Written by Valerie.
Adapted to English by Valerie.

***
T H E S U N W I L L R I S E W I T H O U T Y O U
Part 2 (End)

Looking back, Zağanos realized that his whole life was almost nothing but hatred.

15 years.

It took him 15 years to avenge his entire family.

The moment the Emperor of Balt-Rhein's head fell off, Zağanos felt as if he himself had also halfly died.

Since his kind father died, hatred has become Zağanos' sole living purpose. He destroyed an entire country to avenge his family, and in the end he was left with nothing but emptiness.

No.

There's still one thing.

That day when Zağanos returned triumphantly from St. Michael, the people of Altın flocked to the streets to admire and praise the heroes. While other Pashas such as Nurcan, Zeki,... happily received flowers from the people, smiling and waving to them, his eyes followed only one figure: A teenager with golden hair shining under the sun, blue eyes and slim body, happily ran out to meet his two companions.

You did it, Zağanos thought. That child protected Altın, just as he entrusted him to.

When he first saw Mahmut, he simply thought that such a child wouldn't be able to fulfill a Pasha's duty.

But one time after another, that child kept surprising him. He was the only unexpected thing appearing in Zağanos' perfectly calculated plans, repeatedly disrupting what the man carefully constructed, then settling down in unexpected ways.

From the rebellion in Hisarı.

Civil war in 4 sultanate countries.

Until the glorious victory at Chielo.

And under the starry night in Religion, when the boy devoted himself to save Zağanos from the pursuit of Johann Frentzen - Sud Army General.

Every time they met, each event occurred, Mahmut grew up bit by bit, at a speed beyond Zağanos' imagination. Once, then twice, gradually the older man couldn't help but look forward to this boy's growth. From a young chick, boy has grown into a mighty eagle, full of determination and potential. From a small Pawn on the chessboard that can be discarded at any time, that child had become a Queen, strong and powerful, like a small star gradually shining into a brilliant constellation.

"Neither me nor Halil Pasha were able to stop this war from breaking out!
But you - Zağanos Pasha - you can put an end to it!
I want
to become like you!"

Ah...
...you silly boy.
It's not that.

"To end this war, we will need your strength."

Zağanos said it, because he could no longer deny it.

That Mahmut is the key, to end the long war on this continent.

That his heart was always beating fast every time he saw the blond's small figure standing in front of him, with shining eyes longing for praises, for recognition, and for attention.

Sometimes, he felt like he could see those desert-sky blue eyes - clear and shiny - when walking through a street where children were laughing, when looking up at the bright moonlight in the middle of an autumn night. He could imagine the boy bending over to pat those children's heads, buying them some flowers,... or his soft blond hair sparkle under that bright moon. Before he even realized, thoughts about Mahmut had started to occupy his mind bit by bit— making him couldn't help but be sarcastic each time the boy did something reckless, making him couldn't entrust important missions to anyone but this boy - the one he fully trusted.

"I entrust our homeland to you, Mahmut Pasha."

Because I knew you could do it, thought Zağanos.

That night, the people of Altın lighted mosaic lanterns to pray for the souls of the dead. Unlike Zağanos who was alone, Mahmut was accompanied by his friends: the group of Sultans and retainers. He happily greeted everyone, sat down to eat, and chatted with them, in a sociable and open manner, his face full of happiness. That's right, because this is the peace he has always wanted. He did not fight out of hatred, out of despair like Zağanos. That resilient young man fought for the future, for hope.

But this peace won't last long, the purple-haired man thought, as he saw the boy's face turn red after just a few sips of alcohol.

As long as all conflicts, all resentments of this land have not yet disappeared, war can still be able to break out at any time.

Because one Zağanos took revenge has directly created countless other "Zağanos". The cycle of hatred will go on and on, never ending.

Even so...

"If you can't drink, don't force yourself." Zağanos spoke, as he approached Mahmut, who was bending down to wash his face to sober up.

In the night lit by countless colorful lanterns, Mahmut stood in front of him, in his purest, truest form. Not a slaying warrior on the battlefield, not a politician with cunning schemes, not a brilliant hero portrayed in the theater —he was just a kid who had achieved his childhood dream, but still felt guilty for causing his countrymen to shed so much blood. Despite being trampled on by the blood and war, the teenager with those clear eyes still kept his kind nature, not letting blood stain his soul. The boy had changed a lot, but Zağanos realized that deep down, Mahmut hadn't changed a thing. He would still stand up when there's injustice, and he would still protect the innocent.

