72 The Opposite Of Love
London, England,
Clock Tower,
"Hmmm.... quite a shame."
"Quite the shame indeed."
Such were the words of the twin sisters of Iselma, their gazes fixed on the cold bisected corpse below them... Their shoes had some blood on them but they didn't really seem to notice that, or even if they did, they didn't care.
They were the twin daughters of Lord Iselma, from the Valualeta faction and by extension, from the Democratic Faction led by the Trambelios. One with silver hair, and the other with golden, with skin more pale than fair and almost half their faces veiled by adjacently low white hats, prodigies and the amalgamation of their research to create the 'most beautiful person'.
The Princesses of Silver and Gold, were their latest 'project' and pride.
(A/N: Diardra Valualeta Islema, Princess of Gold.)
(A/N: Estella Valualeta Islema, Princess of Silver.)
They were both disabled in some way though, in exchange for power that could be in the realm of magic, the Iselma deprived their very genetic code of the ability to hear or see. (A/N: Either one of the two in one individual.)
Yet, they still knew that the corpse before them was of a man who was their superior.
"Let us not make this available to the public, it would hinder the image of his successor." Inorai closed the fan in her hand, staring down at McDonell's body without a hint of emotion in her eyes.. Perhaps if this were some other faction, any other than them the Democrats, Roman would have been hunted down for what he had done but not here, not them, the Democratic Faction would never do such a thing.
Their core beliefs revolved around merit and if McDonell had been felled by his own son, that simply translated to the latter's credibility and right to be the next leader.... It was common knowledge that none of them could do what he'd done, no way they could have destroyed a city in one spell, or beaten Lord McDonell... Nay, even the Queen couldn't destroy an entire city.
Who more qualified than Roman to lead them? He had every right to the seat of Lord.
"Still.... You Edelfelt seemed to have a hint of this." Inorai glanced at the blonde woman to her right from the corner of her eye, they'd known of his prowess all along hadn't they?
"Fufu.." The blonde giggled with a few fingers over her mouth, visibly amused, "Why of course, it is simply your hubris that let you be fooled so long..." She would never let slip that it was her mother who noticed the irregularity.
"....Hubris? Come now, you jest." Inorai spoke warmly, changing moods as the situation demanded.
Many other Lords had left as soon as Roman had, probably in a bid to make arrangements to avoid the backlash of his return. Karmagliph Meluastea Deluc left with Lorelei Barthomeloi, and they suspected he wanted to investigate why the woman had supported Roman instead of his father.
"Well..." The Lady Edelfelt put on a playful smile, "Would you not have noticed his assets if you concerned yourself with wealth?" The Edelfelt were a greedy, ruthless line that even acted as mercenaries if the pay was enough, of course they noticed the appearance of an international corporate giant, "Whose weapons do you think you arm your guards with?" She smiled widely, referring to the normal human guards they employed as a cover for their facilities.
"That is a shortcoming.." Inorai admitted, putting a hand on her chin... She doubted it would be that simple to trace it back to him.. The Edelfelt couldn't possibly have been the only ones to investigate right?
Unbeknownst to them, even that was to some extent a calculated discussion.
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Trambelio Main Residence,
"I must say I do love the renovations."
Roman's tone was laced with sarcasm, understandable considering the metric shit ton of literal holes and black patches... even the gardens were blown to high heaven, "You lot really aren't one for subtlety huh?" He commented, observing the rows of kneeling golems.
Wait... He created them right? And golems worked on pre-assigned programs so technically, it was his own fault.
Roman simply ignored that fact and kept looking around, the tapping of the cane he used to walk mixing in with the sound of rain to make a strange melody..
"Master.... what happened?"
Kagetora appeared right behind Roman, tilting her head and softly touching his hair, twirling it between her fingers, "It's a nice colour though..." She grinned and gave him a thumbs up, "It has the approval of a War God!"
