The oldest sibling sat on his bed, still wearing his military uniform; he always felt vulnerable without it for some reason. He had grown to love it despite all of the trauma it had caused.
Adamas' mother had always told him about how, since he's the oldest. He will have to protect his younger siblings.
'Protect… I wonder. Even at my current level, can I even fight back against Father if he tries harming my family? Father is just reaching his 50s, but his prime hasn't gone away.'
Those memories of when Vilkens himself trained Adamas came flooding back. But the highlight wasn't the amount of training or what he learned, but about how Vilkens wasn't cruel, but pragmatic.
'Damn him, he blurs the line between good and bad so much I just want to crack his skull open.'
He shook his head; he couldn't be thinking about his own father like that, but what could he do? He was just too frustrated.
'It's unlikely he starts murdering out of cold blood… But I still have to stand strong. I'm the wall between my siblings and my father after all.'
(...)
A few days had passed since Vilkens had called the siblings to give them the order. And all of them were subtly haunted by the words 'Take care of him'
Because they all knew that once Vilkens has his sights on anyone, their life might as well become a book for everyone to read. He'll make sure that every little thing about you is known.
Back in Luciferis' room, Yosen leaned back in his chair for a break, looking at his patient with a bit of relief.
"Almost three-fourths of the Negative Vitin has been destroyed completely. Tomorrow will be the last day of my service to you."
Luciferis grinned through the pain, looking at his hand, he could see channels of a glowing frosty blue and white liquid flow through his veins.
'Vitin Sense, I can sense Vitin now. Seems like I'm teetering on the edge of a Breakthrough. But why is my Vitin this color? The color represents the type of Element I'll be getting. This is my first time seeing this combination.'
Yosen also noticed this strange color. Usually, a pure blue meant that it was related to the Cold Group of Elements. But white? That was unheard of; even the Light Element had a golden color.
'I'll need to inform Lord Vilkens of this. This can not go unnoticed-'
Just then, the white Vitin in Leonidas' veins disappeared within a blink. Like it was trying to hide itself.
Luciferis thought that it was just his eyes tricking him, or Vitin Sense just freaking out. But Yosen knew otherwise. This couldn't be simply ignored.
(...)
Adamas sat at the head of the table inside the dining hall, the rays of the early sun pouring in through the windows.
He hadn't slept for a few nights. His messy hair and tired expression showed that. He had been too busy preparing for his younger brother's trainer to come. Just as the depths of sleep were about to pull him, a bubbly, energetic voice of a woman roused him back.
"Honey~ Don't you dare fall asleep after leaving me alone in the bedroom all night long."
The voice itself brought a bit of a spark and a smile to Adamas' face; it was his wife, Sophie, the daughter of the Grand Count. It had been a year since they had been married.
"Oh… Sorry, just taking care of normal affairs." Adamas stood up, allowing Sophie to jump into his arms, the woman's small figure towered over by Adamas.
"Alright, alright, fine. But. This time you have to call Leonidas here, alright? He's like my younger brother, but he's been avoiding me a lot."
This piqued Adamas' interest. Why was Leonidas, the most energetic and bright kid, avoiding contact like a recluse? It just seemed a bit strange. But he was sick. It made sense that he was tired and in pain.
"Well, of course. I'll send Butler Joseph over to his room."
Almost as if on cue, the elderly butler knocked on the large double doors of the hall.
"Young Master. I'd like to inform you that Lady Margaret and Lady Alayna will join you for breakfast."
Lady Margret and Alayna, the wives of Vilken, and the mothers of all his siblings except Leonidas.
"Of course. I'd love that. Also, Joseph, can you tell Leonidas that Sophie and I want him to come outside for once?"
Joseph bowed before leaving towards Luciferis' chambers through the long winding halls of the estate, where the sounds of him yelling got louder and louder the closer the butler got.
'The Flames of Uetim, I've heard about the pain it causes. But Lord Vilken wouldn't have sent Yosen of all people to heal Young Master… I've been told to not tell anyone, could this be because a fight might break out?'
He stopped his train of thoughts and shook his head, reminding himself of his position in the family.
'What am I thinking, trying to understand family dynamics… How old have you gotten, Joseph?'
