I'm just saying, if Credo could train Nero, he could train other people. I'm just saying.
Oof, this one was daunting.
The church officials in charge of The Order loved any excuse to sneer or glare. Any excuse to tell me that Nero wasn't being raised properly, like I, hardly past childhood myself, was in any way capable of raising a child. Each year brought some new problem: Nero was biting people, or he'd learned to roll his eyes, or wouldn't sit through his studies.
But the worst was his mouth. Even before someone – likely Kyrie for her own entertainment – taught him to curse, it seemed that every time he spoke to a clergyman he'd be rude or heretical with a straight face. Not only was he oblivious, he just didn't care if he offended the stuffy, old men. I would have been amused if it didn't always come back to bite me in the form of a lecture and them insisting that someone else should be brought in to better serve my position.
That did encourage me to edit Nero's habits, not fix them exactly, but we worked out a system. Even on the worst days at the castle, when I wasn't sure what to do with Nero, Kyrie, or myself, spite kept me going. From that came the first signal - brushing my finger against the bridge of my nose. When Nero saw it, he knew to stop talking at once. In essence, "Shut up. Let me talk for you now."
More signals followed. My hands clasped behind my back meant that we were under watch and needed to be careful. When he was young, he'd lean all his weight to one foot and tap the toe of the other against the floor, a sign that someone was making him anxious, and he wanted to leave.
I always followed that by straightening the cuffs of my coat – "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
The movement was natural enough that it came to me without thought as soon as Nero growled his distress, clinging to the table to remain upright. Once he recognized my intent, his snarl faded, but his eyes remained narrowed on the knights around me.
Though I felt a twang of irritation that he didn't have more faith in me from the beginning, I hardly had room to complain. I'd fed him poison for years. He didn't owe me an ounce of trust after that.
Yet, as I turned to the knights, Nero seemed to speak to the Capulets. "Don't," he said. "Credo can handle this."
I wasn't certain what he thought any of them could do in their given conditions. The poison seemed to be gripping me as well until the weighted air and scent of ashes dispersed all at once. Regardless, I needed to work quickly. The knights steadied their stances and swords.
If The Order wanted to have this whole event come as a shock to me, they should have sent knights I recognized, or at least men who would have talked to me on the trip. Murderous intent was as subtle as a slap in the face when traveling in forced silence.
"Though you've already threatened my charge, and that would usually call for your deaths, I will give you the chance to leave and forget this," I said. "I understand that you are following your orders, but you are in the wrong. Back off."
I had minimal interaction with the rest of The Order knights, but I was their general by default of my position. That seemed to be enough to make them hesitate, glancing at each other.
Behind me, one of those damned princes spoke against the toxin dragging at his voice. "So he's on our side?"
"I'm not on yours." The knights redoubled their stances, their minds made up. "But I'm not on theirs either." Let it never be said that I had not offered them an out.
"Now would be nice!" I yelled as the first sword tried to cut across my neck. Grabbing the chair behind me, I tossed it up as a shield. The sword caught in the wooden back, the weight dragging the knight down as the chair fell.
To assure me this mission was a threat my health, Sanctus insisted that I shouldn't bring my sword, that I should be unarmed as a show of good faith. That went out the window with the addition of my five armed guards. They must have thought me an idiot.
An ear-piercing whistle sounded from one of the gaps in the upper wall as a shadow crossed the sunbeam. The knights all turned in time for a throwing knife to catch one between his neck and shoulder. One hand shot to the wound, leaving the other an easy target when Kyrie dropped in and kicked the sword from his grip.
"No worries, I'm here," she said as she snatched the grip from the air.
"I told you to stay up there!" My command lost some impact when I had to roll away from another strike. Room to dodge was limited. Moving too far forward would allow them to circle behind me, and moving too far back would land me in the same position as Nero and the Capulets. But Kyrie remedied that issue once she tossed the sword to me.
"Let me help," she said. Two of her knives slipped into her hands as neatly as gloves. "You can take care of them, but you have to let me help."
I had little choice considering she'd already dropped into the fray. She was starting to make me regret training her in defensive combat, always ignoring the defensive part. Her steps were light as a dance and kept her far from any strikes. I had to trust her on her own for the time-being and refocused on the men in front of me. Their strikes were so heavy-handed, almost doubling over with each swing, that I doubted they'd used The Order's swords before. It was no wonder I hadn't recognized them. Poor bastards.
