Chapter 9: Sister's love (2)
After standing in Alice's arms for a bit, the brother and sister decided to go to her room after all.
As soon as Raphael entered the room, a wave of pain washed over him, far worse than what he had felt in the morning. In that moment, the pain cut through his consciousness, and memories of Erin's death, which had been suppressed by the shock of his regression and his encounter with his dark side, came flooding back.
It seemed impossible to forget something like that. But the excruciating death and the encounter with Dark Raphael had been so unbearable that Raphael's subconscious had blocked out the memories of losing Erin, creating an emotional barrier to save him from total despair.
But now, faced with the warmth and affection Alice showed him, that protection began to crumble.
Raphael suddenly dropped to one knee.
In an instant, his mind was overwhelmed by images from that fateful day, flashing one after another. Erin's horrifying face, disfigured beyond recognition, haunted his every thought.
These images rushed before his eyes hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds, pulling him away from reality.
The pain he felt was comparable to the most brutal tortures used on traitors in royal prisons.
The indescribable agony tore his consciousness into millions of fragments. But the only reason he hadn't screamed in pain was that his little sister, Alice, was standing right beside him.
He couldn't allow himself to lose control, couldn't let her see him like this.
— Brother! What's wrong? — Alice asked worriedly, leaning closer to Raphael.
— Ah... it's nothing, — Raphael managed to say, struggling to hide the pain in his voice. — I just got a bit dizzy... Could you get me some water?
— Yes! Right away!
Alice quickly got up and ran to the small table by the sofa in the corner of the room, where there was a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses.
As soon as Alice turned away, Raphael swiftly pulled out the same writing knife from his pocket and cut his left arm again.
He believed that physical pain would help him cope with the psychological torment.
Raphael was right: although the pain didn't vanish completely, he was able to regain control and think clearly again.
While Alice was pouring the water, the boy managed to bandage his arm and sit down on her bed.
«Damn, how could I ignore this?» — Raphael thought in frustration.
He remembered the moment Theo had thrown Erin's head at him and the conversation with Dark Raphael. He recalled every word from that exchange with himself and realized even more strongly that he needed to become stronger as quickly as possible—to learn how to defend himself and then save Alice and Erin from the fate they had suffered in his previous life.
But beyond the desire to protect his loved ones, another emotion flared up within him.
Rage.
As he recalled Erin's death and Alice's condition, Raphael felt a burning heat rise within him.
Anger and hatred once again tore at his barely calmed mind.
He wanted to jump up from the bed and head straight to where Theo was training. Raphael imagined ripping his brother's flesh into thousands of pieces, not allowing him to die.
«No, death is too easy a way out for that bastard.»
The boy wanted to burn, crush, and cut off parts of Theo's body, preventing him from dying. Only then could Theo feel even a fraction of the pain Erin and Alice had endured. Only then could he begin to atone for his sins.
— Brother, you look scary, — Alice said as she returned with a glass of water. — Here, I brought you some water!
Alice's words snapped Raphael back to reality. He realized that he had been lost in another world, thinking about things he couldn't allow himself to consider in front of his sister.
But in this life, Alice was still alive, and Erin likely was too. There was no need to rush.
« I'll take my time.»
Taking the glass from Alice and sipping some water, Raphael gradually calmed down.
As he drank, Alice stood in front of him, patiently waiting for her brother to speak.
— Thank you, little sister, — Raphael said with a smile. — Here, this is your reward.
He pulled out a few candies from his pocket, which he had brought for her.
— Brother, you're the best!
Alice happily pounced on the candies her brother handed her.
— By the way, brother, — Alice said, glancing at Raphael's arm as she took a break from the sweets. — What happened to your arm?
— I cut myself during dinner, don't worry about it, — he replied with a smile.
— Be careful, brother, or I'll have to follow you around and make sure you don't get hurt again!
With that, Alice resumed munching on the candies.
Raphael watched her with warmth in his eyes. Even the bitter memories couldn't completely ruin the moment of reuniting with his dear sister.
— Is it tasty?
— Yes! Thank you, brother!
— The brothers didn't bother you, did they?
— Nope! And Sister Aurora wrote that she's bringing me toys from Celestia.
Celestia was the capital of the Alcyon Empire, where Aurora and Gabriel were studying.
— Wow, you're lucky.
— Ha-ha, don't be jealous, brother! I'll let you play with them too, — Alice said proudly.
— Promise?
— Yes!
— Alright, then I'll be waiting.
Alice continued eating the candies with great enthusiasm.
— By the way, brother, do you remember you promised to read me a bedtime story and play with me before bed?
— Of course, I remember.
