"Victoria! Wake up! We have to go to school! " Vince said as he tried to grab the blankets Victoria curled into.
"Noooo, five more minutes. " Victoria whispered.
"Hmph! " Spat, Vince.
Vince, placed his foot on her back and pushed her off the bed, making Victoria crash down on the floor.
"YYIIIIOOUUUCH! " Victoria screamed.
"Okay! I'm up, I'm up! Ugh.... " Victoria said as she tried to rub her eyes open.
"Good."
Vince walked towards his closet, took out a towel and threw it over to Victoria.
"You can bathe first, I'll prepare the uniforms for us. You're alright with pants right? I saw you wear one yesterday." Vince said as he took out a pair of pants from his closet.
"Whatever. " Victoria mumbled as she picked up the towel and lazily walked towards the bathing room.
"I'll be taking that as a yes. "
As Vince prepared the uniforms, he noticed something was missing.
*Where's my school brooch?*
*knock knock knock*
Vince got startled as he heard a knock from his door.
*Who could that be?*
As Vince opened the door, he was surprised to see that it was Victor waiting outside.
"Victor? What are you doing here? "
"Victoria wasn't in her room, so I'm assuming that she's in here. "
"Aha, well you see about that.... "
*I can't let him in yet. Victoria is still bathing, he'll get the wrong idea if he knew. *
"Aren't you going to let me in? " Victor said.
"Ah well sorry Victor. Victoria isn't here, maybe she's in the garden? "
"Yes, well, that does seem like a place she would be."
"What are you guys talking about? " Victoria spoke from behind.
Victor, together with Vince, had their eyes opened in shock.
Though it's not a big deal to see a girl cover herself in a bath robe during the modern era, in this era, it's quite a scandal. And unluckily for Vince, he and Victoria are not related. So to bathe in his room, is suspicious.
But Victoria was unaware of this, since in her past life, she was used to living in a house with two men. As Emily, she practiced with many boys and girls during tournaments and competitions. She never had to think about restricting herself, because there was no need to.
And obviously, Victoria still does not see that now.
"What? " Victoria asked.
Victor walked inside and closed the door shut behind him.
"I'm here to give you your uniform. "
Victor replied as he handed Victoria a pair of clothes and shoes.
*They're different from the uniform I wore yesterday.*
"Thank you." Victoria said as she took the uniform from Victor's hand and walk back to the bathing room to try them on.
As Victoria changed, Victor did not spend a single second and started bombarding Vince with many questions.
"What the hell did the two of you do Vince?!" Victor said in a loud whispering tone.
"Nothing! She was just taking a bath. "
"Yeah, but in another man's room! It would've been fine in mine, but you two are not even related! "
"She's my sister Victor. Why would I do anything to her? "
"Ugghhh, luckily, it's just me who saw this. If any of the servants did, word about this would spread fast. "
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would end up this way. "
Victor glanced at Vince. He obviously knew that Vince was clearly sorry for what he'd done.
"Haaah, well there's something you have to know as well. " Victor said to Vince.
"What is it? " Vince asked.
"You were beaten up yesterday remember? "
"Yeah, luckily the knights saved me. "
"Actually the knights didn't save you. Victoria did. Or at least that's what she told me. "
"What? "
"Victoria gambled her hand in marriage to Rico's son. If she won, she'd get you, but if she lost, they'd have her hand in marriage. "
"What was the medium of the gamble? "
"A game of sword. And guess who won? "
"Why would Victoria do that?! "
"To save you of course. "
The room became silent, and all you could hear was the humming of Victoria.
Vince looked down on the floor as he tried to hide his expression of guilt from Victor.
*For as long as I could remember, Victoria never spoke to me. I've always just admired her from afar and wondered what it would be like to speak to her.
I didn't think she cared enough about me to make a sacrifice such as that....
And for some reason, I feel.....
Happy? Sad? Guilty?
I finally have a chance to get to know her more, but another man has taken her hand...
What am I thinking? I should apologize to her!*
"I.... have to say sorry, she warned me about the dark forest and yet I didn't listen. " Vince said to Victor.
"Well, I agree with you there, but I don't think she regretted what she did for you. " Victor replied.
Vince's face turned stunned.
