“Can I take back my words?” Misa asked me not even a minute after our dance began.
“I told you, didn’t I? I am not good at dancing.” I replied awkwardly, as our feet collided again.
"Aren't you the son of one of the largest Guild's Head? I am surprised you never received education on dancing."
"I mean I did..."
'Well, technically, Ray did. Though it probably won't have helped much.' Even in my previous life, I had two left feet. My nickname among my friends was 'Twinkle Toes'. A metaphorical tear escaped my eyes, as the memories of my dark past resurfaced.
"Should I include dance lessons in our training?" Misa joked.
"Please don't!" I sighed.
Once the song ended, we decided to head for the bar.
The bartender handed us two champagne glasses.
Thick fruity essence wafted into the air, I felt I could have gone drunk just from the smell. The amber-coloured drink in the tall glass was so sweet, I thought I was drinking honey.
‘Oh! My! God! Money is amazing! I have never had such fine wine before.’
“Hmm. This is pretty good!” Misa commented beside me. “But it's not as good as Fairy Fizz.”
“Fairy Fizz?” I asked her, out of curiosity. What possible wine can be better than the one we were having right now?
“Yeah. There is this Dungeon near Aquilo City, called Jungle Bungle. The fruits harvested there taste heavenly. And the wine made from their grapes is out-of-the-world.” Misa closed her eyes as she reminisced about old times.
“I was fortunate enough to drink some at my brother's birthday party. When the bottle was uncorked, the entire room was filled with a sweet smell. And the taste. It can only be called the nectar of gods.”
I quickly closed my mouth before the droll could escape. “I will have to get my hands on a bottle, then.”
Misa shook her head. “The grape harvest is very low. Only about 5,000 bottles are made every year. It will be very hard to get your hands on a bottle.”
“Hmm. It’s really rare, huh?”
While we drank a cocktail, out of the corner of my eye I noticed two women leaving the ballroom.
“Misa, I will be back in a minute.” I placed my glass on the table, following the two.
‘Slap!’ A loud noise met my ears as I entered the empty back garden.
“How dare you embarrass me at this party by wearing such vulgar clothes.” Liliana was yelling at Izzy in a corner of the garden.
“Right now with all the rumours floating around about the Guild, this is our chance to make up for it. Yet you insist on making a spectacle out of yourself." Liliana's face had turned red in fury. "Due you know, because of these thoughtless actions of yours, it is costing me my position in the Guild.”
She raised her hand again, ready to slap Izzy.
"Mother!" I intervened, quickly intercepting her hand before it could strike Izzy's face.
Liliana turned to face me. “Ray? What are you doing here?”
“I came to look for you, Mother.” I lied. "There seems to be some problem involving the management. The manager asked me to come and get you."
“Huh? This party has just started, and I can't believe you people are already ruining it.” She looked at me in disdain. Finally, she turned back to Izzy.
“Either leave the party or go get changed into something decent.” She chastised her heading back to the hall.
Izzy looked at her mother with apathetic eyes, as Liliana’s silhouette disappeared into the building.
“You shouldn’t have lied for my sake. You will get into trouble” She spoke to me, still keeping an eye out for whether Liliana would come back to resume her criticism.
“I don’t think you should be worried for me.” I held her chin, facing her head towards me. A long scratch travelled along the lengths of her cheek, possibly made from one of the rings Liliana was wearing. Blood was still oozing out.
I took out a Healing Potion from my ring and trickled a few drops down on her face. Izzy flinched at the sting, as the Potion repaired the tear.
“Does she do that to you a lot?” I asked her.
In Ray’s memories, Liliana criticised her children over every little thing, but she had never once become physical with them.
“Usually, not that much. It’s increased recently. She’s under a lot of pressure now that her influence among the executives is declining.” Izzy explained, checking her cheek on her smartwatch's camera. “Good for her, I say. Maybe this will knock her off her high horse.”
She turned to me. “But I must say, I am surprised you talked back to her. You usually never do.”
“I am your brother. Of course, I will help you if you are in trouble.”
“Is that so?” Her gaze at me was filled with suspicion.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Your position in the house isn’t that much better, you know." I could see the sadness in her eyes.
"And then you went and locked yourself away in your lab, so chances to meet were limited. I didn’t want to ruin our little time together by complaining about her."
"I would have still helped you if you asked me." Ray would have surely stopped his research if he found out what his sister was going through in the house.
