Chapter 325 - Betrayed

Chapter 325: Chapter 325 - Betrayed

For a long second, Nansich genuinely thought he had heard wrong.

Two people were staring at him. Bian stood with tears gathered along his lashes, one hand clutching Dican’s sleeve as though he needed protection from him. Dican, meanwhile, looked shocked, but there was something else in his expression that made Nansich’s irritation flare even hotter.

Betrayal.

As if Dican actually believed he might have poisoned him because he secretly wanted Bian.

"No!"

His shout startled the maid badly enough that the small container nearly slipped from her hands.

Nansich pointed at Bian. "Why the fuck would I like you?"

Bian flinched.

"You are the last person I would be interested in. Don’t stand there crying and acting noble when you’re a two-faced bitch."

Several warriors shifted uncomfortably. Bian’s face paled, but Nansich was far beyond caring. His room had been invaded, his belongings searched and his sword taken from him. Someone had apparently hidden Grayling poison beneath his bed, and now he was being accused of trying to steal someone else’s husband.

"You want to talk about what kind of person I am?" Nansich demanded. "Fine. Why don’t we talk about you? Aren’t you the one who ordered me to hurt your own little brother?"

The room went silent.

Dican’s head snapped toward Bian.

"What?"

Bian’s fingers loosened around his sleeve.

"Nansich, I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Of course you don’t."

Nansich laughed bitterly and looked at Dican. "Yeah. This is your husband, all right. He hated Jian. He was jealous of him and tried everything he could to hurt him, and now he’s standing here acting like I’m some dangerous bastard who attacks innocent people for fun."

"That isn’t true." Bian shook his head quickly. "I never asked you to hurt Jian."

Nansich stared at him incredulously.

He remembered Bian very differently. The jealousy, the resentment and the way Jian’s very existence seemed to get under his skin. Now Bian stood before everyone dressed beautifully in gold, crying as though he’d never deliberately harmed anyone in his life.

Nansich looked toward the container in the maid’s hands.

"Hell, he could have planted that thing himself."

Bian’s eyes widened.

Dican’s expression changed slightly.

"Nansich, stop."

"Why? You started this."

Bian recoiled at his raised voice, immediately making Nansich look like the aggressor again.

Nansich dragged a hand through his hair. He was getting more frustrated by the second because he didn’t know how to prove himself. He didn’t understand Grayling substances. He barely understood Farian technology. He had been on Gia for only a few days, yet somehow he was supposed to explain why a mysterious container had appeared underneath his bed.

He turned toward Dican.

"And you. Think about this for one damn second. I’ve been on this planet for a few days. I didn’t even know what Grayling sap looked like until everyone flooded my room."

Dican remained silent.

Nansich’s irritation deepened.

"You’ve been chasing after my ass practically every day since we got here. You followed me to the training arena. You keep finding me. You keep insisting I’m your mate no matter how many times I tell you to leave me alone."

Dican’s jaw tightened.

"So if I’m secretly in love with Bian and trying to get rid of you, why the hell have I spent the last few days trying to get you away from me?"

That made Dican pause.

Because it was true.

Nansich had never sought him out. Dican had been the one following him, approaching him and trying to understand the strange bond between them. Nansich had responded by threatening him with a sword, throwing him around and repeatedly telling him to stay away.

It wasn’t exactly the behavior of a man secretly plotting to steal his husband.

Dican slowly looked at Bian.

Bian had gone pale.

For a moment, something like panic appeared in his eyes, but the instant he noticed Dican watching, his expression crumpled.

"I would never hurt anyone."

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I know Jian and I have had problems. I know I’ve made mistakes, but I would never ask someone to hurt him." Bian shook his head, looking genuinely devastated. "Nansich, why are you doing this? Why are you trying to hurt both of us?"

Nansich stared at him.

The performance was so convincing that it almost impressed him.

"I didn’t put that thing in my room."

His voice was lower this time, but his anger hadn’t faded.

"I don’t know who did. I don’t know why. But don’t stand there and turn this into some ridiculous story about me wanting you."

Bian’s fingers tightened around Dican’s sleeve.

Then he looked toward the warriors.

"Guards."

Several men straightened.

"Please arrest him before he hurts the prince."

Nobody moved.

The guards exchanged uncertain looks.

Nansich was a royal guest who had arrived with the Third Prince and General Xing Yu. He was also a human unfamiliar with Gia.

Bian noticed their hesitation.

"I said arrest him."

Still, they looked toward Dican.

Nansich did too.

Dican remained silent.

His face was blank, but his mind was in chaos.

Bian had ordered Nansich to hurt Jian?

Dican had never heard about that.

Worse, Bian hadn’t asked when this supposedly happened or why Nansich would make such an accusation. He had simply denied everything and demanded Nansich be taken away.

And Dican couldn’t forget the small container he’d seen Bian pull from his clothes moments before the guards arrived.

Grayling material was inside Dican’s blood.

Grandpa Rue remembered his eyes turning purple around Bian.

Nansich claimed Bian had once ordered him to hurt Jian.

And now Grayling sap had somehow appeared underneath Nansich’s bed.

Dican didn’t know what to believe anymore.

But he knew one thing.

He needed proof.

The guards continued waiting for his decision. Bian looked up at him, tears still clinging to his lashes.

"Husband?"

The word made Dican’s stomach twist.

He didn’t answer.

After several uncomfortable seconds, the captain finally seemed to take Dican’s silence as permission. He motioned to two warriors.

They approached Nansich carefully.

Nansich didn’t resist when they took his arms. He could have made things difficult. Dican knew firsthand how strong he was.

Instead, Nansich simply stood there.

That somehow made Dican feel worse.

The guards pulled his hands behind his back and began leading him toward the doorway.

Nansich looked over his shoulder.

His eyes found Dican immediately.

There was no fear there.

Only anger and bitter disappointment.

For some reason, that expression struck Dican harder than all the shouting had.

Nansich gave a humorless laugh.

"Fuck you."

Dican heard him perfectly.

He forced himself to remain where he was as Nansich was led from the room. He couldn’t defend him without evidence, and he couldn’t reveal what he had discovered about his own blood. Not while he still had no idea who was responsible.

Only after the warriors disappeared into the corridor did Dican slowly turn toward Bian.

Bian was wiping the last of his tears away.

And for the briefest moment, before he realized Dican was looking at him, there was something almost like relief on his face.