A few seconds of silence passed before the old man finally spoke.
"You've grown, Endi. It's been four years… You're sixteen now."
His voice carried a weight of nostalgia, a tone steeped in remembrance.
For the first time, Endi had heard his true age. He lowered his head, unable to speak. That silence made the old man falter, uncertainty flickering across his face.
The next moment, Endi's body began to tremble.
"…Don't screw with me."
His hoarse voice struck the air like a stone sinking into still water. His fists clenched so tightly that his fingertips turned white.
"Don't screw with me!!"
With a furious cry, Endi leapt at the old man, pinning him to the ground and seizing him by the collar.
"You… You were the one who called my name that day, weren't you!? Why did you abandon me!? Why did you run away without a word!? Why!?"
The tears spilling down his cheeks were louder than his fury. Four years of repressed feelings surged out like a dam bursting.
The old man could only stare in shock, unable to respond.
"Endi, calm down. Don't hurt an old man," Rabesta said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. But Endi no longer heard her.
"Why show up now!? Do you have any idea how much I suffered!? How lonely I was, every single day!?"
His cry carried the soul of a boy who had endured nothing but solitude and despair.
The old man lowered his eyes and exhaled a pained breath.
"…Forgive me, Endi. When you woke and looked at me with no recognition… I realized you had lost your memories. I… I didn't know what to do."
"You didn't know what to do!? That's your excuse for abandoning me!?"
Endi's rage did not subside.
"Endi, let's hear what this old man has to say," Rabesta urged gently.
Her words jolted Endi back to himself. He finally released the man's collar, rose shakily to his feet, and stood there, panting heavily.
The old man also stood, locking eyes with him.
"Endi, your heart was deeply wounded back then. I thought… maybe forgetting everything was a blessing. A new life without pain, free to start again. I believed you could find happiness that way. That's why… I chose to disappear."
His voice trembled with remorse and sorrow.
Memories of lonely years flashed through Endi's mind—days spent mistrusting everyone, not knowing who he truly was, stumbling forward in constant suffering.
"…I never imagined you suffered so much. Forgive me, Endi… please forgive me."
The old man bowed deeply.
The sudden apology left Endi speechless, unsure how to respond.
"Malice eats away at people's hearts. But in the end, what drives them to despair is ignorant, self-righteous goodwill," Rabesta murmured, her words laced with irony.
The old man forced a strained smile.
"Raise your head… Grandpa," Endi muttered awkwardly.
"Grandpa, is it? You've got me there."
The old man chuckled faintly, but tears gleamed at the corners of his eyes.
"But Endi… even without your memories, your eyes are the same as back then—strong and kind."
"…What?"
Endi couldn't feel the weight of those words.
"Grandpa, Endi hasn't regained all his memories yet. But he knows he's Yudra. So isn't it time you told him who you really are, and what he means to you?" Rabesta pressed.
The old man nodded solemnly.
"Yes… it is my duty. I knew this day would come."
Endi's chest pounded. Rabesta, too, held her breath, awaiting his words.
"You are Yudra. And so am I."
The expected truth drew a sharp breath from Endi.
"Endi, your true name is Urmeit Endi. The Urmeit family stood alongside the Melrose family—Cain and Abel's bloodline—for five centuries, serving the House of Remsophia."
"!? You know Cain!?" Endi cried out.
"Of course I do. I know you, Cain, Abel… and your parents as well."
The names spoken shook Endi to his very core.
"For five hundred years, the Yudra have ruled history from the shadows. At their center stands the House of Remsophia. If your family served them, then your bloodline is nobility of the highest order," Rabesta said firmly.
"'Was' nobility… that may be the more accurate way to put it," the old man replied with a faint, sorrowful smile.
"What do you mean!?" Endi demanded.
The old man's expression grew heavy.
"…Because you are the last of the Urmeit family. Just as Cain and Abel are the last of the Melrose."
The weight of his words made Endi's spine shiver.
"And… the House of Remsophia as well. Only one remains."
"Yes. Abel told us that too," Rabesta murmured.
Confusion churned in their minds.
"They were all slaughtered. The one who commanded it… was Remsophia Ivanka, the current head of the House. He called it a purge, and wiped out three… no, four bloodlines."
The old man's voice seethed with fury, freezing the very air.
In Endi's mind, an image flickered—Cain as a boy, golden hair, a face twisted in helpless terror.
"Endi… listen carefully. The one who guided that massacre… was Cain."
The old man's words struck like a curse.
And in that instant, Endi felt something inside him collapse with a resounding crack.