The entire room turned silent and shrouded in great tension. Leal was directly looking into Prince Alric's eyes with apparent hostility written all over his face.

Slowly, Prince Alric shook his head. "You have changed a lot. You used to adore me so much, My little brother." He said with such a voice filled with sadness.

Leal responded with a mocking smirk. "Fortunately, I realized that I was looking up at the wrong person. My admiration... you don't deserve any of it. Trusting you was the worst mistake that I have ever made in my life... you are nothing but a disappointment."

"My, my." Prince Hien stood up and positioned himself between the two. "Brother, we've come here to convince them to go back home-"

"That's exactly what I'm doing, Hien!" Prince Alric said with audible irritation in his voice.

Prince Hien shook his head and tapped Prince Alric's shoulder. "Let me handle this, Brother."

Prince Alric paused for a second, then walked back. "Fine. Do whatever you want."

Prince Hien inhaled and faced Leal while releasing a sigh of relief. "This is the reason why our mother urged me to go with you, Brother. I've missed the times back then when the 2 of you were very close to each other."

Leal didn't reply and just sat back on his seat while crossing his arms.

"What we're saying is, our father and mother want you and... Cahi-"

"Her name is Kuro." Leal cut him.

Prince Hien just nodded. "Of course, of course, that's her name... what a beautiful name. Anyway, our Father and Mother want you and... Kuro to go back home." Prince Hien put both of his hands on the table. "To tell you the truth, Little brother. Due to the collapse of the barrier, as of now, we have been expecting more enemies are about to come, and they will come to take advantage of our current situation. A difficult battle is upon our great nation. Furthermore, Even if the barrier returned, it won't guarantee anything, especially knowing they have someone on their side that can easily collapse it again effortlessly. Your homeland and family need you, Leal. We need you there."

Leal leaned to the backrest and put his hand on his chin. "I see."

Prince Hien spread his arms. "And if you're worried about your friend's safety, don't fret, I can promise you that she will be safe. We will do everything in our ability to ensure her safety."

Leal's eyes instantly shifted towards the person standing behind Prince Hien. "I can't trust your words. Specifically, hearing those empty promises coming from the fateful devotees of the Elder council." A puzzling smile emerged on his face. "Don't forget that I am fully aware of how devoted you 2 are to the Elder council... I know because I was once like the 2 of you... mere puppets."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"My, my. How harsh can you get, Little brother?" Prince Hien chuckled. "Well, now I am fully convinced that you really are extremely hard to persuade." Prince Hien shrugged. "Although, It genuinely hurts me to hear those words coming from my beloved little brother while expressing such an unexpected expression on his face. To think that you used to be a sweet and delightful child back when you were younger."

Leal leaned forward and put both of his elbows over the table. "What about the fairies? Have our king tried to talk to them?"

Prince Hien sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Father did. However, you know them, they won't step in, not until the Fairy king said so. Honestly, They are too unpredictable to rely on." He leaned forward towards Leal. "As long as their highly regarded king doesn't order them to help us, all they will do is watch us as we get trampled by our enemies."

Leal rubbed his hand on his chin. "You're right... the kingdom of Erela is now on its own to defend. We relied too much on the barrier that finally losing it greatly affected our forces."

"The humans will return soon, and the next battle that's about to come will determine the fate of our brethren. It's a decisive battle that will decide the fate of our nation, Little brother."

Leal paused for a few seconds before slowly nodding. "You don't need Kuro, right? The only one you need is me."

Prince Hien's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes?" He asked slowly.

"As much as I hate that place and the people who are living in it. I can't let my beloved King and Queen fight on their own while I'm just here."

A gentle smile emerged on Prince Hien's face. "Do you mean, our beloved father and mother, Little brother?"

Leal stood up. "I will be back home and join the battle against humanity. I have been thinking about it long before you arrived anyway."

Prince Hien stood up. "That's good. You hear that, Brother? Our little brother will go back home now!"

On the other hand, Prince Alric just nodded and kept his silence while standing near the door.

"However, don't expect me to go with you right away. I have things that I will leave behind. I need to take care of them first."

"Of course, Little brother. However, why don't you bring... Kuro with you?"

Leal slowly exhaled. A gentle smile emerged on his face as he stared out of the glass window at the corner of his office. "She's far safer here... because she's in good hands."

"I see."

***

After the meeting with Leal, the elven army rallied out of the town of Agrona towards the kingdom of Erela.

While their carriage was passing through the forest, Prince Hien's smile was apparent as he watched the road outside. On the other hand, Prince Alric was expressing no emotion on his face while slowly closing and opening his metallic black hand.

"How long will you keep your silence, Brother? Aren't you glad our little brother will finally go home now after years of being away with us?" Prince Hien asked while staring at Prince Alric's metallic arms. "Although I am a little bit sad to see that he decided to cut his hair."

However, Prince Alric just looked outside and didn't say a word.

Prince Hien slowly sighed. "You should work on the way you choose your words, Brother. You will never convince anyone with that attitude of yours."

"Just you wait, Hien. Until my purpose is finally realized..." He stared at Prince Hien with such pride on his face. "Until then, I will never stop."

Prince Hien chuckled. "I would love to see the fruit of your efforts, Brother. I really do."