Episode 80 - Duties 3 ‘Fate Changing Letter’

Eugene darted her eyes left and right when she got bored of staring at the sky. For sure she will visit this place often when she is alone. This free view was way too precious to leave alone.

Stretching her limbs, she slowly sat up and packed the sandwiches she never got to eat. After packing away everything, Eugene walked around. She looked for a thick bush to hide her books and protect them from rain.

Setting the books in, she slowly walked back to the mansion after 3 hours of alone time. Stopping by the training ground, she saw Ramon and Louis dueling each other with the instructor standing to the side. After 2 seconds of thinking, she decided to walk over because she had nothing better to do.

She nodded to the instructor and settled beside him.

Ever since she, Aernest, and Euria started their studies and training together, Louis and Ramon were pushed by Moniqua and Levis to also start working together. This was the first time Eugene saw Ramon and Louis seriously clashing swords and became intrigued! She was stuck at enduring a 5kg wooden sword and had yet to ever swing it, so thinking this was a once in a lifetime chance, Eugene decided to carefully watch!

“Who do you think is the better one, Eldest Miss?” A mature voice rang from above her head.

Without hesitation, Eugene said, Louis.

“That is true...” The instructor’s voice trailed off. “But that is because Young master Ramon isn’t suited to the Veria swordsmanship.” He continued.

“Why?” Eugene looked at the instructor.

“To excel in the swords of Veria, one must not be controlled by emotions or have many emotions…” The instructor replied with a hint of sadness. “After observing Eldest Young Miss for the past few days, this one thinks that Miss and Eldest Young Master is the most suitable of everyone.” The instructor looked at her and smiled.

“ah…” Eugene hummed in reply. Euria, Aernest, and Ramon are people of cheerful nature.

“But Ramon is still good with swords.” Eugene questioned the instructor, seeing Ramon evenly match with Louis.

“Yes, with practice everyone can be good at this swordsmanship, but those who can truly bring out this swordsmanship style to its full power are those who can calmly endure without being too excited.” The instructor replied again.

And true like the instructor said, Ramon, got too excited allowing Louis to break through his defense and swat his sword away. The wooden sword that was swatted landed perfectly in front of Eugene who only blinked at its sudden arrival.

Bringing her gaze back to the two, Eugene watched as Ramon’s eyes got as big as a tennis ball before his whole face completely turned red.

“...” Blinking at his reaction, Eugene watched as Louis and Ramon walked over to her.

“Good work today, Young Masters.” The instructor smiled, handing their towels and two bottles of water to them.

“Why are you here sister?” Ramon asked as he wiped his completely drenched face with the towel handed to him.

“I don’t need reading or writing lessons.” Eugene honestly replied.

Ramon nodded as he sipped on his water. “Oh, that’s right. You were always able to copy whatever brother Louis wrote.” He smiled.

“Elder Miss is that smart?” The instructor couldn’t help but gape; his mouth hung open. He only knew their physical body and health but was ignorant when it came to their mental intelligence.

“.... No.” Eugene seriously shook her head. She wasn’t at all smart. She just had knowledge of her previous life and took advantage of it.

The true smart, true genius was Louis, Ramon, Euria, and Aernest. For children, they were incredibly fast at catching up to her now 28-year-old self.

“... Liar.” Louis’ mumbling to himself could be heard by everyone. His one-word darkened the light atmosphere and made everyone awkward.

“.......” Eugene pressed her lips into a line.

And so this became the new typical life of the Veria children. However, with a new beginning, the day to temporarily bid farewell also came. A fate changing letter arrived the following day, bringing the whole household down.

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The next day…

A small girl one meter high pulled herself up using a metal bar and then slowly came back down with the force of gravity; she repeated this until sweat started forming on her forehead. Ever since she’s been incorporating exercises into her daily life, little by little was she able to build endurance and somewhat control her body to near perfection now.

With her face facing the sunlight, she could tell by the shadow of her muscles that her arms were beginning to manifest itself! This very much boosted her confidence!

As expected, training will never betray you!

Following Eugene’s footsteps were Euria and Aernest. While chin-ups and pull-ups were one of the most difficult exercises they followed, they were gradually getting used to it. But even though they were getting used to chin-ups, they were still young and couldn’t fathom why they had to go through such pain to be ‘healthy’. Their pain tolerance was half, no, a quarter of Eugene’s, so they weren’t capable of enduring some of Eugene’s exercises.

“Neia…” Euria groaned. She stared at the figure still hanging onto the parallel pole and pouted. “Eugeneia~” Euria whined, sadly looking at the figure who was listening, but not responding to her.

‘I’m bored.’ Euria sighed desperately. No matter how much she thinks about it, ever since they turned three, they barely had time to play because they had to ‘study’ or ‘train’. As a child, she didn’t understand why! Even more so when they had free time, Eugene would choose to do extra training than hang out with her!

