Chapter 36: Gray & Maelis

“Gray, stop bullying your little sister!”

Madam Vireux’s voice echoed through the golden halls of the D’Aurélion estate, her tone half-scolding and half-amused, like a mother who already knew this argument was pointless but felt obligated to say it anyway.

“Ehhh?” Gray turned his head, his voice rising with exaggerated innocence as he leaned back on the garden bench, one arm draped dramatically across the backrest.

“I’m not bullying her, Mama! I’m just helping her figure out her taste in men!”

Maelis, sitting stiffly beside him in a pale blue dress, her tiny hands clutching a teacup too large for her fingers, turned bright red.

“Y-You’re not helping!” she barked, voice cracking adorably.

Her long black hair tumbled messily over her shoulder as she’d run away from her tutors again.

Gray had found her under the apricot tree, scribbling something into her notebook and muttering about sword forms and mana resistance charts.

Of course, he stole the book immediately.

“C’mon,” he teased, holding it just out of her reach.

“Just say it. Tall? Strong? A guy who reads poetry? A prince on a white horse? Hmmm?”

She jumped, trying to snatch the notebook back.

“Gimme that—!!”

He stood up, easily keeping it away from her, eyes glinting with boyish mischief.

“You better say it, or I’m gonna read it aloud to all the knights downstairs~”

Her mouth opened in horror.

“Y-You wouldn’t!!”

“’Dear future husband…’” he began in a loud, dramatic voice.

“NOOOOOO!!”

She tackled him. It was more like a bump against his waist, but Gray let himself fall back onto the grass anyway, laughing the whole way down.

The notebook fluttered from his hand and landed beside them.

For a moment, Maelis sat on top of him, fists balled, red-faced and panting. And Gray just looked up at her, smirking.

“So?” he asked again, this time a little more softly.

“What kind of man do you want?”

Maelis looked away.

“T-That’s private…”

Gray shrugged, his fingers lazily brushing a strand of her hair off her cheek.

“You’re really bad at lying, y’know.”

She flinched.

His voice had changed as it didn’t have that teasing tone anymore.

And Maelis, for a split second, looked straight into his black eyes and told the truth.

“…Someone really arrogant,” she muttered.

“Oh?”

Gray raised an eyebrow at her surprisingly strange taste.

“But not the annoying kind!” she quickly added, fidgeting with her fingers.

“The type who… has every reason to be arrogant. Like, strong. Smart. A little cold, maybe. But not fake.”

Gray tilted his head slightly, as if processing her words.

His gaze was calm now, quietly observing her like he wasn’t just teasing her a minute ago. She went on, voice softer now.

“…Someone who doesn’t care that I’m a Duke’s daughter. Someone who talks to me like I’m just… me.”

Gray gave a small nod.

“…Mm,” he hummed.

But then, his lips curled up again, that familiar smirk returning.

“What about appearance?”

Maelis froze as her hands instinctively tightened around her notebook. A hot flush spread across her cheeks.

“…W-Why does that matter?”

Gray shrugged his shoulder, grinning slighly.

“Hey, if you’re building the ’perfect guy,’ might as well go all the way.”

He leaned in a little closer, watching her squirm.

And under his curious stare, Maelis finally looked away and whispered,

“…A person who looks like he came straight out of a fairy tale…”

Her voice grew lighter, dreamier, like she was drawing the picture in her mind.

“…With dark hair. But maybe… with some deep purple highlights that shine a little when the sun hits them.”

Gray blinked, a bit surprised at the detail.

“…Purple, huh?”

Maelis nodded, her voice firming with unexpected confidence.

“And eyes. Purple eyes. Because it’s my favorite color! They should be deep, like… like they hide something no one else can see.”

She paused, fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

“And he shouldn’t wear those ridiculous noble coats with feathers and gold and all that junk. They’re ugly.”

“So you want a fairy tale prince who dresses like a delinquent?” Gray chuckled.

Maelis puffed out her cheeks. “I didn’t say delinquent! Just… simple. Black. Or maybe dark purple. Something cool. Something… real.”

Gray stared at her for a moment, quiet. Then he looked up at the clouds again, putting his hands behind his head.

“…Tsk,” he muttered playfully.

“You’re aiming high, Maelis. Gonna be hard to find someone like that.”

“…I know,” Maelis looked down, her fingers curling around the edges of her notebook once again.

The breeze swirled gently, lifting a few petals into the air. Her voice, soft and far away, drifted with it.

“But even if it takes years… I want to find someone like that.”

Her eyes shone, not with pride or stubbornness, but something more dangerous… obsessive even.

