Linus blinked his eyes, unable to open his mouth.
Overhearing his brother’s question, he didn’t know how to reply. How did he feel? Of course, the answer was simple.
He felt like shit.
How would anyone feel about getting slapped to get their brother’s attention?
“So?”
As Julien asked again, Linus felt Jacob’s gaze.
Linus suddenly felt pressured. However, seeing his brother’s stern gaze, something within Linus broke and he opened his mouth.
“Like shit. Is that what you want me to say?”
He started to speak truthfully.
“Why would I like it when I’m being used to get your attention?”
Turning his head, Linus glared in Jacob’s direction. As Linus’s expression twisted, he pressed his finger against Jacob’s chest.
“I’ll just say it now so things are clear. My brother gives no fucks about me. Whatever you do to me, it’ll only make him happy. You can slap me all day if you like, but it won’t bring anything to you. If you want to challenge him, how about you say it directly?”
The words flew out effortlessly from Linus’s mouth.
Though Linus wasn’t paying close attention, he vaguely felt Julien’s lips curl at the edges. He almost seemed proud, but how could it be?
He had to be imagining things.
Pressing his finger harder, Linus’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you that scared of asking him to fight with you? Why do you need to go about it in such a roundabout way? Are-”
“You’ve said enough.”
Linus felt Jacob’s hand clamp around his wrist, the grip so firm that he struggled to free himself.
While Jacob’s expression was calm, Linus could tell from the tone of his voice that he was currently angry.
“You’re right, I should’ve just been more direct.”
Jacob’s grip over Linus’s wrist tightened. It was strong enough to make Linus flinch.
“Still, are you sure your brother won’t do anything if I do something to you?”
“Eh…?”
Raising his head, Linus looked at Jacob and swallowed his words. He had a sudden bad feeling wash over him.
However, by the time it happened, it was too late.
Bang!
A fist came flying for his face.
“Ukh!”
Linus heard a ‘faint’ cracking sound as the fist descended, forcing his head back. An intense pain washed over his mind at that moment, forcing his vision to go white.
By the time he recovered his vision, he felt that the world had turned upside down. Moving his head, he could see his brother looking down on him from the distance. He was staring at him without an expression while a shadow cast over his body shortly after.
Mounting Linus’s body, Jacob raised his fist while looking at Julien.
“Are you really not going to do anything?”
“….”
No response.
Jacob nodded, and his fist came smashing down.
Bang!
Linus felt his head recoil to the right.
“Nothing?”
Bang!”
And then to the left.
“Urkh…”
Linus felt his mind grow blank from the impact.
“Really? Are you just going to stand there and watch as I-”
“Keep going.”
A cold voice rained down, and Linus felt his body grow cold. Jacob also appeared stunned as his movements slowed down.
However, recovering rather quickly, he clenched his fist tightly and punched down once more.
Bang!
“….!”
Linus heard another ‘crack’, and his expression twisted. He wanted to fight back, but how could he? The difference in strength between him and Jacob was massive.
He could only silently endure the beating that seemed to go on forever.
Bang, Bang-
The pain had already dug its way deep into his mind, and it seemed to never end.
Linus wanted it to stop, but it never did.
Not until…
“What is going on here?!”
He heard a faint sound in the distance.
It seemed to belong to one of the Professors as he heard the sound of rushed footsteps. It was
only then that the pain stopped.
No, it was still there.
…It just stopped hurting as much.
Everything else from that point felt like a blur.
All except a familiar voice.
“Remember this pain.”
It was Julien’s voice. Within the darkness that clouded Linus’s vision, his words dug deeply
into his mind.
They were words Linus would never forget.
“…Because it’s only going to get worse from this point forward.”
Because things truly did get worse from that point forward.
***
The time it took for a Professor to come after Linus started to get beat up was about a minute
and a half. Their response was rather fast.
Seeing that there were quite a lot of witnesses, it took them no time to apprehend the one
responsible for beating up Linus and take him away. He was probably going to be put into
detention for a few weeks.
Looking down at Linus’s body and seeing his beat-up state, I pursed my lips.
“Why didn’t you do anything?”
Even as Leon spoke, I kept my gaze on Linus’s body.
“I wanted to ask the same thing to you.”
“What do you mean?” “You think I couldn’t tell you were here? I know you were watching just like I was.”
|| ||
Leon’s silence spoke volumes.
I shook my head while maintaining my gaze on Linus. I thought back to the whole event and
sighed.
“He’s immature.”
“…. You’re right.”
Leon said, lowering his head slightly.
