Edited by: bafflinghaze
Guinivere would be lying if she claimed she was close to either of her older brothers growing up.
She did not know them very well, but she understood them on a surface level.
Aurelion had always been calm and detached, someone who spoke little and had too little time to spend with her.
He was like the rest of their family, therefore, he was predictable.
Nazareth was crazy. No further explanation was needed.
As for Guinivere herself, she had a tough exterior and a love for a good duel, but beneath those interests, she knew she was the most emotionally intelligent person in her family.
This awareness paired well with her luck of being born a girl and the youngest child. She was the only daughter of the Odum Family and everyone doted on her.
The stress and worry on the issues relating to heirship would never fall to her, so while her brothers fought it out, she could easily fly under the radar and watch from the side.
So for a very long time, Guinivere thought she was lucky because her older brothers didn’t see her as an obstacle, but rather the focus of their love.
Odums loved, as their father always said. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes painfully.
To them, she was the golden child—someone with a talent for the sword and the freedom to leave if she so desired.
Unlike her brothers, she was free.
She could run while they were damned to their struggles and blinded to everything else.
It was sad when she thought about it like this. But it was the truth.
Guinivere had no shackles but the rest of her beloved family would always be imprisoned in a hell of their own making.
But that wasn’t the point she was making.
The point was, Guinivere knew love in many forms.
She didn’t think there could be so many, but her family proved her wrong.
Nazareth was never out to kill her, which meant a lot, considering his relationship with Aurelion.
Aurelion fretted over her in his own ice cube-like ways despite being more emotionally constipated than their father.
Lastly, her parents loved her the best they could with… very unorthodox parenting methods.
Her father never said Odums loved conventionally.
Take for example her brothers, who both had the depths of a teaspoon combined and below-average emotional ranges.
Neither was known for being warm and gentle.
Secretly, in Guinivere’s maiden heart, she had always wanted a warm and gentle brother.
Someone to soothe her pains, brush away tears, give her hugs, and be affectionate.
Reality gave her a giant moving block of ice and a crazy feral animal with a lot of hair.
Her expectations were extremely unrealistic, but a girl could dream.
Back when it was her first day of Junior Division, she saw her two good friends, Anna and Mary, being escorted by their older brothers to their designated classrooms. They were given hugs and head pats before parting.
When Guinivere turned to her own older brothers, she was given intense stares of love and brief shoulder taps of comfort.
For parting gifts, Nazareth handed her a bottle of acid and Aurelion shoved a folder into her arms with blackmail material of all her classmates.
There was an attempt, and she appreciated them, but she sometimes wished their love was more conventional.
Deep down in her heart, she was a little envious of Anna and Mary.
It was selfish to want more, Guinivere knew.
An Odum was limited in how they expressed their emotions and affections.
“It’s genetics,” according to the magicians of the Steine Tower Institute.
But again, that was beside the point.
Funnily enough, the only one who was even remotely expressive in the family was Nazareth, and he was like a wild beast the first few years Guinivere knew him.
Nazareth was inherently just as much of an ice block as the rest of their family, but with more violent tendencies and insanity to balance it out.
A nicer term would have been passionate, but Guinivere had sometimes caught the cold, calculative gaze beneath those mad, vermillion eyes when she watched her oldest brother play the hateful fool.
He had scared her a lot when she was younger.
Nazareth was like a raging fire, eating everything in its path.
It was the perfect contradiction to Aurelion’s cold tundra blizzards.
Guinivere grew up watching from the sideline as her brothers tore each other apart.
If it doesn’t end in death, she prayed it would end with peace.
Perhaps her many prayers were answered that day in early spring.
Nazareth woke up one morning and cut his hair.
Suddenly, the world came back to life.
—
One afternoon, Guinivere had finished her sword lesson with her tutor and was heading back to her room when she overheard a conversation between Nazareth and their father.
She had been walking past the studies and the door was slightly ajar.
Guinivere might not look like it, but she often liked to eavesdrop on conversations.
It was a rude habit, she knew, but her curiosity always got the better of her.
That was how she found out Professor Rickman and Professor Dogstar had hate sex in the third-floor laboratory when they were both students at the Academy.
What a way to break up.
