The Duclairs were an esteemed family that ran a Duchy near the capital in the Empire of Sonnet. Generations ago, their ancestor had fought in a war that put the current Emperor's family in power and was granted the title of nobility as a reward for their loyalty.
The family title was only ever handed to male descendants. Because of this, every newly appointed Duke needed to make sure to secure a male heir as soon as they came of age, or at least marry off their daughters to someone worthy of leading the house. Unfortunately, Cain's father, William Duclair, had an affair with a scullery maid before he was properly betrothed. At the ripe old age of 17, he sired an illegitimate son whom he tried to get rid of.
However, since the child was male, his grandfather forbade William from disposing of the kid just yet. It was declared that until the man could produce a second son from his betrothed wife, the boy had to stay.
Thus, Cain was raised out of sight. Hidden away by his ashamed father, and hated by his stepmother, Lena.
Lena Duclair had been betrothed to William to cover up the whole affair. It took them two whole years to have another son, but in that time, Cain's real mother had died from an unknown illness. Taking pity on the child, his grandfather decided to keep him around despite being a bastard child.
Up in the attic, Cain tapped away at the empty parchment, wondering how he should approach the upcoming events, when a knock came at his door.
"Come in." He called, distracted, and in walked one of the many house butlers.
The elderly man wore a gray servant's suit and vest, with his silver hair pulled back to reveal a pair of sharp, withered eyes that peered disdainfully at the young man. His gloved hands were folded behind his back in a show of mock respect.
"It is time for breakfast, young master." The butler alerted him. "Please be prompt and make your way to the dining hall."
Cain dropped his pen and pushed back the chair, causing an irritating screech as its legs dragged along the floor. "Right, of course. Can't keep dear old dad waiting."
The butler scowled and left without another word.
This was his normal treatment. If it were any other Duclair, then the butler would have spoken in a more courteous tone and offered a bow before leaving. Yet the man could barely hide his contempt from his eyes.
All the servants were like that to Cain. They saw him as nothing more than another commoner who dared to give them orders. Not one ounce of respect was given to him, though they were at least smart enough to hold their tongues in his presence. To Cain, it had felt like he was being utterly abused in his past life. But after spending five years on the street, living as a petty thief, he'd encountered far worse and was now grateful that dirty looks were all he received from them.
Checking his outfit in the mirror, Cain adjusted the white collar of his shirt and straightened his vest. In short, he looked like one of the servants, which he now knew was intentional.
How should he greet his family today? It'd been five years since he was last in this situation, and he was feeling an overwhelming sense of Deja Vu.
Coming down the stairs, he took a seat the farthest from his brother whom he very much wanted to stab with a fork.
The marble-topped table they used was long enough to seat over a dozen guests and had a crystal chandelier hanging above it. The chairs were lined with gold and seated with blue velvet. The ceiling had depictions of angels playing instruments, while paintings of noblemen and women aligned the walls of the dining hall.
Large as the room may be, there was another dining hall that was much larger and intended for parties.
William Duclair sat at the head of the table, with Lena Duclair to his left and Andrew Duclair to his right.
The Duke had greenish gold eyes like Cain, and hereditary blond hair, with sides of grey due to his age. His eyebrows were almost nonexistent, and his chin jutted outward slightly. He was by no means handsome, but his wealth and title were enough to woe Cain's stepmother, Lena. Luckily Cain seemed to take more after his grandparents than his father. He generally took it as a compliment when people claimed they were nothing alike, even though he knew they weren't talking about appearances.
Lena herself had caramel-colored hair, dark grey eyes, and skin so pale that the sun practically reflected off of it. She was often seen wearing ornate dresses and wearing the finest jewels in her hair. The way she carried herself just screamed elegance, and all the younger women strived to be as flashy as she was.
As for his half-brother, Andrew, the man was lean with cruel dark grey eyes, light blond hair, and a suit as ornately decorated as his mother's hair. The man's square jaw and aquiline nose had the women fawning over him at all the parties. Though once again, it could very well just be the money they're after.
All three of them were the model image of a Dukes family, wearing the best-tailored clothes, eating a generously assorted breakfast, drinking from silver chalices, and adorning themselves with overpriced knickknacks.
Cain on the other hand gave off the appearance of an underdressed butler that had sat down to dine with them. If he had the budget, he'd have definitely gotten himself a better wardrobe. Though he was often denied such things.
He glanced over at the maids aligning the wall, waiting on standby in case the family needed anything else. He recalled his time on the streets eating stale bread, wearing thin clothes, and sleeping on hay bales.
True, he wasn't treated as well as he could have been by his family, but he was still living a life of luxury...For now.
"I've heard the most dreadful news." Lena prattled. "Some of the ladies were discussing a siege at the border. They claim some ruffian took women and children as hostages and may try to ransom the Emperor."
"Do ladies talk about such terrible things?" William frowned. "Wouldn't you rather concern yourself with the upcoming gala, or who's marrying whom this spring?"
"It's a hard topic to avoid," Andrew spoke up. "Even the commoners are discussing the attack. It's no surprise that it's made its way to the upper crust."
William sighed as he pinched his brow. "Of course those tales are spreading. Yet not a single person telling those stories was there."
"Neither were you. Or are you saying you know something they don't, father?"
