Chapter 369 - The Atlantian Royal Siblings (1) (unedited)
"You have to stop this, sister." Leticia pleaded to her twin sister. "Please just surrender. You do not have to take revenge, like big brother had said."
Regaleon sent a message to Leticia containing the crown prince of Atlantia's last will. He thought that Leticia, who was a living immediate family of the late crown prince must receive the last words. Fortunately, Leticia and Edward were on the road with the royal army of Alvannia as back up. She got the letter from the messenger bird right away.
"And you believed it?" Patricia scoffed. "Our brother will not have said such things. He is a man of integrity and patriotism. He would not have said such cowardly words."
"No, you are wrong." Leticia shook her head. "I know brother would have said that words. Because he had said that to me in person before he left for the last battle."
"What?! What do you mean?" Patricia asked in disbelief. "How come he had not told me this. We had spent the last night together." Leticia looked at her with such pitiful eyes.
"Big brother talked to me first before he had spent his last night with you." Leticia said. "He has poured out his heart to me, his ideas about this war and about father. He had been thinking for a long time to usurp the throne from father and stop the war by surrendering to the allied countries."
"H-How can that be?" Patricia said with a shocked face. "How can he not tell me all this? Why did he not tell me this. I was his fiancee, the woman that he loves. He should have told me all this!" She shouted with a hint of jealousy and anger.
"Because he knew that you think of father as the supreme power." Leticia explained. "Big brother knew what you would have thought of his ideas and will discourage him of his plans."
Patricia was silent, Leticia knew that she does not have any retort to that. She knew well that she would dissuaded her brother of his plans.
"Big brother was able to surrender at the battle on the plains, but it was too late." Leticia said. "Father had unleashed the forbidden magic, and he was consumed by it. Big brother was left with the task to control it, but he lost his life trying to. But with his sacrifice, the forbidden magic put to sleep once again and a wider catastrophe was prevented."
"He did not have to…" Patricia said. "He should have just let the forbidden magic go on a rampage and let the whole continent suffer!"
"Sister!" Leticia said with a surprised tone. "How could you say such a thing?"
"It was the fault of the other countries. If they just had given up and seen us as the higher beings above them, then it should not have come to this." Patricia said, believing in her own words. "If that have been the case, then we could have lived better lives. I could have lived with our brother as his wife. Gladiolus would have grown up with a father by his side. I would not have suffered under the Jennovian king's harassment!" She let out all of her frustrations.
Leticia was taken aback with her twin sister's words. All of her words are falling into deaf ears.
"And you… you have done nothing to avenge our family, our big brother." Patricia pointed out to Leticia with trembling fingers. "If you have just helped me rather than imprisoning yourself inside your own mind, then we could have gotten the forbidden magic and ruled this continent side by side together."
"Patricia…" Leticia called with sadness. "What I did was for the good of all. The forbidden magic… it was never meant to be used by us. If you try to covet it, it would just destroy this continent… destroy us all. Can you not understand me? Big brother did not want you to do any of this! He wants you and your son to live in peace."
"Hah… hahahaha." Patricia laughed out loud. "If the destruction of this entire continent is the end result of getting the forbidden magic, then so be it. I never liked this land anyway. Our country is already lost, and I do not have lingering feelings to this land."
"You are… mad!" Leticia said with shock. No words of her are going thru to her sister.
"I think your sister had gone mad." Edward told Leticia. "I am sorry but I believe that there is nothing you can do. She is a lost cause." He looked at his wife sadly. He knew that she wanted to save her twin sister, even though it was a small hope.
Leticia sighed and looked at Patricia with determination. "Then I have no choice but to stop you, sister."
"You, stop me?" Patricia looked at Leticia mockingly. "You cannot even hurt a small animal, let alone defeat me. You are making me laugh sister."
"Yes, I maybe weaker than you." Leticia looked at Patricia with conviction. "But I am not your only sibling here. With both of us, we can defeat you."
"What? What o you mean by that?" Patricia's mocking smiles turned upside down into a frown. That was when huge boulders started to rain from above.
*BAAM BAAM*
The sound of the huge boulders hitting the ground felt like bombs exploding. When the debris cleared out, a dome made of hard rocks was seen with dents and holes because of the bombardment a while ago. Patricia was inside the dome like structure, she was able to use the dome as a shield.