Glaring at Eugene, she ran in front of her. “You’re mean!” Euria stuck her tongue out, running away in the direction of the house.

“......” Eugene blinked.

“Sister...” Aernest’s concerned voice rang from besides Eugene. Sighing, he watched as Euria began to disappear from his vision before turning to face Eugene.

“Hmm?” Eugene hummed, concentrating on her goal of 20 chin-ups.

“She will be mad at you all day, you know?” Aernest turned himself up and sat on top of the pull-up bar.

“It’s fine…” Eugene lightly replied. Finishing her rep, she, like Aernest, rotated her body and sat on top of the bar.

The two sat still watching the clouds slowly drift when a deep voice spoke out from behind them.

“Aernest, Eugeneia.”

The two turned their heads in unison towards the direction of the voice; Levis.

Seeing Levis 2 meters behind them made Eugene’s eyebrows slightly scrunch up. Turning towards Aernest, she raised her brows. ‘You didn’t hear him coming?’ She sent Aernest a telepathic message.

‘No..’ Aernest eyebrows wiggled in reply. ‘I didn’t hear him.’ He shook his head in confusion.

‘How weird. Aernest can normally hear people from meters away.’ Eugene’s eyes found its way back to Levis who was now standing directly in front of them.

Levis walking directly behind the two without them noticing spooked the two quite a bit. Eugene would understand if it was Euria who walked behind her without her noticing, but Levis? Levis was a tall man! No matter how quiet he walked, it was impossible to come this close to her.

Seeing his two children being awfully quiet and deep in thoughts made Levis blink his eyes. Putting his hands behind his back, he watched as the two children stared daggers into his chest.

“Father!” Aernest came back to earth and quickly greeted Levis! As his eyes mingled with his father’s eyes, he swore that his eyes slightly became blinded by a white light.

His father, together with the beautiful scenery behind him and the sun shining directly onto his face made him glow even more than usual. Like an immortal god.

“Good morning” Eugene got down from the metal bar and greeted Levis.

It was rare to see him outside during this time of the day as he would normally be cooped up inside handling documents or out to the Imperial Palace.

“You’ve worked hard today.” Levis’s hands searched into his pocket and took out a hideous looking handkerchief. This handkerchief was sewn by his one and only wife, who just like Eugene, had no skills when it came to little things.

Levis gently patted off sweat from Aernest’s and Eugene’s forehead before folding his handkerchief and putting it back to where it was.

“Not at all, Father!” Aernest grinned from ear to ear!

Levis smiled to Aernest’s cheerful laugh before pursing his lips together. Letting out a small sigh he announced,

“The letter came.”

“Oh..” Aernest and Eugene replied in unison.

“That fast…” Aernest looked down at his feet.

While people were happy that the 2 youngest misses finally turned three, in their hearts another feeling crept up. Anxiety.

It was time for the Eldest son to leave home to begin his life.

The letter Levis mentioned was none other than the letter of enrollment, announcing for Louis to attend the academy of Xenperia.

This was made mandatory when the current Emperor took the throne and made school an obligation for all future generations of Xenperian citizens, whether they be nobles or commoners, to have some form of basic education. And age 10 is the maximum age, people can delay it to.

“Aedelak’s also came.” Levis added.

This was not surprising seeing as Louis' letter came so Eugene and Aernest could only nod in reply.

Eugene looked up to the sky, feeling slightly weird. ‘Aedelak’s letter came as well…’ Eugene repeated Levis’ words. From what she knows, Aedelak had two options. She could attend an academy or enroll in a normal school.

If Aedelak chose to attend an academy, this would mean that she would have to live on campus, but if she chose to attend a regular school, she could come back home every day.

“When do they officially enroll, father?” Aernest question broke Eugene out of her thoughts.

“They are to enroll in 2 months.” Levis replied.

“I see…” Eugene quietly muttered.

Her seemingly nonchalant appearance and words made Aernest frown. “Neia… are you not sad,” He asked.

‘Sad?’ She thought. She only felt weird but pondered for a few seconds before replying to Aernest. “No, going to school is a good thing.” Eugene confidently replied to Aernest.

Education and knowledge is an incredibly powerful tool for humans. With this tool, you can completely control your life or even someone else's lives using this knowledge.

Levis blinked at the unexpected commentary of Eugene. Taking a few seconds to think, he elaborated Eugene’s words for Aernest.

“Your sister is right.” Levis started off seeing Aernest frowning. “For them, going to school will extend their futures to many possibilities they might come across in life. They will come back stronger, and smarter before you realize it.” Levis smiled.

‘They won’t be children anymore, but will become full-fledged adults.’ Levis sadly thought.

Aernest slowly blinked his eyes. ‘Smarter and stronger.’ He repeated his father’s words in his mind. ‘Knowledge is the most important thing in this world.’ Eugene’s words from long ago replayed in his mind.

“I understand.” Aernest nodded his head. - Whatever Eugene said is right!

