Chapter 56 - Cain's background POV

When I was young, I knew I was privileged. Some may call it different, and others may find it an eyesore. But to me, it was my regular.

Mother taught me early on that I had so much more than others and that I should always use those around me to my advantage because having more meant losing more. And I should always keep that in mind.

She taught me chess from a young age, and I had grasped the idea of it so well she had praised me. But it didn't end there. From then on, she taught me to apply it to my surroundings.

To understand who were pawns, who were knights, and who held the most power. It must've been strange for a noblewoman to teach such strategic mannerisms to a child, but that didn't occur to me at the time. All I knew was that my mother presented me with a perspective that I should lead my life with.

My mother, to most, was known for her beauty and her knowledge. She was a woman of mixed heritage, part of the Jehan Empire and our Empire, the Aldrich Empire. So her knowledge of culture had always been quite broad, but of course, to my father, she was just a woman who would bear him a sire.

After she did, he paid her little mind and wrote me off as in her care. That was why I couldn't see him as much of a father figure as a stranger. If I had learned anything from my young years, it would be that the younger the child is, the bigger the impression you can make on them.

So I clung to my mother. Learning strategies and perspectives, I would always apply to those around me.

I realized later that the reason my mother taught me such things wasn't to help me survive the nobility. It was so I could be of use to my father. So he would see her potential through me. Because at least he could see me.

My mother was very much obsessed with my father. It was strange to see since I couldn't see why she would like such a man.

She wouldn't praise him. No mention of his intellect or beauty. She wouldn't tell me his extraordinary achievements. No. Nothing at all.

She would stare at his portrait in a daze. She would watch him whenever she could. Talk to him if he allows her.

That was why I noticed so late.

I was barely five when I was formally introduced to the two young girls who would become my closest companions.

The maid, a friend of mother's, was a beautiful woman. She could be compared to an Angel. Funnily enough, she had a daughter my age who looked the same.

A beautiful blonde-haired Angel with wide green eyes. I was drawn to her instantly and wanted to become friends. Back then, I hadn't noticed the quieter girl standing beside her—the eldest child.

She didn't speak much back then. The hand never strayed from her little sister's shoulder. But she had that sharp glint on her eyes. The one that dared anyone to approach.

"These are your new friends Cain. Treat them well" mother smiled at them. She would later explain that they weren't my friends at all. The maid was a pawn of my mother's. A crucial pawn, she would remind me. And I should keep them close because I was still building my chess pieces. My army of people loyal to me. People are loyal to her…

My first target was Angela. Mother was pleased with this, as was Angela's mother. I noticed they seemed to couple me and Angela together. Saying we would grow up beautifully and make a fine pairing.

At that age, I didn't understand what any of that meant. But I liked Angela, so it didn't bother me much.

Angela was as sweet as she looked. She was kind to others, and at times she was a handful, but nobody reprimanded her. She made it easier to get away with the pranks we played on the maids.

It was a while later when I noticed the older sister for the first time.

She was crouched down in the first winter snow. Her body curled as she stared solemnly at the ground. She wore shoes that were more suitable for summer than winter. And her clothes were unfit for the weather, even by a servant's standard.

But nobody noticed. Nobody seemed to care.

Angela, who was warmly clothed, was making a snowman. I was more interested in searching for the animals that had disappeared and wondered where on earth they went to sleep for the winter when I had noticed her.

It was the reason I didn't realize Angela had aimed a snowball at me, which hit me on my arm. But what Angela hadn't learned was that there was a rock in the snowball she had thrown at me.

I hadn't even realized myself until I felt a sharp pain and began to whimper.

It was then that it happened. She had jumped towards me. Grabbed the arm that had begun to bleed and quickly clamped snow on it.

"W-What are you doing?!" I cried at her.

She hadn't ever spoken to me.

"You're hurt. I'm trying to stop the bleeding, so you don't get sick", she explained as she started to wrap a bandage around my arm. She had hidden it in her pockets, it seemed.

