~ Chapter 19: A glimpse at Eliza’s story ~

[Eliza's point of view]

 I haven't seen my older sister, Melissa, for almost four years now, but we would send each other a letter every two months or so. Unlike me, she was what many would call a Perfect Noble Woman. Beautiful, kind, generous, cunning, smart, talented with magic, elegant, well-mannered, and with an overflowing aura of authority surrounding her.

Indeed, I wasn't anything like my sister. I was the black sheep of the family...

Thanks to my 'curse', I ended up having a bit of a gambling problem. Whenever I was in trouble or one step away from ending up as a debt slave, she always appeared like a hero in shining armor to save the day and bail me out. Still, even her fortune and connections had a limit.

I was well aware that a day will come when she wouldn't be able to reach me in time.

As luck would have it, just before I decided to spend my last coins and accept my fate, I received a letter from her. Melissa urged me to rush over to her estate and take up the position of a teacher and bodyguard for her children.

When I read it, a few tears flowed down my cheeks. The moment when I reached my end, she once again came to my rescue. More than anything, I was overjoyed to know that I would finally get to meet my nephew and niece as well as see my beloved older sister again. So, with a lot of effort and bucket loads of will power, I was able to pull myself away from the gambling den in Crysto and pay a carriage to take me to Briston, and from there to the Drakarys Estate.

On the way there, I read all the letters my sister Melissa had previously sent me since the day she found out she was pregnant with the twins. Even though I had yet to meet those two little angels, I was certain they were going to grow up to be amazing people just like their parents.

I was still a bit worried if I could pull off this job or not. To be fair, if I didn't have this 'curse', maybe I would have risen in my Adventurer Rank by now, but such was my fate. I just hoped it wasn't going interfere with my teaching duties towards my nephew and niece.

Then came the appointed day of our meeting. I was a nervous wreck and kept on worrying about whether or not I was going to be able to make a good first impression. Fortunately, by the time the carriage came to a stop, I managed to somewhat calm down myself.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out and prayed in my mind for all to be well.

I spent the day making polite conversation with Melissa and the children, mostly talking about what and how I was going to teach them. My sister didn't really mind if the two took a warrior's path for now, she was going to make sure to drill literature and etiquette in their heads one way or another later on. I felt sorry for the two when I heard this... My older sister could be a very harsh and strict tutor when it came to it.

Still, in regard to the two children, I found myself to be a bit at a loss...

The little boy, Leonidas, kept glaring at me with cold eyes. At first, I thought that maybe he felt ashamed knowing that I was his blood-related aunt. Unlike Melissa, who was an exemplary noble woman, I wasn't wearing a dress but an armor. As an adventurer, I didn't really need to know either etiquette or manners, so I tended to behave in an unbefitting way for a noble's daughter.

Well, if he expected me to act similarly to Melissa, it couldn't be helped if he felt disappointed or ashamed when looking at me... but, at the very least, his little sister showed to be curious about me.

Despite being called a prodigy and a genius at such a young age, Cassandra looked just like any other normal little girl out there... interested in swords and building muscles.

After the children were put to bed, I knelt in front of my sister an bowed my head all the way to the floor.

“Thank you, Melissa... Despite how I am, you were still willing to help me out... Again, you saved me. Thank you!” I spoke honestly from the bottom of my heart.

“Dear me, stand up, Eliza! You know very well that you are my beloved little sister! We're family! Of course, I will do anything within my power to help you!” she declared proudly.

As generous and smart as my older sister could be, she had no idea that if she was to act like most of the other nobles out there, she wouldn't have tried to help me. On the contrary, she would have taken my constant failed attempts to correct myself as a reason and proof of me being unworthy of a noble title or to be considered as a member of her family.

Despite this, without caring about her reputation and honor, she still held out her hand to help me. She even begged our parents not to sever all ties with me.

Really now, this older sister of mine... what she did for me wasn't something anyone would do, yet... here I was, still imposing on her kindness.

I was a failure.

As days went by, I trained her children as promised and kept an eye out for anyone who thought it would be easy to sneak inside the Drakarys Estate to steal something. There were several attempts made by some no-good adventurers. As such, without batting an eye, I turned them black and blue and kicked them out of my sister's land. Once they learned this place wasn't such an easy target to rob, they started to calm down. From what I came to understand, usually, it was either Melissa or my brother-in-law who sent them running with their tails between their legs, but they were far more merciful than I was.

Meanwhile, the two children were improving at a considerable rate. Lately though, I began to believe that the little boy who kept glaring at me whenever his little sister showed me a smile might also be a prodigy himself.

Despite holding a single unknown Blessing, Leonidas got used to the short sword and Paraskin Blade rather quickly, while his talent for controlling magic was far better than his sister's. On the other hand, while holding a smaller pool, Cassandra surpassed her older brother in Magic Energy regeneration.

If they kept working hard on improving and adding new skills to their existing ones, these two were sure to one day surpass and even overshadow this kingdom's Supreme Ranked Adventurers. Becoming Court Mages or Royal Knights in charge with the security of his Majesty's family was not an impossible job for these two.

Even so, I had yet to find out why Leonidas hated me so much. I felt a bit sad about it. Even I didn't want to be hated by my own nephew. That was why, one day, I went and asked for my sister's help regarding this... predicament.

What soon followed was the most embarrassing day of my entire life!