For the past three days, the whole estate of the grand duchy has been enveloped in a tense atmosphere, much like a string that was pulled taut on the verge of snapping. Three days ago, the grand duke had returned with a little figure nestled in his embrace and did not leave his chamber ever since, guarding the wounded child like a dragon protecting his hoard of treasures. Astonishingly, not even his three sons were allowed into his chambers.
As for the young masters, they, too, had not been acting themselves. The usually gentle heir, Ihan Callenso, was releasing an icy chill and oppressive air like his father, the grand duke, and a single glance from him caused his subordinates’ knees to buckle in fright. Previously, many praised their eldest young master as gentle and caring, the opposite of his father, a breathing block of ice. However, only now they understood that they were blinder than bats. As for second master Aegaeon Callenso, the young swordsmaster, he had not shown his face in the training grounds not even once during these days. The sun could rise in the west and set in the east, but the rouge prince could never skip a day without drawing his sword. Only the youngest master, Deimos Callenso, was unperturbed by the arrival of the mysterious guest as he attended his classes with the utmost diligence and continued his daily routine in tranquility. However, that, in fact, was like a brewing poison and boiling volcano because everyone within the grand duchy knew that their youngest master was the epitome of trouble and the essence of mischief.
Moreover, as the news of the rampant slaughter the shadow beasts of the father and son Callensos bestowed upon the imperial knights and the grave injury of the second prince assaulted the capital, the whole of Crevaria started buzzing and stirring, like an overturned hornet’s nest. Rumors were assailing far and wide. Why the prince was so badly injured, why all imperial knights were slaughtered, and above all, why the winged lion and four-eyed wolf fought against each other, none could tell the head and tail of it. Coupled with the unusual behaviors of their masters, the vassals, knights, maids and servants, and whoever was associated with the grand duchy felt that the disaster had fallen. Irony that is, the cause of all the sensation, the true culprit of the incident, was still in her dreamland, happily snoring away the days.
The sun was high up in the sky, dyeing the high-ceilinged bedroom in its warm golden rays graciously. On the center of the wide bed, snuggled in the softest silk and warm sheets, an exceptionally beautiful little girl lay deep in slumber. Her long curly crimson locks complemented the pale ivory skin, and her soft even breaths and contented small smirk blooming on her peaceful face looked lovely, to say the least.
Beside the slumbering girl, a young boy with condemning eyes sat cross-legged, observing the other while supporting his chin on one hand lazily. From his mean expression and roguish posture, he was more like a little tyrant than an esteemed noble son. When Aegaeon first learned that he got a half-sibling out of thin air, he was skeptical of this illegitimate new addition to his family. His elder brother was a frightening devil incarnate, his younger brother was a black-bellied schemer, and he himself was a tyrannical bullhead who dared to kill and defy. As the female descendants of the house of Callenso were so pitiably few that there were none in the past five generations, Aegaeon naturally expected another stinky troublesome brother. However, the moment he sneaked into his father’s bedroom and threw a glance at the slumbering figure, all the skepticism and reservations flew out the window, vanishing into who knows where. What welcomed him was but tiny, delicate, and, most importantly, adorable as hell. It was a little girl, a younger sister.
“Tsk. I heard the wound is already healed. But why are you still sleeping like a dead dog?” The honey-brown-haired boy mumbled disapprovingly with a clumsy worry that brewed in his heart.
As if responding to his unforgiving words, the little girl’s two small furry ears twitched twice, causing the little tyrant’s striking golden eyes to shine brightly like sun-bathed gems. His heroic brows wrinkled together menacingly while his dishonest claw stretched towards the fluffy quivering ears with an obvious intention of stroking them. If one saw his grave and unyielding expression at the moment, one would certainly believe that he was preparing to send his greatest enemy to the afterlife. Fortunately, contrary to his unreliable face, his action spoke of nervousness, shyness, and cautiousness he felt as his movement was excessively slow, careful, and hesitant. When his fingertips were only a hair width away from touching the glossy furry fox ear, without himself realizing, a dashing bashful smile bloomed on his handsome face. However, that very moment, before his smile could widen, he felt his body thrown backward with a massive force, completely catching him off guard. He was all too familiar with this force, pressure, and sensation that he simply allowed himself to be hung upside down, plastered on the wall like a sea star.
