chapter 16: Aphrodite's past

Ethan returned to the academy and started training with Aphrodite. As they spent more time together, they began to feel more comfortable and shared more about themselves.

Ethan asked, "What about your parents? I've never seen them," which caused Aphrodite to look down with a pained expression on her face. Ethan reassured her, "If it's difficult for you, you don't have to tell me." With a compassionate look, Aphrodite finally spoke about her parents.

After a moment of silence, Aphrodite turned to Ethan and said, "No, it's okay. Actually, I remember very little. I was very young at the time, and I preferred to forget the memories I had... But I trust you, so I'll try to tell you." She took a deep breath and began her story.

Aphrodite was turning five today, so she was quite excited; she was finally growing up. Birthdays weren't usually celebrated in this world, but this time her mother wanted to prepare a nice dinner for her. Her siblings had bought her a gift. When the delicious smells wafted from the kitchen, Aphrodite dressed up nicely and went downstairs.

She saw her sister downstairs. "Aphrodite, I was just about to call you. Dinner's ready, wash your hands and come down," her sister said happily. After washing her hands, Aphrodite ran downstairs and headed to the dining table.

Her sister and brother were already there, while her mother was busy setting the table. Everyone smiled when they saw Aphrodite. She was the joy of this household, so sweet and adorable that she was spoiled by her family. Her brother said, "Little sister, come sit next to me," but her sister intervened, saying, "No, sit next to me."

Aphrodite looked at her sister and brother as if they were real children, and she sat between them. Then her mother finished setting the table and sat down. "Let's pray to thank the gods for this beautiful and peaceful family," she said happily, looking at her children. After their prayers, they started eating.

This family, chatting and joking with each other, seemed so peaceful from the outside that if people saw this scene, they would want to be born into this family in their next life. After finishing their meal, her brother and sister approached Aphrodite with gifts. Aphrodite was very surprised; a special dinner was already more than enough for her, but they had bought her gifts. Aphrodite's family wasn't wealthy, but they weren't poor either, especially her brother, who earned good money as an alchemist.

She opened her sister's gift first, finding the 'Prince and Lyvia' novel she had always wanted to read. She hugged her sister and thanked her. Then she opened her brother's gift, finding a small dagger inside. Her brother said, "This is to protect yourself because you're so sweet that I worry someone might kidnap you, little sister."

As Aphrodite examined the dagger, her mother scolded her brother, saying, "Why would you give such a thing to a child? It's dangerous; take it back." After a brief argument, her brother wanted to take the dagger back, but Aphrodite had already grown fond of it. Her brother said, "Little sister, I'll take this dagger for a while, and I'll give it back to you when you grow up into a young lady." Reluctantly, Aphrodite handed the dagger back.

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door, and a muffled voice yelled from outside, "Open the damn door, you idiots." Everyone except Aphrodite looked at each other with concern. Her sister turned to her brother and said, "You said you gave him the money and he wouldn't bother us again. Why is he here now?" Her brother replied, "I don't know; I gave him the money." Her mother was also worried, but before the neighbors started complaining, she headed towards the door to open it. "Mom, don't open the door; he seems drunk again, and we don't know what he'll do," Aphrodite said, but her mother replied, "If we don't open, the neighbors might be bothered. We just moved in, and I don't want to move again," and she opened the door.

There stood a middle-aged man, clearly drunk. "Why did you keep me waiting so long? Don't you respect your father anymore?" he yelled. "Come in, Robert; the neighbors will be upset," her mother said, pulling him in by the arm.

"Are the neighbors going to be upset with me? From miserable people like you, not me?" he said, laughing at the end. Aphrodite watched all this from a corner. Her mother said, "Shut up, Richard, and tell us what you want." Richard was Aphrodite's biological father, but she didn't know it.

Richard yelled at Aphrodite's mother, slapping her hard across the face. "Shut your mouth! Your tongue has grown longer since I left, you whore," he said, continuing to strike her. At the same time, he began to attack his brother, Robert, and the once peaceful atmosphere in the house turned into chaos. It was as if a demon had been disturbed by the previous tranquility and sought to disrupt it.

Aphrodite, meanwhile, watched everything silently from a corner. She couldn't move from her spot, even though she wanted to intervene and fend off this stranger. But she was just a five-year-old girl, and she had never been so scared in her life.

!! Robert drew a knife from his waist and, with the fearful gaze of his children upon him, stabbed his mother in the stomach. Everything happened within a few seconds. Their mother sank to the ground, clutching her abdomen as blood seeped through her fingers. Meanwhile, Aphrodite's brother plunged the dagger intended for Aphrodite into their father's throat as a gift for Aphrodite!!

These were the last things Aphrodite saw. Her small body had shut down on its own, and she had fainted from the intense emotions. When she woke up, everything was over, but she had lost so much that night. She found herself in the hospital with her sister. She would later learn that their mother had died, and the stranger who had attacked them had also died after being stabbed multiple times by her brother. Despite being right, her brother was still imprisoned by the guards for attacking a nobleman.

The man he killed was identified as their father, and being the second son of a baron, as a born noble. That was why her brother was arrested despite being in the right, because he attacked a nobleman. She had no one left except for her sister, who later decided to move to the capital together. This way, they could at least start afresh.

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Aphrodite recounted all of this through tears, and Ethan soon embraced her, feeling a sense of déjà vu. He had learned that this world wasn't all rosy; he had learned about the painful pasts of loved ones. In fact, this world was much darker. Aphrodite said, "Why us? Why did we have to go through all of this? Why... Why?" These words echoed Ethan's own thoughts from his previous life, so they felt familiar to him.

Ethan gently stroked her hair as he said, "You have every right to be angry, but it won't change anything. It'll only make you feel worse, Aphrodite." She pulled away and screamed, "What do you know? Have you ever suffered? Have you ever felt helpless? How could a prince like you understand?" She struck Ethan harshly with her words, because in a way, she was right. He had never cried since coming into this world, nor had he faced any real problems in his life.

Surprisingly, Aphrodite said, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean that. I just didn't know what I was saying." Her tears flowed even more. Ethan was taken aback by this response because, deep down, Aphrodite was right. Ethan continued to gaze at her in surprise, and Aphrodite broke the silence again, "I'm really sorry, Ethan... please." As she continued to cry, Ethan hugged her tightly. "You didn't say anything wrong. I'm the one who should apologize for speaking foolishly."

They stayed like that for a while before Ethan led Aphrodite to her room because she looked exhausted. After all that had happened, Ethan buried his head in his thoughts as he lay on his bed.