3: Seraphine Kantheus

After a week it became very clear that Seraphine Kantheus was not a loved child.

Although she had been sick to the point of a doctor telling the duke that she might not live another day, no relatives came to visit her. Not even a mother or a father figure.

The servants that took care of her did not cherish her either. They came in and cleaned the room and provided meals but left shortly after and kept contact with her to a minimum.

What startled me the most about their lack of care was that none of them said a word to Seraphine. They didn't even offer a greeting to her. They just pretended that she wasn't there and went about their chores.

At a second glance the room I stayed in was not as luxurious as you would expect the child of a prestigious noble family's to be.

The furniture was of good quality but very plain. The room was neat but mainly because there were not many things in the room to begin with. No toys, or paintings or anything a young child would like were in her bedroom.

My only relief from the boredom were visits from the handsome young doctor who came everyday and told me I was improving at a impressive rate. So much so that he was quite baffled. With my improved health his visits became fewer and far between until he declared me completely healthy and told me to take care of my body.

Apparently the child had been sick for most of her five years of life which meant she had barely left her room. But now that I was here I was bent on changing that.

Today was an ordinary day, once again the maids left after doing a quick sweep of my room and served me a lacklustre bowl of porridge, not even bothering to help me get dressed before abandoning their chores and leaving me alone.

I was only a five year old child and yet I was left unsupervised for most of the day. The neglect was rather serious.

I made my way to the closet and picked out one of the few dresses that were there. It was old and a little dusty but it was comfortable enough. I rummaged through some draws to find shoes and socks but couldn't find any.

So I slipped out of my room quietly on bare feet and made my way to the hallway, but I paused when the footsteps and voices of some maids echoed down the hall.

"Its a stain on the family to have a child like that around." The maid said to her friend. The young woman giggled mischievously as she relished in gossiping about her employers affairs.

"I mean it would be different is she was even a little charming. But she's so miserable." She giggled.

I peeked around the corner and recognised the two girls as maids who would come and clean my room occasionally.

"She's five years old but she hasn't spoke a word yet. The duke is probably ashamed that he has a dumb mute for a granddaughter." Despite saying such cruel things about a sick little girl she smiled so brightly. I clenched my fists fighting the urge to step out and tell her that I heard every word she said but even if I did that would she care. I was just the unfavored grandchild of the duke. What actual power did I hold over her?

Their words put things into perspective fit me though. The reason the maids didn't talk to her was probably because Seraphine had never spoken to them.

The pair turned a corner and disappeared from my sight.

Seraphine Kantheus was very pitiable. She was nothing like the other proud Kantheus family members. She was so unloved and disrespected that maids dared to gossip about her at full volume only a few meters from her room.

Was all this disregard because Seraphine was mute? Or was there something else that made her worthy of these people's disdain.

I decided to follow the maids and hopefully hear a little more about their conversation.

This body was a little clumsy but I managed to follow the pair of girls discreetly by hiding behind furniture and curtains.

"A useless thing like her, it's to be expected right?" The girls were back to gossiping again as soon as they entered a large unoccupied room.

The other girl nodded. "Of course." She said. "Even if she's the child of the Master Elio. She's still a bastard."

The pair cackled like hyenas.

It all made sense now. Despite being a Kantheus she was treated like an unwanted child. It didn't make sense at first but the maids cruel words had enlightened me.

Nothing was more important to a noble than bloodline. Of course an illegitimate child would not be treated well. A bastard like Seraphine was destined for a life of hardship in a noble house.

Even in my second chance life I became a child of scorn. My heart sank in my chest thinking about the meaning of 'second chance'.

When I saw myself in the mirror a few weeks ago I was elated to find out that I was part of such a family, but now my future seemed a lot less bright. I would go through the same mocking and torment I went through as Jane Devoe. Maybe even more this time around because I would be forced to run in circles with even more nobles.

I raised my small hand and slapped myself hard across the face. The right side of my face stung and the small pain made me regain my focus. A second chance was a second chance. I wasn't going to be pathetic because it wasn't as nice a second chance as I wanted. I was now Seraphine Kantheus and I would thrive. No more self wallowing.

I stood and thought on all the important things I should remember.

Besides the duke of Kantheus, Amaris Kantheus, I knew of a few others.

There was the famous Lord Ahren Kantheus, the first son of the duke who worked very closely with the emperor and was often part of peace talks with the empire. He was a very strong political figure and the younger version of his father Amaris.

Then there was Lord Weylyn Kantheus who was from a branch family of the Kantheus clan. He was a famous warrior known for slaying a dragon and keeping the borders safe against the monsters.

