Reincarnated in the Astral World

Chapter 48: Sins of the Father

Three days ago, while Arthur was trying to defeat the three Blood Golems.

Draven wakes up confused in an unknown place. "Where am I?" He looks around and notices he is lying on a large bed covered by thin sheets inside a luxurious room.

Draven feels that he is only in his underwear and notices two maids in the corners of the room. As soon as he starts to get up, they react in a professional and respectful manner. "Master, good to see you awake." One of them offers him a glass of fresh water while the other gets new clothes for him. "You are at the Pearl of Lakeview Tavern; Lady A has entrusted us with the care of our good Lord."

'Alicia?' Draven remembers seeing the face of his younger sister before fainting, but he has no idea that was three days ago. He takes a good look at the maids; they have, at most, average looks, just simple servants, not even comparable to Margaret.

Before starting his new life with Aria, Draven was always surrounded by servants like these at his house, so it's natural for him to be served as a young Master.

"Where is she?" He asks about Alicia while accepting the glass of water from one of the maids. They shake their heads, making it clear that they don't have such information. Then he gets up and looks around. "Is there a bathroom here?"

"Yes, Master," one of the maids points to a door in the corner of the room, making Draven smile lustfully before taking both maids by the arms. "You are going to give me a bath."

Both girls can only agree, after all, that is their job, to serve the richest people staying in such a first-class tavern. Draven may not be the most handsome man in the world, but he is above average for sure, and his muscular body is not bad, so the maids wouldn't mind satisfying his desires.

But before Draven can have his fun with the maids, they hear a door being rudely opened outside the room, probably in the next room that leads to the corridor. And the firm voice of Alicia echoes through the whole place. "Are you awake already, brother? Get dressed and come out; we need to talk."

'Damn!!' Draven curses in his mind. He thought that the next time he met his little sister, he would be a great hero, loved and admired throughout the whole continent of Eldoria; he would have incredible children by his side and Aria, the most beautiful woman of all, clinging to his chest like a maiden in love.

But the current situation is quite the opposite of that, making Draven ashamed to meet her gaze.

The maids notice his hesitation and look at him with confused expressions. "Master? We cannot disobey Lady A." One of them quickly speaks up, and the other nods, both concerned. "Our Lady can be a bit severe…"

Draven can see that the girls are clearly afraid of Alicia, so his ego is boosted again, and he leaves the room holding both by the arm. "Sister, you cannot-"

But as soon as they step out the door, finding Alicia still wearing her black hood, she unleashes her powerful, commanding voice on the maids. "Get out!"

"Y-Yes, My Lady!!!" The maids scramble out of the room like headless chickens, leaving Draven frozen in his underwear, facing Alicia with an ashamed expression.

"Sister…" Draven does not quite know how to speak to Alicia. She shakes her head as she picks up some clothes from the sofa and throws them at him. "You can cover yourself now; we don't have time for you to force those girls into your shit." Her tone is cold.

He quickly puts on pants and a shirt while talking to her. "You haven't changed a bit, sister…" But she ignores his words as she sits on the sofa and removes her black cloak, revealing her toned body protected by a thin, full-body metal armor.

Her set is complete, only missing a helmet, which allows Draven to see her face. Unlike him, who looks more like their father, Alicia inherited all the beauty of their mother; her angelic face has perfect symmetry with smooth cheeks, and her large upturned eyes are the same color as her long light brown hair, tied in two long braids and a fringe.

Her ears are as delicate as her charming nose, and her lips are thin and rosy.

Alicia is also considered a tall woman at 1.80 meters in height, and beneath her sturdy armor lies a well-defined body, with visible muscles like a true Warrior Princess, but that only seems to complement her natural beauty. Her medium-sized breasts are well-rounded and firm, as is her defined ass, which, with the addition of a balanced waist and wide hips, makes her look uniquely attractive.

She casts a piercing gaze at Draven. "You, on the other hand, are not quite in the situation I expected... you left your home and family to start a new life with Aria, but I don't see her or your children... should I assume the worst?"

"It's not what you're thinking," Draven comments in an upset tone. "Aria deceived me; she never intended to start a family with me for the right reasons… just for her selfish desires-"

"Cut the crap, brother," Alicia quickly interrupts him. "I just want the facts; how the hell did you mess everything up?" She gets straight to the point, making Draven huff, frustrated.

But he can do nothing and just starts to tell his whole story with Aria, clearly recounting everything from his point of view: a father who only wanted the best for his family, an irrational mother, and an imperfect son.

The more Alicia hears Draven complain about his family, the darker her expression becomes. Draven is clearly enraged when talking about Arthur... "You see? There's something very wrong with that boy-!!"