A small sigh escaped the old man's lips before he knocked on the door, a measured three knocks.
"Young master Leonidas. Sir Adamas has requested that you join him in the dining hall for breakfast."
A beat of silence. No screams, no nothing.
Slowly, the door opened, and an exhausted, but somewhat replenished, Luciferis opened the door.
"Oh… Alright then… I'll just clean up before coming. Wait here for me." He said, with a small, weak smile.
Joseph smiled, running a hand through his gray, thick beard a few times as he stood silently beside the door, patiently waiting for Luciferis.
A few minutes passed as Yosen left silently, his hand burnt again. Now Joseph was alone in the hall, waiting for his young master to come out.
And when Luciferis walked out, wearing proper noble clothes, his long black hair slicked back neatly. He earned a small impressed look from Joseph.
"Blue clothes, it suits your features, Young Master. It makes your golden eyes stand out even more. Seems like the Orchel family is blessed with another heartthrob."
"Ah, come on. I'm not that special." Luciferis remarked, half enjoying the compliment from the older man, knowing the butler wouldn't lie. 'But in my old body, most people would've sacrificed a whole village to get my teachings, though.'
Joseph chuckled, shaking his head in amusement as he walked behind his Young Master, noting the confidence the boy carried himself with.
But strangely, he was quiet; usually, Joseph was bombarded with questions about the food and whatnot. But now it was silent.
"Anyways, Young Master. How have you been? I've heard the… Rather…"
"Uncouth screams?" Luciferis completed for the butler as he put his hands behind his back. A small smile on his face.
"Those have been... Challenging, it hurts a lot. Definitely. But I'm thankful that the family has been supporting me despite my being at fault."
Joseph sighed softly. Since when was this 14-year-old so mature? But pain does rapidly change a person. He must've had time to reflect.
"Don't merely blame yourself, Young Master Leonidas. The family is doing the bare minimum."
Luciferis remained silent. This family wasn't like what he was expecting. Family drama, siblings going for each other's throats. That's the usual. But. Now? It was a bunch of supporting people.
'Oh well… Can't have too much of a good thing.'
They both reached the Dining Hall, filled with chatter and the sound of eating, as Luciferis turned to Joseph with a smile.
"I'll go inside on my own. Thanks for walking with me till now."
Joseph smiled down at the young boy, shaking away all of his previous thoughts about his Young Master.
"My pleasure, Young Master."
Luciferis sighed softly. Why was this so tense? It was just a family breakfast; he had faced armies of demons. But never did they ever make his heart race like this.
He pushed open the doors, the scene of polite chatter and normal family interactions flooding him.
'Too normal… Why aren't the mothers competing with each other?! The siblings should be at each other's throats. Why is this family so god damn normal?!'
"Leonidas! Come on in, you recluse!" Adamas spoke up, his voice gentle but still carrying the usual authority.
Luciferis shook his head slightly, putting on a bright smile before walking in calmly.
'Adamas, huh? I remember his contributions in the Holy War… Nice strong man. Pretty bad that he lost an arm and an eye.'
That was true, in the future, this family was near the frontier, as far as Luciferis knew, no one had died but. It was true that they had suffered the most loss.
"There's my baby! Your cheeks have gotten so slim! I can see your cheekbones!"
Alayna, a bright woman with bright red eyes and hair, smiled at him, pinching his cheeks quite hard.
The second wife of Vilken, the one responsible for taking care of the children and making sure their needs were fulfilled.
"Ahaha… Yes, Mother Alayna." Luciferis looked at her hand with the thought that his pride would be destroyed, settling itself.
'Vilkens really is a pragmatic man; he divided the workload amongst his wife. This one is basically in charge of the resources… Nice. I can maybe-'
"That is true, Alayna. But that's to be expected after his rather idiotic decision. I would've rather he just not do anything and stay in his room." A harsh, unforgiving voice
Margaret, the first wife. She was the one who bore Adamas and Josephine, known as the Lady of Ice. Of course, no one told her that.
'She looks just like Josephine now that I think about it… And why is it so muscular? Is she a warrior?' Alayna is definitely useful. Maybe Margaret could've been a thorn in Luciferis's side.
