The house was buzzing with gossips from the servants as soon as the announcement happened. Who would’ve thought that the duke who loved their duchess would bring home an illegitimate child? They were a picture of a perfect and loving family but a child from another woman was suddenly accepted in the manor.
“Father, what nonsense is that?” Alexander, the eldest son of the duke, slammed the table.
They were having a family dinner when the duke announced that he brought home his daughter from a maid and that the child was living in the annex.
“Mind your manners, Xander,” Duchess Stephanie von Fiore, said in an elegant but stern manner before she turned to the duke. “Ali, I won’t question your actions like how I did before. But is it true that the child was a little girl?”
“Yes, Steph. The reason why I kept her here was that she had the distinct traits of a Fiore.”
The boys looked glum when they heard their father. Just how strong were the Fiore genes on the child to make their father keep her hidden from the world?
“How does she look, father?” Alexandric, the youngest, asked.
“Silver gray hair and silver eyes that could sparkle gold under the sun.”
Everyone in the dining room fell silent when they heard how the duke described her. His words were the exact description of a Fiore. Those who inherited the perfect Fiore genes could inherit the title just like their father.
Alexander clenched his fists. “What are your reasons for keeping her, Father?”
He knew that his champagne-gray hair wasn’t enough to be considered as the heir. He was just lucky that his younger brothers have darker shades of gray compared to him so he was announced as the successor. So if a child was born with the same hair color as his father, wouldn’t he change his mind about who should succeed him?
“Stop overthinking, Xander. I kept her because she was a daughter.” Alejandro said with a straight face. “Having a daughter in this family was very rare so I was intending to keep her as a rare existence that she is… away from the eyes of others.”
Though their father assured them that the child was nothing more than a rare object to be kept hidden from the world, they still couldn’t keep their peace of mind unless they meet the child. As soon as the dinner was over, the boys went to the annex to meet their so-called youngest sister.
“Are you still worried about her, Xander?” Alexandrei, the second son, asked his older brother.
“Why would I be worried over a ten-year-old child’s existence?” Xander scoffed. “Are you excited to have a younger sister, Andrei?”
Andrei chuckled then his face turned serious. “Why would I want a bastard sister?”
“Father should’ve just disposed of her in a faraway kingdom. She felt more like a bad omen than a rare blessing,” Alexandric mumbled.
The brothers stopped in front of the annex door. It was just an old house with three rooms made for excess food supplies once the storage house was full. But now, it would be a home of a little brat who forced her way into the family.
“Are you ready to meet her, brothers?” Alexandric smirked as he pushed open the door of the annex.
“Young masters? What are you doing here in the annex?” A maid asked in surprise when she saw the sons of the duke walking around the annex.
“We came here to meet our sister,” Andrei said with an innocent smile.
“But the duke said not to let anyone here,” the maid looked at the ground.
“Are we just anyone?” With authority in his voice, Xander asked. Everyone knew that Xander already held authority as the successor despite his young age.
“No, of course not. Please follow me, I’ll lead you to the young lady.”
Xander hid his grim expression when he heard the maid utter the word lady. There was never a lady in the Fiore family’s history so if the little girl was trying to deceive them, he would personally cut her head.
“Young lady, your brothers came to visit you,” the maid said after knocking.
They heard light footsteps from the inside and after a few seconds, the door opened and it revealed a little girl with the same hair color as their father and clear gray eyes. She had long eyelashes and a pointed nose. Her cheeks were also flushed naturally which highlighted her snow-white skin that looked like she hadn’t been allowed to go under the sun.
“Brothers?” Her voice trembled as she looked up to see the faces of her brothers.
Just as expected, the looks they gave her weren’t that welcoming. It was the same as the duke’s eyes when he told her that she was his daughter. There was no warmth in their eyes, just curiosity, and contempt.
Truthfully, she wanted to escape but she couldn’t. She opened the door wider to allow her brothers to enter but she didn’t know what to do next so she just stood there waiting for them to order her around.
“What are you doing there?” Andrei asked as the three of them sat on the couch.
“I’m sorry.” She immediately walked towards them and prepared tea for them.
“What are you doing right now?” It was Alexandric’s turn to ask when they saw how the girl squatted to reach the teacups on the shelf at the side of the room.
“I’m preparing tea for the young masters,” she mumbled with her head down. She didn’t want to offend them in any way and she would just live a quiet life in that house.
“That’s not what you should be doing.” Xander’s calm voice was heard as he patted the space beside him. “Sit here, child.”
Like the obedient child that she was, Seraphina walked and sat beside Alexander. Her eyes were still on the ground as she clasped her hands to prevent them from shaking.
“Do you know who you are?” Xander asked.
Sera nodded. “Seraphina… von Fiore.” She felt ashamed to add the name of the house that she suddenly took her in.
“That’s right, dear sister,” Alexander smirked, his voice sounded threatening, and his hand touched the ends of her hair. “You are the only daughter who was born alive in this family. So I hope that you would live as quiet as you could be.”
“Yes,” she said, teary-eyed and afraid of what was about to come. Would he slap her? Would they confine her in that place and starve her to death? Would they beat her for every mistake that she would make?
If she just knew about the family that her father belonged to, she wouldn’t dare find him. The Fiore family was much worse than the merchant whom her mother worked for.
“Say it again?” Xander’s voice gave her goosebumps. She didn’t like how cold and frightening he was.
“I promise that I will live quietly here.” She closed her eyes tightly when Xander lifted his hand. She was expecting the pain in her cheek but she only felt the hand wiping her tears. She flinched as she continued talking, “I will live as if I am non-existent here.”