That did make their attacks simple to dodge, and I knew Order armor well enough that my sword bit between the plating of the first man, through his side, and into his gut. I watched his eyes glaze to emptiness. Just another corpse. They weighed little on my conscience anymore, but I did hate to kill in front of Nero and Kyrie.
The second man died much like the first after I parried the weight of his swing back against him. As I tore my sword free from the grinding screech of armor, Kyrie yelped. Surprise or pain, it did not matter. I shot my gaze toward her with every intent to tear into the man causing her trouble. He'd managed to snag her hair, still long even when tied back. Her knife came up to cut the end in his grip away, and before I could take a step toward her, the air whistled at my side. An arrow appeared through the man's neck. He went down gargling on blood. The woman behind me muttered an unconvincing "whoops." I found her leaning over the table to steady herself, an absurd crossbow in her hands. The one I felt certain was Dante clapped for her.
"How did you see straight enough for that?" he asked. "Everything's all-" He made a whooshing noise that assured me I didn't want to chance her firing another arrow even as she snapped one into place.
"Hey, this the only thing I do straight," she said with a lopsided grin and a snort.
Dante cackled as I ducked away from another strike. "I appreciate the assistance, but I can handle the rest, thank you," I said.
"Thank you!" Kyrie echoed, more genuine than I'd bothered to be.
The one she'd wounded upon her arrival must have realized she was playing decoy to aggravate him. He stumbled from blood loss as he spun on me instead. I wouldn't have found him to be trouble any other time, but my swing was already aimed at the other remaining man, and I only had time to see the new attack coming, not to dodge it.
"No!" snarled a voice that must have been Nero's yet was too twisted to belong to him. I felt like a portcullis had snapped down onto my shoulders, weight crushing the air from my lungs. The blinding light of the attack I'd sworn-off Nero from using slammed into the already-injured man. For Nero's own sake, I imagined the crack of the man's head hitting the wall hadn't brought his death. After I freed my sword from the other corpse, I ran him through as well. Kyrie's eyes were wide as they dragged from the dead man toward Nero, who was steadily slipping from the table's edge. He fought to keep his eyes open.
"You all need to get outside," I said to pull myself from the worries threatening to drag me down. "You'll get worse if you stay there."
Kyrie, as I should have expected, followed me toward them. "Hold your breath," I reminded her, and she sucked in a gasp.
"Moving? Oh, wow, why didn't I think of that?" Dante said in such a sarcastic tone that I was content to leave him there as I picked up Nero instead, tossing him over my shoulder.
Nero howled a weak "no" as he lay limp as old herbs. "Stop carrying me."
Though her legs trembled a bit at the effort, Kyrie scooped up the woman into her arms. The woman raised a brow but didn't argue. "Thanks for saving me," Kyrie said as we neared the door. "That was so impressive. Sorry about carrying you. I should have asked first. That's a neat crossbow." The woman smiled as Kyrie continued trying to ramble away her embarrassment.
"We'll be fine!" Dante called. "Just leave us. It's okay. Just dying slowly."
"You're not dying!" I shot back.
Nero still looked halfway to sleep when I set him down on the grass. A sitting position did him little good, forcing me to grab the collar of his odd, oversized jacket to keep him from tipping backward. Before I could ask him where his uniform went, he shook himself to a more cohesive state. "Go get Dante and Vergil," he said mostly as one word.
"They can probably still roll," I said.
He smacked his armored hand against my shoulder like a rabbit thumping its foot. "No, go get them." That was not the armor he'd left with either, and the pieces were too old to hold up to the strain of his attack. Cracks spidered up his arm, and the fingertips were gone altogether, showing just how bright the hand underneath had become. Once again, I had to swallow my nerves to keep focused.
"Fine, I'll get them," I said, though I imagined I would have to drag them out. They were the tallest people I'd ever seen.
"Too late," came that snide voice. Again, I smelled ashes as I turned to find them both standing just outside the door.
"You can stand?" I asked. "What was all that show then?"
Dante shrugged. "We got better. You know, we never had a proper introduction."
I didn't recall asking for one. He was all-too-obviously trying to change the subject.
"That's Lady," he said without waiting for me to respond.
"Lady What?" I asked. She didn't seem like any countess I'd ever met, but none of Capulet's royalty acted accordingly.
