Eighteenth day of Sapta’xahr, 4043 AOT
Shilan’s Mansion, Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region
Brandon rushes inside his elder brother’s study room. He brusquely opens the door slamming it loudly against the wall. The light from the sun at its peak coming in through the large glass windows illuminates the room well. The sound of the aircon served as a soft background noise in that quiet room. Bart who is sitting in front of piles of folders and envelopes on his table looks at him briefly before turning his sight back to the paper that he is signing.
“What’s up with that bounty?!” Brandon grits his teeth before raising his voice.
A visible frown forms on Bart’s face. “Are you referring to that young demon hunter?”
“Who else?”
“That bitch!” The wrinkles on Bart’s forehead could not get any deeper. “That fucking bitch destroyed our plantations!”
He scoffs. “I found her first. She’s mine!” He steps on several papers on the floor before sitting down the sofa. “I already sent my people to catch her.”
Despite the luxurious furniture and decorations, the room looks untidy due to the pile of documents and stack of books around the room.
“I don’t care. Anyone who messes with the Shilans will pay the price.”
“Leave this one to me.”
He puts his pen down and then he adjusts his glasses. “I warned you many times before. Stop playing around and settle down.”
“I’ll take care of my own relations.”
“Not when it affects our business. Our family. This is our legacy! Last time, that rookie celebrity you brought as product endorser also brought a lot of scandals with her! Some of our products were almost dropped off the market.”
“I only helped her ‘cause she approached me first.” He takes a deep breath before pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s obvious that those scandals were released to the public by our business rivals. You know, they’re always on the look out for our every mistake... Okay, that was on me. I get it.” He waves his hands lazily. “I should have done more background checks. But what’s the big deal? We get a few failed investments here and there. So we just invest more somewhere. Not like we’ll run out of money because of some trivial mishaps.”
“This time is nothing trivial. Our Lemerus entus products are being exported in large amounts now. We’re losing millions in these attacks.”
“It’s the first time I’m hearing that.”
“We’re suppressing the news at the moment. We can’t let the international media pick up on it and make a big deal. If that happens, those self- righteous journalists will stick their nose into it and dig more information… and learn the truth.”
“Hmm… I do understand the situation now…” He then lays his legs on the coffee table kicking the vase with artificial flowers out of place. “But I’m too pissed to back out either. How about we make a deal?”
“I told you to stop messing around.”
“No, brother. Listen.” He grins. “How about we just let these things unfold on their own? I mean, let the bounty hunters compete for the bounty they’d want to take.”
“What are you playing at this time?” He sighs but he is listening.
“If my people catches her first, then I get to keep her. But if she ends up dying or your bounty hunters claims your reward then you can do whatever.”
He scoffs. “Are we betting now? Then I’ll increase my reward to ten million rimas.”
“Sure, but I’ll get to increase mine too. Just five million rimas. So you’d still have the advantage.”
∞×∞
Twentieth day of Sapta’xahr, 4043 AOT
Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0
Mary wakes up and prepares for their morning routine. She and Mark have to get ready and leave early for work. After making two cups of coffee, she notices a person when she gets a glimpse outside the window. The outside is dim as the only light comes from the sun that is slightly peeking from the horizon. She moves closer to the window to get a better view. There, she sees the silhouette of a girl standing in front of their grandfather’s grave.
She feels deep melancholy while looking at Lea’s back with her golden yellow hair swaying along with the light morning breeze. She walks out, leaving Mark alone by the dining table. Her steps are filled with concern and dread.
“You woke up quite early.” Mary walks closer with increased pace. The back that she is looking at is giving her a gloomy and heavy feeling. “Is the sofa in the living room not comfortable after all?”
“It wasn’t the sofa that made me uncomfortable.” Lea responds without looking back.
Mark is following a few steps behind her. It somehow felt odd how they are standing beside the grave with a stranger. They are taking this moment of silence to read the girl’s expression. Mary takes a step closer to peek at her expression, but her purple eyes are lightless and her face shows no emotion. Even though her eyes have always been like that of a dead fish, now she can feel the air around them has become heavier and more intense than before.
“It would have been fine if you were only selling rags.” Her tone is flat. “The symbols on your jackets are quite popular among those who are in the business.”