“You, little devil. When did you put an array inside father’s bedroom?” Aegaeon asked the silver-haired young boy with mesmerizing emerald eyes.
The boy did not answer his brother and simply strode toward the bed with a curious gaze. His glistening silver hair was shoulder length, making him appear more angelic than the statue of the goddess. Yet, with such an appearance, he refused to even throw a glance at his brother, who was hanging upside down with an alarming red face due to blood flowing to his head, not to mention letting him go.
Seeing his brother completely immersed with their younger sister, Aegaeon released his aura, casually breaking the formation of the array before landing on his feet with an effortless elegant jump. He marched to the bed and sat there unreservedly, legs still crossed and the posture like an old guard of the barracks.
“Are you seeing what I am seeing?” Deimos asked after a while.
“You tell me what you’re seeing. It’s certainly a little girl, right? A female Callenso, tsk tsk, our father is truly mighty,” Aegaeon replied.
“Acknowledged,” said Deimos.
These two… naughty, too naughty, thought Seraphina, who had long woken up when Aegaeon entered the bedroom. As an adult in a child’s body as well as a woman who had her fair share of life, she, needless to say, understood the meaning of the two’s words. Her ears twitched again.
“But why is her ears twitching like this? Are they itchy?” Asked the innocent Aegaeon, who failed to catch the pretentiousness of their sister.
“What an idiot,” lamented the third young master, who had realized that the little girl was feigning to be asleep.
That’s right. They are obviously twitching because I’m liste-
Seraphina shot up like a pulled arrow, her large moist eyes enlarging in horror. She stood in the middle of the bed, her golden eyes blinking as she gaped at her elder brothers. Her pink plump lips were flattened into a thin line, and her delicate eyebrows were nearly touching each other from excessive frowning. She slowly raised her trembling tiny hands to her head before shakily clutching the two white fox ears with maroon tips. And her sharp inhalation followed.
Fuck! Shit! Holy beast! Why are there fox ears on my head? Then, then… the person I saw before losing consciousness, those golden irises… IT WAS NOT MY DELUSION?!
.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Amaris had stayed up for three consecutive nights with many thoughts wreaking havoc in his head. At the imperial elder’s palace, when his eyes landed on the tiny bloodied figure throwing herself against the thick ice wall, his heart nearly stopped right there and then. The feeling of his throat tightening and his heart sinking to his stomach was the first in his life to experience, and it made him sick, to say the least. When her small body collapsed into the ground, life seeming to leave her, he simply lost it. All he remembered was holding her tiny frame securely in his arms and hearing her soft whimper calling for him. As for Ratuna’s massacre of the entire imperial knights and her mad fight with Ysir, he recalled none of how or why it happened, nor he cared. His eyes were full of nothing but the child and all his sensations were solely focused on her shallow but even breaths.
Today, after withstanding three gruesome days, his squirmy vassals finally could not hold in any longer and requested his audience collectively. Amaris was a ruthless man but not at all an incompetent ruler. Therefore, he allowed their request for an audience and gave the much-needed explanation to his men. His words consisted of only two sentences, “My daughter got bullied. As for the fight between Ratuna and Ysir, ask them yourselves if you are curious.” These short but vehement words nearly exploded the grand duchy. Killing imperial knights was treason, and injuring an imperial prince was a severe felony. However, if the matter involved a female descendant of the Callensos, then nothing is going too far, and everything is within the boundaries. After all, the child herself was precious to her single drop of blood.
Now, striding towards his bedroom, Amaris’s legs have never felt so much lighter before. His long steady steps very soon led him to his destination, and without wasting a second, he entered the room. Despite the other two being taller and wider, his sight immediately bypassed them and fell on a short petite doll-like figure.
