Chapter 24: You’ll Be the Hero

Pepin closed the doors quietly behind them, and Kai could easily tell that there was something on the servant’s mind as he had kept silent all the time on their way back from the war council room. As of now, he had to start preparing himself to march against the House of Uxilan, whatever that meant.

“Pepin, are you worried? Do you think the same thing as before might happen?” he asked cautiously, trying to find a way to gather information from the servant without appearing too suspicious and un-Sebastian-like. He had no idea why that even concerned him at this point since there were so many other more important things at stake.

He turned to look at Pepin and froze at the sight of those lovely eyes swimming in tears. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He had no idea what to do. Was he supposed to offer his handkerchief? Galien had done that for him when he had cried over exchanging lollipops with Pepin and making a mess out of it.

Pepin surprised him again by rushing over and hugging him tightly.

“Pepin, you’re suffocating me,” Kai complained. “What happened last time when I went against those jerks that you’re so emotional right now?”

What were the rules of dealing with an emotional boyfriend? He had no idea because he had never had a boyfriend before. But he hadn’t been OP before, either, so he just had to get used to it and do the right thing.

“You almost died,” Pepin said while sobbing. “I thought I really lost you.”

“Come on, for real? I’m OP, I mean I’m so powerful and I can freeze anyone, right? You don’t have to worry so much. Tell me what happened then that you’re so messed up right now.” He was basically using Pepin’s feelings to get information out of him, but it was for a noble cause, and he had no time to spare on regretting his methods.

“They took your magic away,” Pepin said and buried his head into Kai’s chest while violent sobs racked his body. “Don’t you remember?”

Oh, shit. Kai hadn’t expected anything like that, and now he could feel his entire body getting stiff and his feet cold. “How the hell did they do that?”

“They’re dark magic wielders,” Pepin explained while pressing his forehead hard against Kai. “I don’t know how, but they did.”

“Then how did I win against them?” Kai murmured.

“You crushed them with your sword and wits alone. And there was also...”

“What was?” Kai asked impatiently, seeing how Pepin had stopped talking.

“The protection magic your mother cast on you shortly after your birth,” Pepin said and began crying harder.

Well, that wasn’t so bad. If he had a protection spell cast on him and Sebastian’s incredible martial skills on his side, he could still win even without ice magic. “Then I’ll be fine this time around, too,” he said simply. “You don’t have to cry your heart out over a simple thing like this.”

“Sebastian, how come you don’t understand?” Pepin raised his tear-filled eyes and stared at him. “Even your mother could only do this much. You no longer have her protection. It was gone the moment they tried to kill you. And why do you have me remind you all these things? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer?”

“Maybe I should get her to cast another,” Kai replied, ignoring Pepin’s emotional speech, but he no longer felt so sure of himself. “But why did Galien call it a whim of fate when we were in the war council room?” As much as Pepin could start getting suspicious of him, he needed to ask all the right questions and get the correct answers.

“Because your mother didn’t think you should ever need it, and it was only because a vulture tried to hurt you in your crib while she still cared for you as a small child that she cast it on you.”

“For real? Why did she think I shouldn’t need it? Because of my OP ... my ice magic?”

“No.” Pepin shook his head. “The people taking care of you once you were brought here, to the castle, they said ... They all say that your mother is cruel. That she believes that should you fail, it will only be your fault for not being as strong as she made you to be.”

“And as soon as she thought that, I was about to become a vulture’s breakfast,” Kai said matter-of-factly. No matter what the people around believed about Sebastian, the prince couldn’t have had it easy with a mother like that.

So, the chances were that the House of Uxilan would leave him without his ice magic, and he was minus protection spell from mother dearest, anyway. That left him with nothing but the ability to hold a sword, so all in all, he no longer felt as OP as before. Damn, why did Sebastian’s enemies have to be even more OP than him?

That wasn’t very nice of them.

He took Pepin by the shoulders and made him sit with him on the bed. “Pepin, I will have to do this.” He hoped that the ice goddess wouldn’t let her own son be defeated so easily and that she would chip in at the right time. Well, it was a slim hope seeing how cruel she was, indeed, but at least when her son had been about to get devoured by a predatory bird, she had decided to protect him.

That was everything he had, and he needed to put it to good use. It didn’t matter that his feet felt like lead, and it appeared that coordinating his limbs was a feat even as he did as little as hold Pepin by the shoulders to provide him with the assurance he needed right now.

“You could always tell them that you changed your mind,” Pepin said. He looked at him with eyes full of hope. “Master Galien’s plan is much better. He is an excellent strategist, and even you said that on numerous occasions. He held the border of Kelonia without losing almost any people all these years.”

There were so many things he didn’t know about his cousin, Kai realized. So it could be that Sebastian had left Galien to take care of his duchy and not pushed him away so that he wouldn’t steal his lovers, as rumors had it. Or, it could be both, and what did he know, anyway?

