The Seat of My Heart

8 A Sinful Wish

Agur Suhi took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. He still didn't know if he was doing the right thing or if it wouldn't be better to keep silent. But in the end, there was no real way to know. He could only go with what he believed to be the best path forward and hope that he wasn't wrong.

Anyway, Shaun Reng was already dead. While he did not want to betray his friend and mar his image after his death, this could not impact his life anymore. On the other hand, whether it was the king or this zhireng Susha, the matter was different with them. If the truth wasn't revealed, either of them might lose their life. He couldn't let that happen.

While he might not care too much about Susha Unhuor, this man didn't deserve to die either, and he naturally wouldn't want for anything to happen to Jusha Lale. He was their king, the hope of Alo, and he had also seen him grow from a child into an adult. To say that he didn't feel like he should take care of him a bit would be a lie.

"You asked me if I believe that Reng would have ever summoned a demon. In general, I would say no. What I said about him before still holds true: He was a good man. He was committed to his family, his friends, his work. There was nothing about him that isn't praiseworthy."

Susha Unhuor nodded. "And yet, you believe that he is the one who summoned this demon."

Agur Suhi smiled faintly and shook his head. "No. No, I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it. But if you are asking me whether there was a reason for him to summon a demon, then I am afraid that he might have had one. Correct me if I am wrong but demons are summoned if there is a strong desire that cannot be fulfilled without some external help. And often, this desire is immoral, evil. It is something that no human, no good person, would ever be willing to lend you a helping hand to achieve."

Susha Unhuor nodded. "That is precisely right. The worse the wish is, the more likely it is that a demon can be summoned. But a good person usually wouldn't have that type of wish. Since you feel that your friend was an upright person, why would you believe that he had such a desire?"

Agur Suhi sighed. "If it was some years ago, I would not have believed this either. But unfortunately, I found out about some things that I would rather not have gotten to know." He clasped his hand behind his back and then strolled deeper into the courtyard, standing still in the middle and looking up at the small patch of sky above them. "Reng and I grew up together. We were born just one week apart from each other and always were close. There was nothing that we could talk about. Everything that we ever experienced was always done together. No matter what happened, we always had each other's back. I thought that I knew everything about him just like he knew everything about me.

"When I met my wife, he was the first one I told. On the day our children were born, we were the first ones to congratulate each other. There was nothing ever done that we did not know about. Save for one thing." He turned around, his expression unprecedentedly serious.

Susha Unhuor slowly walked over, stopping beside him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "What happened?"

"It was a while after the late king's death. Originally, Reng had a very good relationship with this brother-in-law of his. He had always gotten along well with his sister as well and there was never a problem with his nephew either."

Susha Unhuor slightly furrowed his brows. That sounded as if that was something of the past. Could it be that Shaun Reng's thoughts had changed? Did the king's death make him think of that family differently? Maybe that was what fueled his desire? To see that maybe there was a chance to actually get the throne? Was it that when it wasn't in reach, he would never even think about something but when tempted once, he would also lose his mind over it? Considering what Jusha Lale had told him about how people had doubted his ability to lead the country, it would be possible. There would have been a chance for Shaun Reng to take over.