I Will Avoid The Death Flag [It's Published]
41. Strangest

Calmaria granted Cioten's request by giving him a pavilion far from the capital as his residence.

Chloe, Calmaria's personal servant, lives in the pavilion with Cioten as her servant. It is Calmaria's own plea for Chloe to be willing to serve her son's needs.

In the pavilion, there was no day without feeling tormented. The curse within his body grew even more so, tormenting him severely. However, Cioten is able to survive any pain suffered. Cioten was able to snatch away the roar of breath that he fought greedily. Cioten survived despite a two-way knife.

The first blade, it was regret when he needed to endure alone with the curse on his body. However, Cioten knew for sure that he could not stay with Viten if he did not want to block his brother's path to the goal. You can imagine if Cioten beside him, Viten will continue to look for ways to cure the curse rather than continue his studies to become the ruler of the country.

The second knife, staying without a knight beside him makes Cioten pursued by the assassins. Cioten needed to train his muscles and sword martial arts to survive.

Once upon a time when Cioten caught the assassin, a crazy smile perched on his lips. His fingers played Calmaria's dagger, occasionally scraping it on the killer's body.

"What should I do to you, huh? How dare you trace my house without permission" said Cioten in a happy voice. There was no trace of fatigue or cold tone of voice when facing the enemy, there was only joy on his face.

"I've got to kill you!" exclaiming the assassin who had been tied up in a wooden chair.

Cioten laughed satisfied. "Thank you for saying that my life is so precious that someone is after it. But I'm sorry, I'm not going to lay my curse-filled soul in your filthy hands. Even though I'm tormented, I still want to fight for it."

The room was filled with a groan of pain as Cioten could not stop torturing the assassin using his dagger until the killer died.

Initially, Cioten thought that it was normal to torture the hitman who was after him to find out who the sender was. However, over time, the activity feels fun for Cioten who is bored. Cioten so often tortures the killers who are after his life without hesitation.

Melodies of ripples of sound that formed harmony ran through the air, making the sense of satisfaction in the chest bulldoze. As if the orchestral accompaniment was soothing, Cioten continued to do the same thing to listen to the same melody. Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Cioten often do it without hesitation, making torture as an outlet for the stress of a whack curse. The curse that almost made Cioten feel crazy because it had taken Cioten hundreds of times into the gap between life and death.

It torments Cioten.

Torturing him until Cioten felt like giving up on life. Until Cioten almost made his favorite dagger not play on the surface of the skin of the killers, but his own skin.

Seeing the blood pouring profusely from his slashed arm, sent a calming sensation for Cioten. It was soothing, peaceful, and opiate. However, Cioten was unable to continue after Chloe caught him.

Ah, disappointing.

In the end, Cioten gave up on hurting himself. Instead, he tortured the assassins more brutally and more horribly. Seeing how they begged for his life on Cioten was opium.

"Ah, why, huh? Though life is very short, but they beg to live when they know sooner or later they will die" muttered Cioten after seeing someone die because of his torture.

And Viten, who was finally able to visit Cioten after six years, learned the fact that his sister had turned into a psychopath.

...***...

Cioten lived with so much suffering. Not only is Cioten cursed, Cioten has no one by his side to cherish Cioten. There's Chloe, but the waiter's just doing a commanding job, nothing more.

Growing up in a lack of affection made Cioten feel that the love story was not worth her in life. Cioten felt unworthy to fight. Cioten felt that his wound and hole were not worthy of love.

Moreover, losing contact with the older brother who had grown up during the fourteen years with him made Cioten almost crazy. If only Cioten had not refrained from contacting Viten or Cioten would have only influenced Viten's path to becoming King.

In the end, enduring the agony for thirteen years was treatable when he saw Viten proudly wearing the King's crown on his head in his coronation.

Cioten smiled proudly at his brother whom he loved.

Finally, at Viten's request, Cioten left the pavilion outside the city and stayed in Matria's original territory to manage it and establish his influence there. Viten initially disapproves, but is devastated when Cioten mentions the curse.

Viten loves his sister, that's all. And listening from his own little sister's mouth that the curse had been on his body for thirteen years made Viten feel pain.

"Destiny will lead us to the goal if Big Brother becomes King. Don't hate Mom, don't hate me, and don't hate yourself Brother," Cioten muttered that to soothe Viten's guilt. "I'm sorry for not telling you the reason why we're both cursed."

Viten lived alone for decades without knowing why his mother and sister were cursed. It really tormented her.

...***...

In the end, Cioten returned to the Palace of Happiness after hearing that the former Princess in the Matria Kingdom had been appointed Princess Asher.

