Chapter 11
A small apartment room stood quietly beneath the dim evening light.
Unlike the luxurious mansions of nobles
the place looked painfully ordinary.
One bedroom.
One bathroom.
A tiny kitchen near the corner.
Yet despite its simplicity
everything inside the apartment was neatly arranged.
Not a single thing looked out of place.
School books rested carefully on a table while worn worker uniforms hung neatly beside the wall.
Above them,a framed photograph of a woman in her mid-thirties rested silently.
An incense stick slowly burned beneath the picture.
The only sound inside the room was the ticking of an old clock.
Then a rough voice echoed through the apartment.
"Vyom."
"Bring me your report card."
A fifteen-year-old boy slowly walked forward while trembling slightly.
Young Vyom silently handed over the report card.
The older man standing nearby wore dusty worker clothes stained from long hours of labor.
Dark circles rested beneath his tired eyes.
Still—
he carefully examined the paper.
"56 in English."
"63 in Science."
"22 in Mathematics."
"70 in Social Science."
"68 in Language."
Silence.
Then suddenly
the man's expression darkened.
"Why only twenty-two in math?"
His voice became louder.
"WHY?"
"Why can't you study properly?!"
Young Vyom lowered his head silently.
"I-I tried…"
"TRIED?!"
The man slammed the report card against the table.
"I work myself to death every single day and THIS is what you bring me?!"
"You think life becomes easier just because you 'tried'?!"
"Just trying does not help anyone Vyom "
"No one asks you how much you worked , they will just ask you if you won or not."
The old man slams his hand on the table
"The results are the only thing that matters"
Young Vyom flinched slightly.
The apartment suddenly felt suffocatingly small.
________________________________________
Gasp.
Vyom suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.
The memory disappeared instantly.
Instead he now found himself watching Aarav silently cry while eating at the dining table.
The Duchess sat beside him gently serving more food onto his plate.
"Aarav, eat slowly."
"You haven't eaten properly since yesterday."
"Here, have more soup."
Aarav kept stuffing food into his mouth while trying to hold back tears.
Aarav had a habit of eating a lot of food whenever he felt stressed out or sad.
"Mom…"
His voice sounded weak.
"He hates me…"
"He really despises me a lot."
"He only likes Arin."
The Duchess immediately shook her head before softly patting Aarav's hair.
"No, Aarav."
"Your father doesn't hate you."
"He's just worried."
Aarav immediately showed the red slap mark still visible across his cheek.
"Yeah…"
"He looks very worried about me, right?"
The Duchess sighed softly before gently cupping Aarav's chubby cheek.
"Fine."
"Forget about your father for now."
Then her expression softened further.
"But what about me?"
"Didn't I come to your mind even once before making such a decision?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I can't even imagine this mansion without you or arin in it."
"You both are precious to me and your father"
Aarav's eyes immediately became watery again.
"Sorry, Mom…"
"It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision…"
He lowered his head weakly.
"Because i hired men to ambush Lucian"
"All my friends hate me now."
"Even Selena…"
"She likes Lucian instead."
Sniff.
Sniff.
Aarav clenched his spoon tightly.
"He's strong."
"Talented."
"Even more talented than Arin."
"He's one of those special students."
"He has powerful offensive magic while I got stuck with this useless healing magic."
Aarav starts to heal his cheek while eating .
A warm green light envoloped his cheek , but it didnot help much as his healing magic was still weak .
"The teachers compare him to Uncle Ray all the time…"
"And every time they praise him…"
"…it feels like they're insulting me."
The Duchess gently cups Aarav's injured cheek. A warm green light gently spreads across his cheek .The light is brighter than Aarav's . The pain starts to subside .
"Aarav."
"You aren't useless."
"Can you use a pencil to cut wood?"
Aarav blinked slightly.
"No…"
"And a knife to write on a paper"
"No, you cannot."
"Exactly."
"Everything has its own purpose."
"Everything has its own value."
Her voice became gentler.
"And you have your own strengths too."
"You just have to find it"
"You're special in your own way."
Aarav quietly wiped his tears.
Then suddenly , he heard approaching footsteps.
Lighter than Ronan's.
Confident.
Steady.
A voice soon echoed from the entrance.
"Mom, I'm back from training."
A young boy walked into the dining hall.
Unlike Aarav his body looked athletic and refined from constant sword training.
A sword rested calmly at his waist while sweat still lingered faintly across his forehead.
Arin Valden.
The talented younger son of the Valden family.
Younger Knights say he once went on par with Sir Cassion in a friendly duel .
The moment Aarav saw him
his expression immediately stiffened.
That familiar inferiority returned instantly.
The Duchess smiled warmly.
"Arin, would you like something to eat?"
Arin glanced toward Aarav briefly.
He immediately noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere.
"…No, Mom."
"I'll eat later."
"I should freshen up first."
Without saying anything else
Arin quietly left the dining hall.
Aarav lowered his eyes again.
Then silently stuffed the remaining food into his mouth before standing up.
"…Thanks, Mom."
Without waiting for a response
he quietly left as well.
________________________________________
The dining hall became silent afterward.
A few moments later ,Arin slowly returned.
This time his expression looked far more serious.
"Mom…"
He hesitated slightly.
"…Is it true?"
"Did Brother really try to…"
The Duchess slowly nodded.
Silence filled the room briefly.
Then Arin quietly asked,
"…Was it because of me?"
The Duchess immediately shook her head.
"No, honey."
"It wasn't your fault."
Arin lowered his eyes slightly.
"So it's because of Selena and Lucian…"
The Duchess remained silent.
Then Arin suddenly spoke again.
"Mom…"
"Can't we just break the engagement between Brother and Selena?"
The Duchess gently patted Arin's head.
"Your brother still loves her."
"I already suggested ending the engagement before."
"But Aarav refused immediately."
A tired sigh escaped her lips.
Arin slowly placed his hand over hers.
"Mom…"
"Will Brother really be okay?"
For the first time since the conversation began the Duchess hesitated.
Then slowly she forced a faint smile.
"…He will."
"He has to."