“The Imperial Family? Isn’t that good Brother? You could work for them for the betterment of this Empire!”

“Elizabeth… No, it is logical you think that way. The Manipulation of your thoughts go deep already.”

“What are you talking about Drak? Who manipulates Ella’s thoughts and why would you think someone did?”

“To answer that… Wait no, it is better to just lift it. Alice would you please?”

“...~”

“EAGH!”

“M… My head!”

While Elizabeth has a feeling of a heavy migraine while Luke shouts out with pain and suffering.

“Slowly breathe. The pain is only temporarily, afterwards you should be able to notice some things afterwards.”

“Drak… Is this revenge for what we did?”

“Do you think if I wanted revenge, I would just give you headaches? Better think for yourself what I would do, if I really want revenge.”

“...sorry Brother, Luke did not mean it that way.”

“Stop saying ‘Brother’. Since when am I your brother.”

“Since… you were born?”

“Elizabeth… If we are Brother and Sister, you would have to explain a few things to me.”

“Explain?”

“What kind of Sister would cut his brothers clothes into rags?”

“Ah! I was…”

“Is there really a Sister who would use her little brother for target practice for her low level Magic?”

“That was just a mistake, I should never have…”

“Oh! And not forgetting the beatings I got from you, when you were unhappy with anything and needed an outlet. You nearly kicked me half an hour, when your Father said you might be later engaged to someone he would chose to create better relations with another ducal household.”

“I was a child and didn’t know better! Please, stop talking about that stuff!”

“So… When did I become your Brother? When I put that Curse of Slavery into your heart with the other curses? Suddenly I am related to you by Blood?”

“That… that is not… I…”

“Drak, through all our veins flows Father’s blood. Just let bygones be bygones!”

“He tested my blood multiple times when I was just a toddler Luke. If there were only an inkling of a chance I could be not his blood, I would have vanished like my Mother.”

“…”

“What do you mean ‘vanish’? She died, and it was sad, but sometimes things happen!”

“Ella, don’t…”

“Eh? What is it Brother?”

“...~”

“No memories? She really does not know.”

“What are you talking about, Brother Drak. And why are you so quiet Luke?”

“Then let me at least explain it for you…”

“Drak!”

“Silence Luke, she wants to know and you do not order me!”

“…”

“What is going on? Your Mother lies in the Family Tomb. The gravestone is right there, I saw it myself!”

“The Gravestone was made after I put the slavery curse on Duke and Duchess Berklin.”

“So… she was relocated?”

“So naive… There is no body inside.”

“That is a lie right? How can she not be there? Even if you want her to be honoured, would you not place her Body there by relocation? She is your Mother and you should have made them put her there from the Servants graveyard!”

“Ella, stop!”

“Luke, you are telling her.”

“…”

“What shall he say to me?”

“…”

“Luke, tell her.”

“Drak’s Mother… Her corpse is gone.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“How can a Body vanish?”

“She… was thrown into the Alchemic Furnace.”

“!!”

Alchemic Furnace. A great invention with a whitish flame inside. Non magical items can be thrown inside and instead of burning them, the whitish flames disintegrate everything into particles that float into the earth and nourish it with new minerals. Albeit expensive, high ranking Aristocrats have their own at home and do not need to bring them to the communal one. Ripped clothes, simple Garbage and for some ruthless Aristocrats even dead Slaves were thrown into it to get removed.

While it is sometimes used to remove Slaves, it is frowned upon, as this makes it look like they were only worth garbage and would spark the ire of the people around them.

“Yes, you heard Luke right. My Mother was disposed off like Garbage. Nothing of her was left, everything was burned after Father was aware I am really his son and had to tend to a Bastard.”

“...Drak… Brother, I am… I did not know…”

“Don’t worry about it, I already have given up on revenge, I just want to keep you all from telling the Empire about me.”

“And that is what I do not understand Drak, you could… Huh? Why would I want you to be…”

“Noticing the difference Luke? Yes, you were trained to think of the Empire in your subconscious. Everyone is, who goes to the Imperial School.”

“They… They control us!”

“Sure, but what of it? I do not even care about it.”

“Drak, how can you be so unperturbed about that!”

“What? They give you all a small nationalist input to keep the Empire stable. So what if you all are following infused orders in your mind, would have not saved my Mother, would it?”

“Your Mother… Just because she was thrown into the Furnace, does not mean she would have lived! She was sick after your birth!”

“...~”

“Both did not know? Huh, then better break it to them.”

“Drak, Brother… Please do not say Father killed her?”