"You know, when you ran away to the Academy, I was really happy. I thought it was for the best. At least one of us finally got out of this wretched place.”
“You don't need to stay here either, you know. You can come and stay with me.”
Izzy just shook her head at my suggestion. “Nah. Mom might have let you go, but she will never let me leave her. Her position within the Guild is shaking. She is probably going to get me engaged to the heir of some other Guild and then leech off of them.”
“Engaged? You aren’t even 17 yet!” I was horrified, more so at the fact that a teenager was talking about it in such a serious tone.
“I doubt age is something that can stop her.” She sighed. Her eyes looked like she had already accepted her fate, different from the vigour they displayed when she first greeted me at the party.
In my previous world, I had a sister much like Izzy. Full of passion, energy, and tomboyishness. I could never even imagine her going through something like this.
“It's not that late! Should I help you out now?” I asked her. I was planning to ditch this family ever since I found myself in this world. There was no reason, I couldn't help her either.
“Huh?”
“I will help you out if you want me to!” I said it to her again.
“I do want you to help me, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do.” She eyes me doubtfully. "Mom will never let me leave willingly."
“You just leave that matter to me.” I patted her head.
“Don’t touch my hair.” She dodged my hand. I extended my hand even more and messed it up.
As she fixed her hair, a small voice left her lips. "Thank you! You know, I wanted to ask you for help before, but I didn't want to add to your burden."
I again messed up her hair. "What was that for?" Izzy pouted at me."
"Big brothers are supposed to help their little siblings. If you get into any trouble, just tell me. I will do everything to help."
A smile broke out on her face. I could see the excitement returning in her eyes, that had been sucked away by Liliana.
“Let’s head back to the party for now. And stick with me so that Mother can’t scold you again.”
"If I stick with you, will you let me meet your girlfriend?" A mischievous sneer appeared on her lips.
"She is not my GIRLFRIEND!" I pounced at her, ready to shut her mouth but Izzy sidestepped me.
"Oh, and, I will definitely leave if you guys head to the bedroom..." Izzy eyes twinkled like a cat's.
I just sighed in defeat. 'I want a little brother next time.' A silent prayer left my desperate body.
“Can I take back my words?” Misa asked me not even a minute after our dance began.
“I told you, didn’t I? I am not good at dancing.” I replied awkwardly, as our feet collided again.
"Aren't you the son of one of the largest Guild's Head? I am surprised you never received education on dancing."
"I mean I did..."
'Well, technically, Ray did. Though it probably won't have helped much.' Even in my previous life, I had two left feet. My nickname among my friends was 'Twinkle Toes'. A metaphorical tear escaped my eyes, as the memories of my dark past resurfaced.
"Should I include dance lessons in our training?" Misa joked.
"Please don't!" I sighed.
Once the song ended, we decided to head for the bar.
The bartender handed us two champagne glasses.
Thick fruity essence wafted into the air, I felt I could have gone drunk just from the smell. The amber-coloured drink in the tall glass was so sweet, I thought I was drinking honey.
‘Oh! My! God! Money is amazing! I have never had such fine wine before.’
“Hmm. This is pretty good!” Misa commented beside me. “But it's not as good as Fairy Fizz.”
“Fairy Fizz?” I asked her, out of curiosity. What possible wine can be better than the one we were having right now?
“Yeah. There is this Dungeon near Aquilo City, called Jungle Bungle. The fruits harvested there taste heavenly. And the wine made from their grapes is out-of-the-world.” Misa closed her eyes as she reminisced about old times.
“I was fortunate enough to drink some at my brother's birthday party. When the bottle was uncorked, the entire room was filled with a sweet smell. And the taste. It can only be called the nectar of gods.”
I quickly closed my mouth before the droll could escape. “I will have to get my hands on a bottle, then.”
Misa shook her head. “The grape harvest is very low. Only about 5,000 bottles are made every year. It will be very hard to get your hands on a bottle.”
“Hmm. It’s really rare, huh?”
While we drank a cocktail, out of the corner of my eye I noticed two women leaving the ballroom.
“Misa, I will be back in a minute.” I placed my glass on the table, following the two.
‘Slap!’ A loud noise met my ears as I entered the empty back garden.
“How dare you embarrass me at this party by wearing such vulgar clothes.” Liliana was yelling at Izzy in a corner of the garden.
