「 Layton’s Memories, Age: 11 」

As the sun showered the garden with its warm rays, a unique, yet relaxing feeling of comfort embraced me.

“Young master!” Diane appears with her beautiful smile while holding some apples within her thin fingers, “I brought you some apples!”

“Thank you,” I smile at her kind gesture before grabbing one of the bright red fruits.

“I heard from one of the maids that Julius will be entering the Academy next year,” she sat down beside me as a soft breeze blew against our skin.

‘He’ll finally…’ everyone knew that the entrance for the nobles and aristocrats at the Royal Academy was only when they reached fourteen years old.

Father did try, for several years, to bribe Julius way in. He wanted him to begin lessons earlier than expected due to his “high intelligence” but was unsuccessful.

“I see,” a small sigh leaves my body.

Part of me felt a sense of relief yet the other part felt nothing but worry. I knew he would leave the mansion sooner or later, but I wasn’t expecting to have such conflicting feelings about it.

No matter what, Julius was my beloved brother even if, at the end of the day, he had some harsher sides. I’ve tried, with all my heart to hate him, thinking that, if I stain him in my heart, things would be easier but, the truth is nowhere near as easy. I can’t bring myself to despise him, to hate him since I know that, at the end of the day, we are from the same flesh and blood.

I take a bite at the voluptuous apple while looking at the pure blue sky, enlightened by the brightness of the sun.

“Are you alright Diane?” my eyes wander to the kind-hearted woman on my side. Her expression carried a heavier weight than she could bear as if something was piercing through her soul.

“Oh! Yes!” the eyes that glared towards the mansion were now focused on me, concealing demons behind a fake smile.

Her mind was absent, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask any further. It was clear that Diane was storing something deep inside herself, something that, no matter how much I searched, I wouldn’t receive the answers.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 Some days later 」

“Get up Layton,” Anthony swings his wooden sword to the side swiftly.

“Yes sir…” I get up from the floor and place my body in a fighting position. I could feel the sweat drip from my pores as my muscles scream in pain every time his sword clashed against mine.

“Harder!” his voice echoes through my ears, making them ring in pain, “Faster!”

Anthony was the best knight in the Marquess mansion, and he was in charge to teach us how to fight. Julius had already managed to beat our instructor in a fight and Cedric, even though he wasn’t a prodigy, handled the sword quite nicely. On the other hand, I couldn’t even wield this wooden stick properly.

“Pay attention!” he lets out a disappointed sigh once my body falls on the floor again.

‘I know I…’ tears begin to gather around my eyes.

I wasn’t a good fighter.

I wasn’t a good student.

I wasn’t a good man.

“Watch and learn you cry baby,” Julius steps in before pushing me with his foot.

His hands were holding a heavy steel sword and Anthony grins before switching his weapon. Their bodies begin to flow as the items clashed against each other loudly.

“Good!” the knight’s eyes were glimmering, almost as if he was ecstatic with the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

“Come on!” Julius yelled as their swings grew stronger.

Suddenly, my brother takes a swift turn, making Anthony’s tanned body lean forward and giving him an opening. The instructor falls on the floor, admitting his defeat, after seeing Julius’s sword pointing at his neck.

“You’re getting better,” the chocolate-haired man states before back on his feet, “I don’t think I have much more to teach you.”

It was clear that Julius had far surpassed Anthony’s abilities even though he was extremely young.

“That’s how you do it, freak,” his attention turns to me as his eyes showered me with his disgust.

“Y-Yes brother…” I mutter while averting my eyes.

This was not Julius being concerned about my improvement, in fact, this was him showing off.

“Look at how good I am” is what he is saying within the lines.

‘You don’t need to tell me… I already know…’ I will never be as good as him in anything so I shouldn’t bother in even trying.

The sun was setting, and the coldness of the upcoming night was beginning to settle down. My body hurt all over, making it hard to walk, from all the training it had endured.

“I said…!” I look upwards just to see Diane, standing at the edge of a window on the fourth floor of the mansion, “Layton…!”

“Diane?” her eyes widen as her fingers clench the wood tightly, “What are you doing there?”

The maid looked troubled, conflicted, and even in pain. I could see her body trembling heavily as the breeze danced with her uniform.

Suddenly, her body leans forward, and her hands let go of the window ledge. I see her figure fall and, right before banging loudly, the sound of her neck bones cracking is heard.

My body freezes. I couldn’t believe my own eyes.

“Diane!” I quickly rush towards her, but it was too late.

Her neck was leaning to the right and her pale bone was showing itself, just like a piece of snow in a crimson sea. The small cut gave enough opening to allow some blood to squirt out and, as I touched Diane’s head, a squelch was heard right before the floor was bathed In that viscous substance.

