Lumilla is looking out the window of her bedroom, waiting for the maids to ready her bath. She's looking at the back of a fancy carriage that's leaving the residence, it's being escorted by a dozen armored knights on horses. "So, that swine of a father really left without his son...." She then takes a deep breath.
She recalls herself at a coming-of-age ceremony 2 months ago. It's held once a year in the grand halls of the Pnakotica castle -and all noble children who have or will turn 12 that year will attend.
〘 Lumilla, in a fancy and fluffy blue dress has her sword pointed at Johny, in front of a crowd of bewildered nobles "Quit trying to hitch me with your son! If you want him to marry me then he'll have to beat me in a duel first!" She has her sword pointed at Johny, but her eyes locked onto Viscount Carl.
"Lumilla!" Her mother - also in a fancy dress - shouts at her in disbelief. "No, mother! You've been far too soft on these swine! They're just trying to take advantage of you like they did father!"
Lumilla then takes out a glove from her pocket and tosses it at Johny. "I challenge your son whom you're so proud of to a duel If he wins, I will marry him. But I win, you will dis-own him!" Lumilla angrily glares at viscount Carl. The nobles begin to whisper amongst themselves. "She's challenging the viscount's son to a duel? How reckless." "I can't believe she carries a glove around with her everywhere."
"Lumilla! You don't know what you're doing!" Veena grabs Lumilla's hands. "I'm old enough to know right from wrong mother." Lumilla retorts as she pulls her hand back.
"Duels are the honorable way to settle disputes between nobles." The viscount grins. "But that's only between adults!" Veena snaps at him. "This is her debut ball, is it not? That means Lady Lumilla is now officially an adult." The viscount raises the glass of wine in his hand as if to say 'congratulations' in a mocking manner.
"And so I must take her insults seriously."
"..." Veena bites her lower lip in frustration at being unable to protect her daughter.
"Wow, she's challenging people to duels right away? How frightening." the crowd continue to chatter. "But she doesn't look that strong. Maybe we can take advantage of that..."
"Hey boy, pick up that glove and accept the challenge." Viscount Carl commands. "Yes father." Johny turns around to face Lumilla. "...." Lumilla notices the blank expression on his face.〙
"That expression...he was just being manipulated by his own father." Lumilla walks back to her bed and flops back down on it. "Strong of body, but weak of mind. Pathetic."
Lumilla next recalls Bale shouting for her to stop while her sword was raised over Johny's body. "Why did he save him?"
The sound of someone knocking on her door brings her back to the present. "Lady Lumilla, I have bought you your lunch." Liva says from beyond the wooden door.
"Come in." Lumilla commands as she sits up.
The door opens as Liva – followed by Ebina - walks in carrying a tray with several plates of food on it.
"Set it on the table there." Lumilla then reflexively swats a hand back to straighten her hair "Thanks." She smiles.
Then the two girls walk up to her "Um..." Liva asks worriedly. "...How was the duel?"
"You're not hurt are you?" Ebina nervously fiddles with her dress.
"I'm fine! I totally beat Johny!" Lumilla flexes an arm. "UWAHH!!" Liva leaps at her and gives her a hug. "I was so worried that the viscount was going to take you away!" She cries. "It's alright. I'm not going anywhere." Lumilla brushes Liva's hair. But then her stomach growls "Hehe." Ebina giggles at the cute growls. The truth was that Lumilla was on edge the whole time. But now that her friend has comforted her, Lumilla's brain began to pay attention to the hunger signals her body was sending her.
She then stands up and walks to the polished brown oak table as Liva re-composes herself, trying her best to be assistant-like. Lumilla then sits down and begins scoffing down the food as Ebina sweats. "Something wrong, Ebina?" Lumilla glances at her between her chewing sessions. "Oh it's nothing." Ebina politely smiles (I was under the impression that nobles had great table manners...). Liva walks up next to Ebina and bends forward, turning her head to face the confused girl. "I know what you're thinking hehe." Liva's black wings twitch excitedly. Aparrently Ebina was not alone in her line of thinking.
"By the way, I have to thank your brother. He was a big help." Lumilla smiles as she gnaws on a cob of corn. "I don't think I could've won without him."
"Really? What did he do?" Ebina's face brightens up as she hears about her amazing little brother.
"What? You don't know?" Lumilla furrows her brows.
"Um I didn't know he had anything to do with it." Ebina scratches her cheeks in confusion.
"Oh he....cheered me on!" Lumilla grins. "He was so boisterous it was embarassing!"
"Really? I can't imagine." Ebina raises an eye brow. "He's usually so stoic and calm." She then clasps her hands together and tilts her head "I really wish I could've seen that!"
(So Bale keeps things hidden from his sister too. He's more cunning than he lets on.)
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Bale is laying on the edge of his bed, the back of his ankles tapping impatiently on the side of his bed. KNOCK KNOCK someone knocks at his door. He then opens it to see the baroness Veena and captian Fiotta – whom nods at him. "Good evening Lady Veena. Thank you again for helping Johny." He bows.
