Chapter 23: Are you capable of killing your brothers?

Chapter 23: Are you capable of killing your brothers? Kael looked at his sister for a moment before saying calmly: "After I clean the blood off." Lyra nodded calmly. There were traces of concern in her eyes; she turned around and, before leaving, said: "I’ll be in your room in about five minutes." Kael remained silent, watching his sister’s back as she slowly walked away. His sister, Lyra, was a quite unusual figure within the Medici Clan, where ambitious people abounded. Despite having S-rank talent, she had given up the fight to become the next clan leader. In addition, she was Zephyr’s favorite daughter, for although she had abandoned the succession struggle, she continued to be favored by both the elders and the clan chief himself. With the clan’s support, she reached rank 6 in her mana core and was a six-star knight. For this reason, few people within the clan could stand up to her: only the elders and the chief himself. What could that woman want to talk to me about? Kael looked away and headed for his room to wash off all the blood. After walking for a few minutes through the corridors of the mansion, he arrived at his room, where Lydia and Eren were waiting for him at the door. "Young master, your bath is ready," said Lydia, curtsying and opening the door to the room. "Son!" A woman’s voice rang out. Kael turned and saw his mother running toward him. Alessia hugged her son tightly, as if she feared he would disappear if she let go for even a second. She didn’t care about getting blood on herself; she just wanted to make sure Kael was okay. "Son, are you okay? Is it true that the orphanage was destroyed?" Alessia asked, looking into Kael’s dark eyes with concern. Then she felt a gaze and saw a young man who had eyes similar to her son’s. "Son, who is that young man?" Kael sighed, looking at his mother for a moment. "I’m fine, the blood isn’t mine, and the young man is my new servant, Eren." After the brief introduction, Eren nodded, maintaining his indifferent expression and saying not a single word. Kael, without saying another word, entered his room and went straight to the bathroom. After washing all the blood off his body, he sat down in the bathtub. He opened his status window and was about to use his stat points, but not in the same way he had the first time. Kael Medici Title: Strayed Demon. Talent: SSS. Mana Core: Awakened. Rank: 9 Knight Rank: 9 Stars Magician: 1st Circle Traits: Refinement (A), Swordsmanship (A) Melee (S), Tamer (C)... Strength: 33 + Endurance: 31+ Agility: 31 + Vitality: 60 + Mana Capacity: 97% Stat points: 119 Kael calmly looked at his profile. His sister would arrive in a few minutes, but it was enough time to improve some of his stats. Although he already knew how he was going to distribute his stat points. However, on second thought, he decided to increase only one, because a massive improvement in stats would cause his body to change, and he didn’t have much time. So Kael looked at the "+" and clicked several times until the stat points were reduced by twenty and Vitality increased by the same number. The 119 stat points were reduced to 99. [+20 in Vitality] Kael felt a surge of energy fill his body, causing him to let out an involuntary moan. The sensation he felt was too addictive, like drinking the best wine in the world or tasting his mother’s favorite dish, but he quickly regained control. His expression hardened until the effect of the improvement gradually diminished and disappeared completely. He looked at his status window, especially his vitality statistic, which had gone from 60 to 80. After looking at the improvement, he closed his profile. Kael got out of the bathtub and changed into something simple. Knock, knock, knock. The soft sound of the door was heard, and Kael said, "Come in." The door opened with a slight creak of the hinges, and his sister Lyra Medici entered: red hair, ruby-colored eyes, dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and boots of the same color. Lyra looked around the room before sitting down in the desk chair and observing her younger brother, now that he was no longer covered in blood and wearing those strange black clothes. "Sister, what did you want to talk about?" Kael got straight to the point; he didn’t want to beat around the bush. Lyra, seeing Kael’s attitude, quickly understood what was going on: her brother believed she had come with other intentions, when in reality, she was just concerned. She couldn’t help but feel sad. How is it that this family is so rotten when we are all of the same blood? She couldn’t help but sigh sadly in her heart. For that very reason, she had decided to abandon the competition for succession. She couldn’t kill her brothers just to sit on a throne stained with blood. "Kael, I come with no hidden agenda. I just wanted to talk to you," said Lyra, looking at him with serious eyes that revealed some sadness. Kael’s eyes narrowed for a brief moment. He was a little surprised; since he had never interacted with her in his past life, he didn’t know what her personality was like. But with these few words and gestures, he quickly understood what she was like. So she is someone who values family ties very much... but she was born into the wrong family and the wrong kingdom. Kael thought, laughing coldly to himself at how ironic life was. If my sister had been born in the Kingdom of León, where family ties are valued more than strength... Although it’s the same in the Kingdom of Aragón, it’s different in the Medici Clan: here, power is valued more. Kael crossed his legs on the bed. He looked at his sister calmly. "What do you want to talk about, sister? If I remember correctly, this is the first time we’ve been like this... isn’t it?" Lyra clasped her hands in front of her, as if seeking strength in that gesture. Her voice was soft but heavy with gravity: "Before we begin... I need to ask you a question." A moment of silence fell between them. Kael watched her silently, as if he already knew the question, as if every passing second only confirmed his suspicion. "Are you capable of killing your brothers?" "Yes." Kael did not hesitate. Lyra lowered her gaze. The tremor in her lips lasted barely a second: "Why? Are they your brothers? We all have the same blood running through our veins." "Blood? Brothers?" Kael laughed coldly; his tone was sharp, contemptuous. "I’m not as naive as you, Lyra. Should I stand idly by just because we share a surname, when they wouldn’t hesitate to finish me off?" Lyra swallowed hard. She wanted to reply, but there were no words that could repair what had been damaged. Her voice, when she spoke again, was more measured. "I didn’t come here to discuss that. I just wanted to know... How are you? How’s your training going? I heard you’re walking the three paths: aura, magic, and Zu." "Fine," Kael replied briefly. Silence returned, but this time it wasn’t tense. It was heavy. Lyra sighed deeply and continued asking questions. Kael responded briefly. As time passed quickly, night fell. When Lyra left, Kael said nothing more. He just stared at the ceiling, silently. How curious. She wants to talk about family, while the rest of the clan only knows how to betray and backstab. Perhaps... that is also a form of madness.