[Scene – The Bedroom, After Mortex Wakes Up]
Mortex took a deep breath.
"The first proof… is the hair."
He pointed to himself first. "My hair is violet. Yan's is red. Yours… white and black. These colors? Except black, the rest are rare here. Sometimes impossible. But… they're common over there. Especially among the nobles of Aster."
Selina looked at a strand of her hair, twirling it between her fingers. She remembered the teasing, how she always felt different. For the first time, the color seemed to mean something.
Rami remained standing, expressionless. "A rare color, true… but not enough."
"The second proof… language."
He slowly spoke a word: "Lorma."
Then added, "It means 'free' in Asterian. You used to say it a lot as a kid. No one understood you back then. They thought it was just childish babble, meaningless sounds. Even Amanda heard you speaking strange words more than once… but she ignored it. Assumed it was some dialect from another region—your features weren't Asian, after all. No one ever stopped to question it. No one guessed those words belonged to a language not of this world."
Rami clenched his jaw but said nothing.
Selina looked at him, then asked, "Is that why they call you the Silent One? 'Mortex the Silent'?"
He nodded.
"Partly. But the real reason? I was truly silent. I was cursed—my voice sealed for two years. To keep me from exposing myself, because I had already mastered the language of Aster."
Selina muttered, "So they sealed your voice so you'd learn the language of this world first… then speak. Smart move—if you're telling the truth."
Rami stepped closer, voice low, eyes sharp: "What's the final proof?"
Mortex lowered his head. "I don't have more. Just…"
Rami raised the dagger, but a hand gripped his shoulder.
Selina.
"Wait. Hear him out."
She sat in front of Mortex, face to face.
"Just answer this… why? Why did you want to kill him?"
Mortex sighed. "I come from a bloodline that once served House Al-Zaher. Our blood is bound by a curse. It stops us from betraying the heirs. But… the curse only activates after puberty. Until then, it can be resisted."
Rami spoke from behind, "So… you didn't feel the curse yet?"
Mortex shook his head. "When I tried to kill you, I was on the edge. My body had started rejecting the command. When I raised the blade… my hand shook. My head split with pain. I bled internally. I knew if I didn't do it then… I never would."
Selina whispered, "But why even try? Why risk it?"
Rami answered for him. "Because if I die—if we die—he's free."
Mortex nodded. "Yes. If the heirs die… the curse breaks. I wanted a free life. For me… for my children someday."
Rami said nothing.
Selina remembered his eyes, the moment he'd aimed the knife at her.
"Go on," Rami said coldly.
Mortex looked down.
"It all started seven years ago…"
---
[Flashback – Seven Years Ago]
Mortex's eyes opened. Dim light. A man carrying him. Cold air.
A blond man opened a door.
"Welcome, kid. I'm Ryan."
Words he didn't understand. Just muffled sounds.
---
[Back to the Present]
"I was silent for two years. They thought I was mute. They didn't know my voice… was stolen."
"Then… one day, my voice returned. I thought of telling them everything. But I was afraid."
"Years passed. I lived like everyone else. Work, sleep, repeat. But… there were three children. Every time I saw them, I felt something. Not love. Not hate. Something… deeper."
---
[Flashback – Orphanage Courtyard]
Yan, surrounded. Ten boys around him.
Mortex stepped into the courtyard.
"Leave him."
They scattered.
---
[Back to the Present]
"That's when I understood. I wasn't protecting them out of kindness. I was… bound to them."
"And on the day of awakening… all the pieces clicked. I felt like I had everything. Then… something inside me broke. Memories. Names. Faces. And… the curse."
"And I knew the true heirs… were you two."
Rami narrowed his eyes. Selina whispered, "Keep going."
"I wanted freedom. A life not dictated by heir's blood. I wanted… to be a person, not a tool."
"That's why I chose to kill. Rami first… then Selina."
"And Yan?"
"His line is a side branch. The curse doesn't tie me to him completely. At most, he might stop me from killing him one day."
Silence.
Then he continued, "But when I raised the blade… my hand betrayed me. The headache hit hard. I felt internal bleeding. The curse… began to awaken."
"And then… you called to me, Rami. And everything collapsed."
Rami said nothing.
Selina stared at him quietly. She seemed deep in thought.