At the same time, the little girl also looked at his direction. Her upturned large doe eyes were brimming with unshed tears, unblinking in fear of dropping them, small hands clasped the fluff of a glossy white tail as if clutching to her dear life, and her maroon-tinged white fox ears were completely flattened on her head, lying lifelessly. When the two almost identical pairs of shimmering golden orbs met, she finally could bear no longer and wailed aloud with grief and wronging.
Why?! Just why?! Someone tell me! All I wished was to become a squeamish little princess, delicate and spoilt, cause mischief and hide behind my father’s back. A cute and fat kitten. But how a fox beast with herculean strength, who beats up people, knocks a life out of a person with one hit, curses, and swears, is squeamish? How is it a kitten? It’s obviously a tyrant tigress! Ah, regret it. Truly regret it. Should have just borne it. All because of that damned sibling pair.
Whilst her inner rant was far from pitiful, her appearance was full of sadness and loss. Her cry was heart-wrenching, and her tears fell in big crystal droplets as if the world had wronged her badly.
Ah, life is really full of dog shits. What else can I do now? Just let shameless become my name now.
“Daddy,” her unbearably sweet voice called pitiably as her soft sniffles, childish hiccups, and overflowing tears choked her.
Initially, her tears came from frustration, but after locking gazes with this man and calling out aloud for him, who stood tall and proud with eyes full of panic and heartache, something within her exploded. Memories after memory, grief after grief, separations after separations, and regrets after regrets, like a broken dam, she cried out her pain.
"Daddy," she called again.
So what if I am no longer an innocent child? So what if I am an ancient divine beast who could overturn the heavens and call out for rain and storm? So what if my heart is ugly with a vengeance and unreconciled regrets? I am still your daughter. I still feel hurt. And, still incomplete.
“It’s okay. I am here. Right here,” his gentle velvet voice whispered soothingly while his strong arms enveloped her in a full embrace.
Hearing once again this deep caring voice and smelling his subtle scent which carried a faint fragrance of premium ink, Seraphina found her haven, her home, and then her family.
For the past three days, the whole estate of the grand duchy has been enveloped in a tense atmosphere, much like a string that was pulled taut on the verge of snapping. Three days ago, the grand duke had returned with a little figure nestled in his embrace and did not leave his chamber ever since, guarding the wounded child like a dragon protecting his hoard of treasures. Astonishingly, not even his three sons were allowed into his chambers.
As for the young masters, they, too, had not been acting themselves. The usually gentle heir, Ihan Callenso, was releasing an icy chill and oppressive air like his father, the grand duke, and a single glance from him caused his subordinates’ knees to buckle in fright. Previously, many praised their eldest young master as gentle and caring, the opposite of his father, a breathing block of ice. However, only now they understood that they were blinder than bats. As for second master Aegaeon Callenso, the young swordsmaster, he had not shown his face in the training grounds not even once during these days. The sun could rise in the west and set in the east, but the rouge prince could never skip a day without drawing his sword. Only the youngest master, Deimos Callenso, was unperturbed by the arrival of the mysterious guest as he attended his classes with the utmost diligence and continued his daily routine in tranquility. However, that, in fact, was like a brewing poison and boiling volcano because everyone within the grand duchy knew that their youngest master was the epitome of trouble and the essence of mischief.
Moreover, as the news of the rampant slaughter the shadow beasts of the father and son Callensos bestowed upon the imperial knights and the grave injury of the second prince assaulted the capital, the whole of Crevaria started buzzing and stirring, like an overturned hornet’s nest. Rumors were assailing far and wide. Why the prince was so badly injured, why all imperial knights were slaughtered, and above all, why the winged lion and four-eyed wolf fought against each other, none could tell the head and tail of it. Coupled with the unusual behaviors of their masters, the vassals, knights, maids and servants, and whoever was associated with the grand duchy felt that the disaster had fallen. Irony that is, the cause of all the sensation, the true culprit of the incident, was still in her dreamland, happily snoring away the days.
