Sounds like Tough Childhood

"Wh-What?"

He suddenly pulled me, forcing me to get up.

"Wait, let go!"

"She's not your friend," he said.

I tried to break free of his grasp but he was using much more strength than usual. And if it was going to be strength competition, I had no chance of winning. He was clearly mad.

"Let go!" I yelled. "You're hurting me!"

Aoban suddenly loosened his grasp, allowing me to break free.

"Come on, Whiteheart. You don't want to make a scene, do you?"

Brother's eyelid twitched as he shot a threatening glare at the boy.

"What did you came here for exactly?" He asked.

The boy smirked. "I told you, I didn't come for you." He shifted his attention me, and his smirk changed into a wide smile. "You're Lynett, right? I have a proposal for you."

Huh?

I could hear the grinding noise of brother's teeth behind me.

"My name is Fabio Rutherder," the stranger finally introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I can't say the same but… Rutherder? It sounds familiar…

"He's the son of the duke," Aoban grunted in a low voice.

The son of a duke? Then he has a higher social standing than us? Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. The Duke Rutherder? I remember that name. Isn't it he the pervert I was supposed to be married off to? The one with three wives or something? How could I forget. He is quite infamous in our kingdom. Although polygamy was legal, in aristocracy, it was considered highly immoral, especially in a religious kingdom like ours. Yet, the Duke Rutherder shamelessly kept seeking for new concubines, and as the king's younger brother, nobody tried to stop him. So he's the son of such a depraved noble? And what about Vivian? I thought she was a commoner. Is she an illegitimate child? Thinking about it, does it mean I could have become Vivian's stepmother? Dear gods…

Fabio glared at Vivian for a few seconds before returning his attention to me.

"You seem to have gotten friendly with this dead-weight," he said. "But she'll be of no use to you whatsoever. I recommend distancing yourself from her."

What the fuck? That's rude. That's your sister you're talking about.

Vivian didn't try to defend herself. She simply gave a resigned smile, obviously used to this kind of treatment.

"I heard you want to join the Tournament," Fabio continued.

"So?"

"How about you join my group?" He finally proposed. "For you to have been transfered without an exam, you must be quite skillful, am I wrong? I even heard you got yourself an apprenticeship."

So this is what he had in mind.

"My group consists only of the best elements," Fabio explained proudly. "We are among the favourites for the upcoming tournament, so if you want to enter the competition, your best chances are with us. How about it? Not a big deal, right? I'll even be your friend if you need one."

The arrogance in his tone was really starting to piss me of. And I wasn't the only one.

"What do you think you're doing, right now?" Aoban spoke up, exasperated. "She will not join your group, nor will she be your friend."

"I'm pretty sure she can decide for herself, Whiteheart." Fabio replied, his smile unwavering. "The first tests are group trials. She can't join the tournament without a team."

"She can join mine, that's not a problem," brother retorted.

"Don't talk nonsense. Yours is already full. What will people think if you kick out one of your members just so that you can include your sister?"

"That's my problem. She's joining my team, so back off."

…

Um, excuse me? Does my opinion not count? I'm done with this. In the end, it's another of Aoban's issues. They can argue all they want, I'm out of here. I took Vivian's hand, pulling her out of her thoughts, as I signaled her to come with me.

"Lyni, where are you going?" Brother asked.

"I'm leaving. I'm not joining any of your teams." I replied coldly.

"I thought you wanted to enter the tournament," Fabio said. "You can't join if you're alone, you know?"

"I'm aware. But I'm not alone. I have a team."

Aoban and Fabio both furrowed the brows in incomprehension, so I raised Vivian's hand.

"She's my team," I declared.

"Huh?! Me?"

Fabio's smile vanished, no longer amused by the situation.

"Don't you want to win?" He inquired.

"I do, and I will."

"With this dead-weight?"

"You heard me."

He suddenly burst out laughing.

"I misjudged you, Lynett Maedis Whiteheart. What a let down. You aren't nearly as bright as I was expecting you to be. I guess you are a Whiteheart, after all."

Ignoring his mockery, I headed to the exit. But this time, it was Aoban's turn to stop.

"She's a Rutherder," he stated as he grabbed my arm.

I shook my head. "No, she's just Vivian."

I shook away his hand and passed by him, dragging the confused Vivian with me, and I hurried to the exit, before any of them had the heart to stop us. Even once we left the refectory, I kept walking for a moment, making sure to get far enough not to be found. Once we were finally alone, I let out a heavy sigh. Talk about a first evening with a friend…

"Are you okay?" Vivian eventually broke the silence.

I gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. I got you involved in my problems."

"I guess we're even then," she chuckled. "Besides, I know how Fabio is. I understand you needed an excuse to get yourself out of this situation."

"An excuse?"

I then understood she was referring to my earlier statement.

"Vivian," I called her out. "It wasn't an excuse. I meant what I said before. I do want us to be a team."

Her eyes widened, she blinked at me several times.

"Did you… not hear what Fabio said?"

"I heard."

"He wasn't lying, you know? I am a dead-weight. I told you, didn't I? Even my previous teammates kicked me out of their group!"

"I have no intention of abandoning you later on, you don't have to worry about that."

"That's not what I meant! Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the thought, but there is no way you'll even get selected for the preliminaries if you team up with me! At best, I'll be completely useless. At worst, I'll slow you down!"

