Published at 22nd of February 2026 7:14 am

Chapter 2020 Disease

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"... Bring out your brother. He's easier to reason with."

"...?!"

The defiant challenge written all over Richard's face shattered instantly, replaced by raw shock and deep confusion. "My brother? Are you alright, old man?...Do you mean Caesar?"

"I mean your brother, Richard."

A faint trace of irritation surfaced on Robin's face. Without waiting for a response, he stepped inside with calm, unhurried strides and sat down on one of the seats, crossing one leg over the other with practiced ease. "Richard still carries fragments of the etiquette he learned while being raised among the nobility during his early years in the city of Jura. You, however, do not. You lack even the basics."

He glanced at him coldly. "You need to be raised from scratch-and

unfortunately, I don't have the time for that. I'll let the streets finish what they started with you!"

"...?!"

Richard stared at Robin in utter disbelief, then turned to Leonid as if searching for confirmation, before snapping his gaze back to Robin once more. "What is going on here? Did I miss something? Did everyone lose their minds while I wasn't here?!"

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh

"Your Majesty!"

At that moment, ten figures appeared almost simultaneously, their movements sharp and disciplined. Without hesitation, all ten dropped to one knee before Robin.

"Hm?"

Robin glanced down briefly, his expression unchanged, then nodded in acknowledgment. "You may stand."

Though he had never seen any of them before, Robin needed only a single glance to understand their identities-five were imperial guards, their auras steady and resolute, and five were Shadow Swords, their presence sharp, restrained, and lethal.

"We have reassigned the guard duty here from the Space, Resonant Waves, and Time Squad Commanders in accordance with Your Majesty's earlier instructions," Leonid explained when he noticed Robin's gaze. "This allows them to undertake more critical missions elsewhere."

He continued calmly, "This unit is rotated every three years. Their sole purpose is to attend to Your Majesty should you require departure at any moment." "Hey!"

Richard suddenly waved his arm violently, his patience completely shattered, anger blazing across his face. "Why are you all ignoring me? What is happening here?!"

He pointed sharply at Robin. "You-old man-you've never even met me before, so why are you acting like you know me inside out? And don't you keep track of your own son's fate? Wasn't I officially declared dead? Wasn't a funeral held for me?"

His voice rose. "Why aren't you even surprised to see me alive? What kind of father are you?!"

The sheer number of questions crashing through Richard's mind nearly caused it to burst. This encounter bore no resemblance-none at all-to the reunion he had imagined over countless sleepless nights.

"Tsk~"

Robin's irritation deepened. He waved his hand lightly, dismissively. "Leave us." "Yes, sir"

Leonid and the guards immediately saluted, then withdrew toward the upper floor, leaving the room steeped in an uneasy silence.

"Hmmm. I've known about your existence since our very first encounter," Robin said calmly. "It was painfully obvious."

He paused, rubbing the space between his eyes as though suppressing a headache. "But you were like a disease that didn't appear lethal. So I left you alone-hoping, perhaps, that you might prove useful to Richard in some way!" Robin lowered his hand and looked straight at him. "That does not grant you permission to speak to me in that tone. I am still the father of the body you inhabit."

"The body I inhabit?"

Richard shook his head sharply, disbelief etched across his face. "What are you talking about? What do you even mean by that, you old ma-"

Smack.

A sharp, explosive slap struck Richard's right cheek. His ear rang violently as the world spun, and before he could process what had happened, he found himself sprawled on the floor, his vision fixed on Robin's shoe mere inches from his face.

He raised his head slowly, fury boiling in his eyes. "You fu-"

Bam!

The second impact sent him rolling across the floor several times before his momentum was stopped by the legs of a couch. Gasping, Richard scrambled against it, forcing himself upright, his expression now twisted with shock-and unmistakable fear.

Why?

Why was the difference in power so horrifyingly vast? This wasn't even an attack. It was domination-pure, overwhelming oppression.

"That cheap bravado you use to convince yourself you're strong-use it on someone else. Not on me," Robin said coldly. "And that flaming hair of yours that makes you look like a street thug-put it out. You don't frighten anyone

here."

Turning away, Robin walked back slowly to his seat, his steps unhurried and absolute. He sat down once more, resting both hands on the armrests, then calmly gestured toward the chair opposite him, "Now, SIT."

""

Several minutes of heavy silence stretched between them, the kind that seemed to amplify every shallow breath and every barely perceptible movement. Richard ground his teeth with ferocious intensity, as if trying to bite

through the tension itself.

Whoosh

The green flames that had enveloped him flickered out, disappearing into the air like smoke, yet his white hair stubbornly remained standing on end, defying gravity as if it were alive. His eyes, sharp and unyielding, kept their focused glare, brimming with aggression and restrained fury. Slowly, deliberately, he moved toward the chair, each step heavy with tension, and sat down with visible effort, trying desperately to stifle the storm of his emotions, to suppress the boiling rage that threatened to spill over.

"Hmph. At least you know when to lower your head," Robin said with a faintly forced smile, one hand casually resting on his armrest. "It seems the streets weren't entirely useless in teaching you something, after all." He leaned slightly forward, scrutinizing the young man before him. "Now tell me... what exactly are you doing here? Richard would never come directly to me like this. You've never even faced me before. So why appear now?"

"... Will you stop talking to me as if I'm not Richard?" Richard's voice rose slightly, tinged with both frustration and defiance. The spiky, white hair on his head seemed to bristle as if responding to his anger. "I am not an intruder. I am not some other entity controlling your son. I am not the 'disease' you described! I am myself-me!" He clenched his jaw so tightly that his teeth ground together audibly, a sharp sound cutting through the tension. Robin's faint smile deepened, though his tone remained calm. "Oh, you are not all of that, of course. But you are still not Richard." He gestured casually toward the chair opposite him, his demeanor deceptively relaxed. "Richard's consciousness-the one raised by Mila-currently accompanies his initial soul in its dedicated section of your soul domain, isn't that right?" "And what of it?" Richard snapped back sharply, leaning forward as if to physically assert his presence. "That's what happens when we switch. I remain myself-just a slightly altered personality. Stronger, better, more ambitious, more disciplined. Isn't that what any parent would want from their child? Why won't you recognize me as I truly am?"

"You fool..." Robin's voice was quiet but firm, tinged with both exasperation and resolve. He shook his head slowly. "If you were merely a secondary personality, there wouldn't be another full consciousness residing inside your soul domain, one that talks to you. There wouldn't be a separate section designated for each

of you, either."

"What do you mean?" Richard's aggression softened, replaced by disbelief and confusion. "This... this is because we have a special arrangement. That's

perfectly natural."

"No," Robin corrected him firmly, pointing toward Richard's head. "It's not

natural at all. Your soul domain is split in two. Each half possesses its own initial soul and consciousness. And there is a small door-like-gap connecting the two domains, which is what allows them to remain linked. That is why you can alternate with Richard, each claiming the right to inhabit the body, while the other remains as a soul avatar within his own soul domain section..."

He leaned back, placing both hands on the armrests of his chair, his gaze

thoughtful. "How should I explain this clearly...?" He tilted his head slightly, considering. "You are like conjoined twins, in a way. Sharing one body, yet harboring two souls within it." A strange, almost amused smile played across his lips. "Fascinating, isn't it? Truly remarkable."

Then his eyes sharpened, and he pointed directly at Richard. "And you the ill-mannered twin-you shoved your brother aside, took his place, and had the audacity to speak to me in that condescending tone. Don't you fear that I might erase you completely?"

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