"Who dares?!" Patricia fumed in rage.
"As I thought, she is really a tough opponent." Dimitri said.
"Do you need help?" Carrick asked.
"No need Carrick." Dimitri said. "This will be a fight against siblings." He said with a grin.
"If that is what you wish." Carrick nodded his head.
Carrick walked towards the sea shore. When he got closer Dimitri jumped from his back and onto thr shore.
"I will just be here to observe then." Carrick said.
Dimitri walked towards Leticia and stood side by side with her.
"I am here to help you Lady Leticia." Dimitri said with a serious look.
"Oh my… you know you can call me older sister." Leticia said with a teasing smile.
"I think I cannot do that as of now." Dimitri said with an embarrassed smile.
"If not, then just call me Leticia. Letty for short." Leticia said with a sparkling sweet smile.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Patricia said with rage, hearing everything.
"Oh, do you remember that we have a half brother with father playing around with a beautiful maid?" Leticia smiled at her sister. "Well he is our half brother." She gestured to Dimitri.
Patricia gazed at Dimitri with a disgusted look. She remembers clearly about the story of her father and a beautiful palace maid. But she thought that the mother and son was disposed of by her father when he saw that the child had black hair and eyes, an exact opposite of the royal family. The child was tagged as a taboo and had to be dealt with soon after he was born.
"That filthy thing is alive." Patricia said with disgust. "No wonder father met such an end, it was because this taboo child is still alive!"
"Mind your words Patricia." Leticia said with a chilling voice. "He is still our brother. He has father's blood running thru his veins."
"He is just a filthy half blood, born from a maid." Patricia said. "It was true that he is a taboo. If I kill him now, maybe this curse on us will be lifted."
"I was just a little baby back then, but now I will not let you do as you please." Dimitri said with a serious voice. "I will not let you do what you want."
"Hah! Such hallow words. I will crush you with my own hands." Patricia said in a maniac smile. "Prepare your self!"
The ground started to shake violently and started to open up.
"Edward! Get your men out of here." Leticia shouted. "And go with them. It is not safe here."
"But what about you?!" Edward looked at his wife with worry.
"Do not worry about me. I am not the weak and naive girl from the past." Leticia replied. "I can protect myself now, and my little brother is by my side. This is no place for ordinary humans to be right now."
"Her majesty is right King Edward." Dimitri added. "You will just be in the way."
Edward gripped the reigns of his horse hard because of frustration. He knows that he cannot do anything to help with the battle between Atlantians. He knows he will just be a liability if he stays.
"Fall back!" Edward ordered his men.
The soldiers did as what their king has ordered and turned around to safety. Edward took a look at his wife one last time.
"Please be careful and come back to me safely." Edward shouted to his wife.
"I will, I promise." Leticia smiled. "After this, we will live happily ever after like you promised, right?"
"Yes, I promised and I will surely make you happy." Edward smiled back. He nodded and then retreated to safety as Leticia had said.
The beach side they were in right now was changing because of Patricia's doing. Huge cracks on the ground were filled up with water. With Dimitri's earth magic, the ground that they were standing now did not collapse from under their feet but was shot a few meters up. It now looked like pillars in the sky. Treading thru this new terrain has a risk of falling down a rocky bottom and water.
"This is the best I can do." Dimitri told Leticia. "Your twin sister's magic is terrifying."
"I know. She has been called a genius since we were young. And after the ordeal she has been thru, I believe her magic just got even stronger." Leticia looked at Patricia who was also standing on a pillar like them. "But with the two of us, I think we can defeat her."
"Then let us work together, Leticia." Dimitri threw a smile towards Leticia, accepting her request to be called by her name.
"I am happy to hear that." Leticia replied. "Please bear in mind that you are not unwanted, because I am happy to have you as a little brother."
"Thank you." Dimitri replied with a kind smiled. He felt happy to know that he had a blood relative that accepts him as who he is. But unfortunately, not all are happy that he is alive.
Dimitri looked at Patricia with conviction.
'I will stop you here and now, even if it takes my life to do so.' Dimitri thought. 'It is also for Regaleon and Alicia's safety and for the future of their child that I have sworn to protect.' He pulled out his sword ready to launch an attack.