“Right now with all the rumours floating around about the Guild, this is our chance to make up for it. Yet you insist on making a spectacle out of yourself." Liliana's face had turned red in fury. "Due you know, because of these thoughtless actions of yours, it is costing me my position in the Guild.”
She raised her hand again, ready to slap Izzy.
"Mother!" I intervened, quickly intercepting her hand before it could strike Izzy's face.
Liliana turned to face me. “Ray? What are you doing here?”
“I came to look for you, Mother.” I lied. "There seems to be some problem involving the management. The manager asked me to come and get you."
“Huh? This party has just started, and I can't believe you people are already ruining it.” She looked at me in disdain. Finally, she turned back to Izzy.
“Either leave the party or go get changed into something decent.” She chastised her heading back to the hall.
Izzy looked at her mother with apathetic eyes, as Liliana’s silhouette disappeared into the building.
“You shouldn’t have lied for my sake. You will get into trouble” She spoke to me, still keeping an eye out for whether Liliana would come back to resume her criticism.
“I don’t think you should be worried for me.” I held her chin, facing her head towards me. A long scratch travelled along the lengths of her cheek, possibly made from one of the rings Liliana was wearing. Blood was still oozing out.
I took out a Healing Potion from my ring and trickled a few drops down on her face. Izzy flinched at the sting, as the Potion repaired the tear.
“Does she do that to you a lot?” I asked her.
In Ray’s memories, Liliana criticised her children over every little thing, but she had never once become physical with them.
“Usually, not that much. It’s increased recently. She’s under a lot of pressure now that her influence among the executives is declining.” Izzy explained, checking her cheek on her smartwatch's camera. “Good for her, I say. Maybe this will knock her off her high horse.”
She turned to me. “But I must say, I am surprised you talked back to her. You usually never do.”
“I am your brother. Of course, I will help you if you are in trouble.”
“Is that so?” Her gaze at me was filled with suspicion.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Your position in the house isn’t that much better, you know." I could see the sadness in her eyes.
"And then you went and locked yourself away in your lab, so chances to meet were limited. I didn’t want to ruin our little time together by complaining about her."
"I would have still helped you if you asked me." Ray would have surely stopped his research if he found out what his sister was going through in the house.
"You know, when you ran away to the Academy, I was really happy. I thought it was for the best. At least one of us finally got out of this wretched place.”
“You don't need to stay here either, you know. You can come and stay with me.”
Izzy just shook her head at my suggestion. “Nah. Mom might have let you go, but she will never let me leave her. Her position within the Guild is shaking. She is probably going to get me engaged to the heir of some other Guild and then leech off of them.”
“Engaged? You aren’t even 17 yet!” I was horrified, more so at the fact that a teenager was talking about it in such a serious tone.
“I doubt age is something that can stop her.” She sighed. Her eyes looked like she had already accepted her fate, different from the vigour they displayed when she first greeted me at the party.
In my previous world, I had a sister much like Izzy. Full of passion, energy, and tomboyishness. I could never even imagine her going through something like this.
“It's not that late! Should I help you out now?” I asked her. I was planning to ditch this family ever since I found myself in this world. There was no reason, I couldn't help her either.
“Huh?”
“I will help you out if you want me to!” I said it to her again.
“I do want you to help me, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do.” She eyes me doubtfully. "Mom will never let me leave willingly."
“You just leave that matter to me.” I patted her head.
“Don’t touch my hair.” She dodged my hand. I extended my hand even more and messed it up.
As she fixed her hair, a small voice left her lips. "Thank you! You know, I wanted to ask you for help before, but I didn't want to add to your burden."
I again messed up her hair. "What was that for?" Izzy pouted at me."
"Big brothers are supposed to help their little siblings. If you get into any trouble, just tell me. I will do everything to help."
A smile broke out on her face. I could see the excitement returning in her eyes, that had been sucked away by Liliana.
“Let’s head back to the party for now. And stick with me so that Mother can’t scold you again.”
"If I stick with you, will you let me meet your girlfriend?" A mischievous sneer appeared on her lips.
"She is not my GIRLFRIEND!" I pounced at her, ready to shut her mouth but Izzy sidestepped me.
"Oh, and, I will definitely leave if you guys head to the bedroom..." Izzy eyes twinkled like a cat's.
I just sighed in defeat. 'I want a little brother next time.' A silent prayer left my desperate body.