Maybe... entrusting everything to someone like him... wouldn't be so bad.

"I'll do everything to bring lasting peace to Türkiye. That's for sure."

After taking his revenge, Zağanos no longer had the will to live.

But at least, I can use my death to fulfill this dream for you.

_________________

"Wow, so this is Chielo Province!" Kemal couldn't help but marvel when he saw the citadel built on the mountain, with thousands of steps leading to the Oficina at the highest point. It must be tiring to climb up there, he thought.

As soon as Mahmut Pasha got off the horse, a tall, beautiful woman with long black braided hair rushed out to meet him. Behind her were some children, who didn't look like siblings and were all wearing uniforms.

"Long time no see, Cassandra. Hi there, little kids." Mahmut Pasha smiled brightly. Kemal noticed that during the gallop from Altın, the closer Pasha got to Chielo, the better his mood became. Is it because of the good climate of Southern Rumeliana?

"Come on guys, don't push." The woman spoke to those orphans as they tried their best to see Mahmut Pasha. "Welcome, Mahmut Pasha. The kids heard of your arrival so they're a bit too excited, please forgive them."

"It's okay, I have sweets for all of you." Pasha untied a bag tied from the saddle, took out candies and gave them to the children. "How's the situation at the orphanage?"

"The orphanage is doing well. In the past 6 months, more than 15 kids have been adopted. I personally checked the background of the adopters, they are all decent people." Cassandra answered. "Sponsors also regularly send toys, clothes, books and paper to the children."

"Thank you, Cassandra. What about the other parts of Carvajal Imaret?" Pasha nodded, after distributing candies to the children.

"Yes, just now the hastane (hospital) received about 20 more seriously ill patients with difficult circumstances, the doctors are all trying their best to treat those patients." The woman led Mahmut Pasha up the steps to the Oficina, and Kemal hurriedly followed. "Good news is that King Otto I of Bernet Kingdom has just donated a large sum of money, please see the report——"

"Wait, Pasha, you just arrived! Why are you already working——"

"Eh..." Cassandra turned her head when Kemal asked. It seemed she was a bit surprised to see Pasha's follower asking such a mindless question.

"This is Kemal Bey, my new assistant. He's only been with me for half a year, so he doesn't know the way I work in Chielo. Kemal Bey, this is Miss Cassandra, manager of Carvajal Imaret." He explained. "I can only visit Chielo 2-3 times a year at most, so I have to take advantage of the time as much as possible."

"But your health—"

"It's okay, I'm fine." Pasha smiled, his blonde hair blowing in the wind. "I'll finish all the work for today and tomorrow, then I'll definitely rest properly."

"But..."

"Don't worry about me." Kemal saw the blond man smiling at him, but those blue eyes weren't smiling.

It's like indirectly saying 'You have no right to care about me'.

_________________

Mahmut ran away.

Zağanos looked into space, beside him, the warmth from the boy still lingered, as if reminding him that just now was not a dream.

Zağanos couldn't help but feel selfish.

Even though he was about to die, he still couldn't help wanting Mahmut to be his, even just for once. He didn't push the boy away, when the blonde teen touched his cheek, leaning down to kiss his forehead, the bridge of his nose, and his lips. The purple-haired man didn't deny it, when Mahmut asked if he planned to sacrifice himself for Mahmut's sake.

As an adult, Zağanos should have understood better than anyone that it was merely the impulsiveness of youth, which Mahmut would soon regret. He knew, but he still indirectly shows that he did all this for the boy's dream, right before the boy had to kill him.

Sure enough, as soon as Mahmut finished putting his clothes back on, the blond decisively pushed Zağanos away and ran, tears streaming down his cheeks. Mahmut is a kind child, the boy would torment himself, would blame himself for Zağanos' death, even though Zağanos insisted that this was the path he chose, not the boy's fault. Mahmut would regret knowing, it's better to know nothing at all. Mahmut would think of himself as someone who is so incompetent, to the point he caused Zağanos to die to realize his dream. Perhaps now he was alone crying somewhere, not wanting anyone to see his weak side. The thought made Zağanos's heart ached.

But, at the same time, Zağanos also knew that Mahmut was stronger than anyone. When Halil Pasha died in battle, he was able to suppress his pain and avenge his adoptive father. Surely he will soon overcome Zağanos' death, and will live happily in the peace that he has always longed for. He would be hailed as a hero forever, and no one could ever stand in his way, for Zağanos had cleaned them all up. That's right, a bright future is waiting for you ahead, it's just...

