Evan’s room was different compared to the others in the house.

While the twins’ rooms were filled with toys and playthings, Evan’s room only had a few pieces of furniture. A bed tucked away in the corner of the room where he slept, a desk littered with papers and a lantern for some night light, a bookshelf with Evan’s bestiary and fairy tales, and a soft fur rug made of some beast type monster.

A large window let in plenty of moonlight into the place, as light artifacts were needlessly expensive for a middle class family like Evan’s.

Paper too was expensive and not many blank pages were sold publicly, thus Evan tried to use it as sparingly as possibly. However, he could not resist jotting down his most important discoveries and theories in case he forgot them.

And currently, Evan was being held against the wall by Zed.

"How could you be so insensitive, Evan?" He asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You idiot! Don’t you think you could have hurt Fel’s feelings when you asked ‘So What?’”

“Did she cry about it?” Evan challenged.

“You-”

“Did she?”

“Well-”

“Then there’s nothing to talk about.” Evan finished, trying to push his brother’s arm away but failing miserably.

‘Damn it, I need to exercise more often.’

Wyra turned to the offended person, “What do you have to say, Fel?”

Fel paused, lost in thought, “It’s alright, everyone.”

“That’s just how my people are. We cast off the weak so only the strong can remain. Believe me when I say I was lucky. Some nobles and extremists even kill their weaker offspring, deeming them worthless trash.” She said with a shrug.

Horrified, Zed’s face paled, “What?! But-but they’re family. How can they do this?”

"It's because the strong will and always will control the weak simply because they cannot fight back, Zed. And unless someone stronger comes along and tells them off, they will continue doing so because they believe themselves to be right." Evan replied.

‘Those words…’

"Do you believe in heroes, Zed?”

“People who defeat others in the name of their own self righteous cause.”

“Heroes don't exist. Anyone who claims to be one is both a fool and a madman.”

“Do you call the elves heroes for being strong and fighting for what they believe?”

“No, simply because you don't agree with what they believe in, but does that make you a villain?”

“No. There never was and never will be a good side and a bad side.”

“There are only people looking to survive and others threatening your own survival.”

‘This is exactly what Sage Arinius taught us that one time, but how does Evan know that?’ Fel thought.

“Heroes cannot exist forever, just like how every war must end. When their time comes, what do you think will happen to heroes? They are killed, feared for their strength. Their deeds are forgotten, betrayed by the people they swore to protect. That's what happens to heroes, Zed.”

“And Wyra, do you think your life could ever be happy if you’re simply good enough? Do you know how the butcher feeds his family?”

“By taking the life of other animals and selling their meat.” Wyra replied, her voice breaking.

“Exactly, people fight each other all the time.”

“Only the winners get to tell their story and do you really think they would be honest about how much blood they had to spill? How much they had to sacrifice for their own gain?”

"Even our own peace in the empire was built on the deaths of thousands if not millions of corpses.”

“If you are still afraid to hurt a single person while practicing your spells, like what happened last week, how are you supposed to be an archmage, when thousands of others are aiming for the same position?” Evan spat, his voice dripping with poison.

“Evan, stop,” Fel interrupted.

“But-”

“Look.”

Evan stopped his rant. Around him, he could see Zed quivering in place, trying his best to hold back his tears. Wyra was sitting down on his bed, looking shell shocked as her whimsical reality crumbled right where it stood.

The lantern’s flames flickered as the night grew older. Silence prevailed as no one spoke, too deep in their own thoughts.

‘I forgot, they’re only eight years old.’

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-” Evan finally spoke up.

“No, you’re right.” Zed interrupted, wiping his eyes with his free hand.

He let go of Evan, who fell to the ground unceremoniously.

“Ow,”

“Shit, sorry about that.”

“Zed, language! I’m going to tell mom.” Wyra yelled.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I will.”

“No! Please don’t!” Zed begged as he fell down on the floor, “I’ll cover for you next time.”

“Deal.” Wyra said with a smug smile on her face.

“Wait, did you just scam me?”

