~August 27~
Lily was ten years old and the youngest daughter of the Grinberryall Household, the royal family that ruled the Spade Kingdom under the supervision of the Dark Triad: Dante Zogratis, Vanica Zogratis, and Zenon Zogratis. You could say that House Grinberryall and the Zogratis sibling trio operated similarly to the top two authority figures of the Clover Kingdom: her family being the equivalent of the Wizard King and the Dark Triad the equivalent to the Nation's King. The royal Grinberryall Household consisted of Lily, her father Loyce, mother Ciel, seventeen-year-old brother Zephyr, and fifteen-year-old sister Solana. Her father possessed sun magic, her mother used moon magic, and for some odd reason her siblings had wind magic. Lily, however, was born without a single trace of magic power. Because of this, she was looked down upon, bullied, and neglected by her family. Anyways, she was in the castle library studying a book on magic when her older brother and sister waltzed into the large book-filled room. Solana opened her grimoire and cast a wind spell that formed a miniature tornado that whisked the book she was reading away.
"Hey, give that back!" Lily raised her voice at Solana who laughed with a look of sick amusement on her face as she kept the book just out of her reach with the swirl of wind she created.
"You know Lilith, you won't develop magical power from reading books on magic. It's something you're born with, not something you attain." Solana told her in a condescending tone. Lilith was Lily's full name. She didn't like sharing a name with the notorious raven-haired female demon associated with seduction and the death of babies. But that wasn't the only reason she disliked her birth name. The original name her parents had picked out for her when she was born was Liliana which means flower, beauty, purity/pure, innocence/innocent or God's oath. But a series of unfortunate events following her birth influenced her parents' final decision to name her Lilith after the infamous she-demon.
~Origin Story~
Nearly eleven years ago, or rather ten years and ten months to be exact, on October 4 early in the morning Queen Ciel (Lily's mother) gave birth to twins: a boy and a girl. Her brother was the first to emerge. Upon his birth, her twin had a very strong mana presence which everyone was delighted over. Her parents named him Yuno which means help of God. They believed his outstanding magical prowess was given to him by God himself in order to bring happiness and be a light to the winter wasteland the Spade Kingdom was. When Lily was born immediately after, no one could sense any mana residing within her at all. Which, according to her asshole siblings, bummed everybody out and half ruined the entire day. Anyways, that evening just after sunset, Yuno went missing and everyone treated his disappearance like it was equivalent to his death. On top of that, the sacred family heirloom had also been stolen. The priceless sentimental treasure was described as a gold chain necklace with a smooth, blue oval-shaped magic stone which had a silver cross and gold four-pointed stars in each corner. The magic stone was found out to date back around 500 years ago when it was in possession of the now extinct elven race. Many years ago King Loyce Grinberryall (Lily's father), found the stone in a Grand Magic Zone as a pendant on a necklace. The stone amplified one's magic power and spells, hence the reason her family valued it. But no one had a high enough magic power level to use the stone's magic-enhancing properties to their full potential. It was said to be unsafe to use a magic stone without a sufficient amount of mana. Lily's father decided to gift it to her twin brother to protect the newborn whose magic power potential surpassed his own. The Grinberryall Household was devastated over the "loss" of Yuno and the magic stone necklace. Ever since then, Lily was labeled as a bad omen by her family who claimed that her complete absence of mana was proof of a curse she bore. And thus, her parents changed her name from Liliana to Lilith. Of course, she didn't remember the event because she was literally born earlier that day when it happened. But for as long as she could remember, her family, especially her siblings, constantly reminded her how worthless she was and that she had forever tainted the royal Grinberryall name.
~Back to Main Story~
"For someone as weak as you to be born into the second most powerful royal families of the Spade Kingdom is just appalling. You really are a disgrace to this family. In this world, magic is everything. If you have no magic, you are worth nothing. On top of tarnishing the Grinberryall name with your pathetic mana-less presence, you're also a curse to this family. If you had died at birth, maybe your mana-blessed twin brother, Yuno, would still be here with us today." Lily's older brother, Zephyr, ruthlessly tore her down verbally with a look of disgust on his face.
