Servant of Evil

Chapter IThe Harbor

It was always like this.

We were born in a Royal Palace, with all the furniture and wealth you could ever imagine.

But none of it belongs to us.

I wasn’t the heir to the throne, We weren’t. We were just children. Ordinary children.

Well, though it would be really convenient if the ‘ordinary children’ part was actually true…

Little Girl“Leee~n…!”

Len“Hey, watch your step! You’re going to fa-”

Little Girl“Eeeeeek…!”

I haven’t even finished my sentence when my twin sister, Rin, promptly fell face-first into the slippery marble floor.

I came up to her, and all she could do was to get up and show me a sheepish smile.

Rin“Eh…. Hehehe…”

Len“Don’t ‘hehe’ me. You know it is dangerous running in the hallway…”

Len“And you’re also wearing those shoes”

When I mentioned ‘shoes’, I was talking about a pair of oversized, high- heel black shoes. Putting it on a little girl’s feet was by now the strangest idea I have ever thought of.

But Rin was wearing it anyway…

Rin“But mom forced me to wear these. It’s not like I can refuse even if I wanted to…”

Len“Oh, Okay then…”

One of the main problems of our family is the matter of our parents.

Our mother was The King’s favorite woman. Our father? The King himself.

Mother would always think of a way for us to be able to attain the throne. Well, not that we care much.

Rin“Len, we haven’t gone out for a while. Mind going to the sea shore with me?”

Accept

Decline

Len“Well, I think a little bit of refreshment wouldn’t hurt much…”

Rin“Now that’s the spirit! Let’s go there! I made sure that the guards are too busy and Dad is fast asleep”

Len“Made sure, huh…”

Of course she did. Rin was a very sly person actually. I’m almost sure that she put her cutest face in front of the guards and mixed sleepy herbs in Dad’s drink.

How should I know that, you ask? Call that a brother's intuition. After all I have been with her for eight years now.

And that means since we were born.

Len“Thanks… but no thanks”

Rin“Aww, come on, you’re no fun at all!”

I don’t feel really good refusing her request, but I just felt lazy all of a sudden. So, I didn’t even bother going to the beach,

But I know she’s not going to give up that easily. She’s my stubborn twin sister after all.

Rin grabbed me on the collar, and started dragging me along the palace hallway, choking me in the process.

Len“Stop it, Rin! I can’t… breathe…”

Rin“Huh? Why can’t you? Just take a single breath in… and out…”

I know that Rin is clever, sly, and cute at the same time… but she is still my air-headed twin sister. I can only let out a choked sigh when she said that.

Len“The collar… let go of it…”

Rin“Oh, all right then…”

Rin“But don’t you dare to run away, teehee!”

We snuck outside pretty easily. As Rin said, the guards were too busy on their patrol that they didn’t notice us.

Rin“Well, this is the place…”

Len“And I assume you also brought the glass bottle as well”

Rin“Of course! We always did ‘it’ here, right?”

Rin“Here’s the bottle and the paper…”

There’s a legend in this port, that if you write a message on a paper and send it to the sea in a glass bottle, the wish would come true.

That is, if the bottle didn’t break. But there was a ton of coral reefs here.

We fetched ourselves a piece of paper each, scribbled a wish on it and rolled them up.

Rin gave me the bottle and I put the two pieces of paper inside it.

Len“There!”

I put the bottle on the seawater and let the wave take the message into the sea.

We watched as the glass bottle drifted away, farther and farther into the horizon.

Len“I think that’s it”

Rin nodded in response, and we started walking back home.

This was actually fun. But the castle is a long walk to the center of the city and it’s dusk already.

I wonder if anybody had noticed that we were away all this time…

Suddenly I was grabbed by the collar roughly, and was pulled back before I could react.

I tried to scream, but whoever it is, though I’m sure it was an adult, covered my mouth with his hand.

I bit the hand, and the person- I was made sure that it was an adult man by his sound, shouted in slight pain.

I struggled harder, trying to get free, but instead he muffled me again, with a piece of cloth this time.

But as I breathed air from the cloth, suddenly I felt drowsy and dizzy at the same time.

No, this is not the time for fainting…

Rin“Le~n! Where are you…?”

I would have answered if I could, but I can’t even open my eyes.

Sorry, Rin… I failed my role as a brother…