Chapter 1: Foreboding Nightmare
When I woke up, I was in my bed and looking at the ceiling. My chest was heaving and my mind was racing. I had a terrible dream that my little sister had become a demoness and was killing everyone in sight. She had murdered Lillia, my maid, in cold blood in front of my parents. She was laughing and exuding terrible dark magic.
I looked to my side to make sure the maid that serves me, Lillia, was there. I was happy to see that she was okay. A sense of relief passed through my body.
"Good morning, young master."
I looked at her and then sat down on my bed. I looked at my small hands and realized I'm still too weak to protect anything. If I want to keep my little sister by my side, I must become stronger.
"Please allow me to help you."
She extended her hand to me and I gladly accepted it.
I'm sure she's simply trying to do her best, but holding the hand of a maid is disrespectful.
However, that didn't matter to me. She was a very important person to me. She raised me in my parent's stead and taught me a lot about the world. She was one of the few people I found to be irreplaceable. Just like my sister, Elliot.
She looked a bit surprised, but her face turned into a gentle one soon after. A happy one.
I got out of bed and the first thing I did was look in the mirror.
"We're going to go see my sister." I told Lillia.
I undressed myself and she helped me by handing over new clothes to wear.
I looked in the mirror again and realized I needed to look the part of an older brother.
"Prepare some flowers for Ellie, and then we'll go see her."
Lillia nodded and quickly left the room.
I began breathing deeply and felt that my magic core was stable even though I had such a terrible nightmare. I coursed my magic throughout my body and reinforced it. I can't let my guard down at any time. There are people who want me dead.
As a magical genius-declared, I need to protect myself. My family is proud and believes that I will inherit the throne due to my varying aptitudes and magical prowess, but I don't want to be a king. More than that, I feel inadequate. I don't feel like a genius. It just feels like I'm walking a lonely path to a destination I don't want. It's a shuddering feeling.
While I was lost in thought, Lillia came back and had a small bouquet of pink flowers.
"Thank you."
I took the bouquet from her hands and we made our way to my sister's room. It was only a door over from my room, but since our rooms were pretty massive, the walk took about 15 seconds. I thought about what to say, but nothing good came to mind. I wanted to make sure she was okay.
When we arrived in front of the door, I knocked on it and she quickly opened the door before I knew it. Like she had known that I was coming.
"What do you need, Sel?" She looked annoyed, like I had disturbed her in the middle of doing something.
"I just wanted to come say hello."
I pushed the bouquet of flowers toward her and hoped that she would accept them, trying to smile gently.
She looked at me with a discerning eye and I couldn't help but feel sad at her next words.
"Why are you being so nice?"
She grabbed the flowers and held them to her chest happily. Even though she was suspicious of my actions, it didn't seem like she didn't like them.
"Do I need a reason to be nice to my little sister?"
We weren't particularly close and I wanted to change that. Especially after that vivid nightmare.
Ellie also had personal maid and she came out from behind her. Standing tall with her black hair and objectively cute features. While she wasn't bad looking, I didn't think she compared much with Lillia, who had light brown hair and black eyes.
She noticed my analyzing gaze and almost scoffed at me.
I would love to punish her for her behavior, but my sister wouldn't like that.
I looked back at my sister and decided to invite her to some tea. I'm sure we can get to know each other better that way.
"Would you like to accompany me to some tea in the garden?" I gestured politely with my hand.
She looked at me perplexingly and without responding, she went inside her room and put the flowers in an empty vase without water.
She came lightly skipping back to me and took my hand.
"Okay." She smiled brightly and I felt at ease.
We made our way to the garden and Lillia and Maya set up the tea table right away. They served us cookies and a few other treats along with the tea.
"Please leave."
I asked them nicely, and only Lillia followed my instructions. Maya, however, looked a little distraught. Like she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to leave me alone with Ellie.
"I said leave." I released a bit of magical power and scared her off.
"Sel, how did you do that? Can you teach me?"
She looked interested rather than upset.
"Of course. Give me your hand."
She reached out to me and I pressed both my hands on hers, sandwiching it.
"I'll first teach you how to sense magic."
I began absorbing the surrounding magic and lightly forced it into her hand, showing her what it feels like to feel magic.
"Woah."
She quickly grasped it and began absorbing magic on her own.