"Take that back you jerk!" Lily yelled at her brother, filled with rage. She impulsively charged at Zephyr out of anger as he opened his grimoire to stop her before she could land a hit on him.
"Wind Creation Magic: Crescent Sickle!" Zephyr chanted as a wind blade made formed and flew at Lily's face. She quickly dodged it, but he instantly hurled another one in the direction she was dodging aside to. The blade-like gust of wind sliced her left cheek, causing blood to spurt out. Lily screamed out in pain, tightly holding her hand against her cut cheek to slow down the bleeding. Zephyr huffed haughtily and Solana laughed mockingly as they left her behind in the library. She began to tear up and cried in small whimpers. Being the center of physical and emotional abuse, ridicule and neglect for as far back in the past her memory stretched, she just couldn't take it anymore. Lily went to her bedroom to take care of her wound and prepare to leave this hellish life behind for good. She packed a few sets of clothes and the essentials for survival and left home. She walked for miles upon miles until she grew sleepy and just set up camp in the wilderness. The next morning, she set off on your journey again, not knowing or caring where she was headed. All Lily wanted right now was to get as far away from home as possible. She repeated the same routine, wandering around for weeks. As she traveled, the landscape and weather changed drastically. She eventually came across a huge demonic skull with a statue of a young nobleman situated on top. The skull had three eye sockets, sharp fangs, two large s-curve horns. The tip of one of the horns had broken off.
'This must be the skull of the demon that almost drove humanity to extinction in the legend. And that statue standing on it must be of the first Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom.' Lily thought to herself. She was from the kingdom farthest away from the Clover Kingdom: the Spade Kingdom. But pretty much everyone across the lands: all areas within the neutral territory and the other two of the four major powers: the Diamond Kingdom and Heart Kingdom, knew the legend of the Clover Kingdom's first Wizard King. The story of how he single-handedly defeated the demon that nearly annihilated the entire human population was famous everywhere. Lily walked towards the giant demon skull to get a closer look. As she approached it, she heard someone counting very loudly, practically shouting.
"995, 996, 997, 998, 999, 1000!" A boy's determined voice sounded from inside the mouth of the skull. Lily entered the cave-like mouth to see what the commotion was about. She saw a cute boy around her age plop himself down onto the grass. He had lime green eyes and gray hair that stuck up in large spike-like shapes with an ahoge sticking straight up from the center of a small mop of hair on top of his head that resembled a tidy bird's nest. He wiped the sweat off his brow like he'd just finished a work out. Then he began chugging an unsavory-looking dark green liquid until the canteen was empty. His facial features scrunched up in disgust as his tongue hung out of his mouth.
"Ack! So gross!" He complained, wiping his mouth of the weird fluid that dribbled down from his lips. Lily couldn't help but laugh at the funny face he made after drinking the peculiar substance.
"Pfft hahaha! Then why did you drink it?" Lily asked with amusement, still giggling from the hilarious facial expression the boy had. She didn't meant to startle him, but his reaction was priceless and made for an even more comedic scene. He screamed and threw the canteen straight up in the air. She was laughing hysterically now, holding her stomach. Once she calmed down, the boy spoke to her.
"Man! You really scared the crap outta me there! Anyways, that stuff was a special leaf sap that's supposed to enhance magic power. Good thing I finished it all, otherwise it would've spilled everywhere just now. By the way, where did you come from? No one from Hage Village ever follows me to my training grounds. You're not from around here, are you? I've never seen you before." The boy said, picking up the canteen off the ground from where it landed and stood up. He was slightly taller than Lily.
"Oh s-sorry, please forgive me for intruding on your privacy!" Lily apologized nervously as she bowed once in a frantic manner. She was disciplined whenever she didn't mind her formal royal manners. That's why she was fairly timid and shy in general. But she got more hot-blooded, impulsive and bold when provoked, only to become a submissive nervous wreck again when harshly punished for retaliation.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. So, do you mind telling me your name? By the way, you don't have to be so formal around me. It's not like I'm royalty or anything." He said, approaching Lily with a wide grin on his face. His smile and words made her feel at ease, unlike the tense overbearing atmosphere back at home.