For a moment, I watched her wrap the small wound as if she was performing the most stressful job ever, and then I asked.

"But why?"

She gave me a surprised face and then she smiled. That smile made me feel strange.

"Because you're my master".

"I am?"

She nodded.

"Yes. So I'll always be ready to help if you need it".

It was the first time I felt that feeling. The only time. That moment was when I realized I had someone in the palm of my hand. Someone who would listen to everything I say. Someone who would obey my every command.

A pawn…

After that, I had asked her to do a range of tasks. She would do everything. No questions asked. It was funny to watch.

Mother had noticed what I was doing and praised me, but I couldn't have cared less. For the first time, someone was mine—my property.

I noticed that the girl who was usually quiet and only stepped in to take care of her sister would now speak to me. Speak to me like she did her sister and take care of my every need. She would do it without any questions asked.

But, sometimes, if Angela called for her, she would look away for long enough for me to feel annoyed. She was mine. Not Angela's. I began to dislike Angela because she was the reason I experienced jealousy for the first time.

I noticed quite a few things when I started paying attention to the other sister. I saw Angela was always pampered with attention from her mother, but Isabelle was rarely looked at. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to her.

My mother would often admire her face, saying it resembled her father's. And that would make her smile. I loved that rare smile. I was finding myself smiling when I caught sight of it.

At some point, mother had given me a warning. One I found strange and uncalled for.

"Do not get too attached to those girls", she spoke to me one day.

"I am not mother", I answered in confusion. Why was it wrong?

"Treat them like family, but remember they are not. They are only tools to help you get to where you want to stand".

I had nodded. I had understood. I wasn't attached, not at all. At least, I was convinced I wasn't.

When the girl's mother passed away, mother had begun indeed training them into maids. I had hated it. The feeling of something I thought I had complete control of. Something that belonged entirely to me was being jeopardized. And slowly, I had begun to acquire a dislike for even my mother.

It wasn't until much longer that I realized I was pretty similar to the one I called mother.

"Recount the training mother put Isabelle and Angela through, Naomi" I flipped through an o;d journal of my fathers regarding the land.

Naomi, visibly uncomfortable, began to recite every aspect of the training. She had become another one of my pawns and one that proved very fruitful. It helped to have the person who ban the manor as your eyes, although the way I gained such a person was through the low means of blackmail.

I had discovered that the head maid had been having an affair with father. It was kept well under wraps. Barely noticeable or even detectable. The way I had discovered it was accidental. I had been exactly where I was least expected at a time when I should've been in my lessons.

Mother always had a nasty reputation of disposing of fathers... toys.

So here we are.

"I believe mother is being much too harsh" I mused with a frown, "Make sure to force Isabelle to take a break. Knowing her she might work herself dry just to prove her worth. Angela usually plays hooky regardless so nevermind her".

I only ever saw Isabelle in the morning when she helped me out of bed to get dressed and at night when I would have her read a book to me. I didn't need the book to be read to me at all. I just wanted to listen to her voice. Her soft breath. Her fingers would softly and secretly play with my hair. A warm feeling tugging at my heart.

I knew she enjoyed them too. My bed was certainly big enough for both of us. Before she began training she would even doze off with me, but now, her body was always rigid as if she didn't dare to relax. Another thing I blamed mother for.

When I discovered that she and Angela had been sleeping in the kitchen storage cupboards I had marched up to my mother and demanded they be given rooms. She did no such thing and instead lectured me for the next five hours.

"You are becoming too attached". The words repeat for the hundredth time.

"Nobody should be sleeping in such conditions! They could get sick!" I could feel the heat radiating from my body. The trembling to contain it.

"They are slaves!" she shouted and slapped me so hard the knights outside stepped in.

I held my cheek, staring up at the woman I was constantly seeking approval from with such reproaching anger. I could envision myself slicing her neck in half. Tearing her limb by limb. It was the first time I had such a violent thought. Such need to hurt someone.

I hadn't gone through with it of course.

I would never physically hurt my mother.

No.

Not when I had so many other means of doing it.