"You don't need to be so formal with me. It's quite irritating." Veena puts a hand on her cheeks.
"I see." Bale smiles at her and scratches the back of his head.
Veena then invites herself to sit on a chair inside the room. "How is Johny?" Bale asks. "He hasn't woken up yet, but I have several maids and a healer watching over him." Bale then breathes a sigh of relief. "However that poison of yours did so much damage that it will probably take a week to recover." Veena crosses her arms.
"But still, I never thought you'd try to save him. Care to explain?" She waves her hand.
"It's simple really." Bale shrugs. "The other day when I went out by myself I was robbed and almost kidnapped, but Johny saved me."
"What? You were almost kidnapped?! I thought you were smarter than that!" Veena scolds him angrily.
"Yeah yeah I know, I was kicking myself too." Bale chuckles. "But in my defense, people usually ignore demonkin - they're not worth kidnapping or robbing."
Veena could only exhale loudly in agreement with the young boy's logic.
"Still...I didn't think you had any interest in anything else other than your family, boy." She leans forward in her chair.
"I always repay my debts." Even though he said that, Bale had already resigned Johny to his death (I was just lucky things worked out the way they did).
"How noble. You've got more integrity than a lot of the nobility at the capital." Veena smiles at him. "So what now? What will you do with Johny?"
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"I haven't thought that far, I just didn't want him to die." Bale scratches his head.
"But he can't live here for free, he will have to earn his keep."
Bale then puts a hand on his chin while in thought "There are a few things that come to mind..."
They then get interrupted by a knock on the door. "Lady Veena, please forgive my interruption." Captian Fiotta could be heard from the other side of the door.
"Yes?"
"There's an emergency. The maids say that Johny just woke up and had to be restrained."
"What happened?" Bale asks.
"He tried to kill himself."
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"Let me die! Why are you stopping me?!" Johny cries out angrily – yet weakly, with his vision blurred and a burning pain searing through his chest. An elven maid has pinned him to the bed with his arms locked behind his back. His golden hair cling to his forehead, drenched in the sweat of struggle. He's unable to fight back because his Zodiac stones were removed from his posession while he was unconscious.
"Johny!" Bale rushed to the treatment room as fast as he could. "!!!" Johny recognizes Bale's voice. "Damn it! Why did you save me?!" Johny demanded.
"You said you'd crush my dreams and kill me! "
"My dreams have been crushed, so all that's left is to kill me! Do it!" He shouts deliriously from the pain not on his body, but in his heart. His father's quick dismissal of him only confirmed what he had tried desperately to deny – that he had never been loved. And now it's over, all those grueling years of pain he endured to become strong was for naught.
"What's the situation?" Veena and captain Fiotta finally catch up as they enter the room.
"Lady Veena, the viscount's son tried to leap off the balcony when he read the letter his father left behind. But I managed to grab his leg and dragged him back in." She wipes the sweat off her forehead. The height from the ground to the balcony ledge is a little over 12 meters in height. And with his injuries he was almost certain to die, especially since the ground outside is made of stone bricks.
Veena then sees the letter on the floor and picks it up to read it. "..." Bale looks away, he could already guess what was written within.
"Good work Sheena, you may let him go now." Veena nods. "As you wish, my lady." The elven maid then releases Johny and takes a few steps back.
"If you wish to die, Lord Johny, then do it elsewhere outside of my estate. I went through the trouble of saving you, after all." She crosses her arms.
"If that's what it takes, then I shall take my leave." Johny slowly gets up off the bed and clutches a hand to his chest. He begins to slowly shuffle towards the exit as he silently passes by Bale.
"Wait." Bale reaches out to him.
"What do you want?" Johny grits his teeth.
"May I speak with you for a bit? If you still want to end your own misery afterwards, I won't stop you."
"Speak." Johny mutters.
"Can we have some privacy, Veena?" Bale pleads with a serious tone in his voice.
Veena then exhales and turns around. "Let's go Captain." The baroness and her knight guard shut the door as they make their exit.
"Okay so your father never loved you, but he was trash to begin with." Bale shrugs.
"Even so, now I have no more reason to live. I am empty. I am but a husk." Johny whispers in a defeated tone.
Bale then walks around to face Johny "Let's face it, your father would never acknowledge you even if you won the duel. Your dream was long dead, and we both know it."
"Wrong! I only needed to win!" He desperately shouts.
"Do you remember the last time your father ever praised you?" Bale asks, already knowing the answer.
"..." Johny answers Bale with complete silence.
"I've heard of your many accomplishment: Destroying bandits that ravaged your territory, being at the top of your class, winning the Junior tournament in Balelord....has your father ever complimented you about any of that?"
"So what?! My dream was so close, and you destroyed it!" Johny shouts angrily. He then droops his shoulders "So....just kill me. This is pointless."
"Your dream was long dead and you know it, so how about I give you a new one?"
"A new dream? And what would that be?"