"O-okay. My name is Lilith, but I prefer to be called Lily. And you're right, I'm not from here. I am ten years old and I'm the youngest daughter of the Grinberryall Household: the second most powerful royal family in the Spade Kingdom." Lily introduced herself to the boy who who was now staring at her wide-eyed with his jaw dropped open, seeming completely dumbfounded.
"Wh-what? Did I say something weird?" Lily asked nervously to the boy who snapped back to reality. His eyes literally began to sparkle with wonder and awe.
"Whoa, no way! You're a member of a powerful royal family of the Spade Kingdom?! That's so cool! I was abandoned at the church in this village when I was just a newborn. Growing up in the Forsaken Realm of the Clover Kingdom, I never knew luxury. You're so lucky to be born a royal! So, what are you doing here in a completely different nation?" The boy asked Lily as she shifted uncomfortably.
"I was running away because I was sick of being the target of my family's abuse and negligence. They look down on anyone who is weak in magical power. And I was unlucky enough to be born to a family like that without a single trace of magic." Lily explained to the boy whose eyes widened again.
"Wait, you were born without magic too?! So was I! I feel so relieved now. I thought I was the only one! Your family members seem like a bunch of jerks. They shouldn't be mean to you just because you have zero magic power. Hey, if you need a new place to call home, I'm sure Father and Sister Lily wouldn't mind adding you to our foster family. My home is an old dump of a church, but it's better than living out here in the woods by yourself. Oh, my name's Asta by the way. I think we're gonna be great friends. We already have some things in common: we were both born without magic and we're the same age!" Asta said with excitement, beaming widely at Lily.
"Thank you Asta. That's really sweet of you. I'll accept your offer." Lily said with a grateful smile. Asta chuckled and flashed her a wide cheerful grin that gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. She literally just met this boy, but he was already starting to capture her heart. There was a brief pause until Asta spoke again.
"Hey uh, it might get confusing with two Lilys around here: you and Sister Lily. And I want to respect you by not calling you by your real name. So do you mind if I call you Lil instead of Lily?" Asta asked Lily, suggesting a solution to a potential issue.
"I really appreciate you being considerate of my name preference. I don't like my given name because of the negative meanings behind it. That's why I renamed myself Lily. But it's really only a self-proclaimed name. My family only referred to me by my birth name Lilith, never Lily: the name I gave myself. No one has ever given me a nice nickname before. And I actually really like the one you came up with. So yeah, you can call me Lil from now on." Lily gave Asta a lengthy response. Asta just smiled happily, grabbing her hand while she blushed.
"Alright cool! Come with me, Lil. I'll introduce you to everyone!" Asta said excitedly as he took off at full speed with Lily towards the small village. Surprisingly, she was able to keep up with him. Although the sudden burst of speed did catch her off guard. When they reached the front doors of a small church, Asta suddenly let go of Lily's hand and abruptly stopped in front of her. The remaining momentum from him pulling her along caused her to crash into him which knocked him forward onto the ground. She blushed out of pure embarrassment as she lay on top of him.
"S-sorry Asta! I didn't mean to do that. You're not hurt are you?" Lily apologized as she quickly got up off of Asta who just stood up and brushed the dust off himself. He turned to her and smiled cheerfully.
"That's okay Lil. It was my fault anyways. Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Now just sit tight and wait here while I go get everyone." Asta said before entering the church. A couple minutes later, he came back out with a priest, a young nun, and three other kids. One of them was a short boy with brown hair in a buzz cut style and purple eyes who appeared to be about five years old. Another was a girl a bit taller than the brown-haired boy but shorter than Asta, around eight years of age. She had shaggy magenta colored hair and emerald green eyes. The last of the kids was a boy about the same age as Lily and Asta. He was a little taller than Asta and had black messy hair with a tuft sticking up at the top of his head. His eyes were a golden yellow color and he was wearing a gold chain necklace with a polished blue stone pendant dangling from it. On the stone was a silver cross and four-pointed stars in each corner. Upon seeing the black-haired boy, a couple things caught Lily's attention. She made mental narrative comments on what she noticed.
