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{3rd Pov}
Six whole years went by just like that, in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Subaru's very first child, his son, had already grown up enough to have his own little personality, and the boy was named Natsuki Rigel.
Subaru had proudly picked that name himself.
And wow… Rigel turned out to be a seriously sassy kid.
He had that sharp tongue and blunt way of speaking that made it obvious he didn't always have much respect for his dad.
Honestly, it was kind of funny to watch sometimes, but other times it really showed how often he was confused—or maybe even exasperated—by the things his parents did.
For example, his mother would scold him in situations that made no sense at all.
If Rigel and his father both got into trouble together, who did she scold the most? Rigel.
She would cross her arms, sigh, and say things like, "Why didn't you take care of your father?" Or, even worse, "Well, since it's Subaru, that was expected… but why didn't you stop him, Rigel?"
Like, seriously?
What kind of logic was that?
He was just a kid! How was he supposed to keep track of his dad's reckless behavior?
Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around, with the father watching out for the child?
What kind of backwards household was this? Sometimes Rigel really wondered what was wrong with his parents.
And then there was his dad himself… Subaru Natsuki.
He was definitely an unusual man. "Unusual" might have been putting it lightly.
Subaru had this habit of flirting with women so casually, almost like it was second nature to him. He would toss out compliments, playful lines, and teasing remarks without hesitation.
If Rigel didn't know any better, he might have seriously thought his dad was a shameless playboy.
But then again, Subaru always went out of his way to shower Rem—Rigel's mother—with affection, and he did it so often and so openly that Rigel couldn't deny that his dad was genuinely, hopelessly in love with her.
Maybe that explained why his mom always let it slide.
Still, Rigel had one huge mystery he could never figure out, no matter how many times he thought about it: what in the world had happened on the day he was born?
His parents would sometimes joke around about it, saying things like, 'Oh, the day Rigel was born, both your mother and father almost died,'and then they'd laugh it off like it was nothing.
Rigel could sort of believe his father dying, because let's be real—Subaru was kind of weak and fragile compared to others.
But his mother? Rem? No way.
She was strong.
Stronger than atleast most of the people.
And even more confusing, Hu-san, the man who was known as possibly the strongest person in the entire kingdom, was supposedly there too.
Yet both of them joked about dying that day.
And to top it all off, there were rumors that the entire place they lived in Banan, had been almost completely wiped off the map.
How was he supposed to take that as a joke?
Something huge had clearly happened during his birth, but whenever Rigel asked about it, nobody gave him a proper answer.
They just dodged the question or laughed it off like it wasn't important.
It drove him crazy.
And now, after days of hearing his mom and dad making all sorts of strange noises in their room and watching her act weird, Rigel had finally learned the truth: she was pregnant again.
Apparently, he was going to have a little sibling soon.
To Rigel, it almost seemed like some kind of ritual was going on between his parents with all their odd behavior, but whatever it was, it ended up with his mom carrying another child.
Despite being annoyed at his parents most of the time, Rigel had a simple, heartfelt wish.
This time, he really wanted a little sister.
No little brothers.
Absolutely not.
Rigel had already decided that much in his heart.
He already had his hands full just dealing with his father, who was basically a full-grown man but still pretty much useless most of the time.
Adding another little brother on top of that? Yeah, no thanks.
He couldn't even imagine what kind of nightmare that would turn into.
So when his mom tried to comfort him with some sweet words about the new baby, somehow she managed to sneak in a remark that also doubled as an insult toward him.
That was just the kind of thing she did.
Rigel couldn't even tell anymore if she did it on purpose or if it just came naturally at this point.
Either way, he gritted his teeth, swallowed his pride, and went along with it.
After all, she had asked him to take care of something important.
That "something important" turned out to be the family's lunch.
Rigel ended up carrying a bento box meant for himself and his hopeless father.
Honestly, he didn't mind—it gave him an excuse to get out of the house for a bit, and maybe he'd even get a little peace and quiet before having to deal with Subaru's antics again.
But peace and quiet didn't last long, because right as he was on his way to deliver the food, he ran into someone.
Not just anyone.
A woman.
Rigel had seen beautiful people before—his mom was considered extremely pretty, after all—but this woman was on a completely different level.
She was inhumanly beautiful.
Her hair was a silky, milky white that shimmered unnaturally, with a single thin strand carrying the faintest hint of lime color, like it had been dyed by sunlight itself.
Her eyes were dazzling yellow, so bright they almost looked like they could glow in the dark.
If Rigel had been older, or if he actually understood the mysteries of the opposite sex, he probably would have blurted out something embarrassing about her figure too, because the way she carried herself was just… well, a little too alluring.
Luckily, he was still just a kid, so that kind of thing went straight over his head.
The woman greeted him like she already knew him, introducing herself without hesitation.
She spoke with this strange mix of warmth and menace, like someone who couldn't decide whether to hug you or stab you.
In fact, she straight-up told him she loved him… but then immediately followed it up with, "I still want to kill you, though."
