Esme's POV
Siblings squabbles were never resolved in a straightforward manner, especially with male siblings that rarely sat and talked things out.
Uncle once said he wasn't always on good terms with my father, his older brother. But with age and maturity, they began seeing eye to eye.
These seven brothers were immortals that had been alive for many Centuries. "Do they still have more maturing to do?"
I groaned, leaving the soft bed and sweet scent on flowers. The room I stayed in was rather empty with white patterned walls, the mattress held by a splendour bed frame, and candlesticks that burned incense.
"Was this Ruby's room?" He seemed quite simple. I reached the doorstep, but my legs gave way and I crashed on the door. I stared at them in disbelief.
My sturdy body that could deliver pastries orders around the village twice before breakfast, couldn't even walk to the door after the ritual.
I didn't lose much blood, so was it truly the heaviness of my role? Truly, there was no amount of preparation my uncle would've given me to be ready for this.
"Do you need my help?"
I gasped, curling into a ball. This presence, it was the one from the ritual. I was growing excited but still worried how it came from nowhere. "Have you always been there? I wasn't sure but my mind seemed like it had a guest."
"Sanya."
Her voice was warmer than before. "Hello, Sanya." I sniffed, and laughed at myself. Why did this make me emotional?
Getting my 'wolf' at nineteen wasn't just a miracle but a help I needed right now. Sora said I had awakened but this might just be a late blooming after reaching peak frustration. Perhaps I should thank Eidrin for helping me find my wolf after so many years.
"You awakened 'Blood's Will', not me. I have always been here."
My smile fell off. What did she mean by she had always been there? Blood's will? Was it a spell? Rune? Definitely magic. "I am supposed to be wolf-less."
"I was dormant, not absent. A Blood-Hound wolf, not any wolf. If you wonder why, well, what use would I have been for you amongst werewolves and humans?"
My hands loosened from my body. Did she mean she only awakened now because I needed the power of this Blood-Hound wolf?
Truly, she did humble an immortal so I would've been trouble to the poor villagers. Her presence felt familiar so I must've awakened before but lost her.
"It's somewhere in your past memories." She said, sensing my thoughts.
Levine once mentioned our inner wolves could finish our sentences because they read our thoughts.
I felt more relaxed. "The memories I can't seem to remember." I sighed.
"You don't need to."
Those words comforted me. A part of me felt guilty that I didn't want to know, but if she felt that way too then there's really nothing to it. Uncle was right.
"Would I grow stronger now?"
"You already are. At least, enough to withstand my awakening. That's what Mark had been preparing you for."
So he didn't train me for the Princes but for my awakening? Then the reason I was this tired must be because of Sanya, and that's why Sora panicked.
"You can call him 'Uncle'. He's also your Uncle." I only referred him by name when I was mad.
"I met him as a young lad. This would be hard."
My uncle? "Huh?"
"Huh."
I frowned. Was she keeping secrets from me? Why couldn't I read her thoughts? She sounded ancient, in the way I expected these brothers to sound. But they had been evolving with the humans and werewolves, whose sins they embodied.
Sanya sounded like she could be the only Blood-Hound wolf in existence, and that scared me. There's still loneliness waiting for us.
I clicked my tongue multiple times, shooing depressing thoughts off. "Let's get along, Sanya."
"We will."
As she assured, I felt strength move to my legs and I hurried off the ground. The injury in my hand was faint and I couldn't be sure if it was my wolf-healing or Sora's assistance.
"So for my first day as Mistress of Sins, I have to settle the dispute between Eidrin and his brothers. What do you think?"
"It is necessary. Envy can kill."
Envy? I snapped my fingers. "Does he embody the deadly sin of Envy? Oh-ho! That makes sense. Why didn't I think of that? And the rest? Ruby's?"
Silence…
Really? "Talk to me. This was getting interesting." I have to find a way to break into her consciousness soon enough.
"It's a guess. Eidrin targets you because you're important to his brothers while he deems himself not. His sin must be Envy."
"He deems himself not." I repeated. That's the whole problem. "He's proud and not accepting he wants attention, so I guessed his sin was Pride. But Ruby clearly said he's being jealous so you're probably right."
I was still in the dress I had worn to the ritual. No bath taken. I looked around the room. Did Ruby seriously take me to a room with nothing but an exit?
"Have you met these brothers before?"
"Blood-Hound wolves aren't their natural enemies—unlike the Disciples of the Goddess—so yes, in the past I have."
She has been in contact with existence and reincarnation, hasn't she? "My mother was the former Blood-Hound Host, wasn't she?"
"Host is an odd word to use. I was her wolf, for as long as she lived."
I guess not even a Blood-Hound wolf could have eternal life. Who needed it anyway? "I will not ask about my mother so don't worry."
It felt like she wanted to run and hide when I mentioned my mother. There's a glimpse of regret. I smiled. It's fair that I felt something in her consciousness.
I opened the door to a winding hallway and no one was coming. "Sanya, can I teleport like last time?"
"You moved so quickly that it felt like so."
"Ah, disappointing." I strolled down the hall, walking quickly so I could trigger it.
"I lived in a world where only royals use magic, nobles use runes, and few powerful merchants can use spells. But I never knew they'd be people who could cast spells without actually casting them. You know, they draw no circle and say no words. It just happens."
"Have you seen magic being used?"
"I've never seen a royal person in my life, so no. Is that how magic is?"
"Yes. It could be seen or not seen with the common eye. It's a direct gift from the Moon Grace to her special children and how the Sun God Deity created his sons from it - refined mana. It is also like Blood's will."
I blew raspberries. These things were never taught to us in school because the average person might never see magic being used, and the majority of people wouldn't ever use it, even as a spell. As for the Sun God? We were taught about that in school—four Graces that ruled our existence— but I paid less attention to the Grace that came as a dog or a lizard. Was that the 'Father' Eidrin referred to? Also, I had a magic skill, magic that only royals could use. My heart raced in excitement.
"Ah!" I suddenly held my stomach. My eyes danced around for a while before I recognized the familiar pain. Another guest I had to accept. Even despite being a step away from a normal person, nature still smacked me in the head.
"Well, it's finally here." I rested on the wall. A reminder that I was a young lady, taunting me since I was thirteen. I shouldn't have been eating a lot of pastries recently. "I want to go back home."
Sanya must've immediately understood. She was female, after all. I felt relief down there and straightened up. I didn't feel sore anymore. "Did you do anything?"
"Should I?" Sanya sighed, first I heard but oddly made her feel less distant. "It could make you stiff when it comes all at once. Do you really want to return home?"
No. First day in my new role and I should keep fate out of my business. Yet I limped as I went down, the sting coming down my legs. "I can use Blood's Will now."
"Don't do that."
A small grin creeped to my lips. What good was Blood's Will if I couldn't use it when I needed it? "Teach me how."