Chapter 98
Ryan and Alex — The Secret Comes Out
“Calm down… let’s not panic,” Ryan thought.
He tilted his head.
“What do you mean, kid?”
“It’s Instant Death… isn’t it?”
“…”
Ugh. This kid is way too sharp.
“Alex.”
“Why don’t you go back home?”
That was it — no point denying it anymore.
Ryan sighed and admitted, “…Because I don’t want to see my father’s face.”
“Oh, I see…” Alex nodded.
“That was amazing… You put me behind you, didn’t even touch the bear, and still… That means you’re already in the growth stage, right?”
“…”
Seriously? He figured that out too? How does this kid know everything?
Even things Bania doesn’t know yet had just been dragged out of him.
Ryan took a deep breath and looked away. “…Yeah.”
“That’s so cool…”
Ryan walked over. Alex just sat there in shock, repeating, “So cool… amazing…”
“Can you stand?”
“Ah! Yeah—ow…”
Alex winced. His ankle looked bad. Ryan quickly rolled up his pants leg—
“What the—! Doesn’t that hurt?”
His ankle was completely twisted, swollen, and already turning purple.
It was the kind of injury that should have made him scream, but he’d been so shocked by Ryan’s secret that he hadn’t even felt the pain.
“I’m sorry… I’m not good at much. I don’t even have good reflexes.”
“What? Why are you apologizing for that?!”
“…”
But Alex still looked completely spaced out.
Ryan felt dread rising. This was exactly what he’d been afraid of.
Alex had already been hurt by the fact that, despite being born into the Basenberg bloodline, he was “powerless.”
All his siblings had awakened abilities, moved into big fancy houses, while he was the only one kicked out.
At least here in Belzer, there were two other powerless people besides him — so maybe that had given him some comfort.
“Hang in there.”
Ryan found a sturdy stick, made a splint for Alex’s ankle, and tore his own clothes to tie it firmly.
Then he carefully lifted Alex in his arms — easily, as if he weighed nothing.
“You’re really strong too…”
“…”
Damn it. Ryan shut his eyes.
This was a disaster.
Now that Alex knew Ryan had powers, his self-esteem had crashed completely.
“If you train that ability to completion… you’re basically a god, right?”
“…”
Ryan let out a short laugh as they walked down the mountain.
“Is there anything you don’t know?”
Well… it wasn’t too surprising.
“Alex was the top student in Windsor Castle,” Ryan remembered.
He’d heard Alex had never once missed a perfect score on Windsor’s notoriously difficult exams.
“That’s actually the ability I’ve always wanted.”
“What? Instant Death?!”
“Yes.”
“Why would you want something that kills people?!”
…Did Alex have Gabriel’s blood in him too?!
“It’s the only special-grade Blessing.”
“…”
“My sister Krista—oh, she’s the one who awakened when I was eight—left the castle after that. She awakened a top-tier ability.”
“Yeah, I know. She’s one of the strongest.”
“Yes. When she awakened, it was chaos. Everyone from the main estate came to celebrate and praise her. They said Windsor Castle had finally produced a top-tier Blessing user.”
“…I see.”
“Before she left, she told me about meeting Father for the first time. She said he was so… so cool, so kind, and that he adored her.”
Ryan sighed.
Alex must have grown up wanting to be like the siblings who awakened early — wanting to use abilities, see his father, be praised, and be loved.
And the first ability you see in the guidebook for “special-grade” Blessings is .
Every night, Alex must have wondered, What ability will I get? If I awaken a special-grade Blessing, Father will love me and I can go home…
‘That house is hell.’
It was the kind of place that perfectly destroyed a child’s heart.
“I’m jealous…” Alex murmured softly from Ryan’s arms. His eyes looked so empty it scared Ryan.
This is bad.
This was a big enough mess that Bania might actually fight him for round two.
I’d better take the hit first.
He decided he’d confess everything to her as soon as they got home.
Back at home
Ryan peeked into the room, clearly nervous. The moment I saw him, I apologized.
“Dad, I’m sorry. I overreacted earlier.”
The moment I saw Alex swinging a wooden sword, I’d lost my head without thinking.
