This is your apartment

[Bellatrix's Pov]

Sitting in the tiny kitchen area of my brother's apartment, I felt a headache incoming as he was trying his best to help me, as he so often did.

"What do you mean, brother? Why should I try to get along with Zero?"

"Haa... I've already told you. If Caroline somehow succeeds in bringing him to her side, even if it's with purely symbolic and platonic relations, I believe it will be hard for you to keep your place as the heir. That boy... I don't think he himself realizes the weight of his own value."

It felt pretty strange to think about the fact that the short, white-haired youth had somehow become the deciding factor in the faction war of our house, but if my brother believed this to be the case, I had no reason to question it.

I had already realized that I wasn't the most clever, nor was I the strongest. In fact, in many ways, I would say that Adam was a lot more suited to be the heir to the Rue house. Or, at least he would have been if not for his tragic situation.

Still, it did irk me to think about wagging my tail again, knowing what happened after I had tried to coax and get on Mike's good side. Hadn't that just ended in me getting thrown away? Also, there was something else that I honestly didn't like about getting close to that young man.

"I understand, to an extent at least. However... is it safe?"

There was no way I could fully understand how Caroline would dare get so close to someone with such impulsive tendencies, and even more so when having ulterior motives. What would happen if Zero suddenly got to know her agenda? In my head, there was a relatively large risk of things getting quite... bloody...

It wasn't that I didn't believe the representative and the chosen of the church to be a person who wanted to do good, but it still didn't mean he wasn't human. And in this case, he was a very immature and inexperienced human.

To some extent, I would compare him with a child. A child that wielded such immense powers that he could bring about a disaster if he lost his head. (Something Adriana had no idea that he had already experienced once!)

Seeing my brother's face warp a bit, it was clear that he shared the same sentiment as me. "That... I think it's too early to tell. Sister, I'm not telling you to force your way in, we just need to make sure that we are at least not on the opposite side, and when taking into consideration that he has some kind of relationship with Sophie, that shouldn't be impossible."

Though his words made a lot of sense, I still couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about the prospect of getting close to him. Taking a sip of the tea that my brother had made, I resigned myself to at least give it a shot.

"Fine. I'll try and get close to him, even if it's just a bit. But man, Caroline is really crazy, isn't she?"

"She is as ambitious as ever. It can't be helped, can it? She probably still believes in what those elders have told her about her mother."

Just by hearing him mention those old coots, my hands clenched in anger.

The elder council of Rue, the ones who in reality ruled the family behind the scenes and created whatever scenarios they wanted. The reason behind my skewed education, the reason for Caroline's desperation, and the reason why Adam could never chase the position of being the heir.

'And just because his hair happens to have a different color...'

Although our family wasn't the biggest or most powerful, they still wanted so desperately to believe we were superior to everyone that the house had fallen behind the times to an extreme extent.

"It's okay, brother. I will make sure I become the heir, no matter what."

Suddenly, he stood up and started to stroke my hair, "No. There will be no 'no matter what'. I want you to try your best, but I'm already hesitant for you to even try and get close to that monster. Even if I don't believe there to be any danger as long as you don't go overboard, as soon as your safety is at risk, I want you to withdraw."

Like always, his main priority wasn't for us to rise to power, and for me to inherit the seat of our father. Since we were kids, he had always prioritized me, not just because it was his official position, but because he cared about me.

Believing we had concluded this part of our conversation, I switched topics.

"Come to think of it, brother. Who is that girl you have started hanging out with?"

"Ah, look how the time flies, I have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, sis."

"Brother... this is your apartment..."

****

[Stella's Pov]

*BAM!*

"Huff...huff..."

'This fucking Manual...! It's so useless!'

No matter how I tried, I could never figure out the last gift that my mother had given me, a gift that my father always told me would bring me fortune in the future.

[Manipulator of Space], despite its grand name, the core skill was the only thing I could use, as I didn't even understand it enough for me to gain a single derivative skill. And it wasn't a skill that was particularly suited when using a shield.

Despite my father trying to talk me out of using a shield, I couldn't see a world without it. Looking at my father's broad back when I was little, gazing at the one who had always been at my side when he defended everyone against monsters... there was no way I could throw that away.

"Sniff... but... guh!"

I couldn't stop my eyes from watering, thinking about how I had done nothing but lose since I got to the academy. With my legs losing strength, I fell down to my knees, desperately trying to wipe away the weakness that was running down my face.

In the future, I would be the one to stand at the border, someone who would be responsible for defending our nation against the monsters. Yet, I couldn't even stand my own ground, so how could I even think about protecting others?

"Zero...sniff..."

It was even to the point where I had been the reason why my friend had gotten hurt. If it wasn't for my weakness, Zero wouldn't have had to step up, and he wouldn't have had to get hurt. And then, it happened again!

At the club, I had been too scared to follow Arthur and Zero, thinking that if even Sophie was too weak to help, what could I do? As a result, when Sophie finally convinced those suited men to let her out, we had been met with...

'He was... bleeding so much...'

There was no way he would be fine after something like that, and that just made his innocent smile afterward worse. "Guh! I-I... I just want to be able to stand by his side! Shit! I don't want him to have to protect me!"

Yet no matter how much time I spent practicing, how much time I spent training, I couldn't see myself getting stronger. Even after multiple sparring sessions with Sophie, I didn't seem to make any progress.

*Knock, knock!*

'Ahh! Not now!'

Hearing someone knock on my door, hard enough for the sound to even travel into my training room, really had the worst timing possible.

After today, we had gotten to know that if there was someone at our door, we were expected to open it, as it could be part of an investigation. Hurriedly, I steeled my mind, wiped my face one last time, and exited my training room.

Then it didn't take long until I opened my door, only to be met with a huge man standing in front of me.

"C-can I come in...? W-wait, Stella, are you okay?"

Though I had no idea why Thomas had paid me a visit, it wasn't surprising that he noticed the state of my face. However, I had no intention of crying in front of him, so I just smiled while telling him a small lie.

"Ah, I just got something in my eyes. Come in."

Before I knew it, we were sitting at my kitchen table, with the big man appearing to try and find the courage to tell me whatever he had on his mind. Luckily, it didn't take all too long, but unfortunately, his words felt like a dagger to my heart.

"S-Stella... I w-want to get stronger. I want to g-get stronger s-so I can stand with Zero...and I think you do too. Let's help each other!"

The reason why his words hurt? Because if someone as strong as Thomas had these kinds of feelings, how far behind was I?