“Zed! What were you trying to say?”

“Oh, right.”

Clearing his throat, he stood up and continued, “You’re right. We were childish to think everything would work out our way if we believed hard enough. I am sorry.”

“Thank you, Evan.”

Evan waved his hand, “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have gotten mad with the both you like that.”

“I’ll get you something nice as a present for your Attunement Ceremony in a few months.”

“You weren’t going to?”

“No.”

“Fel, kick him.”

“With pleasure.”

“No, no, stop! Mom, help!”

…

“Are the kids all asleep?” Cara asked

Cara and Maren were sitting around the fireplace, waiting for confirmation from Leon.

It seemed they didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation.

Leon sat down on a nearby chair and sighed. “Yeah, they are. Zed and Wyra were snoring. Fel was sleeping with her head on Evan’s arm while hugging it like a baby to its mother.”

“Aww, that’s cute.” Cara said. “Why do you never do that to me?”

“Because I have something even better to hug.” Leon said with a perverted grin while fondling his wife’s breasts.

“Naughty,” Cara said after moaning in pleasure.

“Do you two lovebirds want to go? Should I go back to sleep?” Maren asked.

“Oh gods, Dad. I forgot you were here!” Leon exclaimed, turning beet-red.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see much.” Maren replied, his face completely dead-pan.

“Anyway, about the adoption. While that’s all going smoothly, it will still cost money. Money that we, quite frankly, have little of right now.”

“The merchant company was always just a small business but it was enough to support us. However, recently it’s been losing money due to the crime in the city cutting off our trade routes.”

“We thought we would be fine for at least some time but the kidnappers that took Evan also made out with a bunch of artworks and valuables we’ve been investing in. Plus, with the extra mouth we have to feed, we might have to move out and sell the house..” Leon said dejectedly.

“Those bastards… Is there anything I can do to help?” Maren asked, gripping the armrests of his chair until his knuckles turned white.

Leon shook his head with a sigh, “It’s fine, Dad. It’s not like we desperately need money. We’re just going to have to downsize a bit, maybe move to a less busy and expensive area. Besides, as long as the family’s happy, that’s fine by me.” Leon replied and Cara nodded.

“I didn’t marry you for the money. I married you because you accepted me for who I am. The kids will also understand.”

The conversation soon ended with Cara and Leon returning to their room and Maren going downstairs to the guest room. The fireplace dimmed as the fire died out, covering the room in the darkness.

Then, in a corner of the room, a flicker could be seen and Evan appeared out of thin air.

‘Man, that was stressful. I can only keep that invisibility spell up if I am absolutely still.’ He thought.

Evan had been very uncomfortable with the sudden cohabitation, especially when Fel had started hugging him in her sleep. Therefore, he had tried one of the spells that had been written in the old notebook in his grandfather’s will, a body double spell. It created a clone made of mana constructs and holograms, making a sort of body double for distractions and misdirections.

Evan guessed that a person was meant to learn the odd breathing technique written in the front page of the notebook before moving on to learn the spells written inside it. However, Evan had lost the notebook when he died and moved to the new world, so he had to make do with the pieces he remembered and fill in the blanks himself.

Luckily, Evan’s breathing technique was good enough to create a replica of Evan’s body structure and holograms from light magic did the rest. Then, Evan slipped out Fel’s bear-like grip and used air magic to silence his footsteps before sneaking out of the room.

That was when he realized his parents and grandfather were talking together in the living room. Luckily he casted the invisibility spell, using light magic to create a hologram around his body that replicated the background of his surroundings, before anyone could notice.

‘I didn’t know Mom and Dad were so worried about money. I guess this life is pretty hard to maintain without a stable income. I wonder if I could do anything to help.’ Evan thought.

Evan returned to his room, silencing his steps once more with air magic before laying down and dispelling the body double, making Fel whimper slightly..

"Please, please don't leave me."

Evan reached out and caressed her sweet face.

'Trust me, you will never be alone again.'

He promised before laying down to sleep beside her.