I turned my attention to my only ally in the room.

"Right, Wei, could you help me practice a bit more after dinner?"

"But it's a bother..."

"My whole debut lies on it unless you want our country to get a bad reputation because of me?" Wei groaned but complied. 

"Good, because—" I stopped talking as I felt a harsh kick on my shin again. I clenched my teeth to suppress cursing from the pain. Wei waited for a response and I raised my head. "—it'll be a great opportunity to ask more about your debut."

"Even though I can barely remember it?"

"Better than nothing—" Another kick. I didn't hesitate and counterattacked Heath's kicks. I kicked him several times, aiming for the same spot. I saw him lower his head, hiding his expression from view but I had a feeling he was writhing in pain. It didn't bring me much pleasure as my legs were growing sore and bruised. Did Heath do this at every dinner? It's no wonder why Rael hated having dinner here. 

I saw Heath raise his head. He had a look in his eyes that made me hesitate. And then I felt a rush of kicks on my legs before my chair tilted backward and brought me down with it.

The silence that ensued was almost painful. I rose and saw everyone's eyes on me. I opened my mouth to speak, ready to accuse Heath when the Queen interrupted me. 

"Rael. We all know you've had a hard time adapting here but considering your status as an illegitimate child, I expected you to be more careful. Having ruined a pleasant dinner by playing with your food? Truly foolish." She hid her disdain by 'lecturing' me with harsh words. But it was clear to any that she was looking down on me. Crille, seeing a chance to attack me, jumped in.

"Rael, if you feel so pressured, you don't have to force yourself to come." Translation: leave. I was stunned at how quick they were to shut me down. Even though I hadn't told my side of the story. If you're going to play dirty, don't blame me for doing the same.

I tried making myself look small as I fidgeted with my hands. "You are right, mother, big brother—" Both of them looked horrified to being addressed as a family to me. "—however, I was calmly eating dinner when I felt someone kick me. At first, I thought I imagined it but it kept going. When I finally thought that person was done, they kicked me so hard that I fell. The pain is bearable, I just can't believe anyone would do that to me." I made my eyes teary to sell the innocent act. No one here would be on my side, so I had to expose Heath while blocking the gaslighting attempts that the other family members were trying to do.

I turned to Heath who was still seated. "Was it perhaps you, big brother?" I blinked and it nearly looked as if I was crying. Heath shook his head. "I would never bully my youngest brother. I care about you too much." Enough to kick me out of my seat? I nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry for accusing you."

"It's fine—"

"But who did it?" Heath's response died off and he looked away. Crille defended him. "Maybe someone was worried about your appetite? You were eating so well when you usually shy away like a little cockroach." Crille and the queen laughed at the joke and I let out a laugh too. How funny. You'll eat those words in a second, Crille.

"I won't lie, I get a bit shy. But back to the point, who else could've done it? Heath was the closest to me and if he had done it, why would he lie about it?" Heath tensed up at that word. Crille wasn't backing down as he shook his head. "I hadn't expected you to be this petty, Rael. Have you never heard of sibling rivalry? Or teasing? He's your older brother, holding grudges over every little thing is not how families work. It's not how we work. I'm sure you merely exaggerated, Heath wouldn't hurt a fly."

The Queen nodded. "Isn't it quite normal for the youngest to seek more attention? Rael, honey, if you want attention, you don't have to antagonize your brother to get it." Hidden by the polite smiles were threats. They were telling me to stay in line and not cross it. Unfortunately for them, I'm great at tripping over hidden lines.

"It seems that I've exaggerated the situation..." I look at the floor in dismay, looking a bit ashamed. The Queen and Crille nod, ready to scold me more but I continue. "However, I still flew out of my seat. There's no way I'd be able to do that by playing around, you should know this best, mother." After all, she'd handpicked the seats. The Queen's smug look dropped and her gaze grew dark. "Right. How could I forget?" She glanced at Heath before going silent. One down, two more to go. I looked at Crille and he glared at me. He crossed his arms and took himself out of the fight.

I suppressed a smirk and looked at Heath. Now there's only you left. What are you going to do now? "Heath—no, big brother, please don't lie to me anymore, was it really you who kicked me?" I suppressed my fake tears while looking sadly at him. Heath closed his eyes and sighed. "Rael, you know I would never. Perhaps it was someone else?" He was trying to shift the blame to someone else. 

He turned to Teop who was staring at the ground. He gave a smile to Roy who was too busy staring at his pocket mirror to notice. Heath was growing desperate and I had front row seats to it. This felt good.

"Wei, did you play a little prank on Rael?" Wei who had been smiling and laughing at the drama dropped his smile and gave Heath a cold look. "Don't even think of involving me in this." Heath's hope died in that instance and he looked defeated. I suppressed a laugh as I approached him. I put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Big brother, it's fine. I won't blame you. If it helps, I thought your prank was funny." Almost as if rehearsed, a tear ran down my cheek. My eyes widened and I quickly wiped it off, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong. I saw the other family members shift in discomfort, and Heath's face grow dark. "S-sorry, I'm just a little sensitive. I'm feeling quite full so I'll be leaving early." 

I hesitated and patted Heath's shoulder before carefully walking out of the dining hall. The moment I was out of view, I couldn't contain the shit-eating grin. 

That. Was. Amazing.

Heath never would've thought that he'd lose to me. He tried pushing me around and putting me in my place— little did he know that I wasn't Rael. I laughed. Imagine how his expression would be if he were to realize that. I headed to my room alone as Peri had gone to eat. The long corridor to my room looked ominous from afar and I couldn't help but pause.

There were footsteps behind me. I turned to see who'd followed me when I felt a hand slam me into the wall. I writhed in pain and opened my eyes. I saw Heath with an enraged expression as he restricted my movements. I shouldn't be so surprised, but I was annoyed that he'd bully me as soon as someone looked away. 

"Get your hands off— er, please don't hurt me again, big brother." Remember, be submissive and sweet. Don't be aggressive. I need to make myself a victim—well I was one—and make it obvious how horrible these people were.

Instead of letting me go, Heath put a hand on my throat, tightening his grip on it. I let out a strangled breath, having a hard time breathing. He was trying to kill me? But why? I didn't piss him off that much, did I?

"...you." I couldn't hear what he said when he began strangling me. Forcing my ears to focus as my eyes began watering, I heard his words clearly this time. And my heart dropped.

"Who the hell are you?"

I'd been found out.