“—the sanctuary… moved the plants…”
“—my permission… how are your studies…?”
“—fast… four months…”
What in the world were they talking about?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
It was like Nazareth and their father were having two different conversations.
Ktf vbbg oifk bqfc.
“Xelclnfgf Yvew, atlr lr jc lcafgnfcalbc. Tbe cffv ab dela atlr tjyla lwwfvljafis. Ktlr lr cba tbk sbe ujatfg jmmegjaf lcobgwjalbc.”
Qtbbqr.
“Mjatfg, ygbatfg,” Xelclnfgf ugffafv rtjwfifrris jcv rajgfv ja atfw defralbclcuis.
Vtf tfjgv tfg ojatfg rlut.
“Ktja kjr j weooilcu ajilrwjc, Xelclnfgf. Ktf Zjulm Kbkfg gfifjrfv atfw lcab atf wjgxfa ijra kffx. Vjifr tjnf qgbnfc atfw ab yf qbqeijg,” tfg ojatfg abiv tfg klat j qblcafv rajgf.
Guinevere hid a grimace.
“My apologies, father. How was work?” She changed the topic with ease.
Her father sighed again, “Could be better. Give your mother my love. I will be in here until tomorrow. Nazareth, you have the keys. Do what you will with the sanctuary.”
“Yes, father.”
“Of course, father.”
Both Guinivere and Nazareth said at the same time.
They watched as their father’s face softened ever so slightly before he shut the door in their faces.
Guinivere silently stood there and met Nazareth’s gaze.
She put her hand in front of him and he very casually reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief.
She grabbed it and stuffed it into her pocket.
“Come with me?” Nazareth asked not even a second later, offering him his arm.
Guinivere latched on without question.
—
If anyone were to ask Neo what he found to be the cutest when it came to his sister, he would unashamedly say everything.
Guinivere was the beauty of the Odum Ducal, if not the entire Empire and continent, in his very unbiased opinion. There was no competition when she was perfect just the way she was.
If he could only choose one trait, however, then it was her habit of eavesdropping.
She shouldn’t be doing it, of course, but seeing her pressing her ears against a wall or door was adorable.
She could desolate kingdoms and destroy families with that little habit of her’s, but Neo thought it was cute.
“Where are we going?” Guinivere asked once they entered the servant passage behind the walls of a random bookshelf.
She was holding his arm like an escorted lady but walked stiffly like a soldier. This was the best combination and maximized her adorableness.
“The glasshouse. Father moved it to the Western Garden and had it retouched,” Neo explained.
“We had a glasshouse?” Guinivere asked, her voice, both melodic yet chilly. It was a poor imitation of Vespera, but Neo gave a full ten points for effort.
“It’s been under stasis charms for the last century.”
“Hm.”
They continued walking.
“What’s a glasshouse?”
“It’s a building… made from glass.”
“Can you fight in it?”
“No.”
“Is it like a funeral home?”
“… No.”
Guinivere stared at him. “You paused.”
Neo looked ahead, “You grow plants in it.”
“So it’s a garden.”
“It’s a garden, but better.”
“Hm.”
Why did it sound like she didn’t believe him?
Neo huffed out a small laugh.
He never got to hold Guinivere as a baby. She was already five by the time he was brought back.
He later learned she was born premature, which coincided with some of the health issues she had as a tot.
Looking at Guinivere now, no one would think she was a sickly child.
When she was younger, she had been like a carbon copy of their father.
Her sapphire jeweled eyes were like ice and her hair was as black as night.
When the worst of her illness passed, she was left with a weak and delicate constitution, and her hair slowly turned white over the course of three years leading up to her debut into society.
During those three years, his sister took up the sword and started strengthening her body.
She proved she was Vespera’s daughter when she used the rapier to slice up the training dummies into six parts.
Many had questioned whether or not she was another bastard child on the night of her debutante.
Both he and Aurelion had made sure those people were taken out of the picture soon enough. Aristocracy has no need for foolish gossipers like those.
By the end of that lifetime, Guinivere only visited him once. It was the night before he kidnapped Sutton, and she had looked at him with her sapphire eyes shining under the candlelight.