Ryan hadn’t known anything — it wasn’t his fault. He must have been baffled seeing me act like that out of nowhere.
“No, I’m sorry.”
“…?”
He apologized right back.
“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who should be sorry. It’s just… I remembered Father forcing Alex to hold a sword, and it shocked me so much I panicked.”
“Yeah, I figured. But I’m still sorry.”
“No, why are you—”
Ryan squeezed his eyes shut and blurted it out.
“Not just about the fight earlier! I did something just now that I really need to apologize for!”
“…What did you do?”
***
Outside Alex’s room
I let out a muffled scream.
Beside me, Ryan glanced at me nervously.
Whump.
“Ugh.”
Whump, whump.
I jabbed him in the stomach with small punches.
“Okay, seriously — it’s not entirely my fault! Who could’ve expected a bear to show up?!”
“How could you not expect it?! It’s exactly the time of year when bears wake up from hibernation!”
“…Yeah, fair point.”
We kept our voices low as we argued.
“And I specifically told you not to give Alex a sword! You turn around for two seconds and sneak him up a mountain?”
“…”
“If you hadn’t gone up there, there wouldn’t have been a bear in the first place!”
“Hey, but how’s that kid so sharp? He actually figured it out?”
“…? It’d be weirder if he didn’t! Do you think Alex’s stupid? A bear dying of a heart attack? Seriously?”
“Look, I couldn’t think of any other excuse at the moment.”
“I don’t care! His mental state’s probably shattered now, so you’d better watch out for him. Got it?”
“Got it.”
I took a deep breath and knocked on Alex’s door, then stepped inside.
“Alex~ my sweet boy~”
He was sitting on the bed, but smiled when he saw me and Ryan.
“Sis.”
“I heard you got hurt. Does it hurt?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
I glanced at his ankle — Emma had re-bandaged it well, but it was definitely not “fine.”
God, I want to heal him.
“Did you two make up?”
“Yeah! You were worried, right? I’m really sorry. Dad and I talked it out, so don’t worry anymore.”
“That’s good. But… Sis…”
“Yeah?”
“Are you… an able user too?”
“….”
Wow.
Ryan and I looked at each other in shock.
“Huh? What do you mean?” I tried to bluff.
“I just… started thinking. Is it really possible for there to be three powerless people in one place? And Father’s an ability user, right? You knew that — you’re the closest to him.”
Alex lowered his eyes.
“Father makes sense — he’s tall, strong, and can do anything. He’s perfect. It’d be weird if he wasn’t an able user. And you… you’ve always been good at everything. Perfect scores on every exam. Even when I was just waiting to be kicked out, you were the one who went to find Father. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be lying in the street right now.”
“I—”
“It’s not strange for a useless idiot like me to be powerless. But you… you’re like Father. Good at everything.”
Was this just intuition? Or…
Either way, I could feel how far Alex’s self-esteem had fallen.
Exactly as I’d feared — if he found out Ryan and I had powers, this is what would happen.
You are an able user…
But I couldn’t say it.
“Are you powerless too?” he pressed.
I held his gaze, thinking.
Of course I couldn’t hide it forever.
If I lied now, I might comfort him for the moment, but when the truth came out later… it would be betrayal.
Ryan, from behind Alex, mouthed, Just tell him.
That man, causing trouble and then telling me to clean it up…
I finally nodded slowly.
“Wow… I knew it.”
Alex gave a bitter smile.
“Can you show me?”
“…Yeah.”
Honestly, I’d been wanting to anyway, so I could heal his ankle.
I knelt, took his left ankle in my hands, and activated my ability.
<Eye of the Mirror — Light’s Restoration>
A white glow spread.
Alex’s eyes widened.
“W-wow…”
He tested his ankle, moving it easily now. Then he smiled at me.
“That’s… that’s amazing. Thank you, Sis.”
But… his smile quickly faded.
“…Everyone’s so amazing.”
His lips trembled, and he pulled the blanket over himself.
“I-I’m just… hhic… tired… so… I’ll sleep now…”
From under the blanket came the sound of muffled crying.
Ryan and I just stood there, staring at him. Then we looked at each other.
What are we going to do…
This is driving me crazy…
