The Lion's Heart | A Stepmother's Marchën Fanfic

Chapter 4: Stain of the house

"Mandy! why am I feeling all flustered and hot. I can't stop blushing. My heart is beating fast. And above all..."

"...I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM!"

Mandy chuckled at her mistress' gush. "It looks like you have a crush, my lady."

Karina covered her face and let out a muffled scream to which Mandy let out a laugh. Feeling amused at the scene unfolding.

"My lady... I hate to ruin your happy moment, but can't you bring a knight for your daily visit to the orphanage. "

Karina grew silent at Mandy's words."What happened today doesn't sit well to me. If something happens to you --- well, thankfully, the heir of Neuschwanstein was there to help you. What if he wasn't there? I dread to think of what would happen to you, my lady."

Mandy patiently waited for Karina to respond back to her. Mandy knew that mentioning the marquess had always been a sensitive topic for Karina.

It was a known fact that Karina had a strained relationship with the marquess and Arthur. The only person whom she is close within the house of ravens was Austin, her brother of the same age. However, Austin was rarely at home as he is currently attending a knight boarding school.

"You're right, Mandy. I should ask one of the knights to escort me during my next visits." Karina gave Mandy a reassuring smile.

Mandy gave her a toothy grin, feeling satisfied with her young lady's decision.

'A knight...'

Karina raised her hand up, shielding herself from the blinding lights of the sun, setting down through the gaps of the carriage curtain, but the gaps between her slim fingers still caught bits of the sun light. The shining light passes between her fingers on to her eyes. Karina's eyes flickered at the sudden light shining upon her eyes.

Mandy noticed this and fixed the loose curtains, pulling it closely to avoid any shine of the sunlight going through.

Having said that, Karina's mind was already elsewhere. Anywhere but the present. Her mind has brought her on a stroll to a memory lane. Though, the path for strolling was laced with poisonous vines in which a single tiny prick would bring a tremendous amount of pain to those who walked on it.

It was 7 years ago, when 8 years old Karina had just been informed from a nun of the orphanage she was residing in that she would be taken in by a noble of high status. One would assume that it was the greatest most grandest blessing an orphan like Karina could ever have gotten. Getting taken in by a family but even more so by a high-ranking noble coming from a wealthy and famous family.

Karina also thought that way.

But when little Karina arrived at the house of Tarjun. It was nothing like she imagined. Not like the storybooks she read where the wealthy lived in happiness and the princess of the family was loved by all.

'I was just a naive little girl.'

Her memory instantly remembered the day during her 12th birthday.

"Until you are married, you will live here in the Tarjun estate and will be under my care." The marquess told Karina when her 12th birthday came --- a few months before her debutante ball was held.

"The heinrich family only daughter already had her debutante when she was still so young. I was hoping you could do the same, but since you came to the estate at 8 years old, it was inevitable that your lack of knowledge and etiquette will hinder you from holding a debutant ball."

The marquess smiled, but Karina didn't feel any warmth from his smile. His smile felt force and pity, not a smile she had expected to receive from a father back when she was still at the orphanage.

"Do as I say, Karina... and your life will be perfect in no time."

Karina gulped, and her grip on her skirt tightened.

Fortunately, Karina's debutante went well. She had received praises from other nobles, be it from a relative or close acquaintances of her father.

"Well done, with this, your marriage proposals will come in no time." The marquess nodded in approval. His mood slightly boosted up compared to other days, where Karina was met with a pair of cold gaze and distant demeanour.

"Father...I ---"

A knock on the door interrupted Karina and caused her to stop talking. Karina looked behind her to see a dark blue haired boy opening the door. He walked past Karina, and she took a glance at his grey eyes that had no spark in them. Karina had never seen the day when her older brother, Arthur, had given her a fond look.

Arthur stood in front of her --- his back facing her.

"You called for me, father?" Arthur said with a flat tone. "Please excuse us, Karina." Marquess Tarjun spoke.

Karina bit her lips before giving the marquess a curt nod. Once she exited, Karina left the door slightly ajar --- enough to listen into what the two were conversing.

"Arthur, I would like to appoint a knight for Karina. But for the time being, can you be her personal knight?"

Karina eyes glimmered as soon as she heard what her father said, "Big bro is going to be my knight?"

What Arthur said next, however, made her drop her smile.

Arthur flinched, and his eyebrows furrowed. "Why would you ever think I would accept this, father?"

"You do know I hate being with that girl for even a second?"

Marquess Tarjun crossed his arms and stared at his eldest son indifferently. "She is your sister, Arthur."

Arthur's scoffed at his father's words. It felt like a joke but a joke meant to be insulted on rather than laugh at.

"My sister? that girl is just someone who existed because of a mistake. She is just a mere stain, an imperfect stain that ruins our perfect house. A dirty stain that can easily be removed."

Marquess Tarjun bang his fist on his office desk.

"ARTHUR!"

The room went silent for a moment. Arthur winced at his father's loud voice, but he still stood high with a firm posture.

"Whether you like it or not, I will not change my mind. Obey my order."

The two individuals spoke a few more words, yet Karina could not hear what they were saying. What her brother had said lingers in her mind.

She agreed. She was just a stain --- an embarrassing stain that dirties the image of the Tarjun family. An illegitimate child.

But it still pains her to listen to her brother, saying the exact words that everyone says behind her back.

From this moment, 12 year-old Karina realised the hard cold truth.

Arthur Von Tarjun will never be the big brother she always dreamed of having.

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A/n : So my dumbass thought that the royal family had a phoenix as their official logo, but it was actually an eagle. So, I had to change some stuff in the last chapter. Sorry for the error!