Luciferis was standing in front of a bucket inside the bathroom, on his knees, black goo around the rim of his mouth, dripping down his neck like clumpy ink.
"Alright, alright… Just a little bit more."
Closing his eyes, Luciferis shoved a gloved, glowing finger into his mouth, forcing himself to vomit a deep black liquid out into the bucket.
'This is the best way to get rid of the Negative Vitin right now… By disturbing the equilibrium inside my body. I might be able to push more than half of it out today.'
But. That was only if his body allowed so; he almost felt like he was going to collapse. It had been almost an hour since he began the "cleaning" process.
'Damn it… I'll stop for today. I can't continue.' he thought as he shakily stood up, his knees almost buckling.
He coughed, almost vomiting just from looking at the bucket of junk made from the Negative Vitin inside his body.
'Normally, Negative Vitin doesn't cause harm, but since Leonidas' body has the configuration of Positive Vitin, it's like replacing blood with acid.'
He was deep in thought, wiping the goo away with a rag as he sat on the bed.
'This is my first day... I haven't really learnt the mannerisms of Leonidas that well. I'm gonna be a recluse for a while, I guess. The family members of the Orchel house have my respect nonetheless.'
He lay down, his body sinking into the bed. The room was as he expected, amazingly furnished, with velvet curtains, pictures, and insignias of previous Orchel Leaders. Most of them were Matriarchs, surprisingly.
He was just about to fall asleep before a gentle knock pulled him out; it seemed to be the doctors checking up on Leonidas' condition.
Luciferis quickly jumped up and dumped the black goo down the sink, closing the door and jumping into the bed. No one could know of this just yet.
"Come in…" Luciferis spoke up weakly, trying to balance his usually authoritative tone.
A man who wore a white coat and an ill-fitting plague mask walked in. He didn't even look like a proper assistant
"Greetings, Young Master. I'm a physician from the Capital. Baron Vilkens summoned me here. My name is Yosen."
"Oh-Oh wow! That's amazing. I'm sure I'll be all good if I'm in your care. Sir Yosen." Luciferis responded ecstatically.
Yosen began laughing softly as he sat down beside the bed, preparing a few crystals and tools. Even though Yosen Luciferis knew something unfortunate.
'A physician from the Capital, my ass. You're far too young and too unclean. At best, you're a janitor. And Vilkens? That man doesn't care about his children. He just wants the Marche to succeed and to become the Emperor.'
But he couldn't say that now, could he? If he did, the much stronger man would be offended, and who knows what would happen? Right now, even a gust of wind was a danger to Luciferis.
"So.. Sir Yosen, what do we have to do first?"
The doctor hummed softly, not answering immediately, instead turning to face Luciferis. He had crushed up the crystals and coated his fingers in them.
"We shall begin your healing. Young Sir." Yosen took in a deep breath and began muttering some incantations under his breath.
Suddenly, his whole hand slowly ignited in a wispy gold and white flame; despite its small size, it was intimidating.
'Oh?' The Hero's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.
'Healing flames of Uetim? Nice, if he uses them properly. I might recover totally in a month. And, maybe even get a small boost.'
"We'll begin the procedure now. You will feel pain all around, especially in your heart." Yosen began, serious and calm.
"But I hope a strong-willed person like you can endure it for the sake of yourself. Shall we?"
Luciferis, ever the competent actor, nodded shakily, adjusting himself on the bed and closing his eyes, gripping the sheets as to seem afraid.
"Y-Yes. I'm in your care." Luciferis replied softly,
'I'm such a good actor. These flames hurt, sure. But I'm the same guy who went through having shards of glass be placed in his airways. This is easy as hell-'
He thought boldly… Before Yosen began to draw sigils around his whole body with the flame.
They began both burning and healing Luciferis' body simultaneously as the Hero let out a loud, uncouth scream, flailing around the bed, but Yosen held him strongly, preventing Luciferis from running away.
'Sorry, Young Sir, but it is necessary that you stay here!'
This continued on for hours, until the sun had begun to set. Yosen also felt a bit bad, as Luciferis, in his eyes, resembled a cat in a bath…
If the bath were filled with lava, not water.
"Young Master… Are you okay?" He asked, genuinely concerned as he saw that Luciferis had one eye open, and his mouth was drooping to one side.
"No…" The Hero replied after a few minutes of concerning and awkward silence.
"Oh well… Um…" Yosen leaned back, scratching the top of his head in confusion, not knowing what to do.
"This was my first time using the Flames of Uetim, they're basically making the Negative Vitin evaporate from inside your body while also healing your body… But the heat created is still there, so it's like a constant loop."
'No need to explain the mechanisms, you sick scholarly bastard! Just tell me how to get rid of the pain!' Luciferis thought once again, wanting to just throw a mountain at Yosen.
Which, of course, Luciferis couldn't do even if he wanted. So, he simply nodded.
"Is there any way… To reduce the pain?" He managed to force out of his throat. A hoarse whisper was the best way to describe his voice right now.
"Unfortunately, no… I'm afraid you'll have to endure. This.." Yosen quickly muttered. Not wanting to be too direct.
Luciferis shook his head, barely having enough energy to do even that.
'Vilkens… If I were in my old body, or even had a percent of my old strength. I would've gone ahead and beat you up…'
Over the course of another hour, with Yosen giving him herbs to help calm him, the pain in Luciferis' body settled, and he fell into a deep, restorative slumber.
