Necromancer's Descent

15 - Joshua

- Narrator's point of view -

The lively bustling from people fills the garden as young nobles and their parents gather to socialize, as they have done so many times before. Kids of all ages mimic the plastered on smiles of their parents, and speak words far too adult to sound like their own. They are too old not to matter, and too young to have their free will.

"...h-hey..."

A young, scrawny and pale brown haired boy steps up to his friend nervously. He would clearly rather have stayed quiet, as the other boy appears gloomy and irritable, but he presses on cautiously.

"D-did you really beat up your little brother?"

The older brother's eyes fill with spite and annoyance at the nervous boy, and raises his chin to look down at the nervous boy.

"A weakling like him isn't suited at the prince's side. He can barely use mana either," he answers the other boy with an irritable huff.

The other boy glances nervously to the people around them, and then back to his angry friend. The words Johannes spoke were never so harsh before, and Johannes light brown eyes seem to glisten with tears.

This brings hope to the nervous boy that he can fix what has broken.

"...but isn't that because of the red-"

Yet the boy's slow and awkward attempt at mediating gets cut short.

"Even if he has red mana, he can't use it despite people teaching him. If anything that just makes him more useless," the older brother spits out and turns his face away in irritation before he continues. "The only reason he earned their favor is because he acts all cute with them."

The other boy lowers his head and looks quietly down at the grass by their feet, while stroking his own arm comfortingly.

Johannes had almost everything. He had a talent for both blue and yellow mana, and stood out as to become handsome even at their young age. He had always been kind, well mannered and polite, and done well in studies too. The only place where the younger brother did better, was in making genuine friendships.

"......you shouldn't treat your brother like that, Johannes."

The older brother, Johannes' eyes brown eyes narrow into a glare at his friend.

"Shut up, Wallis. You always just get to do what you want. You don't need to worry about duties or rank, because you're a spoiled brat. You don't have any siblings to share everything with or take away the things from you that matter the most. Just because you're worried that your mom is dying, and that you'll never see her again, that doesn't mean I will ever feel that way about him. I'd be glad to never see him again."

Despite lowering his voice, Johannes voice is tense and vicious without an ounce of hesitance or regret in it. Wallis can only flinch at the words and lower the gaze of his pale violet eyes to the ground.

"Even after I beat him up that little dung beetle lights up when he sees me and follows me around. All to just make the adults angry that I'm angry with him, because 'he is so cute'" he adds mockingly at the end and then clicks his tongue.

Wallis stares at Johannes quietly, while his eyes fill with tears, but then starts pulling up a set of tarot cards from his pocket.

"I don't want your fortune telling. Go predict about your mom's illness instead."

Johannes gets up and leaves with those cold words, with Wallis standing quietly with his cards in hand.

- Nao's / Rosalin's Point of View -