章節 1: Prologue
Noah sighed as he clasped the last pin on his shirt. He raised his gaze and took a look in the mirror. A plain and simple face returned his gaze with dark brown eyes. His curly black hair dangled over the sides of his face and the small dusting of a beard he had on his chin was the only thing that made him look mature enough for this ceremony.
"Master Noah, are you ready?" A knock came from the door of his room and he turned around.
"Ready as I can be, Albert." Noah sighed again and walked across the length of the room before opening the door, revealing his personal manservant.
Albert was a young man, not much older than Noah. He was only 27, and had been raised in the servant quarters of the Orsted household all his life. He was raised to be a servant.
"Lord Orsted is waiting for you with his other children that are taking part in the ceremony. I was sent to remind you not to waste their time." Albert said, conveying a look with his eyes while his tone was plain and simple. Noah resisted a smirk upon seeing Albert's look and nodded.
"Then let's leave. We can't keep my noble father waiting." Noah stepped out and closed the door behind him. The two of them walked through the wide halls with tapestry and fine pottery lining the walls. There were small statues and fine armor decorating both sides at intervals.
The Orsted Family was of noble lineage, bearing the rank of Viscount in the Kingdom of Argast. Its history stretched back to over two hundred years ago when the ancestor of the Orsted Family had saved the daughter of the King, earning himself the status of Baron. In that time, the Argast Kingdom was still fairly small and developing, so there was room for growth. The ancestor, Orsted Baynfell, had made many contributions, and had eventually climbed his way up to the rank of Viscount before his old age, seemingly content with what he had achieved, and the future he had secured for his descendants.
The current head of the Orsted Family, Balor Orsted, was a man who lacked the same honor his ancestor once possessed. He lived a lavish lifestyle and indulged in the pleasures of life. This was why he had multiple wives and a dozen concubines.
Noah was a son belonging to one of Balor's concubines, granting him the title of illegitimate son. His mother had remained faithful to Balor Orsted despite the man's lack of care towards her because her position as a concubine put a good roof over the heads of she and her son, and provided them with the basic comforts of life. She got to live a simple yet fulfilling life with the status of a concubine of the Lord of the Orsted Family. She also got to guarantee a decent future for her only child, Noah. If he was lucky, then he could amount to something good within the ranks of the family, but even without, he would not be too bad as he was.
Before long, Noah arrived in a courtyard that was decorated with colorful flowers and beautifully crafted stonework. He did not spare it much attention and turned his gaze to the middle aged man with a head of brown hair laced with faint gray hair and a dark brown beard with similar lacings of gray. The man had a slightly chubby physique but held himself up finely.
This man was the Lord of the Orsted Family, Viscount Balor.
"Noah, you are finally here." Noah's gaze shifted to a young lady standing beside Balor. Like the head of the family, she sported a head of fine brown hair that reached her back, a pair of dark brown eyes, and a chubby face. This was Eleanor Orsted, legitimate daughter of Balor Orsted. Her title of legitimate daughter allowed her to proudly bear the Orsted name, unlike Noah, who bore the surname of his mother, Barker.
"Forgive me." Noah curtly responded, not bothering to provide an excuse to his tardiness. It was pointless.
"Sister, do not bother, it is a habit of his. That is why he is what he is." A young man on the other side of Balor snorted and spoke to Eleanor. His name was Curtis Orsted, legitimate son of Balor Orsted, and brother to Eleanor Orsted. The two of them shared a mother, the first wife of Balor Orsted, and his favorite.
Noah looked around, and scattered around the courtyard were a few other legitimate and illegitimate children of Balor. There was a clear separation between the two groups.
"Ahem, let us depart now. We must not be late for the ceremony." Balor suddenly spoke up. He turned and departed from the courtyard, walking to where a line of carriages had been parked. He climbed into the finest, most luxurious one of them, with Eleanor and Curtis climbing in after him.
The young adults, with the youngest being the age of eighteen, all followed. The legitimate children went first, followed by the illegitimate, with the later entering obviously less flamboyant carriages.
Noah climbed into a carriage with three other illegitimate children, all three of them being boys of varying ages. The oldest was twenty two and went by the name Higan, while the youngest was nineteen and was called Griffith. The other boy was the same age as Noah, twenty years old, and his name was Joseph.
"Noah, it's been a while." Joseph smiled upon seeing Noah climbing in after him.
An unspoken rule in the family was that the illegitimate children stuck together. The only ones that did not follow this rule were those who were beholden to the legitimate children, or in cruder terms, they were the lapdogs of the legitimate children.
"Hello. It has indeed been a while." Noah gave a reserved smile. "How have you been?"
Noah was a bit of a bookworm. He usually kept to himself, and when relating with others, he kept to polite wordings and maintained a curt demeanor.
每周推薦票狀態
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榜單 
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