Her eyes narrowed. "Just Lady."
"I'm Kyrie. It's a pleasure," my sister greeted with as much of a curtsey as she could without a dress. If any of the parishioners found out I'd given her slacks, there would be Hell to pay.
I bit out an introduction as the wasted time began to eat at the back of my mind. "Credo, as I said before."
"Likewise," Vergil said.
"And I'm the better twin, Dante."
I couldn't help but narrow my gaze at him. "I know."
His smile cracked into a grin. "That I'm better? Actually, I was wondering that. You know our status, don't you?"
"I would be a fool not to know of Capulet's princes."
"They're the princes?" Kyrie gasped. She was not helping my case. Dante bit his lip to hold back his snickering.
"But you and I already met," I growled.
Dante's head listed to one side until he snapped his fingers with the realization. "You were the other one on horseback. Sorry about stealing your prince."
Judging by the dark gleam in his eyes, he wasn't remotely sorry, not that it mattered. An apology from him was worth nothing. I was more concerned with Nero, already asleep on the ground. "How long was he by the fire?" I asked as I knelt at his side, smacking at his cheek until he roused with a grumble.
"Then the fire was the issue," Vergil said more than asked. "Explain."
Despite being nothing like Dante, I found myself hating him as well. The only thing that kept me from snapping in response was Nero's slurred, "M'fine. Stop hitting me."
"I don't know much about it," I said. Only Agnus and the other alchemists understood their own concoctions. "It's something with the wood, something they put on it. When it burns, it causes this strange numbness and dizziness in the surrounding air. You must have burned it for quite some time with how quickly it affected you."
"Then you left that wood for us," Lady said.
"I did not. I had no knowledge of the wood being left there, but I've seen them use the same method before to trap and kill, so I was suspicious." The church made itself many enemies, most of whom tended to disappear. I tried to avoid involvement, but I was glad no one pried at the matter.
As Lady tested her legs, she sighed. "You Fortunans really need to take it easy with your weird poisons. At this rate, you'll kill what little coherent thoughts Nero has left."
"Bite me," Nero said. I should have scolded him, but I could hardly remember how to breathe, let alone talk. Kyrie looked to me with fear burning in her eyes. She must have realized it as well.
The Capulets knew about the poison.
Then Nero…
"That's right," Dante said. His smile was gone, his expression dark. "Credo. You were the one who told Nero he needed to take that medicine."
I must have looked pale. All the blood seemed to have left my body until I felt nothing but cold. "We didn't know!" Kyrie said as she rushed to my side. "They said he needed it."
"They?" Vergil pressed. "Everything is so vague with you Fortunans. At most, we might hear of the church or The Order, and always 'they.'"
Kyrie gripped my arm tight enough to bring me back to life with a spark of pain. I owed Capulets no explanations. Nero was the only one I needed to apologize to for the poison. If I'd known sooner-
"Don't worry about it," he said. I would have preferred anger. His calm was a punch to the gut. "The medicine was to keep me in check, and that's what it did. You wouldn't have given me anything you thought was harmful."
But even if I hadn't known it was poison, I knew it hurt him. I'd known the side effects came from the medicine, and I should have been more insistent in asking what it really was.
"Credo tried to send a messenger bird to me about it when he found out," Kyrie said, "but I'd already given you the doses. We thought you needed them. I'm sorry."
Nero, who was the angriest boy I'd ever known, who flew into a spitting rage over the smallest things, just shrugged. "It's done. Don't apologize. If you really want to make it up to me, let's get some pasta or something. Capulet's food is lousy."
"Maybe we shouldn't have fed you then," Lady said.
"Nero," I cut in before he could start the argument on the tip of his tongue. "We must leave this area. You all should as well." Each of the Capulets expressed varying degrees of annoyance at the suggestion. "The Order will likely send reinforcements to check on the situation. I'm going to remove the knights' armor and burn the fort. I believe that will give us all enough of a diversion to escape without too much trouble."
"And your Order is just going to be fine with you killing and burning its men?" Lady asked.
"There is much you're not telling us," Vergil added, "and considering your men attempted to assassinate us, I will not allow you to brush us off so easily. I demand a full explanation."
"You don't get to just have Nero back after you and your church tortured him for years." At least someone was angry with me about that, even if Dante was not the right person. I'd spent enough time furious with myself, so I expected the same from Nero. If there were one thing I could always count on from him, it was unpredictability.
