2 Chapter 2

She was a bit flustered to move. She could not even move an inch. Only watching her father helplessly.

"Elizebeth! Come here." Called her father without turning to her. Just continuously cut the steak.

With the command, she ran straight to her father without hesitation. Even though she hated to be in that position, such measurement was necessary to put a stop to their persistence.

Her father picked her up and put her on top of his laps. All her meal placement changed instantly. All her gourmet utensils were put within her reach.

"No fight. Demien, you are the oldest, teach the youngsters our table manners. Kyle, I am utterly disappointed with you. Indulf! Stop whining." With the short called out, no one dared to pick their head up. Solemnly eat their food.

His father surely understood each of their personalities. Demien was a prideful son. He was Mr. Know-it-all. He learned all the heritage of the family when he was four, took the sword right after he learned to hold things, was a fair leader once the responsibility upon him. His personality is a bit similar to his father. A bit too much.

Whereas Kyle was a calm kid with a keen eye. He was not as active as his brother but his achievement could not be taken lightly either. He was the smartest son in the family, surpassing his brother even his father sometimes. Despite the odds, he idolized The Duke too much. The son was wagging his non-existent tail when his father praised him for anything. Anything.

Indulf, true to his name, was a wild child without caring for all sorts of dos and don'ts. He was too in love with sword and knight career which forced his father to admit him into the lion den as early as five-year-old. The child has never stayed at home and has an open personality. It was crystal clear what he hates and the likes.

But the unity of the family was because of her; Elizebeth. The last child in the house. The only daughter in the house as if her existence was a joy to all of them. Like it or not, she was the reason why this house was full of life now.

Okay.

Let's stop and take a step back for a little. This was not a simple story one should tell without a proper introduction. Let's have a proper background story before we continue the story.

First of all, her name was not Elizebeth even far for being a proper girl. Her name was Olivia. Typical? Yes, it was a typical name, leave her alone. She was a healthy young adult girl who fell into a deep sleep after she digested sleeping pills to help her sleep.

She didn't understand the transition to be in this world but she clearly did not understand why she was here and surely didn't expect to be an infant child as soon as she opened her eyes back. Mind blow! The slander.

"Dada... dada... dada... " She gasped.

The first word after she opened her eyes to a foreign place. Her whole complexion went pale. What was that? What she wanted to say was completely different from what she uttered. Feels like some devil work cast a wicked spell to destroy her self-esteem. What did she do to deserve such punishment? She was a poor diligent kid who worked hard to be a rich woman soon.

Sometimes she prayed to God too hard for the smooth sailing but! She didn't expect this type of occurrence or help. This was a fault play and cheating. She needed her old life back and she liked to pay the rent using her blood sweat and tears, earning.

At first, she genuinely thought she was in some sort of dream. However, the idea dissipated overtime when she continuously woke up with the same body and meeting the same faces unwillingly. She gave up the idea entirely soon after.

Yet, the hardest issue she needed to overcome was his name. The first time she saw her father, she could not stop drooling (well she was a newborn baby). Her father was handsome. Maybe the most handsome face she saw in the region, call it bias.

She was a sensible woman who appreciated a fine product when it was presented. Her father was indeed the finest specimen ever. Marvelous.

Her father was Brice, The Duke of Shar city, and her mother was Marliene, The Duchess of Shar. They had a normal husband and wife relationship. Not too excessive but not too moderate. Her mother was a busy woman, the center in lady society. She almost had no time for her children.

Though she didn't dwell on the fact as much. She'd rather no one pay attention to her, well it was her tiny small wishful thinking. As the youngest daughter and the only daughter of the house, no one ever dared to leave her alone. Not even her bothersome brothers.

She was a few months old when her father started to call her real name rather than 'my princess.' And it was the corniest name ever. Like she screamed to rebuke the name. She needed to know how and why their parents ever thought about the overly girlie name.

Oh. My. God.