It's just in that future, there will be no Zağanos around.
.
.
.

"It's time, Zağanos Pasha." The warden announced. Two soldiers stood in the corridor waiting to escort him, their faces down. Zağanos recognized these two men, they were his soldiers. So Mahmut took them all in.

They looked at him worriedly, but Zağanos didn't mind. This life that was filled with hatred and sins, it's time for it to end.

"Understood."

He got up and followed them to the place where he would be executed.

_________________

At noon that day, Kemal had a meal with Mahmut Pasha, Ms. Cassandra and some sponsors who visited Chielo at the end of the year.

Kemal had heard before that for aristocrats and foreign merchants, the amount of money they donated to charity is a way to measure their status in the rich world. Kemal also guessed that Chielo's sponsors must all spend a lot to polish their names. But when he met some of them in person like this, he really had an eye-opening experience. He gasped when the ambassador of the Nada Kingdom in Eastern Rumeliana said that the Nada Royal family wanted to finance the entire cost of building a school for girls, amounting to a million gold coins. Mahmut Pasha immediately got the idea, offered to name the school after the queen consort of Nada, and at the same time suggested to increase Nada's cedar imports next year. A nobleman from Florence also announced that he will donate a large sum of money to Carvajal Imaret's hastane.

They all flexed so hard, Kemal thought.

After lunch, Kemal accompanied Mahmut Pasha to visit the welfare facilities of Carvajal Imaret. He had to admit that, although it was far from the capital, this province was very well administered. The hastane is cleaned every day, it also has fresh water, enough medicine, tools and free food for patients. The hammam, designed by Zeki Pasha, is an ideal destination for both residents and travelers, enabling even the poor to regularly clean themselves. The school for both boys and girls was a bit crowded, but with the Nada Royal Family's proposal to build an all-girls school, this situation will soon be resolved.

When most of the afternoon was spent, Mahmut Pasha finally stopped at the orphanage. The children who were given presents in the morning by Pasha were delighted to see him again, calling the other children in the orphanage to come see him too. Mahmut Pasha just smiled and told one of the soldiers to hand out sweets to the children.

"The kids look healthy." Kemal heard him talk to Miss Cassandra.

"Yes. Many of the children who were brought here were in poor health and malnourished at first, but thanks to everyone's efforts to take care of them, they recovered as you can see." Cassandra replied. "As for the children who were adopted, I still contact the adopters to ask about them often. They also send letters to their friends here. There are a few kids who were adopted in Sal, Espada, which is very close to Chielo, so they sometimes visit this place to play with their friends."

"Good job." Pasha smiled. "I'm sure that when that person sees this, that person will be very pleased."

"That person...?" Kemal blurted out a question. Both Mahmut Pasha and Cassandra turned to look at him.

"Do you want to visit that person's grave with me?" Mahmut Pasha asked. "It's not far from here."

Ah.... It's the grave he mentioned in Altın, Kemal suddenly remembered.

"Yes, please take me with you."

_________________

The place of execution is a small room in the Kubbe Altı, hidden from the eyes of outsiders. Since Zağanos was once a great hero, he will not be beheaded as a common criminal, but will be executed in secret, preserving his honor.

Zağanos did not protest, calmly kneeling in the middle of the room. The door opposite him burst open, and Mahmut entered with Büyük Pasha as a witness, followed by Cyrus and four deaf-mute executioners dressed in black with black hoods covering their faces. In their hands they held a white rope, which they would use to strangle Zağanos.

As expected of Mahmut, Zağanos thought to himself, seeing the boy's calm demeanor. Except for the corners of his eyes, which were still a little red, the boy looked completely neat, serious and well-dressed. He knew this boy's strong. Soon, he will get over Zağanos' death, and live happily in the peace they both built.

Büyük Pasha's voice at the sentencing echoed in the small room, but Zağanos didn't care much about it. He closed his eyes, heard the executioner's footsteps coming behind him, and felt the cold rope placed around his neck.

It's finally over.

In that moment, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside Zağanos. For once, he had Mahmut to himself, and had become the only one who had ever seen the boy's fragile side. His death will bring happiness to the boy, something that no one will be able to do even in the future. Only him, and him alone.

Ah...

...until the very end, Zağanos was still a very selfish person.

