RR3 was the oldest reading room of the castle library, built by the founder, Gerald Cromwell, during the medieval ages. It had a large hearth whose fire constantly cracked. The chairs were comfortable, and a peaceful environment fit for a library was prevalent.
Youngsters disliked such settings and avoided them. They were too 'traditional'. Thus, the most frequenters of RR3 were geriatric old men and women. Apart from Ethan and Gwen, only three other readers were present—all seniors.
You could tell by their hunching over the books or using magnifying glasses that they had terrible eyesight. Therefore, the oldies weren't a threat to Ethan's goals for the morning.
Gwen led him towards the north wall of RR3, where plush lounge chairs were laid out for readers. Such an arrangement was fit for grandma bodies, which were too fragile to sit on metal chairs. They would even drift off while reading in the afternoon.
The duo reached Gwen's reading area, which comprised a double couch and a large table with multiple books. It looked like the girl was conducting advanced research, even though the subject was silly and personal.
Gwen had picked various books on human physiology and sexual health that were allowed to girls her age. Ethan quickly rifled through the titles and found them utterly useless. Promiscuan science was relatively backward. Most of the books had information that would be second nature to a middle schooler from Earth.
The boy pushed them aside and settled down on Gwen's couch. His sister joined him but maintained a distance of a few feet.
"Tell me how you can help," Gwen said with crossed arms. She wouldn't even look her brother in the eye. It was humiliating that he had discovered her secret mission—making her breasts larger. A male sibling is not supposed to know that!
On the other hand, Gwen was desperate for a solution. Many girls in her class had corsets double her size! Even though the young Cromwell was pretty, she was very insecure about her budding breasts. What if they never grew way past adulthood?
Wouldn't everyone secretly call her degrading nicknames like turkey tits or acorn field? Only her royal status prevented them from calling them to her face right now.
Ethan could see the distress etched in his sister's face. However, he wasn't there to comfort her. The boy also had a mission—a matter of life and death.
As if on cue, the system notified a prompt.
[Challenge: Get a consensual massage from a younger sister]
The cogs in Ethan's brain turned, and he desperately looked for a segue into a massage. He crossed his arms as well. "My feet are killing me," he said with a frown. "Do you mind if I put them up?"
Without waiting for a response, the boy took off his slippers, turned, and raised his legs to the couch. He leaned back on the lounge's cozy arm and extended his legs, planting his feet right in Gwen's lap.
The girl let out a whimper in shock. She immediately slipped out from under his feet and recoiled at the other end of the couch. "What's wrong with you? I am not your pillow!"
Gwen studied his smug expression for a second before continuing. "I knew it! It was all a prank!" she exclaimed, almost in tears. "All those caring brotherly words you said to me were fake! You obviously don't have my problem's solution and just wanted to tease me, isn't it?"
Gwen got up from her seat and began packing her books. "I shouldn't have trusted you," she muttered bitterly. "Adulthood may have made you act more aristocratic, but you're still the same old bully."
Ethan didn't respond to his sister's outburst. Instead, he slipped a hand into his bag. Meanwhile, the boy entered the system inventory in his vision and selected one of the two books.
Ethan's hand came out of the bag, holding a volume. The entire series of movements involved the magical system, but it looked completely normal to an outsider. A boy getting a book out of his bag,
"You really think so?" Ethan asked his sister, waving the flashy title at her face. "The world's only copy of GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS! is not what you're looking for?"
Gwen dropped her bag in surprise. Her eyes were wide, and her jaw was frozen. Her brother found the shift in mood adorable and wanted to get up and touch her, but he resisted the urge.
"That's impossible!" Gwen exclaimed. "Is it real? A guide to self-discovery for humans, elves, and adventurous orcs? By the legendary Jack Mehoff?"
"Oh, you've heard of it?" Ethan asked casually. He ran a finger on the book's spine like he had owned it for decades.
"Where did you get it? Don't tell me you have access to the restricted section?"
Ethan was satisfied with Gwen's reaction. Actually, he knew nothing about the book's contents or whether it was relevant to his sister's problem. In fact, the boy had bluffed when he claimed to have a solution.
On the other hand, Ethan's natural instincts flared up. They told him the restricted section had not handed him the rare books without a purpose. They were precious gifts—literary tools to fulfill his desires. The bluff worked in the end, anyway.
"I can't tell you where I got it from," he replied, tapping the volume's hardcover. "But now you know I wasn't lying."
"Yes! Sorry about that!" Gwen blurted quickly, her face incandescent with hope. It was perhaps the first time she had genuinely smiled at her brother out of a positive sentiment. Usually, she had to put up a plastic smile during breakfast and social events.
Gwen always avoided her brother, as it was her only defense mechanism. Ethan was a bully only if you crossed his path.
The girl extended her hand to take the volume, bubbling with excitement. "I'll just borrow it for an hour. Thanks for bringing it to me, brother."
Ethan sighed and quickly replaced the hardcover in his bag. "Give it to you? That is not happening, little sister. But we'll get there. Settle down first."
Typically, Gwen refused to follow his orders and ran away instead. This time, her smile faltered, and her rump found the couch within seconds.
The boy found it amusing. Gwen was suddenly obedient—they were off to a good start. There were three methods of corruption—bribe, blackmail, and force. At the moment, his sister was a blank slate. She could be led down any of the routes.
"What do you want?" the girl asked, anxiously biting down on her lip. It made her brother squirm on the inside.
'You're driving me crazy, Gwen…' he thought. 'I can't wait to bite those rosy lips…'
"Just be a good sister to me," Ethan replied with a sincere expression.
The girl was taken aback by the response. "What? A good sister? I don't understand…"
"I want our relationship to be better…" the Cromwell heir continued. "I can't tolerate the emotional distance we have put between us… Let us be real, intimate siblings who love and support each other…"
"I know it sounds difficult given our past… But we can take baby steps towards that goal… Is that something you can do?"
Gwen's smooth forehead wrinkled in thought. What was her brother playing at? Did he hit his head before coming to the library? Did Ethan really want them to be closer siblings? To have an emotional bond?
The day before yesterday, Gwen watched from her bedroom window as Velma took Ethan into the Elf Barracks. Did the elves mess with his mind? Why did their mother leave him there overnight?
Gwen also received news that an imposter maid had attacked her brother. Instead of offering words of comfort, she had been ignoring and offending him. Wasn't she the one at fault?
"I heard Minnie assaulted you in the bedroom. I hope you weren't hurt."
Ethan nodded. It was time to turn on the acting talents. "I came out of the incident without injury, but it left me traumatized. The unspeakable things she did to me… I will never forget them…"
"What did she do?" Gwen asked curiously. The maids wouldn't tell her anything specific about the attack.
"I'd rather not live through the experience again…" the boy replied with a lowered gaze. "It gives me nightmares…"
Gwen scrunched her nose, and her eyes were glassy for a second. She sat beside Ethan and patted her thighs. "Your legs were sore, weren't they? Why don't you rest your feet on my lap? I'll give you a massage."