Signus

Those months leading up to the princess's birthday went by quickly as Kye threw himself into his work and his training. Kye had grown taller and now stood at a very tall 159 centimetres. It was two days before his tenth birthday but there were no preparations for any party, currently, the Runewalker family was packing up for a long stay in the Central territory's capital city, Alioth. Alioth was the namesake of the kingdom and was where the royal lineage first settled and started their rule many centuries ago. Signus and Evan were excluded from coming so only Frey, Alicia, Layla, Kye, and all of Kye's sisters were going on this trip. Several servants, including Vanessa, had departed earlier to make sure the Runewalker house in the capital was in a proper state before their arrival. Kye had finished packing his trunk and was carrying it downstairs when he heard a familiar argument between Signus and Frey.

"Why?! Why can't I go to the capital with you?! I'm better than that runt at least!"

"I will NOT sit here and have this argument again Signus. Kye is coming with us and you will stay here. I have overlooked your behaviour in the past but this last incident is TOO FAR!"

"So I tried to force a maid to have sex with me, who cares?"

"Who cares? I CARE! You're supposed to be my son yet I look at you and feel disgusted. You brought this on yourself if you thought I somehow favoured you because you were the heir, know that if Evan wasn't traumatised and paranoid I would have sooner given him the territory than you! Now that Kye has woken up and proven to be not only the best fit as my heir, he has also shown himself to be a decent fucking human being, unlike you!"

Frey slapped Signus across the face, staggering him and causing him to crash into the wall next to him, also knocking down some decorations.

"You have been nothing but a blight on this family! You turned fifteen two months ago yet still act like this! I have had enough. We will buy you a house near the academy and give you enough money to live for a few years. You will attend the academy to completion and then you will live your own life, away from the Runewalker territory. You will never be welcome back in this house ever again, you are no longer a Runewalker."

Signus looked up at Frey from the ground, eyes filling up with tears from the pain and his fate. He desperately clung to Frey's leg while snivelling.

"Please father, I won't do it again!"

"Who are you calling father? You're no son of mine, now GET OFF ME."

Frey kicked his leg, hitting Signus in the jaw and sending him flying back. Signus didn't get up and was knocked unconscious from the blow. Rose looked down at Signus with a pitiful expression on her face. She had given birth to Signus yet she always felt so detached from him. He had no interest in being a knight nor a soldier, did everything in half-measures and was extremely debaucherous. She wondered where she had gone wrong with him, that if she was the one to blame for how he turned out when she could have stood to be more supportive of him and his endeavours. Yet her wonderful daughter Elena was very disconnected from any type of violence and turned out to be a wonderful girl.

Elena was also there to witness this event but instead of crying or showing any form of pity, she actually felt relieved. There wasn't a single soul on Signus' side within the family, even his direct blood sister. Kye looked at Signus' dishevelled form lying prone on the ground and sighed. Incidentally, it was Kye who caught Signus in the act of attempting to rape one of the maids. Once Kye figured out what he was trying to do, he barged into the room and dragged Signus off of her and gave him a beating. Even though Signus had his crest, it was only the petty crest of stamina, so Kye who had been intensely training for many months was easily able to overpower him. Once he was black and blue, Kye helped the maid and took her to his parents, explaining what had happened.

Frey was shaking with rage once he heard the news and seriously considered kicking Signus from the family immediately. It was found that Signus was fairly drunk so Frey wanted to believe that once he sobered up and recalled, he would make an apology. Instead, he treated it like it wasn't a big deal and that this sort of thing should be allowed to happen. That was it for Frey, he had tried so hard to correct Signus' behaviour over the years but with this event, it was no longer possible for the family to accept Signus as one of their own.

Kye finally descended the stairs and looked at Signus, shaking his head. If he had just apologised after it and blamed it on being drunk, he would have gotten away with it, albeit with severe punishment. Now, his pathetic older brother had just been kicked from the family. Signus stirred and looked up, seeing Kye his eyes went bloodshot and he sprung up, pointing his finger at Kye while his hands shook with rage.

"You... if you had just stayed a cripple I wouldn't be like this!!!"

Kye didn't respond, but instead quickly grabbed the finger Signus was pointing at him and bent it upwards with force. The cracking of bones was heard as Signus screamed with pain as his finger was broken in several places. Signus fell to his knees where Kye grabbed his hair and looked him in the eyes.

"Looks like I didn't beat you enough last time, allow me to fix that mistake."

Kye drew back his foot and kicked Signus squarely in the jaw. A loud crack was heard and Signus was sent flying across the room. Signus' jaw was now broken and his finger was bent weirdly out of shape. If the bones weren't reset in time, his finger would heal like that and it would become useless but that was of no concern to the Runewalkers at that moment. Frey came up and patted Kye on the back.

"Let's get ready to leave, son."

"Yes dad."

With that, the curtains closed on Signus Runewalker's comfortable life in the lap of luxury and so began his life of hardships and misery.