All of a sudden Aernest froze. Thinking about it some more, after Louis and Aedelak leave, it would be Aeselak’s turn, followed by Ramon’s turn.

“.....” Aernest widened his eyes in horror! Wasn’t it his turn after Ramon’s turn!!!!

Turning to his father, Aernest unconsciously raised his voice from sheer terror! “I want to be with my sisters!”

‘No, no, no, no!’ He shouted in his mind, shaking his head in denial! “I… I…” He stuttered, tears almost forming in his eyes!

“Hahahaha!” Levis laughed, patting his son in the head. “Don’t worry, your sisters will go with you! You’re the same age after all!” Levis rubbed Aernest’s curly hair.

“.....Eh.” Aernest blinked. From terror, he felt… shameful almost. As if his father just stabbed his heart.

He was older than Eugene and Euria, but at the same time, he wasn’t. Although he knew he was born before the twins, he still wasn’t older than the twins. Eugene deciding everything for them played a huge factor in this complex situation the three had going on.

‘But even so!’ Aernest glared at his father. ‘How can you break my heart!’ He pouted.

“Hahaha!” Levis squeezed Aernest’s shoulders and laughed even more. Out of his children, he loved teasing Aernest and Eugene the most and that was because of their similarities to Moniqua. Especially so when things don’t go the way they wanted it to go!

“Father!” Aernest squeezed his body out of his father’s grip and hid behind Eugene.

“Hahaha!” Levis continued to laugh.

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The three soon headed back inside for a small family meeting regarding Louis’ and Aedelak’s enrolment but the moment they stepped into the house they were greeted with loud piercing screams coming from upstairs.

“.....” Two children and one adult looked at each other before rushing upstairs!

Pausing in their tracks, they saw Euria heavily clinging onto Louis’s legs, screaming and crying.

“Brother!!” She cried, her snot dripping down onto Louis’ pants. “Please... Please don’t leave!” She shouted, digging herself more into Louis’ legs. “UNG!!” She tearfully whined, biting Louis on his legs.

“Euria! Calm down!” Moniqua squatted down beside Euria, pulling her away from Louis.

“......” Louis only blinked at the drama unfolding before his eyes.

“Brother don’t go! Aedelak don’t go!” Euria cried some more! She won’t let them leave! She is not willing!

Ever since Eugene and Aernest left her for one full day at home, seeing people dress up to go to the capital scares her a little. However hearing that Louis and Aedelak would be gone for who-knows-how-long made her extremely scared!

She was scared that the two would never come back!

“HNGG!” She choked on her tears, crying as if Louis and Aedelak had passed away.

“Euria..” Aernest clenched his headphones tight to his ears. Even whilst wearing his headphones, the vibrations from Euria’s screams did not cancel out. Yet, seeing Euria being incredibly emotional, he too became affected.

With his cheeks puffed up from wanting to cry, his face turned completely red, like he was about to explode.

“Aernest..” Eugene widened her eyes at Aernest reactions to Euria crying. Seeing him constantly shifting his clothes in discomfort, Eugene felt her heart drop.

‘This is not happening..’ She frowned. If Aernest also exploded, this room, no, the house would turn into a hell hole.

With her eyebrows twitching, she walked towards Louis and Euria. “Euria,” Eugene called out.

“HEEEEE!!!” Only Euria’s cries replied to her. Scrunching up her forehead she repeated. “Euria.” This time, her voice was lower than her already low voice.

“......” Seeing no reply, Eugene went closer to Euria.

“I will sleep in another room alone if you don’t stop crying.” Eugene threatened.

All of a sudden the room became quiet and only Euria’s loud breathing could be heard.

“Without me?” Euria softly spoke, turning her head towards Eugene.

Eugene nodded.

“..... wha…” Euria’s lips trembled in confusion. She immediately let go of Louis' legs and turned her body towards Eugene.

“Only if you stop crying.” Eugene repeated, sensing something wrong with Euria.

Euria stared at Eugene with horror in her eyes.

Whatever was trauma from people leaving the house, whatever was school Louis and Aeselak had to enroll to. Her heart has now formed a new trauma and that was …

NOT BEING ABLE TO SLEEP WITH EUGENE!

“Stop.” Eugene gestured, holding her hands out. ‘Whatever facial expression was that, stop.’

And just like that, Eugene successfully saved Euria from crying until she fainted, and prevented Aernest from destroying the house with his cries. Soon afterward, Moniqua was able to fully explain why Louis had to leave to attend the academy. Towards this, Euria could only nod. Although she felt sad, not sleeping with Eugene was worse.

With her heart feeling uncomfortable from Louis and Eugene at the same time, that night, Euria pestered Eugene into sleeping over at Louis’ room. That night, only Euria was able to peacefully sleep, hugging Eugene who was forced to sleep in between Euria and Louis.

“Haa…” Only Louis’ and Eugene’s sigh could be heard throughout that night...