"Do you mind explaining yourself?" Nymeria said, walking toward us.

Just from her tone, I could tell she was mad, and why wouldn't she be? I had just punched the heck out of her little brother.

"I need to come up with a proper excuse," I thought inwardly. "Hmm, that could work."

I was about to begin my performance, but then Nymeria spoke again.

"Doran, I asked you a question!"

"Huh? She's talking to him, not me?" I murmured to myself.

"E... el... elder sister—cough... cough—this bastard... is deceiving you," Doran mumbled, grabbing his mask and pushing himself to his feet.

"Is that how you speak to elders, Doran?" Nymeria demanded. "Well, it does make sense since it's been a long time since I disciplined you."

Nymeria, the woman whose every movement, gesture, and posture were so graceful that she seemed like the reincarnation of dignity itself, had a very unfamiliar expression on her face that day.

She was smiling. No, not smiling. To be more accurate, a diabolical grin carved across her face as she approached Doran while cracking her knuckles.

"El-elder sister, I'm-I'm sorry," Doran whispered, tears brimming in the poor kid's eyes.

Bam... Thwak... Thud...

"Aghh! Please—crash... bash—someone... save me!"

Pow...

"Ackk! Not there..."

Whack...

"U-ume, shouldn't you stop her?" I asked. "The poor kid's gonna die!"

"If you're that concerned, shouldn't you try stopping her?" Ume replied, equally afraid.

"I think we shouldn't interfere in their family matters."

"Indeed."

The beating continued for several minutes as Ume and I silently witnessed the demon unleashed on young Doran.

---

"Aow, pretty lady, that stings," I whimpered. "Please be gentle."

"Stop whining like a child," Nymeria hissed. "Wasn't it embarrassing enough getting wounded by one?"

We were sitting on the chairs inside Ume's room, where Nymeria was applying some medicine on the cut on my hand.

"Elder sister, you never treated my wounds," another whimper came from the bed.

Doran sat there while Ume was clumsily trying to bandage his stomach wound. His mouth was swollen, and both of his eyes were blackened from Nymeria's punches. I could barely recognize him.

"Are you asking for more beating?" Nymeria growled, giving him side-eyes.

"Elder sister, that man is deceiving you," Doran declared, glaring at me in anger.

"You keep saying I deceived her. What have I even done?" I asked.

"Elder sister, I understand you love this man dearly, but he's already betrothed to this lady here," he said, pointing at Ume, completely ignoring my question.

Nymeria's face flustered, and in the blink of an eye, she leapt toward Doran and landed a sharp slap on his head.

"What nonsense are you spitting, punk!?"

"Elder sister, you must listen to me!" Doran pleaded. "I don't know what spell he's cast on you that you haven't already noticed yet. See, he's also wearing the engagement ring!"

"I already know he's betrothed to Ume," Nymeria snapped. "And who told you that I fancy him?"

"Didn't you say it yourself in the store that he's your beloved?" Doran blurted. "You even returned to the inn holding his hand!"

Nymeria's face instantly turned rosy as she growled, "So it was you spying on us? No wonder I felt an annoying presence following me."

She grabbed his hair and muttered while pulling it, "How dare you eavesdrop on your elder sister's business?"

"Pretty lady, don't be too harsh on the poor kid," I said softly, touching her hand that was pulling Doran's hair. "He was only worried for his beautiful elder sister."

"Hmph, I'll let it slide this time," she murmured, retreating her hand.

"Please forgive me for my earlier rudeness," Doran said. "I got ahead of myself and thought you were having an affair behind my sister's back."

"It's alright, kid. No harm done," I replied, rubbing his head.

He shrugged my hand away and spoke further, "May I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"Are you a Thunderbane?"

"Since I have this forehead mark and lightning attribute, so... yeah, you can say that."

"B-but how could that be possible? Didn't all the Thunderbanes die fifteen years ago?" he gasped, his lips trembling in disbelief.

After a brief pause, he spoke again. "May you tell me your name?"

"It's Raj."

"Raj? Is that your real name?"

"Yeah... why?"

"That's strange. I've read about all the Thunderbanes in our history lessons, and there was no one named Raj."

"How could there be? I wasn't even on this planet at that time," I chuckled inwardly.

"How did you manage to survive back then?"

I knew I'd be asked this question whenever someone discovered I was a Thunderbane, so I'd prepared a universal and logical answer that carried no plot holes.

"I don't know, buddy. My memories of that time have completely vanished," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

He turned to Nymeria and began inquiring her. "Where did you meet him?"

"None of your business," Nymeria replied coldly.

"How long have—"

"If you dare ask one more question, I'll cut your tongue."

Doran's body trembled, and his hands instantly flew to his mouth.

"Why are you scared, kid?" I laughed. "No way she'd do that... right?"

Doran didn't reply, nor did his terrified expression change, so I turned to Nymeria and asked, "Right, pretty lady?"

Her arms were folded as she stared at Doran, and her face clearly said, I would absolutely do that.

"How did you know I was here?" Nymeria asked Doran.

He finally let go of his mouth before whispering, "Father already knew you wanted to find the cure for your heart, so he didn't stop you when you ran away from home, but—"

"You're a runaway princess!!??" both Ume and I exclaimed in shock.

"May you leave the room? I need to have a personal conversation with my brother," she asked, her voice serious and laced with a hint of sadness.

Accepting her request, we gave the siblings their privacy and left the room.

"I wonder why her face suddenly saddened," I murmurred, lying on my bed.

She had told me she suffered from some heart disease, and it was the reason she risked entering the Forest of Gumiho alone, but I didn't know she was a runaway.

"Now that I think about it, I don't really know anything about her background. I don't know why, but I really want to know more about her," I murmured. "Alright then! I'll ask her tomorrow."

My body was covered in sweat from the earlier fight, so I took a long warm shower. As I came out, someone knocked on the door.

I opened it and found Nymeria standing there, her face shadowed with sadness.

She asked in a low tone, her voice almost cracking, "May I sleep with you tonight?"

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