Lutresia Kantheus was married to one of the emperor's brothers and was admired widely for her beauty and political mastery. She was often an advisor to the emperor.

Lastly I knew Lorcan Kantheus, the duke's youngest son who was a frightfully skilled swordsman and mage who was the head of the imperial knights. He was someone that even I did not want to go up against in a fight.

I don't recall anything about Elio Kantheus. If he was the Duke's son then he should have made a name for himself by now.

I left the room they were cleaning and continued down the quiet hallways. The mansion was so enormous that I quickly got lost in the long halls and endless rooms. At any chance I got, I walked down a flight of stairs and kept turning east towards the direction I had seen the forest.

I finally found myself on the ground floor. There were a lot more servants here, but they were so busy that they did not notice a small child sneak in between them to the open door.

I finally stepped out into the sunlight and saw the blue sky overhead.

To my dismay the forest I had been searching for was not in front of me, but a large hedge garden. A beautiful garden was not a disappointment at all, so I decided to explore.

I happily entered the garden and was quickly lost in a maze of hedges that were much taller than me, but I wasn't scared because of how beautiful it was. Lush green was lightly dusted by the early morning mist that hung over the garden so poetically.

In my life I found that the nobility were generally obsessed with perfection and beauty. So they would always have some type of well mentioned garden under their control. Kantheus was no expcetion, rather they were the perfect example of that rule judging by the beauty and sheer size of this garden.

I walked until I entered a breathtaking rose garden blossoming the most gorgeous blue and white roses I had ever seen.

I skipped over to a bed of them and was about to stroke one their petals when I saw the gleam of metal poking up from the soil in the garden bed. I leaned in a little closer and saw that a magical circle plate had been left in the soil.

I frowned as I deciphered the symbols and recognised the type of magic it would cast. It was a rather grizzly thing to put in a flower bed. The magic worked so that anyone who touched the roses would have their hands catch on fire.

I quickly put my hands back in my pockets and took a step back from the roses. Thankfully I hadn't reached out and touched them before I saw the magic circle.

Only when I stood up straight again did I see the strange shadow cast over me. I spun around and almost jumped out of my skin to see Lorcan Kantheus standing only a few paces behind me.

He glared down at me with light blue eyes that seemed void of any good emotions. He was wearing his imperial knight uniform that made him seem even more intimidating, especially with his dark red cape falling from his shoulders like the fountain of blood I knew he could draw from me at any moment.

"Dark blue hair…" He said, tilting his head to the side while pondering my existence. Even this slight gesture seemed terrifying coming from him.

"And those bright blue eyes. You must be Elio's brat." A flicker of irritation passed through his eyes.

I remained silent while staring up at Lorcan. I wanted to seem brave but really this man shook me to my core.

"I heard from the others that it doesn't talk." He said. "It must be a failed experiment."

I frowned and my anger shoved aside my fear. Was he referring to a child as 'it' and as a 'failed experiment'? Only someone drunk on his owns superiority would be so capable of dehumanising others.

"My name is Seraphine." I informed him and met his harsh gaze with the same amount of heat.

His eyebrow rose to give me an incredulous look. "It speaks." He chuckled. "It even has a name."

This bastard didn't even spare children from his rudeness. I simply glared at him in silent protest.

"It speaks. It has a name. But it has no manners." His gaze became even more haughty. "Even if you are a failed experiment. You should greet me properly if your are living on our land."

When I continued to stare at him his eyes glowed a little bit as if excited by my refusal to comply.

"I'm well within my rights to discipline you if you stray from correct behaviour." He said as he place his hand on the sheathed sword at his belt. He was showing me he had no problem with unsheathing it and giving me a scar to teach me a lesson.

At this time I was simply the bastard child of the mysterious Lord Elio. No one would bat an eyelid for me if I came back with an injury from Lorcan. They wouldn't even care.

I begrudgingly placed my left foot behind my right and pinched the ends of my skirt with my fingers and then dipped into a low curtsey.

"My Lord." It was the curtsey I had learnt at the mage society. It was the way I had to greet to the nobility. Although this body was a little shaky I still pulled it off.

Lorcan let go of his sword and rested his hands at his side. He didn't mock the curtsey so I guessed that he approved of it.

"This garden is not meant for children. Playing here will result in meaningless injury." He said.

In one swift motion he turned on his heal and left down the garden path leaving his blood red cloak to wave me goodbye.

Would I really survive this family with people like Lorcan lurking at every corner tying to make things difficult.

I was born into a family with lots of power, but I had no claim to any of it. What I needed now was to make myself someone that the family found useful. I needed my magic.