The sun seemed to wither the weeds in the West Pavilion courtyard, yet a deadly chill radiated from the ranks of soldiers in silver armor. Amidst the encirclement stood Duke Maxwell Larvin, tall and imposing. His purple hair and eyes, identical to Calian's, glinted with deep-seated hatred.
"Elara!" Duke Maxwell called out, his voice booming and shaking the very air. "What are you doing in this secluded place?"
Duchess Elara took a step forward, standing before Calian and Wolvin with her chin held high. Her beautiful yellow hair caught the sunlight, lending her an aura of unshakeable majesty.
"I am merely visiting my own son!" Duchess Elara answered casually, not the least bit intimidated by her husband's thunderous voice. "Is it a crime for a mother to visit her own flesh and blood?"
Duke Maxwell growled softly. To him, the West Pavilion was a dumping ground, and Elara should not have stained her dignity by setting foot there. "Is he so precious to you, Elara? A child who cannot even awaken a single spark of mana in his body?"
"He is just as precious as my other children!" Duchess Elara replied firmly. Her eyes locked onto Maxwell's purple orbs. "He was born from my womb, my own blood! Something you seem to have forgotten long ago, Maxwell."
As Maxwell prepared to retort, his eyes narrowed as they caught sight of the stranger beside his wife. Wolvin, with his black wolf ears, black hair, and a tail that twitched occasionally in vigilance, was holding Elara's hand protectively.
"Who is that Night Wolf beastfolk? How dare he hold your hand so insolently?" Maxwell's voice thundered again.
Instead of pulling away, Elara drew Wolvin closer and embraced him gently, a gesture rarely shown by a high noble toward the beastfolk race. "This is Wolvin, Calian's wife! As a mother-in-law, it is my duty to love him as my own!"
The atmosphere turned deathly silent. The soldiers held their breath. Duke Maxwell's composure finally shattered. His jaw tightened until the veins in his neck bulged.
"You say he is Calian's wife?" Maxwell uttered, consumed by rage. "No matter how you look at it, he is a man! Have you gone blind, Elara? You allow a son of the Larvin family to marry a male beastfolk of unknown and lowly origin?"
"I know he is a man!" Elara countered just as fiercely. "It is precisely because of him that Calian did not go mad while living here alone in his loneliness! While his own father considered him dead, Wolvin was the one who gave him a reason to live!"
Hearing this, Maxwell no longer cared for Elara. He took long, heavy strides toward Calian. In Maxwell's eyes, Calian was no longer just a 'failed' child, but a rotting disgrace.
"Calian!" Maxwell called in a dangerously low voice. "Do you understand the weight of your actions?"
Calian bowed his head deeply. Not out of fear, but because he was supressing the turmoil within his body to prevent it from exploding prematurely. "I-I understand, Father."
"Then why did you marry a man? You truly disappoint me!" Maxwell spat to the side in disgust. "Not only are you 'empty', but you are also useless trash that should never have existed in this world! You have defiled the purity of the Larvin bloodline!"
Calian remained silent, letting the insults flow over him like water over stone. However, his silence only fueled Maxwell's fury further.
"Tell me! Is it not enough that you have shamed the Larvin name?"
Calian remained mute.
"If you do not answer, I will kill that beastfolk before your very eyes right now!" Duke Maxwell threatened, signaling his soldiers to unsheathe their swords.
Calian flinched. He lifted his head and braved his father's gaze. "I beg of you, do not do that, Father!" he pleaded, his voice laced with a feigned desperation to move his plan forward.
"I know you will never bless our relationship..." Calian continued with a trembling voice. "In truth, I intended to go to the main mansion today. I wanted to ask your permission to leave this empire with Wolvin and never appear before you again."
Upon hearing this confession, Duke Maxwell's rage vanished instantly. A satisfied smile, far more terrifying than his anger, appeared on his face. Calian's desire to leave was the most practical solution to erase the family's "stain".
"It is good that you know your place!" Duke Maxwell stated firmly. "I will allow you to go to the main mansion. Take a little money from there, then leave and never return to this Yornvast Empire again! You are no longer a Larvin from this moment forth."
Seeing her husband's indifferent response toward their son, Duchess Elara began her act.
