"Brandon!"
Belle's muffled voice rang from the other side of the room.
And as for Brandon…
"Haa… H-haa…"
Waking up around 5:00 AM, he picked up on his curse affinity progress.
Drip. Drip.
He was drenched in sweat while the floor was splattered with dry blood droplets
But…
"Haaa… Yes…"
He had finally made significant progress.
Materializing from his fingertip, the thread continued to extend further
One centiter…
Ten centiters…
Two ters…
Until the thread coiled around like a snake.
He had successfully manipulated a single thread.
It took him a total of three hours.
But after getting used to the pain and the way mana works with the [Curse] affinity, the bleeding had stopped.
For one finger that is.
And for the other finger…
Drip. Drip…!
One centiter.
"..."
He was used to the pain by now.
No more grunting.
Just like that, the threads cut off.
Two threads were all he was capable of currently.
"H-haaa…."
"Brandon!"
"...Yes?"
"You ready?"
Ah.
Occupied by the threads, he hadn't realized that a lot of ti had passed.
So…
"...No."
"Hurry up. The driver will arrive in thirty minutes."
"Got it."
Just like that, Brandon cleaned up the blood stains before swiftly heading to the bathroom.
Twist–
Twisting the faucet, the cold water poured down on his entire figure.
And the ti spent for showering…
Was another ti for training.
Brandon had recently realized that wherever he went, trouble would always follow.
He was a calamity magnet.
And every free ti he would get was an opportunity to train.
Therefore…
——!
Threads started looming around once again.
Drip. Drip…!
And blood had started dripping. But would wash away along with the water.
***
Stepping outside the gate, a black car was parked outside, and a man adorning a suit stood beside it.
'A butler?'
That seed to be the case.
"Lady Belle, Sir Brandon, good morning."
Greeting them, the man walked towards them and picked up their bags.
"Good morning to you as well, Alfred."
Adorned in casual clothing, Belle's sweet voice greeted the butler.
"Good morning… Alfred."
Skeptically, Brandon followed Belle's flow.
After placing their bags in the car's trunk, Alfred motioned to open the door.
Nodding, Belle entered the car's backseat.
"Thank you."
As well as Brandon, who nodded with a smile.
That being said, the car drove off.
Apparently, their ho was quite far.
The city of Avenie. A city that was about a six hour drive from the main capital.
In the middle of the road trip, Brandon had fallen asleep. Leaning his head on his sister's shoulders, Belle gave him a warm smile.
"The Young Master seems tired."
Glancing behind while driving, Alfred spoke up.
"I'm glad to see the two of you are still close, Lady Belle."
"Mhm."
Belle responded with a soft hum.
"He's experienced quite a lot in the past two months."
"Is that so…? The Young Master was always a curious scholar."
"Scholar?"
It was quite the news to Belle.
She had never known just what Brandon was up to in the past few years they were apart.
"That's right. The Young Master would always dive into magic research, back when he was still living in the mansion."
"Oh… That's quite surprising."
Belle was taken aback.
Brandon was already strong. And the fact that he was apparently good in his studies was quite a shocker for her.
News of Brandon's performance in the Academy had yet to reach their family.
Which is why the next set of words that left Belle's mouth shocked Alfred.
"He's the top performing student in his year. The sa rank as ."
"Is that true?! Then the Lord and Mada would be delighted by the good news."
Huh?
Sothing caught Belle's attention.
If Brandon was that strong, then shouldn't their parents already know about it?
'Was he…'
She glanced at Brandon, who was sleeping deeply on her shoulders.
Just the sight of him made Belle dismiss her thoughts.
Right.
'If Brandon hid his abilities, then it must be for a reason.'
And Belle respected whatever his secrets were.
But just as she was about to let go of the matter…
"..."
She felt a trickling wet sensation on her shoulders.
"..."
Is he…
He was.
"Uh…"
Grabbing a tissue, Belle slightly lifted Brandon's head up and wiped his drool off her shoulders.
Sure, it was her blood related sibling.
But Belle was a clean freak.
Laying his head back on her shoulder, Belle looked outside the window to view the scenery.
Lushes of greenery entered her peripheral view.
The vast expanse of the forest filled the entire surroundings. Mountains that peaked at the sky had started coming into view from the front.
It was a familiar sight.
And Belle was nostalgic about it.
Truly, Avenie was her ho.
No, it was their ho.
"..."
She was snapped out of her thoughts as yet again…
Brandon was drooling on her shoulders.
"..."
***
—4:00 PM
Wiping the drool off his mouth, Brandon stepped outside the car.
Doing so, a large gate stood tall to block their path.
"Welco ho! Young Masters!"
And the guards stood by both ends of the gate greeted them at their arrival.
"Mhm."
"..."
Belle nodded with a smile, as Brandon was utterly speechless.
What kind of…
It was now apparent to him that the Locke family was in fact even wealthier than he thought.
There were certain tis when Brandon was jolted awake during the road trip.
And overhearing Belle and Alfred's conversation, he had found out that the city that the Locke family resided in was called Avenie.
Avenie…
It was unfamiliar to him.
Just what kind of city was Avenie.
And,
What kind of family were the Lockes?
Entering the estate, a cobble stone path welcod them. Bushes that were symtrically cut stood at the mansion's sides.
It was a beautiful path.
Looking ahead, maids stood by the large door, waiting for them.
"Welco ho, Young Masters!"
The sa line greeted them.
And Belle gave the sa response as well.
"Mhm."
"..."
And also Brandon, who was still flabbergasted by the entire thing.
Creaaak…
As the large door opened, a woman with strikingly similar features to Belle, stood with a smile.
Beside her was a tall man with a bulky fra. With jet-black hair, and hazel eyes. He stood with regal, and exuded an air of authority.
Brandon tried to recall their nas as abruptly as he could.
'Brianna Locke, and Omar Locke.'
If he recalled correctly, then there would be no problems.
Not like it mattered. He could just call them Mom and Dad.
Smiling, Brianna greeted them with a hug.
"Welco ho, you two must be tired."
As those words left her mouth, the two returned her embrace with a warm hug of their own.
On the other hand, Omar stood silent as he stared at Brandon with an intimidating gaze.
"..."
"...Here he cos."
Stepping to the side, Belle's voice reached Brandon's ears.
What is she…
"My Boy!"
Omar imdiately made way towards Brandon and lifted him up.
"How have you been?"
"..."
"Did they do anything to you in the Academy!?"
His ecstatic voice soon lowered down as his brows furrowed.
"What's wrong?! Why aren't you saying anything? They did, didn't they?"
"...No, nothing happened."
Skeptically raising his brow, Omar turned his head to look at Belle, who was gradually fading away.
"Nothing happened?"
"Nope."
Belle shook her head.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Omar lowered Brandon.
Locking his gaze with Belle, the bulky man rushed towards her with his arms wide open.
"Ukeh!"
But before he could, a gust of wind blew on his leg and tripped him.
As Brandon turned to look at Belle, her arm was raised, pointing at Omar.
"..."
This…
What kind of family was this?
"No, Dad. We're not kids anymore."
"I just wanted to hug my children…."
Belle shook her head with a frown, as Omar laid on the floor as if he was crying.
What sort of…?
Stepping over Omar, Brianna alternated between Brandon and Belle.
Smiling, her lips parted open.
"After the two of you have settled, let's have a family dinner tonight."
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