"What? "
"I said, I don't think she regretted it. Father and Victoria, had a discussion some time ago, and I wasn't allowed to hear it. They might have planned to go to the Dark Forest to look for Rico in secret. "
Vince's face turned from stunned, to disappointed.
"That's absurd Victor. You must have found something crazy to think that." Vince commented.
Victor smirked.
"Actually, I did. " Victor told Vince.
"Oh really? " Vince retorted, rolling his eyes in disbelief.
"Hey, I know it's sounds crazy, but you've got to at least keep this a secret. "
"All right, let's hear it. "
Victor leaned in towards Vince and whispered in his ear.
"You know the collection of grey books that father keeps his case? "
"Yeah? "
"Well, I took a quick peek at one of the books yesterday night. "
"What?! You know we're not allowed to do that!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I was really curious, and it turns out that the books were actually an archive of all the blood lines of the royal family. "
"Why would father have that? And what's the connection between the books and the incident in the Dark Forest? "
"Well, the reason why I checked out the book, was because father had a look at it too. When I saw him open one of the books, his face was in shock, he then told me to leave the room. I didn't think much about it at first, so I went to visit Victoria, but then soon after Father came in, telling Victoria that he wants the engagement between her and Rico's son, to be continued. I tried to talk father out of it, but he said he had ulterior motives, and soon after that, I was ordered to leave the room and father and Victoria had a secret discussion that I wasn't allowed to know about."
"Hmm, that does sound strange, and father usually tells you everything. "
"Exactly! This why I think something's up, but I don't have enough evidence to fully think that."
"Well if you ask for my opinion, I still don't see the connection, but it does sound strange, so let me help you out. "
The two brothers shook each others hand, and what took such a long connection between Vince and Victor during the events in the book, only took a few minutes with Victoria's interruption in the story.
"Sooooo.... How do I look? " Victoria asked as she came out of the changing room.
This time, instead of the white uniform she wore yesterday, her uniform today was black.
*Why is she wearing that uniform?* Vince thought.
"You look absolutely stunning! You look good in anything." Victor complimented.
"Thanks, but I've been meaning to ask this for a while now, why can't Vince see the giant creature hovering above me? " Victoria asked as she pointed at the shadow.
"Oh, well that's because only those with Ethereal magic can see spirits. " Victor replied.
"Ethereal? "
"Yes, people with Ethereal magic are descendants of a royal family. You, father and I are descendants of the royal Zargozan family, but Vince and all the other servants in this vicinity aren't part of any royal blood line, so they cannot see the spirit above you. "
*That's a really good piece of information I can use.*
"I see, I didn't know that. Thank you. "
"Of course! Feel free to ask me anything. Oh! And, father is waiting for you in his office. "
"Oh, I better head over there then. "
Victoria walked towards the door where Vince and Victor stood oppositely each other.
As Victoria was about to head out, she turned to Victor and said;
"I'm sorry about what I said last night. I was just hurt because you didn't believe me. I could never twist your tongue. "
Victoria then closed the door behind her, leaving Vince and Victor alone.
When Victoria left, Victors eyes were almost in tears.
"Victor? What's wrong? Why are you crying? " Vince asked in worry.
"Nothing, it's just that I-" Victor paused.
Ever since mother died, Victoria always locked herself in her room. She only ate in her room and she only studied in her room. So when I saw her open the dining room doors, I thought I was dreaming. But no. It was really her.
*For as long as I knew, I've always thought of Victoria as meek. We weren't exactly close as siblings either, since mother would be training her and father would be training me, but I thought that she was just this frail innocent girl. I wanted to protect her.
But looking at everything that's happened up until now. It seems as though she's not the person I painted her to be.
Last night, I thought I mistaken her meekness for weakness and that she was someone cruel all along. But when she said sorry to me, I realized that I over reacted over nothing.
That's right. My sister isn't evil like those dark magic folks, she's just a normal person.*
Victor composed himself and wiped the tears off his eyes.
"It's nothing Vince. I just remembered something really important. "
"Oh okay. Then can I ask something? "
"Sure what is it? "
"Why is Victoria wearing the School of Dark Magic uniform? "
"Oh, right. I haven't told you yet. "
Victor cleared his throat and stared looked at Vince with a serious gaze.
"Victoria will be attending the School of Dark Magic from now on. "
Vince's eyes widened.
"....What? "