~ Chapter 36: The day before our tenth birthday ~

[Leonidas' point of view]

 We were beat.

We were broken.

Aunty Eliza's training was by far the worst yet! My whole body was aching, my thoughts were unfocused, it felt like HELL, a merciless torture, a nightmare! Aunty was a DEMON!

“Ungh... body hurts...” Cassandra groaned.

“You can still move, so you are doing better than me...” I said as I laid down on the grass while looking up at the sky.

“I'm a lady, why should I go through this?” she complained.

“Oh, NOW you are a lady? What happened to the brave and strong little girl who wanted to become an adventurer?” I questioned her.

“Out shopping...” she replied.

This devilish little sister of mine complained only when it suited her. I was seriously starting to worry that she was going to end up all bark and no bite, or worse... a politician.

“Hahaha! Come on, you two! It wasn't that bad!” aunty Eliza said while laughing with her hands rested on her hips and pushing that big chest of hers forward.

Cassandra and I looked at each other as if our world had crumbled to dust. We let out a inaudible groan and slumped down on the ground like a pair of lifeless dolls.

“Oh my! They look absolutely tired!” mother said when she saw us.

“Nah! They're just being lazy!” aunty Eliza brushed off the comment, but seriously speaking, our batteries were on empty.

She then walked over and lifted us up by the collar of our clothes like a pair of kittens.

“See?” she wiggled us in the air.

There was no reaction from us. We didn't bother to strain even a single muscle in our limbs.

If I wasn't this exhausted or you were my aunt, I would have smacked you... I thought.

“Well then, let them rest for a bit. Luthecia, be a dear and bring them some syrup.” mother said as she approached us.

“Yes, madam.” the lovely maid nodded and went to the kitchen.

Our eyes were sparkling when we heard the promise of a sweet reward. Like magic, our grumpiness was washed away. It was true what they said: Mother knew best!

“Even if these two are geniuses, they are still children in the end.” aunty laughed.

“Indeed, they are my precious children, which I love very much!” mother declared with a giggle as she took out a napkin and wiped away the sweat from our foreheads, one at a time.

“We love you too, mother!” Cassandra said with a smile.

I nodded and showed them a smile as well.

Our daily training was tough. No, let me rephrase that: it was so brutal that it would make even a heavy metal fan flinch away. Even so, this was merely one part of our lives. For the most part, we were still treated as children with all the benefits included: toys; hours of play and relaxation; story time with mother, father, or aunty; and the usual cuddling and pampering from everyone in the house.

If not for these precious moments, we would have certainly grown up in a very different way. It wouldn't have been hard to believe that stress, anger, and maybe even hate or a strange sense of superiority would have taken root in our hearts and personalities. That was why for me, who already had a taste of these dark emotions in my previous life, these precious moments spent in the company of my beloved family were highly treasured. As such, I would have done everything in my power to prevent anything that threatened the sanctity of this safe heaven.

When Luthecia returned, we eagerly drank our sweet treat and sat down on the grass together with mother, who patted our heads.

This marked the last day before our tenth birthday anniversary. Two days from now, we were to begin our preparations in order to join a prestigious academy and thus take our first steps into becoming responsible adults, or as me and my sister put it, cringe to the lessons for a few years and try to make connections with other children.

In this regard, father was already warning Cassandra that men were beasts and shouldn't be trusted.

“Umu! Understood! Father is a lecherous beast!” she said pointing at him.

To this reply, mother laughed, and father shattered into a billion pieces.

With this, I strongly agreed! The 'men are all beasts' part not that father was a pervert... What he did with mother in their bedroom stayed in the bedroom, I needed not to know nor hear any such details.

As for Cassandra, her suitor would first have to get her big brother's approval, meaning me, before I let him anywhere near my cute little sister.

Then again, I feared she was going to end up alone like a certain barbarian aunt of ours. Well... as her brother, it was my duty to make sure that didn't happen, but just imagining cute little Cassandra as a copy of aunty Eliza made me cringe... If she ended up like that, then finding her a suitable husband would prove to be a quest at Impossibru difficulty!