Three years had passed since that birth that paralyzed the Amatsu family.
The birth of the first child of Lumiére and Dorian's marriage had become a topic of discussion throughout the entire empire. But to the outside world, the Amatsu family remained one of the most influential and powerful, and his condition had been concealed by the empire.
The child had been given the name Reo Amatsu, a name planned even before his birth.
During those three years, he lived alone in a single room, isolated from everyone, with the sole exception of Kanna, who had met with her lady to inform her that the guard had handed the child over to her.
A well-crafted lie; days later, the guard was found dead in a remote area, and the primary conclusion drawn from his death was suicide.
The motive? For everyone, the reason was clear; that child he had carried in his arms for so long had to be the cause. There were no questions, not even doubt when Kanna requested permission to take care of the child; his mother accepted without a second thought.
'Now to wait…' Kanna reflected after fulfilling her role. Since Reo was very young, she had devoted herself to teaching him how to read and write; a demanding task that the child finally managed to master upon turning three.
He was a normal child like any other, curious and full of energy. When he learned to speak, phrases such as "Why can't I go out?" and "I want to see my mother." came out of his mouth.
Normal requests for an infant who did not understand why he had to spend his days locked inside that room, seeing only Kanna.
The only answers he received were "You can't." and "My lady is busy right now." Answers he initially accepted, but as time passed, they no longer convinced him entirely.
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'I'm bored… I wish I could go out and see Mom.' Those were the thoughts of a bored Reo.
He was sitting on one of the few chairs in the room, beside several books, with Kanna watching him. She wore her usual expression, a cold gaze that made more than one person uncomfortable.
Since she had taken on the role of the young boy's (mother), all the staff avoided approaching out of fear that they might attract something. She could not have cared less; it was not as if she had shared any sense of camaraderie with them before doing this.
She looked at the young boy beside her and subtly tilted her head. "Today your sister Himari turns three years old," she mentioned suddenly. Reo, who had been reading a book, raised his gaze toward her and set the text aside; a spark of pure excitement could be seen in his eyes.
"I know. Will she have a birthday party?" he stated before asking. Kanna simply nodded her head, further exciting the child. Upon seeing this, she slightly narrowed her eyes; she was the only person who could see that emotion in his gaze.
"It would be amazing to have a birthday party!" he exclaimed excitedly before falling silent. The young woman looked at him without saying anything; her expression had not changed in the slightest.
It was she who had informed him what a birthday party was. A term that anyone should know, and even though he had always wanted to attend one, he had never received Kanna's permission.
"It's been a few months since I turned four, and I haven't had a party like my little sister… I want to meet her…" he murmured with little enthusiasm.
"Hmm…" Kanna snorted softly as she clasped her hands together and raised her arms to stretch. "You know you can't. It's better if you finish reading those books, and when I come back, I'll explain it to you properly," she ordered as she stood up and left the room. Today was little Himari's party, and most of the servants would be busy, so she had to help with her duties.
About thirty minutes had passed since Kanna left the room. Reo was doing what he had been told, but he could not rid himself of the anxiety of seeing what a birthday party was like.
'I want to go.' he lamented to himself. He lifted his gaze toward the door; he knew from Kanna that there was no staff nearby, nor any guards. No one would know if he left.
Unable to wait any longer, he sprang up from the chair and headed toward the door. He paused for a moment, hesitating whether to open it or not; he sighed and, without thinking too much, did it.
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"Kanna was right, there's no one around here," he muttered as he stopped at a point where the corridor split into three directions. He carefully looked to both sides and saw no one; without further thought, he continued straight ahead, quickening his pace even more. When he reached the end, the path split again into two directions, right and left.
There was nothing to his left; when he looked to the other side, he could see a small girl in the distance. Even from afar, he could make out her figure: she was smaller than him and wore a beautiful white dress that highlighted her bicolored hair.
"Is that her?" he whispered upon seeing her. Kanna had told him that his little sister had two different tones in her hair. 'She looks scared.' he thought as he saw her looking around nervously. Without wasting time, he decided to run toward her with a huge smile on his face.
The little girl did not notice his presence until she felt a strange sensation that, the instant she felt it, left her completely frozen.
"Heyyy! Don't worry, I'm coming," he exclaimed excitedly. Himari, upon hearing him, could not help but look in his direction in fear. When her field of vision found him, her small blue eyes opened wide.
She was trembling in fear, her eyes filling with tears; she wanted to run away, but her body would not respond.
When Reo was only a few centimeters away from his sister, he saw how she tried to move, tripping over her own legs and nearly falling. "Careful!" he gasped as he grabbed her hand, but he could not support her weight and ended up falling along with her.
'Ouch… that hurt.' "Hey, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, but then he turned his head to the right upon hearing heavy footsteps approaching. Before he could say anything, a large, intimidating-looking man shoved him roughly, making him slam his back against the floor.
The impact caused pain in that area. He wanted to ask why he had done that, but when he looked at his little sister, she was on the ground crying. What caught his attention the most was a familiar liquid coming out from beneath her dress.
"This… I—?" Before he could understand the situation, the man who had pushed him grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up to his height. He was scared; everything had taken him by surprise, and he did not understand the reason for such roughness toward him.
"S-Sir?" Reo said timidly to the man. "What are you doing here? Didn't your caretaker teach you not to leave that room under any circumstances?" he demanded to know; he was angry, and it showed clearly on his face.
Reo was left in a state of shock by the fear that man instilled in him. Behind him, he could hear footsteps rapidly approaching them. But he could not turn to see who it was; fear would not allow him to.
"Forgive me, Dorian-sama. I thought I had made it clear to young Reo-sama that he was not to leave the room for any reason," Kanna was the one who appeared to his rescue. Unlike usual, this time she was speaking in a more formal and respectful tone to that man.
When he heard the name [Dorian], a thought appeared in his mind: 'this man… is he my father?'
After that incident, Kanna ended up being punished for her failure to properly restrain Reo, but since it was young Himari's birthday, she had to leave the place quickly so that the girl could be changed into fresh clothes.
Reo, for his part, remained silent with a dull gaze; he did not have the courage to look Kanna in the eyes.
"We'll talk about this in the room," she declared in a colder-than-usual tone.