Chap 2: Illegitimate brother

Eufemia was sitting on the chair. It had been a week since Clotilde had went to seek for the boy, but Eufemia was not impatient. She sipped in her tea, sharing some snacks with Bastien eventually as he liked cinnamon, until a knock was heard.

She put down her teacup. "Come in." She smiled. Clotilde appeared with a bright smile and a bony figure next to her. "Young miss, I've brought him back!"

Eufemia's smile widened. "Good. Thank you, Clotilde. Would you kindly bring snacks for him, please?"

"I'll be back shortly!" the energetic girl shut the door behind her, leaving the boy in front of Eufemia and Bastien. He was wearing dirty rags, was a bit smelly and seemed bony. His eyes lacked light and he was looking expressionlessly at Eufemia. His crimson hair was messy, dirty.

He looked like he had a hard time. Eufemia however still had a smile on as she looked straight in his eyes. "Well well, it seems like you've suffered quite a lot out there, hm?"

She smiled once again. "Older brother."

The boy flinched and looked at her in surprise. Eufemia got down the chair and circled around the desk, before getting in front of the boy. She was considerably smaller than him and looked up to meet his eyes. "You see, I appear to have discovered your existence by accident. Right after our father's death. So, since I thought that I was quite lonely in there, I wanted to bring you back."

She waited a bit for his answer. There was a heavy atmosphere in the room. Finally, the boy frowned and opened his mouth: "Why would a noble girl like you bring me back? I'm just an illegitimate child of a dancer."

Eufemia paused. She knew that this young boy was hostile to nobles. After all, his father had abandoned his mother to die with him after discovering his birth and never tried to help them; he nourished sever hatred for him.

He was currently hostile to her who was this horrid man's daughter. Anyone would be after living his life. But Eufemia did not think that this boy would be like this all his life. Hating someone for so long must be tiring. Especially is the said person was someone 'innocent' like herself. It would be pointless loathing based on false judgement, and this was definitely something stupid. Eufemia knew that this boy was not stupid.

Otherwise, how could he have survived alone in the slums for six whole years after the death of his mother? "You see, despite the fact that we do not share the same mother, we still have the same useless, stupid, detestable waste of a father. That makes us half-siblings. So, although our blood bond is undesired, we are still family." Eufemia really loathed her father. She hated stupid people in general. This person had lured this body's mother with his gentle treatment and handsome face into marriage because she was a Marquis's daughter, and turned into an abusive, cheating bastard after putting a ring on her finger.

Eufemia firmly detested this type of people. The boy seemed taken aback by the furious tone of the girl despite her unwavering smile. Eufemia continued. "And, as we are family, we should be together. So, I asked Clotilde to bring you back to live with me. Since this person is no more, you should have no problems with it, right?" She tilted her head with a smile.

"No." He answered decisively. Eufemia opened her golden eyes. She knew that it would not be that easy.

She chuckled. "Why?" Raising her eyebrow at him, she asked. He crossed his arms and was about to open his mouth, but Eufemia started first. "I know you do not have any friends back there. I also know that everyone despises you. I also know that you struggle to even eat a meal a day, and it's mostly bread. I also know that every winter, you have to endure the extreme cold without proper clothes to warm yourself up. I also know that you get sick easily. So, why would you not come to live with me?" She asked again.

This time, his opened mouth did not let a sound out before he pursed his lips into a frustrated line and looked away. Eufemia beamed and clapped her hands. "It's settled then! Bastien, do call the maids to give older brother a bath, please."

"Wait—!" However, Bastien had already disappeared and maids surrounded the young boy. He looked one last time at the smiling Eufemia who waved at him.

"I look forward to living with you, older brother Urian." She said as her golden eyes gleamed, a cunning smile on her face.

Urian felt that he had greatly underestimated his little sister.