Yosen stayed there for another hour. Seated, tired, in pain himself due to his burnt hand.
'The crystals barely helped...'
He sighed, taking off his glove and looking at his singed skin which he treated while monitoring Luciferis with his utmost attention.
'Leonidas… He's very stubborn. The Flames of Uetim aren't widely used despite their benefits because they can drive people to insanity… So, a 14-year-old is enduring this? The Orichel Duchy has a rising star.'
He stood up, looking at his burnt hand covered in special ointment, the Flames of Uetim don't heal the user themself after all.
"Rest well, Young Master. I'll be waiting to see what you grow into."
He softly whispered to himself, walking out of the bedroom, silently shutting the door behind him.
While Luciferis slept peacefully, recovering from the chaos of the day, his older siblings gathered around the door of the Baron. Fear was evident in all of their expressions.
"Hey. Inneya," A girl, no older than 17, dressed in a luxurious golden nightgown reaching her ankles, her black hair and eyes disheveled from being awoken during her rest.
"Why were we suddenly called by Father? Did something happen?"
Inneya, another girl, this one a bit taller and muscular, shook her head. She was wearing the same nightgown as her sister. Only that her hair and eyes were a shade of deep red.
"No… Not really, Jasmine. Father's always ignoring us every day. I don't know what possessed him to call us so suddenly. It's midnight."
Both of them turned their attention to the small sound of footsteps coming towards them.
It was the oldest sibling. A man, probably 25, with jet black hair and icy blue eyes, wearing an all black soldier's uniform adorned with silver and gold.
He smiled at them. While they were all born from different mothers, he still wanted them to try and live peacefully with each other.
"Seems like everyone is here." He began softly, voice filled with care. "Since Father will yell at anyone who tries to open the door. I'll take the responsibility-"
"No need, pretty boy Adamas." A woman placed her hand on his shoulder; she looked slightly younger than him, bearing the same features. "I'll do it."
She said, her voice slightly muffled as she stuffed her mouth with a pastry, likely stolen from the pantry, before quickly dusting her hands.
"Big sis Josephine!" Inneya jumped forward, trying to hug her sister, but was quickly kicked aside. Jasmine laughed mockingly at Inneya while Adamas shook his head in exhaustion.
"Anyways." Josephine cleared her throat, walking towards the door and preparing to knock on it.
"Am I that scary? My children? Why fear? Just knock."
A deep, gentle but primally scary voice emanated from behind the door, making everyone freeze where they stood. Inneya even closed her eyes.
"No father.." Adamas spoke up, his eyes still wide, but he was the most experienced with Vilkens. "We're simply…"
"Oh, come on, Adamas. Don't be shy. I changed your diapers myself, you know." The voice, it seemed like it was coming from all directions now, it even made a shiver run down Inneya's spine.
"May we come in? Father?" Josephine tried to appear strong, but she only got laughter in response from Vilkens.
"Nope.. Stay outside. I wouldn't want you disturbing your mothers now, would I? I called you all here simply to give you an order."
"A-And what would that order be?" Jasmine asked. Holding Inneya close in a hug.
"Take care of your younger brother, what was his name again?" The voice paused for a moment before sighing softly.
"Whatever his name is, he strongly resembles me…. I might be investing in you all equally. But. He's still the youngest. He deserves more treats~"
'Invest… He's treating us like simple investments in his business.' Adamas gritted his teeth, but stayed silent. He couldn't change how his father acted anyway.
"Very well… It's not like we tortured him anyway. He's a good kid." Josephine sarcastically remarked, turning away from the door as the tense atmosphere settled.
Seems like Vilkens didn't want to reply anymore. And so, that was the cue for them all to go.
But before Adamas could go back to his chamber, Josephine stopped him, A frown on her face.
"Hey, you do know what 'take care' means, right?"
"Of course. It's Father. He wants us to mold Leonidas to become stronger. I planned on training him after he naturally awakens Rank IV. But I'll begin training him."
Adamas smiled softly once again, reaching to tease his sister by ruffling her hair, but she bit his gloved hands, making her older brother let out a shriek.
"First. Don't touch my glorious hair. Second. You can't train him."
"Uh… Why not?" Adamas rubbed his hands from the pain of the bite, a confused expression on his face.
"Because that's like giving a kid that doesn't know how to brush his teeth, honey. You're an amazing fighter, sure, but…" She paused. She hated using her brain, but this was necessary.
"Your definition of basics, and his basics, are different because of talent. Just get him a damn master from the outskirts of the Marches. Those guys are tough."
Adamas understood what she was saying. Vitin wasn't just a simple source of power that you can inherit from blood or simple bodily training; both helped, sure. But
To grow, you needed to understand yourself and your own body.
And Adamas? He was notoriously bad at reading people and giving advice.
"Fine… I'll do just that. But you do know Leonidas' affinity? Is he a swordsman? Dual swordsman? Brawler?-"
Josephine grunted, grabbing Adamas' hair and kicking his stomach with her heels.
"JUST SHUT UP AND GET A DAMN TEACHER FOR THE KID ALREADY! HE'S 14!"
"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE PUNCHING BAG! FINE! I'LL TALK TO LEONIDAS TO SEE WHAT HE WANTS!" Adamas retorted, clutching at his stomach. It barely hurt, but. It still gave his pride as the older brother a big pinch.
Josephine sighed, looking at her broken heel, taking both of them off as she grinned to herself. Walking away, leaving her brother to stand alone. With the weight of the whole hour on his shoulders.