厨房从后面挺进李婷

To ask that question, Razor had traversed nearly the entirety of the Empire of Azeroth. However, there were still no clues. The locals had heard nothing of the deposed crown prince and had never seen him.

But the boy wasn\'t about to give up for nothing.

Even if the whole world turned its back on him--Philip was still that big brother he grew up with. Razor would never leave him.

Eventually, for the sake of his quest, he gathered himself in a neighboring empire. Having visited the last settlement beforehand: a tiny suburb on the outskirts of Azeroth. Razor wanted to rest there before embarking on his long journey.

After renting a room at the local tavern, the second prince went downstairs for a few drinks. There was a bar on the first floor — which usually had few customers.

Razor didn\'t drink alcohol, so he only ordered himself a cherry cider. He sat down behind the bar, and sipping the cold drink — sighed heavily. Different thoughts swirled in his head at that moment.

Mainly: where exactly to continue the search for his brother? It was a big continent, and the prince had no idea where he might be. Should he check the nearest countries first…?

Thinking about it, the boy did not immediately notice how another young man «landed» next to him at the same counter. At first, the prince did not pay any attention to him at all. The stranger was concealed under a thick hood, which made it difficult to guess his identity.

Razor was not interested in that.

The guy ordered himself a cognac and drank it for several hours. All that time he did not take off his hood, but the prince still managed to notice something strange.

The manner and the voice he used to order the bartender… seemed vaguely familiar to Razor. As if he had seen it before.

And as the strange déjà vu overtook the second prince more and more, he decided to verify his identity just in case. He did not risk addressing the stranger directly so as not to frighten him, and instead decided to follow him.

It was towards evening when the sun began to set — they both left the tavern. And since this man had had enough to drink and paid little attention to his surroundings, it was quite easy to follow him unnoticed.

Razor\'s curiosity never left him.

The lad followed him until they reached a mountain. Here, far from civilization, was the shabby shack in which the man lived. Once he was in a safe space he finally took off his hood.

Razor first saw the top of his blond hair, and then… the stranger turned to face him after all.

The second prince was momentarily taken aback.

— BROTHER!

Razor was greatly relieved when he was sure it was him. The older brother he had been searching for for six months — had been here all along. His wanderings through the empire were finally over.

Deciding there was no point in waiting any longer, Razor immediately called out to him and stepped out of the bushes. Philip reacted with lightning speed. And when he suddenly caught sight of the younger man, he seemed instantly sobered.

Phillip\'s gaze cleared and he froze.

— R-Ray…? — he said in disbelief.

— Brother!» Razor rushed to him and embraced him firmly, «I have found you at last!

But the crown prince was far from as pleased as Razor at this meeting. Razor was horrified when he heard that the younger brother had sought him out.

— Seeking? Why…?!

Razor was surprised at his reaction.

— What do you mean, why? You disappeared six months ago, didn\'t you!

Philippe Blanche clenched his teeth.

— Exactly! Who asked you to do that?!

The second prince was discouraged. Slowly he tried to take his older brother\'s hand, but the latter pulled it out.

— Brother…» he stammered, «why are you…?

Instead of joy the crown prince\'s face mirrored rage. Suddenly he looked at Razor as if he were an enemy.

— Wait a minute…» he said slowly, «It was Rachel Cassius who sent you after me, wasn\'t it?

Razor was indignant.

— What are you talking about?

— That you gave up your own brother to that thing! — Philip grumbled.

— I came of my own free will! — I came of my own free will!» the boy tried to persuade him, «Why would I do such a thing?

Philip hummed.

— You\'re all… All dogs,» he said in a strange voice, «and the fact that you\'re all right confirms that.

Razor was speechless.

— I–I…

The Kronprinz stepped close to him and looked him straight in the eye, grinning.

— For two years I was imprisoned and treated like garbage. And afterwards… I was forced to live a miserable existence on the streets. What about you? It\'s not as if a single hair on your body has been touched.

Razor was silent.

He did manage to avoid the worst fate for himself-just because he was Lerian\'s friend. Cassius had spared him and let him go free in public. Otherwise, he really had no reason — why Razor was still alive.

The lad decided not to quibble and come clean about it.

— Leriana was a crown princess,» he said quietly, «And I\'m her friend… So I was spared.

Philip smiled.

— Of course he did. That\'s the last thing I\'d expect from you.

— What… What are you talking about? — Razor did not understand.

The crown prince let out a chuckle.

