Vengeance of The Broken Lycan Prince [BL]
Chapter 243: And Now The Day Bleeds, Into Nightfall

Chapter 243: And Now The Day Bleeds, Into Nightfall

[KONSTANTIN]

"If I were you, I would assign Sanji to the worst sides of the kingdom to work his butt off, just saying," the king spoke and Kosta’s eyes lit up. This did sound like the worst of ideas and yet at the same time, it was like a path had opened for him, one that brought forth some certainties.

Perhaps he was crazy for even having a second to think of what the king meant, but he was a desperate man who knew he had to work on so many things to make ends meet. He was a man who had fucked up and all that he had loved threatened to fade in the distance.

It wasn’t the best of things for him. It wasn’t the kind of fate he had hoped for but it was what had presented itself to him and honestly, Kosta was thinking in that direction. He didn’t care that the suggestion would possibly lead to a doomed fate.

All that he cared about was the way that his life had changed with Tamiko and how much he wanted to keep a semblance of that normalcy. It was the only thing keeping him sane because, without it, Kosta was never going to rise like he had hoped for.

"Don’t listen to him. If you want to win Tamiko over you have to be yourself. You have to be whatever he fell in love with. My brother is complicated but at the same time, his heart is simple.

"The simple things make his heart flutter, so you dive deep into whatever you did to make him accept you back then, and bring it back because I wouldn’t be surprised if Sanjiro believes he has a chance with Tamiko.

"As much as I hate you, I don’t hate you enough to wish that overly bubbly pretentious Lycan be your replacement in my brother’s life," Danny said as he looked at Kosta.

It was sort of hilarious how he was raging against Kosta every other minute, and yet at the same time, he was rooting for the man. Perhaps they were frenemies, but whatever dynamic worked for them was still going to be alright, yeah?

Or was this just another part of the long game they were trapped into by the fates then? But what if Danny was wrong, what if this could work and the mad king’s idea was the only thing left for him to choose from?

Would it make everything better or would it all just be shitty to the point that life never got to be worth it ever again?

"Well, don’t say I didn’t try to give you the fastest route Chief," King Zaffuto said as he stared at the man in love with his son. He knew that this was something Kosta had to work through alone and frankly, it was interesting to him.

It wasn’t like a game where he could spend his entire time channeling and cheering for some team, no. This was a part of reality that had gotten King Zaffuto genuinely curious.

He wanted to see what the Lycan Chief would do, and perhaps that was why he was cheering the man on. It was a grand turn of events, but hadn’t it been their reality for the past few days?

Nothing had made sense for the longest time and now it seemed like they had to sit through endless torture to get the answers they needed.

"You might want to start with that library as soon as you can. Sanji is taking him to the old library and I guarantee you it is not for a history lesson. I know my nephew won’t cheat—

"—but there is a very high chance that Sanji will be dead within the hour if you don’t go there and intervene," Lord Sadako said and Danny sighed.

There really was no helping the Lycan Chief. On one end was his Erasthai who was reasonably mad at him and on the other were the crazy advisors who didn’t even seem to have humanity.

For anyone, it would seem like Lord Sadako was playing games with Kosta, but then the man knew the Lycan Lord enough to understand that there was every ounce of trust in what he had said.

Tamiko was loyal, fiercely so, and Sanji was a little shit who loved to play games. It was crazy what they had gotten to this over the years and it was interesting how long the pages were.

But maybe, this time, it would be the kind that Kosta would be able to find a way around.

Surely it wouldn’t be that difficult for the Lycan Chief, right?

"Fuck... excuse me while I go get my hundredth rejection in the past ten days," Kosta said defeatedly. He hated who things were but he couldn’t help but be excited at the thought that Tamiko was being defiant because he was mad.

That was the only proof that Kosta needed to know that this was not going to be hard. Well, his ego would take a few hits, but if that was the price for Tamiko to see him again, then he would do it.

Of course, Kosta had considered getting hurt to get Tamiko’s attention, but he couldn’t be that selfish. He had learned of the things that Tamiko had had to deal with and he felt like shit already.

Pulling the ’hurt’ card internationally on Tamiko would break his heart and Tamiko would probably never trust him again, that was not a risk that Kosta was willing to take. He just had to figure out the best way around this.

Maybe he just had to hope.

"Good luck chief, you’ll need it," King Zaffuto said as Kosta headed out.

"Thanks, father-in-law," Kosta teased before he disappeared, his heart heavy with thoughts as he tried to think of the best way to get Tamiko back. It had been a hectic few days for the both of them and frankly, he hated that they were that apart.

He hated that it was his fault and he hated that he had tried everything and none of that had worked. Perhaps he just needed to find Sanji and fight him, but would Kosta fight everyone that Tamiko got close to?

Would he spend an eternity fighting everyone who was around his Erasthai, something that could lead to Tamiko actually rejecting him out of anger? Was that an avenue he really wanted to explore?

It didn’t get any easier for Kosta and time wasn’t any better for him.

So as he walked the hallways to the old library, he hoped that Sanji wasn’t dead at the hands of Tamiko because that would only cement the reputation Tamiko had earned himself over the past few weeks as the king’s son and the ultimate weapon against enemies.

It was a huge gamble that Kosta was taking, but then he had to wait and see what could happen to the both of them. And waiting was driving him nuts.

****

"What books do you wish to read?" Sanji asked Tamiko when they got to the old library. It was a place that was held together by magic. The books were older than time and they seemed to know from over the years.

Frankly, this was the best cache that Tamiko could find to learn about his lineage and what mattered to his family the most. If he wanted to know about what was wrong and right for him as a source of Kawai, this was the palace for him to be.

But was his assistant guide really a good person who was suddenly willing to teach him the specifics of a lifetime that held so much and meant so little to him?

"My mother. I want to know what she was like before. I Want to see her beyond the books of the old and beyond what people talked of all these years; I want to read about her myself.

"The good and the bad. I want to learn everything there is about my mother, the queen of Kawai," Tamiko said determinedly.

Sanji stared at him softly, like he understood the kid. It was tempting really to manipulate Tamiko, but then who the fuck was ever going to be able to manipulate the kid who had gone through the worst trials of his life?

Granted, there was never going to be a manual to help with the chaos, but there was no denying that Tamiko’s interest in learning about his mother was unsettling even for Sanjiro.

The Grealor library had offered barely enough information and the public Kawai library did talk of what Tamiko needed. Perhaps that was why he had eagerly agreed to come along, or was it because he wanted to make a certain Lycan Chief jealous?

"You really are passionate about your family history, huh," Sanji commented softly and Tamiko sighed lightly.

"I miss her. I just want to know her, through and through. I want to know the person that the entire realm loved so much even though she was mated to the worst Lycan ever. Maybe I am all curious because I want to figure out how to be like her—

"—or maybe I just want to know what he would have done if she was in my position," Tamiko said softly. Sanji could have sworn he hadn’t expected that. He was taken aback obviously and Tamiko stared at him amusedly.

This was something he had that he would do with Kosta and yet his Erasthai was not here. For a moment, Tamiko felt a rage go through him, but then he had to remind himself that this was not just for him and that he had to respect his Erasthai’s request for space.

"Your position?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah... maybe then I would know how to make Kosta happier."