Kidnapped Lout

13/Betrayal

Cale flopped down on the bed with an exasperated sigh.

This morning he had attended a mandatory tea party with his step sister Lily. She was now only three years old, yet still found numerous ways to tire him out in less than a half hour.

It didn't help that his stepmother had not even tried to hide her giggles. Basen also stopped by before his morning classes to say hello, but he had at least acted calm in front of them. Cale could tell he was silently smiling when he turned around.

Everyone outside of the family circle thought that he had a terrible relationship with his siblings, and it was partially true.

Him and Basen rarely conversed with each other on their own time, and when they did, it was mostly just half-assed greetings in the hallways or a 'you would be a better heir' talk.

Lily was just a toddler, so Cale didn't feel the need to distance himself from her yet. Plus, and he would never admit this to anyone, he thought that she was rather cute, even when she accidentally spilled hot tea all over him.

Violan was pleasant company since she didn't attempt to make useless small talk with him, which was appreciated. His father on the other hand was as unreachable as usual.

Cale could clearly remember the last time he had hugged his father. It was on that day, five years ago. The day his mother had passed away. After that, nothing was the same between him and Deruth.

Ignoring him for a full year before bringing home a new family. The first time in ages since he had actually seen his father's face, and in one swift conversation, he had unwillingly gained a new mother and a new brother.

His mom and him were replaced.

However, Cale didn't blame them at all. Deruth was the only one at fault.

To summarize, his father wasn't the best at being a father, but the rest of his family was alright.

The servants and maids, although very nosy, only saw what Cale allowed them to see, which led to many bad rumors circulating around him.

"It's not like that's a bad thing though."

"What was that, young master?"

Cale flinched at the sudden comment from his butler. This old man was really light on his feet. "Nothing... Hmm by the way, has Lily taken a bath yet?"

"Her maids just finished getting her in the bath, from what I could hear."

Ron's expression barely flickered to a genuine smile, before going back to a benign one, as he recalled how feisty the little Henituse had sounded. One didn't need advanced hearing to know how much she disliked sitting still in a bathtub.

Cale smiled a teeny bit, thinking about what to do today. There were lots of places to shop, but being a trash meant that buying things that were obviously not for himself was a big no-no. What kind of lout would buy a gift for someone else? Definitely not a believable one.

"Hmm. Ron, I suddenly feel like drinking. I'll be back in an few hours."

Cale stood up, immediately grabbing his coat and personal spatial bag. Inside the bag were necessities such as money, food, and other things. His previous life threatening encounters had forced him to always be prepared for an emergency.

"Then this butler of yours will accompany you, young master."

Cale frowned. If he wanted to buy Lily a birthday present in secret, having Ron following him would make it difficult.

"No, you stay here and eat breakfast since I haven't seen you eat anything yet. I'll take a different servant."

Ron's smile cooled a bit, but Cale didn't notice.