Alicia also gets upset, but not for the same reasons, and shocks him by landing a brutal punch on his face; *BAM* He is caught off guard and falls to the floor, confused and frustrated. "What the hell, Alicia?!?"

"YOU IDIOT!!!" She shouts, not caring if the tavern's residents can hear her, which is not the case as the walls are soundproof. She shakes her head while pacing back and forth. "How could you do this... after everything our father did to you??"

"DAMN YOU!" Draven gets furious whenever someone compares him to his father. "This is exactly the opposite. I want to help my son because there's something wrong with him; our father was just messed up in the head!"

"But that's exactly what he used to say about you!" Alicia exclaims again. "Mom always tried to protect you, but you never let anyone get involved... you had to do everything on your own and face father... from what you've told me, Arthur doesn't have such messed-up ideas; he just wanted to protect his family! And you want to change him just because he's not a foolish hero like you?

That's even worse than what our father did..."

"You can't just show up out of nowhere and tell me how to take care of my family!" Draven stands up and points a finger at Alicia's face in a hostile manner. But she doesn't back down and tries to punch his finger, something that doesn't happen because he dodges her attack. "What's your problem, silly girl!?"

"My problem?!?" Her eyes start to glow golden. "What's your fucking problem, brother?? Father was far from perfect, but he protected his family; he never abandoned his responsibilities, and damn... he even died alone, facing hundreds of assassins to defend his family!"

"What???" Draven doesn't know how to react when hearing the news. "Father died? That's impossible!!"

Alicia lets out a long sigh. "They must have been preparing the trap for years, but that's not the point here. The Lion's mantle is missing along with our father's body, both sinking in the North Sea while his heirs try to kill each other for the crown. Do you think I would search for you for two whole years if the situation wasn't that bad? You have to return!"

"Come back?" Draven shakes his head. "No, I can't return... not now."

"The fuck!?" Alicia steps forward and lifts Draven by the collar. "Look, I sacrificed for you when you asked to leave everything behind and run away with Aria fifteen years ago... I stayed there, taking care of Mom alone and having to deal with father's anger; but I can't handle this; the others only respect power, and you still are the strongest among us, so you have to come back with me now!"

Draven's eyes glow golden as his ego is boosted by his sister's words, but he still tries to argue. "Those bastards aren't our siblings; you should lead our family."

She shakes her head. "Me, a woman? It doesn't matter that they don't have the same mother as us; they would never accept me as their leader. Only with our mother's support, I would just be a target in the middle of their conflict; it has to be you! You owe me this!"

Draven cannot deny that things seem different now that his father is dead; many ideas come to his mind, and then he looks at Alicia with an expectant expression. "I can resolve it, but you have to convince Aria to let me take my children with me."

"No shit!" She feels like punching him again. "You want to separate your children from their mother? Really??" Before Draven can respond, Alicia continues. "I'm not going to let you screw things up even more; we have to try to keep our family together, especially when our enemies are everywhere."

"Aria will not agree to go with us, not willingly..." A wicked glimmer appears in Draven's eyes, and Alicia feels even more disgusted by him. "You're becoming more and more like our father... don't force me to do something extreme, brother, because I will do whatever it takes to protect our family, even if it means harming you."

"Alright, alright!" Draven makes a remorseful expression. "Let's just try to convince her."

Alicia nods, looking forward to meeting her nephews, especially Arthur. "Where are they?" She asks, and Draven quickly tells her where the Fletcher village is located.

"We'll travel in a couple of days," She says as she stands up and grabs her cloak to leave the room. "I just have to cover our tracks; I think Lumindell's spies are already on our tracks."

Seeing his sister leaving the room, Draven is confused. "What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" She doesn't even turn around to respond. "Think about how to fix things with your family!"

Draven sighs in the hallway and sees the two maids on the other side, his eyes glowing lustfully.

_________________

Present.

Alicia returns to the tavern after three days; she climbs the stairs to the third floor, where the VIP area is, but as soon as she enters the room, she hears sounds of colliding meat and clearly fake female moans coming from the bedroom, which makes her expression dark and disgusted.

"DAMN YOU, DRAVEN!!!" She yells toward the bedroom door. "You should be concerned about your family, not banging these lowly Maids!!!"

Her voice echoes like the roar of a furious lioness, and the two maids quickly run out of the room wrapped in sheets before Draven follows, dressed, and with a shameful expression on his face. "You left me alone here for three days..."

"Shut up!" Alicia shakes her head, not even looking at her brother. "Come on, we can reach your village by morning with the black horses if we leave now."

"Alright, alright!" Draven quickly follows Alicia, nervous about what will happen when he reunites with Aria and Arthur.