"E-Emilio...?" He stuttered as the young man came rushing at him. 

It was his older brother Emilio whom he had framed to death fifteen years ago. 

It took a while for Lucien to register what was happening and before he knew it, he was already engulfed in a tight embrace. When he realized what was happening, Lucien couldn't move. 

"For the love of god, what are you doing, Lucien?!" Emilio spoke in a voice filled with concern. It didn't take much effort for him to lift his younger brother from the balcony's railings and carried him to the bed. 

Madam Rosa, the head maid, followed closely behind quietly with tears brimming in the corner of her eyes. She could see that Lucien was stunned for some reason, as if he was having a hard time processing what was happening.

And to be honest, Madam Rosa herself felt pity for the young master. He seemed so vulnerable and broken. She didn't like seeing him like this. 

"Madam Rosa, can you fetch him some water, please?" Emilio spoke as he sat on the bed and placed the quiet Lucien in front of him. Nodding her head, she silently exited the room to get some water for the unresponsive young master.

"Hey, focus..."Emilio looked into his brother's eyes and that's when Lucien snapped out of it. His hands slowly reached out until it touched Emilio's cheeks. "Emilio... is this really you?" Seemingly still in a daze, Lucien could not take his eyes off of his brother's face. 

It felt surreal but at the same time, authentic. He wasn't really dreaming now, was he? 

Looking at Emilio's young face, full of worry and concern, made him feel warmth again. 

"Yes, Cien, it is me... your brother..." Closing his eyes, Emilio allowed himself to feel the cold fingertips graze his cheek. He shuddered as his brain thought of what would have become of his younger brother if he had been a few seconds late. 

"Emilio... you look so young..." Lucien mumbled. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming... that I'm not being punished right now..." He breathed in whispers. Lucien's head lowered as he grabbed Emilio's hands that were mirroring his own shaky ones. 

"No, not at all. You're not being punished. I will never let that happen to you. You are not dreaming or anything. It's me and you here together..." Lucien nodded his head. The corner of his lips lifted as he smiled. 

However, when he lifted his head, Emilio was caught off guard when he saw the tears welling up in his younger brother's eyes. 

"C-Cien-" 

"Can I hug you, Emilio?" Lucien asked and the latter thought he would be crazy not to grant such a small request from his beloved brother. Without speaking, Emilio took the initiative of hugging Lucien. His hands wrapping around the younger man's fragile body and his hands soothing Lucien's back. 

Feeling the warmth once more, that's when Lucien's years long locked away regrets started pouring out. He wept in Emilio's arms. Loudly. 

"I'm so sorry..." Lucien spoke as he cried like a baby in his brother's arms. "I'm very sorry, Milio... I've hurt you so bad..." 

A pang of pain hit Emilio's chest as he listened to his brother's words. He was a bit confused as to what Lucien was referring to but at the same time, he did not question it. Every word felt like daggers stabbing his chest over and over again.

Each apology that escaped Lucien's lips was torture. 

"Please forgive me, Milio... I regret everything... I'm sorry..." Lucien sobbed. His hands clutched Emilio's shirt as he allowed himself to weep. Emilio did not like seeing him like this. It was ruining him inside too.

"It's alright, you don't have to say sorry." 

"I don't...?"

"Mhm. Your big brother will forgive you right away even if you make the biggest mistake of them all!" 

Lucien had longed to hear Emilio's voice again. Back when he started regretting everything, it was already too late. Years had passed by then since he killed Emilio. 

"Lucien... Please..."  Flashbacks of Emilio's last moments echoed in his head. He could still remember the desperate expression Emilio had on while looking at him in despair. 

---

"Emilio Blackwell, I will ask you one last time. Do you confess on conspiring with the protesters to overthrow Emperor Ezekiel's reign over the free men?" His own brother, Lucien Blackwell, stood before him while Emilio kneeled on the ground. Bruises had covered most of Emilio's body after taking several beatings. 

One eye was bleeding and blood constantly dribbled from the wound on his head to the ground creating a small pool as he had been there for quite some time now while the hearing went on.

Today was the last hearing of Emilio Blackwell's case in regards to conspiring with the protesters to diminish the emperor's influence amongst the free men. Today, he would be judged whether he's worthy of living or not. 

"Cien, I-"

"Where are your manners, Lord Blackwell? You are in front of his majesty and the high court." Emilio's eyes widened upon hearing the cold and distant voice of his younger brother. Swallowing his spit, his eyes wandered on the crowd of nobility gathered around them.

There, he spotted his father and mother with worried looks on their faces. If only he could erase those worried looks on their faces... He could only hope to come out of here alive in order to soothe their worries.

His gaze reverted back to Lucien. 

Where did it all go wrong? Why was Lucien so adamant on pushing the narrative of him conspiring to overthrow the emperor's favor amongst a minority - the free men? 

Emilio did not anything of the sort. 

"I did not, your grace... I am not confessing... to any of such claims..." He spoke between huffs and deep breaths. Something in his chest must have been broken as every time he breathed, something hurt. Did he break a rib during the beatings? Emilio did not know.

But every breath felt like it would be the last. Emilio coughed out more blood on the floor. The puddle of blood was becoming larger by the second and he felt dizzy but he remained consistent on holding his position.

As long as he can prove his innocence, wouldn't that be the end of it all? He'd be able to win Lucien's favor back. 