_________________

The grave is located on a hill near the orphanage, next to a large, shady tree. Although small, the grave has a lot of flowers, letters, and even a few small gift boxes offered to it.

"This is the grave of Director Carvajal, the last sovereign of the Republic of Chielo before it became the Province of Chielo." Cassandra explained to Kemal while Mahmut laid flowers on the grave. "He's the one who fought against the Empire, saved tens of thousands of refugees, but was killed in a civil riot 11 years ago. Recently, he was officially made a patron saint of this city."

"I couldn't save him." Mahmut Pasha gave a sad smile. "Unlike Halil Pasha who died on the battlefield, the Director was unreasonably killed at the hands of his own people. That's what bothers me."

"I see..." Kemal bowed his head.

After visiting the grave, the three of them returned to the orphanage. The sun was no longer hot, maybe in an hour or so, the sun would set.

On the way, Kemal couldn't help but wonder. He had heard of the Chielo rebellion that killed the Director Carvajal, but from the point of view of many Türkiye people, it happened so conveniently that it suddenly gave Türkiye another city, so he did not feel sorry for the Director. Still, Mahmut Pasha has been on the lookout for that person's death until now... even though that death was actually beneficial for him...

They said, Mahmut Pasha has obtained everything, on the day Zağanos Pasha was executed.

Suddenly, Kemal remembered those words.

If the death of a stranger had given him a city... could have tormented him for so long...

...then he probably wouldn't feel comfortable either, having to kill someone he knew to obtain everything...

"Pasha! Please stay here and have dinner with us!" A lovely red haired girl holding on to Mahmut Pasha's shirt said. "We're making beef stew today!"

"Sounds appealing." He smiled. "But that's for another day, I have a dinner plan with a friend tonight."

"I see..." The girl replied sadly, but immediately raised her head, looking at Kemal and Cassandra with expecting eyes:

"What about Miss Cassandra and Mr. Kemal? Will you two stay?"

"Yes, I will stay." Cassandra smiled. "Let me help you set the table."

Kemal looked at Pasha questioningly, but the blond man smiled and waved his hand. Understanding that he would go to dinner alone as an individual, there's no need for Kemal to accompany him, Kemal smiled at the girl and the children huddled behind.

"I'm staying too. Show me the way to the kitchen."

He followed the children into the kitchen, where several women were cooking large, fragrant pots of food. Children who were tall enough to reach the table were happy to help prepare meals. Kemal fetched the plates from the high racks they could not reach for them, and brought those plates with them to the long table in the dining room. Now he understands why Mahmut Pasha often visits this Chielo orphanage. Seeing the innocent smiles of children, seeing them being raised well, properly educated and living in peace is truly a blessing.

Suddenly, just before the table was set, a young boy exclaimed:

"Ah! Pasha forgot this!"

The child held up a small bag. Kemal recognized it at once: this was the pouch for the flute Pasha always uses to call Iskender.

Without this, would Pasha be able to call the eagle... what if the eagle got lost... Kemal wondered. He took the bag and told the children:

"You guys eat first, I'll return this to Pasha... Oh wait, does anyone know where he's going? He said he will eat with a friend—"

"If it's Pasha's 'friend', there's only one around here." A boy about 14-15 years old - apparently the oldest brother of the orphanage - said while arranging bowls. "His house isn't far from here, right at the edge of the forest——"

Following the boy's instructions, Kemal hurriedly ran there alone.

The sun has begun to descend.

_________________

"Padrone, what happened to you!?" Abiriga panicked and helped Mahmut into the house, giving him water to drink to calm him down. But Mahmut just shook his head, tears streaming down his face.

"Pasha, what's wrong---" Cyrus raised his hand to wipe the boy's face, startled when Mahmut clutched his hand.

"I can't— I can't do it!" Mahmut sobbed with hoarse voice. Both Abiriga and Cyrus glared at each other. They had never seen Mahmut being this desperate before.

"But if I don't kill him... he'll be disappointed in me..." The boy cried. "That person trusted me, to the point of dying to give me everything... I knew I had to fulfill that person's wish—but I couldn't—"

Zağanos entrusted this Türkiye to Mahmut. He trusted Mahmut to kill him, so that the boy could become the hero to protect Türkiye from "the power-hungry dictator". Mahmut believed that if he failed to do so, Zağanos would be disappointed in him. But he doesn't want... he doesn't want that man to die— he loves———

"PADRONE"/ "PASHA!"

Both Abiriga and Cyrus shouted simultaneously made Mahmut jump, stop crying. The two friends took his hands and looked into his eyes sincerely.