Mary opens her mouth as if she is about to say something but no words are coming out. She knows that there are secrets that cannot stay a secret for long. However, why would a stranger, who is going to leave and disappear from their lives soon, be concerned about this? For the past days, she was wishing for this unknown girl to just ignore it and let it pass.
“We aren’t expecting that an outsider would know about this.” Mark crouches down to pick up the dried flowers.
Silence follows as the sun rises higher illuminating their surroundings brighter. Why does it feel like they are being reprimanded? It is as though she has seen a similar situation before. Like she is being questioned why they took this path. All of these people know nothing. How are they going to choose something better when all of their options are either bad or worse?
“And?” Mary scoffs. Her tone is full of scorn. “You are not going to start some grand speech now, are you?”
“We are going to protect this family.” Mark grips the stalks of the dried flower tighter. It makes a small crunch as a dried petal slowly falls.
“Say… How did the old man die?” Her tone is soft and low.
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“Please don’t dig into this any further.” Mark stands up with the crumpled dried flowers in his hands. His tone has become deeper as the tension in the air intensifies. He makes eye contact with Mary, telling her to stay quiet. “We only have each other. There is no one else that can protect us. I will not let anyone harm my siblings.”
“Even though you know that you are destroying other people’s lives?”
“Everyone’s the same here.” He responds without a shred of guilt.
“In this place,” Mary adds. “People destroy themselves… because that’s the only salvation they have from this nightmare you call life.”
Their eyes are fixed at her as she turns to face them. Both of them are determined to stay on the path that they chose even though they are aware that it is not the right path. They are now used to the judgmental stares that others directs at them, however they did not expect to see a different expression on Azalea’s face. Her dead eyes somehow resonated with them, as if she can see through everything that they have been through.
Their gazes spell the determination that they intend to keep up with what they have started. They know that not everyone will understand. Especially not one who has never been in a situation where they have to make a terrible choices just to survive. They are part of the have none’s. They either starve to death maintaining clean hands, or choose to dirty it crawling on the ground eating mud. It is pitiful and infuriating, but a brighter future will only come to those who are alive.
“You said that you won’t be staying for long.” Mark adds while he lightly taps Mary’s back. There is no need to dwell on this matter. “Please leave. In exchange, we won’t tell them your location.”
“I… I see…” Lea looks at the sun rising over the horizon. “I guess it can’t be helped. However, I can’t leave without my armor.”
“Brenda and Leika tended to it.” She says before turning her back to follow Mark back into the house. “We'll leave it on the sofa in the living room. Just take it before you leave.”
They left Lea still looking at the grave while they prepare to go to work. Before leaving the house, Mary takes out the light armor that is slightly patched up out into the living room. It is so that Lea can take it any time she wants to. While arranging the armor on a chair in the living room, Jad wakes up to help. Mary then reminds him of do’s and don’ts which sounds quite nagging. He responds with a frown but reassures them that he will take care of their siblings as he is the eldest among them, when the twins are not around.
That night when they returned, Azalea, along with her armor, has disappeared.
∞×∞
Sapta’xahr, 4042 AOT
Arbhur City
“Money can’t buy you happiness.” That quote rings in Mary’s mind while looking at the list of passers plastered at the huge board of the state high school they applied to. Their names are not there. “Whoever thought about that must have lived a very privileged life.”
“It seems that we can’t go to high school this year.” Mark tries to hide his disappointment and sadness but there really is nothing he can hide from his twin. He forces a laugh as he turns his back. “Maybe, if we work for two or three years, and save up well… we can pay for our whole high school tuition.”
She smiles back at him. “Or we could just work. We can save up and just open a small store of our own.”
“Right.”
The state school has the lowest tuition fee and the best education system in their region. It is no wonder that so many students are aiming to get accepted. However, because it is sponsored and run by the government, the slots for new students are limited. Because of this, thousands of students are competing to earn a slot every year. The tight competition made it so only the ones with the highest grades and scores can enter the school. It has become known as a school of scholars, and it has built a reputation that only the best of the best can get accepted. Just wearing their uniform is a sign of the person’s high intelligence.
The twins cannot help it but feel envious of those who are capable of passing through all the state school’s requirements. For them who are extremely average, they can only hope that maybe a twist of fate would come. Even if only one of them is able to secure a slot then that would have been great too. Unfortunately, there are times when no matter how hard they work and study, if it is not for them, then it is just not for them. There are still other schools, but they cannot afford them. The difference in fees are like heaven and earth.