'Hmm... this boy seems like he's around my age. And he looks kinda similar to Dad. On top of that, his necklace fits the description of the missing family heirloom to a T. Could he possibly be...?' Lily pondered until her internal thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Asta's upbeat voice.
"Everyone, this is Lil. She needs a place to stay because she ran away from home. So I invited her to come live here with us!" Asta said, smiling excitedly as he gestured to Lily.
"Um hi, I hope you don't mind. My name is Lilith Grinberryall but I go by either Lily or Lil: the nickname Asta just gave me." Lily shyly introduced yourself, bowing before the small group. She half expected Asta to get lectured on inviting strangers to come live with them out of the blue, but instead the priest and nun just smiled warmly.
"Of course we don't mind! The more the merrier right? I'm the priest of this church, Orsi Orfai. You can just call me Father." The priest said, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming manner.
"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Lily Aquaria. Everyone here calls me Sister Lily or even just Sister. I don't think there would be much of a mix up if you decided to go by Lily." The nun introduced herself.
"That's good to know. Asta just suggested it to avoid any possible confusion is all. Besides, I really like the nickname he came up with so I think I'll keep it." Lily responded politely with a soft smile, blushing slightly. Sister Lily let out of soft chuckle at her mildly flustered reaction when she said Asta's name.
"Well I think it's a cute and lovely nickname. Oh, and this is Yuno, Rekka and Nash." Sister Lily said as she gestured to the others respectively to stating their names. Lily raised an eyebrow upon finding out the name of the boy similar to her in age with black hair that was wearing the magic stone necklace. Yuno was also the name of her long-lost twin brother.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm very grateful for your kind hospitality in allowing me to live with you guys. Thank you so much!" Lily showed her gratitude, bowing politely again.
"Hey, is dinner ready yet? I'm starving!" Asta suddenly blurted out, not really paying attention to the atmosphere. His stomach growled immediately afterwards.
"It's not quite done yet, but we weren't expecting another addition to the family today so it'll take a little longer now. This village is poor, so we only prepare just enough food for the people that live here at the church. I'm truly sorry about this Lily." Sister Lily apologized to Lily. A large sweat bead formed on the side of her forehead.
'Wow, this is quite different from what I'm used to. Even though my family members were terrible people, I still didn't have to worry about having enough food or money.' Lily thought to herself.
"I-it's fine, really. Don't worry about it. I don't eat much anyways." Lily told the nun in a polite manner. Sister Lily smiled at her. She could tell she was just being considerate, only saying that to ease her worries.
"Well, Father and I should finish preparing dinner. You kids just have fun out here until it's ready." Sister Lily said as she and the priest went back inside the church, leaving the five of them outside to play. The two youngest kids Rekka and Nash ran off somewhere while Lily, Asta and Yuno stayed behind.
"So Lil, what do you think about Sister Lily? She's pretty isn't she?" Asta asked Lily with star filled eyes.
"Y-yeah, she is really pretty." Lily answered, shifting her weight from side to side uncomfortably.
"One day I'll become the Wizard King and I'm going to marry her!" Asta said with enthusiastic determination. His words made Lily's heart sink a little. She may have met him only moments ago, but she had already started to fall for the boy. Yuno could sense that Asta was making things awkward for Lily. So, he decided to try discouraging Asta's pointless goal of marrying the nun in order to change the mood.
"Asta, you know Sister can't marry you. She's a woman of the cloth and can't marry. Actually, neither can ten-year-old boys." Yuno told Asta which drew both his and Lily's attention to him.
"I'm still not gonna give up! Even when I'm old and gray!" Asta proclaimed his ambition with great enthusiasm then went on a ridiculous rant about how Yuno wasn't going to convince him otherwise no matter what he did or said. Lily couldn't help but giggle at his antics.