It surprised me and I couldn't help but be startled. It took me a few hours to adapt to magic power when I first learned.
She happily giggled.
"It feels funny."
"Yes, it is a peculiar sensation."
She continued to absorb it and then she stood up and ran toward a tree in the garden. I was curious as to what she was thinking, so I followed behind her. Only to see a small squirrel coming down. I was a bit frightened that it would jump on her and scratch her, but my worries were dispelled right away.
She reached for the squirrel and grabbed it by the neck with her tiny hands.
"Look, Sel, I caught it!"
She had used magic reinforcement to speed up her reactions and catch it.
I was surprised at first, but what came after was even more surprising.
She gripped it a little too tight and the squirrel's head popped and blood splattered everywhere.
She looked a bit stunned, but recovered soon after with a giggly smile.
"It's warm!"
She touched her face and felt the blood that got on her by tracing her fingers down her little white face. Her blond hair had also gotten dirty and her dress was dripping.
And I suddenly recalled the nightmare. Her hands being painted by human blood. Lillia's blood.
She dropped the squirrel on the floor and then bent down her knees, poking the dead squirrel.
"Why aren't you moving anymore?"
She looked confused and I didn't know what to do.
If my sister has a hobby of killing animals, could I accept it? I know some nobles in the kingdom have hunting hobbies and probably see it as normal to kill animals. If she's one of those people, should I just accept it as is?
"Sel, it's not moving anymore."
No. I can't just accept that. I have to guide her in the right direction. Even if that ominous nightmare came to be, I need to guide her as her older brother so she won't do things like that.
"That's because it's no longer alive."
I wasn't sure how I was going to explain this, but I had to try.
"When an animal dies, it can no longer move and it becomes unable to do anything."
"How do I make it move again?"
"You can't. It's life has ended and it will never come back."
"Oh."
She looked a little disappointed, but there was no sadness in her eyes or voice.
I wanted to change topics, so I quickly grabbed her by the armpits and picked her up.
"Let's get you cleaned up. You shouldn't dirty yourself with blood in the future, okay?"
"Okay!"
I was glad she was listening to me, but I was also a little worried.
Was I doing the right thing by not punishing her for killing a squirrel? Was it wrong to teach her about life and death so early on? While I was forced to learn it during my early studies, there's no reason why she should.
Lillia and Maya saw us and screamed in a panic.
"Are you okay, young master?" Lillia quickly came to her senses.
"Yes, we're fine. Please prepare a shower in my room and get some clothes for my sister to change into."
"I can't let you do that, young master." Maya spoke up with a shaky voice.
"I don't need your permission."
"It's my job to take care of the princess." She adamantly stood her ground and I got a bit annoyed.
"Get on your knees and apologize. You have until the count of three."
"One."
She started looking anxious.
"Two."
She still hadn't apologized.
"Three."
I summoned my magic and summoned lightning to push her down onto the ground. Her maid outfit was scorched and her back was burned black.
"Ellie, in the future, if she gives you any trouble, let me know."
Ellie looked happy and was smiling. Like she had enjoyed what I just did.
"I will!"
She proclaimed excitedly.
I left Maya on the floor and carried her over to my room. Lillia was shaking slightly as she walked toward the bathroom. I didn't have time to worry about her, so I simply took out a handkerchief and began whipping down Ellie.
"Remember, getting dirty is bad. You should stay clean at all times."
I cleaned her face and tried to remove the blood off her hair as well, but it was useless. I just made it worse by smudging it.
When Lillia came back, I ordered her to go get clothes from her room.
"Hop in the shower and clean yourself. I'll be waiting for you here and then we can keep practicing magic or play something."
"Okay."
I thought she'd be reluctant to clean herself, but it worked out for the better. I know at her age I was quite a hassle. Even though I'm only 10, I feel like Ellie's at the age to play and enjoy herself. Something I didn't have the chance to do. Since she's only 6, I will make sure to give her the childhood I couldn't have.
There's no reason for her to study and train every day like I did. She should enjoy herself and have fun.
Lillia came back and went into the bathroom to help Ellie shower.
I was worried that she took the life of an animal and didn't feel scared. Though I also didn't feel anything because I was used to seeing death, it was the first time for Ellie. Could that nightmare have been a type of warning? I couldn't help but think this way. It was all too sudden. Could my sister really be a demoness?
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