Damned life

Chapter 3

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Episode 1 - Behringer family [3]

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The Behringer family's house stood before them.

The two members of the Sephir family stepped down from the carriage with elegance.

The Sephir family's flag, which was on the carriage, fluttered as the servants and butlers looked at it.

They realized that it was the Sephir family who had stepped out of the newly arrived carriage.

Ashly looked at her uncle Grey and said,

"Why do you have debts with this family?"

In fact, when Ashly found out she would be staying with a noble family, she was not pleased.

But when you arrive at a noble family like this, there are many troublesome things.

Especially noble families from small kingdoms.

It was clear that they were desperately trying to establish some kind of connection with the Sephir family.

That's why Ashly wanted to stay at the best hotel in the capital.

However, she did not complain out loud because it was something Grey had decided beforehand.

Ashly straightened her back and tucked her waist-length white hair behind her ear.

Whether she was dissatisfied or not, she was the youngest daughter of the Sephir family.

External image was important.

As the head of the family, it was necessary to be courteous to the family's host.

After a few seconds, a woman with white hair and blue eyes stood before them.

Elisa Behringer.

Ashly opened her eyes wide, focusing on Elisa's hair and eyes.

"She looks like the head of the family and Uncle Grey."

Elisa bowed and greeted them kindly.

"Welcome, I am the head of the Behringer family, Elisa Behringer. You will be staying here for the entire week."

Elisa greeted them kindly, her smile as joyful as a mother seeing her daughter after a long time.

Ashly was somewhat disconnected.

"Uncle, who is this woman?"

She looked so much like Ashly that she could even call her an older sister, yet she had no idea who Elisa Behringer was.

Grey smiled and said,

"Do you remember that promise from back then?"

"....."

Ashly's eyes widened, and her voice stammered.

"W-what...?"

Grey nodded.

"She is your mother and my sister."

Ashly's eyes widened even more.

***

The Sephirs left their belongings in their respective rooms.

Meanwhile, Elisa and Grey were talking.

"Have you been in good health, sister?"

"Heh, you should know that this sister of yours is always in good condition."

Grey chuckled softly.

Elisa picked up the tea cup on the table and said,

"You haven't changed at all."

She was supposed to be the head of the Sephir family.

Despite leaving the Sephir family, Elisa was still someone highly admired within it.

There were some who did not know her because she was not often seen when she was part of the Sephir family.

Grey sighed as he spoke.

"Lucius is just like you."

Elisa laughed as she asked,

"What did he do?"

Grey chuckled at Elisa's words.

As Lucius's mother, her personality as a child had been just as daring as Lucius's.

"Before coming to the Behringer family's house, I visited the Royal Academy for an excursion. All the students gathered, but Lucius said he wasn't interested in Sephir and left first."

Elisa was surprised and set down her tea cup.

"If my son offended you, I apologize."

Grey chuckled softly and then changed the topic.

"So, what kind of person is your son, sister?"

"I'm not saying this just because he's my son, but he has great talent."

"If you say so, I look forward to it... But."

Grey's atmosphere suddenly changed.

"Getting permission from the Sephir family for Lucius to use the Sephir Aura... is too difficult, sister."

A cold aura that did not match the title of the Abyssal Flame Dragon.

Grey lifted his head.

"Do you really believe Lucius is worthy of inheriting the Sephir Aura?"

Pressure flowed from his body.

He wasn't threatening her, even though the atmosphere felt different.

It was a charisma naturally ingrained in his presence.

"He is definitely worthy, and I can assure you of that."

Elisa said, the corner of her mouth curving.

"Very well then, I'll know when I meet him. The worth of that boy."

***

"Sir Erick, do you know my mother well?"

Ashly asked the most loyal knight of the Sephir family, who had served the family for generations.

"Lady Elisa was the most talented daughter of the previous generation and had used the Black Aura of the Sephir family."

Black Aura.

It was the aura of the Sephir family, who took pride in having created one of the most powerful auras in the world.

Knowing that her mother whom Ashly had never seen had the Black Aura when she was a Sephir filled her with joy.

"But why did my mother leave the Sephir family and abandon me as well?"

"Lady Elisa had a terrible accident in the past. After the accident, she could no longer use the Black Aura. Later, she left the Sephir family and left you behind because she knew you would be the future head of the Sephir family."

The moment you abandon your surname, family records disappear, regardless of the reason.

"I never dreamed that today I would see my mother here."

Erick laughed softly and said,

"Since Lady Elisa was the greatest talent of her generation, why not train with her and spend time together?"

As Ashly considered testing her mother Elisa's swordsmanship,

Before she realized it, they had arrived at the Behringer family's training grounds.

Clank!

"Eh..."

The sound of a wooden sword being swung echoed.

Someone was wielding a sword in the training grounds.

White hair and blue eyes colors well known in the Sephir family.

"Are you Lucius Behringer?"

Lucius looked at Ashly with a puzzled expression.

"Uh, well, yeah. Who are you?"

"Ahem."

Ashly cleared her throat, straightened her back, and introduced herself.

"My name is Ashly Sephir... and I'm also your sister."

Ashly thought Lucius would be shocked to learn that he had a sister.

Since Ashly knew Lucius had no idea she was his sister, one could say they were twins because they looked exactly alike.

Besides that, Ashly wanted to know who her unknown twin brother was.

"Oh, ah... Nice to meet you, sister."

"Eh...!"

However, Lucius's reaction was dry and indifferent.

He didn't even stop swinging his sword while they were talking when she introduced herself to him.

