Leo’s pure white robe fluttered behind him as he rushed along the hall. His footsteps echoed around the room, pounding faster just like his racing heartbeat. The people who guarded the ballroom’s door were flustered at his sudden arrival, and they almost didn’t make it to open the doors for him.

The gentle sunlight penetrating through the thin curtains turned the atmosphere surreal. Everything was white as far as Leo’s eyes could see, including the stone casket in the middle of the room.

His footsteps came to a full stop as he entered the room, and it felt like his heart stopped too as he began to process his surroundings.

Everything was too surreal.

With legs as heavy as leads, Leo stepped closer to the stone casket. All sounds seemed to leave his ears; replaced with loud thumping of his own heart and the ringing sound that grew louder as he came even closer.

Surrounded in pure white baby’s breaths, there was a face Leo had known too closely.

Loud thumping sound echoed as Leo fell to his knees, out of breath. His heart was hot and cold at the same time, as if someone stabbed it with icicles and left it bleeding out.

The only one person Leo held dear, the only one that held together his crumbling will to live, had left him just before he reached home.

He endured all those wars, all those harsh and cold battles, solely on the thought that he would be able to come home to that person’s warm smile and embrace. But even that one last warmth they shared before he went to the battlefield 3 years prior had almost completely faded.

No matter how replaceable people thought that person was, Fourth Prince Ravi was an irreplaceable existence to Leo.

The first time they met was in their fated Blood Oath. Ravi had just turned 20, and he was required to select a Personal Knight from among the Imperial Soldiers. Although on the surface he had the right to choose, the Emperor had decided that Grand Duke Leo would be appointed as his Knight.

To others, that decision might seem absurd. Leo was the only person who held the title ‘Grand Duke’ in the Empire, and he also partially shared the Imperial blood. Not to mention, he held a curious power that made enemies call him ‘The Demon of the Battlefield’. A mere Fourth Prince born from a tribute concubine of a defeated country wasn’t worthy enough to be the master of the Emperor’s favorite war machine.

But those who knew just how cowardly the Emperor was, and how little love he had towards his children—if he even had any to begin with—would quickly understand why he made that decision.

If Leo were to start a revolt, the Emperor could just slit Ravi’s throat, and Leo would die along with him as the result of their Blood Oath.

“The Oath…” Leo whispered as he remembered.

With trembling hands, he ed the suffocating shirt he had to wear during his previous audience with the Emperor. If his Blood Oath wasn’t just a fever dream or some sort, there should be a marking on his left chest as the proof of their Oath.

When he yanked open the shirt, the mark that had been decorating his chest for the last 8 years was gone.

Leo felt like his blood rushed backwards. One fear loomed at the back of his mind, but he forced himself to face the truth. Slowly, he raised back to his feet and stepped closer to the casket. He bent over and brought his trembling hands to Ravi’s cold chest, over the buttons of his pristine white shirt.

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” whispered Leo.

One by one, he ed the shirt, and his shaky breath became steadier with each button. After taking a deep breath, Leo swiped open the shirt to reveal the skin beneath.

On Ravi’s left chest was the mark of their Oath, burnt black as if someone stamped it with hot iron.

Leo felt like vomiting. He knew what a burnt mark signified.

It wasn’t his life that got tied to Ravi; it’s the other way around.

The Emperor traded his worthless legitimate son with his favorite killing machine bastard.

Suddenly everything made sense. Every time Leo used his power, there were supposed to be drawbacks. He could feel lethargic, or extreme pain, to the point he would be vulnerable during the war. The main reason why he used his power sparingly wasn’t because he was merciful towards his enemies, but more because he wanted to prolong his own life.

During the more recent wars, however, he noticed that the drawbacks were lessened significantly. He purely thought that he had finally, somehow, taken control of the power he previously couldn’t control. With less drawbacks, he began to use his power more often, and became more ruthless in battles. After all, the faster he ended the war, the faster he could return home.

Home.

Leo turned away from Ravi’s casket, covering his mouth with his hands in an attempt to calm his churning stomach.

Why couldn’t he realize that Ravi had grown paler and more sickly each time Leo came home from war? All the drawbacks that were supposed to hit Leo were transferred to Ravi instead. Leo did hear from Amethyst Palace’s butler that Ravi seemed to be suffering from nightmares whenever Leo went to the battlefield. But instead of linking Ravi’s suffering to his lessening drawbacks, Leo only thought that Ravi simply longed for his presence. Ravi's warm smile and kind embrace never reflected any of his sufferings. Ravi was the light that purified all the blood staining Leo's hands, although Leo didn't realize how he had robbed himself of that light.

“Had I known that it would end like this… Had I known any better…”

Tears and guilt came spilling out, like a thunderstorm that shook Leo to his very core.

And like the ominous silence that followed behind the storm, Leo left the Amethyst Palace without a single sound.

The deep hollow he felt in his chest, he paid it back in full to the Emperor. He painted the throne red, turning the silent white into vengeful crimson.

When the sun shone upon him, Leo knew that his last war had ended.

It was finally time for him to go home.