"Maxwell!" Elara cried out suddenly, her voice high-pitched and full of drama. "Why are you exiling him permanently? Have you gone mad, throwing away your own biological child?"
Duke Maxwell looked at his wife sharply. "Usually you never care this much, Elara. Why are you defending him now?"
"Of course I am defending my son!" Elara asserted. "Do you have any idea how much I struggled to give birth to and raise him? And you simply cast him out at your whim just because he loves someone?"
"He is empty! He has no blessing!" Maxwell shouted, pointing at Calian's face. "He is no longer fit to carry the great Larvin name!"
Slap!
A sharp slap landed on Duke Maxwell's face. The sound echoed through the silent pavilion courtyard. Everyone, including Wolvin and the soldiers, gasped in shock. Elara had just slapped the strongest man in the Larvin clan.
"You..." Duke Maxwell growled, his eyes bloodshot. His muscular hand rose, trembling as he fought the urge to strike back.
"What? You want to kill me?" Duchess Elara challenged, her eyes shimmering with tears of rage. "Kill me then, if it satisfies your thirst for power!"
As Maxwell's hand moved swiftly to strike Elara, Calian moved faster. He spread both arms, standing tall in front of his mother as a human shield.
Thwack!
The heavy blow landed squarely on Calian's cheek. The young man's body was thrown to the ground, his head striking the hard earth. Fresh blood immediately trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining the dust of the courtyard.
"Calian!" Elara screamed hysterically. She knelt down at once to help her son up. Wolvin also rushed over, his golden eyes flashing with a killing intent, yet he restrained himself for the sake of Calian's plan.
Elara glared at her husband with a look that could freeze fire. "What have you done, Maxwell? Do you truly wish to kill your own biological son?"
"It would be better if he were dead!" Maxwell stated without a shred of remorse. "His birth into this world has contributed nothing to our family!"
Maxwell stared at his wife with deep-seated loathing. "Why do you protect him? Is this trash so precious in your eyes?"
"Because he is my son!" Duchess Elara declared, her voice raspy yet authoritative. "Of course he is precious to me! He is the only thing left of my humanity!"
"Do you want to be with this useless son that badly?" Maxwell asked in a low, threatening tone.
"Yes!" Elara replied without hesitation. "At the very least, he still has empathy and a conscience. Unlike his three siblings whom you have turned into monsters devoid of any feeling!"
Hearing that answer, Duke Maxwell realized he had lost his wife. He turned away sharply, his cloak billowing in the wind.
"Elara!" Maxwell called out without looking back. "If you truly choose to be with that useless boy, return to the main mansion now and pack your things immediately! Never set foot on Larvin land again after today. I shall also arrange for our divorce. Live as you please, Lady Elara."
Without waiting for a reply, Duke Maxwell boarded his carriage. His troops turned and followed, leaving behind only swirling dust. A painful silence once again enveloped the West Pavilion.
Calian looked at his mother. His chest felt tight as he saw tears begin to well in Elara's eyes. "Mother... I'm sorry. Are you truly okay with this decision?"
Elara smiled gently despite her tearful eyes. She wiped the blood from Calian's lip with her handkerchief. "It's alright, Calian. You needn't worry. That title of Duchess was merely a golden chain that has bound me all these years."
Her voice wavered for a moment, but she quickly steadied herself. "Everything has happened as it should. This is destiny. Let us go to the main mansion at once. I will take all the belongings and wealth that are rightfully mine before we leave this empire forever!"
Calian nodded obediently, though his heart ached at his mother's sad smile. Wolvin squeezed Calian's hand tightly, offering strength in silence.
The three of them boarded Elara's noble carriage parked nearby. The journey to the Larvin main mansion took hours, passing through forests and hills that once felt like home to Calian, but now felt like foreign territory.
Inside the luxurious yet hollow carriage, Elara held the hands of Calian and Wolvin.
"Calian... Wolvin..." Elara called softly. "Let us leave all this bitterness behind. Let us go elsewhere, where the name Larvin is unknown, and start a new chapter there."
Calian looked at his mother with deep respect. "Yes, Mother. If it is with you and Wolvin, I do not mind going anywhere."
The carriage rolled on, carrying them toward a final farewell to the past before facing an unmapped future.