For Seraphina, living as quietly as she could be would be the only way to survive. So as she grew, she made sure to not leave the annex unless necessary and to stay away from her family’s sight. She told herself that she didn’t need to be loved or to be doted on. She was contented as long as she had food on her plate and a roof on her head. She didn’t need any more attention from the family than what she already received.And after almost eight years, Seraphina grew into a fine lady but no one knew about her existence. Only those who work at the annex knew about her and even the new maids that were hired after her arrival weren’t informed about the lady of the house Fiore.“My lady, you’re coming of age ceremony is coming near,” Mary, her personal maid, said with excitement as she brushed her hair. “Are you looking forward to it?”“Was there something to look forward to?” She smiled at the mirror
Sera jolted when there was suddenly a light after a long time of darkness. She slowly opened her eyes and she saw a familiar figure walking towards her after she parted the curtains."Young lady, are you alright?" Mary walked towards Sera with a worried look on her face."Young lady?" Sera mumbled.She touched her neck and looked around. The white walls, the shabby bed, and pillows, the pungent smell of old books stacked on the shelf in the corner. Indeed, she was in her room."Why am I here?" she asked when she turned to see Mary watching her with a concerned look."Though you came from a servant mother, my lady is still the daughter of Duke Fiore. It might not be as luxurious as the others, but this place is my lady's home now." Mary's warm and gentle voice was reassuring but Sera's mind was still a mess.What was she doing inside her room? The last thing she remembered was her brother chopping her head off. Did she go to the afterlife? Di
What happened? Who was that just now? That situation wasn’t a part of Sera’s memories in her past life. She walked backed and forth around her room as she tried to organize her thoughts.When she felt tired, she sat at her study desk and pulled a paper and a pen from the drawer, and started writing things down. First, she wasn’t in a dream. Second, she truly went back to the past and that was her reality now.What should she do?It was the biggest question in that situation. Of course, her goal was to survive, but how exactly would she try to survive? Did she have to relive that life again?She clenched her fists as she remembered the days when she couldn’t do the things that she wanted because she promised to live quietly. Would something change if she tried something that she liked?She put a big question mark on the paper filled with her scribbles. What should she do in order to survive? If only she could leave…
“Hey, kid.” The Crown Prince looked at her and lend his hand. “Leave this place and come with me, I’ll treat you better.”With the innocent yet determined face that he showed, Sera was almost persuaded. Wouldn’t it be better to leave the manor with him? However, it was the first time that she had a chance to encounter him. What if he was way more frightening than the Fiores? What if just like her family, he would just be using her to get what he wanted?A silence ensued as everyone was waiting for her answer. She slowly shook her head and hid behind her father. She had no choice but to rely on the duke at the moment.“I’m sorry but I want to stay with my father, your imperial highness,” she said and looked away. She couldn’t look at the eye of the person she rejected after he offered her his kindness.“It looked like you had your daughter wrapped around your fingers, Duke.” The Crown
“Tsk. Why do I need to serve a bastard daughter of the duke?” The maid mumbled as she entered Sera’s room. “If she didn’t arrive, I wouldn’t be assigned here in the annex!”Sera pretended not to hear her rants. It had been a week since the duke’s weird way of treating her and after he left, he didn’t visit again. She knew it just happened on a whim but she still felt disappointed about being unnoticed once more.But that would be okay! That would be better than dying earlier than expected.She tried to console herself so she wanted to distance herself from any negative remarks. Ignoring them would be better for her rather than overthinking and drowning herself in misery just like what she did before.“Hey, Miss. Eat this.” The maid forcefully put the meal on the table in her room.Though she heard what the maid said, she didn’t feel like eating so she just ignored her.&
“Young lady, the duke has called for you to his office,” Mary said after talking with the knights outside the annex.“In his office? Am I even allowed to go to the main house?” Sera asked since such a scene didn’t happen in her past life. The only time she set foot on the main house was when she first met the duke and the last time was when she was killed eight years after.She never had a good experience in the main house so she was somewhat anxious. She didn’t want to leave her annex especially since there was still a possibility of her being killed by her own brother.“Yes, my lady. We need to prepare and make sure that you look your best.” Mary was excited. She hoped that the duke would finally realize his daughter’s worth and would start to treat her preciously.However, Sera’s interpretation of the situation was different. Rather than an opportunity, she found the duke’s sudden attent
Sera couldn’t understand the duke’s actions so she was pondering about it after she arrived back to the annex. Just why would the duke bestow her a name that was only given to children who should bring honor and glory to the Duchy? He didn’t do that in her past life no matter how hard she tried to be acknowledge by him, and yet he did that when she literally did nothing to get his attention.“My lady, you should’ve eaten your lunch with the duke,” Mary said while preparing the table for her meal.It took her a lot of courage just to decline a meal with him. Since she had been filled with doubts and confusion, she couldn’t take any more than that. She felt like she would explode if she stayed there for a little longer. That was just how uncomfortable it was for her to be with him.“My lady, you have a visitor.”Sera looked at Mary with a questioning look but the latter just shrugged. They weren’t
Though Sera accepted Ric’s invitation, the prince knew it was because she couldn’t refuse someone from the imperial bloodline. Despite knowing, he was amused instead of feeling guilty for forcing her to agree with his proposition. It was a mystery for him as he tried to understand what was going on in her head and the more she tried to create a gap between him and her, the more he wanted to mess with her.“Shall we go on a walk?” He chuckled when the lady discreetly rolled her eyes before nodding her head. Just how cute could she be when she tries to suppress her annoyance?Ric offered his hand for the lady to hold but Sera smiled awkwardly.“I don’t think I could just touch your imperial highness so casually.” Instead, she stood behind him and gestured for him to take the lead.“Don’t get smart with me.” Ric chuckled as he pulled her hand and wrap it on his arm. “Now let’s walk.&rdqu