Who Shall Master This Family? [Hiatus]

Prologue

Cale's dream was simple.

That is to live a peaceful, stress-free, and lazy kind of life.

But then, something unexpected happened.

They were in the middle of a war against the Mogoru Empire when that crazy bastard Adin tried to kill everyone with the help of the Alchemist's Tower Master.

With the use of black magic, the Tower Master blew up Honte's body, whose heart was filled with black despair.

Cale didn't have a choice but to put up his shield again to prevent the explosion from killing everyone.

'I should've just killed that bastard.'

That was what Cale thought while he was busy protecting everyone with the help of Raon's shield and Mary's assistance.

Why did he even hesitate? They were going to kill that trashy bastard anyway.

Cale was also trash, but he was way better than Adin.

Anyhow, they ended up saving everyone, at the expense of letting Adin escape. Cale would make sure that the bastard wouldn't be able to escape in their next confrontation.

But Cale, too exhausted at that point, lost consciousness after blocking the explosion.

If Cale only knew what would welcome him when he opens his eyes again, he would have fought the urge to faint.

"Brother? Brother!" A cute, feminine voice called out to Cale who was laying down on his bed and staring at the room's ceiling.

Cale was brought back to his senses when he heard his sister's voice.

"Florentia? What are you doing here?"

Cale asked as he sat up. When he turned his head to the side, his reddish-brown eyes met a pair of brilliant green eyes, belonging to a brown-haired child.

"It's time for dinner!"

"I see."

Cale got up, fixing his slightly wrinkled clothes as he went to Florentia's side.

"Let's go then. Shall we?" Cale asked the little girl after he was done tidying his clothes up.

"Brother, are you alright? You're always spacing out."

Cale sighed, already expecting her to throw the question at him, before answering his sister.

"I just like to stare at nothing. That's all."

"I see."

Florentia nodded her head, she seemed to be satisfied with his answer.

But he knew that his lazy reason didn't convince her, not at all.

"Let's go now, we're going to be late."

"Mhm."

They saw someone outside when they left the room. The butler, John, was waiting for them outside. They exchanged greetings before John escorted them to the dining hall.

As they strode across the hallway, Cale's thoughts started to resurface, to his dismay.

Because of that, his mood was slowly turning sour as they got closer to the dining hall.

'What was I thinking?! I should've just let Raon and Mary do it!'

Cale cried on the inside, too in denial to admit that worry consumed him when the explosion happened.

"Tia! Cale!"

Before he knew it, someone tugged him as he stepped inside the dining hall. He felt a thin arm wrapped around his shoulder, and Cale then found himself trapped in someone's embrace.

He saw a glimpse of Florentia's small hand that was patting the young man's shoulder.

"I missed you both!"

"Tia also missed you, Dad!"

Cale had long forgotten about his thoughts of regret, his mind was now focused on the awkward position he was in.

"Long time no see... Dad."

The red-haired copied his sister's actions by also giving awkward pats on the young man's shoulder.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Cale?" the young man, his father, asked him worriedly.

"Uh, nothing. I'm just tired, father."

"Liar. You were staying in your bedroom for the whole day."

Cale widened his eyes as he looked at Tia. He didn't expect her to snitch on him to their father!

Tia, on the other hand, beamed at him before turning her head away as she hugged their father.

'This little-'

"Gallahan, take Tia and Cale to their seats."

Cale drew a sharp breath when the deep voice, which belonged to someone he knew, was heard.

"Ah, yes. Father."

It was their grandfather, the head of their family.

Gallahan stood up and escorted his children to their seats. Cale and Florentia sat beside each other.

Tia was sitting comfortably beside him, while Cale, on the other hand, felt the chills run up and down his spine as he quietly listened to their grandfather's short speech.

'Why do I have to be so unlucky?'

Cale doesn't know if he died when he fainted, and it seems that he won't be able to find out the answer soon.

Because when he opened his eyes, he had become a Lombardi.

Callisto Lombardi, the twin brother of Florentia Lombardi, who's one of the favorite grandchildren of their grandfather, Rulac Lombardi.

It was a wealthy family, even wealthier than Henituse, that's for sure.

But Cale wasn't very happy to be a part of their family.

"Brother, you're spacing out again."

Cale turned to Florentia, who had a big smile plastered on her pretty face.

"Is brother staring into nothing again?"

"Yes..."

"Or is brother planning something big?"

Cale flinched when he saw the look in Tia's round eyes.

She was looking at him as if he was an enemy that she needed to eliminate.

Cale tried his best to hold his grimace as he could tell what was going on inside her mind.

'Does she still think that I'll compete with her to become the head of the family?'

If only Cale could freely express his resentment towards the position she aims for.

'Aigoo. My poor life...'