The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory-Chapter 68

* * *

A week passed just like that.

The strange tea time continued every single day.

The flower tea Rosie brewed herself really didn’t taste good. But except for Ray, no one showed discomfort and everyone drank it to the end.

Ray only drank water from his personal bottle, saying it was a habit, but he still attended the gathering every time.

And on the eighth day—

That day as well, Yuta, Theo, Zahid, Ray, and Rosie drank flower tea from test tubes.

“Hey.”

Just before lunch ended, Rosie spoke quietly.

“Theo oppa.”

“Please refer to ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) me as Assistant.”

“You don’t like this tea time, do you?”

“...”

“If you give me one last chance to talk alone, I won’t come anymore starting tomorrow.”

At that moment, Yuta cried out, “What?! No! I’ll never be able to drink this tasteless flower tea again! No one sells this anywhere! If someone tried to sell it, the shop would go bankrupt before I even heard about it and came to visit!”

Of course, no one listened.

“It won’t take long.”

Rosie said quietly.

“Really. Not even five minutes.”

“...”

Theo sighed with a troubled face, then nodded.

“Don’t forget that condition.”

Then he turned bluntly to Ray, Zahid, and Yuta and said,

“I’m going to talk with my cousin for a moment. Would you please leave my lab?”

In the end, Ray, Zahid, and Yuta awkwardly nodded and had no choice but to step out.

There wasn’t much time left in the lunch break anyway.

Zahid turned to head back to the classroom, but Ray didn’t budge.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

Zahid frowned and pulled Ray by the arm.

But Ray blinked and shook his head.

“No.”

“What?”

Ray smiled brightly, looking amused, and asked,

“Aren’t you curious? About what they’re talking about?”

“Hey.”

Zahid looked at him in disbelief, lifting his chin.

A faint but sharp hostility had started to gather in his violet eyes.

“They asked to be alone. That’s why we were told to leave. So why would we listen in?”

“Still.”

Ray stood in place and shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m curious.”

There was a strange glint in his blue eyes.

“Aren’t you?”

“This is why I hate you.”

Zahid’s face hardened completely as he spoke.

“You don’t care who you get involved with as long as it benefits you, do you?”

“Not really.”

Ray slowly blinked. Then the smile hanging at the edge of his lips vanished completely.

“Still better than someone like you who doesn’t want to get involved with anyone.”

The tense peace that had been barely holding between the two boys froze in an instant.

Ray raised his eyebrows and said,

“It’s not like I like you that much either. But I’m saying this because I thought you might take my side. Don’t forget the advice I gave you before.”

Ray’s blue eyes stared straight at Zahid.

His voice, always soft, had turned cold and sharp.

“If you’re going to keep acting like a gentleman, break off the engagement. Rosie Noart isn’t someone who’ll bring you any benefit.”

In truth, Zahid and Ray hadn’t met for the first time at the Academy.

* * *

Before entering the Academy—

A guest visited the Dyfenril Duchy.

The guest, dressed in formal uniform and showing proper manners, was Ray Lavendal.

Since childhood, he had been praised as a genius.

Rumors spread that even the Duke of Lavendal asked his second son for political advice.

“Nice to meet you.”

Ray dismissed the attendants as soon as he arrived and requested a private conversation with Zahid.

A gentle smile lingered on his face from the beginning.

But even with the tea the butler brought in front of him, he boldly drank from his personal water bottle.

“We’ll see each other at the Academy anyway, so I thought we should get friendly in advance. We’re about the same age, similar backgrounds—it’d be good to be friends.”

Zahid stared straight at Ray with his violet eyes.

The Lavendal Duchy.

When his own parents were driving Dyfenril toward ruin, they hadn’t lifted a finger to help.

When Zahid said nothing, Ray raised an eyebrow and spoke.

“Ah, must’ve been the sedatives. Got you feeling a bit bitter, huh?”

As the master of the Divine Beast of Water, the Duke of Lavendal hadn’t been free from mana overload either.

When the Magic Tower stopped producing sedatives, he had been quite flustered.

But the Lavendals had stockpiled so many sedatives that they could easily last decades.

And yet, they hadn’t given a single dose to the child from Dyfenril who had just become a Divine Beast master.

“Sorry about that. But... in this situation, Lavendal couldn’t just bow to the Temple too.”

Ray spoke gently with a faint smile.

