Chapter 12: Chapter 12
MAGNUS MANSION
A cup made of gold, with rubies embedded in it, was thrown carelessly on the ground. A man walked into a luxurious room, his black hair and dull violet eyes looked at an old figure standing straight with a furious expression on his face. The worried man questioned his father.
"Dad, why are you worrying so much?"
The older man turned around, caressing his beard with a tense expression, he answered, "Those bastards didn't make sure that Ambroise had truly died. He was still breathing when they left."
The man chuckled softly. "Dad, don't worry. He was stabbed by a sword, and he had already bled so much. Did you see how much of his blood was there? He's never going to make out alive, Dad. Don't worry; the duke's seat is ours."
The older man nodded, his expression showing he wasn't convinced yet. Noticing this, the man continued, "He was left in the forest of Dabria, a vast and beast-filled place, he would not be able to leave, Dad. By the smell of his blood, other animals would have been attracted to it. With his injuries, he wouldn't have been able to fight them and must have already been devoured by those beasts. Not even a bit of his flesh would have been left by now, he left no mark when he departed this world."
Hearing this, the older man's doubts cleared. "You are correct, indeed. If he had quietly handed me the duke seat, he wouldn't have met such a violent end. When his parents, the former duke and duchess, and his older brother, the heir passed away in the accident, I believed the seat would be rightfully mine as I was the older brother of the former duke and also had more experience than that bastard. Who would have thought his relationship with the emperor was so strong that not only did the emperor appoint him as the duke at 17, but also sent renowned scholars all over the world to teach him his duties? Tsk, this time not even the emperor could save him."
The young man's face darkened as he listened to his father's rant. His expression tensed as he interjected, "Dad, Won't His Majesty, The Emperor, speculate that we are behind Ambroise death? We are the ones who gain the most from his demise. After all, the Emperor is already aware of the internal dispute within the Duke family."
The older man waved his hand as if to dismiss his worries. "His Majesty already knows we are behind this but it's crucial to have evidence before he can bring us to the court. Besides, many nobles belonging to the upper classes have assisted us. They surely will not allow a trial if they don't want their dirty secrets exposed."
The two, father and son, shared a laugh, full of malice and greed, unaware that someone had ear-dropped their whole exchange.
DABRIA FOREST
Haru was still in a daze from yesterday's events. He didn't know how to react to the revelation that Mr. Ambroise would not leave him alone. Instead, he planned to take him to his own home!
Haru had endured a lot since birth. Born to a 21-year-old girl who had just started to spread her wings to fly in the vast sky. The one who made her pregnant had washed his hands off her immediately after hearing the news. With no money for an abortion, she chose to keep him.
Haru vividly remembered his early years when she had tried to be a good mom, asking about his day, how it went, what were his marks, and other typical questions for a mother of a 5-year-old child. However, things started to change. By the age of 7, his mother started going out for dates. Initially, she returned home before dinner however, when she saw that he was able to take care of himself, she started coming after midnight or sometimes not at all. When she did return, she would bring boys with her, and without even looking at him, she would drag them to her room.
Haru had always been uncomfortable with them, he felt scared and his body would tremble because, on more than one occasion, those men had beaten him.
While his mother had cared in the beginning, she soon found him bothersome. She felt that her life had become like this because of him. She yelled abuse at him and stated reasons that if he didn't exist, she would not have to work such long hours and could enjoy her life.
Their relationship became strained and as time went on, haru tried to impress his mother by coming first in school, but there was no praise for him, rather it was just blatant ignorance. Haru was neglected and abused, by strangers and by his own mother, that he started doubting if he was even wanted in this world.
After coming to this strange world, having found that his situation was too similar to the previous owner of this body and having accepted the same fate in this world too, Ambroise, like an angel sent from heaven and the man he coincidentally saved, was the only person he had ever been this close to, in both the world and the only person he found himself desperately clinging to the figure who cared about him, worried about him, kept him warm at chilly night and provides him security, taking care if he had eaten enough and maybe even loved him.
In such a short time, Haru had come to view Ambroise as a father figure. He never had a father in both the world so he didn't have any experience of what defines a father but in his previous world, whenever he saw his classmates (especially girls) telling stories about their father, he felt that Ambroise fit the definition of a father.
He played with him, smiled when he did some stupid antics, got strict when he did something dangerous and comforted him when he had a nightmare. There were many things that Ambroise did for him and now that Ambroise had promised to take him to his home, Haru genuinely wanted to live with the man and have fun together.
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