He opened his door calmly, revealing the figure he had been waiting for outside for a while.
Inox smiled and stepped aside as he observed the blonde man's appearance. "Dust, it's been a while since we talked. Why don't you come in? I've got something good for you," he said calmly.
"Good morning." The blonde nodded before focusing his gaze on the three potted plants on the table; they were by far the most striking thing in the room.
His eyes quickly inspected the potted plants—two in the growth stage, a corn plant, and a papaya plant, though, of course, that wasn't visible at the moment.
Dust's eyes stopped on one pot in particular, one from which bright, watery green leaves protruded. "Is that a carrot?" he wondered aloud, looking at Inox.
"Inox, heh heh, it's been a while since we saw each other, and I came to ask about the deal regarding the goblin boss." His voice was a little deeper than usual.
"Actually," Inox brought a glass of water to his mouth, took a sip, and continued, "they'll ripen soon. Do you remember the tomatoes?" he asked with mild curiosity.
The blonde closed the door behind him before nodding. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I'm anxious to try one." He directed his gaze toward the fruitless, green tomato plant withering on the floor beneath the table.
Inox raised an eyebrow, narrowed his eyes, and then quickly returned to normal. He slipped a hand into his left pocket and walked toward his bed.
"I call it a grade 1 tomato; it contains physical energy. Can you imagine the taste?" he asked with a smile. Dust shook his head as he crouched down to stroke the tomato leaves. "It shouldn't be any different from a real tomato, right?"
A smile crept across Inox's face. His leg muscles tensed, his left hand gripped the handle of the knife inside his pocket, and with practiced skill, he drew the blade and charged forward in one agile motion.
Caught by surprise, Dust's eyes widened sharply. His extensive years of training caused his body to move unconsciously, leaping back in an instant.
However,
Slash.
Because he was caught off guard, the blonde didn't react in time. The knife in Inox's hands still grazed his chest, cutting a centimeter deep into his skin almost down to his lower abdomen.
"Grrr!!" The blonde let out a roar of pain. He skillfully fetched a potion from his pocket and splashed it over his chest. The fresh wound began to heal at a visible rate, and the blood stopped flowing.
"You dodged it? That's a shame..." Inox regained his footing. He adopted a combat stance with the knife now in his right hand, crouching down to pick up a wooden shield that blended in with the floor.
"Tch... Your Highness, Inox. You really are as ruthless as the rumors say—quite the contrast to your childish attitude." The blonde smirked before drawing a greatsword from his pants.
"Who sent you?" Inox asked, though, of course, it was more of a routine question; he didn't expect the man in front of him to answer.
"Disguising yourself as Dust to try and fool me..." he scoffed before lunging forward.
He thrust his knife forcefully, but the blonde stepped aside with twice Inox's speed. He swung his left fist, slamming it into Inox's ribs with a smirk. "Too slow. You've been wasting your time these past few days, haven't you, Your Highness?"
Crack.
The ribs on Inox's right side took the blow and shattered internally, breaking into tiny pieces. His skin bruised from that single strike as he let out a powerful scream of agony, "Grraaaa!!!"
He crashed onto his wooden bed with a loud thud, clutching the right side of his ribs as he tried to get up.
However, "No need to get up anymore. You're dead." The blonde delivered a devastating kick toward the prince's face.
Inox's eyes widened in utter shock, his pupils dilating. His mind, overwhelmed by what was happening, kicked into overdrive.
He saw the world in slow motion; he watched as the kick from the man looking like Dust collided with his left ear, the sheer force warping his entire skull.
His brain rattled against his skull several times as he was sent flying a couple of yards before smashing into an oak wardrobe.
Inox didn't move. Inside the shattered wardrobe, he blinked slowly a few times. He thought he heard a distorted voice, but his thoughts drifted to various memories of himself.
"Isn't it too easy to just cook what you cook? Isn't it too easy to wash the clothes you wash? Isn't it too easy to do the work you do? So, why are you so arrogant?"
He remembered his favorite phrase; he used to say it whenever a maid made a mistake many years ago, back when he was entering adolescence.
In truth, he wasn't a good person. He never was. "That's how the royal family is supposed to act, isn't it?" he thought as a faint smile formed on his face.
He thought, for a moment, about his life, his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. "Actually... there isn't much to regret," he thought, regaining a bit of clarity.
"I ate when I was supposed to eat, I slept when I was supposed to sleep, I hit when I was supposed to hit," his smile growing wider. "The Crown Prince of the Belzerg Kingdom is not a good person. Not even a little bit." He narrowed his eyes.
"Your Highness, this is a familiar scene, don't you think?" He could finally hear the blonde's words. With his sword, the man had finished smashing the entire wardrobe, and he could see the prince lying on the floor with pieces of wood covering his body and face.
Inox's eyes shifted slightly to focus on his attacker's face. "You... I remember your voice," he muttered softly.
"Really? Hahaha!!!" The blonde let out a loud burst of laughter. "Your Majesty, you remember me? It is an honor to be remembered by the great perverted prince!!!" His voice distorted, shifting between high and low pitches.
He took a deep breath before exhaling, the smile never leaving his face. "Good, good, Your Highness, that's good. You remember this too, right?"
He began to bare his upper torso, revealing a multitude of deep, scarred wounds. One in particular that wrapped around his neck drew the eye. "You said that life is unfair, that those who cannot defend themselves should simply die. But I'm alive, Your Highness."
He leaned in, extending his hand to caress Inox's neck. "Now, my lord, Your Highness, my commanding prince, tell me: can you defend yourself?" His eyes focused on the prince's clouding pupils.
The smile on the blonde's face widened. "Heh-heh-heh, that's life, isn't it?" He closed his eyes, about to continue, when a hand gripped his arm with the feeble strength of an old man.
Inox, despite everything—his fading mind, his body no longer feeling like his own—managed to move his trembling right hand to grab the blonde's arm. He squeezed with all the strength he could muster, trying to push him away.
The blonde's pupils shrank. "You can still..." He paused, inspecting the prince's condition, then shook his head. "I'll grant you this much, Your Highness. At least you no longer seem to be a coward."
He ignored the weak force exerted by Inox's hand and began to tighten his own grip.
"Ghhrss." The prince let out a choked groan as his eyes shot wide open, his body beginning to convulse, his mind wandering.
"Have a beautiful journey, Your Highness."