Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

After leaving his sister's side, Adrian returned to see Aria's matches. In about an hour, both her and all the other matches ended. As in the novel, it was Aria and Aurelia who advanced to the next round.

But it was quite hard for Aurelia since her fights were scheduled right after the PotionCrafting event. He knew she didn't even have the time to check her results. But he did.

She got a perfect score on the test and made three mistakes in the ingredients image recognition part. While her rival Nora made one mistake on the test and two mistakes in the second part.

So, their points were equal. They advanced to the quarter-finals as first rankers.

"Don't worry I will make sure she takes a rest after this." Adrian heard someone speaking to him. But he didn't even look at the person.

"Since she also needs to be ready for her other event in the evening." The voice continued. "And now I am wondering whether to watch your team's matches or her event... What do you think I should do? What would you do?"

"..." Adrian's ears twitched slightly at this talkative person. 'Who would have thought a main character could be this annoying...' He thought glancing at Aurelius who was looking at him waiting for his answer.

Adrian knew if he didn't answer he would keep going again.

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'Sigh...'

"I would go back to my room and sleep or go train." Adrian replied indifferently looking at Aurelius.

"Woah!" But somehow Aurelius was surprised. "So, even you don't know what to do in this situation, huh? I see..."

'The hell?' Adrian looked at Aurelius speechlessly. 'Did he hit his head somewhere?'

"I see..."

"By the way... My family is here." Aurelius muttered his voice lowering.

'!' Adrian's eyes widened slightly. 'So, that's what he wanted to say...'

He already noticed them yesterday, he had to since their other son was staring daggers at him for a reason he didn't even know. But he could bet it was probably because of jealousy.

"And... I'm worried they might cause trouble for me, to your sister." Aurelius continued. "Ah, but don't worry I won't let any harm come to her. I'll keep an eye out for any trouble."

Twitch~ Twitch~ (Adrian's fists twitching)

'... Should I beat him up?' For some reason, Adrian had the urge to beat this handsome face right in front of him.

'But... they won't cause trouble this time.' He continued with his thoughts, his gaze secretly landing on the VIP seats. 'The King isn't that stupid to cause a ruckus in such a grand public setting. He knows the stakes and the consequences of such actions. Still, it's worth being cautious. Since he can't do anything by himself, he might use other hands to do his things...'

'Like last time,' he thought grimly. Adrian's thoughts drifted to a chilling memory - the rainy day lying in a pool of blood and water. The time when he was almost killed by unknown assailants during him rescuing his sister and Aurelius. He had barely escaped with his life, thanks to his luck and a timely intervention by Aria.

'I have to stay vigilant. Let's not forget Aurelius's villainous brother...'

"By the way, what happened later, after that day, the day we left." Suddenly asked Aurelius his expression curious. "I wanted to ask it for a long time but couldn't... Did they cause any trouble for you? I'm sorry if they made things hard for you..."

"..." Adrian's gaze returned to Aurelius. "No, they did nothing."

"..." Aurelius stared at him, trying to gauge if he was speaking the truth. "Then I'm glad..."

"...What is your family to you?" Adrian asked his expression solemn. "How do you see them? You can be honest."

"!" Aurelius was stunned for a moment at Adrian's unexpected question.

"You don't have to tell if you don't want to," Adrian said and turned his face away.

"...Honestly... I always tried my best to be recognized by them ever since I was little. Even if I was sick... I tried to get healthy and spend time with them, play with my siblings... I tried to learn swordsmanship... It didn't work...

I focused on studying but I wasn't talented... I wanted to see their smile looking at me..."

"...Their proud expressions," Aurelius continued, his voice heavy with emotion. "But... It never came. As I grew older, I started to realize what I meant to them, little by little. I began to understand that I wasn't truly a son or a brother in their eyes. I was more like...

an obligation, someone they had to take care of."

He paused, his gaze distant as he recalled the painful memories. "It was hard to accept at first, but over time, I came to terms with it. Not to mention they provided for me, gave me clothes to wear, food to eat, medicine since I was sick, doctors and a maid to take care of me, a place to stay... For that, I am grateful.

But I know now that I was never truly part of their family in the way I wanted to be."

Adrian listened silently, his expression inscrutable. Hearing Aurelius's story firsthand was different from reading it in the novel. The raw emotion in Aurelius's voice, the pain of his unfulfilled longing for acceptance, made Adrian understand the depth of his struggle.

"You've been through a lot," Adrian said quietly, his tone softer than before. Maybe he remembered his own share of troubles growing up. "It's not easy to face that kind of reality, to come to terms with it. But you've managed to find your own path despite everything. That... takes strength."

Aurelius looked at Adrian, not surprised by the empathy in his words. "Thank you, Adrian. I... I knew you to understand. I feel like a heavy mountain has been lifted off my shoulders after talking to you. And..."

"I heard a lot about you from Aurelia too... About your childhood. How you took care of her since your parents disappeared... I am sure your situation was way more difficult and different than mine, but you still are handling and handed it well. YOU have THAT strength."

"Maybe... That's the reason I see you as a..." Aurelius hesitated, then continued, "...as a friend... Even if you don't feel the same."