'Well, you've already got the gray part down.' Lily mentally commented as her lips curled up into small playful smile. She found Asta's devote determination to marry Sister Lily amusing and charming. But it was also depressing at the same time for more than one reason. After a decade of her family making her life a living hell, hyperactive and cheerful Asta was the well-overdue breath of fresh air she desperately needed in her life. So she was really taking a liking to him. But he was fawning over a woman that was in a position that didn't allow marriage. Even though she was smiling, Yuno could tell that Asta's stubbornness was making the situation worse.
"That aside Asta, when and where did you meet Lily?" Yuno asked to shift onto a different topic, interrupting Asta who stopped his ranting and answered the question.
"Oh, we met inside the mouth of the demon skull right after I finished the last part of my workout routine. Lil is the same age as us. And get this Yuno, she was born without magic just like me! Looks like I'm not the only one after all! I finally found someone like me!" Asta answered Yuno. He talked about Lily with the same level of enthusiasm and excitement he had when he was talking about Sister Lily earlier. That made her feel a bit better. Her soft smile grew wider and a faint smile even appeared on Yuno's face.
"I see. Anyways, it seems like you two get along really well." Yuno said, his faint smile slightly widening, his gaze switching from Lily to Asta as he winked subtly. She couldn't help but study Yuno's face with a puzzled expression as she dwelled over all the coinciding pieces of evidence regarding him and her twin that had gone missing more than ten years ago. She wasn't 100% sure that Yuno's necklace was the sacred family heirloom, or that he was her long-lost twin brother since they didn't really look alike. But there was some resemblance and the more she thought about it, the more similarities she noticed.
'This Yuno and I don't really look much alike, but he does have Dad's eye color as well as his hair type and color. And I look a lot like Mom. Everyone said that Yuno took after Mom, but I think he resembled Dad more based on paintings and pictures. He's also wearing a necklace that perfectly matches the description of the missing family heirloom. Plus he looks like he's about the same age as me. There's no way this is all just a coincidence.' Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the church doors creaking open.
"Okay kids, dinner is ready!" The priest called out from the doorway.
"Oh boy! I've been waiting for this! I'm starving!" Asta said excitedly before charging into the church. Lily, Yuno, and the other two children went inside after Asta to eat dinner. With everyone seated at the table, the priest tapped his cup with a spoon to get everyone's attention.
"Please eat as much as you like. Sorry about the wait. Dinner took longer to make than normal." Father apologized to everyone.
"Yeah, it took long enough. What's the big deal Old Man?!" Asta raised his voice, half joking and half serious. Lily giggled a little at Asta's silly antics.
"Hey, don't call me Old Man! Anyways, Sister Lily and I decided to prepare a mini pot potato feast to celebrate the new addition to our family." Father explained as he gestured to Lily, making her feel a little nervous from all the attention drawn to her. The only attention she received back home was negative.
"That's very kind of you to do all this and I really appreciate it, but you didn't have to go to such lengths just for me." Lily said, genuinely humble.
"Why not? A new member of the family is always worth celebrating!" Father said with a cheerful smile on his face.
"That's not what my family practiced. I was born to the second most powerful royal family of the Spade Kingdom: the Grinberryall Household. They only appraise those high in magical prowess and discriminate against anyone with weak mana presences. I was unfortunate enough to be born to such a family without any magic power whatsoever. They were neglectful and both verbally and physically abusive to me, labeling me as a bad omen. They never even bothered to celebrate my birthday." Lily briefly explained to everyone at the table. Everybody paused, completely caught off guard except for Asta who'd heard the gist of her story already. The two youngest kids' jaws dropped.
"Wait, so you're a royal born without any magic?! That's unheard of!" Father said in a loud voice, abruptly standing up as he got carried away by utter shock and disbelief. Sister Lily cleared her throat to get the priest's attention.
"Father, please sit down." Sister Lily said as she put her hand on Father's shoulder, calming him down and bringing him to his senses again.
"Right, sorry... ahem! Anyways, you won't have to worry about abuse or neglect anymore. Here, we treat family members like they're supposed to be treated, related by blood or not." Father said, which made Lily smile. She could tell this was going to be a nice change of pace from her old life.
