Chapter 1: Start
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thud.

uwieekk! Three.

thud

uweek! kwuie! Four

thud. Five

The boar finally stopped struggling after being hit by the fifth arrow.

Gailard approached it and analyzed the wounds on its body. Two hits on its stomach, one on its ear, another one on it's hind leg and a clean shot through right side of its head. One missed. As expected, this result was really ...

"Disappointing." He concluded it as such. The areas he wanted to precisely hit were missed by a lot.

"This body still needs a lot of work." It hasn't been half a year since he came to this world.

He was hunting for food since this body needed a lot of nourishment to improve. Relying on that estate's people was useless as he wasn't favored so he could only use such means to feed himself. In that estate, Gailard was a child that barely existed and was treated even lower than a low class servant.

The reason for this was how the lord of the estate, Matias von Froid highly valued women which was why Gailard, who's mother had long passed away had been forgotten. 

The women that entered this household was plenty and fought hard to win the Lord's attention no matter what. Their internal strife continued as more women were invited into his debauchery and this resulted to children being born and die mysteriously caused by underhanded means.

The Lord himself was entertained by this and had no intentions on stopping them. Rather, a few weeks back, when two of his women openly fought during a party held within the estate, he gave each a knife and declared. 'the last remaining will entirely gain my affection for 13 days. Whatever you ask, I will grant you."

The result? One died and the other happily scarred the dead woman's face in glee.

Gailard did not wish to mix himself into that mess and hid his presence as much as possible. That was why although life within the forest was comfortable, he still needed to return since him frequently missing would arouse unwanted attention.

At the moment, he needed to lay low. Matias von Froid loved violence and treated his own sons as enemies, using the excuse of how in the future, one or a few might stir up rebellion.

To avoid that, his twisted mind had decided to execute the disobedient ones before they reach adulthood at 20 or to take hostages to keep them tame. This story wasn't a rumor but real as this was a confession told by his 4th son, Mathew, who escaped death by running away to the enemy country and was now aiding the crown prince.

He needed to be strong. As fast as he could.

So he could assassinate him.

In the beginning, he didn't bother dirty his hands with the man's blood but now, circumstances changed.

He skillfully skinned the boar and stored whatever could be kept into the cave that he's been using as a hideout. The former resident on this cave was a big snake who had long been consumed in his stomach. That monster was tough to deal with since it wasn't an average snake but a monster that had a crystal-like core embedded inside their head.

This crystal-like core would help him gain in the future but now is not the right time to integrate with it.  It was a long hard-fought battle but the spoils that he received was enough to make him smile.

Returning to the estate, what awaited him was dinner time. There were three tables inside the dining hall. Two were beautifully carved while the other was shabby. It was easy to understand where he was supposed to sit. 

Food was served and the difference in treatment had a stark contrast. The not-favored were eating porridge with hard bread today while the favored were about to enjoy a full course.

Everyone who shared the same table were furious, salivating and about to just pounce the other table. The 19th son, Julio who was only six years old was too hungry that he went up to them and openly stared at their food. Recently, his mother who newly entered the harem was slowly rising in favor which made the current favored feel threatened.

It wasn't just their mothers who were fighting but also the children under them and when the little kid approached, he was then pushed away by a child who seemed to only be a year or two older than him. 18th son, Pandel.

"You're dirty! Back off!"

"hik! ... uwah! ahh!" Julio started crying and the not-favored sons hurriedly picked him up, sprinting out of the dining room away from trouble. Everyone else in Gailard's table followed suit, leaving him behind to eat by himself.

Ranking, and the sense of superiority that follows with it. This trait was highly present in this estate, like animals, it became similar to survival of the fittest.

"That dirty ingrate ... coveting my position!" Such words were coming from a child less than 10 yet here he was, listening to it.

"Pandel, don't worry. My mother and yours are close and they won't let that brothel whore and her son share our table."  12th son, Randol promised him.

"You! You still dare to not leave?!" Being alone in a big table made Gailard stood out. When they reprimanded him, he silently lowered his head and walked out. The favored ones felt a slight chill on their skin the longer they looked at him. They did not know why but that fading back felt so ... pressuring.

