As annoyed as the many guards of the Milky Way Guild were at the prospect of being assigned to Heira in the last two years, it was less annoyance and more dread when the target of protection was Gretta.
As abrasive as she was now at a seemingly 'unique' situation, she seemed to find any number of reasons to act like this on a day by day basis. If it wasn't Heira who became her living, or rather dead, target, it would have been someone or something else, without a doubt.
However, there wasn't much that could be done about this. Gretta, unlike Heira, was a great talent valued by Guild Head Ovilteen. It might seem from the situation in the luxurious holding room of the flying ship that there were only four Ovilteen siblings, especially with how they ragged on the now deceased Heira, but this couldn't have been further from the truth.
Guild Head Ovilteen had just one wife, but dozens of women he frequented. Unfortunately for those women, 'frequented' was the best word to be used to describe their relationship as the Guild Head never gave them any status, not even a lesser title like concubine.
Of the three siblings here, only the eldest among them, Tobyn Ovilteen—a young man whose standout feature were his blazing green eyes—was from the only wife of the Guild Head. The other two, including Gretta, were from these 'frequented' women.
It could be said that the only thing somewhat special about Heira was that she, too, was birthed from the Guild Head's wife. But, it was also because of this that she gained an extra hint of spiciness from Gretta's ire.
The truth of the matter wasn't as one might expect. The Guild Head didn't only marry a single woman for the sake of showing some symbolic loyalty to her. In fact, it could be said that the Guild Head's wife, Emerra Ovilteen, was a dime a dozen.
She had delicate and beautiful looks, even as she entered the later stages of her life. Her talent was decent, having entered the Fifth Dimension, and even having reached its higher tiers, but having no chance at entering the Sixth. Her family background was not too weak, but also not too strong…
If she had to be described she was akin to a trophy in a display case, but one that could easily be glossed over in favor of the larger trophies sharing the same shelf.
The reason Augustus Ovilteen chose her was because she ticked just enough boxes without ticking too many.
As for why he had done this? People had their own speculations. But, maybe only Augustus himself knew the truth.
All that mattered to his children, though, was that even if Emerra's role was just superficial and lacking in weight, the children she birthed—two, to be exact—would still given this same respect, albeit also superficial and lacking in substance.
Heira, simply by virtue of who she was born to, might not have been able to hold any true power in her life, but at the very least, she wouldn't have to bite, scratch and claw for every chance she was given… She could live a life of leisure and without worry. There would always be as much wealth as she could spend, as much food as she could eat, as much entertainment as she could consume…
She would never be wanting for anything.
Isn't that why Gretta resented her so much? Even with her talent, how many piles of bullshit did she have to crawl out of just to stand here?
But to Gretta, that was just the tip of the iceberg. What made her truly resent Heira was that the bitch didn't seem satisfied with what she was given. She started to fight and jockey for position with the rest of them as though she had to, and the methods she chose made Gretta feel as though her skin was crawling.
She was so weak, so frail, but just her face irritated Gretta to an extreme. And yet, unlike with everything else that pissed her off, Gretta couldn't just punch a hole through Heira, or else everything she had worked to build up would come crumbling down.
Gretta would never admit it to herself but…
Even in death, she could still see Heira's elegant bearing, the noble air of her gait, the perfect measure of her smile. She was a woman who was refined down to the last detail. Even though she might have been weak, when it came to matters of character and intelligence, and even looks, she was perfect beyond compare.
And what was even more infuriating was that she had almost succeeded.
Was if that Fourth Dimensional trash of her really managed to conquer Earth? Wouldn't they all have to bow at her feet?
To be born with something she couldn't have like status, Gretta could accept. But, to be born with such a thing and still be superior to her…
That, Gretta could not accept.
The only thing that infuriated her about Heira's death was that she couldn't do it herself.
As enraged as Gretta was, though, Rollo had long since gotten over the fact he was lesser born and didn't hate Heira nearly as much. Maybe a part of that was due to the fact Heira was a woman and he felt ridiculous being jealous of a little sister of his as a grown man, but what he did know was that he didn't like this situation at all.
Tobyn would be just fine regardless. But, failure on Gretta and his part would likely mean years of work just to return to the favorable light they had right now. It was like suddenly being met with a pop exam that was worth 90% of your grade all because someone you hardly knew was snarky with the teacher. How could he not be pissed?
Regardless, this was just the life of the child of a 'frequented' woman. He had long since become used to having to prove himself day in and day out.
Suddenly loud blaring noises sounded as a ship rocketed out of the atmosphere.
The siblings raised an eyebrow simultaneously. 'What an idiot…'
"Shoot it down and let's go home." Tobyn said carelessly.
His words hardly fell when beams of energy fell from all sides. Such strength… It could turn a Fifth Dimensional moon to rubble.