Chapter Text
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦.
Conrad was always without a name. He had memories from earlier lives. His previous lives were relatively uneventful, with the exception of the time he was tortured and hanged as punishment for his relative's crimes. In one, he was a slave and was acknowledged by the number on his neck. In another, he was an orphan abandoned by his parents who took one look at him and left him in some shack. Now, it appears as though Conrad, his short name, is the sum total of all his luck. He would undoubtedly cherish his name in this life and survive through the age of 10 years! Starting with the parents who would cherish him, much like the families he witnessed when he was sold from home to home, he would do everything he was capable of. He was determined; he was going to give the parents who didn't abandon him on a random street all the love he could fit into his tiny frame. Athanasia, a little ray of joy, appeared to share the same idea, but it was okay! She was his older sister, according to the maids.
He has always desired a sister, therefore he will cherish her as well! He would make everyone smile just like his big sister Athy did, starting with the father who never once looked at him! He also wanted to speak with her, but she now has new maids, who were obviously chosen by their caring father. Conny is confident that his father will provide him the same eventually! He was prevented from interacting with his older sister by the exact same maids. Well, Conny is used to people keeping him from interacting with others, so he will be perfectly all right.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵
Conrad has now become 7 years old, two years older, and wiser. He had knowledge that most people wouldn't have. Still refusing to look at him, his father showed no concern in the event of his kidnapping. Thank goodness Sir Felix was never as heartless as his beloved father. It wasn't when the captor had gripped his throat or when they nearly sliced out his eyeballs that caused him to feel miserable; instead, it was when he knew his father wouldn't look for him even if he went missing for days on end. The tears in his eyes dried as he experienced a never-before-experienced level of chest pain, and he felt utterly alone. He disregarded Felix's worried voice when it questioned him about his wellbeing. Alright? Felix, do I look alright? The red-haired knight appeared startled by the laugh that sprang from his throat.
It was her, Athanasia. He is absolutely sure that she acquired all of Father's love. From the previous madame he used to serve, he witnessed how the patriarch's attention was completely consumed by the new mistress. His ears picked up the madame's nearly crazy voice as she mumbled about how the bitch had stolen her husband's affection and made her feel irrelevant. Athanasia was the same; she is the skank who occupied all of his father's emotional space. Wasn't it simply reasonable that he follow this example? Take everything she had stored in her generous heart in the form of love and remove it. She was a saint, and saints love many, many people. He'll ruin the little saint everyone has been looking after.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴
His father is a high-ranking man, thus the emperor's palace gates are exquisite and appropriate for him; this shows how important he is to this empire. He is standing next to his father's beloved child. She had plans to visit the palace as well, and her eyes were puffy, presumably from crying. She was devastated to learn that Ces had been killed. With that in mind, Conrad suppressed a crooked smirk and pretended to be worried about his biological sister. "Sister, are you-"
𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦
When the gates opened to reveal their father, whose dazzling hair and glistening eyes were truly a sight to behold, he was unable to speak. Conrad questioned whether he resembled his father. "Dad-" "Daddy!" He never even had a chance to finish his father's name since his overly ecstatic sister rushed to her father's arms for comfort as soon as she heard the gate open. He never released the grip on her head, despite his request for Athanasia to stop crying since it was annoying. After granting him one brief glimpse, his father, no, Claude, told the gatekeeper to shut it as he left holding the precious Athanasia. "Dad..?"
𝘋𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘰𝘰, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