Similar. The feeling was similar to their Father's ...

They only thought of this for a split second before they shook their heads and started laughing. This idea was so ridiculous that Randol leaned onto the table to support him up as he was cracking up too much.

The females who witnessed this act of bullying kept silent. There were those who thought nothing of it, those who frowned in dislike since they couldn't eat in peace and a rare few were about to cry either in sadness or anger.

A blond haired girl sneakily wrapped a sandwich on her handkerchief and gracefully left her seat.

"Gilly? Where are you going?" The brunette who seemed to be close to her asked.

"I want to walk outside. I'm not hungry."

"I'm coming with you-" Gilly smiled at her and shook her head. Seeing that, she didn't push it and sat back and started conversing with her sisters since Gilly running off by herself wasn't strange at all.

Gilly gracefully walked the halls like a little lady but when she made sure that no one was looking, she lifted her dress and started sprinting into the direction where a certain person left.

On top of a tree was Gailard who looked as if he was asleep.

She took off her shoe and lightly threw it up for it to land on his stomach. When it did, he looked down and saw her grinning widely while wildly waving her hand to catch his attention.

"Brother! Help me up! Help me up!" At this, he could only sigh and drop down only to carry this extra weight and jump up again.

Gillane von Froid, his sister from the same mother and the child who was bought into the world in exchange for their mother's life.

"Here!" She took the sandwich from her pocket and directly put it on his hand.

In this rotten estate, this body ... no, he who is now Gailard von Froid had a precious little sister.

"Thank you."

Because of her, things got a little too complicated.

If sons were meant to be killed, daughters were raised to be sold off and used for transactions.

She was the reason why the assassination of Matias von Froid became inevitable.

"Didn't I tell you to not come see me for a while?" If someone were to see them together, him trying to disappear from the front stage would be in vain.

The children in this estate were all siblings and the hierarchy had reached to a point where some had forgotten who was who's child anymore. And since the females were being separated from the males, other than the favored ones, no one cared if a female was siblings with a not-favored male since it didn't determine their worth at all.

A female's worth laid on their beauty, character and the way they represented themselves and Gilly belonged to the top.

If Gailard who was frail had a beauty similar to a pretty girl, what do you think Gillane who is an actual girl would look like?

"But I haven't talked to you for months! Brother, are you even thinking of me at all?" Air filled her cheeks resembling a chipmunk and he couldn't help but poke it with his fingers.

"You know how it is between us. Brother can't protect you at the moment so you need to be a good girl over there. Didn't I explain it to you?"

"Whatever, all I understood is that you don't want to talk to me!"

"Gilly ..." troubled, Gailard could only pat his long wavy blond hair that felt fluffy to the touch.

"...but I really just missed you ... " Her sad look could make anyone unable to resist and comfort her. When she grows up, the 7 year old Gilly was sure to become a stunning beauty.

"Brother is sorry."

"You should be sorry! I was lonely!"

"Yes, Yes." He willingly resigned and agreed. Gilly reached out to pat his now short hair that he cut himself. The length was uneven yet was far more better than the bob cut before. The contours of his face was now easy to see, the thick brows can now be spotted, the ears out in the open and eyes were now brighter than before.

"My brother is so handsome! hehe~" she slightly tugged on his hair and didn't let go.

His little sister played with his hair for a while but then the brunette girl's voice was heard, shouting her name to look for her.

"Sherly ..." She wanted to spend more time but then Gailard already carried her down and slightly pushed her forwards, telling her to go.

"I'll see you again soon."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He grabbed his little sister's hand and wrapped her pinky with his to seal it.

"This is a promise." The girl's voice was getting closer and closer so she hurriedly hugged her older brother tight and kissed his cheek.

"Brother bye! bye!" The small thing looked as if she was hopping away, adding an extra cuteness to her walk. 

Now that the day was almost over, Gailard thought of sneaking out and training tonight too.

"I need to work harder than this morning." Her precious little sister's life and freedom was on the line.

 

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