Velheimort Forest (1)

April 29th (late evening), 1432

Lucius sat in the luxurious armchair of his study, wearily rubbing his eyes. His long, jet-black hair, tied in a ponytail, hung down, highlighting his exhaustion.

The last four days had been especially difficult. What weighed on him most was discovering that Raphael wielded ice magic.

For the family, especially the elders, ice magic was sacrilege. More accurately, any element other than fire was unacceptable for the Ehrhart lineage. These archaic traditions slowed the family's progress, leading only to stagnation. Lucius understood this well and knew that Raphael's affinity for ice would be a serious issue in the future.

"If little brother learns to control ice properly, it'll become his strongest trump card," he thought, a grim smile playing on his lips.

Raphael was smarter than their other brothers, and Lucius was certain the youngest would succeed, but that terrified him. If Raphael mastered ice magic, he could become a contender for the position of Legate—a role Lucius could not afford to let him claim.

Thus, despite his personal beliefs and disagreements with the elders, he had already made arrangements with the Circle to begin a campaign to discredit his younger brother. By manipulating public opinion and pressuring the elders, servants, and even their siblings, Lucius hoped to halt Raphael's meteoric rise, which was frightening in its speed.

"Second stage of the Smoldering Spark at five years old, a rare ice element, and even the exposure of the bullying case with that girl... an incredible boy," Lucius thought, feeling a bitter mix of pride and envy.

He admired Raphael's talent, but the fact that he had to deliberately suppress it left Lucius feeling frustrated and angry with himself.

As he pondered this, a sudden knock interrupted his thoughts.

— Come in, — he said tiredly.

A young knight in armor entered the room. His short blonde hair was neatly combed, and a scar across his nose hinted at his battle experience. This was Lucius' bodyguard, Cedric Starlance.

Approaching, Cedric knelt.

— My lord, — he said respectfully. — One of the servants delivered a letter for you.

He held out the letter. Lucius stared at the envelope for a moment, wondering who might have sent it. A plain parchment letter, without seals or crests, seemed suspiciously simple, but he opened it anyway.

After reading it, Lucius frowned, a look of surprise twisting his face. He read it again, but the contents remained unchanged. His eyes narrowed as he crumpled the letter in frustration.

— Who gave this to you?

— Apologies, my lord, I didn't pay attention to the maid's face, — Cedric responded with slight hesitation.

— Never mind, — Lucius said, disappointed. — Follow me.

He stood, adjusting his ponytail and throwing it over his shoulder, before donning his cloak that marked his status as a Guardian. Together with his bodyguard, they left the room, leaving the darkness of the study behind.

***

They stopped at the edge of Velheimort Forest. Lucius glanced at the sky. The sunset was fading, painting it in blood-red and crimson hues. Even Dragon's Clutch Castle, visible in the distance, looked unusually majestic in this light.

— Let's go, — Lucius said quietly, stepping into the forest. The branches of the trees, like crooked, dead hands, reached out toward them from the darkness.

The deeper they went, the heavier the air became. Cedric could feel every rustle crawl under his skin, making his heart race faster. The air was thick and stale, as if soaked in decay. After an hour of walking, they finally stopped.

— Now, we need to find a clearing with a tree in the center, — Lucius muttered quietly, glancing at the letter Cedric had delivered earlier.

Although Lucius had been an Honored Knight for some time, he wasn't familiar enough with the forest's terrain to navigate without the instructions provided in the letter.

— My lord, — Cedric said cautiously. — There's something glowing ahead.

Lucius tensed, slowing his pace as they approached the clearing. The moon, like a dead eye, illuminated the field where a massive oak tree stood, bathed in a faint glow.

As they drew closer, Lucius froze, his eyes locking onto something horrifying. Nailed to the trunk of the tree was a body—crucified on crudely hammered spikes, its skin mutilated with cuts as if it had been torn apart by a beast's claws.

— My lord… — Cedric gasped, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword. His eyes darted around, searching for danger, his breathing quickening. — Stand behind me.

— Calm down. There's no one here, — Lucius said, though his voice nearly faltered.

As they got closer, Lucius saw another grotesque detail. At the roots of the tree, a spear had been driven into the ground, with a girl's severed head mounted on top. Her face was twisted in agony, but Lucius recognized her—it was one of the girls involved in tormenting the cadet.

— That's... the one who harassed Erin, — Cedric barely managed to say. — She was supposed to be in the dungeon... How is this possible?