"So they called you a bad omen just because you were born without any magic?" Yuno asked Lily.
"Well that's not the only reason for being labeled a bad omen. I had a twin brother born right before me who had a strong mana presence. But the night following our birth, he and a sacred family heirloom: a blue magic stone necklace disappeared. My family blamed me for the tragedy, saying that my complete lack of mana was proof of a curse attached to me. They never allowed me to forget that and made me suffer all my life for it. My older brother and sister took advantage of my absence of magic to bully me constantly. I gave up on asking my parents to do something about it a long time ago. Every time I confronted them about the bullying they either ignored me or aggressively lost their temper with me. They never did anything to help me, basically letting my older siblings torture me. I got fed up with all of them and the years of misery they had caused me so I ran away. I traveled for weeks until I met Asta who brought me here to you guys." Lily revealed her dark past, briefly shifting her gaze to Yuno upon mentioning her twin brother and the necklace. Nobody but Yuno seemed to notice Lily glance at him. He looked back at her curiously, suddenly much more interested in her.
"Oh my goodness Lily. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that." Sister Lily said with genuine sympathy. Father's eyes were starting to water from getting emotional upon hearing Lily's story.
"Man, sounds like you had a rough life Lil. And I thought I had it bad being born without magic." Asta said before downing his cup of water.
"So Lily, what kind of magic does your family have?" Rekka asked as Lily bit into a baked pot potato. She held her hand up until she swallowed the surprisingly delicious yet mouth drying food. Then she followed up with a large sip of water and politely wiped her mouth with the napkin. She was raised in a royal family so formal table manners were a habit, except she was used to cloth napkins instead or paper ones.
"My dad, Loyce, uses sun magic. Ciel, my mom, uses moon magic. And both my older brother, Zephyr, and older sister, Solana, use wind magic. Obviously I don't know what magic attribute my twin brother had. Oh, his name was Yuno by the way." Lily answered Rekka's question. Yuno dropped his fork and his eyes widened when she mentioned both her older siblings used wind magic and her missing twin brother had the same name as him.
"Wow, that's quite the coincidence don't you think Yuno? You have the same name as Lil's twin and use the same magic as her older siblings." Asta pointed out, about to stuff another bite of pot potato into his mouth. Everyone at the table was rendered speechless from pure shock over everything Lily had shared about her and her family, especially her missing twin brother. Asta, however, was speechless for a different reason: a mouthful of food. Geez, how oblivious was this guy?! Awkward silence filled the dining room, but was eventually replaced by normal conversation. Yuno stayed quiet for the remainder of the meal, deep in thought over certain details Lily shared about her life and family. He had always been a bit curious about his biological family. Could he possibly be her long-lost twin brother she mentioned? After dinner, she excused herself to go outside and get some fresh air while Asta and Yuno helped Father and Sister Lily clean up. Rekka and Nash went off in separate directions to do their own thing. Lily found herself a small hill a little ways away from the church building. Sitting down at the top on the soft grass, she thought about how different her new life in Hage Village was compared to her old life back in the Spade Kingdom so far.
'This may take some time to get used to. I'm gonna have to worry about food and money now. But it's definitely going to be worth the tradeoff. Here, the atmosphere is nice and peaceful. And the people are welcoming and friendly. Not to mention it's a winter wasteland year round in the Spade Kingdom, whereas it's actually warm here in August. It's completely opposite from everything back home, or rather, former home. I'm really glad I met Asta.' Lily thought to herself, slightly blushing when she thought of the boisterous yet charming boy.
"Hey Lil? Mind if I join you?" A familiar voice asked from behind, startling Lily since she was spaced out. Speak of the devil, it was him. She turned around to face Asta, her blush becoming even more apparent.
"N-no, n-not at all!" Lily said, stuttering like a nervous wreck as Asta approached her and sat down on the grass next to her, his hand almost touching hers. Her face burned even more with him in such close proximity to her. Why was she so nervous all of the sudden? Yeah Lily was a bit shy and all, but this kind of anxiety felt foreign even to her. It wasn't the bad type of anxiety. It was a warm and fluttery kind of nervousness, somewhat pleasurable.