Unconsciously, I begin shaking her while yelling her name repeatedly. I thought this was nothing more than a bad dream, a nightmare that would soon pass.

Everything happened extremely fast, making it hard to comprehend everything that had happened. My hands grab her body, placing her broken head on my lap as if she was just taking a nap.

Soon, her pale, lifeless face, became blurred from the overwhelming tears that dripped down my flushed cheeks. My body seemed to not belong to me as it shook uncontrollably.

Her name kept on leaving my lips softly, echoing through the gardens around the mansion.

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“What is…?” I hear Cedric’s voice and a couple of seconds later I feel someone grab my body forcefully, “Let go, Layton.”

“No!” I yelled with all the strength left in my lungs as grabbed her body, rocking it in my arms, back and forth.

‘She can’t…! She…!’ my soul couldn’t believe what my eyes had seen. I couldn’t bring myself to believe Diane had just left me alone like this.

“Layton! Stop!” Cedric was speaking loudly as he tried to push me away from her. Every time he pulled me, I carved my nails onto her skin, gripping it tightly.

“Can’t you two keep it down!?” Julius was walking through the garden carelessly, “You’re giving me a headache with all those screams.”

“Julius!” Cedric’s worried voice makes my elder brother approach us.

Without any previous warning, he turns around and throws his guts out onto the floor. He had seen the bloody scenario with his own two eyes and didn’t have the stomach to take it.

“What…?” he manages to speak something with his now rough voice, courtesy from the gastric acids from his stomach.

With all the commotion setting it, it wasn’t long until several servants arrive at the scene. Whispers began flowing through the winds and soon the whole garden was filled with gossip and shocked faces as if it was nothing but a theatrical display.

“Don’t just stand there! Help me!” Cedric quickly takes the reins and I feel the hands of two butlers grab my arms and pull me away. I struggled as hard as I could. I screamed, I kicked them, I cried my heart out. Even then, it was nothing more than a useless attempt.

“Let go! Diane! Diane!” I kept on repeating her name in the middle of my despair. I thought that maybe I would be able to bring her back, maybe she would come to me if I called for her. Maybe this was nothing more than an ugly, unrealistic illusion born from my own fears.

Sadly, I knew that these thoughts were nothing more than wishful thinking.

The vivid red blood on the grass made it clear.

Diane’s pale corpse made it clear.

Everything was perfectly clear.

“Father!” Cedric says while adjusting his attire.

“How did something like this happen?” father’s eyes wander around the scene around him: his two son’s clothes filled with blood and a dead maid on the garden floor.

Somehow, he looked unbothered, as if this was nothing more than a bump in the road that one can easily remove or move past.

‘How dare he…!’ after seeing his inhuman expression I began to feel my blood boil.

“I don’t know, I arrived, and Layton was already here… Like this,” Cedric answers while Julius continues to regain his composure. My eyes glance over at him and see his complexion as pale as a ghost.

Then, I shift my attention to the Marquess and notice his disgusted yet satisfied expression. I knew he had something to do with this. I could sense my gut yelling that this had been no mere accident or suicide.

It couldn’t be.

“What did you do!?” I shove off the butler’s hands and dash towards my father, punching him in the stomach with all my strength, “You monster!”

I can’t say I was surprised when he didn’t even flinch since, at the end of the day, I am just a useless kid without any strength.

Father’s right-hand grabs my head from my curls, lifting me from the floor. His eyes were glimmering with adrenaline and pleasure as if he was nothing more but a pure sadistic man.

‘It hurts…!’ my body squirms as I groan in pain.

“Insolent brat!” he was extremely mad, yet pleased. It was as if something had come over him, possessing him and turning him into something else, something scarier, “Bring me my whip!”

Swiftly, he shoves me onto the floor, making my head hit in one of the trees around. A small river of blood runs down the back of my neck from the impact, staining the rest of my attire.

I could feel the pressure on me as the glaring eyes became filled with pity and anticipation.

“Your whip milord,” the servant in his mid-forties arrived and placed the dark object in father’s hands.

The Marquess grins largely before stretching the whip strongly making a loud sound float in the air.

“Grab him,” the servants carve their nails onto my arms after turning my back to my father, “I have been quite generous to you, but it seems you’ve forgotten who the man of the house really is.”

I feel the whip penetrate my skin deeply and create an opening on it, exposing my bright red muscles to the air around. A burning sensation runs through my body as blood begins to leave from my flesh, dripping over my bruised back.