Lucius circled the tree in silence, his gaze fixed on the body and head. Suddenly, he froze in place. Goosebumps crawled down his spine, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

— My lord, what is it? — Cedric asked, noticing the sudden shift in Lucius' demeanor.

The bodyguard followed his gaze and felt his own heart stop in terror. Carved into one of the thick branches near the trunk of the tree were words, as if slashed by a sword. The blood-red letters, gleaming in the moonlight, read:

"Actions have consequences."

Lucius stood still, staring thoughtfully at the message. He already knew who had left this note. Sighing heavily, he muttered:

— My little brother is far more ruthless than I thought, — he murmured with a grim smile.

***

Meanwhile, in Raphael's room.

The boy had just finished his evening training with the mana stone and was packing his things back into his spatial ring.

— I wonder how dear big brother is reacting, — Raphael mused with a sinister grin.

Initially, he had planned to leave the girls alone, the ones Lucius had persuaded to bully Erin by promising them a place in his order once their training was complete. But the thought that Lucius wouldn't feel the slightest pain or fear from everything that had happened infuriated him.

Raphael had made up his mind. With Aurora's help, he gained access to the dungeon and took one of the girls—their leader—out. She would now become the scapegoat, and her death would serve as a lesson for Lucius.

The boy wasn't afraid of the consequences. If Lucius decided to raise a fuss, accusing Raphael of a brutal murder, everything would come to light. It would become evident that Lucius had instigated the girls into violence, violating not only the family code that forbade interfering in children's training but also a direct order from their mother—not to interfere with the selection of a bodyguard for Raphael.

"Hah… at the very least, he could lose two-thirds of the territories allocated to him when he became the Guardian," Raphael mused.

Moreover, it would push Lucius even further from the coveted title of Legate of the family.

Raphael was confident: his brother wouldn't risk letting this escalate into a scandal. On the contrary, Lucius would be forced to cover it up, perhaps even protect Raphael if the elders began asking questions and accusing the boy.

Raphael stepped out onto the balcony, leaning on the railing. The night sky stretched out before him like a vast, dark blanket. He couldn't remember the last time it seemed so beautiful to him. In the past, he rarely paid attention to such things, but now something inside him had changed.

The boy felt no regret or guilt over the girl's death. After his own death, he had come to realize one simple rule of life within this family:

"Kill or be killed..." he whispered softly, resting his head against the cold railing.

It was a simple but harsh reality that had become his truth. He had lost too much not to understand its meaning. To protect the people he cared about, he was willing to do anything.

"If it comes to it, I'll wipe out that entire damned orphanage if it means Erin will be safe," he thought grimly, watching the distant stars twinkling.

But then he chuckled.

"Though I doubt it will come to that."

After standing there for a few more moments, Raphael sighed and returned to his room, closing the glass doors behind him.

***

May 2, 1432

A week had passed since the entire castle learned that Raphael possessed ice magic. Rumors sparked outrage among the elders, and many tried to put moral pressure on the boy, greeting him with cold stares and rebukes. However, Raphael seemed to parry each attack with surprising calm.

There were, of course, some who didn't share the general opinion and, in fact, saw new opportunities for the family. In particular, the cadets Raphael trained with didn't see anything wrong with his magic. None of it weighed on his mind the way it had in his past life.

"Breathing feels easier now," Raphael thought with a slight smile, sitting in the stands of the training arena.

At that moment, he was watching Erin, who had been discharged from the infirmary a few days ago and had already returned to training. Thanks to the intervention of the family and the use of magical potions, her arm had fully healed in a short amount of time. Now, no one dared to touch her. The entire staff at the orphanage had been replaced, and the culprits had been executed.

Raphael had taken on the role of her mentor, helping her regain her physical strength. He watched her practice, correcting her technique and guiding her in the right direction.

— Huff, huff, — Erin panted, leaning on her knees. — Is that all for today, my lord?

— I think so, — Raphael replied, nodding in satisfaction at her efforts.

— Thank you! — Erin collapsed onto the ground with relief, too exhausted to remain standing.

Raphael smiled gently and walked over to her.

— Erin, have you heard of the Velheimort Forest?

— Yeah... It's the forest beyond the castle grounds where not everything has been explored yet, and where there are all sorts of monsters, — the girl cautiously replied, wiping sweat from her brow.

— Exactly! — Raphael squinted mischievously.

Erin tensed. The sudden smile with closed eyes on his face sent a shiver down her spine.

— Why are you asking? — she asked hesitantly.

— Tomorrow night, we're going to sneak off for a walk there! — Raphael cheerfully announced, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Erin froze, her eyes widening in shock.

— W-What?!!