The books helped, but not enough to keep the voices silent.


    You could easily leave, they pointed out. You still have a window—it might hurt to fall, but it wouldn’t kill you.


    It wouldn’t be hard to find a weapon nearby… You can fight back.


    You’re pitiful. A waste.


    Maybe we made a mistake in killing Seiko.


    Tsujihara Seiko sighed. The worst part is that I can’t deny it. I would have finished it along with the war if I had known…


    Her death—her real death—played in Taiyo’s mind, clear enough that he swore he felt the blade against his neck.


    No matter what, the voices weren’t getting quieter. At this rate, he hoped Gin and Sólstaeur were pushed back so he could stay here for a little longer. If he had more time to think, read more books, maybe—


    It’s foolish of you to think we can be ignored.


    Taiyo had to try anyway. He could barely stomach killing strangers, people that had killed or planned to kill those from Gin; he didn’t want to make his worried daydreams a reality. He hated anxiety for that reason alone.


    The voices grew a little louder at the sound of footsteps and swords. Taiyo perked up and shoved his books under his little blanket. He tried to listen to the real people outside the door.


    “Quick, this way!”


    “We need to—”


    One of the two yelped and there were two thuds. A third person used the shared language.


    “Yuneda is dead. Get out of here before you join her.”


    The first two—Kuro soldiers, most likely—probably didn’t understand most words, but from the sound of it they fled. The things in front of the door moved, a Sólstaeuric conversation held on the other side. Considering their tone, Taiyo assumed they were discussing something about the battle.


    Taiyo looked up as the door opened and a Sólstaeuric man stepped inside. Taiyo shuddered back towards the wall at the sight of the man’s knife, prompting him to sheath it. The man behind him gave the other a quizzical look.


    “Can you understand me?” the closer man asked. His eyes suggested far more questions than he asked—Taiyo imagined he wanted to know about his whereabouts, his appearance, his name.


    All Taiyo really knew was that this meant that Gin’s soldiers must be here too. Kyoumi, Sorai, and Rei could very well be nearby. That gave him more dread than joy.


    “Y-yes, sir,” Taiyo murmured. “More or less.”


    “Good.” He turned to the man behind him and gave Sólstaeuric instructions, then looked back at Taiyo. “May I ask you to stay here? I’ll get someone to see you soon, we just need to tell the stragglers that they’ve lost.”Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Taiyo hesitantly nodded. The Sólstaeuric man pulled away from the door, leaving it open. Taiyo could hear the noise outside the hallway better—more talking, less fighting—yet the voices in his mind only grew louder to compensate.


    You’ll wish you left, they warned. There’s still time. You can flee, and they’ll never know—carry out that ‘research’ of yours somewhere far away. Who knows—if you’re so determined to evade us, you could even try going north.


    Of course, you will run into the same issue that Seiko did. If you leave one member of the royal family alive, including yourself, we will come back again and again until someone finally frees us—until Lady Aimiki has seen enough.


    Despite their claims, he barely had enough time to even seriously consider leaving before he heard that man’s voice again.


    “...He’s in here. He was able to talk to me, at least, but I can’t tell much more than that.”


    “I’ll have a look. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kuro had drafted teenagers to fight, even if he was isolated.”


    He both perked up and pulled away at the familiar voice. His thoughts couldn’t decide on happiness or worry, leaving him in a conflicted state by the time the speaker opened the door.


    “Hello? Sir Roken told me you were here, may we have a little chat?”


    She fully opened the door and prepared to say something else, but she stopped. The voices grew a little more excited at the sight of Kyoumi’s silvery-white hair.


    His mother blinked once, twice, then cautiously entered.


    “Taiyo?”


    He wanted to smile, but his hand twitched instead. Kyoumi came closer, eventually kneeling down in front of him.


    She didn’t say anything for a minute or two, just…taking in his appearance—the scratches he etched into his own skin to make the voices quieter at night, his thin clothes looking worse for wear, the half-starved frame underneath, his unkempt hair. He didn’t know what she assumed caused everything, but he knew he wouldn’t correct her if he didn’t have to.


    “Were you here this whole time? In Kuro?”


    Taiyo nodded, prompting Kyoumi to carry on a bit more hesitantly. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder.


    “Can you tell me how you got here? What happened in the meantime.”


    He remembered just enough of what brought him to Kuro’s palace to make him shiver and bite his lip. Those first few soldiers must have suffered; the voices didn’t know how to show mercy. Shigeru and Ryobe were lucky, honestly—he could have killed them.


    Just thinking it made him sick. Kyoumi’s expression shifted into regret and she pulled him in for a gentle hug.


    “You don’t have to say anything now,” she murmured. “Just having you back is enough. We can go over specifics when you’re ready; there’s no need to get caught up in anything within the first hour. It can wait.”


    Taiyo flashed her a little smile as thanks, and she let go of him a little bit later.


    “Rei and your father would be thrilled to see you,” Kyoumi said kindly. “And we’ll need to introduce you to Roken and his children—let me know if it gets too overwhelming, and I’ll find a quiet place in camp for you to sit in, all right?”


    “Okay.”


    She patted his shoulder again as she backed away and turned towards the Sólstaeuric man.


    “Could you ask Sorai and Rei to come here?” she asked him. “And get a fresh set of clothes, if you can. I want to give some time for the camp to settle down before Taiyo goes in.”


    The man nodded, questions still burning behind his blue eyes but with enough respect not to voice them for the moment. Kyoumi moved back to the other edge of the room and stood to wait for the rest of the family.


    Naive, naive, naive… the voices whispered. All of you.


    Better naive than dead or hated. Taiyo wanted to do whatever he could to avoid being the monster Kuro meant for him to become.


    He would save this family. He just had to figure out how. No one else should have to suffer like Tsujihara Seiko did.