Trapped in the Beastworld Breeder System (BL)-Chapter 51: How deep does your hatred run?

"Oh..." That was the only sound Aries could manage.

He had been deceived, or perhaps the truer word was that he had deceived himself.

He did not know where Lucien had come from, but wherever it was, it had to be some blessed corner of heaven. How else could someone remain so pure of soul? Even after all the drama Aries had dragged him through, Lucien was still saying he was not angry. For what reason, exactly?

"I see," Aries murmured at last.

Lucien continued to stare at him, unblinking. Aries stared back for a few seconds, but the silence grew awkward, pressing against his chest, and he finally looked away only to feel a hand lift his chin.

He turned back to Lucien in surprise.

"What do you want?" Aries managed to breathe out, confusion threading through his voice as Lucien’s fingers remained firm beneath his chin, holding him in place.

Lucien’s gaze searched his—deep, now-silver eyes reflecting the light.

"I truly want you to rest after waking up," he said slowly, "but this won’t leave my mind. I don’t want lies. No secrets. Just tell me the truth."

His grip loosened slightly, though his eyes did not. "Now tell me exactly what happened at the trial. What exactly was going on in your mind? What led you to this?"

"I thought you weren’t going to ask," Aries replied, a soft chuckle escaping his lips despite the tension.

"Oh..." Lucien’s brows arched in surprise, though relief flickered briefly across his face. He was glad—glad that Aries wasn’t resisting.

Aries continued, "Well, you should already know what actually happened. You know him well, and you’ve dealt with this before. I was just... naïve in this whole situation."

Lucien frowned slightly, confusion settling into his features. "Do you mean to mention Kenzie?"

"Yes," Aries answered.

For the first time since the contract had burned away, he felt light enough to speak freely. Once this conversation ended, he reminded himself, he would check in with the system. But for now, this mattered more.

Lucien stepped closer. At that moment, he knew this discussion could end in only two ways. Either it would clear everything, or it would tear the fragile calm apart.

If his brother had truly compelled Aries, then Lucien could finally let go, could calm his heart and accept his mate again without doubt.

But if Aries had willingly aligned himself with Kenzie... Lucien knew he would not hesitate to end the life of the king’s esteemed guest right then and there.

Unaware of the storm behind Lucien’s eyes, Aries continued, "I would’ve asked about your relationship with Kenzie earlier if I hadn’t already known you were brothers. Still, I’ll ask anyway."

He paused briefly, choosing his words carefully.

"How deep does your hatred run?"

Lucien blinked. The question struck him as both cunning and strangely amusing.

"How deep does our hatred run?" he echoed.

In all his thirty-five years of life, no one had ever asked him that. He had never even asked himself. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

There had never truly been personal hatred between him and Kenzie. What existed was something far older. It was an inherited hatred, nurtured, and passed down like a curse.

Lucien’s fingers slipped from Aries’s chin as he broke their eye contact and let out a slow breath.

"See," he began quietly, "Kenzie and I could have been the best of brothers. That was... wishful thinking. He’s the one chasing grudges. I hold none because there were never any of ours to begin with."

He hesitated before continuing.

"My mother was a wicked woman."

"I knew that," Lucien admitted softly. "I lived long enough to witness how she guided and protected me at the expense of others who could have been treated fairly. I was old enough to sense her schemes."

Lucien nodded faintly.

"My mother was the previous queen."

"Wow..." Aries breathed.

This was the first true piece of Lucien’s past he had ever heard, and he was only just beginning to realize how deeply court intrigue and bloodshed were woven into it.

Lucien continued, his voice steady but distant. "She bore the king his first son. But even before that, Father doted on a particular consort. My mother hated her. She ensured every one of that woman’s pregnancies ended in miscarriage."

His jaw tightened.

"When she had me, she succeeded again. But in the fourth year, the consort managed to carry a child to term. When she left the palace to give birth, and my mother, fearing she’d bear a son, Father might love more than us sent assassins after her."

Lucien paused, rubbing his temples.

"As you’ve heard... Kenzie’s mother was violated while pregnant before she was rescued. She died during labor. Kenzie was cut from her womb."

His voice dropped.

"It was cruel."

Aries felt something twist painfully in his chest.

"Father was a wise and just king," Lucien went on. "He knew right from wrong. He dethroned my mother and sentenced her to death. Kenzie was raised by his mother’s family before eventually returning to the palace. By then, the seed of hatred had already taken root."

The story was brief, yet overwhelming.

Aries could barely process the cruelty—a child witnessing his mother’s sins, another child raised on grief and vengeance. Lucien’s mother’s actions reminded him of the ruthless palace dramas he used to watch, only this was real.

He sighed heavily, his chest aching with understanding and grief.

Now he understood Kenzie.

This was hatred taught, nurtured by loss and rage. A child molded to despise everyone tied to the woman who destroyed his mother. That was why Lucien was his primary target, and why Aries had been dragged into it.

"So," Lucien asked quietly, "do you understand now? Or is it too much?"

"No," Aries replied quickly. "I completely understand it."

"Good," Lucien said.

Then his gaze sharpened, locking onto Aries once more as the weight of his own story faded.

"I suppose," he added slowly, "it’s your turn to share a story."