Villainess Reborn: SEASON ONE

CHAPTER EIGHT

TATIANA LORIEL

Tatiana almost forgot about an important character from the book. Standing in front of her was supposedly her half-brother, Elliot. The son of the current queen and her father. From what she read, Tatiana and Elliot never had a good relationship with each other. Elliot always tried to win the favor and attention of his older sister, Tatiana, but she always ignored him and acted like he didn't exist. She also always made him feel that he wasn't loved and accepted by her.

In the end, Elliot turned his back on his sister and chose to protect his love interest, Agatha Grace. From what she knew, Elliot had a weak body ever since he was young, so he grew up in the library instead of the training grounds, and when his body finally became well, it was too late for him to start training, so he focused on being a scholar.

"O-Of course," Tatiana stuttered, taken aback by the sudden question. She knew Elliot but she didn't know that he would be this young. Which made her question what year it was or how old she was this time. By the looks of it, this was a few years before the plot of the book takes place.

Is this some kind of a villain backstory or something? Except that someone else was residing in the villain's body at the moment.

"But-but why are you so kind to me?" Elliot asked, his voice cracked and his eyes started to tear up, but he wiped them away. "You never looked at me as if I didn't exist. Maybe it's because you lost your memories that you forgot why you hated me so much."

"No!" Tatiana immediately countered, "I did it to protect you."

"To protect me?" Elliot asked.

Tatiana was taken aback by her sudden outburst. She suddenly said that without even thinking about it. She was even confused about it herself. She tried to recollect what the reason was, but nothing came to mind.

"I'm sorry," she apologized and massaged the temple of her forehead, "I'm just confused at the moment, I don't recall anything."

Elliot looked at her worriedly and walked towards her. "Do I need to call somebody for help?"

Tatiana shook her head and sighed. Why is she suddenly acting up? She doesn't even know what is happening.

"It's nothing," she said and smiled at him. The boy's heart skipped a beat upon seeing his sister smile at him for the first time. This was the first time he managed to get to her this close without being yelled at. His mother, the queen, always told him that the princess was like that because he was a threat to her crown and that she was not happy that he was born in this world.

At first, Elliot didn't believe his mother and always hoped that one day, Tatiana would look his way, but as years passed by, he started to believe what his mom said. Maybe his sister hated his existence. They grew apart, and the bond between them became even further out of reach. He started to stay at the library without the watchful eyes of the workers and away from his sister's spiteful stares and hurtful words.

Tatiana felt bad for the kid. He looked like he was thirteen years old at least. He looked pale, fragile, and sickly. She suddenly thought of the possible reasons why Tatiana could hate her brother like that. He was just an innocent child. She sat on the bench beside the boy and scooted over to him and shook his hair.

"Stop crying," Tatiana said, "people would make fun of you if they saw you cry. What were you reading about?"

The prince wiped his tears away and looked at the open book in front of them. Tatiana gasped when she saw the notes as well as the footnotes in the book. Surprisingly, she can read the alphabet and understand the language of the kingdom, but she does not understand what Elliot was studying.

"You did this all by yourself?" she gasped. The boy shyly nodded. This was his only pride and joy. In the beginning, Elliot didn't really like the library or studying, but he was too sickly to go outside and play, and therefore, he had no friends or anyone to talk to.

He only grew interested in books after spending enough time in the library. Not long after, this became an extension of his room. It was peaceful and had a beautiful view. He never felt alone, as he always lived in stories that he read and knowledge that he learned and discovered.

"This is amazing," Tatiana whispered to herself in amazement, "I don't understand anything, but I can see that you're really smart."

The princess continued to look at the notes in awe while Elliot stared at her. Suddenly, something sparked inside of him. It was like his blood came to life and a sudden rush of excitement flowed through his whole body.

"What does this mean?" Tatiana asked, pointing at an illustration with labels, "Wow, you draw so prettily too."

"That's a new air device that a scholar wrote about. It was supposed to be created, but the previous kings were afraid that it would fail after spending millions of the kingdom's assets. But I think that it's a good idea. Unlike the present means of transportation—"

Tatiana started to rant excitedly about the air balloon thingy, to which Elliot started to rant. Elliot explained it to her so simply that even someone like her understood how it worked, the mechanics and gears and all.

For the first time in days, Tatiana smiled and laughed. This was the first time she had a proper talk with someone in this world, and it was from a kid who is also her brother. It was amazing how someone his age is bright and mature. He showed him different studies, stories, and parts of literature. Tatiana realized how lucky she was to come here. She didn't even need to read various books because Elliot told her stories about the kingdom.

The sun was setting, and the library was slowly getting dark. William, followed by the other palace workers, entered the library to escort both the princess and the prince since it was time for dinner, but was instead surprised by the gasp of one worker.

William looked over to where the servant was looking. His eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"Should I wake them up, Sir William?" one of the servants asked, but William shook his head and signaled for them to lower their voices. He gazed at the prince and princess, who were sound asleep on the desk to the table facing each other. The papers around them were scattered, and even the prince, who had trouble sleeping, was slightly snoring in his sleep.

"Go get some blankets," William silently instructed the servants. This was a moment that changed the relationship between the two. What seemed like strangers before has made great progress together.

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END