Kave, silent in the corner, had watched it all. The king—his king that he had never trusted because he think his king is using Carlos, his grace incarnate that he think his king was too cold and his friend, the very first friend that made him serves his duke, Carlos —vomiting in a dungeon he didn't belong in. Carlos towering like a shadow, carrying him as if he weighed nothing.
So that's what loyalty looks like when it burns.
Kave had always thought Erevan was...tough. Strong behind that calm, regal mask and cold. But seeing the way his face crumpled at the smell of rot and blood? The way he collapsed? It hit him hard. Kave has realized that he was wrong. He is not cold, he is just acting.
"He's too kind for this," Kave muttered under his breath. "And fragile as glass."
He clenched his fists. Not because the king was weak—but because he'd been fooled by the smiles, the composure. His friend had suffered alone, bleeding quietly beneath silk and gold.
---
Kave stared at the prisoner bound to the chair. The man was trembling now, his eyes wide and darting.
"Funny," Kave said, leaning back. "You thought you were smart. Poison and flowers. No blade work, no traces."
"N–no! I swear—"
Kave's fist connected to the man's jaw so fast he barely saw it move.
"I don't need swearing." Kave smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I need names."
As Kave put the the iron sticks directly into the man hands and put it down through the hands.
And the scream can be hear through the prison room and even through the castle. And Kave really doesn't want Carlos nor Erevan to hear.
" Shhhh.."
"Don't cry. Tears are precious." Kave smiles like a angle but in the prisoner's eyes, it is a demon.
And the scream can be hear again and again from the outside of prison until they becomes sobs as Kave made them as whispers. And the guards don't know that Kave can be like this, they have always seen his cheerful smile but they have never know this side of him. They all had made decisions that they would never made Kave angry.
The man spat blood and sobbing. "It was... the queen's chef... The wine, the lilies... I was just—"
"Oh..., really?"
Kave's eyes narrowed.
The chef. Well he didn't say he didn't expect that. But to hear it like that, it sure suprises him. He didn't even had started the torture. The prisoner had spoken already.
"Hmm..."
" Don't worry."
" After everything I will made it quick so that you wouldn't have to die painfully. After all you really help me." Kave leaves not listening to the prison pleases. And the only thing he is really thinking is
The queen's own appointment. The palace was rotten from the inside, Kave thought.
---
Carlos sat on the edge of Erevan's bed, arms crossed, completely unamused.
The king lay unconscious, still too sick to argue. He looked even younger like that—face relaxed, lips parted slightly. Innocent.
Carlos scowled. "He's pathetic."
Lumira looked at Carlos, eyebrow raised. "He nearly died."
"He nearly puked his lungs out in a dungeon he decided to visit."
She smirked. "Sounds familiar."
Carlos didn't answer. Just reached down, flicked his brother's forehead gently.
Erevan groaned in his sleep.
"Stupid," Carlos muttered—too quiet for anyone but Lumira to hear.
Lumira's smile softened. "You do realize every time you call him that, you're talking about yourself."
Carlos glared half-heartedly. "...No."
But his hand stayed resting on Erevan's arm just a little too long.