"It was nothing more than a small skirmish. Some bandits wearing fake family crests had attacked the Emperor's men near the border and the story blew up. He told me himself."
It was funny to hear his father speak so confidently about something he was so wrong about. Though the truth wouldn't come out for a few more years, Cain already knew who was behind those attacks. After working with Maddox as an apprentice, he also knew that the Emperor was trying to cover it up so that the public's confidence in him didn't get shaken, which made them ill-prepared for when Maddox finally did show his full power.
"What a relief." Lena let out a breath. "It'd be a shame if we were to go to war so suddenly. Our dear son has only just returned from military duty. I'd hate to see him leave again."
Cain all but choked on his eggs. He'd forgotten that war would be a big topic around this time. He'd already done his required military service years ago, which was required for every fifteen-year-old boy, but Andrew had stayed for extra training and told the family he was considering rejoining the army soon.
Military excellence was one way to climb up the popularity ladder. It was considered a noble cause to fight for one's country, however, Cain hadn't been able to manage anything special during his time aside from just following orders. His aim was shit, and his endurance was even worse. During their hikes, he was one of the first to drop and never managed to hold a sword properly. One hit and his weapon would fall right out of his hands.
In the end, he had to forgo further training to avoid humiliating the family.
It would be another year or so till the actual war with the Kingdom of Chalot would start. And Cain knew that had he stayed in the house, he'd have been forced to serve and most likely die on the battlefield.
"Perhaps war wouldn't be so bad." Andrew suddenly declared. He then eyed Cain with a grin. "My dear brother could certainly use a second chance at redeeming himself. From what I was told, he needed training the most out of his entire squad."
Ah. Yes. That's right. This was what started it.
In his past life, this was where his tipping point had been. Those words had echoed in Cain's head, reawakening his frustration over his past failure, and in so doing, he'd shot up and tried to hit his brother. Unfortunately what his brother had said was true, and Cain missed his target, allowing Andrew to grab his arm and pin him to the floor.
That squabble had been the last straw for his father. Up till now, his father had put up with Cain, but his grandfather was now bedridden and no longer fit to make decisions for the house. Therefore William was free to blow this incident out of proportion and use it as an excuse to finally get rid of Cain.
But not this time.
As much as he resented his brother, Andrew was right. Cain needed to get stronger, and getting angry would only lead him back down his doomed path. He was no longer going to behave like an entitled brat.
Tucking every bit of resentment down, Cain smiled back at his brother. "Perhaps you're right, dear brother."
His tone seemed to startle even the maids who had grown used to Cain's short temper. His situation and emotional neglect had caused him to throw tantrums and act out ever since he was a child, but now he had five years of humiliation under his belt. Compared to that experience, this was nothing.
"Wha...You agree?" Andrew tilted his head. Letting his sunshine blond hair sweep over half his face. His dark grey eyes stared into Cain's, calculating what he'd just heard. "You would like our countrymen to go to war?"
"How absurd!" Lena burst. "Cain, that is terrible thinking! Innocent people would die!"
Oh, how ironic that it's OK for Andrew to suggest such a thing, but the end of the world if Cain agreed with it.
"Not the war." Cain clarified. "I meant my fighting ability. I didn't do too well during my military days, so I was thinking that maybe I should get private training so I don't disgrace the family should war ever break out."
"What nonsense." His father huffed. "We already know you are not suited for fighting. It would be a wasted expense to hire a personal trainer for you. No. I won't allow it. And don't ever joke about war at this table. It's just like your mother said. No good comes from war."
"My apologies father." Andrew smiled smugly.
"Of course father. I apologize as well." He looked down at his plate while his family continued to discuss household affairs.
That was easy enough. He had successfully avoided the confrontation that had gotten him kicked out of the house. However he did confirm another piece of information that he had suspected before.
He needed money, and his father had no intention of spending any of it on him.
This meant he would need to find a way to earn it. As a bastard child, he had always relied on his parents to purchase anything he needed with the family's wealth. At first, he had been content with that because it meant he didn't have to work hard himself, but then he'd been kicked out and found that his lack of job experience made it difficult to make an honest living.
All he needed was to stay in the family long enough to build his fortune to fund his career.
After breakfast, he wandered the grounds freely. Unlike his brother who was busy helping their parents with household tasks, training, and his studies, Cain had nothing to do.
He had been very good at his studies, but was pulled out of classes and held back the moment his stepmother realized he was outshining Andrew with his scores. Yet he was terrible with combat and got denied any proper training, and neither of them trusted him to ever touch their family assets.
This gave him enough time to come up with a plan to start building his fortune. The first thing he was going to need was a small loan. No. A loan would be too risky. To take out a loan he'd need to put something up as collateral, and he pretty much didn't own anything since it was all under the Duclair name, which meant his father would learn about it immediately.
He was going to have to do what he used to do best and steal it. Only this time, it wouldn't be quite as illegal since he would only be pawning off his own minor things. That shouldn't put him in too much hot water, right?
Back in his room, he went over the items that he figured his family wouldn't miss. Since no one but the servants ever bothered to visit his attic room, he knew that they wouldn't notice stuff dissapearing here and there. Sure, they weren't as valuable as the sort of things his parents and brother owned, but as an experienced thief, he still knew just how much he could get from them.
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