Clyde walked through the hallways back to his chambers. The manor was quiet—dinner was over, and the servants had returned to their lodgings in a separate building. It had been quite some time since he had last seen Liliana in person. When her education as crown princess had fully begun at the tender age of four, she had moved far from Fortier to the outskirts of the capital.
“Clyde?”
A voice stopped him short of his chambers. Barely containing a sigh, he turned to see the source peeking at him from behind a half-opened door, a shawl draped over her shoulders.
“Mother,” he said.
Clyde and Liliana’s mother, Belinda, had apparently been famed for her beauty in high society. She had made few appearances since Liliana was born, however.
“Where have you been at this late hour?” she asked, concerned. “You’re not a child anymore.”
Clyde shrugged dismissively. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a stroll. I’m surprised you’re still awake, mother.”
“I was reading. Now be honest—you didn’t meet with her, did you?”
Belinda’s tone carried a sharp edge. She despised Liliana, despite being her mother. Clyde couldn’t possibly admit to having seen her, so he answered vaguely—or would have, if his mother had given him the chance.
“You can’t do that, Clyde. She’s the source of our misfortune,” Belinda spat, irritation seeping through every word. “You’re my only child, as far as I’m concerned. She should never have been born.”
Clyde averted his eyes in a way his mother wouldn’t notice. She had seemed so much happier before his sister’s birth. He remembered sitting with her as she lovingly held her slightly swollen belly with one hand and stroked his hair with the other, repeating the same sweet words:
“You’re about to be an older brother. Be nice, won’t you? The baby’s sure to be just as sweet as you.”
Something had changed in her when Liliana was born. Gloom seemed to overtake her, and she began to resent even the mention of her daughter’s name, lashing out at the slightest provocation.
“Just knowing she’s here turns my stomach. I can’t stand the sight of her hair, or the way she watches me with those light-green eyes. It’s terrifying.”
Belinda was working herself into a frenzy, her voice rising with each word. Liliana’s chambers weren’t close by any means, but Clyde was beside himself with worry.
“Mother, someone might hear you...” he said, doing his best to temper the rebuke.
Belinda reluctantly fell silent, seemingly understanding the reason for her son’s warning. Clyde approached, rested a hand on her shoulder, and gently urged her back into her chambers, not wanting to hear more of her scorn toward his sister. She turned to leave...then glanced at him over her shoulder.
“You’re a kind soul, Clyde...but you mustn’t sympathize with her.”
“I know, mother,” he said, forcing a smile. “Sleep well. You needn’t worry about me.”
“Good night, my beloved child,” she replied in a singsong, then went back into her chambers. Clyde made sure to close the door behind her before finally letting out a deep sigh. He then turned and continued toward his own chambers.
Clyde’s father was largely impartial, showing no interest, kindness, or affection toward either of his children. His mother, in contrast, was attached to him but abhorred Liliana, going so far as to actively keep them apart. On one occasion, when she had noticed Clyde attempting to send something thoughtful to his sister on her birthday, she had intervened and made the servants arrange everything instead.
Yet nowhere was Belinda’s hatred more apparent than in their manor. It had been at her order that Liliana’s chambers were moved so far away.
“She wants to take away every place Lily can call her own.”
The only home Liliana truly had left was her estate on the outskirts of Hudore—compared to Clyde, who had chambers in estates across Fortier and even in their house in the royal capital. Yet even in her current situation, she had to do everything possible to meet their father’s excessive expectations. She had seen servants who disappointed him vanish from her estate one by one, so merely being in his presence made her uncontrollably tense. She couldn’t relax around him for even a moment.
“I wish I could make her feel comfortable around me, if nowhere else...” Clyde muttered, voicing his true feelings only once he was back in the privacy of his chambers.
He was fortunate to have their mother’s love and the chance to study their father’s methods up close, but that didn’t mean everything was perfect. The fact that he had learned of Liliana’s lost voice from Austin rather than his father proved that he wasn’t yet considered an adult; otherwise, his father would surely have told him directly.
“Not even Philip sees me as an adult yet...” Clyde lamented before slipping into bed. He had asked the butler if they could introduce Liliana to a mage, only for Philip to respond indifferently that he would ask the boy’s father. Philip was loyal to the duke, but not to the duke’s son.
Faced with his lack of courage and authority, Clyde could only squeeze his eyes shut.