Reincarnated as the Heroine's Brother

Chapter 24

In the three months that followed, another seven towns on the borders of Aqua were attacked and burned down. It was a massacre.

The king refused to do anything about it, reasoning that they were by bandit attacks despite the fact that it was obviously the actions of Ignis. The citizens were starting to riot against the king, demanding he step down and leave the throne and crown to crown prince Christian who was encouraging them and promising to do at least something against the despicable actions of Ignis.

(Rey, in the solitary of his room, prayed that Chris, his brother and Aiden would be fine.)

Three months, everyone watched as in three months, a horror they never thought would happen had happened. The king of Aqua had dared to not only have an affair on their (scary but good) queen but get the woman he had an affair with pregnant! Not only that, he didn't have any shame and immediately gave the child the title of crown prince or princess, disregarding everything else!

Everything was going to absolute sh*t.

/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\

Lily glared venomously at the girl in front of her.

Astara merely smiled back, shadows twisting and curling around her, as if she had not been making these three months the worst months in Lily's life. Infuriating.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, venom and honey alike in her tone. "How and when did I offend you, oh your highness the queen of darkness?"

Astara giggled and replied coyly, "Ah, don't be like that! We're in the same school, that means we're sisters!" She put an arm around Lily's shoulders familiarly and smiled, eyes flashing with a threat as she tightens it around the other's neck. "You're in the same class as my big brother, aren't you? I'll walk you there!"

Lily gritted her teeth and bared it.

In the past world, disregarding all the secret routes, the otome game Lily had been reborn into had roughly the same difficulty for each route.

Allan Vallenrett's love route was the easiest. That meant that something else about it was difficult.

See, in the otome game, there was a fighting mini game that one could do. Naturally, the protagonist Lily was always the default character used, though they could form a team according to the characters who were nearby and with Lily.

This fighting mini game actually did have influence on the story and the player could only take it once unless they load their last save.

Here was where the diffuculty comes in.

Christian Asturias' love route and the fighting minigames within his route were both equally hard. This made him the one that new players' are recommended to do first. Leonard Asturias' love route was harder than the fighting.

Allan Vallenrett's love route was the easiest one of them. Naturally, this meant that to make his difficulty equal to the other routes, his fighting minigames were the hardest. Especially hard when his little sister, Astara Vallenrett was involved as an enemy. This gave Allan's route the title of "Hell Route".

Astara Vallenrett, in a philosophical story perspective, was supposed to be the yin to Lily Lovell's yang. In an otome game plot perspective, the ultimate rival or nemesis.

Born a noble and having a scheming mind in contrast to being born a peasant and being a pure, simple-minded person.

Moreover, Astara had a variant of light magic, darkness magic. Not to be mistaken for dark magic. It was just darkness. That made Astara Lily's weakness and Lily Astara's weakness.

Unfortunately, in this current world, Lily was not as advanced in her magic as she was supposed to be. Astara held the upper hand and Lily hated it. She could only fantasize the girl's death.

In the fandom of the last world, Astara had been a favorite character of many people, both men and women. Lily had been included in those people once.

Who wouldn't like her? Terrifyingly strong, horribly gorgeous, amazingly intelligent...

Lily could admit to liking both genders.

/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\

There is a lull of silence.

Broken, by the king of Aqua screaming in pain as shards of ice dug into his skin. He shrieked again, as the floor started to melt and his feet got stuck in it. "GUARDS!! Arrest these heathens!!"

He looked around and felt dread as the guards not only didn't do as he says, they also watched with a glee in their eyes. His sons and wife looked at him with cold eyes and he realizes belatedly that this was the end.

Still, he claims, "I'm the king! You two's father and your husband!"

Gabriela looks at him with something unrecognizable in her expression and his heart clenches, wanting to stop when she turned away and did not deign to look at him anymore. Christian does not hesitate, conjuring a sharp sword made of ice and sliding it into his chest. Leonard looks lost, but joins his mother.

In that final moment, for the first time, he tasted regret. A deep regret.

If, back then, he had stayed true to Gabriela would she have grown this cold? If he had taken care of his sons, would they at the very least hesitate? If he had focused on the kingdom, would he have been able to save the citizens who died in this one-sided war with Ignis?

Regrets upon regrets burst through his mind and the former king spat out a mouthful if blood. If he could go back, if he could turn back time to even a year earlier—

—he would still have regrets.

But at least he wouldn't have died like this, murdered in cold blood by his own son and watched by his second son, wife and a bunch of palace servants. His unborn child would be left father—no, parentless because the moment the child was born they would kick that woman out.

Gregory Asturias closed his eyes.

/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\

Gregory Asturias opened his eyes to a bright light.

He was on a bed, without a single article of clothing on. The former king looked to beside him to see which woman he was in bed with when he was onslaught by a lithany of memories.

Becoming king, having sons, ruling, that woman and his unborn child...

It was because of this that Gregory was dumbstruck to see Gabriela in his bed, looking much younger than he remembered. It was then that he remembered the regrets he had in the last life and vowed to stay true to his love.

In this world, everything unfolded much differently.

/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\|/|\

Ok. So.

I have an explanation I swear! I just didn't feel it was right for the king to die as an inconsequential character! Yes! I didn't suddenly feel bad while writing his death scene or anything!

Anyways. Next chapter should have Chris and Rey interacting and fluff.

Words: 1146