“He’s smart. Probably smarter than you and on the same level as the family head, but his
emotions tie him down.”
“Yeah.”
There was no denying that Linus was smart.
He was able to rank first in the theoretical exam and achieve the top votes in anything that involved theory. However, the same couldn’t be said for his practical examinations.
He wasn’t weak, but he was not strong.
He was…
Okay.
However, if anybody asked me who I was more scared of in a fight between Linus and Jacob,
then I’d answer Linus in a heartbeat. Perhaps not the current Linus. However, a future version that was capable of controlling his emotions.
In a sense, I had a feeling he could become someone like the Household Head; Aldric Evenus.
Just thinking of that man sent shivers down my spine.
Linus was definitely capable of becoming someone like that.
It was just that he was still far too immature. He let his emotions drive his judgment, which in
turn made him act out of place.
“I think this will probably help him mature a bit.”
“But is it enough?”
Feeling Leon’s gaze, I shook my head.
“Of course not.”
“Then…?”
I shrugged.
“Even though I’m not his actual brother, I’m still technically his brother. I can’t just sit here
while doing nothing.”
“Cut the crap.”
“Eh?”
Suddenly being interrupted by Leon, I blinked my eyes in confusion. Then, as if reading my
true thoughts, Leon spoke,
“You’re only helping him because you want him to become famous.”
“W-what?”
Taking aback, my head flicked in his direction.
“What are you…?”
“If he becomes famous, then nobody will pay attention to us and that stupid nickname will
vanish. Isn’t that right?”
“I…”
How did he know?!
“You.”
Leon shook his head, almost as if he was disappointed.
“…I didn’t expect something so brilliant from you.”
“Eh?”
Pressing his hand against my shoulder, Leon looked at me seriously.
“If you need anything, tell me. I’ll do my best to help you.”
***
Night, a few hours after the interview.
The events that unfolded between Julien, the Keeper, and the Pope were kept confidential by
the Academy. In order to not spread panic, it was decided that all information would be sealed
from outside knowledge.
There were, however, a few exceptions.
“The Keeper killed the Pope, and tried to insert a soul inside of Julien’s body?”
Aoife’s face turned strange upon reading the report within the confines of her room. Following the strange events that had happened over the past few days, Aoife had asked in
advance for the report on the situation.
Yes, she was curious.
But more than anything, this was also part of her job.
She couldn’t just pretend like nothing had happened. How could she just pretend to not have
seen what she had seen and ignored Julien’s disappearance over the last few days?
This was also part of her responsibilities as a Princess.
“What the hell?”
However, the more she read the report, the more her face changed.
“This makes no sense.”
Aoife’s eyes narrowed upon pausing on a certain section.
“A Pope just died, and the church of Oracleus is doing nothing? No, not only that, but one of
the Keepers even tried to insert a soul into Julien’s body…?”
The more Aoife read the report, the more incredulous her expression became.
The series of events were logical in how they were described. The Keeper killed the Pope and
tried to plant a soul into Julien’s body in order to frame him.
This was logical when taking into account the Pope’s strength.
However, Aoife knew this was bullshit.
Because…
Julien was possessed even before meeting the Keeper.
What did this mean?
“The Keeper never killed the Pope.”
He was innocent, and yet…?
“He was framed.”
By who? Who could’ve done that? Aoife bit her lips. She already knew the answer, but at the
same time, found it difficult to comprehend it.
After all, there was no way Julien could kill the Pope.
Absolutely no way.
And yet…
Aoife’s hold over the transcript tightened, and just as her hands started to tremble, her
surroundings changed.
“Eh…?”
Blinking her eyes, Aoife raised her head and looked around.
“What th—”
Her words came to a stop as she looked around.
A dark silhouette stood before her. She felt his features were vaguely familiar, but at the same
time, unfamiliar.
His back was against hers, and he held onto a sword.
Aoife felt incapable of moving. She was stuck, glued to the ground. She couldn’t even open her
mouth.
All she felt was a strange heat that seemed to come from her surroundings.
Crackle!
That was when she realized it.
Flames engulfed her surroundings.
‘W-what…?’
Stunned, Aoife looked around. Only to pause upon hearing a voice she was all too familiar
with.
“I… should’ve known.”
That was when she finally saw it.
Lying right beneath the dark silhouette was a figure she had known since young. With blood
leaking out of his mouth, and his body lying in a rubble, he looked up with a half-smile.
The all too familiar smile appeared on his pale face as he looked up.
Towards the dark figure.
He was…
‘Brother?’
Her brother.