Arjuna's POV :
After revealing everything to Angraj Karna, I felt proud of my plan. I thought he would easily accept us as his family.
But when he rushed to his old house, looking bewildered and disturbed, I realized my mistake then and there.
I had been selfish. I should have considered his feelings more. After all, it's not easy to accept such a harsh fate.
Maybe I was just trying to complete my task. But some truths are meant to unfold slowly, at their own pace.
I may know the entire history of the Mahabharata… but that doesn't mean I have the right to disrupt the natural order.
It's still ironic that I'm living as Arjuna—my idol—whose entire life story is familiar to me.
"Do I really deserve this?"—I can't help but wonder.
I had completely forgotten about my Mata Kunti.
"Is she even ready to face him—with such a painful truth?"
Anxious, I kept pacing around my room.
That's when a servant entered with a message.
"Angraj Karna wishes to meet you, Kumar Arjuna."
"Tell him to come in."
"As you wish, Kumar Arjuna." [Kumar = Prince]
He entered my chamber shortly after. To my surprise, he didn't look angry. I had expected him to start yelling the moment he saw me. But he looked calm. Dangerously calm.
"Angraj Karna—"
"Jyesth. Call me Jyesth."
He said it so calmly, it felt like a threat.
"Oh… then I'll call you Jyesth. Anyway, did you meet your parents—and my… no, our Mata Kunti?"
"Yes, I did. You were right… Anuj." [Anuj = Younger brother]
The moment he called me that, my heart melted. I never had a brother in my past life.
Yet it felt like he had always been my brother—longer than I could ever imagine.
'There's no way I've actually ended the enmity between Arjuna and Karna…' It felt surreal.
"Jyesth… I wanted to say sorry. I overheard Mata's conversation with one of her maids about your identity. That's when I decided to tell you the truth.
But I know you deserved to hear it from her directly. I just… I wasn't thinking. Could you give her a little more time? She's not ready to face society just yet."
"I understand, Anuj. It must be hard for Mata to face the truth—and harder still to accept her mistakes."
"Thank you, Jyesth. You're truly kind and understanding. I don't think I could've stayed this calm in your place. Would you like to tell our brothers the truth too?"
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Karna's POV :
Sometimes, I just don't understand this kid. There's no doubt he's as sly as Gandhararaj Shakuni—I could swear on it.
And yet, he completely missed the venom in my words. I had literally called myself a mistake.
But all he cares about is telling my other brothers the truth.
"Are you always like this? Do you naturally ignore the words you don't like?" I asked, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Jyesth, I don't understand… What did I ignore?" he asked, confused—his eyes full of innocence.
Is he really this naive… or just a brilliant actor?
I was confused again. A part of me wondered if I had misunderstood him.
"No, nothing. I should leave now."
I figured the best thing to do was leave him alone to reflect.
Just as I took a step toward the door—
"Jyesth! Wait—one more thing." he called out.
I turned with an irritated expression. "What now? If this is about revealing the truth to your—my—other brothers, it's not possible right now. I'll do it when the time is right."
"No… I wanted to talk about your Mitra—Duryodhana."
Now he had my full attention.
"What about him?" I asked, curious.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke.
"I need your help to pacify him and his brothers. Can you help me?"
Every doubt I had about him vanished.
Now I was sure of Arjuna's true nature.
He was that cheap—to use his own brother just to reach his goal.
"I'll help you. You're my favorite Anuj, after all." I smiled—falsely.
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