Vergil's OneShots (DMC Fanfiction)

Children of Adoption

Duchess Lucianna Silvescue was the only surviving member of House Silvescue, which also happened to be one of the four founding families of the Kingdom. Rumored to have been blessed by the God of War at birth, Lucianna Silvescue had showed her prowess as the General in the battlefields during wartimes and had been handsomely rewarded appropriately when the Kingdom won the War of Territories.

Now in her late thirties, Duchess Silvescue no longer made any appearances in society, simply running her territory in the confines of her mansion and through her trusted proxies. Her people did not blame nor mind her, for she was known to be a wise and capable leader both on the battlefield, and in her territories. The lands belonging to the Silvescue Duchy were well-managed, comfortable for living and safe. Of course, the inevitable problem of poverty hung on the corner of streets less walked, but it was not common for the poor to end up dead from hunger on the streets.

It was in this context that Duchess Silvescue stood in a dark corner of an alleyway with only her maidservant accompanying her, looking down upon a pair of young boys dressed in rags. With the sun hanging behind her in the sky and her shadow casted upon the boys glaring up at her in warning, Duchess Silvescue studied their appearances.

Dirt-caked grey hair, flat blue eyes with the lights within them lost, malnourished bodies, scars and scabs from evidence of abuse and hard work caught the Duchess's attention. The older boy stood bravely as a shield in front of his younger brother, arms spread out in an open show of defense against the strange but well-dressed lady who stood in silence in front of them.

"Do you not recognize me?" She asked, no emotions spread upon her face for either of the boys to attempt at reading her expression to guess her intentions.

Wordlessly, the older boy shook his head.

"How much do you remember?" She asked again.

"What do you-" The younger boy began to ask back in rebellion, but was quickly silenced by a hand over his mouth by his older brother. There was a look of silent warning issued between the siblings, and Duchess Silvescue watched the older boy turn back to look up at her with the same level of defensiveness in his eyes, shaking his head again.

"Come with me. I cannot give you your parents back, but I can give you what you need to survive." Duchess Silvescue offered a hand to the older boy, and against the sunlight it was plain to see the battle-worn scars and marks upon her palm and forearm.

"We don't need your help." The older boy finally spoke up, rebellion heavy in his voice.

"Then take it as if you are helping me. I lost my husband and child in the War of Territories and I find myself alone and lonely within my walls nowadays. The two of you seem to be around the age my son would be if he survived." The Duchess answered evenly without missing a beat. It had been years since she had returned home from the battlefield to find that when she had been fighting on the front lines, her family -and a few nobles -had been fighting for their lives. Unlike her, they had lost the fight.

"I refuse to bow to the whims of nobility such as yourself. If you wish to adopt playthings, you will do better going further down the street." The older boy continued to balk, a strict determination glowing in blue eyes.

"How dare you speak so rudely to our Lady! Do you even know who you are speaking to?" Cindy, the Duchess's maidservant, jumped in, indignant at the manners presented to the woman who held the most power in the Duchy.

"Cindy, please." The quiet warning was paired with a quiet look before the Duchess spun back to assess the young boys.

"Fine, then. How about I hire the both of you? You work for me in exchange for food and accommodations."