Chapter 1

I suffered a head injury when I was little, so I’m a bit slow at everything I do.

My brother is the greatest hero in my heart, so I copy whatever he does—including being a simp.

He simped for a witch, so I did the same for her younger sister. But just as I was being relentlessly humiliated by the sister, and even dragged to the brink of death, my brother quit.

 Chapter 1

It was raining heavily.

I stood in the stone corridor of the Blackthorn Magic Academy, watching my brother from afar.

My brother, Caleb, was kneeling on the stone steps in front of the main building, holding a bouquet of white roses.

The petals were battered and ruined by the rain, but he kept them raised high. Wearing a fawning smile, he stared intently at the entrance, waiting for Serena to come out.

This was already the third time this week.

The whole academy knew that Caleb, the proud Alpha of the Arctic Wolves, was Serena’s devoted lapdog.

Every day, he knelt below her dormitory to deliver flowers. He carried her bags, did her homework, and did her laundry. Yet Serena never once looked him in the eye, and frequently humiliated him in public.

But my brother didn’t care. He trailed after her like a dog, that humble, lowly smile permanently plastered on his face.

Everyone mocked him behind his back: An Alpha of the Arctic Wolves, reducing himself to a witch’s slave.

But I didn’t think my brother was a disgrace.

My name is Liam. I am a half-werewolf.

When I was little, I took a curse meant for my brother, and my brain has been broken ever since. My reactions are slow, my memory is bad, and my health is poor. I get nosebleeds often, and I always feel sleepy.

My brother is the most important person to me in this world. Whatever he does, I do too.

Right now, my brother was on his knees chasing Serena, so I was going to chase Serena’s younger sister—Stella.

I held a small cake wrapped in coarse cloth tightly against my chest.

It took me three hours to make. The shape was a little lopsided, but I had used berry juice to shakily write a few words on top: "For Miss Stella."

Just then, my brother stood up from the stone steps.

He was completely drenched. Serena had emerged from the building. Without even glancing at him, she walked straight past.

Clutching the ruined flowers, my brother hurriedly hunched his back and followed her, just like a fiercely loyal hound.

I waited until they were far away before slowly making my way to the main building.

My boots stepped into the puddles, splashing black mud. My movements were always half a beat slower than everyone else's.

Just as I reached the entrance, Stella walked out.

She was wearing a beige magic robe with silver embroidery lining the collar. Her hair was pinned high, revealing her pale, slender neck. She was the academy's undeniable beauty.

Many people chased after her, but she was far more arrogant and cruel than her sister.

I walked up to her and raised the cake with both hands.

"Miss Stella, I made a cake."

Upon seeing me, Stella immediately furrowed her brows, her eyes filled with disgust. "You again, you idiot."

Her voice was cold, like ice clinking against glass.

"Can you stop copying your trash of a brother? It’s sickening to look at."

Julian, who was standing beside her, stepped forward. He had blond hair and was one of Stella’s many suitors.

"How could Miss Stella ever touch something filthy made by a half-beastman?" Julian sneered with revulsion. "And it has that wretched beastman stench. This whole family has zero self-awareness."

Smack!

He slapped the cake right out of my hands.

The cake flew through the air and shattered. White cream and crushed berries splattered everywhere. A cold, sticky clump of cream landed squarely on my face.

The surrounding students erupted into roars of laughter.

"Look at that moron!"

"Just as useless as his brother!"

"Those two brothers are a total joke! One is Serena’s dog, and the other can’t even do a good job being a dog!"

"Half-beastmen are just lowly trash!"

I stood right where I was, letting the rain wash the cream from my face.

My chest felt a bit tight. Not because I was humiliated, but just a physical tightness, as if something was heavily pressing down on it.

"What a piece of trash," Stella looked down at me from her high horse, her eyes full of contempt. "You two brothers really outdo each other in being a disgrace. Get lost. Don't dirty the path I'm walking on."

She walked away in her high heels. The clicking of her heels against the stone pavement sounded exceptionally harsh in the rainy night.

The crowd dispersed. The rain grew heavier.

I looked at the remnants of the cake on the ground, and my nose began to bleed.

The warm liquid dripped onto the back of my hand, quickly diluted by the rainwater. I wiped it with my sleeve, leaving a reddish-brown stain.

My chest was feeling tighter and tighter.

"Looks like the cake method doesn't work," I mumbled to the empty air, my voice hoarse. "I'll try something else tomorrow. Brother writes love letters too."

I slowly walked back to the dormitory. My legs felt weak, as if filled with lead. Every few steps, I had to stop and catch my breath.

While passing through the corridor between the teaching building and the dorms, I suddenly heard my brother's voice.

He was just behind the corner. His voice was very low, yet it carried a frantic, furious rage I had never heard from him before.

"System... I've done exactly as you said for a whole year! Kneeling before her every day, catering to her like a dog, enduring everyone’s mockery and humiliation!"

My brother's voice was trembling. "You said as long as I completed the mission, you could cure Liam's curse. But his condition is only getting worse!"

I pressed myself against the wall and slowly inched closer. Through the gap, I saw my brother standing alone in the empty corridor, his fists clenched tight.

His face was terrifyingly pale, and there was a crazed glint in his eyes.

"And now he's copying me... copying this disgusting act of mine! Getting humiliated, getting bullied!" My brother growled low, like a desperate beast. "This isn't what I wanted! I turned myself into a joke to save him, not to turn him into a joke too!"

"If you dare trick me... if anything happens to my little brother..."

My brother looked up, staring dead into thin air, killing intent boiling in his eyes. "I will destroy this damn academy along with you, you bullshit System. We can all die together."

"Caleb!" A classmate's shout suddenly came from afar. "The Professor wants you in the office!"

My brother took a deep breath. In a single second, the madness on his face vanished completely. He straightened his soaked clothes and plastered on that fawning smile once again.

"Coming!"

He walked away briskly, completely unaware of me hiding around the corner.

I wanted to follow him, but my legs were simply too weak. I felt like I could collapse at any second.

Never mind, I'll just slowly head back to my room.

My brother's words kept echoing in my head, but I didn't quite understand. What System? What mission? Why did he turn himself into a joke for me?

My brain worked too slowly to figure it out. And I was really, really sleepy.

Back in my dorm, I collapsed onto the bed.

My pillow quickly grew wet. Rainwater, sweat, and nosebleeds mixed together, indistinguishable from one another.

As I closed my eyes, the dull pain in my chest worsened. My heart was beating so slowly, as if it were about to stop.

In my dreams, I dreamt that my brother no longer smiled at Serena. He stood tall and straight, his eyes holding nothing but that familiar gentleness reserved only for me.

What a wonderful dream.

When I woke up, it was morning.

Today, I was going to keep copying my brother. Whatever my brother does is right. Writing a love letter should be much better than giving a cake, right?