Drops quickly turned into small yet warm rivers that began tainting my clothing in crimson red. As I struggled to leave, the servants grabbed my arms strongly and, as I moved around, the sound of my shirt squelching could be heard.

It hurt so much that, for a glimpse of a second, I wished I was dead.

The whispers from the servants echoed loudly in my ears just like the sound of that deadly object, piercing my back at every touch. My father’s chuckle was like a dagger pierced through my heart, aching more than anything I’d ever felt.

When the whip would leave my skin, a sense of relief would feel my body, in a pitiful hope that this torture would end. Even then, it was nothing more but a pure, yet silly ideal, never coming true.

My lungs yelled through the pain as he punished me repeatedly. His hands would swing back and forth as I became his punching bag, the perfect vessel to relieve all his accumulated stress.

Eventually, the pain became non-existent, turning into nothing more into numbness, pure darkness born out of despair that embraced the leftovers of my consciousness. There were no more yells, no more fighting to escape, no more torment.

“Father!” Julius intervenes and the servants immediately drop my body on the floor harshly. My brother’s eyes looked pained and concerned, something I had never seen.

“Take care of it,” father declares before turning his body and heading towards the mansion.

‘Of course, he wouldn’t…’ tears began to gather around my eyes once again as I realized how I was truly seen, how I was truly despised.

I knew how much father hated me but, I wanted to believe that one day he would grow fond of me, even if I was nowhere near Julius or Cedric.

Some of the servants began touching Diane’s body, preparing to take her corpse away. The others, bothered by the situation, just left.

A sense of disgust runs through my veins as I see their dirty hands approaching her skin.

‘Don’t…!’ she was my friend, not theirs. They had no right to take her away.

Without realizing it, I begin to drag my body on the dirt floor, in a pitiful attempt to approach her as my eyes became determined to touch her.

Questions as, ‘Will they burn her?’ or ‘Will they bury her?’ began rumbling through my mind, haunting my future memories.

At every movement, I could feel my consciousness fading away as if I was nothing but a pure puppet, being played by God’s will.

My eyes wander around just to reflect my abandonment. No one cared about my wounds, about the blood leaving my body. No one was human anymore.

“Layton!” my brothers rush to my side.

I can feel Cedric’s hand touch my flushed cheek repeatedly, trying to keep me awake.

“At three,” Julius states as they both grab my arms. Slowly, we walk towards my chambers, and we finally arrive, all sweaty and tired.

Carefully, they lay my body onto the bed after removing the ripped bright red shirt that embraced my wounded torso. Julius looked to the side as he tried to retain his gag reflex while Cedric just glared pitifully at my situation.

I’m not going to lie, I felt an abnormal need to pass out, to sleep but, simultaneously, I wanted to be awake. I knew that, if I lost my soul in the realm of dreams, her face would come back to haunt me.

The door is locked, and everything grows quiet. Gradually, my vision becomes blurred from the gathering of the leftover tears and exhaustion but, even then, I tried my best to remain conscious.

“Did you had something to do with this?” Cedric’s voice was cold as he spoke to Julius. I glance over at them just to see their serious expressions.

“Of course not! I would never…!” he swallows back his words as if he was filled with regret.

“Julius!” my younger brother yells. Part of me was astonished, I couldn’t believe Cedric’s overwhelming maturity. He didn’t appear to be a child of seven, at all.

“I’m serious!” he sits on one of the chairs in the room, “How could she…?”

Neither one of us could understand what made Diane jump, especially me. It seemed unrealistic as if this had been nothing but a pure nightmare for a start.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I interrupt them. Their eyes widen in surprise at my statement.

“But Layton…” Julius tried to intervene.

“Leave,” I wanted to be alone, “Please…”

Quietly and disappointed, they both exit the room.

It was extremely quiet, yet my mind kept on yelling.

The image of Diane laying on the floor kept on rewinding within my soul, repeatedly. Her broken neck, the red vivid grass, her lifeless eyes, everything was deeply imbued in me.

Even then, I couldn’t bring myself to believe Diane had jumped.

‘She wouldn’t leave me like this…’ I knew that something was extremely wrong, but I couldn’t understand what.

My gut kept on blaming my father as if he had been the one behind her death, even though I knew it was an impossible thought.

Maybe I just blamed him because I wanted to relieve this guilt I feel, maybe I provoked him because I wanted to be punished for my sins, for not saving Diane.

‘Why didn’t I…’ she had been behaving abnormally, as if someone or something was haunting her. She would often look to the mansion, having her senses in her own little world, and ignore my existence completely.

I hated myself.

I should’ve listened to her.

I should’ve helped her.

I should’ve… not been me.