Raphael actually didn't remember anything. Just a few minutes ago, he had been writhing in pain, and before that, he had regressed to a time that had passed long ago for him.
Obviously, he couldn't remember such trivial things that had happened over ten years ago.
Nevertheless, not wanting to disappoint his sister, Raphael had to improvise.
Taking one of the many small toys on Alice's bed, he began to act like an evil monster trying to kidnap her and lock her in a castle.
Alice, playing along with her brother, ran away from him, defending herself with an improvised sword made from a rolled-up piece of paper lying on her table.
A rather strange role for a girl, but this was the Earhart family. Nothing could be done about that.
***
After two hours of playing, Alice finally grew tired and settled into her bed.
— Brother, brother! Tell me another story! — Alice asked enthusiastically but with a hint of fatigue. — Tonight, I want us to be the heroes who save the world!
— Of course, — Raphael replied with a smile. — Get comfortable.
— You lie down too!
— Ha-ha, alright.
Alice loved Raphael's stories.
Every time, her older brother would come up with a new tale tailored to Alice's desires and mood, and it was always a fresh story with new characters.
His little sister would always drift off to sleep, filled with delight as she listened to his stories.
It wasn't that Raphael was a great storyteller or a skilled writer; he was more of a master at borrowing plots from various books and fairy tales he had read before, mixing them together like building blocks, and creating new characters.
The boy would even wake up early before breakfast just to read a couple of stories, so he could share them with Alice in the evening and make her happy.
This time was no different. Raphael had come up with a new story and began narrating it to Alice.
— Ahem, once upon a time, in a grand kingdom, there lived a majestic and powerful duchess named Alice...
***
After Alice fell asleep during the story, Raphael quietly turned off the lights in her room and tiptoed out into the castle corridor.
Now, his task was to sneak back to his room without being noticed and plan his next steps for the coming days.
Moving silently, Raphael made his way towards his room, avoiding the gaze of any servants.
Or so he thought.
— Raphael, what are you doing here? — a familiar voice called out from behind him.
Fuck, when will this day finally end...
— Oh, big brother, I just went out for some fresh air. I couldn't sleep, — Raphael replied with a forced smile as he turned to face the person behind him.
It was Lucius Earhart, Raphael's older brother and the current Guardian, temporarily serving as the Honored Knight.
Lucius had an average build and was of medium height—not particularly tall for a man. His dark hair and blue eyes contrasted with each other, creating a striking effect in the moonlight reflecting off the castle walls.
He wore the Guardian's cloak with golden patterns and the crest of his knightly order on his left shoulder. Underneath the cloak was his usual attire: knightly greaves, dark trousers, and a white shirt.
In public, he was considered quite a handsome man.
«But he's still got nothing on me» — Raphael thought with pride.
And it was true. While Lucius was considered handsome, Raphael could be described as strikingly attractive.
Raphael's looks had fully blossomed by the age of twelve, and with each passing year, he was transforming from a cute child into a beautiful young man who could rival even the most famous theater actors or other celebrities.
Lucius was on his nightly patrol around the castle.
«How could I forget... For three years, I was conducting these patrols at the same time with Erin» — Rafael was scolding in frustration.
— I don't believe you. You were walking suspiciously, and you were coming from Alice's room, — Lucius replied with a sarcastic tone.
— You're imagining things, — Raphael countered. — Of course, I was walking on tiptoe because I didn't want to make any noise. You know how our servants are.
— ...
— As for Alice's room, it's just a coincidence. I was merely strolling around, admiring the stars through the windows.
Lucius didn't believe a word Raphael said, but he couldn't accuse him of visiting Alice's room again.
Since no one had seen Raphael enter or leave his younger sister's room, there was no evidence. And accusing the boy just for walking around because he couldn't sleep? He'd be laughed at.
— Tsk, fine. Go back to your room.
— Thank you, big brother, — Raphael replied, bowing slightly before heading towards his room.
Just as he was about to leave, Lucius stopped him with a few parting words:
— I'm looking forward to seeing your training and sparring with the brothers, — he said with a smirk.
***
When Raphael finally returned to his room, he let out a heavy sigh.
— I didn't expect to run into dear brother...
His memories of Lucius weren't as aggravating as those of Theo, but they still motivated Raphael to train harder both in the mornings and at night.
The words his brother had said at the end made Raphael ponder the upcoming training sessions.
«Was that a threat or just plain gloating?»
Raphael didn't even consider the possibility of genuine interest. Even if there was, it still boiled down to Lucius expecting his younger brother's humiliation.
— I need to prepare thoroughly and plan everything out.
With these thoughts, Raphael pulled out a piece of parchment and an ink pen from his desk.
Sitting at the table, he began to map out his next steps.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone