Man, I'm tired. There was way too much paperwork today—all the upkeep and documents that needed to be filed. How does Stolas do this every day?
I don't usually do my needed taxes since Stolas insisted that he handle them, due to the fact he doesn't have much to do anyway.
So that's why I'm currently flying over to his house. I never really visited his new home, so I couldn't teleport there.
A few minutes of flying later, I land in his outside garden and notice all the different flora and fauna—mostly small Hell beasts he keeps as pets and carnivorous plants.
As I step inside his home, I'm greeted by a kitchen wench.
"Oh look, if it isn't my limp-dick husband's perfect brother."
"Hello, Stella... Where is Stolas?" I said, unamused.
"If you're looking for that bastard, he's in his room crying like a little bitch."
My eyes narrowed, and I began to leave. I didn't bother asking where that was since the longer I stayed here, the more I wanted to rip out her soul and feed it to the dogs.
I walked inside his mansion for a few minutes, trying to find his room. In my exploration, I found different rooms containing plants he personally takes care of. Another room was filled with different spell books—some were my personal gifts.
After a while, I finally found his room. I went inside and saw the state of it. It was a complete mess—tissues sprawled across the floor, buckets of empty ice cream, and bottles of happy pills.
And at the center of it all was Stolas, covered in a blanket, eating chocolate ice cream while watching a soap opera.
"Why won't you love me, Gabriela!"
"That's a mood, Alejandro."
"Stolas?"
Stolas choked on his ice cream and basically fell face-first onto the floor. He quickly got up and pretended to be okay.
"Oh, brother! So good to see you! I wasn't expecting you to visit today, hehe..."
Stolas chuckled nervously, poorly hiding the fact he was quite depressed.
As I looked at him more, I saw that he was wearing his sleeping robe—the one I had gifted him on his wedding. The most obvious thing that stuck out was the smell. Stolas obviously hadn't taken a bath in a few days and was simply locking himself away, avoiding everyone.
"Stolas, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean, dear brother? I'm perfectly fine!"
"Stolas, I'm your brother. I know when you're lying to me."
Stolas' mask began to break under the pressure, and he started to cry a little.
"What do you me...mean? I'm... I'm fine, just a little tired from all the paperwork."
"I know you, Stolas. I know that you love doing your work perfectly, and I know you love doing paperwork for some odd reason."
"Please don't lie to me, brother."
And at that moment, Stolas' mask completely broke, and the waterworks began to flood the room.
"Ahhh! I'm so sorry I lied to you, brother! It's just that everything is falling apart and I couldn't handle it anymore!"
"Slow down, Stolas. Breathe. Tell me everything that happened. I'll be here for you."
And just like that, Stolas began to explain how things started out good and how they slowly spiraled downward.
At first, Stella wasn't all that terrible—only being a small annoyance to him—but all that changed when her brother Andrealphus arrived. He started filling his sister's head with ideas that turned her from a minor annoyance into a toxic wife.
She would always belittle him and try to ruin his social life by spreading rumors with her friends.
And the worst thing she did was rape Stolas every night. She always used Stolas for his body, to pleasure herself, and to bear a child for an heir.
To say that I was furious was an understatement. I wanted to rip out her mouth and shove it so far up her own ass that she could taste how much of a shitty person she was.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get involved physically, since Goetia law forbids any individual not directly related to the problem to get involved if it would directly result in death or physical damage to those involved.
I calmed down and hugged my brother. He hugged me back, crying and apologizing for being a failure and not being like me.
I let go of Stolas and spoke.
"Stolas, you're not a failure. You're just... different. And you don't need to be like me to be perfect in your own way. No matter the problem, I'll always be there to help you."
"Thank you, dear brother. I needed that."
"Anytime, you crybaby."
"I'm not a crybaby! I just like expressing my feelings."
"Okay, well, if you're done expressing your feelings, why don't you take a bath? You smell like dead fish."
Stolas then smelled himself and his face scrunched.
"Oh dear, I suppose I have been ignoring my personal hygiene."
"Yeah, and while you do that, I'll clean this place up, okay?"
"Alright, dear brother."
Stolas then entered his shower and began to bathe, while I started cleaning his room the old-fashioned way—not using any of my cleaning spells.
Stolas finally finished cleaning up and exited with his usual clothing, and we began talking about our lives in the newly cleaned room.
A few hours passed, and I had to leave. We both said our goodbyes, and I teleported back home—but not before leaving a small present.
It was a red royal cape that most royalty wore, with a note attached to it:
"Don't let others dictate who you are. You're the king of your own world."
Stolas had a small smile on his face and hugged the gift I left him.
"Thank you, dear brother."