Ashly narrowed her eyes at Lucius's obvious lack of interest he wasn't even surprised.

When she tried to speak again, Lucius's sword stopped.

Wooom!

Ashly asked Lucius, who was breathing deeply and wiping his sweat.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

Ashly smiled.

"We're the same age."

She asked his age because she wanted to know if they were twins or not.

"It was fate that we met today, but I especially loved it. I'll teach you how to use a sword. What do you think?"

Ashly suggested with a friendly smile.

The offer to teach swordsmanship was just a ruse to test her brother.

"No, but thanks for the offer."

Ashly's eyes widened in surprise.

'W-what... Is he really my brother?'

Receiving training from someone of the same age...

He had his mother training him daily.

Lucius lost interest in Ashly and went back to swinging his sword.

Clank!

This time, Ashly carefully observed the movement of the sword.

And she let out an exclamation.

"He's quite good, isn't he?"

There was nothing unnecessary in the movement of his sword.

Ashly thought as she watched Lucius.

"He's of pure Sephir blood his skills shouldn't be bad after all."

Clank! Clank!

"By the way, what are those bracelets?"

Every time the sword moved, an annoying sound came from Lucius's wrists.

"We could train,"

Lucius said as he stopped swinging the wooden sword in his hands.

Ashly got excited for a moment.

However, Lucius wiped his sweat and turned around.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Lucius looked over his shoulder at Ashly as he responded.

"I finished today's training, it's time to rest."

However, Ashly was not happy with these results and grumbled.

"But you said you would train with me."

"I never said it would be today."

"....."

Ashly was left speechless, but she kept insisting even more.

"Come on..."

However, Lucius' response left her stunned.

"I refuse."

"Why?"

Lucius replied immediately.

"I don't like training with someone weaker than me."

"What?"

Ashly's face hardened instantly.

"Are you saying that you're stronger than me?"

Lucius nodded.

"That's right."

The corner of Ashly's mouth twitched as she watched Lucius speak calmly.

"You have a lot of confidence, don't you think?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes while Ashly continued.

"I can tell by the way you wield your sword. Aren't you the strongest in your school?"

At the Royal Academy, all students aspiring to become heroes can use aura.

But Lucius was much stronger than them.

Because Ashly could easily defeat all the students.

Regardless of the aura, the fundamental foundation was vastly different.

"The reason he probably can't use aura is because my mother has something in mind, right?"

For example, Elisa might want Lucius to learn to use the Black Aura of the Sephir.

However, Ashly had a crazy idea.

"If he's stronger than me, doesn't that mean that if he learns to use the Black Aura, he would be even stronger than me?"

Ashly could use the Black Aura, which was taught by the head of the Sephir family.

She had always been the best.

The foundation of her self-esteem was not 'Sephir' but her confidence in herself.

"Fine. If you're so confident in your skills, fight me."

"Fight?"

Lucius was momentarily surprised by Ashly's suggestion.

However, he didn't give it much importance.

"Alright, but if you lose, you'll serve me until you leave."

Ashly smiled and said.

"Of course, if I win, then don't ignore me."

Although serving Lucius was like being his personal butler, Ashly didn't believe Lucius would win and thought he was just being overconfident.

But Erick, Ashly's knight, didn't seem to agree when he intervened.

"Lady Ashly, I don't think this is a good idea."

Ashly knew Erick would intervene, so she calmly said.

"Don't worry, Sir Erick, I will win anyway."

Ashly, with a confident expression, looked at Lucius and said.

"I'll make you realize that you shouldn't have been so overconfident."

Two people stood in the middle of the training field.

Lucius spoke to Ashly, who was holding a wooden sword.

"By the way, use your Aura."

"What?"

Ashly was so surprised that she opened her mouth, but she quickly composed herself.

"Then I'll also give you two attacks. Feel free to strike wherever you want."

Ashly's body shone brightly in black, creating an Aura Armor.

It was a technique that covered the entire body with Aura.

"Thanks for the small advantage, then I won't waste it."

Lucius said while smiling.

"Of course."

Ashly curled the corners of her lips.

She was sure that Lucius' attacks, who couldn't use aura, wouldn't work against her, as she had an Aura Armor.

At that moment, Lucius, gripping the sword tightly in his hands, took a deep breath, letting out a small mist.

Wooom!

As soon as he finished exhaling, Lucius' body disappeared from his position.

Ashly widened her eyes, unable to see the movement.

But in that instant.

Clank!

Ashly was struck on her right side, causing her body to tilt, even feeling slight pain despite using Aura Armor.

Ashly staggered but gripped her sword tightly and swung it at Lucius, who was standing nearby.

The sword sliced through the air, heading toward Lucius, but when Ashly thought she would hit him, she realized she had only struck the air.

"What..."

"It's not so easy to break through an Aura Armor's defense, then..."

Ashly looked at Lucius as he removed his bracelets.

Clank! Clank!

When the bracelets touched the ground, the concrete floor cracked and sank several centimeters.

Weighted magic bracelets.

This was an extremely ignorant training method that would normally be ridiculed as outdated.

Ashly forced a smile upon seeing such a scene.

Seeing Ashly smile, Lucius moved quickly.

This time, Lucius' sword movements were even faster and heavier than before.

"It's time to sleep..."

Lucius struck Ashly's Aura Armor once again.

She thought the result would be the same as before, however.

Crack!

The wooden sword struck Ashly's neck, and her Aura Armor shattered the instant it was touched by the sword.

"What..."

A strong blow landed on her neck, and Ashly lost consciousness in an instant.

"How did you do it..."