunteered for the army to support his younger brother’s studies but met with misfortune. After that incident, Richard Schnieke never sought worldly pleasures again.
The people of the rural village where the Schnieke brothers lived unanimously described Richard Schnieke as “a gloomy child who studies well but abnormally follows his brother around.” Just hearing that, one could guess how intense Richard’s obsession with his brother was.
In the end, Lee Se-yeon again depended on her sibling. And the sibling crossed a dangerous bridge to support Lee Se-yeon.
“The world has changed now. We’re going to get married. We’ll be legal spouses, and no one will dare say such things to Armin. If anything happens to me, Armin will be my sole heir. But Richard, you’ve been reborn and the world has changed, yet…”
Sebastian’s voice had no inflection. Richard shook his head. It seemed like something he didn’t want to hear, something he shouldn’t hear, was about to come out. He knew he had started it, but still, he didn’t want to hear it.
However, Sebastian, as always, showed no mercy.
“You’ve devoured your sibling again.”
Devoured your sibling.
That was Lee Se-yeon’s original sin. Lee Se-yeon had been in pain throughout her past life. Lee Shin-yeon seemed unaware of what he was going through. Even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t have cared much. The most important thing for Lee Shin-yeon was his own innocence. He was remarkably indifferent to others’ standards and gazes. But Lee Se-yeon was constantly plagued by the guilt of pushing her beloved sibling into that pit. Thinking about how her young desires had made her sibling live a life full of disgrace, she couldn’t close her eyes even in death. In fact, she lived a long life, but thought of Lee Shin-yeon throughout her dying moments. She even left a will asking to be buried next to Lee Shin-yeon. Of course, it was an impossible wish. Lee Shin-yeon’s body was buried in the same coffin as the emperor.
In the year Richard was six, he realized who he was. After nearly dying from eating rotten food due to lack of food, when he came to his senses, all his memories flooded in. After that, he was terrified that his brother Armin might be Lee Shin-yeon, that he might become like Lee Shin-yeon. He studied like mad. He was determined to rise quickly and make Armin live comfortably. If Armin had lived, Richard probably wouldn’t have taken the path of a clergyman. He would have surely become the most vicious schemer and ambitious person. But Armin died, and he was left alone. Armin had volunteered for a dangerous deployment because he wanted to support Richard’s studies more. So again, Richard’s greed, Lee Se-yeon’s desire for success, had harmed her sibling.
Richard looked straight at Sebastian and smiled faintly.
“That’s right.”
He didn’t deny it. Rather, he affirmed it and moved closer to Sebastian to whisper.
“So, you see. We both know now, don’t we? That there is a fate engraved on our souls. I harmed my sibling, and because of you, Armin will again live a life full of slander. Step back.”
The reason Richard became a clergyman was simple. It was because he came to believe in God. He believed in reincarnation, in God, in fate. Everything just repeats like a wheel. So Richard said Sebastian should step back. Sebastian gritted his teeth with a pale face.
Whether woman or man, he had never liked this person. It seemed he never would.
He truly thought so.
Just before the engagement ceremony began, Sebastian embraced Armin, who had returned like a butterfly after greeting all sorts of people. Seeing the somewhat unstable gesture, Armin relaxed his body and snuggled close to Sebastian, wrapping his arms around him and patting him. Only after some time had passed did Sebastian ask in a low voice.
“What do you think about fate?”
Armin seemed to be thinking of a fate suitable for an engagement ceremony. Something like fated love. But what came to Sebastian’s mind was the word ‘shackles’.
“Isn’t it good?”
“Let’s say I knew you in a past life. I made a mistake with you then. And now I’ve met you again in this life, and if I make a similar mistake again, is that fate? Am I destined to repeat that mistake forever?”
“What nonsense. If you put it that way, where the hell did all those Canaris bastards come from?”
Armin snorted. The sudden mention of Canaris was absurd, but it did clear his head a bit. As Sebastian loosened his hold on Armin slightly, Armin stepped just one step away from Sebastian. Not to distance himself, but to look at Sebastian straight on, and to show his own face.
“Hey, don’t talk such nonsense. I don’t know who told you that crap, but it’s all bullshit. Then what the hell were those Canaris bastards in their past lives? And what sin did our country’s people commit to be born in the same country as those Canaris bastards every time and go through that shit? And, if such a fate exists, doesn’t that mean God exists too? What is God doing then? Just running the same program and getting the same results? If that’s the case, why bother with all this? It’d be better to just blow up the Earth.”
“You’re getting too worked up. I was just saying…”
“You’re talking nonsense on a good day. Damn, we met those Canaris bastards in a past life too? It’s irritating just thinking about it. It’s too pitiful to think we repeat the act of killing those bastards every time. And,”
Just as Armin was about to add more, a bang was heard from somewhere. It was the sound of an explosion. Seeing people screaming, Armin clicked his tongue.
“These damn bastards, I knew they’d cause trouble! You’re saying I was entangled with these bastards in a past life too? Curse them all!”
Armin grumbled, “There’s nothing they won’t do at someone else’s engagement ceremony!” and started running towards the source of the sound.
Someone else’s engagement ceremony?
Watching Kouri and other security guards rushing over, Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh. Armin was right. If all fates were fulfilled exactly the same way, there should have been such madmen in Lee Shin-yeon’s life too. But while he might have fought some wars, there were no lunatics like Canaris in Lee Shin-yeon’s life.
Like all divinations, there was no limit to how much you could force things to fit. It felt like eyes that had been blinded by a curse suddenly became clear. Sebastian laughed alone as he watched the engagement guests panic. It was a pleasant engagement ceremony, like feeling transformed from a frog into a human.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
