Twin Brother

Inside the room of the first and second young lords

a slim man around 5'2 with black hair and piercing black eyes could be seen sitting on a couch, engrossed in a book. He exuded an aura of maturity, as if he had lived for decades and accumulated knowledge beyond his years.

On the other side of the spacious room, a bulky and muscular man with matching black hair and eyes was busy doing pushups. His body glistened with sweat, and it was evident that he had already completed a staggering 500 pushups.

"601," the muscular man grunted, continuing with his rigorous exercise routine without missing a beat.

The slender man lifted his gaze from his book, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Lucas, I have told you hundreds of times not to exercise inside the room. If you want to train, go to the training hall," he chided, his voice laced with irritation.

"Why should I?" Lucas retorted, standing up and wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

"You stink," the other man, whose name was Tristan, quipped while holding his nose.

"Tristan!" Lucas shouted angrily, feeling insulted by the remark.

"I mean, your sweat stinks," Tristan clarified, gesturing with his hands to cool down the situation.

"Oh, you mean that," Lucas said sheepishly, his voice softening. "I'm sorry. I overreacted. I thought you were disrespecting me."

"Don't worry," Tristan reassured him with a friendly smile, diffusing the tension in the room.

Knock.. knock..

"Come in," replied Tristan, turning his attention to the door to see who it was.

As the door opened, two people entered the room. One was a small girl with black eyes, black hair tied up in two ponytails on either side of her head, and the other was a mature woman around 40 years old with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Mummy and Ava, what a pleasant surprise," exclaimed Tristan, getting up from the couch and moving towards the door.

"Ava, Mummy, how are you?" said Lucas, following Tristan's lead.

"Please, Mummy, have a seat," Tristan continued, but he was cut short as his mother hugged him tightly. He was surprised by the sudden gesture but hugged her back tightly.

"Mummy, I'm fine. The training isn't that hard," Tristan said, as his mother finally released him and moved towards Lucas to hug him as well. But as she moved closer, Lucas stopped her and said, "Mummy, I was doing warm-up exercises, and I'm covered in sweat. It wouldn't be pleasant to hug in this condition," stepping back.

"Don't worry, Lucas," his mother replied and hugged him anyway, though due to the difference in size, she was unable to hug him properly.

Lucas also hugged her, but it looked like a giant hugging a small girl.

"How are you, Ava?" Tristan asked, looking at the small girl who was hiding behind her mother.

"I'm good," replied Ava, hesitantly.

"Seriously, what did you do to her? Why is she so afraid of you?" Lucas asked, noticing how Ava was hiding behind her mother because of Tristan.

"I didn't do anything," Tristan replied, looking at Lucas.

"She's just shy," Tristan's mother explained.

"But why isn't she afraid of me?" Lucas asked, pointing to himself.

"Maybe she doesn't think you're human," Tristan joked.

"But I am," Lucas retorted, looking at Ava, who was still hiding behind her mother.

"Stop it, Lucas can you show Ava your room while I talk with Tristan," said Tristan's mother as she moved towards Tristan.

"Of course, Mummy. Ava, let me show you how I can do push-ups with one finger," said Lucas, taking Ava to the other corner of the room.

"Please, Mummy, take a seat," said Tristan. He knew that now was the time to have a serious talk.

"I just came to meet you and remind you that Asher will be out in a year or so. You don't forget your promise," said the woman, looking straight into Tristan's eyes.

"Yes, Mummy, I told you not to worry about Asher. He is my brother, and I will take care of him even if he has weak ability. I will convince Dad so he will not send him away, but..." Tristan paused for a second and looked at Ava, who was watching Lucas doing push-ups with one finger. He continued, "I am more worried about Ava. She is not very smart, and we don't know about her ability. When she turns four, she will also be restricted from meeting any of us, and I don't think I can ask for anything more from dad after I make Asher stay in the house."

Tristan's sentence made his mother even more nervous about the future. When he looked at his mother's expression, he said, "Don't worry, Mummy, maybe Asher has a powerful ability." Tristan's attempt worked as his mother softened her expression, and she said, "Thank you. Now, I will take my leave. My time is up," as she stood up from the couch.

"Ava, let's go," the woman said, moving toward the other end.

"Okay," said the little girl as she followed her mother.

"I am human, okay?" said Lucas, looking at Ava, which made everyone expect Lucas to have a different expression. Tristan had a regretful expression as he regretted the joke, and Ava had a confused face, while her mother had a small smile.

...

"Lucas, do you remember our promise?" asked Tristan, looking into Lucas's eyes with a serious expression.

"Yes, yes, we will become stronger than our father and overthrow him," said Lucas as he remembered the only promise they had made.

"But remember not to say that outside this room. You know that we have shadow guards around us all the time, except inside our room," reminded Tristan to Lucas. Shadow guards are people who live in the shadows and are used to protect and monitor the person they are assigned to. They switch them with the assigned person when the person is in danger. Every important person has one or two shadow guards with them.

"I will become stronger than him," said Lucas, clenching his fist.