Chapter 34. This is the House of Rubius

Author's Note: It's here!!! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)ﻭ

The dining table rocked to the weight, with footsteps and heels clicking on the wooden furniture. Strands of long mahogany hair flew, as the young woman dashed across the long table. She swung her spear, clashing it against her opponent's.

"You haven't improved at all." She scolded lazily. "It will still take years for you to beat me."

"Shut up!" The young man retorted. He slashed his spear across his shoulders, implementing a spin at its hilt. The two weapons clashed, with metallic sparks ringing out.

The two figures fought on the table, occasionally moving around to dodge or avoid attacks.

The young woman brushed a strand of her hair behind an ear, "Did I teach all of your skills for nothing, hm...?"

All of a sudden, the young man swung his spear directly against the table! The wooden dining table was slashed in half, and began to collapse inwards, due to the two adults' weight. The young woman was caught off guard, while the young man took the opportunity to throw an outright punch at her.

The young woman blocked with her spear.

The young man did not hesitate, and his fist punched the hilt of the spear—directly forcing the hilt to bend inwards.

"You...!" The young woman was outraged. "Do you know how many years I spent with this spear...!"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as the entire table collapsed. Both she and the young man fell onto the ground, amongst the pile of shattered wood. The table cloth had been torn into pieces, with the ripped fabric slowly falling over the two despairing figures.

Lucilline, "..." He slowly cleared his throat.

In an instant, the two figures on the ground looked at him. "...Lucy?"

*****

"How were you doing while big sister was away, Lucy?" The young woman, named Scarletta, smiled. She had a cold-looking face, similar to the edge of a sharp glistening iceberg. However, it was as beautiful as a sculpture carved out from pure blissful ice.

Contrast to her pale and ice-looking skin, her mahogany red hair was like a fire burning in the midst of a blizzard. Her figure was slim and slender, well-suited with the black and white dress.

When she smiled, it seemed like the ice began to melt.

"I was doing well, sister." Lucilline smiled back.

They sat on fancy cushioned chairs, which had luckily remained unharmed from the earlier battle. Scarletta studied her younger brother, then gently patted his head. "Good."

She wore a joyous expression, "If anyone had dared to hurt you, just tell big sister. I will first tenderly cut small slices on their skin and allow their blood to spill out, then deal with the fingers... the bones aren't important so I will discard them. Afterwards, I can slowly play darts with them as the target... a blade hovering over their eye... I wonder if there's enough tension, will their eyeball pop out-"

"Sister." Lucilline's smile had grown crooked. "Don't worry. Nobody has harmed me."

Scarletta recovered. She blinked, with her silver eyes clarifying. "Oh." She linked her fingers together, holding her hands on her lap. "Of course. Nobody would dare to hurt you with me by your side."

Her chin was slender and sharp, as she looked down fondly at her younger brother. Her gaze was doting and lovely.

The younger brother, Lucilline welcomed the gaze.

All of a sudden, he was lifted up from his chair-and plopped down onto a warm lap. Underneath him was a young man, with shoulder-length mahogany red hair, and curiously squinted silver eyes. Zephyratt embraced his younger brother, wrapping his arms around the latter's waist.

"I haven't seen you for so long, Lucy!" He sobbed. "I missed you so much!"

At first, Lucilline was stunned. Then his surprised gaze had softened, as he hugged Zephyratt back. "I've missed you too, brother."

The moment did not last long.

Scarletta fumed, "You nasty ass rat! Take your hands off of Lucy!"

"No way!" Zephyratt refuted, "I haven't seen Lucy for so long."

"I also haven't seen him for so long! It's about time you let me have a turn." Scarletta pushed onwards.

In the back, Augustine watched everything happen with a speechless face.

In the novel, Scarletta Rubius was described as the eldest child of House Rubius. She was born as a girl and was exempted from inheriting the title of Duke Rubius. Fortunately, Scarletta had no intention of being heir. She took great interest in the military affairs, and served as the Strongest Soldier in Lydia Kingdom. Her strength was unrivalled, unparalleled, and uncontainable.