"I was thinking, all this time I thought I had a tough life having been born without magic and abandoned in a poor village. But it turns out, my life was easygoing compared to yours. Even though you never had to worry about food or money, you were always living in fear of your own family." Asta said as Lily brought her knees up to her chest and held them tightly against her body, resting her chin on them. Hundreds of painful memories of the suffering she was trying to bury were flooding back up to the surface. The trauma from her past was forcing tears to overflow uncontrollably. Lily shook her head so that her hair fell down to hide her tear soaked face as she sniffled.
"But you know, Lil? Things will change. Five years from now when we're fifteen years old, we'll get our grimoires and be able to use magic! Then I will work hard and become the Wizard King to protect everyone I love and cherish which includes you. You're just like me: someone without any magic power. We both got off to a rough start, born with the same disability. And we're looked down upon and teased because of it. That's why we must show everyone that anything is possible! Together, we'll prove that someone like me or you can achieve anything if we work hard for it! So what do you say Lil? Are you with me on this?" Asta said as he looked at Lily with anticipation. But she just slumped over more with her hair veiling your face. Though she genuinely loved Asta's idea, she didn't have any confidence or self-esteem.
"I... I'm sorry, I-I can't. I'm just a curse... so worthless and weak th-that my own family d-didn't even love me." Lily said through her sniffles. Asta reached over and delicately brushed the locks of raven black hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ears. She didn't resist as he gently lifted her chin and slowly turned her head so that she was facing him. However, her gaze remained averted downwards to the side, refusing to look at him directly.
"Hey... look at me... Please Lil." Asta pleaded in a soothing tone as he held her chin up in a careful and gentle grip. Silence followed since he didn't ask again, leaving the decision completely up to her. But she had a feeling he was going to make it super awkward on purpose by not letting go of her and remaining silent while staring at her until she looked him in the eye. So reluctantly, Lily aligned her storm blue eyes with his lime green ones.
"Listen to me carefully, Lil. You had a hard life living with your family. They said you're weak, worthless, called you a curse and probably many other terrible things. And they put you through the wringer countless times just to prove their point. But they couldn't be more wrong about you. Look Lil, you're very strong. You've endured everything they threw your way. You even traveled for weeks in the wilderness by yourself. It takes a strong person to survive all that. Someone like that is admirable, not worthless. When you told me you didn't have any magic either, it made me even more determined to reach my goal of becoming the Wizard King! I get this feeling of empowerment when you're beside me. To me you're a blessing, not a curse, Lil." Asta showered Lily with encouraging compliments. Her tears stopped flowing and she couldn't help but smile at this different side of Asta's personality. He smiled back warmly as he wiped away the remaining tears that had been rolling down her cheeks while gently cupping her face with both hands. Just then, Lily heard her name being called from behind. Startled, she suddenly pulled away from Asta's hold.
"Lily! I have to talk to you about something." Yuno called out in the distance. Lily quickly wiped her face to get rid of the remnants of any tear trails possibly left over.
"Y-yeah? What is it Yuno?" Lily asked turning around to face him with a smile, trying her best to hide the fact that she was crying a moment ago. He didn't seem to notice so it must've worked.
"I was thinking about what you told us at dinner. It's about your twin brother. His name was Yuno, right? And you said the night following your guys' births, he and a necklace with a stone pendant went missing, correct?" Yuno asked to confirm the info.
"That's what I was told, yes." Lily answered Yuno in a puzzled manner. When she met him earlier, he seemed like the quiet and introverted type of guy. Was this his real personality?
"When is your birthday? And didn't you say that your older siblings use wind magic too? Also, what did the necklace look like exactly?" Yuno bombarded Lily with more questions. This didn't seem like the Yuno she met earlier at all. His strange behavior seemed to puzzle Asta even more than it did her.