She spoke no words but merely stared at him with an unreadable gaze before she left him to his downfall.
Sometimes, in that modern world, Neo had often wondered what became of her after… everything.
Did she enlist like their mother?
Or perhaps she found newer interests besides the sword and spent the rest of her life doing what she loved?
He would like to believe she grew even stronger from all the trauma and misery in her life and made something of herself, without a terrible and mad older brother to weigh her and her reputation down.
She was strong despite her deceptively fragile heart, and she loved in the most unconventional ways.
—
Guinivere had always thought highly of both her brothers, though she wasn’t blind to their flaws and strengths. If Nazareth was less crazy and Aurelion more expressive, she believed their father and mother could happily retire in a year and go frolic somewhere in the countryside.
When Nazareth cut his hair, it was like the world started to spin again.
Her oldest brother, the Scummy Troublemaker, who was detested by the world and feared like a vengeful demon from hell, had woken up one day and became human.
Before her eyes, she watched from the sidelines as he turned his reputation white and strengthened his relationship with those around him.
Within a span of three months, the scourge of high society became the respectable half-brother of the Odum Heir.
To recover his reputation so quickly, it was like her older brother was favored by the gods.
They exited the servants’ passage and left the main building through a side door.
Passing the peonies and through the stone pavilion, Guinivere held onto her brother’s arm and didn’t let go.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nazareth without any of the hard edges he used to have. His eyes were kinder, his voice gentle as he spoke. He patiently answered each of her questions without snapping at her, although it had only left her more confused.
Her brother only wore a thin white button-down with the sleeves rolled up. His arm was surprisingly warm.
Guinivere didn’t know why she expected Nazareth to be cold-blooded.
From a deadly inferno, he turned into a hearth.
—
When Neo initially requested access to the glasshouse, he didn’t think his father would make it happen so soon.
Although the building was placed under stasis charms, it hadn’t been touched for nearly a century. Most of the plants have somehow mutated and according to his father, many herbalists in the royal palace started to cry when they discovered several extinct plants still growing in the glasshouse.
His father gave him the final call on what to do with them.
Neo decided to keep the parent plants of the extinct and mutated herbs but donated the rest to the Royal Greenhouse for public research.
Most of the work regarding the glasshouse went into updating the irrigation and climate control systems. While nothing was broken, many of the machinery and talisman charms were outdated.
His father had some experts from the royal palace dismantle the system and update it. The vintage parts were taken back for further study.
With all the work going into the glasshouse, Neo had thought it would take them six months, but his father performed a miracle and sped up the process. It was barely even summer and the glasshouse was perfection.
Neo had been prepared for some resistance when he suddenly brought up his interest in the glasshouse, but he had forgotten his father’s most major flaw was being unable to say no to any of his children.
The only reason Nazareth didn’t try to shamelessly abuse this fact was due to his own pride and resentment.
Thinking about it now, if his father even tried to interfere with the rivalry between him and Aurelion, it was very possible that the Odum Household would self-destruct and cease to exist.
A father’s love was truly amazing.
“Here we are.”
The glasshouse was a unique structure made entirely out of glass and metal. The building was large, almost the size of a botanical garden, which spoke more to the size of the Western Garden (and the overall extent of the Odum Manor) than the building itself.
From the double glass doors, they could see the raised garden beds taking up most of the space. The water supply was a stone watering hole filled with cool water. Surrounding the building was the new pipe system, which wove between the garden beds with filtered water constantly moving through the space.
“Come inside.”
Just as the two siblings were about to walk inside, Guinivere paused and noticed the gold plaque next to the door.
‘Alouysia Sanctuary’
Neo didn’t catch the way his sister stared at him with an unreadable gaze.
—
Guinivere felt the humid warmth of the glasshouse hit her in the face when she stepped inside.
She spotted potted plants hanging from the ceiling and Nazareth made a comment about how they were there for decorative purposes.
There were various floras crowding most of the space, and she saw a gated area in the very back with the words ‘DANGEROUS’ labeled on a stand next to it.
It wouldn’t be Nazareth if he was subtle in his interests.
“Don’t touch anything if it’s marked with red, yellow, or blue. Those are poisonous.” Her brother warned casually.
