Chapter 2: The Only Daughter

The house was buzzing with gossips from the servants as soon as the announcement happened. Who would’ve thought that the duke who loved their duchess would bring home an illegitimate child? They were a picture of a perfect and loving family but a child from another woman was suddenly accepted in the manor.

“Father, what nonsense is that?” Alexander, the eldest son of the duke, slammed the table.

They were having a family dinner when the duke announced that he brought home his daughter from a maid and that the child was living in the annex.

“Mind your manners, Xander,” Duchess Stephanie von Fiore, said in an elegant but stern manner before she turned to the duke. “Ali, I won’t question your actions like how I did before. But is it true that the child was a little girl?”

“Yes, Steph. The reason why I kept her here was that she had the distinct traits of a Fiore.”

The boys looked glum when they heard their father. Just how strong were the Fiore genes on the child to make their father keep her hidden from the world?

“How does she look, father?” Alexandric, the youngest, asked.

“Silver gray hair and silver eyes that could sparkle gold under the sun.”

Everyone in the dining room fell silent when they heard how the duke described her. His words were the exact description of a Fiore. Those who inherited the perfect Fiore genes could inherit the title just like their father.

Alexander clenched his fists. “What are your reasons for keeping her, Father?”

He knew that his champagne-gray hair wasn’t enough to be considered as the heir. He was just lucky that his younger brothers have darker shades of gray compared to him so he was announced as the successor. So if a child was born with the same hair color as his father, wouldn’t he change his mind about who should succeed him?

“Stop overthinking, Xander. I kept her because she was a daughter.” Alejandro said with a straight face. “Having a daughter in this family was very rare so I was intending to keep her as a rare existence that she is… away from the eyes of others.”

Though their father assured them that the child was nothing more than a rare object to be kept hidden from the world, they still couldn’t keep their peace of mind unless they meet the child. As soon as the dinner was over, the boys went to the annex to meet their so-called youngest sister.

“Are you still worried about her, Xander?” Alexandrei, the second son, asked his older brother.

“Why would I be worried over a ten-year-old child’s existence?” Xander scoffed. “Are you excited to have a younger sister, Andrei?”

Andrei chuckled then his face turned serious. “Why would I want a bastard sister?”

“Father should’ve just disposed of her in a faraway kingdom. She felt more like a bad omen than a rare blessing,” Alexandric mumbled.

The brothers stopped in front of the annex door. It was just an old house with three rooms made for excess food supplies once the storage house was full. But now, it would be a home of a little brat who forced her way into the family.

“Are you ready to meet her, brothers?” Alexandric smirked as he pushed open the door of the annex.

“Young masters? What are you doing here in the annex?” A maid asked in surprise when she saw the sons of the duke walking around the annex.

“We came here to meet our sister,” Andrei said with an innocent smile.

“But the duke said not to let anyone here,” the maid looked at the ground.

“Are we just anyone?” With authority in his voice, Xander asked. Everyone knew that Xander already held authority as the successor despite his young age.

“No, of course not. Please follow me, I’ll lead you to the young lady.”

Xander hid his grim expression when he heard the maid utter the word lady. There was never a lady in the Fiore family’s history so if the little girl was trying to deceive them, he would personally cut her head.

“Young lady, your brothers came to visit you,” the maid said after knocking.

They heard light footsteps from the inside and after a few seconds, the door opened and it revealed a little girl with the same hair color as their father and clear gray eyes. She had long eyelashes and a pointed nose. Her cheeks were also flushed naturally which highlighted her snow-white skin that looked like she hadn’t been allowed to go under the sun.

“Brothers?” Her voice trembled as she looked up to see the faces of her brothers.

Just as expected, the looks they gave her weren’t that welcoming. It was the same as the duke’s eyes when he told her that she was his daughter. There was no warmth in their eyes, just curiosity, and contempt.

Truthfully, she wanted to escape but she couldn’t. She opened the door wider to allow her brothers to enter but she didn’t know what to do next so she just stood there waiting for them to order her around.

“What are you doing there?” Andrei asked as the three of them sat on the couch.

“I’m sorry.” She immediately walked towards them and prepared tea for them.

“What are you doing right now?” It was Alexandric’s turn to ask when they saw how the girl squatted to reach the teacups on the shelf at the side of the room.

“I’m preparing tea for the young masters,” she mumbled with her head down. She didn’t want to offend them in any way and she would just live a quiet life in that house.

“That’s not what you should be doing.” Xander’s calm voice was heard as he patted the space beside him. “Sit here, child.”

Like the obedient child that she was, Seraphina walked and sat beside Alexander. Her eyes were still on the ground as she clasped her hands to prevent them from shaking.

“Do you know who you are?” Xander asked.

Sera nodded. “Seraphina… von Fiore.” She felt ashamed to add the name of the house that she suddenly took her in.

“That’s right, dear sister,” Alexander smirked, his voice sounded threatening, and his hand touched the ends of her hair. “You are the only daughter who was born alive in this family. So I hope that you would live as quiet as you could be.”

“Yes,” she said, teary-eyed and afraid of what was about to come. Would he slap her? Would they confine her in that place and starve her to death? Would they beat her for every mistake that she would make?

If she just knew about the family that her father belonged to, she wouldn’t dare find him. The Fiore family was much worse than the merchant whom her mother worked for.

“Say it again?” Xander’s voice gave her goosebumps. She didn’t like how cold and frightening he was.

“I promise that I will live quietly here.” She closed her eyes tightly when Xander lifted his hand. She was expecting the pain in her cheek but she only felt the hand wiping her tears. She flinched as she continued talking, “I will live as if I am non-existent here.”