"HAA… HAAAH… HAA… HAAAH… EARGHHH…"
With his body trembling and his heart pounding violently, Hans now stood before a trial of life that would determine his fate.
Haaah… damn it… what should I do right now?
Am I going to die here…?
No… I can't. I have to survive, no matter what.
I can't die before I meet my mother again.
But how am I supposed to get out of this mess?
Would he spare my life if I bowed down and kissed his feet?
No… I don't think he would.
Haah… damn it… so in the end, I can only rely on myself, huh…
Letting out a breath, Hans reached for a glass vase beside him and hurled it toward Jonathan.
Crash!!
"HEYYYY—!"
Luckily, the throw struck Jonathan directly in the face, momentarily diverting his attention.
"JO… HAN… HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND— ERGHH!"
With what little strength he had left, Hans lunged at Jonathan and tackled him to the ground.
"ERGHH… HEY, JOHANNN— GET OFF ME!"
"Hey… do I look crazy enough to let someone who wants to kill me go?"
"YOOOU—!"
While restraining Jonathan, Hans repeatedly reached for Jonathan's Glock, desperately trying to seize it.
"Jonathan, let's get rid of this terrifying thing first and talk."
"SHUT UP AND GET OFF ME, YOU BASTARD. I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU AT ALL."
"Erggh… you—!"
Jonathan gave him no room to speak, making everything even harder.
He continued to press Hans down with uncontrollable rage and fury.
Damn it… this man has completely lost his sanity.
What did Johan even do to him to make him like this?
"Jonathan, what's your real reason for doing this? Why are you so determined to kill me?"
"HUH? YOU'RE STILL ASKING ME THAT? WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER IF YOU ASKED YOURSELF, YOU SLY BASTARD?"
"What do you mean? I don't understand any of this."
"HEY, ARE YOU STILL PRETENDING YOU DON'T KNOW? I'VE HELPED YOU SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING, BUT YOU STABBED ME IN THE BACK. BECAUSE OF YOU, I FAILED TO BE ADOPTED BY LORD ZAKAR… BECAUSE OF YOU, JOHANNN!"
"What are you even—"
Wait… hold on.
I think I'm starting to understand.
A memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
It revealed the chain of events that had led to this disaster.
So that's how it was…
It all started about two months ago, when a city noble named Lord Zakar came here with his wife to adopt a child.
Lord Zakar was a close friend of Uncle Edgard from their days in the imperial military camp.
Knowing that his wife could not bear a child due to a congenital illness, he asked Uncle Edgard to prepare the orphanage children for adoption.
At first, Uncle Edgard prepared around twenty children, including Jonathan, for Lord Zakar to choose from.
But Johan, who normally had no interest in such matters, suddenly forced Uncle Edgard to include him as well.
Everything went smoothly at first, with Johan and Jonathan competing fairly to win the nobleman's favor.
However, when the day of selection arrived, Johan suddenly broke Jonathan's leg, forcing him to withdraw.
The reason was that Johan had accidentally overheard a conversation between Uncle Edgard and Lord Zakar, stating that Jonathan would be chosen as their adopted child.
Johan couldn't allow that to happen.
Even so, in the end, Johan was not chosen either.
Lord Zakar chose another child to replace Jonathan instead.
From that moment on, Johan isolated himself from the outside world and stayed in his room.
He did so because he wanted to follow Mahon—his friend and older brother figure—who had already left for the imperial capital.
For Johan, that was the only way to meet him again.
Honestly, I think what Johan did was wrong.
I even hate his actions.
But the person standing before you right now isn't Johan… it's me.
I know how angry you are about what he did.
But you can't take someone else's sins out on me.
Isn't that right…?
"I know what I did was wrong. But isn't this too much—to the point that you want to kill me? Haven't we been good friends all this time?"
"SORRY, BUT I NEVER CONSIDERED YOU A FRIEND AFTER THAT. YOU'RE A SLY BASTARD WHO ALWAYS STEALS WHAT'S MINE!"
"ERGHHH…!"
Overcome by rage, Jonathan kicked Hans hard, sending him crashing to the floor.
"Erggh… hey, do you really want to do this, Jonathan… erggh…?"
Several bullets rained down on Hans's right arm.
He was clearly growing frustrated with the situation.
"JOHAN MEXES, WILL YOU SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH?!"
"Hey, come on… we can still fix this, Jonathan. You can even break my leg right now if you want…"
"I don't know, Johan… I can't think of anything except your death anymore…"
"Uncle Edgard will be furious if he finds out about this, you know."
"Don't worry. Uncle Edgard is currently traveling to Damasgard City to pick up the Ordo Ordonez delegation. He won't be coming back here, and no one will hear your screams. Today, I'll bury you quietly in this dark, silent place."
"You—"
The moment our eyes met, I knew this man had been consumed by vengeance.
A vengeance that had grown for a long time and was now rotting from within.
I can't do anything anymore.
"Let's end this conversation, Johan. I don't know how you're still alive. But I'm sick of talking to you."
"Haaah… erggh… so all my efforts to persuade you were pointless?"
"You're right…"
Damn it… my once-normal life has become a complete mess.
Everything around me spiraled out of control in just one night.
Johan Mexes, I swear you'll pay for all of this, you damned bastard.
With a long breath and a cold expression, Jonathan pulled the trigger of his Glock and fired directly at Hans's head.
Bang… bang… bang…
"AERGHHH… erggh…"
Hans's vision blurred as his consciousness slowly faded away.
Death had truly reached him.
Ahh… so this is the end…
Amid the cold warehouse floor and the darkness of the world, his lifeless body lay before a man blinded by vengeance.
"Goodbye, Johan…"