The Fraud Heir to The Strongest Clan

Dhein, Axerion and Fiorelle were standing at the doorway, accompanied by some servants. Shrugging off how Zarria was just staring at him motionlessly, the divinity's scion stepped forward and looked around the house.

"It's been quite a while," he muttered before asking:

"Where's mother?"

Zarria looked down and then lifted her gaze back to Dhein. She then answered.

"She left for some business, she says."

Axerion's voice got their attention when he spoke.

"Oh, actually, I think I am needed in that specific "business", so if you don't mind, I'll go join your mother for a bit."

Dhein turned to him.

"Is that so? What is it that you two need to do together? You're not planning on giving me another sibling, are you?"

Axerion let out a laugh.

"Who knows?"

Then, grabbing the watch from inside his jacket, he added:

"Look at the time, it seems like my cooldown has reset. You guys can handle things here on your own."

The leader of divinity stepped out of the house, waved goodbye at his children and then vanished in the blink of an eye.

Sighing, Dhein turned back to his little sister.

There was something different about her. An obvious change that couldn't elude his eyes.

'But this isn't the time for that discussion,' he thought to himself.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Zarria, father told me that you have been studying the cursed food to make a cure. How is that coming along?"

The moment he said those words, he saw despair manifest itself on Zarria's face for a split second. Looking down, she replied with a weak voice.

"I can't do it."

No one uttered a word for a few seconds.

"I have solved it, the process is almost complete. But I'm missing the most crucial ingredient of the potion. Without it, I can't lift the curse from the victims," she said, immense sadness was evident in her tone.

"I'm sorry, Dhein."

Before she could spiral even deeper in the pit of despair, Dhein pulled the bottle out from his pocket and showed it to her.

"Is this perhaps what you need?"

She looked at it, grabbed it and then looked at Dhein.

"Where did you get this?"

Dhein threw a glance at Fiorelle before answering.

"We took it from the creator of the cursed food himself. Knowing that he can't lie or deceive us, he didn't have a choice. Still, we didn't know how to use that black liquid, so you're our only hope."

Zarria looked at him. Her eyes suddenly gleamed with newfound hope.

"This is the one, Dhein. Thank you. Thank you so much!"

She quickly turned around and ran towards her room in an ecstatic hurry. Dhein gave Fiorelle a look of confusion before they decided to follow the girl.

Upon entering his sister's chamber, Dhein couldn't help but look around in surprise at the astounding current state of Zarria's room. Though Zarria had always been the one barging in his room without warning, Dhein had entered hers multiple times as well.

It was a neat and tidy place because his sister hated mess. She was extremely conscious about the interior design as well, so she would often rearrange her and Dhein's room.

But now, he didn't know if this could even be called a room! It was beyond messy — her bed was thrown to its side for more space, her drawers and personal belongings were also pushed to one corner, turning her bedroom into some sort of personal laboratory.

'She's been working so hard,' Dhein thought to himself.

And then, Zarria began. Between the two of them, she had always been the one more capable in alchemy and science while he excelled in politics and economics. But even he knew and understood what it took to do the work Zarria has done.

This should have taken months of work for a team of experienced alchemists.

After an hour of executing precise alchemical synthesis, Zarria raised a vial of mysterious orange liquid.

Dhein stepped forward, amazed.

"That's the cure," he muttered.

But once he saw what Zarria did next, Dhein's eyes widened in shock.

Zarria immediately drank the reversal potion.

She stayed silent for a few seconds, put a hand on her chest and then said:

"It works..."

Then, upon realization, she froze slowly turning her head to her brother...

Dhein was staring at her with darkening face, his jaws were clenched tight and his eyebrows were furrowing.

"Zarria, why did you drink the potion?"

Her eyes darted away for a moment, as if searching for a suitable answer. Then, she replied.

"Y—You see, Dhein, a girl named Rose had eaten the cursed food."

She swallowed, the absurdity of her actions slowly being revealed to her.

"I wanted to give her hope, saying I will create a cure and lift her curse, so... I kinda..."

After seeing how Dhein's anger kept on growing more evident on his face, Zarria hesitated to finish her words.

"You what?" Dhein asked with a cold, intense voice.

When Zarria didn't answer, he continued.

"You ate the cursed food?"

A few seconds later, Zarria looked down and said:

"I'm sorry."

She gasped when Dhein grabbed her by the shoulders so tight that it broke through the Mirror of Heaven.

"Are you an idiot?!" he yelled, his eyes widening in rage and concern.

"Didn't I tell you to not put yourself at risk at any cost?! Why did you do that?!"

Zarria had never seen him this angry before, or even show any type of emotion close to this level of intensity.

She never knew he could be so terrifying.

"What if you got turned into that abomination before I arrived? Huh?! What then? How am I supposed to take the news that my sister has turned into one of those monsters?!"

She grimaced from his painful grip. Casting her own fear aside, she protested.

"I just wanted to give her hope!"

"By putting yourself in the same danger she's in?" Dhein retorted.

"Zarria, why did you forget the one thing I wanted you to remember the most?"

Zarria did not back down.

"But you kneeled! When you did that in front of Eunice, I was frustrated too, you know? How come you have to be the one to humble yourself when you did nothing wrong? I wanted to be mad but I chose to understand you!"

Dhein stared at her with disbelieving eyes.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he muttered and then continued.

"Those things are different, Zarria..."

"No, they're not! It was the only way to prevent her from giving up!"

Dhein shook his little sister and then yelled.

"Listen to me!!!"

Everything fell silent.

Zarria stared at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"I can't always be by your side," he said with a pained tone.

"I can't always save you. I won't always be here to protect you."

A drop of tear rolled on Zarria's cheek after hearing those words for some reason.

With his face finally softening, Dhein continued.

"But I would trade my life for you, Zarria. I would die for you. So please, don't put yourself in danger again. Ever."

Zarria couldn't hold it in any more. With the exhaustion, fear, and all the wild emotions piling up, she just burst out bawling.

"I'm sorry, Dhein," she mumbled.

"I was wrong."

Dhein's cold expression broke. With a frown, he released her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, too. You already found a cure, so everything will be alright now."

Fiorelle, who was watching in the corner, also got teary-eyed.