The sun was high up in the sky, dyeing the high-ceilinged bedroom in its warm golden rays graciously. On the center of the wide bed, snuggled in the softest silk and warm sheets, an exceptionally beautiful little girl lay deep in slumber. Her long curly crimson locks complemented the pale ivory skin, and her soft even breaths and contented small smirk blooming on her peaceful face looked lovely, to say the least.
Beside the slumbering girl, a young boy with condemning eyes sat cross-legged, observing the other while supporting his chin on one hand lazily. From his mean expression and roguish posture, he was more like a little tyrant than an esteemed noble son. When Aegaeon first learned that he got a half-sibling out of thin air, he was skeptical of this illegitimate new addition to his family. His elder brother was a frightening devil incarnate, his younger brother was a black-bellied schemer, and he himself was a tyrannical bullhead who dared to kill and defy. As the female descendants of the house of Callenso were so pitiably few that there were none in the past five generations, Aegaeon naturally expected another stinky troublesome brother. However, the moment he sneaked into his father’s bedroom and threw a glance at the slumbering figure, all the skepticism and reservations flew out the window, vanishing into who knows where. What welcomed him was but tiny, delicate, and, most importantly, adorable as hell. It was a little girl, a younger sister.
“Tsk. I heard the wound is already healed. But why are you still sleeping like a dead dog?” The honey-brown-haired boy mumbled disapprovingly with a clumsy worry that brewed in his heart.
As if responding to his unforgiving words, the little girl’s two small furry ears twitched twice, causing the little tyrant’s striking golden eyes to shine brightly like sun-bathed gems. His heroic brows wrinkled together menacingly while his dishonest claw stretched towards the fluffy quivering ears with an obvious intention of stroking them. If one saw his grave and unyielding expression at the moment, one would certainly believe that he was preparing to send his greatest enemy to the afterlife. Fortunately, contrary to his unreliable face, his action spoke of nervousness, shyness, and cautiousness he felt as his movement was excessively slow, careful, and hesitant. When his fingertips were only a hair width away from touching the glossy furry fox ear, without himself realizing, a dashing bashful smile bloomed on his handsome face. However, that very moment, before his smile could widen, he felt his body thrown backward with a massive force, completely catching him off guard. He was all too familiar with this force, pressure, and sensation that he simply allowed himself to be hung upside down, plastered on the wall like a sea star.
“You, little devil. When did you put an array inside father’s bedroom?” Aegaeon asked the silver-haired young boy with mesmerizing emerald eyes.
The boy did not answer his brother and simply strode toward the bed with a curious gaze. His glistening silver hair was shoulder length, making him appear more angelic than the statue of the goddess. Yet, with such an appearance, he refused to even throw a glance at his brother, who was hanging upside down with an alarming red face due to blood flowing to his head, not to mention letting him go.
Seeing his brother completely immersed with their younger sister, Aegaeon released his aura, casually breaking the formation of the array before landing on his feet with an effortless elegant jump. He marched to the bed and sat there unreservedly, legs still crossed and the posture like an old guard of the barracks.
“Are you seeing what I am seeing?” Deimos asked after a while.
“You tell me what you’re seeing. It’s certainly a little girl, right? A female Callenso, tsk tsk, our father is truly mighty,” Aegaeon replied.
“Acknowledged,” said Deimos.
These two… naughty, too naughty, thought Seraphina, who had long woken up when Aegaeon entered the bedroom. As an adult in a child’s body as well as a woman who had her fair share of life, she, needless to say, understood the meaning of the two’s words. Her ears twitched again.
“But why is her ears twitching like this? Are they itchy?” Asked the innocent Aegaeon, who failed to catch the pretentiousness of their sister.
“What an idiot,” lamented the third young master, who had realized that the little girl was feigning to be asleep.
That’s right. They are obviously twitching because I’m liste-
Seraphina shot up like a pulled arrow, her large moist eyes enlarging in horror. She stood in the middle of the bed, her golden eyes blinking as she gaped at her elder brothers. Her pink plump lips were flattened into a thin line, and her delicate eyebrows were nearly touching each other from excessive frowning. She slowly raised her trembling tiny hands to her head before shakily clutching the two white fox ears with maroon tips. And her sharp inhalation followed.