"Think, Pasha, think!" Cyrus urged. "Forget about disappointing him or him entrusted everything to you and the likes, think for yourself!!! Can you live comfortably every day, after killing that person!?"

"Padrone. I've been following you for a few years. You always put Türkiye above yourself, without fail. But I know your dream is not a Türkiye like this,... not a peace at the cost of someone important to you!" Even Cyrus was surprised, for the first time he saw Abiriga not supporting Mahmut in something. "Padrone, what do you want to do? We will definitely support you, just think for yourself!"

Mahmut stopped crying. Blue eyes widened in surprise, looking down at his hands being held by two friends.

I... what do I want?

I want to prevent war from happening...

...because I don't want the people important to me to die.

.
.
.

"......Abiriga, Cyrus."

"We're here." They smiled, seeing that he had calmed down.

"Help me get ready to go see Büyük Pasha."

"D'accordo!"

_________________

When Kemal saw the little house at the edge of the forest, the sky was already red as the sun was dying. The house has stone walls, a chimney on the roof and wooden doors like any normal house, but from here it takes up to 30 minutes to walk to the residential area. Kemal recalled what the orphan boy said at the orphanage earlier:

"That man is a very good medic, currently the chief physician of hastane. Pasha is very close to him. When I was a child, he saved my life."

Why is Mahmut Pasha so close to one of Chielo's doctors to the point he goes to his house for dinner? Someone will misunderstand that Pasha was accepting bribes, Kemal thought as he crossed the bushes.

"Every day the medic goes to Carvajal Imaret to check with other doctors, then goes to citizens' houses to give them medicine. But he always wears a hood that covers his face, no one has ever seen his whole face..."

Living in the woods, always covering his face, is Pasha's friend a witch or something... Kemal grumbled as he brushed the leaves off of him. The closer he got to the house, the louder he heard the sound of cats. Definitely a witch, he thought....

*Clang*

The clinking of dishes resounded as Kemal approached the gate. Through the crack in the door, he saw his dignified Pasha - the head of state he admired - setting the small table in the herb garden with plates and bowls. Beside him was a tall man in a cloak, the man was lighting an oil lamp. Even though Pasha had to carry a large bowl of soup himself, he still smiled—— no, that bright, happy smile— Kemal had never seen before. The hand Kemal raised to knock on the door froze in midair, when he saw the tall man flicking his Pasha's forehead teasingly.

What the hell is this!!!??

_________________

In the middle of the night, Mahmut, along with Nurcan, Zeki, and Cemil Pasha burst into the prison for ordinary prisoners.

There was only one soldier standing guard at the dungeon where the Röd Orm were kept. Eleanor was dead, only a few one-eyed tortured minions were left, so there's no need to have lots of guards to watch over them. The group of Pashas scared the shit out of the guards, he did not understand what was happening.

"We got Büyük Pasha's fatwa to execute the rest of the Röd Orm. Open the prison door." Mahmut ordered.

"Eh... yes, Pasha." The soldier quickly followed orders.
.
.
.
Zağanos closed his eyes, feeling the heavy rope around his neck. He waited to be strangled to death, but then—

*Thump*

Zağanos opened his eyes. The rope was cut by a swing of the shamshir, and several strands of his hair were also severed, falling to the floor.

What....?

——It only took a few minutes for Mahmut's sharp sword to cut off all the Röd Orm's heads. Cemil Pasha unchained the body, he chose a guy with a rather tall build for Zeki and Nurcan to carry out of the cell. Cemil himself took the guy's head with him, wrapped it with a cloth.

Mahmut was left alone standing in the middle of the bloody dungeon, he looked at the trembling prison guard with sharp eyes as blue as water, full of menace:

"Dispose all these corpses. Don't you dare telling anyone that there's a corpse missing—"

"There's nothing missing!" The trembling soldier immediately nodded. "All of the executed Röd Orm are here!"

"Very smart." Mahmut smiled and patted the soldier's shoulder. "Thank you. I will reward you."
.
.
.
"The execution is now finished."

Zağanos was stunned, looking around. The two soldiers who escorted him here didn't look surprised at all, rather, they both looked delighted? The four executioners took off their hoods —— Zeki, Nurcan, Cemil Pasha and Abiriga!? He looked up at Büyük Pasha, protesting:

"This is not what we had agreed to! You already——"

"But Mahmut Pasha managed to convince me." The old man stroked his long beard and looked at Zağanos. Deep in his eyes, it could be seen that Büyük Pasha himself wanted this to happen.

