Chapter 34: Lie

"You are a cruel man, Elijah."

"Whatever makes you say that? Dearest Elisa." Still within the confines of his office, Elijah questioned the woman across from his desk while seated in his chair.

Elisa Stark is his wife. She was a tall beauty with high cheekbones and oval-shaped eyes. She was dressed in what looked like a high-quality black dress, and along with that, she had a head of long black hair and brilliant blue eyes.

She was from a noble family with a long line of royal knights. With her herself having been a knight not long ago,.

"You made them think they had a choice." She started, her expression remaining blank.

"We both know how desperate you are for an heir with the full blessing. If both refused, you would still no doubt force them to go through with the ritual."

"Mayhap." He shamelessly admitted it.

"Lest you forget, they are my children as well." She glared at his blank face as she continued. "I hope you are not thinking that I will idly stand by while you force them to do something they do not want to."

"I will not be forcing them; in fact, they will make the choice on their own; at least he will." He cryptically shot back.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She questioned.

"How shameful. As their mother, I expected you would know what is best for them." He shook his head with a sigh.

"And you do?" She scoffed. "You mean to forsake William so Agatha alone can prosper?"

"And? What of it?" He sighed, seemingly at her incompetence. "I assumed you understood; maybe I overestimated your intelligence."

"Understood what!?" She snarled. "Do you mean to force our children into this ritual of yours?"

"They have no future as they are." Unbothered by her outburst, he simply spoke on. "This much, I assume you understand." Elijah raised his right palm, and a bright blue light came into existence. He illuminated the small space much further as something began to take form with his palm.

One could see how its form was slowly structured as it came into being while the light died down. A butterfly hovered inches above his palm.

It had delicate wings adorned with hues of vibrant orange, deep blue, and striking black. Its wingspan stretched around 4 inches, demonstrating its sizable and powerful stature. The thin, velvety wings were patterned with bold stripes and speckles, making them a sight to behold. Its body was slender, with a slender thorax and a rounded, bulbous abdomen. The eyes were large and multifaceted, shimmering an iridescent blue with every movement. The graceful butterfly's legs and antennae were long and slender, completing its entrancing look.

Were any other mage to look upon this shock and respect would flood out of them. As this was no mere illusion, or party trick. This was the creation of a living being. A sentient being had its own train of thought and will to live.

This was one of Gregory's Familial Arts—the creation of life. Even the most experienced mage could only hope to recreate magic of this caliber.

Elisa frowned at the display of power but remained confused as to what the purpose of it was. Elijah crushed the recently born butterfly in his palm as it faded into dust particles.

"To create life on a whim." He mused. "Tis a power that Gregory's highly valued. A power neither Agatha nor William possess. They are useless."

"If you've a point, then make it." She spat, growing annoyed at this prolonged conversation.

"My father plans on disposing of those two." He bluntly stated.

"What?" Elisa blinked in confusion at the random statement.

"They are a stain in house Gregory; they are mere Halflings who cannot make use of our Goddess's blessing."

"They are still our children, and you would speak of disposing of them!?" Elisa fumed in disbelief.

"Is your hearing impaired?" He looked at her, annoyed. "It is my father who cannot stand their existence. He would sooner have us breed another child than to be stuck with incomplete heirs."

"And so what? Do we forsake one child so the other can be whole?" She questioned.

"Precisely." He answered without hesitation. "William is lazy and lacks motivation; you do not expect that boy to have any future, do you? The blessing, as partial as it is, is wasted upon him. But his one redeeming quality is his love for his sister, as you will see. I do not have to force him to do anything. Soon he will voluntarily give up his blessing so his sister might succeed."

Elisa frowned. There was truth to his words, as unfortunate as it was. But were they truly going to forsake William so Agatha alone could succeed? That left nothing but a bad taste in her mouth.

--------------------

"No! Absolutely not!"

"But si-"

"But nothing!" Agatha huffed as William sighed.

Currently, they were within the confines of Agatha's room. A large space filled with an overly large white wardrobe adorned with black. A desk with a stack of papers and a quill on top. There was a window to the far right, where a few sun rays creeped out, and finally there was Agatha's overly large room with an absurd amount of stuffed animals decorating it.

William, the same as Agatha, was seated on the bed. He sighed once more as he stared at his glaring sister. His father had spoken to her about the ritual as well but he alone was considering it.

"Look, sis, I know you don't like it, but that bastard is right." He stated, trying to make his case. "This blessing is wasted on me; you could put it to much better use. You can be whole!" He reasoned. But Agatha merely shook her head.

"That is not the point." She huffed. "The pressure I would get from that man should we go through with this ritual would be unimaginable."

"Look, I know that, but if you were whole, no one would question your position as next in line. You could change this garbage family for the better." He argued, but his sisters thoughts were not like to change based on her expression.

"I am sorry, but I just can't." Agatha did not care that she had a half-blessing. Sure, she could not make use of any of House Gregory's Familial Arts, but if she were being honest, she would not have it any other way.

Between herself and William, she was the obvious choice for the next heir. Which is why she received 'special training'. William did not know, but she would keep it that way. She did not want to think about what the boy would attempt to do to their father should he know what their father put her through.

If her blessing would make her whole, she shuddered to think about what her father would put her through then. Torture disguised as training.

"Look, William, you will not convince me my mind is set." She clarified. "I care not if my blessing is incomplete." Her gaze meant she was serious. William shook his head and sighed.

He understood why she did not want to go through with this ritual their father proposed. She was afraid he would be discarded, seeing as he would not even have a partial blessing anymore. But their mother would never allow him to be kicked out of the house. He did not care if his father discarded him; if Agatha were to receive the full blessing, she could change the Gregory family for the better.

("I'm sorry, sis, but I can't let you go on like this.")

"Alright, sis, I'll drop it." It put a bad taste in his mouth to lie, but he was doing this for the good of Agatha. So, getting off the bed, William forced out a smile. "Whelp, all this arguing has tired me out; it seems I'll never win against you."

"Well, you should know better than to think you could win against me in something like arguing." She stated it in a haughty tone with a smug look on her face.

"Yeah, yeah." He just shook his head at her antics as he approached the room door, exiting her room. His smile immediately dropped.

("Am I really about to do this?") Doubt settled in his mind, but he quickly reaffirmed himself. This was all for Agatha; even if she were to be angry at him for some time, she could at the very least prosper this way. Even if he should be left behind, all that matters is her succeeding.

William moved quickly through the expansive halls of the mansion, his feet quickly stopping in front of a lone wooden door. Without knocking on the door, even as he pushed past it as he entered the office, still seated behind his desk was his father.

His hands cupped in front of his face with an unsurprised look on his face. As if he were expecting William to barge in, and his words are now just attributed to that fact.

"So, boy..." He started, a ghost of a smirk adorning his face. "Have you made your decision?"

"Yes." Doubt was still strong within them, but he once again told himself that this was needed. "Take my blessing."