Guinivere looked around and saw that a majority of the garden beds were marked with these colors and didn’t bother to comment.
Nazareth was probably immune to most of these plants, anyway.
“It’s empty,” Guinivere said when she saw an empty garden bed pushed to the side.
It was bigger than the others and was only filled with dirt. It took up a whole row rather than a quarter of it like the rest.
“That one is for medicinal plants.”
But where are they?
“I haven’t bought any yet, but it made father happy when he heard I had an interest in healing.”
Again, Guinivere made no comment.
Nazareth guided her to the middle of the sanctuary with a slightly raised stone platform. She saw a few rectangular tables and several laboratory equipment lying around.
“Don’t touch?” She asked.
“Please.”
Guinivere kept her hands to herself. “Are you moving in?”
Nazareth pushed some of the equipment to the side and freed up a table. “No. Just my office.”
Her brother brought out some stools and placed one in front of the table. He looked at her silently.
Without saying anything, Guinivere walked over and sat down.
She watched him rummage around some more until he found a teapot and a few teacups from a box.
“Tea?” He asked, holding up a heating talisman and a tea tin.
“Okay.”
Guinivere waited by the table while her brother brewed her tea.
Her eyes detected a weird-looking tree next to one of the tables and she couldn’t help but ask, “What’s this?”
“Bonsai,” Nazareth replied after taking one look, “Father’s gift. You know how he is.”
Their father gifted Nazareth a large bonsai tree worth a lot of gold but served no practical purpose other than to be old and complicated.
Guinivere could imagine their father presenting the gift with a bashful look in his cold gaze.
The door flew open.
“Young Master, I sensed you needed snacks to go with your tea.”
Her brother’s personal servant appeared with a tea cart and announced. There was a charming smile on his lips that did little to conceal the displeasure in his aura.
Guinivere saw he wasn’t wearing his blindfold today. She’d been curious about the strange black markings on his face since he stopped wearing his blindfold all the time. She wondered where he got it from.
“Rainier…” Her brother uncharacteristically hid the teapot in his hand behind him. He formed a crooked smile, “This isn’t what it looks like.”
“Oh?” Rainier dragged the tea cart over and put a multitude of pastries in front of her. He handed her a fork and napkin before continuing, “It looks to me like the Young Master decided to brew his tea with a heating talisman. You wound me with your crude methods. Where did you get the water?”
Guinivere watched as her brother promptly poured out the content of the teapot into one of the garden beds.
“I see your point,” her brother conceded without argument. “I thought today was your day off?”
“Nothing is more important than serving the Young Master.”
“…”
“Have some tea, Young Master. Would you like some dandelion syrup?”
“Yes. Are those toffee cookies?” Her brother asked, staring at a plate of cookies with far more intensity than should be appropriate for someone looking at a pastry.
“Madam Constanze shared some recipes.”
The cookies were snatched up in seconds. Guinivere had never seen someone eat so fast.
Several seconds later, her brother elegantly wiped his hands before he offered her a cookie.
Guinivere tried it and thought it was way too sweet for her liking.
“Thank you, Rainier.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Young Master.”
Nazareth and Rainier did that weird thing again where they would gaze into each other’s eyes longer than it should be appropriate like they were the only two people in the room.
Was it just her, or did her brother and his servant seem really intimate?
Why was she the only person noticing this?
The door flew open again, but this time with more aggression than deemed appropriate.
“Brother!” Aurelion marched into the building like a debt collector demanding payment.
How did news of her and Nazareth in the glasshouse reach everyone’s ears in barely twenty minutes? It had been a very spontaneous decision made in the middle of the hallway!
Aurelion’s appearance almost made Nazareth drop his teacup.
“Aurelion? What are you—”
“I thought you were going to take me here first.” This was the first time Guinivere heard her second older brother speak like that. Why did he sound like he was on the verge of throwing a tantrum?
Nazareth’s eyes widened by a fraction and he frowned, “Forgive me, Aurelion. I saw Guinivere in the halls right after father approved everything—”
“You said you would take me once all preparations were ready.”
“Aurelion—”
“You promised!”
The shout echoed throughout the room.
Both Guinivere and Nazareth stared at Aurelion wide-eyed.