Meanwhile, Zephyratt Rubius is the second child of House Rubius. As the first boy, he inherited the role of becoming heir. He was known to have strong connections all around the marketplace, and couldn't care less about other people's well-being. Zephyratt was a manipulative man, who could force two groups fight one another, then take the loot all for himself.

Seeing these two legendary characters... fight amongst themselves like children—it was quite contrasting.

"Brother, sister," Lucilline interrupted, "Have you forgotten about what I said before? Don't start fighting indoors. See? Now the dining table is broken, and I'll have to purchase another one."

Both Scarletta and Zephyratt froze.

Something the two problematic siblings shared in common was the fear of angering their little brother. The look on Lucilline's face welled in disappointment, as if his eyes snuffed out all the warmth from their hearts with waves of melancholy.

"...I'm sorry, Lucy!" The two siblings hugged Lucilline. They sobbed helplessly, "Don't be angry, okay?"

Zephyratt and Scarletta appeared helpless, and were on the verge of desperation.

"Big brother didn't mean to make you upset!" Zephyratt squashed his younger brother in his embrace, as if squeezing the living lights out of him. "Forgive me, okay? Lucy? Respond to me?"

Scarletta hurriedly snatched Lucilline out from his arms.

"Shut up!" She huffed. "Clearly, Lucy will never forgive you!"

Zephyratt did not give up, and tugged on his little brother. Scarletta did not give in, and tugged back. In the midst of all the mess, Lucilline bit his lips with a sharp gaze brewing in his golden eyes. "You two... have you both had enough...?"

*****

The broken table had been dumped in the backyard. Both the elder Rubius siblings were forced to clean the glass shards which they'd shattered, with mops and brooms held in their hands. Those hands which were made for wielding spears and weapons, had instead carried cleaning utilities.

Lucilline sat in his own bedroom, sipping his own cup of warmly brewed tea.

Augustine stood behind him, anticipating nervously, "I never thought that the two Rubius siblings... were like this."

"Of course you never thought so." Lucilline placed his cup down, with ripples running through the surface of the water. "They like to act like hierarchical adults in society. It is only when they return back to Duke Rubius' manor that they revert back to their original selves—children."

This was the true reality of the House of Rubius.

The window was slightly open, allowing a wisp of breeze to sneak inside the bed chamber.

Both Lucilline and Augustine looked outside.

They saw how the two Rubius elder siblings plopped the broken table, one with a match, the other with the box of matches.

Scarletta scoffed, "Hand over the box." She was going to light the table on fire.

"No!" Zephyratt retorted. "Hand me the match."

Both siblings were irked. One could see the popped veins on their forehead, representing their undying anger towards one another. "I want to set the fire!" Scarletta argued, "Clearly, you've never experienced the daunting fear of a forest fire! What if you make a mistake and set the entire manor on fire? Huh? Could you possibly take the responsibility?"

"Of course I can!" Zephyratt spat. "Besides, I'm not a child anymore! I can properly light a match without setting the entire place on fire! Unlike you, I am the heir of House Rubius!"

"Well, I am the strongest soldier in Lydia Kingdom!" Scarletta scolded.

Watching and listening to everything from above in the bed chamber, Augustine had black lines running down his face, "..." They really are like children.

Lucilline sat on his chair, with the cushion and mattress supporting his figure. He crossed one slender leg across another, and picked up his cup, gently sipping on the rim of the porcelain material. His entire figure exuded the aura of an elegant nobleman.

At that point, Zephyratt and Scarletta had begun snatching their matches and the box. They begun to fight again, throwing hands at each other.

"Pfft." Lucilline let out a small smile.

Augustine found that when this nobleman was more happy, he himself felt more at ease. As if infected by the warm atmosphere, Augustine's lips slowly curved upwards—

"Huh?" Lucilline noticed his tiny small.

"What?" Augustine stared back. His well-groomed hair and tightly-fitted suit had portrayed his masculine figure. His face was sharp and cold, making the small smile on his face stand out of place.

Lucilline shrank back in his chair.

His golden eyes blinked in surprise, "...you've changed, my dear butler."

Augustine's face reverted back to its original and cold appearance. He was as cold as an iceberg, sharp like an executioner blade falling down.