Cioten was a little curious about the Princess so he ended up visiting the Palace of Happiness. It seemed, for a long time Cioten had not tracked down the palace he had lived in for fourteen years. Leaving a sense of nostalgia in the chest.

"So you, yes, the new Princess? What's your name? Cereal? The serena? Wait, that's not it."

"Serethy," cut off Viten, confirming Cioten's answer.

It was there that Cioten found Serethy Asher, without a middle name, with a strange feeling in his chest when he saw the cold Viten giving his gentle side to Serethy. Then, in the evening, Serethy caught Cioten killing his subordinates.

His subordinates have been saying nonsense regarding Serethy and it bothers Cioten.

Then his other subordinates also said similar things.

Cioten did not know why he ended up killing all his subordinates because of that one fact.

Serethy was a lucky girl, Cioten agreed. If his brother does not make Serethy the Princess, Serethy will live his life with misfortune.

However, Cioten could not keep quiet after learning that his subordinates were vilifying Serethy, his brother's loved ones.

Cioten could tell that Viten had a gentle side only to Serethy and listening to them vilify his brother's loved ones made Cioten lose his mind and kill them all.

"Daughter, remember, yes, it's a secret. Our conversation, what the Princess saw, the cool red blood, and the dagger game. Everything here is a secret."

"Of course, Prince. I'm good at keeping secrets."

Cioten liked the tough side that the girl showed. Though Cioten could tell if the girl was scared to death.

However, the attempt to not show the weak side to the opponent made Cioten feel astonished. Until unknowingly, Cioten also gave his soft side to Serethy.

It was just a small soft side aimed at Serethy. However, as time went on, a hint of feeling slowly turned into an unstoppable enslaving feeling.

Cioten was amazed at how strong Serethy was in dealing with problems, in dealing with Clare, and how Serethy solved his problems alone wisely.

That's new for Cioten who grew up prioritizing loneliness.

Cioten grew up alone, facing the whole problem alone, facing loneliness and loneliness alone. Cioten knew how torturing the same thing was. But that's where Serethy is. Solve everything with empty palms that seem to intend to hold the world in it. Cioten knew that solving problems without running away was incredible, so Cioten continued to be amazed.

Serethy faced her problems bravely, while Cioten ran away from her problems.

What a feeling in the chest is able to make Cioten a gentle figure only on the girl.

How Cioten Marilion Asher wanted Serethy to stay on the sidelines of his life. The curse was no big deal, as long as there was Serethy in it, Cioten was able to endure.

***

Viten massaged his forehead because of the stinging stress.

The funeral of Calmaria had been held two days ago, while the mourning atmosphere within the palace had still not subsided. Same with Viten who is still grieving. When he sees Calmaria's death right in front of him, Viten feels that his world is shattered.

Once again reminded, even though Calmaria had Viten mentally destroyed and scored a crazy personality within her, Viten could not hate Calmaria. Viten does not want to hate Calmaria who has given color to the gray life of the six-year-old boy. How grateful Viten felt there was a mother figure who filled an empty role in his life.

Viten, of course, refuses to erase the precious memory in which he laughs and is happy with Calmaria, Cioten, and Millia, even though Calmaria has been selfish with Viten. The moment was too precious to exchange for a pile of gold or diamonds. It was too precious to exchange for his life though.

Viten will continue to love the moments he misses. Where Viten met Calmaria for the first time at the age of six, where he finally got a younger sister, where Viten finally got the Mother affection he yearned for, where he grows up with Mother's affections, where Viten is dictated to be King, where Viten is suppressed with the perception that being King is the only option to save everything.

Viten did not shirk the enormous responsibility that was suddenly inflicted on his shoulders.

The responsibility is too great in the palm of his tiny hand that will not be able to embrace one world according to Calmaria's expectations. However, Viten did everything firmly.

If Calmaria wanted Viten to be King, Viten would. At least, that was Viten's way of thanking Calmaria for giving the love once coveted by Viten, for implying that Viten's life was so precious to be left to the God of Death just like that.

Geck, tok, tok.

The knock on his bedroom door made Viten break his daydream.

"Lake in." Viten's voice echoed in the silent night.

Slowly, the door that was knocked open and displayed a knight. The knight lowered his body in a polite manner.

"Greetings Your Majesty the King. Sorry to interrupt your time, but the fugitive has been found."

Viten straightened his body. "Alverro has been found?"

"No, Your Majesty. It was the former King and Crown Prince of the Matria Kingdom who had collapsed."

...***...

The Cioten scene is part of chapter 13. Here Cio's point of view while in chapter 13 is Serethy.

December 2022