The door opened with a soft creak as Cyruz entered the Duke’s office, his boots clicking lightly against the marble floor. His brows drew together in confusion the mont he saw Vivienne and Andrius standing on one side, the air tense, and Millie kneeling in the middle of the room, her head lowered.
His voice ca hesitantly, but respectfully."I am here, Father."
The Duke, standing behind his large desk, arms crossed behind his back, nodded once. His eyes never left Millie as he asked, "Do you know this maid, Cyruz?"
Cyruz blinked, still puzzled, but answered without delay. "Yes, Father. She’s one of my maids for the past three years... the one Axelius took."
The Duke’s brow furrowed sharply. His voice, now tinged with confusion and authority, echoed louder across the room."Took?"
Cyruz let out a quiet breath, lowering his head slightly—not from guilt, but because he expected what was to co. "Yes, Father. Let explain from the beginning... This happened a week ago, three days before Millie began serving Axelius."
He paused, his fists clenched at his sides, jaw tightening. "I heard that Axelius lay his hand in one of my maids."
"What?!"
"Yes father, Axelius slap her."
Millie quickly lifted her head. Her voice was rushed, desperate. "Duke! Young Master Axelius... he didn’t do it out of cruelty. He was teaching a lesson. I—I was talking behind his back. I spoke carelessly. It was my fault."
She lowered her head again, guilt heavy in her tone But Cyruz didn’t let it end there.
"No, Father," he said sharply. "My maid did nothing wrong." He took a step forward, expression unshaken. "She only spoke the truth. She said what everyone knows."
He paused, then added, "The next day, I went to confront Axelius. I didn’t go there to fight—I just wanted him to realize what he did was wrong. I begged him to apologize to Millie..."
His hand clenched into a fist. "But instead of apologizing, he... hurt ."
The Duke’s brows furrowed deeper, his gaze now sharp. "Axelius? That boy is known for being quiet, always in his room or buried in the library. How could this happen?"
Cyruz’s jaw tightened at the disbelief in his father’s voice. He didn’t waver.
"He isn’t the sa anymore, Father. Since he lost his mories he beca a monster!" he said coldly. Then without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve and pulled up the hem of his trousers just enough to show the faint bruises and fading bite marks along his arm and leg. "He bit . He threatened ."
Vivienne shifting uncomfortably while Andrius glanced at the Duke, unsure what reaction to expect.
"He looked at like I was the enemy," Cyruz said through gritted teeth. "That’s not how brothers treat each other, You teach us to have each other back but as an older brother... He needs to learn a lesson, He needs to be punished, Father. If we let this pass, then what happens next?"
Millie’s eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly in panic, but she didn’t dare speak yet.
For a long mont, the Duke said nothing.
He stared at the marks on Cyruz’s skin, but his mind wasn’t on them anymore. His thoughts were swirling—confused, uneasy, and full of questions he had no answers to.
Vivienne stood quietly to the side, her lips pressed in a firm line. Andrius didn’t move either, his sharp eyes darting between the Duke and the two young ones.
"Father!" Cyruz suddenly raised his voice, breaking the silence. "You’ve got to do sothing! Before anyone else gets hurt!"
His desperation was raw now. "You’re the head of this house, and yet you allow soone like him to act however he wants! He’s not even fully a Dravenhart!"
The words hung heavy in the room. Millie’s head shot up and Vivienne’s brows furrowed, and Andrius inhaled sharply, but the Duke... the Duke froze.
Cyruz clenched his fists as he took a step forward, his voice growing louder with each word.
"They said that Axelius... a commoner... she just showed up one day, pregnant—saying she was carrying your child. Saying she was carrying a Dravenhart," he spat, looking directly at his father. "And you, Father, you took pity. You let them stay here, gave them a room, gave them food—but never once, not once, have you ever said it out loud."
His eyes shifted sharply to Vivienne and Anrius "Right, big sister? Big brother?"
Neither Vivienne nor Andrius spoke. But their silence said everything. The way Vivienne’s hand curled slightly at her side and Andrius’s shoulders stiffened.
It was the truth And Cyruz knew it.
He turned back to his father, voice biting with frustration. "Axelius has had enough pretending to be one of us. Enough pretending to be a Dravenhart! He doesn’t have the red hair of our bloodline! Yeah, maybe he has the sa eyes as you father—but that doesn’t make him like us!"
His voice cracked now, shaking with anger and sothing else—sothing deeper.
"He’s a commoner! A disgrace to the na Draven—"
"Enough."
The Duke’s voice cut through like a blade. Cyruz blinked, startled, his mouth still half-open.
"Fa—"
"I said enough, Cyruz."
This ti, the Duke’s voice rose, not in rage, but with undeniable command. The kind of voice that ended wars and silenced rooms. The kind of voice only a Duke could carry.
Cyruz stood frozen, his mouth shut tight, as if the weight of his father’s authority had pushed all the breath from his lungs.
The Duke slowly rose from his seat. His eyes weren’t warm, but they weren’t cold either. They were filled with sothing far heavier—disappointnt. Sha and a truth he could no longer ignore.
Finally, he spoke.
"...This is all my fault."
The words were soft, but they echoed through the hall like thunder. Vivienne, Andrius, and even Cyruz looked up, startled.
"Father..." they muttered together, their voices low, uncertain. "Axelius... doesn’t deserve this."
Cyruz’s head snapped up, his face twisting in frustration. "He does, Father!" he shouted, taking a step forward. "Please don’t bla yourself. If there’s anyone who should be blad, it’s him! Since the day that woman showed up carrying him, everything changed! Your relationship with Mother began to fall apart!"
He clenched his fists, his words spilling with long-harbored resentnt. "You don’t like him either, right? You’ve never claid him. You hate him too, Father!"
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