death is the only ending for the trash queen

Part 11

But he'd always assumed that Cale's disinterest was similar to his own. Alberu had no desire to meet with his immediate family but he also had no opposition to meeting with them either. He'd developed a bland apathy towards their very existence.

Cale, a woman who fearlessly cussed out even the most powerful of nobility, was trembling at the thought of seeing them.

It did not fill Alberu with a pleasant feeling.

To his recollection, Cale had been acting out since a young age. He hadn't known her back then but she was rather infamous for her conduct. She started drinking heavily at the age of sixteen and then the rumors about her only grew worse. But she was already well-known as a menace to society by the age of ten.

It occurred to Alberu for the first time that perhaps there might have been a problem in the Henituse household to cause such a young child to misbehave. It was easier when he was younger to dismiss any potential problems as Cale being a spoiled child.

After all, Count Deruth Henituse was well known for being a fair and competent man who loved his family. Alberu had met him quite a few times and he had a strong favorable impression of him. As for Cale's step family, while Alberu couldn't vouch for them personally the way he could for Deruth, they were all well known as incredible and kind people.

Violan Deruth was a strict and elegant woman who had a passion for the arts and frequently supported those worthy financially. Basen would be the next Count and he was well known for being intelligent, kind, and well mannered. Lily was the most boisterous of the lot but she was a knight in training who exuded all the honor and nobility befitting the role.

Alberu had kept tabs on Cale's family, as well as investigating them thoroughly before the wedding, he'd been very confident that they were good people and that among the lot, Cale was the only troubling one.

Perhaps it was the perspective of a father that changed him.

Yes, children were all unique and bright in their own individual ways. Penelope was different from any other child. Every child had their own personality, wants, desires, and interests. But the environment they're raised within cannot be ignored.

It was possible that Cale was just a 'brat' but then, why had her behavior only grown worse when she was clearly bright enough to understand the stupidity of it?

What happened that changed her so thoroughly?

The obvious answer was ever present. The same thing that had changed Alberu forever. The day he'd lost his mother was what had molded him into the person he was today. The one who lied through a smile and could hardly enjoy the presence of the remainder of his immediate family.

But his situation ought to have been different from Cale's.

In Alberu's case, his fathers affection had been entirely dependent on the existence of his mother. A fact that only bothered him more and more as he grew older. Was his affection ever real at all? Or had he only pretended to love his son to appeal to the concubine he wouldn't take as a proper wife? It was a thought that left Alberu bitter and disgusted.

But Count Deruth was not as cold as the previous king, was he?

A pang of sympathy cut his heart as he glanced towards Cale's face, the petite woman attempting to sleep at his side. She would have been eight when her mother died.

Alberu wordlessly took her hand into his own, looking away from her to avoid the glare that would surely follow. She didn't pull away though and he remembered yet again her new strangely affectionate attitude that filled him with unease.