I didn't care what Dante and his cohorts thought of me, but I doubted I had any chance of shaking them now. "I'll explain fully if we leave promptly," I said with a sigh.
Dante was little help, complaining when I opted to use the stored wine to help the fire along. Actually, no one was any help. None of them would explain the massive hole in the armory floor. They all glanced around as though they hadn't heard me speak. Nero did not care for my insistence that he replace the old plating over his arm with armor from the knight closest to his size, and I received nothing but blank stares when I told all three princes they would require disguises if we were all headed anywhere near the capital.
"No one in Fortuna knows who we are," Dante said. "What does it matter? If you're worried about The Order, why don't you just disguise yourself?"
Kyrie chimed in to keep me from trying to kill him "It's not that you'd be recognized exactly. White hair is a big religious symbol in Fortuna. No one knows the prince's face, but they know he has white hair. Just one person might start some chatter in a town, but we could write it off. Three, well, we'd be pushing it."
"You're both dressed like you have wealth, and you're carrying swords," I added. "The people will talk. Speaking of, Nero, what are you wearing?"
Nero's brow puzzled before he looked down at himself. At his cry of offense, Dante broke into a wheezing fit of laughter. In an instant, the red coat appeared in Nero's hand, and he tossed it over Dante's head. The mismatched one he'd been wearing beneath it was not much better.
"You can't be mad at me, kid," Dante called as Nero stalked off. "You could have taken it off anytime. You were obviously cozy."
Nero held up a fist with one finger sticking up in an odd fashion. I had a feeling I didn't like whatever that was.
After the fort was a pyre, each of the princes washed their hair in ink. Vergil took one glance at his same-faced brother before deciding that he hated it. "We look terrible like this."
"Really?" Dante took Vergil's chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting the man's face until Vergil slapped his hand away. "I don't think I look too bad."
"Nah, you both look awful," Nero said. Though he didn't seem to mind it for himself, I couldn't find any comfort in the image. I'd made the prince a fugitive, forced him to hide his identity. The worst of it was that the ink would never fully wash out. He did look much better with white hair.
Even when I finally got everyone to the horses, another delay came in the form of the Capulets being stunned by Blue Rose. "Who even needs a horse that big?" Dante asked. "You're so small, kid. It could carry five of you."
Lady's eyes narrowed. "She has fluffy feet. That's cute. Why don't we have these in Capulet? Vergil, you're going to be king. Fix this."
"No," Vergil said.
I was starting to think we would never leave.
Nero ignored them, and for the first time in ages, I got to see him smile as he greeted Blue. She tolerated few but him, and he was the only one she would lower her head to.
"I rode her to Castle Capulet and back to here," Kyrie said. "She's strong as anything, hardly tired at all. I got the note from Credo on my way back saying I needed to standby at this fort just in case, and I'm glad I got here when I did because you clearly needed the help."
He stuck out his tongue at her as Blue nosed at his hands for attention.
"You'd better bite that tongue, or I won't give you your other girl."
Nero seemed to snap back to his childhood, eyes shining with glee. "You brought her?"
"Blue Rose doesn't like to run without her." Kyrie unbuckled the holster from the saddle, letting the full weight of the blade drop into her arms. Though she struggled with it, Nero snatched up the grip in one hand.
I felt like I could breathe again, seeing him and Kyrie so happy. At least for now, they could be. For now, I would let myself be happy for them because it would not last. Everything was unraveling at the seams. I suppose it always had been, but Nero had been so unaware for so long. Keeping him from it may have been a mistake. Now I was letting the world fall out from under him.
So for just a while longer, I wanted to see him happy.
"You're a hard man to hate," Dante said, his voice low. I hadn't noticed him at my side until then. He wore a calm smile once again. "I'm trying to be mad at you, and you're getting all doe-eyed around the kid. Makes me feel like I'm the bad guy."
"I don't need your approval."
"Oh no. You just want his."
My hand came to rest on my sword's pommel. "Keep your thoughts to yourself."
Had he said anything further, I would have cut out his tongue, the bastard. He didn't have to hate me, but I was content to loathe him. Though he kept his smirk, he did drop the topic. "So, kid, you've got a fancy sword and a horse as girlfriends? No wonder I never had a chance."
"Don't tempt me when I have a sword," Nero snarled as he jammed the blade into the earth. "Red Queen's got just as much bite as any of your weapons."
