Chapter 69 - A Real Friend : Part 2

Aster had so many friends.

Unlike Rune, he used his title as the head chief's youngest son, as the Edelweiss family to use. He did not have everything like how Valerian did, so the boy grasped everything he could within his fingers.

And just like what he did to everyone, the people around him did the same to him as well, trying to take advantage of the youngest Edelweiss, everything that the boy could've had.

It was tragic in a way, but the boy was too caught up in his own ego to admit it.

People fell beneath his feet, bow down just to use him and be his minions because he was supposed to be as good as Valerian, the golden child, the star of the family.

But in the end, everyone would realize that he was just Aster. A boy who would never be good enough in front of his parents, his brother, and the world.

So when he met a boy who almost fell into the same fate as him, he should have understood him and maybe befriended him.

But the boy was actually perfect even though he was not good enough in his own family's eyes. Axel Vergessene was perfect and always enough in front of the outside world.

That was unfair.

That was really unfair.

Everyone thought highly of him. The sad Vergessene boy that his family never cared that much about him just to attend a simple family day. But he was smart and kind and loyal and nice and naive and perfect. He was perfect!

So everyone favoured him. Unlike Aster, who had to rely on his title as the Edelweiss family, the boy got everything without even trying.

The Vergessene boy did not have a title so everyone never put a high expectation on him.

And it really made Aster mad.

So like the typical self-defence that a person would do, Aster bullied him. It was not jealousy, no. The Edelweiss boy would never admit that he was jealous.

Axel should have felt the same things as him. He did not deserve to have all the perfect things within him just to throw Aster down.

He bullied him and made everyone turn against the Vergessene boy. Everyone quickly got on Aster's side again and mocked the boy. Aster did it so Axel would feel the same way as him.

But the boy never fought back. He just accepted it all.

Aster would notice the tired sigh from the boy or the clenched fists every time he brought up about his family. But the boy never fought back.

It was as if someone was holding him, restraining his body. As if someone commanded him to never fight back.

But Aster did not care. He kept doing it for years. The Vergessene boy received a white knight along the way, though, thanks to him. So Axel should be glad and never fought back.

Deep down, Aster wanted him to just yell back or even give a little fight to him. It irritated him that Axel just stayed silent.

But then again, would it irritate him if the boy actually fought back?

Aster had a lot of friends. But none of them was real. They were using him, and so he did the same.

He thought they were real at first. His two friends that were always followed him everywhere. The two whose loyal and seemed to be by his side for a very long time. Everyone called them his minions, but he always regarded them as his real friends.

Though everything had come to an end, the story had to go on just for the world to shove the fact that he was alone from the very beginning.

The world mocked him as it told him that he could always take everything, but it did not mean that everything was not fake.

The blond was away for a week. His parents decided to have a trip- which failed miserably because, in the end, they had to go to their mission and abandoned him.

So the boy went to the school when he should have taken his day off like an insane person. He did not come in the morning, though or even wore a uniform. He wanted to go there to meet his friends.

He bought a box of sweets from his trip and decided to give it to those two. The sun was above his head, and he knew that everyone just had a break at this time.

Aster blew his blond locks off his face and climbed the school's fence. He made sure to keep the box of sweets intact and landed on the ground smoothly without making too much noise.

He looked around and made sure no one was around. His green eyes squinted under the flaming sun as he walked over their usual spot in the back of the school.

He could vaguely hear their voices talking with each other. Putting on his best smug face, Aster quietly came up from around the corner, wanting to surprise the two.

"He's as naive as Axel, to be honest."

Aster suddenly stopped at the mention of the Vergessene boy. He leaned his back on the wall, eavesdropping at his friend just around the corner he was standing right now.

"We aren't his dogs or whatever, but being the Edelweiss's 'friend' get you a lot of advantages."

Aster's face went cold at the statement as he stayed still, still listening to the two's conversation.

"He's rich and popular. I don't know about you, but I'm in for his money. It's kind of hard that he has been away for so long, I needed the money, man."

The two laughed, unaware of the presence near them, standing and listening to their conversations.

"I'm actually in for the money too. But I'm more into his title though. No one dares to lay a finger on us because our dear 'boss' would wipe 'em."

Aster chuckled in silence, sneering at them and probably at himself too. He slowly walked away from the scene, not wanting to hear another word from the two.

He looked at the box of sweets in his hand and threw it into a trash bin.

What a waste of money.

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After that, he still befriended them. Because he was loyal, naive, and k-

Because he was just the worst version of Axel.

And he would never have a friend anyway, a real one, of course.

Or so he thought.

One night, he experienced something he had never had. He met a woman with red eyes who was trying to kill him. And when he thought he would die right then and there, a criminal saved his life.

Then funny enough, they both got kidnapped.

But the way the mute murderer saved him and actually protected him without caring who he even was, he felt... nice.

The mute murderer was a criminal, yet he saved him without any reason. They both bantered with each other like they were close. The criminal showed that he cared and actually tried to make sure he was okay.

They worked together. Aster should have been scared in that situation, but the mute murderer had his own way to reassure that everything was fine without saying a word.

He felt like he had a real friend.

So when he received a gift from the mute murderer, he oddly felt... happy. Every time he watched the news about the criminal, he knew he shouldn't have been excited over the murder, and yet he did anyway.

And then he was saved again, in the world burn where the mute murderer was supposed to be working with the mercenary, and yet he opposed him. Oddly enough, the criminal was trying to keep Rune safe, but Aster did not question it and just went along with him.

The mute murderer tried to protect Rune and him. Aster tried to protect Rune for the criminal and himself. The girl always told everyone that she was a white knight, but she needed protection too.

Aster only protected Rune for the mute murderer. Of course, he was not worried about her too at all. He wasn't, okay?

Aster imagined if this was how it felt to have a real friend.

So he kept imagining it as he waited for the mute murderer to take his white cap.

And when the criminal did take it, a shocking event happened.

He could not believe what was happening right before his eyes. So he denied it with all his might. Because it was impossible, it was truly impossible to happen.

So he tried to take anything aside from the fact that the mute murderer was-

The mute murderer was-

How could the mute murderer be that loser?

Axel was supposed to be like him. Never good enough in front of his family's eyes. And that was it.

So why could a boy as weak as him be the highest rank criminal that had killed too many lives to count? Then why hadn't the Vergessene killed him yet? Why didn't he fight back? Did he think that he was useless to kill and let him bully the Vergessene all these years?

But why did the mute murderer have to be him? Axel was never his friend. Aster was supposed to never have a real friend, huh?

Then, the reason why the mute murderer saved him was just that he was Aster. A person that Axel knew and saved him out of pity?

It made Aster mad. Even angrier at the Vergessene than ever.

So he needed to know why. He needed to know why the reason when he saw Axel was getting cornered and harshly pushed by his supposed to be two loyal friends, Aster's limbs moved by themselves.

He punched the two without even thinking it through and stood in front of Axel protectively.

Aster's green eyes glinted with glowering anger as he stared at his two shocked minions. He gnawed his lips and growled at them.

"Fuck off."