"...what do you mean?" His handsome face scrunched up in confusion.

This made Lucilline let loose a small laugh. His eyes curved, bending like moon crescents. He leaned back in his cushioned chair, with the wooden legs creaking to his light pressure. "When we first met, you were all so serious and cold—as if you were unapproachable. It felt like nothing could move your cold heart."

Upon hearing this, Augustine reflected on himself.

Back in his original world, he never tried to associate with anyone else. He could live in his own world, and others could live in theirs. Why would he need to interact with people? Why should he care about how he looked like to others?

He could do whatever he wanted. But maybe he truly wasn't that happy.

"You don't smile that often." Lucilline commented. "Well, I guess that's fine. That only just makes your joy even more precious."

Augustine: ???

He pointed at himself in exasperation, "...how does my joy become precious?"

"Well," Lucilline stretched his limbs, "Look at me. I smile every single day. If I smile tomorrow, it wouldn't mean that much. But you—Butler Augustine is different. If you start smiling tomorrow, I might just think that the world is ending."

The butler fell silent.

His eyelashes drooped, and the sunlight peering from outside had softened his contours, melting the cold exterior. The frigid ice had dwindled into mere mist, with shadows dancing under his soft eyelids. Though his skin was tough and rough, it was unblemished and a healthy colour of wheat.

Augustine muttered, "I think that if you'd smile tomorrow, it will still be meaningful."

His voice was too low, making the nobleman deaf to his words.

Lucilline perked up, sensing that the emotions under his butler's skin seemed to be in turbulent. "What did you say...?"

"Nothing." Augustine turned cold again.

The black-haired nobleman just hummed. He finished drinking his tea, and closed the window, finding the cool breeze a sort of nuisance. The sound of his siblings arguing had faded into the distance.

"I'm actually curious," a smile fell on his lips. Lucilline crossed his other leg across, "How was your original world like...?"

The butler seemed to stiffen.

His voice was hoarse, as he recounted what his original world had. "It was technologically developed. We had devices called phones, where we could communicate to another person's phone over a long distance. It can capture voices and transmit it to almost over the globe."

Lucilline: what's a globe?

"Instead of using carriages, we used vehicles called cars. They don't need horses to lead them, and can directly run on gas and fuel. Instead of using gold, silver, bronze, and copper ingots as payment, we use cash, credit or phone. The clothing style has also changed. Women—er, I meant maidens wouldn't have to wear frilly dresses. They could wear pants for anyone cares."

Upon hearing all of this information, Lucilline was quite invested.

He tried to imagine a world where women could wear pants—and forget about the gown dresses. How would a world be like without horses drawing carriages, and full of... cars..?

"Is there magic in your world?"

"No." Augustine bluntly responded.

"No more mages?"

"No. There are no such things as mages."

"What about demons?"

"Even less than mages."

Lucilline's eyes fell into the window. From a certain angle, he could see the reflection of himself. "...what about jewelry?"

"Of course, there is jewelry." Augustine responded plainly. "Some even looks better than the ones on the market nowadays."

"Really?" Lucilline was stunned.

If he could ever visit Augustine's original world, he would for sure go purchase those jewelry! He wanted to see the jewelry up close and in person! If he's ever lucky, he would bring the jewelry back for his father's jewelry collection!

"They're not that good in material and quality though." Augustine blatantly destroyed his dreams. "Some jewelry are artificial—made from cheap materials like metal, nickel, copper, and lead. Most gemstones aren't even mined from underground."

Lucilline had to catch his breath.

"You can make jewelry from such inexpensive materials?" He bit his lips. Subconsciously, his eyebrows furrowed at the thought.

Augustine bowed his head. "Yes. The market is a place full of scams."

All of a sudden, the black-haired nobleman felt something was wrong. Even though the butler had listed out so many amazing modern technologies from his original world, he didn't even seem as half as vigour as Lucilline. In fact, he sounded monotonous. Wouldn't he miss his original world? Wouldn't he try to find a way back?

"I don't like it there." A low baritone voice choked out.

Lucilline's eyes fell onto the butler, whose curtain of eyelashes shook like a falling snowflake. "I'm very happy that I came here and met you."