Her infant self mumbled quite actively to deny the name but what could a mere baby do? They just interpreted her desperate gibberish word as something positive and just nodding in a wide smile, though his father didn't change his expression.

"Elizebeth."

"Elizebeth."

"Elizebeth."

Arrggghhhh shut up with Elizebeth, Elizebeth. She was honestly tired of overly girly names, but it seems her father was too in love with the name. Sometimes the tiny smile radiated shine to her eyes when their eyes met deliberately.

"Elizebeth," called him again for how many times she could not remember. It was at one point where she'd given up for the title.

Her father sometimes dropped by her playground and attentively picked her up to spend quality time together. The rigid man was a bit at ease when he was with her. She could sense it. Though it was a rare sight for her father to meet her, it did happen. The news said The Duke was never this attentive during her brother's time. Surely, she was his father's favorite.

"Elizebeth." Called her father softly. His hand caressed her tiny back body. His eyes were so tender. She sometimes replied in gibberish, sometimes stared at her father straight in the eye in furious eyes (which her father interpreted as overly giddy eyes).

And more than often, her brothers hovering at her place doing whatever they wanted to do. At first, her brothers met her for the sake of overflowing curiosity, as time went by, they came by just to play with her, and the rivalry between siblings sparked, ever since, in a way was she the revolutionary of the house now?

It was one fine day when the three of them came to her at once, craving her attention at the same time. From there, they would do anything to attract her attention. It was a tiresome event, not for them but her though. Even the eldest brother was full of rivalry. Give her some break, please.

Two years later, he learned about his father's real self. The man was not what he was portrayed in front of her. He was the ruler that no one rather talked not because of respect, it was out of fear.

Nobody dared to risk their life for simple gossip about the Shar Family. His presence alone gave people pause. He exuded an imposing presence that suppressed others. It was the composure of the strong and sure the ruler's dignity. Without her presence, most of the time, his face was stoic.

On the battlefield, he was the finest leader one could ask for. He was like a hungry lion hunting for the best food. Slaying one another to another while grinning widely, clean-cut all the enemy without bothering the aftereffect.

He was a reckless man without care for all the danger, yet it was probably the reason how they won all the battle. There's never a single war they lost with or without him.

Despite that, however, he was a beautiful creation.

Her mother was a woman with a sweet word but a sharp tongue if one provoked. She rarely needed to raise her voice to anyone, only her cynical smile and words could put her people in the right place.

She was often the center of attention in any tea party or any circle. The way her mother held herself was admirable enough, put people at their toes sometimes. Her eyes were not for decoration, she knew enough to see, and her mouth knew the right word to say.

Even though her father was a reckless person, her mother however had a massive dignity in everything she did. It was like her presence was to cover up her father's loopholes in a way, they resembled each other in handling people.

Moved on to the brothers. Each one of them surely had a concerning attitude. The first is a bit similar to her father though a bit calm. He excelled in both academy and martial arts or sword fighting.

The second brother was a split image of her mother. Even the calm demeanor and also sharp tongue. The academy was his forte.

The third one was an active kid. He has participated in knight training and sword fighting since he was three. The boy was too fascinated by the sword and too passionate about it.

All three of them, however, had their fair share of troubles that no one dared to blame. Each had their mischievous side that even their parents had to overlook sometimes. They'd rather their child made trouble openly on the outside than inside. It was tiresome to see their children misbehave inside the house.

To both parents, it's better to deal outside as they see their children outside often compared to inside the house. To them, the house was only the shelter to sleep but, all of that, happened way before she was born.

And now, everyone was more than eager to return home even before it was the due time. All just to meet that green round eyes, cute cheek, and tiny creature. And days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into years. And now, it was five years later where she already accepted her fate.

To be fair, her family was not evil or had a hidden agenda. They were just too loose compared to the rest of society. They were bold to show their bad behavior openly as they showed their good deeds. It's all to brag to people that they could do as much without getting any punishment in public. To instill fear within everyone.