— It\'s not for nothing that everyone thought you were clever. You\'ve managed to get out of this at just the right moment.

Razor exhaled indignantly.

— Brother, what on earth possessed you to talk such nonsense? — spat out,» I never tried to use our relationship for such a thing! I didn\'t ask to be spared!

— Of course,» Philip didn\'t let up, «You just happened to be smarter than me in this situation.

— W-what…?

The crown prince paced back and forth, reminiscing about the past.

— Back at the Academy… You didn\'t act as openly as I did, but instead you used clever tricks. You slipped into a fake friendship with Leriana. So that afterwards… To win her over.

That\'s when Razor couldn\'t take it anymore and punched him.

— Phillip, have you lost your mind?!

But despite the red mark left on his face, the crown prince\'s expression didn\'t waver one bit. He was still smiling.

— Wasn\'t he? — He summed up,» Now that you\'re her confidant, Leriane believes everything you say. It\'s not much time before your plan comes to fruition.

— What the hell plan…?!

Philip grinned.

— You want to take both the Empire and Lerian for yourself.

Razor froze and couldn\'t believe these words were coming from his brother. The older brother who had been his pillar of strength for so many years… The young man was truly speechless.

— But I won\'t let you do that,» Philip declared, «Ha…! I knew you right away. You\'re going to turn me in to Rachel Cassius so you can gain her trust and finish me off. Too bad I figured it out.

Razor didn\'t know what to say. It seemed to him that during the time he had been hiding here, his mind had become completely confused. The ambiguous look in his eyes was an indication of that.

The crown prince drew his sword, one of the few relics he had taken from the Archduke\'s house before his escape. He pointed it directly at his younger brother.

— Honestly, I\'d thought this day would come.

Razor stared at him in shock.

— The feeling never left me… It was as if one day we were supposed to fight.

The other prince jerked back, and babbled:

— Brother… I\'m not going to fight you…!

— You have to,» Philip countered, «Otherwise I\'ll just kill you.

The boy couldn\'t believe his ears.

— W-what…?

— Come on. I know you have a sword. Get it out.

To Razor, what was happening seemed absurd. Fight? The two of them? That\'s ridiculous!

After the Marquis of Windsor had personally trained him for two years-the second prince\'s level of swordsmanship had increased considerably. He was as good as any average swordsman. The Marquis even gave him the title of knight, which only confirmed his abilities.

It was nothing compared to Philip — who only occasionally drew his sword for show. In other words, this fight would be unequal from the start.

Razor knew this and was in no hurry to enter the fray.

— I will not do it! — he firmly declared.

Philip arched an eyebrow.

— Then you just want me to kill you?

— Brother!» the prince exclaimed desperately, «Why can\'t we do without it?!

— Don\'t ask stupid questions! — The crown prince barked,» Are you going to fight or not?

— I won\'t!

Philip let out a long sigh.

— In that case, take it on yourself.

One second and the crown prince was already charging at him with his edged weapons. But even so, Razor was in no hurry to draw his own. He really didn\'t want to start this battle in earnest.

Pretty soon, thanks to a learned technique from the Marquis — the second prince was able to knock out his sword and the blade fell a couple of meters away. Philip wanted to run after him, but Razor grabbed his leg.

They both fell and fought on the ground.

The crown prince rolled over the top and started punching the boy in the face with his fist.

— You bastard! — He shouted, «What do you want from me?

The metallic taste of blood made Razor really angry, and he tossed his brother off himself effortlessly. He slapped his brother across the face as hard as he could.

— What do I want? — I want the big brother I\'ve always known…!

Phillip tried to break free, but he held his arms tightly. He hit him again in the process.

— …The brother who sat by my bedside while I was sick! — He was always protecting me and never letting me get hurt.» He followed up with another punch.

When Philip\'s lip was cracked and his nose was bleeding, Razor finally stopped. Philip fell silent beneath him and didn\'t make a sound for a while.

The second prince hoped that he had finally come to his senses.

Latest updates from m _vlempyr.

But then Philip suddenly spoke out:

— Is this really what you want?

— Yes!» the boy answered eagerly, «Brother, you…

The crown prince grinned when his whole face was already swollen from the blows. But at this moment he felt no pain.

— …Then you will meet him in the next life.

At first Razor did not understand the meaning of his words-but after a second, he rose sharply and pushed the young man with all his might. The other prince lost his footing and collapsed into the ravine.

Philip spat, looking at the black void below.

— From now on, I no longer have a younger brother.