259 A Crack in the Relationship (1/2)
The ball of golden flame just didn't show his family the memories of his past life. The Sun God also showed them the pieces of memories of other people involved in that tragedy. No wonder his parents and brother looked as shocked as he was.
But he had to say that his father had it worst.
Dad looks so pale.
”It was me, wasn't it?” Julian asked in a cracked voice, finally breaking the silence that ensued after the memories of the past were shown to them like a play. ”The child who came to Lady Morganna… the child where the emperor got the Holy Scepter from…” He clutched his chest tight, pain evident in his eyes. ”I was the reason why you were killed by His Majesty in the past, Winter.”
”It's not your fault, Brother,” Winter said while shaking his head. ”You were just used by Aku Moonchester in the past.” He clicked his tongue, then he looked up at the ceiling. ”Grandpa, why didn't you show Julian's memories?”
”'Grandpa?'”
He turned to his mother and nodded before he explained. ”Mommy, the Sun God told me to call him 'Grandpa.'”
His mommy's face didn't change. For some reason, her calmness was scaring him. It was as if she was bottling up her feelings, and she would explode anytime ”It's a shame that we don't have the luxury to dwell on that fact,” she said without emotions, then she changed the topic. ”Anyway, the fact that Aku Moonchester was able to draw the Holy Scepter from the ”child” that he mentioned is a hint that we can also take out the scepter inside Julian without killing him. The emperor also mentioned that he was able to create a new host for it using the Great Fire Tree.” She turned to Julian and her face softened up a bit. ”Isn't that great, Julian? We're headed to the Great Fire Tree. We can figure out how to save you then.”
”Mother, I'm confused,” Julian said, his face and voice both filled with pain. ”I don't remember the life that I saw. After I was killed in my past life, the one where I was the second child, the next thing I know is I was already in the care of Brother Flint's parents.”
”Calm down, son,” their mother said, then she caressed Julian's face. ”It doesn't matter whether you remember it or not. It's all in the past anyway. The important thing is now we know that there's a way to separate the Holy Scepter from your body.”
”Mother…”
”Mommy is right, Brother,” Winter said, causing Julian to turn to him. ”Please don't feel guilty. You weren't the one who stabbed me with the Holy Scepter…”
He trailed-off when he noticed that Julian suddenly went pale.
Ah, his brother probably remembered the scene of his death.
”Sorry, Brother,” he said guiltily. ”I shouldn't have said that.”
”Don't apologize, Winter,” Julian said. ”You're the victim here.”
His Dad looked at him with pain and guilt in his eyes. ”I'm sorry,” his father said while looking at him, his brother, and his mother. ”I really am.”
Before anyone could console him, he bolted out of the room.
”Father…”
”Dad!”
”Let him be,” their mother said, then she stood up. ”Kids, stay here. I will send Roarke and Jameson here to guard you.”
”Mother…”
”Mommy…”
Their mother finally smiled. It wasn't her usual bright smile, but it was enough to comfort them. ”Winter, Julian, I'm okay. I really am. My past life helped me become the person that I am now, so I don't really mind even if that one ended tragically. But most importantly…” She put her left hand on Julian's head and the right one on Winter's. ”None of it was your fault, my precious little cinnamon rolls.”
***
KIHO threw up.
This was the first time that he threw up after so long. He had killed many people and gods in all the lifetimes that he had. But the image of his own son blowing up in front of him…
He threw up again.
Thank goodness he was able to bolt out of the room before his stomach acted up. To make sure that his wife and children wouldn't hear him vomit, he went to the bathroom at the end of the hallway in the first floor.
”Do you have an upset stomach?”
Kiho flinched when he heard Tilly's voice. When he looked at the mirror, he saw his wife leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest. Ah, she was one of the few people who could sneak up on him like that. ”I'm fine,” he said. He was relieved that Tilly came when he just finished the mess he made in the sink. ”Tilly, can you please give me a moment?”
Without waiting for her response, he began to wash his face. The water was cold but of course, it didn't bother him. He was used to that.
”No,” Tilly said firmly. ”We need to talk now.”
Instead of answering, he just finished washing his face first. Then, he grabbed the face towel hanging on the wall before he turned around to face his wife.
”You're feeling guilty, aren't you?” Tilly asked with a raised brow. ”You feel bad that you weren't able to protect our family in the past.”
His jaw clenched, but he still remained quiet.
”Why though?” she asked. ”I already told you how my first life as 'Lady Prescott' has ended, Kiho.”
”You didn't tell me that Winter blew up in front of me,” he said in an angry tone. But he wasn't angry at Tilly. He was angry at himself and he knew that his wife was aware of it. ”Tilly, I let our son get killed. At such a young age, he sacrificed himself to take down the Moonchesters because I was useless.”
”Well, that's true.”