Chapter 19: Unspoken Rules

Time returns to a short while ago.

Lovela was the Acting Head of the Vien Duke’s Mansion.

Since her parents guarded the border all year round, she had shouldered the heavy burden of the family early on, becoming buried under mountains of various affairs.

She had long since grown accustomed to this way of life over the years.

However, today was somewhat special.

Due to the injury on her waist, she needed to rest quietly.

She did not need to personally review the scrolls and files, but only needed to listen to reports and provide verbal responses.

Consequently, in a rare turn of events, Lovela found herself idle as evening approached, leaving her feeling somewhat dazed.

A sense of aimlessness washed over her heart, making her feel a bit at a loss.

Right at that moment, a maid from the palace delivered dinner, so Lovela casually asked about the situation of her younger brother who lived next door.

“Young Master Evan has stayed in his room since he returned this afternoon. When I went to deliver dinner just now, the Young Master was already fast asleep,” the maid answered respectfully.

‘Sleeping from the afternoon until now?’

Hearing this, Lovela felt a faint worry in her heart.

She remembered that when they had an audience with the Emperor at noon, her brother had often been distracted and dazed.

‘Is it possible that he suffered some form of mental trauma? After all, last night was very dangerous, and the Duke’s Mansion suffered heavy casualties. For a brother who previously lived a peaceful and even somewhat lazy life, the blow must have been significant.’

This thought arose, making Lovela feel restless.

After all, she was his sister and the only relative currently by his side.

She felt she had to go see him.

Thus, she came and entered her brother’s room.

The youth lay flat on the bed with some food piled by the bedside.

He was sleeping peacefully and seemed to have broken out into a heavy sweat, but overall, his complexion looked calm.

Therefore, Lovela did not disturb him.

She merely tucked in the corners of his blanket and sat by the bed, intending to keep watch quietly for a moment.

She felt a bit entranced.

Between the two of them, how long had it been since they had been like this?

Just sitting quietly without arguing, needing no words?

Years ago, her brother had escaped his academy classes yet again.

After she caught him and brought him back, they had a massive argument.

That time, the quarrel had been fierce.

Neither of them could stay calm, and they said very harsh words to each other.

From then on, an invisible rift was buried, and communication almost ceased.

Lovela thought about this as she gazed at the youth’s sleeping face.

As his sister who lived with him day and night, how could she not understand her brother?

Although he was lazy, unwilling to endure hardships, and unwilling to practice cultivation, he had never relied on his family background to bully others or act overbearing.

On the contrary, he had anonymously helped others on many occasions.

The youth’s mind was pure and simple; he did not want to carry the weight of expectations and responsibilities, wishing only to spend a happy life.

It was a very simple wish.

Compared to other noble children who either lived in a dreamlike stupor or were overly ambitious, he was much cleaner.

However, that was impossible.

Lovela sighed silently in her heart.

They were the children of the Vien family.

Their bloodline and surname predestined that they could not merely seek a lifetime of peace.

Sooner or later, they would have to take the heavy burden from their parents’ hands and guard the territory.

Thinking of this, Lovela felt a bit dejected again.

If her body didn’t have that problem, if she could be strong enough to support the entire family, then would it be possible for her not to worry about her brother and push him step by step?

Could she let him live a simple and happy life according to his own wishes?

She thought back to the recent practical combat assessment at the academy.

She hadn’t been there in person, but she had watched the entire process in real-time through a certain type of magic within the mansion.

Originally, she hadn’t harbored much hope, thinking it would mostly be another mess followed by a swift defeat.

However, her brother’s performance had completely exceeded her expectations.

If not for that final accidental explosion, one could say she was both shocked and delighted.

After all, such a performance was fully sufficient to pass the assessment.

He hadn’t brought shame to the family and had avoided being expelled.

Most importantly, her brother had actually been working hard in secret and hadn’t given up on himself.

But for some reason, Lovela always felt a sense of strangeness lingering in her heart.

The black-haired youth in the images had the same facial features as the Evan she knew, yet she felt that something had changed.

He was no longer the brother in her memories.

Then came last night and today, where she learned that her brother had a mysterious teacher who had been guiding him in the shadows.

This was why he had performed that way in the assessment.

Lovela’s feelings were complicated.

Logically, she should be happy.

Her brother was starting to make progress and had a lucky encounter, receiving guidance from an expert.

When the time came, her father and mother would also be relieved to learn this.

However, she felt that if the price of growth was that her originally lazy and simple-minded brother would gradually drift away, becoming increasingly strange and difficult to understand…

Then it seemed she didn’t want this change anymore.

‘Does this count as wanting to have my cake and eat it too?’

Lovela mocked herself.

Right then, a hand—scorching hot and powerful—reached out from under the covers and grabbed her wrist.

“Evan?!”

Lovela was startled and snapped out of her thoughts.

Thinking the youth was having a nightmare, she wanted to comfort him.

In the next instant.

Crunch!

Her wrist was yanked downward.

With his eyes closed, the youth leaned his head over as if sleepwalking and bit right down on her arm!

“Ah—!!”

A scream of pain exploded in the room!

That bite truly lacked any mercy.

Teeth pierced through the fabric and sank into the soft flesh, causing blood to draw instantly.

Lovela trembled all over from the pain, and tears welled up on the spot.

Her usual steady elegance completely shattered.

She snapped her head down to look at her forearm.

The tooth marks were clear, and the skin was broken and bleeding.

“Evan Wien, you—”

Lovela was both pained and furious.

What was wrong with this kid!

He actually bit someone!

‘Could he have been possessed by an evil cultist?’

From childhood to adulthood, even during their fiercest argument years ago, they had never raised a hand against each other, let alone used their teeth!

In an instant, Lovela felt her blood pressure soar, and all her previous worries and sentimentalities vanished.

Infuriated, she immediately raised her other hand and reached for the youth’s ear to administer discipline!

In their interactions growing up, once Lovela reached out to pinch his ear, it was a clear signal: she was truly angry and needed her brother to immediately face his mistake.

No matter how defiant the youth was, he would have to settle down and take the lecture upon seeing that movement.

Even though their relationship had been very strained over the years and this gesture—which combined intimacy with discipline—had nearly gone extinct, its effect remained.

It was a small unspoken agreement, or perhaps an unwritten rule, between the siblings.

In the next moment, the youth on the bed fixed his gaze on her hand.

He frowned slightly, tilted his head, and dodged.

In fact, the moment the scream rang out, Lin Hong was startled awake and immediately let go.

In just 0.01 seconds, he understood what was happening, and his face immediately darkened.

‘No, why is there always a blunder right when I wake up? Last time, I shoved a bomb into someone’s face; this time, I’m chewing on a girl like she’s a piece of meat. This is getting a bit ridiculous.’

However, he couldn’t be entirely blamed.

He had just undergone a leap in his life level, and his body and spirit were in a state that was simultaneously gorged and empty.

His mind truly wasn’t very clear.

Most importantly, Lovela’s presence was within this body’s “safe zone,” so once again, he had failed to sense her arrival.

Lin Hong was about to apologize, but he looked up and saw the girl raising her hand with slight anger, reaching to pinch his ear.

Instinctively, he resisted.

His body moved faster than his thoughts, and he immediately tilted his head to dodge.

‘Since the head is the pinnacle of the six yang and the seat of the soul, how can it be touched so easily?’

Thus, he moved away.

Lovela’s hand froze mid-air.