Chapter 3

And I stood on the very edge, looking like an accidental intruder, completely out of place.

I floated toward the window, watching the divine carriage with its glowing blue lanterns speed away.

They still hadn't realized I was dead.

Back in my quarters, the silver chime of a messaging crystal rang out.

I saw the glowing light—it was a message from my master at the academy.

The magic crystal played the voice message aloud: "Greetings, parents of the young lord. He missed his training today without notice. Is he ill? Please send word soon."

Sunlight streamed through the curtains onto my desk, where today's scrolls lay neatly stacked.

I had planned to buy a new poetry scroll after class today. But now, I would never need it.

An invisible force pulled my soul along, dragging me in the direction of my family.

In the sanctuary's healing ward, my brother had been given a soothing draught of sleeping herbs and finally calmed down.

The head healer checked on him with a furrowed brow.

"It was merely a sudden fright. No grave harm done," the healer said, setting aside his instruments. "Some rest will suffice."

"Thank the gods!" Mother collapsed into a chair, burying her face in her hands and weeping.

Father wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright. Orion will be fine."

I stood right in front of them, wanting to scream: "Look at me! I’m dead! Your eldest son is dead!"

But my voice could never reach the world of the living.

An attendant walked in. "Will you be booking a shrine room for his recovery?"

"Of course!" Father stood up instantly. "My son deserves the finest care."

The attendant noted it down. "The patient's name is Orion, correct?"

"Yes, he..."

"What about the other young man?" the attendant suddenly asked. "The drivers mentioned a second injured youth back at the house?"

Mother and Father exchanged a puzzled look.

"Oh, you mean my elder son?" Mother waved her hand dismissively. "He's fine. Just a slight fall. He's probably resting at home."

The attendant nodded and left.

I closed my eyes in bitter agony.

They didn't even notice I had long stopped breathing.

On the bed, my brother rolled over, letting out a faint groan.

Mother rushed to his bedside at once. "Darling, where does it hurt? Tell Mother."

"Brother!" Orion whimpered weakly. "Brother tried to harm me!"

"Don't be afraid. Mother won't let him hurt you," Mother stroked his hair, her voice unbelievably tender. "He just accidentally knocked over the tripod. He didn't mean to."

"No!" Orion suddenly grew hysterical. "He did it on purpose! He hates me! He keeps telling me I'm a burden, a cursed parasite, and that he'll kill me one day!"

His breathing turned frantic, and his pulse fluttered wildly.

Healers and attendants rushed in, plunging the room into chaos once more.

I floated in the corner, watching it all unfold.

Ever since we were young, as long as Orion said "Brother hates me," Father and Mother would glare at me with blame, as if I had committed an unforgivable sin.

"Orion says you stole his wooden sword!"

"Orion says you ruined his ritual robes!"

"Orion says you put salt in his goblet!"

Even now, when I was already dead, they still believed his every word.

A communication talisman in Father's tunic began to hum.

He stepped out into the hallway to answer. "Yes? Ah, Captain of the City Guard. What?!"

His face instantly turned deathly pale.

"No! That's impossible!" His voice trembled violently. "Are you sure it's my son?"

The guard captain's cold voice echoed from the talisman: "The casualty is a young male, around sixteen. He suffered fatal internal bleeding caused by a cardiac rupture and has been dead for at least three hours. By divine registry, he is your eldest son."