Aurelion’s body stiffened with realization and a red flush started to climb from his neck.
Nazareth stood up. An ensuing silence dampened the atmosphere.
Guinivere felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She cautiously fixed her eyes on her brothers without blinking.
Aurelion took a step back as Nazareth approached, his face growing colder as the silence stretched.
Guinivere expected a fight to break out, but was surprised when Nazareth placed a placating hand on Aurelion’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I should have waited for you. Will you forgive me?”
The air became easier to breathe.
Aurelion pursed his lips stubbornly, but not even a moment later, he nodded his head.
“…Mm…”
With a rare smile, Nazareth looped an arm around Aurelion’s and escorted him over.
Aurelion followed him without any resistance as if he was floating on water.
Oh, Guinivere realized a second later, Aurelion was melting.
“Come sit.” Nazareth pulled out a stool from beside him and patted it, “I’ll show you around later, alright?”
“… Okay.”
“Are you hungry? Do you want some tea?”
Guinivere felt baffled when Aurelion shoved his way into the seat next to Nazareth and begrudgingly accepted the tea he poured for him.
To think everything had changed so much since her wishes were answered.
Aurelion’s melting ice-cube behavior eventually elicited a small chuckle from Nazareth, which sounded neither sadistic nor cruel, but deeply amused.
“I didn’t know you wanted to see this place so badly. You should have told me. I only mentioned it on a whim the other day.”
Aurelion hid his face into his teacup and refused to look at him. “I said I would go, didn’t I?”
“No, you said,” and then Nazareth crossed his arms and wore an icy expression similar to Aurelion’s, “Do whatever you want, I don’t care.”
The edge of Aurelion’s ears turned a deep shade of red, “It’s the same thing.”
Nazareth sighed helplessly, like a doting older brother. He reached up and patted Aurelion on the head.
Guinivere felt the air in her lungs leave her body
She almost crushed her teacup.
It was the head pat…
The fucking head pat!
She stared at the way Aurelion was turning into water and nearly flipped the table.
WHAT THE FUCK!
She wanted one, too!
—
Step 31. Bring your sister to the glasshouse. Your personal servant might appear. And your brother, too. Enjoy your time together as good-natured siblings and ignore the crackling tension in the air. Rainier’s toffee cookies are perfect. Your attention should mainly be on that.
guinivere>>>>>>>>>
This is adorable.
And YESSSSSSSSSS MY FAVOURITE PEOPLE ARE IN THE SAME ROOM TOGETHER!!!! I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!!!
Guin it’s ok. He’s been getting into headpat just recently your not late to the party yet.
Awwwwnnn 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
They do love unconventionally
Hmm, yeah, I’d be hella jealous too if my older brother gave my sister a headpat before me.
This might be my favourite chapter! A bunch of kuuderes messing around!
Shooo cute oh ma gawd i feel so blessed
LOL <3
Always a joy to read your updates.
Thank you for the update! I’m always waiting for this story it’s soooooo nice! (and cute)
Love this!!💖
I mean…. I wish for some plot progression, but this was just SHO KYUTE !! I’m melting 😫😫😫
Thanks for the chapter!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
So cute! (／≧ω＼)
Thank you for the chapter 💕
hahaha the long awaited head pat! Shes gonna lose it 🤣. I think the Prince the got the head pat first 😆.
Thanks for the wonderful chapter 🌷❣️😌
I want a fanart of them gazing into each others eyes
IT IS REQUIRED
also I WANT A HEAD PAT TOO
also also I like that she had that wish
also also also can we have a step mom moment??
I love this so much😭💜
Thanks for the chapter😭😭💞💞
“That was how she found out Professor Rickman and Professor Dogstar had hate sex in the third-floor laboratory when they were both students at the Academy.”
is that a typical example of what eavesdropping can earn you, or…?
They are way too cute for my heart😭
Awww what a cute chapter
“From a deadly inferno he turned into a hearth” is one of my favorite sentences. And the little sis is adorable! And funny as hell. So entertaining. I liked seeing her pov of her family and her jealousy. (I might headcannon that at least a one of her fights were with a little sibling w/ a doting older sib).
Harmony ~~ I love them, these siblings are so precious and cute