“Orgon and Idra have already gone over to the Temple. Someone has to hold out. This might be a long war.”

The Temple demanded something from each family in exchange for divine power.

The first to kneel was the Idra Duchy.

The Temple transferred ownership of the Divine Beast to the Idra daughter and required her to be educated by the Temple from a young age.

So even though the Duke of Idra was still young, the Earth Divine Beast had already passed to his daughter.

In the childless Orgon Duchy, the Temple assigned Yuta as an adopted heir.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The Orgon Duke was old, and eventually, the Grass Divine Beast would have no choice but to choose Yuta.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? They told you to hand over your Divine Beast directly.”

Ray sipped his tea as he spoke.

“The Temple’s goal is the Divine Beasts. All of them.”

His voice lowered even more.

“I heard the High Priest wants to become the master of your Divine Beast. Luckily, it seems he hasn’t figured out how to do it yet. Still, we have to protect at least one.”

“Enough.”

Zahid, who had remained silent, finally spoke.

“Get to the point.”

He crossed his arms and stared coldly at Ray.

Ray shrugged and said,

“Call off the engagement.”

“What?”

“Break off your engagement with the Noart Count Family. It won’t benefit you.”

Ray continued in a soft yet cold tone.

“Rosie Noart is a wretch from the Temple. She’s useless against them and could be discarded by Count Noart at any time. She’s a weak hand, no matter how you look at it.”

Zahid didn’t respond. He simply turned around and gave an order to the new butler.

“The guest is leaving. Prepare to see him out.”

“Such a fiery personality. When a friend offers advice, you could at least hear it out.”

Ray chuckled as he continued.

“You think Noart Count and you are on the same side, right? That’s why you think the engagement’s fine? That’s what a rookie would believe.”

His blue eyes gleamed coldly as he drank from his personal bottle.

“We’re not ready to face the Temple yet. This is the time to hide your cards, act humble, and grow stronger. Plant spies in their camp.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Let me get to the point. If you’re going to get engaged anyway, call it off now and get engaged to Linna Idra instead.”

“What?”

“Pretend to lean toward the Temple’s side and test the waters. Linna is still young. Once she grows up, you can bring the Idra Duchy over to our side. And if she grows up loyal to the Temple, you can just kill her.” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

“If you like Linna Idra so much, why don’t you get engaged to her yourself?”

“I’m not the heir yet. You think the Duke of Idra would link his precious daughter with someone like me? My father is too healthy, and I’m still not next in line.”

“You leaving or not?”

“Is it the sedatives Rosie Noart promised you? I’ll pressure the Magic Tower to pretend to buy it for our family and sneak it to you. They haven’t even monopolized the supply yet.”

“Look at this guest, not even listening to the host.”

Zahid glared coldly at Ray.

With an arrogant expression, he said,

“Unlike you, I’m already the head of my house. I have to act accordingly. If I were just an ordinary Dyfenril heir like you, I’d have punched you already—don’t forget that.”

“Don’t you realize I’m giving you this advice for your sake? We share the same goal. You know that.”

“Even if we do.”

Zahid spoke with an icy expression.

“I still don’t want to be involved with you.”

“But you want to be involved with the Noart family? They’re just a rich family of slave origin. What do you expect from them?”

“Don’t kid yourself. I’m not involved with them either.”

“In any case, if you’re feeling a bit lonely and need a friend, wouldn’t I be better than them? Just think it over.”

Since Ray showed no sign of getting up, Zahid stood up himself and said coldly,

“I don’t trust anyone, Ray Lavendal.”

“Same goes for me.”

“I knew it the moment you refused the tea and only drank from your own damn bottle.”

“...”

“But isn’t it ridiculous to call this a friendship when you won’t even drink a single cup of tea that was offered?”

Leaving the seated Ray behind, Zahid turned and ordered the butler,

“He seems to like the tea. Make sure he enjoys it to the fullest before leaving.”

The new butler bowed in confusion.

Zahid added with a biting glare,

“He won’t come again—he’s engaged to a 'worthless hand.'”

“What, really? Are you mad because I called Rosie Noart a 'worthless hand'?”

Zahid didn’t respond to Ray’s words.

Instead, he strode out of the sitting room without a word.

Ray folded his arms with a smirk.

With all that between them, there was no way the two of them could get along just because they were roommates.