But according to Leonidas' memory, the most she's done is slap him on the wrist or scold him before sending him away.
"Mother Margaret… Let's not. You know." Adamas looked at Luciferis, his eyes showing his embarrassment.
However, Sophie, ever oblivious, smiled, patting the seat next to her, gesturing to Luciferis to sit between her and Inneya.
Luciferis quickly followed her gesture; finally, the atmosphere had settled, and everyone had returned to eating in silence.
"So, Leonidas," Jasmine spoke up, a small smirk on her face as she pointed her fork towards her brother.
"The Academy, decide on which course to pick after your birthday?"
This piqued Luciferis' interest. Usually, noblemen get sent to the academy at 16, not 15. But. Leonidas was a bright kid, so maybe Vilkens pulled some strings.
"Um… I'll think about it? I mean, I don't even have a proper teacher or understanding of Vitin yet. Wasn't Elder Brother going to teach me?"
'Decent response, mixing truth with lies is my specialty after all, I even did it meekly. '
Luciferis thought to himself with a bit of pride. But as he heard Adamas clearing his throat, his eyes couldn't help but wander towards Adamas, who looked a bit sheepish as his wife gently nudged him to speak up.
"Unfortunately. I'm not a suitable teacher for you. So, I've arranged for someone to come from Buim, the Capital, to come here and teach you. They'll be here within a few hours."
"Isn't that the second time I've been introduced to someone from the Capital?" Luciferis remarked under his breath, earning the raise of an eyebrow from Josephine.
"What do you mean, second time?"
"Sir Yosen? He's the one who has been healing me? You all don't know."
"Leonidas.." Alayna spoke up softly, but her tone remained serious.
"Sir Yosen is a Knight directly working under your father. He doesn't follow any of our orders."
"What?!" This surprised the Hero. Sure, Yosen had a strong build, but he wasn't that strong from the looks of it.
'I don't recognize him from The Holy War as well! What the hell is this?'
Adamas sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair, pushing forward his half-eaten plate of food.
"Mother Margaret. Why hasn't Father come to the Dining Hall? He's been doing a lot of things without explaining to us their meaning. Yosen has been sneaking around and 'healing,' my younger brother?"
"He was feeling lethargic today. He's in the First Division's training ground with Lady Viviana." Margaret, ever calm, sipped her wine. Although it was breakfast.
'Viviana… The actual mother of Leonidas and the last wife. Even in my old body, she was mysterious to me… But that was mostly because I was far too lazy.'
Luciferis hummed, even in Leonidas' memories, Viviana doesn't play a big part, mostly just attending his birthday parties and occasionally showing affection.
"I see, well… Let's wrap up for today. Leonidas, I'm afraid you'll have to eat in your room again today."
The eldest grumbled softly, feeling a bit bad. Since this whole session had simply been wasted in a stressful manner once more.
"God damn it, ya oaf. I've told ya, just sleep and let me handle things for once." Josephine said as she threw a hard piece of bread at her brother's head. Accidentally hitting Leonidas on the mouth instead
"Ouch! Ya damn-" Luciferis stopped himself just in time. Knowing if he said the word he wanted, he'd break character.
"Ya damn jester! Come on, sister!" This earned a small laugh or huff from everyone… Except Margaret, of course.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop throwing stuff at you, or else you might break a fragile little tooth," Jasmine smirked.
(...)
As everyone stood up from the table, Luciferis noticed Margaret again staring at him.
"You really have gotten thin… Hm, I'll arrange for Joseph to send over some extra portions. If I see even a crumb of bread left on the plate. I'll make sure you never grow hair again."
Luciferis nodded sheepishly. Why did she have to mix in an icy threat in every sentence? But that wasn't really important now.
'What's really necessary is who my teacher is.' The Hero pondered as he walked towards the balcony overlooking the gate of the Orchel Fortress.
It was luxurious, with gardens, giant black walls with archer towers, and magic canons.
'Meh, I would've been able to bring this whole thing down alone. Once this Marche becomes mine, I'll paint the walls white, though. I wonder why it's so massive, though? An estate inside a fortress, it even has barracks and its own farms as well. Like a small city.'