Rigel froze. His face probably went blank. Inside, his brain screamed one word: Yeah, okay, definitely some screw loose here.
But the woman didn't stop there.
She kept talking, insisting that she was family.
Family! And before Rigel could properly react, she forced him to go along with her plan.
She insisted that they deliver the bento to his dad together, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
Now, if you ignored the fact that she repeated—multiple times, by the way—that she seriously wanted to kill him, she was… surprisingly nice?
She didn't treat him badly, she didn't insult him like his parents often did in their own backwards way, and she even seemed interested in what he had to say.
That alone was enough to confuse the hell out of Rigel.
Then came the final straw.
While they walked together, she started humming softly.
The tune caught Rigel's attention immediately because it sounded suspiciously familiar.
In fact, it was almost identical to a lullaby his mother used to sing to him when he was little. Her mother had pointed it out, she made it before he was born and it's name was Tia, which was actually same as this woman who introduced herself by the same name.
Rigel didn't want to believe her.
He didn't want to admit that this terrifyingly beautiful, suspiciously dangerous woman could really be related to him.
But between her words, her actions, and that lullaby… in the end, he couldn't keep denying it.
Begrudgingly, and with a heavy sigh, he accepted the fact.
She was family.
Whether he liked it or not.
...
Time kept moving forward, and with it, a lot of changes came to the Natsuki family.
Life never stayed still with them, and Rigel had to admit that his household was anything but boring.
The biggest change of all was the arrival of a brand-new family member.
His parents welcomed their second child into the world, and Rigel got what he had been wishing for all along—a little sister.
Her name was Natsuki Spica.
That's right, Rigel had officially become a big brother, and to his enormous relief, she was a sweet little girl and not some noisy, snot-nosed brat of a younger brother.
The moment he laid eyes on her tiny face, Rigel had already made up his mind.
He was going to be the kind of older brother that spoiled his sister endlessly.
He wanted her to grow up smiling and happy, not stuck dealing with the kind of nonsense he always had to endure.
He planned it all out in his head—he'd sing lullabies to her when she cried, he'd carry her around when she got tired, and when she was old enough to speak, he would make sure she called him "Nii!" like the cutest little sister in the world should.
Rigel wasn't just excited—he was determined.
But of course, nothing in the Natsuki household could ever be simple or peaceful.
Being an older brother didn't mean Rigel got a break from the rest of his chaotic family life.
He still had to put up with his useless excuse of a father and his mother who could throw insults at him as naturally as she breathed in air.
Sometimes, Rigel honestly started to wonder if his parents even loved him at all.
That thought really hit him one day when he decided to ask them directly.
Maybe he had been hoping for reassurance, or maybe he had just been in a bad mood, but he asked a question no child should ever ask their parents: "Who do you love more—each other, or me?"
The answers came immediately, without hesitation, and they hit him like a hammer.
"Of course your dad is my number one man in my heart!" his mother declared, smiling sweetly at Subaru as though Rigel wasn't even in the room.
Her voice was sugary, dripping with affection, and none of it was for him.
Then his father, never one to miss a chance to act proud about something ridiculous, puffed up his chest and loudly proclaimed, "If I had to choose between you and your mother, I'd choose Rem!" His tone was so smug, so self-satisfied, like he had just recited a divine truth straight from some sacred scripture.
Rigel stood there, speechless. His heart took the hit directly.
Damn! They didn't even try to sugarcoat it!
They didn't even pretend to love him more!
They just went ahead and gave him emotional damage to his face!
Still reeling, Rigel thought maybe—just maybe—he could appeal to his dad at least.
There was no way of changing his mother's mind, that much was certain, but maybe Subaru would at least try to make him feel a little better.
So Rigel confronted him again, hoping for a different answer.
To his surprise, Subaru actually paused and gave him a revised version. "Okay, okay! If I had to choose between you and your mother… I'll hesitate for a bit!" Subaru said with exaggerated seriousness, raising his finger like he was delivering an important declaration.
Then he immediately followed it up with, "And then I'll still choose Rem!"
Rigel just stared at him, completely deadpan.
"…"
In the end, he realized something. Forget it. He shouldn't have asked in the first place. Some answers were better left unknown.
To be continued...
(A/N: FIRST WHERE ARE THE DAMN POWERSTONES? WE FELL FROM TOP 15 TO OUT OF TOP 20! GIVE ME YOUR POWERSTONES!
ALSO NO ONE IS GETTING A PATREON MEMBERSHIP?
NO ONE WANTS TO READ ADVANCE CHAP?
I AM TALKING TO YOU GUY FOR WHO 5 DOLLARS IS BARELY A MONEY WORTH FOR POPISICLE.
DO YOU NOT WANT TO SUPPORT THIS LOVELY AUTHOR?
DO YOU NOT WANT TO SEE ASSETS OF REINA?
DO YOU NOT WANNA SEE PEAK?
It seems, you can never ascend to be Mommy Minerva's Sugarchild.
But if you do wanna then here is the link.
patreon.com/AkrosZero)