We were led to a massive lounge, As soon as we arrived upstairs.
"It's been a while, Hasn't it? My good brother,"
And I was greeted by a voice as soon as I entered the lounge.
As I turned my gaze toward it, I noticed a guy with black hair and black eyes sitting on a sofa, accompanied by two female students on either side of him.
And a large number of other students were standing behind him.
While the guy was puffing on a hookah that had been placed on the table in front of him.
And as he noticed my gaze on him, he had a huge grin on his face.
"...Aretrus," I uttered.
"So, he is your brother Aretrus Von Rothstaylor? He doesn't appear to be as strong or as attractive as you, to be honest." Ziona remarked when she saw Aretrus.
Upon hearing Ziona's remark, Aretrus' smile abruptly froze.
"...."
And as I noticed Aretrus' abrupt change in expression, a smile broke out across my face.
"Yes, my mother was a beautiful woman," I said to Ziona as I walked over to Aretrus and sat down on the sofa opposite him.
Likewise, Livia sat to my left, and Ayla was seated to my right, While Ziona and Lucas stood behind us.
"Aretrus, how have you been? I heard your older brother is taking good care of you," I spoke up with a smile as soon as I sat down across from him.
The older brother I'm referring to is the same one who is after my life with his mother Queen, but despite the fact that Aretrus is his own younger brother, he sees him as a threat to his throne as well.
As a result, he usually tries to keep him in check, because he can't simply kill him like how he can kill me without any consequences.
"Ya know, you fucking bastard, you've gotten quite cheeky over the past few months I notice.
Is it because you now have a teacher with an SS-Rank, did ya suddenly become so haughty?
And had you already forgotten your place, as to how you and your mother used to beg for funds from us," Aretrus spoke while displaying a distorted face, as it seems he didn't like my greetings.
"...."
'Well, he is correct; from the recollections of previous Ares' memories, I recall how he and his mother were treated and had to endure hardships in order to even receive a daily meal under the queen.
For him, the title of prince was merely a term; he was treated less than a commoner who had to grovel to the queen for everything.
Naturally, his father—no the king, as I don't think he deserves to be called a father, had little regard for either his mother or him, as he deemed Ares useless due to his manaless body.
But his mother never gave up on him; before she passed away, she did everything in her power to help him, even making him learn swordsmanship from her mercenary brother, with whom she was not on good terms and had to beg for his assistance.'
"It was like a cliché tale of a guy who was turned into a villain,"
While I was still pondering, the temperature in the entire lounge suddenly dropped, and ice began to form on its corners.
!?
"I dare you to refer to him that way once more!" Livia screamed, a huge murderous intent coursing through her.
"I knew she was just looking for a way to vent her rage," Ayla said quietly.
"...."
"H-Huh? How foolish of you to think that the five of you, by yourselves, could threaten me; you fell into a trap the moment you set foot in this villa," Aretrus made a remark, as he continued to struggle under Livia's murderous intent.
Meanwhile, the two female students seated next to him have already passed out because they were unable to handle Livia's murderous intent.
"What the hell are you fools doing, get this bitch already!" screamed Aretrus.
Upon hearing him, several students soon rushed in our direction.
Swish!— Swish!—
But even before they could get close to us, arrows appeared out of nowhere and struck them down.
Thud!— Thud!—
And the students approaching us collapsed after being knocked out by the arrows.
The only reason they were rendered unconscious was that the arrows were not real and were supplied by the academy solely for sparring.
[Of course, they would have died if the arrows had been real.]
Diana's voice could be heard over the Bluetooth device Ayla was holding.
"Ahh, I still wanted to see the happy reunion of two brothers, but you guys are so impatient, didn't even let them chat properly," Ayla complained.
'This b*tch! 'Did she just come with us to watch our family drama?' I thought to myself, hearing Ayla's complaint.
"...."
Meanwhile, Aretrus was flabbergasted by witnessing the students' abrupt collapse as a result of an unexpected attack.
"Sigh! All right, leave my beloved brother to me; you guys can handle the rest," Ares declared as he sighed.
"That's your cue, boys," Ayla said over Bluetooth.
Crack!— Boom!—
As soon as Ayla announced that, a sudden commotion could be heard from downstairs.
[Yahhhh! The younger generations' rank 9 has arrived, so get out of the way, bitches...]
Kevin's yells were so loud that they could be heard through Bluetooth as well as from downstairs.
[Shut up you moronic bastard, nobody cares if you're ranked 9 or not.]
Claude said in an irritated manner.
[Heh, I know you're just jealous of my rank.] Kevin retorted while the sounds of weapon clashes and student screams could be heard in the background via Bluetooth.
***
Meanwhile, upstairs on the second floor.
As soon as Ares gave them the go-ahead, Ziona and Lucas pulled out the sword that Ares had given them, and Ziona dashed in the direction of the second-year students to start her rampage.
While Lucas stood next to Ayla, appearing to shield her from any potential attacks from the students.
The students looked perplexed and were preparing to cast their spells, but they didn't have time to respond as even before they could a swarm of arrows slammed into them.
Naturally, it was Diana since she and her faction were given the task to eliminate the students who are long rangers.
The other second-year students immediately reached for their weapons, but Livia showed no mercy.
She began casting spells at a rapid pace, knocking them into walls left and right.
"W-What the hell is going on, this doesn't make sense," Aretrus exclaimed, bewildered because he hadn't expected anything like this.
It was his villa, and he never imagined that Ares would be brave enough to even consider fighting him.
After learning that Ares had been elected as the first-year representative, he invited him to a meeting in order to intimidate him and force him to work for him.
Like his mother, Ares had always been a naive fool, so with just a little provocation, he would be on his knees pleading for him to spare him.
'...That's what's supposed to happen,' Aretrus thought to himself as he focused his attention on Ares.
***
Ares continued to sit on a sofa while he ignored the student fights and screams going on all around him.
His fingers intertwined as he fixed his gaze on Aretrus, his eyes glimmering and emitting a foreboding aura.
"My beloved brother, shall we have a word?" Ares said with a huge evil grin on his face.
***