"Revenge." Bale grins.
"The best revenge is to live your best life, be as happy as you can be. Make your father realize that you are much better off without him. Don't you want to be happy?"
"You who destroyed my dream is now offering to help me? Preposterous!" Johny grits his teeth and suddenly swings a fist at Bale. However Bale effortlessly grabs his wrist and stops him in his tracks. (S-strong...!) Johny takes note.
"Let's say for arguments sake that I did destroy your dream. It wasn't because I wanted to, but because I had to." They then lock eyes as Bale continues "You even said it yourself didn't you? 'We're both simply doing what we must.'" Bale releases Johny's wrist as it drops back down to his side. "You for your misguided dream, and I for survival."
Johny then recalls himself telling Bale 〘"We're both simply doing what we must."〙
"But now that it's over - now that I've done what I must - I will now do what I want to do. And that is to help you." Bale sternly extends a hand to Johny as they lock eyes.
"Why do you go out of your way for me...?" Johny begins to quiver. This whole time, nobody had ever bothered to understand him. People only pretended to help, but behind his back they conspired to bring him down - they envied his position as the heir to the viscounty. However, the boy in front of him is still offering to help even though Johny had fallen from grace - even though Johny no longer had anything worth taking.
"Because you remind me of me. I want to give you the chance that nobody gave me."
"UWAHH!!" Johny falls to his knees as he begins to bawl uncontrollably, all of the pent up frustration released like a broken dam. Johny falls to his knees and grabs Bale's hand as he continues to whail.
Bale then gently pulls Johny's head into his chest for an embrace "You did well to get this far Johny. But now you're not alone, you have someone who understands you right here." Bale smiles contently, part of him felt as if he had just saved his old self....yet another part of him also schemed to use Johny. (It should be fine to use him a little bit right? It's for both of our sake after all...) Bale thinks to himself silently.
After a while, Johny finally re-composes himself and wipes his face dry with his sleeves. "Thank you for not giving up on me, elder brother." Johny bows. "Elder brother? I'm younger than you." Bale raises his hands awkwardly.
"Yes, but somehow it feel like you're much more mature than you look. You came up with an anti-lightning stance, as well as a new way to use wind magic. You even won over the Baroness, no mere child can do that." Johny shouts as he raises his head. "So please let me call you elder brother!"
Bale then exhales as he shrugs "Call me whatever you want Johny."
"Thank you very much, elder brother Bale!" Johny catches Bale in a cheerful bear hug.
"No problem. But for now, you need to rest." Bale shoves Johny back onto the bed. "You're still injured."
"Alright, but what do we do afterwards?" Johny asks as he crawls onto the bed. "I promised to help you, but we'll talk about it once you've recovered, okay?"
"Alright!" Johny tucks himself in bed with a content expression on his face.
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(Ugh what the hell? He was all downtrodden just like I was, but...I'm a bit jealous of how he can recover so quickly!) Bale exits the room as he nods to the elven maid still waiting outside the room. "Please watch over him again." "As you wish, Sir Bale." The maid bows.
He then walks away and rounds the corner only to run into Lumilla, who was waiting for him with her arms crossed.
"Ah, fancy meeting you here my lady." Bale bows slightly. He then manouvers around her "Please excuse me."
"Haz told me that you came up with that game plan to defeat Johny." Lumilla throws a sharp gaze at Bale.
"Ugh, I'm never telling uncle Haz anything important ever again." Bale droops his shoulders.
"But I'm glad you did, thank you." Lumilla then bows to Bale, which is something he'd never expect.
"No thanks is necessary Lady Lumilla, I was only looking out for myself." Bale raises his hands defensively as he awkwardly smiles.
Lumilla then looks away "And sorry...for calling you an idiot."
"Eh? Don't worry about that, it doesn't bother me."
"But it bothers me. I thought all men were scum, but you're different."
Bale then closes his eyes "No, you're right. All men are scum, myself included." He then gives her a menacing glare "So don't let your guard down just because someone is kind to you, you hear?"
Bale then swiftly continues walking towards his next destination. He felt that he had to put some space between them. He recalls her mother, Lady Veena trying to facilitate a relationship between them〘"Are you interested in my daughter?"〙(I'm not sure if nobles can marry commoners but It didn't sound like a joke, so I can't let her get too attached to me). Thanks to the trauma of his sister Emily hanging herself in his past life, Bale could never imagine himself being physically intimiate with anyone. Doing so would mean that he is no different from his father from earth – no different from the animals in human form, like Renalt Young.
"..." Lumilla is at a loss for words. She watches him continue to get farther away. She then recalls herself eavesdropping when Bale and Johny were embracing. 〘"You did well to get this far Johny. But now you're not alone, you have someone who understands you right here." She then looks downwards and puts a hand to her chest "Liva is right after all....Bale is different from those other men."〙
She then frowns as she also recalls Bale's latest words 〘"No, you're right. All men are scum, myself included."〙 (But what did he mean by that?)