"You say that like that's something to be proud of." Roman shot her down, pushing away her hand and fixing his hair.... It was a strange colour now, not white, god no, he'd use magic to change it back if that was the case.... It was more like a grey, with a rare few tufts of black.. not too dissimilar to Kagetora's hair.
"That said..." The War God of Echigo ran a gaze over the kneeling golems and looked back and forth between them and Roman a few times, "Master, you're like a commander." That was meant to be praise and he had her approval in that department, he was damn good at ordering people around to get an optimal situation.
"Thanks." Roman answered politely, resuming his walk the next moment, the mansion where he'd find at least one of his eleven sisters... He wasn't close with them but not by choice, they avoided him like the plague and were usually miles away from wherever he was... The few times they did meet were just them telling him to fuck off....
And so, Roman didn't have any particular feelings for them.
"..." Kagetora was left stumped, lost for words, speechless..... Had Roman, Roman of all people just answered politely and thanked her?! Was the world ending?! "Did something happen?" The War God of Echigo was strangely perceptive... hard not to be when meeting someone who left an impression like Roman did....
Simply put, he was... intense.. At least that was how she, Nagao Kagetora, perceived him and was unlike anyone she'd met before ever, period.
Soon enough, Roman had entered the main mansion... though calling it a castle would be a more apt description, with relics and paintings in every corner, high ceilings, carpeted floors and illuminated by candles and chandeliers...
"I'd say it's nostalgic but it really isn't."
He hadn't been here much, only a few times... Parties and the likes where they'd been forced to take him along for appearances. Roman wondered if it was truly worth it to cancel a meeting with Zelretch to come here... not that they truly had much to discuss after they'd shared a laugh over the stupidity of magi.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was wondering that myself actually, what AM I doing here?"
Roman answered the question with another, calmly smiling at the blonde woman coming down the stairs.... This was.. one of his sisters, one that had really taken after his father.
"If you're here to aid us, I think we'd be better off without it."
The woman looked him in the eyes, with a face deprived of emotion, her blue eyes boring into his crimson ones.... She was only a few centimetres shorter than himself and that made her really really tall for a woman considering Roman himself stood nearly two metres tall.
"As cold as ever." The Magician smiled pensively, "Aren't you happy to meet your little brother? Most people are, you know? What's wrong with you?" And so started the usual routine of Roman doing as Roman does, "Get yourself a guy or something."
"As always, your antics fail to amuse..." The blonde looked at his eye and then his cane, "What are you really here for? I'd rather this place not be stained by your presence, it is nauseating." This man... he was a shame, how could a member of their prestigious line be so...so like this? He had never accomplished anything and never would.
"I wanted to check out my newest mansion." Roman answered bluntly and truthfully, lips splitting into a massive grin. He had no intention of hiding what he'd done, no, he'd own that murder.. Roman Trambelio wasn't a wimp that couldn't own up to what he'd done.
"That is even less amusing. Where is lord father?"
"Dead, in pieces."
Roman held no love for his siblings, more indifference and he didn't care about how they would react to such information.. he would provide for them what they needed for comfortable lives but nothing beyond that, nor anything less than that.... Sighing to himself, the Magician sat down on one of the stairs, placing his cane against his leg.
"I've said it before but this is NOT amusing."
That did get a reaction, considering McDonell was a man who had spoiled his daughters and wives, catering to their every whim but then again, they were all prodigies in their own rights. It seemed strange for such a man to not care for Roman but it really wasn't, he was indifferent to his existence and the opposite of love was not hate but that very thing.
"Go ahead then. Investigate, once you're sure. Fuck off."
Roman could only sigh as he did what he did, this wasn't amusing in the slightest, even if he made it seem as if it was.
The Magician clenched his fist, ignoring the noise of his sister's footsteps. Being so overly decisive was what made him him and even if it wasn't amusing, he refused to regret his actions, choosing to own up to them instead.
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