The recent fall in their financial situation has turned going into high school a heavy burden. More than a year ago, their father died while working on a project. He is a construction worker in a contractual company that accepted a building project. The accident happened when a part of the building they were working on collapsed. Then a few months after that, their mother’s health declined greatly. Later on, they learned that she is already in late-stage colon cancer. The hospital fees racked up as her health continued to fall at a fast pace, and everything ended up with their mother ultimately losing to the disease.
Carrying all these heartache with them, they return home feeling defeated, upset and disappointed at themselves. Their grandfather read everything easily upon looking at his precious grandchildren’s faces. They sat down on the sofa in the living room still unsure of how to start a conversation and break the bad news to their grandfather.
“Here, have a glass of water first.” Grandpa says as he sets down two glasses of water. “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?”
Mark takes the water and drinks it. Mary only holds the glass with both her hands.
“Grandpa Alf, I’m home!” Jad enters with a loud voice. He then immediately notices them. “W-what’s up with you?.. Did something bad happen?”
“It’s not a big deal.” Mary responds. Her voice softly trembles.
“We’ll find work for now.” Mark states. “Jad should continue his studies. Don’t slack off so that you can get into a good high school.”
“What do you mean?” Jad frowns.
Now that everyone is here, they have to explain the situation and what they think about it. They have to face this new obstacle together. Even though Grandpa Alf wants to send them to high school with the little savings they have, Mark and Mary have set their mind and are determined to take some time off.
After a long family discussion, they all agreed that Mary and Mark will take turns helping in their shop while also taking other part-time jobs. Their family have not been very well off from the beginning so they have become very understanding of their financial situation. Grandpa Alf is their mother’s father. He has been supporting them since his wife passed away due to cancer more than a decade ago. However, they do not want to burden him anymore.
Their mother has graduated college and then immediately started working in well-enough company. After a few years, she married their father who she first got acquainted with while working in a past company project. Their father’s parents both died early so they do not have grandparents on his side. His childhood has been rough and he was only able to graduate from high school before working in construction. With his diligence he became a regular at that construction company and got a stable job. Because of this their married life was quite ordinary and peaceful.
Two years after marriage, they were blessed with children. Unfortunately, because of this pregnancy their mother had to resign from her office work. Giving birth to twins and taking care of them is not an easy task. She cannot have a very long leave from work as the company does not allow it. Once she returns to work, she will only be exhausted balancing office work, house work, and maternal responsibilities all together. Rather than hiring a nanny, it would be better for her to take care and raise their children herself. She still has some savings and her husband can take care of their living expenses as well. She does not want to miss on the delicate years when her first children are growing up.
However, life is not so kind. Having twins meant that they have to put in double the effort to take care of them and double the expenses to raise them. They will need twice the amount of clothes, baby formula milk, diapers, vaccinations, health check-ups, and more. Not to mention that they also have to prepare for the future as early as they have to send two children to school at the same time which means that they will need twice the amount of educational necessities. This is when Grandpa Alf also came in. He asked his daughter to help him in the shop so she can still have a source of income while raising her children.
Grandpa Alf helped them stabilize their living situation until that series of unfortunate events happened. It also gave him more time and opportunity to look after his grandchildren.
Today, Mary and Mark are the ones looking after the shop because Grandpa Alf is out to take care of some documents. Grandpa owns a small ice cream shop that is located close to the school area so a lot of students frequent to relax and have a snack of their products. This includes students from the famous state school to come by often.
“Dude!” A loud group of teens just came in. “I can’t believe you got into that state school.”
“Riiiight? I know you’re not dumb but I can’t believe you’re that smart!”
He scoffs. “Who do you think I am?”
“Mama’s boy.” His friend laughs.
“What?! Say that again and I’ll knock your teeth out!”
“I’ll go order some ice cream. You’ll be treating us!”
“Sure whatever. I’ll share some of my magnificence to you pitiful bunch.”
They laugh all together.
“But seriously though. Bro, what’s your studying secret?”
“What are you talking about, man? As if he knows what studying is!”
“Alright, I’ll tell you my secret.” He says with a smug face. “I’ve always had a secured slot. Like I said, who do you think I am? My dad’s pretty close with the mayor and he’s got pretty high position in the Shilan group.”