"Brother, I have a request," Elise said, her voice calm, though filled with emotion.

Ethan was a little surprised. "Of course. What do you need?"

"I want you to train me alongside Adrian," she said, her hands clasped together tightly.

"What? How did you—"

"I wasn’t really asleep when you were talking last night," Elise interrupted softly. "I know you and Adrian are starting training today. I want to be strong too. I don’t want to be a burden to you or anyone anymore," she said, her eyes full of sincerity.

Ethan’s face became more serious. "Elise, you’re not a burden. You never were. You never will be. So you don’t need to feel responsible for anything."

But Elise shook her head. "You don't have to sugarcoat it.. I want to get stronger because I want to help you. Even though you say I’m not a burden, the truth is that you always turn down well-paying jobs that would require you to be away for too long because you're concerned about me. Concerned about my safety and well being. I want to change that. I don’t want to be weak anymore."

"Elise—"

"Please don’t turn me down, Brother. I’ve really thought this through," she said, her voice firm.

Ethan paused, deep in thought. She had a point. If both she and Adrian became stronger, he’d have less to worry about. But still, was she truly ready for this?

Ethan had fought more than enough in his past life. And Adrian endured more than his fair share of the cruelty of both humans and the world. They’d be fine. But Elise hadn’t seen much of the world. She had been sheltered for most of her life. Making her stronger will eventually lead her to face all these things. Does Ethan truly want to get her on this side?

After a long moment of consideration, Ethan finally spoke. "Alright. But you have to follow my orders exactly. Understand?"

"Yes! I promise! Thank you so much, Brother!" Elise exclaimed, jumping with excitement. Her eyes sparkled with determination as she kissed Ethan on the cheek. Then she continued celebrating. Ethan sighed quietly. Now he had another thing to keep an eye on during training.

"Looks like someone’s in a good mood. Did I miss something?" Adrian’s voice broke through as he approached them. "Let me guess, Victor finally kicked the bucket? Or did you finally win a lottery?"

Ethan glanced at him and shook his head. "I’ll fill you in later. Let’s go inside for now."

Together, the three of them headed inside, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

What will happen next in Ethan’s journey? Stay tuned to find out.