Chapter 29: Pray we don’t cross paths

That was it. No explanation. No elaboration.

Just a rather dismissive response.

Aaron almost sighed.

’Still as straightforward as ever.’

Damien then glanced in the direction Aaron had come from.

More specifically, towards the spot where he had been standing with Finn.

"What were you discussing with the Blade boy?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow.

His brother had practically ignored him since he arrived, yet the moment he noticed him talking to Finn, he suddenly became interested.

There was also something else.

Finn had been speaking rather freely until he discovered Aaron’s family name. After that, his entire demeanor had changed.

And judging by Damien’s question, the two of them weren’t strangers.

Finn and Damien knew each other.

Aaron wasn’t sure how, considering they attended different academies, but one thing was becoming increasingly apparent. They didn’t particularly like each other.

"You know him?"

A smirk appeared on Damien’s face.

"He’s the best combatant in Garons Academy."

Aaron froze.

For a moment, he simply stared at his brother.

Then his mind went back to the short, black-haired boy who had nearly knocked him off his feet.

’What?’

The best combatant in Garons Academy?

He looked back towards the direction Finn he had spoken with Finn.

Suddenly, several things made sense.

Just like Damien was the best combatant in Ravstas Academy, the little perverted rascal was apparently the best combatant in one of the most prestigious academies in another country.

’Damn!’

Aaron clicked his tongue internally. He really needed to stop judging people by their appearances. First, he had mistaken Damien’s strength because of his outdated memories.

Then he had nearly dismissed Finn as an ordinary, troublesome brat.

At this rate, he might as well start assuming everyone around him was secretly a monster.

’If Natasha knew who he was, she might have reconsidered rejecting his proposal.’

A strange thought crossed his mind. Finn was on the same level as Damien, the very person Natasha had been trying so hard to impress.

Perhaps she had just missed out on a rather unusual opportunity.

Aaron shook his head slightly.

’Well, not that it matters.’

He allowed his gaze to wander across the gathering for a moment before suddenly remembering the original reason he had approached Damien.

There was someone he hadn’t seen. Someone he had specifically been looking for.

"By the way, I haven’t seen Abigail." Aaron said as he glanced around once again, hoping to catch a glimpse of his sister among the Ravstas Academy students.

Damien gave him a calm look.

"She’s not here."

Aaron frowned.

"Where is she?"

"She failed to qualify."

For a brief moment, Aaron didn’t respond. Then his expression gradually changed as the meaning of those words settled in.

His eyebrows shot up.

"What!?"

He stared at Damien in disbelief.

"How!? You’re the best in the academy. Why didn’t you help her out? Why... Why didn’t you guide her?"

Abigail had entered Ravstas Academy two years before him. She had spent years training and preparing alongside Damien for this very opportunity.

And yet, she had failed to qualify?

Aaron looked at his brother, expecting some sort of explanation. Instead, Damien frowned.

"Because she’s a disgrace, a failure and a waste of time."

Aaron’s expression stiffened.

However, his brother ignored his expression and continued, his tone completely devoid of sympathy:

"She was only good enough in the past because of you. Without you around her, she’s nothing."

The words struck Aaron harder than he expected. For a moment, he simply stared at his elder brother.

He had anticipated Damien being cold.

He had anticipated his usual indifference and perhaps even a few unpleasant remarks.

But this?

His expression gradually darkened.

"How dare you."

His voice was low.

"She’s your sister."

Damien’s frown deepened.

He looked at Aaron as though the latter had just said something particularly foolish. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he corrected him.

"Step-sister."

Damien slowly rose to his feet.

The difference in their physiques became even more apparent once he was standing. He was a full head and shoulders taller than Aaron, with a frame that looked three or four times as muscular. His broad shoulders and well-defined physique made Aaron appear almost childlike standing before him.

The contrast was so ridiculous that anyone looking at them would have struggled to believe they were brothers.

Yet Aaron didn’t retreat.

As Damien took a step towards him, Aaron tilted his head back, craning his neck to meet his brother’s gaze. Despite the considerable difference in their heights, he held Damien’s stare without flinching.

Damien looked down at him, his expression cold and devoid of warmth.

"Pray you don’t become an Awakened being. Because if you do, and we ever cross paths in the dungeon, I’ll personally make sure you never leave it alive."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Your very existence is a nuisance to me."

For a brief moment, neither brother moved.

Then Damien shot Aaron one final hateful glare, turned around, and walked away as though the conversation had never happened.

Aaron remained where he was.

He couldn’t tell whether the students surrounding them had heard every word exchanged between him and Damien. However, judging by their expressions and the sudden wave of whispers that erupted the moment Damien left, it was clear that most of them had heard enough to understand what had happened.

Some stared at Aaron with undisguised curiosity. Others exchanged glances, whispering among themselves. A few even looked towards Damien’s retreating figure, seemingly trying to make sense of the hostility they had just witnessed.

Aaron paid them no attention.

He gritted his teeth, struggling to suppress the anger threatening to rise within him. Of all the things Damien could have said, that threat was hardly the most painful.

It was what he had said about Abigail.

Age-wise, Aaron might have been the youngest in the family, but when it came to maturity, Abigail was unarguably the youngest.

He had pampered her far too much growing up. Perhaps he had spoiled her without realizing it, because somewhere along the way, she had begun treating him as though he were her elder brother rather than the other way around.