“No, it was your Mother Elizabeth. Funny, isn’t it? First she was forced to submit to the Baron, as he was pent up, because the Duchess did not want to do her obligation, then she got pregnant and was called a whore, after my birth she was poisoned by the Duchess for seducing my ‘Father’ and after he found out I was really his kid, he was so angry he threw all of my Mothers belongings including her into the Furnace. What a joke.”

“Stop lying! Mother would never…”

“Silence.”

“…”

While not always using the Slave Mark, Drak was not letting Elizabeth defend that Woman in front of him and shut her up with an Order.

“The evidence is taken right out of their own minds. Ordering them to explain to me everything and Alice helped me later with even more details as well. There is no Mistake. All of this had happened, and now we are here.”

While Luke is silent of his own, Elizabeth looked at Drak in pain and horror while crying without a sound. Luke saw how the Servants were ordered to throw away everything and while he remembered the bedsheet he also remembered the hand of a woman looking out of it. He always knew, but did not care as it was her fault for bringing Drak into this World, but now he regrets to not understand anything and especially the upbringing of his parents who made it look like it was no big deal.

“…”

“Speak.”

“Sorry! I did not know, I am so sorry Brother! What can I do to forgive… no, I do not deserve forgiveness, but can I do anything to make the pain lesser? There must be something!”

“Keeping up with being distant. After the School I am out of your hair and you can forget I ever existed.”

“I do not want that! I did horrible things to you, please say something I can do to make it up to you.”

“...there does not come to mind anything you could do. It just might be already too late for us to ever have anything of a relationship between Siblings.”

Tears were running down Elizabeth’s cheeks, while Luke tries hard to be as composed as possible. As Elizabeth did, Luke would love to ask for forgiveness, but as he is older, he remembers everything they did to him. While Drak was first praised a genius until the age of three, afterwards he was seen as garbage, just because his baby fat did not go away and became even more pronounced.

He still remembers his happiness, when his fat little ‘genius’ brother was suddenly seen as waste, as he himself was now again the prodigy. How ironic, as they just thought he would be unable to be using magic and because of his body even less inclined to be able to fight. Had they tested him, they would have known, but Magic testing was expensive and would be done in the Imperial School regularly, so why waste Money on a waste? Such a mistake.

“...~”

“Yeah, I can see that on his face.”

“What can you see, Drak?”

“Nothing… While we are here and talk so much, why not telling me something too?”

“What do you want to know Brother?”

“Just how you are feeling in the School. I know it must be unpleasant to be in the School with me, but bear with it. Luke is on his last Year and you just need to bear with me for four years and I do my best to go out of your way.”

“No, I do not find it unpleasant. I am just sad I can not come to you…”

“I put a Slave Curse on you with a dozen of others. Do you really think, I would believe you, if you want to be near the one who enslaved you by force and put lethal curses inside of you, that could even make identifying your remains nearly impossible?”

“I… yes, yes I want to know you and try to be a Sister for you, not for me but for you, the one I have hurt so much!”

“...~”

“...That is not possible… not right now Elizabeth. Maybe there will be a time, maybe there will not be, we will see. Right now we should be coming to an end.”

Albeit Drak wanted to listen to some small talk to make them more uncomfortable after having been beaten down by facts, Alice’s evaluation of the truthful feelings of Elizabeth made himself now uncomfortable.

“Drak… Can I ask you something?”

“What is it Luke?”

“Your rule about our Servants. Can you change it? It must not be, that they have to know, but at least a bit leniency, to make them look less… less hostile to you. It hurts to see how they look at you, while we know who you really are.”

“I have lived with it since most of my Life. What about it? I am already numb to it.”

“But I am not. I saw the Cake, and it is a disservice to call that even courtesy. Not even hiding it at all, I can not stand it.”

“Master, I believe he makes sense. We are already outside of the Duchy, they can handle their Servants how they want, as long as they do not tell anyone something important.”

“Seria, but that might make the whole thing a bit complicated.”

“Not as complicated as Princess Eleonora.”

“Ugh… Yeah, the whole plan is already askew, but what are your real intentions?”

“…”

“Seria?”

“I just wish for them to be beat until they can not walk for days. If I can not do it, those two can at least let some of the pent up anger out.

“I agree with sister Seria!”

“It would be relaxing for us.”

“...~”

“Alright, alright. Elizabeth, Luke, as there is already some hiccups in my planning you are allowed to ‘educate’ your Servants, but do not let anything about myself slip, as otherwise the Curse Marks activate and you might be in deep trouble.”

“Thank you, Brother!”

“Appreciate it, Drak. Next time you will be seeing a more welcoming Mansion. Please let there be a next time, I really want to see you.”

“...~”

“Curious… I will think about it, could be a bit longer in the Future though. Next is the show for Sir Spy over there.”