Right... there is no such thing as evidence-

Emilio's eyes widened when Lucien slapped his face with a pile of papers that fell on the ground. 

Everyone gasped upon seeing the humiliating action but no one dared to say a word. 

Seeing the highly-esteemed Emilio Blackwell being slapped by his own brother was one thing but what the papers contained overshadowed the pity they had to feel. 

Even Emilio himself stared at the papers with wide eyes. 

Letters of various kinds were scattered all around him, each containing a message to the protesters about their plans of damaging Emperor Ezekiel's reputation amongst the free men. What's worse was that in every letter, Emilio's signatures could be seen and along with those were his fingerprints made out of blood.

"Then explain this, Lord Blackwell. Every letter has your name, your signature, and even your fingerprints printed from your blood that the high court had verified was rightfully yours." Stunned, the young man could not utter a single word. 

'What... is this...?' he thought. 

He never wrote any of these letters, let alone signed any of them too, nor did he stamp each letter with his fingerprints from blood. 

"Lucien! I did not do any-" Emilio stopped as he looked at his brother's face. 

Lucien's lips were curled in a wicked smile that no one could see as he his back was facing the audience. 

Realizations came crashing down on the young duke. 

There was only one person in the entire empire who knew what Emilio's signature looked like and one person who had an almost similar writing to him too. Not just that, it was suspicious right from the start that when he was arrested, he was regularly beaten by the royal guards until he lost consciousness.

It was Lucien all along.

Disbelief consumed his system as Emilio continued to look at the wicked man in front of him. 

"Why..." he managed to whisper only loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Why are you doing this to me, Cien?" Emilio could not take it anymore. He thought if he could prove his innocence to Lucien he would be able to go back to how things were before all the chaos. He thought he could win his younger brother over if only he could prove that he did not commit any crime against Emperor Ezekiel.

His head hung low as Emilio cried silently. Right at the moment the fake letters were slapped on his face, his fate had been sealed. 

"What...did I ever do wrong... to my sweet little Lucien... for him to frame me like this?" he asked himself which Lucien heard. The younger Blackwell fell silent for a while and only looked at Emilio's weeping figure.

"Was it because I favored the first prince rather than the current emperor?" Lucien's wicked expression was changed in an instant and anger coursed through his veins. There was no room for Emilio in the empire that he wanted to build for Ezekiel.

"Your Majesty..." everyone started whispering amongst themselves when Emperor Ezekiel got up from his seat and walked towards the two brothers in the center of the court.

"Since Emilio Blackwell's participation in such crimes have been proven, I see no need for him to be within my line of sight anymore." 

Horror consumed Emilio's body as he watched the tyrant emperor make his way towards him. 

He wanted to scream for help, for somebody to save him. He knew what the emperor wanted to do when he looked at the man's eyes. 

Anyone, anyone who can save him...

That's when his eyes went back to Lucien. 

"Cien... please... you know I... did not do... any of these..." He begged as tears mixed with blood continued to cascade from his eyes. "Cien, help me... please... I beg of you..." he hurriedly spoke between huffs.

Despite his chest hurting so much with every word spoken, despite the feeling of dizziness consuming his consciousness, Emilio Blackwell continued to beg in front of everyone. 

Even if he was dying from his wounds, Emilio did not want to die at all...

But it seemed like his pleas fell on deaf ears as Lucien only stepped to the side to give way for the emperor who had now reached their spot. 

Emperor Ezekiel unsheathed his sword and everyone held their breaths. Emilio and Lucien's parents could only watch in horror as their oldest was about to be killed. 

"Any last words, Lord Blackwell?" Emilio cowered in fear in front of the tyrant emperor but he had accepted his fate. 

His eyes went back to Lucien one last time.

"Just... know... your big b-brother... will still love you... even in the afterlife... Cien..." He spoke with a sad smile on his face. 

That was the last smile Lucien had seen etched on his brother's face before his head rolled on the ground.

Lucien had convinced himself this was necessary, that Emilio stood in Ezekiel's way. That he was doing the right thing for a brighter empire. But in that moment, watching his brother break, Lucien felt something unravel inside him.

---

Lucien sobbed as the memories haunted him. 

He knew it was unforgivable. He knew he couldn't redeem himself after framing Emilio with crimes he did not commit. Just being in Emilio's presence again right now consumed him with so much guilt that he wanted to die.

However, he wanted to treasure this moment as well. It had been so long since he craved to feel his older brother's warm presence. 

"Y-You don't have to forgive me, Emilio... but please... just let me... let me make it up to you..." He cried uncontrollably. "Hate me all you can but please... just let me make it up for everything that I did..." 

"I'll atone for my sins, older brother... I'll make sure to pay for the sins I've committed... but for now, let me be by your side again." Emilio couldn't help himself but cry too despite being a bit lost with how Lucien was acting. 

His embrace on his younger brother tightened as he silently shed tears of agony over Lucien weeping. 

"Let me be your little Cien again, Emilio..." 

"Shh... Even if the world turns on us, you'll always be my little Cien..." 

Emilio did not know how much those words meant for Lucien. He did not know how that relieved Lucien's desire to die for the sins he committed against Emilio. 

If this was really his new reality, Lucien promised the gods that before atoning for his own sins, he would make sure Emilio, his beloved brother, lives the live he never got in his past life.