Edmund last Goodbye

King Edmund often watched them with shining eyes.

One afternoon, as the brothers sparred with wooden swords, Edmund laughed.

"Sometimes," he said to Isabella, "I wonder which of them would become the greater king."

Though spoken with pride, those words planted fear inside Isabella.

She still knew nothing of the babies who had been switched years ago.

Yet she feared Julian's growing popularity.

The soldiers admired him.

The nobles respected him.

The people loved his kindness.

What if...

One day...

He overshadowed Adrian?

That fear slowly became jealousy.

Jealousy became resentment.

One evening, she secretly ordered poison to be mixed into Julian's meal.

As Julian prepared to leave for an urgent royal meeting, Edmund summoned both princes.

Julian stood.

But Isabella unexpectedly stopped him.

"No."

"Eat first."

"If you become weak, how will you protect your brother?"

Julian looked at her in surprise.

For the first time, her words sounded almost motherly.

His heart filled with hope.

Maybe...

She truly cared.

He smiled.

Then quietly ate every bite.

Completely unaware that death had already entered his body.

Later that day, the king and both princes traveled through a nearby forest.

Without warning—

Bandits attacked.

Arrows darkened the sky.

Steel clashed violently.

Horses screamed.

During the battle, Adrian failed to notice an arrow racing toward him.

"Adrian!"

Without hesitation, Julian threw himself forward.

The arrow pierced his shoulder.

He collapsed.

Blood stained the forest floor.

Moments later, darkness swallowed him.

The royal guards defeated the attackers and carried Julian back to the palace.

King Edmund stood anxiously beside the royal physicians.

Then Julian suddenly coughed.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

Edmund's face turned pale.

"This was only a shoulder wound!"

"Why is he dying?"

The chief physician examined him again.

His expression darkened.

"The arrow did not cause this."

"The prince has been poisoned."

Shock filled the chamber.

The physicians worked through the night.

Against all odds, Julian survived.

Everyone believed the poison had coated the enemy's arrow.

No one suspected the truth.

No one suspected Queen Isabella.

But Adrian could not sleep.

Again and again he remembered Julian pushing him away from the arrow.

Julian had risked his own life...

Without hesitation.

One night Adrian entered Isabella's chamber.

His voice shook.

"Mother..."

"Julian has never wished me harm."

"He saved my life."

"We were wrong about him."

For a long time, Isabella said nothing.

When she remembered Julian smiling after she had told him to eat...

Guilt pierced her heart.

From that day onward, she treated Julian with kindness.

Adrian became more than a brother.

He became Julian's closest friend.

For the first time in years...

The palace felt like a family.

Five peaceful years passed.

Then war arrived.

A powerful neighboring kingdom declared war upon Valoria.

The entire kingdom prepared for battle.

King Edmund put on his armor one final time.

Both princes knelt before him.

"Father," Adrian pleaded, "let us fight beside you."

"We are ready," Julian said firmly.

Edmund smiled sadly.

"No."

"You are my sons."

"You are the future of this kingdom."

"If fate demands a king today..."

"...let it take me."

"But never either of you."

He embraced Adrian.

Then Julian.

Resting a hand upon Julian's shoulder, he whispered,

"I am proud of you, my son."

Those simple words became the greatest treasure Julian had ever received.

King Edmund mounted his horse.

Without looking back, he rode toward war.

Days became weeks.

Every morning Julian climbed the palace walls, searching the distant horizon.

"He promised he would return," Adrian would say.

Julian nodded.

"He always keeps his promises."

Then...

One cold evening...

A lone horse appeared.

Its rider barely remained conscious.

His armor was shattered.

His cloak was soaked with blood.

He collapsed before the palace gates.

The messenger struggled to speak.

The entire palace held its breath.

"Our army..."

"...has won."

Hope filled every heart.

Then the messenger broke into tears.

"But..."

"His Majesty..."

"...King Edmund..."

"...fell protecting his soldiers."

Silence consumed the palace.

Queen Isabella collapsed in disbelief.

Adrian stood frozen as his sword slipped from his hand.

Julian could not move.

He stared at the messenger, waiting for someone to say it was all a mistake.

No one did.

His father...

The only person who had loved him without condition...

Was gone.

Julian slowly fell to his knees.

Tears streamed silently down his face.

"I never... even got to say goodbye..."

His voice broke.

The messenger presented King Edmund's bloodstained sword.

Julian held it against his chest.

Every memory returned.

His father's smile.

Their training.

His warm embrace.

The words...

"I am proud of you."

A heart-wrenching cry escaped Julian's lips.

The cry echoed through the palace.

But as a son whose heart had been broken beyond repair.

That night, every bell in Valoria rang in mourning.

Candles burned in every home.

The kingdom had not only lost its king.

It had lost its greatest protector.

King Edmund's death...

...was only the beginning of Valoria's greatest tragedy.

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