“Yes, I know, his plan was sound,” Kai admitted. “But I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Pepin turned away from his touch. “Anyone but you? Is that what you’re saying, Sebastian? You’ve always been like this, rushing in the face of danger, like ... like I don’t even exist!”

“Pepin,” Kai said sternly, “don’t tell me you’re selfish. Don’t you care about all these people who could lose their homes, their families, their lives?”

“I do, but do they care about anything else but themselves? They say ‘all hail Prince Sebastian’ while gossiping behind your back, saying that you’re cruel and that your heart is made of ice. Their mean eyes fill with glee each time you part with yet another lover, celebrating behind closed doors and feeling proud that they can have what you cannot.”

“Ugh, Pepin, you kinda lost me. And I’m not talking about nobles, but about, you know, the knights and the troops that will have to go to war.”

“They’ve trained all their life for it. Why shouldn’t they go to war?” Pepin said in a strained voice. “And everyone thinks the same, everyone! They know they are protected by you. And at the same time, they hate you because you’re so strong, superior, above them all. Yes, they all think that, all but me!”

“Now, now, Pepin, don’t overreact,” Kai tried to reason. “And Galien cares about me, and Conrad, too. Not everyone’s bad. If there’s even one soul that deserves my protection and OP-ness, then it’s enough. And that soul is you,” he added.

Pepin turned to look at him again. “If it’s for me, don’t do it, Sebastian. I want you here, with me, alive and well. I don’t care about anything else. Even though --” he choked and sobbed.

Kai sighed. “Do you want me to hide behind these doors, while people are fighting outside? You know that’s not who I am.” He honestly hoped he sounded as much as Sebastian right now as he could.

Pepin nodded. “I do know. But it is still worth trying to change your mind.”

“Sorry, Pepin. I know you wanted to go see the Shimmering Cavern, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

Pepin looked down, seemingly in defeat. “Then there is only one way. You will take me with you.”

Kai snorted. “Yeah, right, no. Getting a dragon’s tear was one thing. Fighting against assassins with dark magic and poisoned blades is on a whole different level. It’s endgame stuff, and you’re only like level four or something even if you’re great as a support and all.”

“You cannot keep me from coming with you. And now I know --” Pepin stopped again.

What? Kai suddenly became curious. Now and then, Pepin acted strangely. “What do you know?”

“You’re not him,” Pepin said brusquely. “I’ve wondered for so long ... but now I’m sure.”

Holy.

Shit.

Kai stood from the bed cautiously and pretended that he needed to check on the state of his sleeves which were totally fine. “Um, what do you mean?” Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that he misunderstood everything, and Pepin was talking about completely something else.

Pepin’s eyes were clear when he risked a look at him. “I don’t know who you are and why you are here, but I know you’re not him. So you have to let me come with you because I cannot let you die now that I found you. Sebastian is not the only one who got his future told. And I know I’m to be loved.”

“Uh-huh, you don’t make any sense, you know? I am Sebastian, no need to talk about me, to me, in third person.”

All right, so it looked like he had a huge problem on his hands right now. Kai began walking slowly toward the door. Of all the times Pepin could have said something, he had to choose the moment when he needed to play Prince Sebastian for real and go against a nation of dark magic wielders.

Pepin walked toward him purposefully. “I must protect you. You cannot stop me from taking me with you.”

“Actually, I can.” He hated to do this, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. The last thing he needed was for Pepin to start shouting off the top of his lungs that he wasn’t the real prince. Also, whatever was happening right now, it was no longer child’s play, and he couldn’t have Pepin hurt in any way. And all that stuff, with Pepin figuring out everything, it had to wait.

“What?” Pepin asked. “What do you intend to do?”

“I think it’s quite simple since I’m the prince,” he said, trying hard to believe that. He walked to the doors and pulled them open. “Guards!” he called, hoping to sound royal and convincing. Two armed men hurried to him. “Take Pepin and escort him to his room,” he said, fighting a crack in his voice that he hadn’t known to be there. “Make sure he stays in there until I return from Uxilan.”

“Your Majesty, you cannot!” Pepin jumped to his feet.

If Pepin started shouting that he was an imposter right now, he would be royally screwed.

“Oh, yes, I can,” Kai said and bit his lips to stop them from their slight trembling. “Guys, take him,” he told the guards.

He didn’t look Pepin in the eye as he was dragged away by the guards, shouting and kicking. As soon as he was alone, he closed the doors and let himself slide to the floor, his back against them. He buried his head in his hands. How the hell was he supposed to fight those jerks? Was Sebastian OP enough just yielding his sword? And would Pepin tell the guards he wasn’t their lord and master? Would they believe him?