Fuck! Shit! Holy beast! Why are there fox ears on my head? Then, then… the person I saw before losing consciousness, those golden irises… IT WAS NOT MY DELUSION?!
.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Amaris had stayed up for three consecutive nights with many thoughts wreaking havoc in his head. At the imperial elder’s palace, when his eyes landed on the tiny bloodied figure throwing herself against the thick ice wall, his heart nearly stopped right there and then. The feeling of his throat tightening and his heart sinking to his stomach was the first in his life to experience, and it made him sick, to say the least. When her small body collapsed into the ground, life seeming to leave her, he simply lost it. All he remembered was holding her tiny frame securely in his arms and hearing her soft whimper calling for him. As for Ratuna’s massacre of the entire imperial knights and her mad fight with Ysir, he recalled none of how or why it happened, nor he cared. His eyes were full of nothing but the child and all his sensations were solely focused on her shallow but even breaths.
Today, after withstanding three gruesome days, his squirmy vassals finally could not hold in any longer and requested his audience collectively. Amaris was a ruthless man but not at all an incompetent ruler. Therefore, he allowed their request for an audience and gave the much-needed explanation to his men. His words consisted of only two sentences, “My daughter got bullied. As for the fight between Ratuna and Ysir, ask them yourselves if you are curious.” These short but vehement words nearly exploded the grand duchy. Killing imperial knights was treason, and injuring an imperial prince was a severe felony. However, if the matter involved a female descendant of the Callensos, then nothing is going too far, and everything is within the boundaries. After all, the child herself was precious to her single drop of blood.
Now, striding towards his bedroom, Amaris’s legs have never felt so much lighter before. His long steady steps very soon led him to his destination, and without wasting a second, he entered the room. Despite the other two being taller and wider, his sight immediately bypassed them and fell on a short petite doll-like figure.
At the same time, the little girl also looked at his direction. Her upturned large doe eyes were brimming with unshed tears, unblinking in fear of dropping them, small hands clasped the fluff of a glossy white tail as if clutching to her dear life, and her maroon-tinged white fox ears were completely flattened on her head, lying lifelessly. When the two almost identical pairs of shimmering golden orbs met, she finally could bear no longer and wailed aloud with grief and wronging.
Why?! Just why?! Someone tell me! All I wished was to become a squeamish little princess, delicate and spoilt, cause mischief and hide behind my father’s back. A cute and fat kitten. But how a fox beast with herculean strength, who beats up people, knocks a life out of a person with one hit, curses, and swears, is squeamish? How is it a kitten? It’s obviously a tyrant tigress! Ah, regret it. Truly regret it. Should have just borne it. All because of that damned sibling pair.
Whilst her inner rant was far from pitiful, her appearance was full of sadness and loss. Her cry was heart-wrenching, and her tears fell in big crystal droplets as if the world had wronged her badly.
Ah, life is really full of dog shits. What else can I do now? Just let shameless become my name now.
“Daddy,” her unbearably sweet voice called pitiably as her soft sniffles, childish hiccups, and overflowing tears choked her.
Initially, her tears came from frustration, but after locking gazes with this man and calling out aloud for him, who stood tall and proud with eyes full of panic and heartache, something within her exploded. Memories after memory, grief after grief, separations after separations, and regrets after regrets, like a broken dam, she cried out her pain.
"Daddy," she called again.
So what if I am no longer an innocent child? So what if I am an ancient divine beast who could overturn the heavens and call out for rain and storm? So what if my heart is ugly with a vengeance and unreconciled regrets? I am still your daughter. I still feel hurt. And, still incomplete.
“It’s okay. I am here. Right here,” his gentle velvet voice whispered soothingly while his strong arms enveloped her in a full embrace.
Hearing once again this deep caring voice and smelling his subtle scent which carried a faint fragrance of premium ink, Seraphina found her haven, her home, and then her family.
