Theo moved through the corridors. When so of the knights spotted him and the mantis, they tried to stay in the sa place, unsure whether to react. In the dim light, the mantis’s presence felt even more ominous.
They kept moving forward until Theo had reached the training grounds.
There, he saw Lucien fighting as if his life were on the line, yet there was no opponent before him. Lucien kept stabbing through the air with strikes that were calm, each movent carrying an explosive strength.
As Theo stepped forward, he noticed, before even shifting his weight, that he was going to step on a wooden stick. He adjusted instantly, realizing just how much his spatial awareness had helped him in staying discreet.
Once inside, Theo moved to the side while silently observing the training.
For five full minutes, Lucien kept going with the sa relentless pace, and only when he finally stopped and looked up in exhaustion did Theo begin to clap.
Lucien turned to the side in surprise, only to see his brother. By then, Theo had already dismissed the mantis into his beast space to have a proper conversation.
"...Theo," Lucien said, a flood of emotions crossing his face.
But the strongest among them was relief.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked, securing his sword into the small knot he had tied around the waist so that it would stay there without a hilt.
"I am feeling really good, elder brother. Exhausted, but good," Theo replied slowly and smiled.
Lucien nodded, and silence stretched between them for a long ti.
"I apologize for the inconvenience for this whole month..." Theo said at last, breaking the silence.
Lucien simply looked at him.
"...I told Father not to let you do it," he said, as if the thought had been sitting in his mind for a long ti.
"He shouldn’t encourage such dangerous acts... the kind you always get into." He continued making Theo sigh and nod in response.
Another silence followed. This ti, Lucien took a deep breath and stepped closer, sitting beside him.
"I will get straight to the point, Theo," Lucien said, looking up at the stars.
Theo followed his gaze. For so reason, the night sky looked especially beautiful; it felt like sothing he hadn’t truly seen in ages, even though it had always been there.
"Why are you pushing yourself this far?" Lucien asked.
"..."
Another stretch of silence followed.
"At first, it felt like you were doing it because of your unique affinity," Lucien continued. "I was proud of you for pushing yourself like that and trying to do so much. I thought it would be good for your future."
"But sowhere along the way... you got to the point where..." He paused. "I think you are stronger than even now, the second heir..."
Lucien continued, and eventually his words began to sound more like a quiet rant, but then his tone steadied as he ca back to his senses.
"I can’t help but feel like you are chasing a bigger goal, much bigger than just your unique affinity, Theo," he said, turning to look at him.
"Would you mind telling what that is?" Lucien asked.
Theo kept staring at the sky.
’Why am I doing it, huh...?’ Theo thought for a few seconds.
For a few seconds, he found that there was no clear answer to the question in his heart.
"Yes... at first, I was doing it because I considered my affinity to be weak," he said slowly, thinking.
"Along the way, I already realized that I was already doing great for my age. But there was always that one thing everyone kept saying..."
He paused, then quoted it.
"You are stronger than others your age but still average compared to adults..."
Lucien looked at him quietly, his expression unreadable.
"That irritated , elder brother," Theo continued. "I am not trying to compete with the people who are my age. I am trying to compete with those who will grow up and surpass naturally... at least, that’s how I see it..."
Theo kept saying out loud.
It almost felt like he was exploring himself.
"What about now? What do you feel?" Lucien asked.
For the first ti since the conversation began, Theo looked at the guy.
"I don’t know," he admitted out loud, making Lucien sigh and glance away again.
"I have so much going on inside , but everything is just at the... beginner level. I feel like I am only at the beginning."
Theo continued thinking, while Lucien studied the sibling he had once considered as a lesser competition, who now soone had transford into soone Lucien was doing his best to not get surpassed by.
"...What’s your take on the head seat now that you’re older?" Lucien asked out of nowhere.
Theo took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall behind him.
"You don’t need to worry about that, elder brother. I have no interest in taking the seat under any circumstances, especially since I already know your plans." He spoke with a small smile, making Lucien chuckle.
"Plans..." Lucien’s gaze drifted into the distance.
"I am still lacking in many things. The plans I told you before were just a childish dream spoken out of passion." Bitterness flickered in his eyes, the ones he couldn’t hide.
"If I want to get those plans working, I will have to work hard. Harder than anyone else."
His gaze returned to Theo.
Theo sighed again.
’The relationship between us has turned bitter ever since I gained so things... This sibling rivalry is getting out of hand.’
Theo stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.
"If you’re strong enough to represent the rrick barony in the future, elder brother, I won’t take the seat. I don’t want to fight you."
He stretched lazily before continuing.
"What I am doing now is for the family... I want to say that... but that would be half the truth."
"I want to see what the world out there has. And I can’t do that from a noble seat."
He t Lucien’s gaze again.
"So, I want you to take that seat and lead our family to greatness, while I live my life freely. Does that work for you?"
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