Dante's smile tinged with confusion under furrowed brows. "Wait, did you really name your sword?"
"What are you talking about? All your weapons have dumb names."
"Okay, first of all, that's not nice. They can't help what their names are. Second, it's pretty and all, but it's just a standard falchion. Does it really need a name?"
Pointless as it was, I tried to tell Nero not to startle the horses. Only Blue didn't shy away when he snapped the handle against the grip, sending fuel down the blade that ignited in a rush of flames.
The sparks seemed to reflect in Dante's wide eyes. "Can I have one?" he asked, grinning as he turned to Vergil.
"No."
Clearing my throat, I reminded them for the dozenth time, "We need to go." Finally, they listened.
Kyrie took one of the horses the knights no longer needed. We released the rest. We rode at a gallop until the first border town appeared on the horizon. Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, I slowed everyone to a trot. Unfortunately, that also brought back the chatterboxes full-force.
"You like being tall, kid?" Dante asked, tugging his flashy black horse up to Blue's side.
"I think I remember you being on your ass while I was able to keep myself up, even after I was near that fire way longer, so not the first time I've been above you."
"Doesn't have to be the last time!"
Now I knew he was just trying to aggravate me. Judging by Nero's suspicion, he only understood that he needed to be annoyed, not why. I was fine with that. The less the Capulets exposed him to, the better.
"Hey, Credo," he called.
Oh God, please don't ask about the innuendo. "Yes?"
"Did The Order really think it was a good idea to kill Capulet's princes? Did they incorporate the king into that plan? He's fucking crazy."
"Language," I said through gritted teeth. Explaining the innuendo would have been preferable, though Dante spoke before I could begin to think of a proper response.
"They couldn't have known we were the ones who were coming, so they were probably just aiming to kill whichever Capulets showed."
"Why would they do that?" Nero asked. A beat passed before he noticed the true issue. "Wait, why wouldn't they know you were coming? Weren't you my escorts?"
That had been an oddity to me from the moment I arrived at the fort. Sending both princes to return another would have been odd even if our kingdoms were on friendlier terms.
"Did you not tell him?" Lady asked.
Dante shrugged. Guilt looked so unnatural on him that I couldn't decide if it were genuine. "I thought he'd figure it out."
"We weren't subtle about it," Vergil added.
I doubted they'd ever been subtle, and I could surmise enough from their words. "You weren't supposed to be his escorts."
"Hey, I kidnapped him once," Dante said. "What's one more time?"
Nero looked more dead-eyed than when he'd been half-asleep. "I'm glad no one's killed you yet, so I can do it."
"The boy makes a fair point," Vergil said.
"Thanks, Brother. Love you too."
"Not about killing you, though I've got the monopoly on that-"
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"Hush. I'm talking about what reasoning Fortuna would have to kill the escorts, regardless of rank. Just for outrage? Wouldn't that reflect poorly on your knights?"
Something in his voice was all too sharp. It seemed to pick away at me to a truth he didn't need me to speak. He already knew the answer, and he was just waiting for the satisfaction of being right.
"I already told you. I'm not on your side. I wasn't defending you."
Though my heart hammered in my ears, it wasn't enough to drown out Nero's call of, "Credo?"
I hadn't heard him sound so lost in years. "You've done nothing wrong, Nero," I said. "Nothing wrong, but… I believe it was a coup under the orders of the church. Truthfully, I don't even think those were Order knights. I believe they were mercenaries."
Dante's horse thundered up to my side. "The kid's not even king! You can't have a coup!"
"An assassination then." I could find no anger to tinge my voice. This was tricky enough to explain to Nero without the Capulets interfering. I was thankful for Kyrie, at least, who rode beside Nero and seemed to be trying to speak to him. If he heard, he showed no signs, lost in a war of his own thoughts.
"You Capulets were just scapegoats caught in the middle," I continued. "We were expecting two escorts. It seems likely that the fire was to subdue Nero more than anyone, perhaps myself as well. They would have killed the lot of us, and the blame could easily be placed on Capulet."
The last time Nero turned to me with such confusion and guilt in his eyes, his arm had begun to morph into that thing. "Is it because the church realized I'm a demon?" he asked.
My nails bit into my palm as I crushed the reins in my grip. Damn those Capulets. Damn them and whatever they'd told Nero. Hell, like it was their faults. I should never have lied to him, not about anything. I thought giving him a childhood away from all the turmoil would be better.