That definitely won't be an issue. I smiled at her, trying to ease her heart.

"Vivian, you're my friend. I want us to be together."

Her face initially sank in disbelief. But then her expression changed into one of relief. A weak smile played on her lips, and quickly grew into a large grin.

"See? You are nice after all!"

"Is that a yes?" I asked. "Are you accepting my offer?"

"Do I have the choice?" She joked.

I grinned.

"Still, who would've thought I'd be finding a new group so fast!" Vivian exclaimed. "You do know we've known each other for only a day, right? I could be taking advantage of you!"

"Ugh, please don't say that. You're starting to sound like my brother," I complained.

Vivian chuckled softly.

"I'm a bit jealous of you," she then admitted with a bitter smile.

"Jealous? Why?"

"You have such a great brother."

That's… The impression she got?

"Vivian," I called her out. "Do you like my brother?"

Her cheeks suddenly turned red. I'm guessing she felt her face burning hot as she immediately looked away and tried to hide her rosy features behind her slim fingers. Now, not only her cheeks, but her whole face turned scarlet.

"W-What are you saying?" She panicked. "Of course not! What gave you this idea?"

She was being so obvious I couldn't help but let a grin spread over my face, which she didn't miss.

"What's with that smug face, I'm telling you that's not it!" She hurried on. "You got it wrong! I-I mean, I do think he's pretty cool and handsome but… That's not what I meant when I said that!"

Aren't you just admitting it, though? And handsome? Who? Aoban?

It makes sense though. If she likes him, that would explain why she didn't run away on sight when we met. Most people feared my brother so they didn't get involved with me. But when she saw me for the first time, although she perfectly knew who I was, Vivian didn't try to avoid me or anything. She might even have gotten close to me because I'm the sister, but even if it's the case, I don't hold it against her. I mean, it's not like she pushed her friendship on me -quite the contrary.

That's a pretty good thing though, isn't it? I like Vivian, so I wouldn't mind her dating my brother. She seems like a good person so far. And if they get married, she might even become my sister-in-law. That… actually doesn't sound so bad. As someone who belongs to nobility, I've always thought that Aoban would end up marrying a spoiled little lady. I'd much rather have Vivan as m-

"Lynett!" Her voice suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts. "You're not listening, are you? Stop imagining things! I'm telling you you got the wrong idea!"

Her brows furrowed, she deeply looked into my eyes, her lips firmly pressed together in a flustered expression.

"Okay, sorry."

I didn't insist any further. I did want to tease her, but I didn't want to upset her. She denied it so hard… Maybe she isn't even aware of her own feelings? Or maybe I'm really getting the wrong idea… A maiden's heart is such a mystery.

Vivan let out a relieved sigh.

"When I said I was jealous about your brother, I meant your relationship with him," she then explained. "I didn't mean your brother himself."

"What's so special about our relationship?" I asked, my eyes squinted.

"Well, he cares about you. I suppose that's how normal siblings are." Although she was smiling, she had a somewhat sad expression on her face.

Normal siblings? Does she not get along with her siblings? Thinking about it, it's true that she didn't seem close to her brother. Maybe she wants to talk about it?

"Are you saying this because of Fabio?" I asked.

Vivan's bitter smile confirmed my thoughts.

"He was mean to you," I added. "Are you guys really related?"

"Well, we do have the same father, but we don't share the same mother. I'm an illegitimate child." She explained, confirming my earlier assumption.

That explains why she does not carry her father's surname unlike her brother.

"My mother was a servant in the Rutherder household," Vivan continued. "She was chased out by the legal wife when she got pregnant with me, but the Duke took us back in when he found out. I was already seven at that time, so when I met Fabio for the first time, my arrival wasn't looked upon favorably. As far as I can remember, we were never close."

Sounds like a tough childhood.

"So he was always mean to you?" I inquired once she was done talking.

Vivian shrugged. "It can't be helped. He's the legitimate son and I'm just the child of a mistress. It was the same thing with the other children of the household. Ultimately, we're only half related." She marked a pause before shifting her gaze to me. "That's why I'm a bit jealous of you."

I see. She must have had a lonely childhood. If she was never close to any of her siblings, it's no wonder she's envious of my relationship with my brother. Even if we're going through a bad phase, we do get along pretty well. He's my only brother and my best friend, I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. However, I think she misunderstood something.

"You know," I told her. "I'm an illegitimate child as well. And Aoban is actually my half-brother."

Vivian's eyes widened. "Really?"

I nodded. "I was legitimized by my uncle later on, but I was born out of wedlock. Aoban is the son my father had with his first wife."

"And you guys are that close despite of this?"

"Yep."

Vivian blinked several times at my response. Then, she let out a small chortle. "Then I'm even more jealous of you!" She joked.

I wonder what was so different for her. Our situations are pretty similar, yet the outcome is so different. Is it the age? Unlike her, I have known my brother ever since the moment I came into this world. Or maybe it's because Aoban never knew his mom. We share the same father by blood, but we also share the same mother in our heart. That makes us practically full siblings, right? I never had any other sibling, so I don't have any ground of comparison, but I don't think being only half related should affect a relationship that much…

"You know what, maybe Fabio is just an ass…" I concluded.

Vivian burst out laughing.

"That's probably the case!"