𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐓𝐘 ━ 𝚠𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚙.

Chapter 15.

15一 and his smile was but a mortuary promise

༻𖥸༺

ROHAN ILLARIS BANAFRIT HAS NEVER been a social person, a lonely child by nature and a solidary teenager by circumstance, and he was content with remaining outside of the social circles in the capital一 but it seemed that his father was of a different opinion.

As a twelve year old, Rohan was considered a bright child, if a bit rambunctious, but that wasn't an issue, as control has been, quite literally, beaten into him.

From a young age, Rohan has been hailed as a budding swordsmaster, his ability to grow and evolve recognised by foreign and local teachers alike.

With burning orange hair and eyes of a ripe green, Rohan was the carbon copy if his mother, Grand Duchess Illya Rosalia Banafrit, down to the delicately feminine features.

(Pity the duchess never saw her child grow.)

Three years after his mother's death, the Grand Duke remarried a woman from a baron household and brought both her and her daughter in the dukedom.

To say that Rohan absolutely abhorred the two of them was an understatement.

He never blamed his father for his remarriage, given that it was imposed upon him by the attendants of their house to have a lady, so there was no love lost with the case of Lady Anne Orthopta.

Though, while the newly-appointed Duchess was trying her damnest to fill in the shoes of Lady of the House and not bring shame upon the family, her daughter was a different discussion entirely.

Cassiopeia, or 'Cassie' for short ("Just call me Cassie. We're family now."), was a giant pain in the ass of an older sister, and Rohan didn't mean it in a fond-but-exasperated way. No. She was insufferable in every aspect and the very definition of the metaphor.

It was as if she'd made it her life's decision to step on all of his nerves and insert herself in every situation that required important decision-making about his future.

Rohan wasn't the most patient person out there, he could swallow his words and smile, but that never lasted for long, and after an incident where he almost made the rash decision of hiring someone to get rid of Cassiopeia, the Duchal Heir found a new appreciation for his father.

Had it not been for him, Rohan was sure he would have already killed his stepsister, either directly or indirectly.

So, when on a cool autumn's evening his father asked him to accompany him to the Imperial Palace, Rohan threw out his reservations about human interaction and eagerly accepted the opportunity.

(They both knew that he wanted to get away from Cassie, though neither one commented on it.)

At twelve years old, Rohan Illaris Banafrit, heir of the Grand Duke and swordsmaster-in-training, entered the capital, unaware that he'd leave it with a newfound excitement for life.