"No," I said. "They've always known." And so had I, the one who'd always assured him otherwise. The one who'd always lied through my teeth. Perhaps I was far worse than the others had ever been because he always trusted me.
Nero said nothing after that, not a word, not a sound. He stared straight ahead yet seemed to see nothing. Dante tried to draw a reaction out of him a few times as Vergil's prodding claws dug at me. "You're holding back," he said.
"I don't owe you information."
"Your country is aiming for war with mine. Whether you think the information is owed to me is irrelevant. If we are to have any chance of preventing this senseless war, you need to tell me everything you know about what's going on. I suppose if you must have some information in return, I can tell you about Nero's condition."
"His condition? What could you know about that?"
Vergil's eyes were as sharp as his words and twice as ruthless. "Don't be dense. He is the same as we are - my brother and I. Only a partial devil if that makes you feel better, though he's not quite as stable."
Before I could even ask for clarification, it became apparent he would say no more. He looked down the bridge of his nose at me, waiting. "Very well," I sighed. "But if we must dig up old graves, let us get to an inn first. I believe everyone could use a proper rest, and there is much to discuss."
For once, perhaps because he was tired as well, he gave his assent with a nod.
When we arrived at a tavern where we could stay the night, it became apparent that the Capulet royals forgot to pack any of their fortunes. Three rooms came out of my pocket, yet the brothers had the gall to complain about sharing a room. I let them know they were welcome to stay with the horses.
Lady showed no mind of Kyrie's company, and I felt certain the two could handle themselves without causing too much trouble, though Kyrie kept asking after that crossbow too much for my liking.
It seemed, for once, Nero would cause no trouble either. He followed me to our shabby room as though I were pulling him by a thread. As I closed the door behind us, I attempted a lame apology, but it fell away under his own haggard speech.
"You don't have to, Credo. It's fine. I always knew, really. Come on, I'm nothing divine." He sunk down onto his bed with a smile that made my chest ache. "It was just a bit different hearing you say it, you know? I guess I knew they wanted me dead too. I guess I should have known that. I should have."
He hadn't cried in front of me in so long. It could have been hundreds of years ago when I last saw tears fill his eyes, yet it could have been yesterday. As always, I sat at his side, and his temple came to rest against my shoulder. His voice faded to a whisper to remain even. "Where are we going now? If they want us both dead, what should we do?"
"What do you want to do, my prince?"
It was an old nickname, the sort he'd grown to loathe over time, yet he accepted it with a weak smile. Ah, but that was a lie too, wasn't it? Even now, I couldn't bear to give him truths.
He brushed the tears from his lashes and steadied his voice with a sigh. "It's my duty to fight to protect the people, so that's what I have to do. I won't let anyone control Fortuna who would see fit to harm its people."
I'd known that would be his answer. It was the reason I'd brought us toward the capital, the reason I'd drilled those ideals into him for so long. "Then we'll go to the castle," I said. "And we'll take it back."
How cruel, how sick of me to make him a pawn of my own after all the church had done to him, but I would protect him to the end, as I'd sworn. The rings weighed ever-heavy on my fingers. I'd made too many promises in my life: to my parents, my little sister, the church, and to Nero, who had the least to do with any of it.
"Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty!"
"Are you upset?"
"Don't be upset! They're just dead humans."
Another beam crumbled to ash under my boot, and I retreated back to the stabler ground. Agni had already fallen into one of the underground passages and was coated head to toe in ashes. Not that he cared, but I wanted to avoid a similar fate.
Rudra poked at one of the burnt corpses until I told him to stop. "Be respectful. No creature is 'just' dead. What troubles me is that I'm missing much of a story here. And it seems my sons are worse at diplomacy than I could have predicted."
Judging by the tracks leading out, I wasn't far behind. A bit later than expected, though. Always just a bit late.
"Is it that my sons are excellent at getting into trouble, or that I'm terrible at stopping them?" I asked.
Agni and Rudra considered it with drawn-out hums.
"Both!" Rudra decided. Agni nodded in agreement.
I couldn't argue with that.
Trash Dad Sparda maybe shouldn't use a horse that wanders off sometimes.
I don't even care if I make Kyrie OP because I just want the poor girl to have some agency of her own. And everyone else is OP so w/e.