"The man named Zehir Zağanos is dead." Büyük Pasha declared loudly.

"Astolphe Camus, from this day on, you are free. You have nothing to do with Türkiye anymore."

"But my body must be hung on the city's walls and my head must be buried——"

"It's already been prepared." Cemil Pasha replied. "That Röd Orm guy's physique is quite similar to yours, and I made the head unrecognizable."

"Mahmut Pasha, why did you do that!?" Zağanos turned to question Mahmut. "Even if the public thinks I'm dead... I'm still a millennium sinner—"

"That's right." Mahmut looked straight at his amethyst eyes. "The war broke out because of you. So many people died because of you. Your death alone is nowhere near enough to make up for those."

"Live, Astolphe Camus. Live, to atone for your sins."

_________________

"When I stopped by Carvajal Imaret this afternoon, I saw many patients praising you. Yesterday you saved the life of a child who was bitten by a snake, didn't you? That's incredible~" Mahmut Pasha said as he placed the cutlery on the table.

"Thankfully there is enough medicine." The tall man answered, took off his hood and sat down at the dining table. Purple hair... looks about 40 years old—— Terrifyingly, Kemal covered his mouth with his own hands, couldn't bring himself to look into the house anymore. Behind him, the sun set beautifully, casting orange sunlight on the oak door.

The purple-haired man shoveled a large spoonful of mixed vegetables on Pasha's plate.

"No!" The blond-haired beau pushed the plate away. "I won't eat vegetables!"

"Zeki Pasha sent me a letter telling me everything. You ate unhealthily and overworked yourself again, since everyone in the capital is afraid of you and dare not to stop you!" The man said sternly. "Cyrus also told me that you ate a whole lamb thigh all by myself, do you know how much protein that thing has? Do you want to be sick at this age..."

"Because there was too much work..." Mahmut Pasha pouted. "Also, if I get sick, I'm sure Astolphe will cure me."

"You now have an assistant, but you still have a huge workload?" The man fetched a bowl of soup for Pasha. "I heard he is as handsome as Sultan Beyazit, is that the reason why you go easy on him?"

Kemal felt like he was being punched in the stomach by those words.

"Both of us were overloaded with work. And you don't have to be jealous, that boy is not as handsome as you." Pasha takes the bowl of soup. "I always keep him at an arm's length, always maintain a serious leadership image, I don't give anyone a chance to approach me! So stop being jealous."

"Okay okay okay." The doctor smiled affectionately. While the two of them were busy chatting, Kemal ran away, returned to the orphanage as the sun was setting down.

Now Kemal has understood everything.

A small villa with an herb garden, a huge collection of poison and medicine...

...he understood from whom Pasha inherited them.

Mahmut Pasha leaves people who bad-mouthed him alone...

...because deep down, the blonde man knows that he is really selfish.

Pasha said that those people's words weren't wrong...

...that's right, to keep that man alive— he must have killed a lot of people, and deceived a lot of people.

Lying and deceiving, over and over.

The disgusting lie beneath the leader's facade, full of hypocrisy.

But I'm no different from him. My mother committed treason, but that man let her live.

That feeling of happiness... Kemal understands more than anyone. He, and his sister Ayşe, are also liars, hiding the truth about their mother.

What right does he have to criticize the man?

And he also understood.

That, why Mahmut Pasha kept his distance from him. Why the man didn't show his true self to him. Why he is so different from 17-year-old Mahmut Pasha - who was approachable, sociable and friendly.

Because unlike now, Mahmut Pasha's smile back then....

....had not yet belonged to only one person.

.
.
.

"Ah, Pasha's secretary is back!" The children at the orphanage yelled when they saw Kemal appear at the door.

"You guys haven't eaten yet? Did you wait for me?" Kemal was surprised.

"Of course!" The children smiled brightly, grabbed his hand and dragged him to the table.

"Let's eat together!"

Kemal laughed, sat down next to Miss Cassandra, he ate while asking for those kids' names, trying to get to know them.

End.

***

*Author's note:
At first I planned to let Zaganos really die in this fic, but I changed my mind because I didn't want Mahmut to be sad. TT^TT
The fic was originally written in Vietnamese by me, I tried my best to adapt it to English myself. Please pardon all grammar mistakes I may have made, since English is not my mother-tongue.

Valerie - 2023.