The Monster and the Witch

⚜︎ Ep 3: The Past, Marquis of Gindari ⚜︎

Before, Carmine's father was a baron by the name of Rendra. He married Carmine's mother, Cantika, to raise his social status as a Marquis. He was not Carmine's real father. Cantika only needed someone to cover up the fact that she got pregnant out of wedlock. For the nobles in Samaraya, a pregnancy outside of marriage was a great disgrace. Especially if the man did not intend to marry the woman, which was the case with Carmine's biological father.

Carmine did not even care whether his real father was alive.

The only father that Carmine knew was Rendra. Yet Rendra never loved Cantika, too. And he certainly never cared about Carmine.

However, little Carmine craved fatherly love, to the point that she was willing to reveal her biggest secret to Rendra even though Cantika had forbidden her to.

***

"Father," Carmine called Rendra one day. "Why are you sad?"

Rendra Gindari just threw a book against the wall. He then cleared his desk with one angry sweep. The sound of falling objects resounded in the room for a few moments. Piles of books and papers were strewn on the floor.

Carmine, who happened to pass by Rendra's office, heard this and asked about Rendra's condition. Even though Rendra only grumbled with incorrigible words, Carmine, who was only thirteen at that time, could understand what was causing his anger.

"Is Lord Rayan giving you more trouble?"

Of all the nobles in the Samaraya Kingdom, Lord Rayan was the one who opposed Rendra as the Marquis the most. Lord Rayan, the Count of Madali did not approve of Rendra's origin, who was originally only a Baron. To Rayan, Rendra only earned the title 'Marquis' in name alone. It should have been Carmine's mother who held the real power behind the name. But for the past two years, Carmine's mother had been suffering from a chronic illness. Rendra saw this as an opportunity for him to become the real Marquis. The man wanted to taste power.

"H– How did you know about that?"

Cantika always told Carmine that from birth, she was gifted with incredible abilities. This was because she inherited the eyes of her biological father. A pair of eyes with ruby red irises. Her ability was to be able to read people and situations well. The ruby eyes gave Carmine the ability to analyze a situation fast, which obviously was a huge advantage for Carmine as the daughter of a Marquis. She could also easily find the weak points of any mystical beasts, although it was very rare to find mystical beasts in human settlements in recent years.

Indeed, those were simple abilities. But such abilities made Carmine much smarter and more mature than children her age. She could quickly understand social concepts, politics, and even war strategies. She could master various languages and apply various knowledge. Carmine was considered a prodigy.

And in the world they lived in, amid power struggles, Carmine could be a valuable asset.

But apart from Carmine's eyes, that girl also had magical abilities. A rare type of magic.

"Carmine, you were gifted by your father so many things," Cantika once said, "Do not tell anyone about your abilities."

At that time, Carmine didn't understand why she had to hide her abilities. Though she said yes to her mother.

During Carmine's thirteen years of life, Cantika tried to hide her daughter's intelligence and magic. Even from her own husband. Only a handful of people at the Gindari residence knew about Carmine's gifts... Until that day when Carmine tried to cheer Rendra up.

"Father, if you want to scare Lord Rayan into submission, you can ask Raulus for it."

Rendra snorted. It was clear that the man did not believe what his stepdaughter, who was only thirteen years old, had just said. Raulus was a mystical beast who occasionally visited the Gindari residence. It was a big, gray wolf. Cantika helped Raulus when the wolf was injured in the forest. Since then, Raulus sometimes came to see Cantika and played with Carmine.