"It's October 4. And yes, both my brother and sister are wind mages. I never saw the family heirloom myself. But there was a huge painting of my parents in the throne room. In the painting, my dad is wearing the necklace. I remember it clearly: a gold chain necklace with a smooth oval-shaped magic stone pendant. The stone was blue with a silver cross on it. There were gold four-pointed stars in each corner of the cross. Why? Are you alright Yuno? You're acting a bit... different." Lily said as Yuno's eyes widened, putting all the pieces together in his mind.
"That's the day me and Asta were left at the church ten years ago as newborns. I was found with a necklace just like that which I'm wearing. Also, watch this." Yuno said as he formed a small swirling gust of wind above his open hand. Lily's eyes widened as she realized why he was acting so out of character. He just was trying to confirm who his biological family was. All the pieces clicked together now! It wasn't a coincidence after all. Yuno was indeed her long-lost twin brother! Tears of joy started to well up in her eyes as she suddenly got up and hugged him. This surprised Yuno, but he eventually returned the embrace.
"I finally found you! My twin brother!" Lily said, tears of joy overflowing as she couldn't contain her happiness. Asta suddenly jumped to his feet.
"WHAT?! W-w-w-w-wait a minute.... s-so you're saying that you two are siblings, twins?! But you don't even have the same eye color or hair type!" Asta stuttered in disbelief, pointing back and forth between the two of them.
"I take on more of my mother's appearance, Yuno looks more like my dad. Although everyone back at home thought he looked more like Mom." Lily explained to Asta who fell to his knees and lowered his head as if he'd been defeated. It almost seemed like there was a bit of despair etched into his facial expression.
"I can't believe it. Yuno's the son of a royal family and Lil's twin brother. Just when I thought I found someone like me that would stay by my side, Yuno took her away from me." Asta muttered quietly to himself which Lily managed to overhear. Then suddenly, he clenched his fists tightly and sprung to his feet.
"Just you wait Yuno! I'll get Lil to side with me!" Asta proclaimed loudly as he pointed at Yuno. He just sighed and shook his head at Asta and his overly competitive behavior.
"What are you talking about Asta? Don't be ridiculous! Yuno and I are long-lost siblings. Besides, I can relate to you a lot more since both of us were born without any magic power." Lily told Asta as she went over to him and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly.
"Really?" Asta asked, giving her a hopeful puppy-dog face.
"Really." Lily answered with a smile as she ruffled his hair. Then she raised her hand in a fist form to him. He smiled back and met her fist with his.
"Awesome! But when we get our grimoires five years from now, that'll change. You and I will finally be able to use magic!" Asta said optimistically, putting his arm around Lily's shoulder which made her blush. Yuno smiled faintly at Lily and Asta then the three of them headed back to the church together because it was getting late. The next morning at breakfast, Asta blurted out that Yuno was Lily's long-lost twin brother which was fine because she had no intention of keeping it a secret from everyone else. They were a bit shocked so she explained everything to them. The entire time, Yuno just smiled because he had finally found out who his biological family was and that his twin sister, Lily, was living under the same roof now. After finding out Lily and Yuno were siblings, Asta was even more determined to train up his body to outmatch Yuno in a competition for her attention. But as Lily said, Asta was more relatable because, like her, he was magic-less. Lily and Asta were like two peas in a pod, even more so than her and Yuno: her biological twin. She even adopted Asta's idea of physically training the body to make up for the absence of magic power. He was super thrilled when she told him she would join him on all his workout routines. Participating in his training regimen together became a regular part of her new life at Hage. Before every fitness session, Asta always looked for Yuno first and announced that he and Lily were going to go train together. It was like he was throwing it in Yuno's face that she wanted to hang out with him instead. Yuno, of course, didn't give in to Asta's competitive behavior regarding her. He was just happy that he was able to meet and live with his biological sister. Since Lily was Yuno's twin, she also hung out with him. He was her brother, but she had only met him by some crazy chance. Now that she had been reunited with him, she made getting to know him her mission to make up for missing out on the first decade of his life. She was always with Asta, Yuno, or both. Between the two males, she spent quite a bit more of her time with Asta. And yet, he still displayed signs of jealousy whenever Yuno was within her proximity. Asta didn't realize it, but he was subconsciously developing a huge crush on Lily.