“…And when I do, I’ll never let him go. No matter what I have to do. I’ll make him mine.”

Gray blinked.

He looked at her with a slightly puzzled face, as if he wasn’t sure whether to tease her again or stay quiet.

But then, without warning, a small childish smile tugged at his lips.

“…Then,” he said softly.

“I hope your dream comes true.”

.

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.

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“…Then I’ll make you fucking look at me.”

Maelis whispered it like a curse.

Her voice was low, trembling with rage and a strange longing.

Her eyes were no longer soft, and instead, they burned with a feverish obsession.

And for the first time…

Gray flinched.

A small, involuntary shiver crawled up his spine as he stared into her gaze.

[My, my~]

Jasmine suddenly slithered into Gray’s mind, her voice coming out in a desperately teasing tone.

[What a clingy little sister you have, Gray~]

She giggled sweetly.

[But you know what’s even better? She’s stronger than you~!]

“…Shut it.”

[AHAHAHAHA! Oh, I’m dying! You’re going to get eaten alive~!]

Jasmine’s laughter rang inside Gray’s skull like a bell made of spite.

He rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“Tsk… shut up,” he muttered under his breath, focusing back on Maelis.

CLINK!

CLANG!

Steel cracked against metal again. Maelis’s staff slammed into Gray’s rapier with shocking force, sending a jolt up his arm that made his bones rattle.

He clenched his teeth, his muscles tightening from the shock.

’…Shit, she’s supposed to be a mage, why is her physical strength so high?!’ Gray thought inwardly.

He took a few steps away from her before extending more strings towards the boulders that were close to him.

Fwip!

But then… he realized that he couldn’t create more strings.

And his eyes widened when he noticed.

[…Oooh~… did you forget that you don’t have unlimited mana?]

Jasmine couldn’t help but say in a bittersweet tone.

“…I’m fucked.”

Fwoop!

Maelis appeared right in front of him like a shadow from nowhere, her staff raised like a hammer of judgment.

Gray yanked hard on his remaining strings, barely managing to bend his upper body sideways as the staff whooshed past his cheek.

But…

SWOOSH!

“Ghh—!”

Because of that mis-calculation, when Gray’s foot stepped on the ground…

It twisted.

Gray naturally became disoriented for a moment, and then, Maelis came again, her staff swinging in a wide arc…

’Dammit! Think quickly!’

In a moment of desperation, Gray lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, just barely deflecting the strike.

But her momentum was already too much, so she crashed forward.

And he went down with her.

Thud.

They collapsed hard onto the dirt, their bodies tangled.

And if that wasn’t enough…

Smack…

Their lips met in that same instant.

And the whole place went silent.

[…Ahem~]

Jasmine broke the silence… at least in Gray’s head.

[Well, well~ Congratulations, Gray… looks like your first kiss goes to your obsessed little step-sister~ ♡]

[Should I throw confetti? Or are you two gonna keep dry-humping right here in front of everyone?]

Gray’s entire body tensed.

Maelis… didn’t move.

And her lips…

They trembled slightly because she hadn’t closed her eyes.

But then…

CRACK!

Without a word, a violet arc of space energy sliced through the air like a scythe, the force so sharp it fractured the very space it touched, spiderweb-like cracks spreading in the air where the attack passed.

FWHOOOOOSH!

Gray’s eyes snapped toward the incoming slash.

Instantly, he grabbed Maelis by the shoulder and shoved her aside, twisting his body just in time.

ROLL!

The arc tore through the spot they’d been lying in half a second ago, splitting the dirt and stone beneath it.

“Aha…”

Gray landed on one knee, boots skidding as dust exploded around him. He stood up in a fluid motion, a thin scratch across his cheek trickling red.

His eyes burned with cold fire.

“…That was fucking close.”

He looked towards the source of the attack and then saw Leon, staring at him with an undeniable rage in his eyes.

’…I can’t fucking deal with him right now.’

Gray thought.

Leon had his spatial magic affinity, meaning that he could use one of the deadliest types of magic in the entire world.

So… the best thing Gray could honestly do right now was run away.

But the exiled little pride Gray had in himself wouldn’t let him do it; after all, Gray needed to fight much more powerful opponents if he wanted revenge.

And with that…

He needed to be able to adapt to every situation possible.

So…

Instead of running away, he decided to fully analyze the current situation.

And what came as a conclusion was that…

All the people around him had a deep liking for his step-sister; in other words, the key figure here was none other than Maelis.

So yeah…

Maelis should be his target right now.

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