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Ever since the Holy War ended, Seliph couldn't help but notice how... odd Julia truly was.
It didn't seem to be a result of her upbringing, as she was by all accounts a woman of remarkable strong character. Outstanding, even.
But she was weird. That much was true. She walked at her own pace in life, that Julia. Talked quiet and slow despite Velthomer etiquette. Would often want to spend time alone with Seliph, even at moments of peace like this.
Seliph sat in his chambers perusing books on kingship. His early childhood was built much on military strategy and swordsmanship, not governance. It was a much-needed refresher on the things in life that mattered most - bales of barley for Jugdral's people, not blood!
Julia, meanwhile, sat at the nearby tea table reading the Book of Naga, her ancestral birthright. A favourite of hers. Out the corner of his eye, however, he noticed Julia didn't seem to be reading much at all. It was more like... deliberation. A gander at the pages themselves, not the written words.
It was then that she did that something that startled Seliph to his very core. She tore out a page and ate it! The holy Book of Naga, at that! He had to nip this in the bud, whatever she was doing. Before it escalated into a religious scandal.
"Julia, Julia, stop!" Julia looked at him, still chewing away. "The Book of Naga is sacred text. Holy knowledge! You can't just—Hey!"
"But Lord Seliph, the texture is so tasty..." She swallowed a clump of divine paper. A clear ball of the sacred scripture went down Julia's throat, lost forever inside the girl's stomach.
"What...? Julia, no. That book is gospel. Doctrine! If we lose that, we—"
"I have a good memory. If need be, I'll rewrite the pages lost, so..." Julia gazed up at her standing lord brother. Those purple, pleading eyes were his weakness, "May I?"
"...Alright, fine." For her, he caved. He always did. Seliph snapped his book shut with one hand, a gust of pressure giving his bluenette hair a gentle blow. He'd find his place later. "But only a few pages. And with my supervision. Is that agreeable?"
"Yes."
With permission, Julia feasted. Seliph was disturbed to see his sister munch down on actual ancient paper so voraciously. He was entranced. In a strange way. What was so special about the Book of Naga that made it so much tastier than other, less valuable books? The ink? The bindings? Or was it the taboo of it all that caught Julia's intrigue? A million questions rained down on Seliph like a Gelbenritter thunder squad - and before he knew it, Julia had devoured her way through half the text like it was yesterday's morsels!
Seliph put an end to this immediately, swiping the book away from Julia's hungry hands. "No. No more."
Julia looked absolutely distraught. Like Loptyr was reborn then and there. She fell from her chair dramatically, landing squarely at Seliph's feet. She gripped the hems of his flowing robes. "Please give it back. It's good. Very, very good."
Seliph stared down at Julia, unsure what to say. Was this... pity? Was he seriously falling for puppy dog eyes when his sister was genuinely asking if she could eat a bible? He threw it down with a trembling hand, not of fear or revulsion, but of sheer plain confusion. "Enjoy your sacrilege."
Julia pounced on the holy, all-important Book once more, tearing pages out like a dog gone rabid. Stuffing her face with the choicest chapters.
...She was going to gobble it cover-to-cover, wasn't she?