CH282 Alex, the Big Brother

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About a day later…

Knock~

Alex was seated at his study desk, working as usual, when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," he said.

Udara entered, bowing slightly.

"Master, your siblings have almost arrived," she reported.

"Is that so?" A small smile tugged at Alex's lips. "Let's go."

He rose from his chair. Udara slipped into place behind him, only to vanish into stealth as they stepped out.

At the front door of the Back Mountain Lodge, Alex waited. A few minutes later, a carriage bearing the Fury House crest rolled into view.

From it descended his siblings—Ulfman, Seraphina, Sofia, and Wilbert.

One by one, Alex greeted them with a hug, drawing startled looks.

Such warmth was foreign between them, especially from Alex.

Not to mention, such a hug left Alex –being a mage—in a vulnerable position. Any of Ulfman or the twins could easily attack him in this situation.

An attack that could be fatal to any ordinary mage.

"Are you really a mage, Big Brother?" Ulfman asked suddenly.

Alex's eyes lit at the address. He patted his brother's shoulder firmly.

"Mage or not, I still carry the Furor bloodline," he said with a slight smile.

Turning to the others, he added, "Come now. I'm sure you're curious why I asked you here."

He ushered them inside and led them to the sitting room. Once they had settled, Alex spoke.

"The main reason I called you here is simple—I want to catch up and get to know you better." A wry smile touched his lips. "I'll be leaving soon for a sabbatical, and I don't know when I'll return. So I want to make use of the time I have."

"Why do you care so much… eldest brother?" Sofia asked softly.

"Because I don't want us to end up like other noble families," Alex said. "There's no point fighting over a title or position. With some effort, any of us can secure our own place in this world. What's irreplaceable is the bond between us siblings."

"You didn't seem to care about that when you killed Kurt," Seraphina said coldly.

"Sera!" Ulfman snapped, caution in his tone.

But Seraphina held her ground, eyes locked on Alex.

To her surprise, Alex remained utterly calm.

"Do you know why we can sit here like this—peacefully, or at least relatively so—without worrying that one of us is plotting the other's death?" Alex asked.

Seraphina only stared, lips pressed thin.

Alex answered his own question.

"There are two main reasons." He raised two fingers. "First, none of us here have ambition for anything—our roles are already clear.

"Second, even if any of you did harbour ambition, I have the power to crush it. That power snuffs out useless dreams before they can grow, and suppresses any pointless rebellion.

"Both of these facts were cemented the moment I crushed Kurt—who arguably had the strongest ambition and rebellion among us."

His gaze swept from Seraphina to Sophia. Seraphina's face betrayed nothing but cold defiance, while Sophia's expression grew contemplative. Then her eyes widened as Alex continued.

"In other words, Kurt became the guiding light that allows us to sit together today in peace."

"Not the answer you expected, was it, Sofi?" he asked with a faint smile.

"No… it wasn't, big brother," Sophia admitted. She bowed her head slightly. "I apologise. I was the one who put her up to it."

"No matter," Alex said, shaking his head. "It was something that needed addressing sooner or later."

Then he fixed his gaze firmly on Sophia. The intensity of it made her shift uneasily.

"Tell me, Sofi," he asked. "What do I look like in the eyes of a witch?"

Sophia hesitated, visibly unsettled. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying.

"I… don't know how to describe it."

"Describe it however you can," Alex urged, smiling faintly.

Sophia studied him for a long moment.

"Chaotic harmony," she finally said. "Everything about you—your body, your personality—feels chaotic… yet somehow it all remains in balance."

This time, Alex was the one taken aback.

He thought about it only briefly before realising why she might say such a thing.

His Rune-Tech magic was chaotic by nature—capable of doing nearly anything, spreading into every possibility. Yet it was always bound and brought to order by his own imagination, harmonised within the natural order rather than running rampant.

Also, his two bloodlines had always been in a state of flux—constantly pushing and then settling into a delicate balance. That fragile equilibrium remained even now in their fused state, allowing each bloodline to express its own uniqueness while still working together toward the common purpose of strengthening Alex.

More importantly, Alex was an old soul inhabiting a young body, a mismatch that had caused great dissonance when he first transmigrated into this world. His soul was far too strong for his body, forcing the birth of his Truth-Seeker eye to balance the scales.

And even now his Spiritual Force remained unnaturally powerful for his age and level.

He thought through countless observations about himself, and all of them aligned with Sophia's evaluation of him from the perspective of a World Warlock attuned to the laws of the world.

"I see…" Alex murmured. "Thanks for telling me that."

His calm response drew puzzled looks from his siblings. Wilbert, in particular, seemed completely lost, unable to make sense of the conversation.

Alex chuckled lightly before shifting gears.

"If I'm not wrong, everyone here has at least some idea of what I've been up to. But I don't know what you have been doing lately. I'd like to change that."

"We haven't done anything remotely as cool as you, big brother," Ulfman admitted.

"That doesn't matter. In fact, I'd much rather hear about the mundane things you've been doing," Alex replied with a small smile.

The elder siblings were hesitant at first. But then the youngest—and Alex's number one fan—Wilbert spoke up.

With the ice broken, the four siblings began to talk freely, and soon enough, they were laughing together.

Most of that laughter came at Ulfman's expense, as he quickly became the sacrificial lamb for all their jokes and teasing.

The atmosphere shifted. For the first time, it felt less like a tense gathering of young nobles on the verge of tearing one another apart, and more like what they truly were—siblings.

'Looks like I was right about them,' Alex thought.

He listened carefully to their chatter, quietly confirming that their personalities and goals matched the profiles he had already built. That meant his plans for them stood a healthier chance of succeeding.

Eventually, Wilbert said something that embarrassed Ulfman so much the teen fell silent. Seizing the moment, Alex smoothly steered the conversation elsewhere.

"Let's quickly digress to an important topic," he said.

***

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