Bearer of Sins
Kain sat on the edge of the small washroom bench, after showering and ordering the maid nearby to get him something to eat. He was quietly wrapping his hands in clean bandages. The sting from the medicine made him flinch, but he didn’t stop. The rhythm of it, wrap, pull, tighten, gave his thoughts something to do.
He already knew what his father wanted. Gerald Valemont wasn’t the type to summon someone unless it was serious. And this time, it was about that.
The reason for his exile. Eira didn’t know yet.
“She would, soon enough.” he whispered to himself.
Kain exhaled slowly, staring at the red marks that still lined his palms. The memories came without warning, flashes that were his now. His sins to bear.
A week ago at a party in the capital at the Celestria castle celebrating the King’s birthday. Everyone was invited including the Valemont family, the only ones who attended was Gerald and Kain as Eira was busy in seclusion training at that time.
And Sophia Celestria, his fiancée who was the third princess of the Celestrian Kingdom. She had inherited her beauty from her mother and her eyes and conviction from her father the king. Her beauty was renowned throughout the kingdom. She had long golden hair that shine like sunlight and eyes of deep blue that shimmer when she was in thought. Beneath her left eye rested a small beauty mark, subtle enough while enhancing her overall refined features. She was a goddess in disguise if there was any analogy to compare. The second heroine of the protagonist’s harem.
The Valemont family had sworn to protect the northern borders of Celestria and had been close to the royal family for years. Kain, Sophia, and Eira were all childhood friends. Yet, with no regard for the implications, Kain made accusations against his fiancée. He had seen her speaking with another man that night. The smiling, laughing, even going in for a hug, which was something she never did with him.
Unsure if it was due to the large amount of wine or lapse of judgment. Jealousy and possessiveness overlapped any other feeling. This forced him to approach her. Kain had requested to speak with her in private, saying he needed to speak with his fiancée in a drunken stupor. He took her to the balcony, where there was no one but the two of them.
“What were you doing with that man?”
“Why does that matter to you who I speak to? This is a party, is it not? Can I not socialize?”
“You called that socializing? You bitch, I saw what were you doing! Do you not know that you are mine? My woman! WE ARE ENGAGED! How dare you touch another man! You whore! You probably open your legs for anyone who looks your wa------”
The slap had been instant knocking Kain down as Sophia was strong, a mid-level adept warrior. The look in her eyes had hurt worse than the sting.
“I hate you, Kain Valemont...you are a pathetic excuse for a man. Ego driven, weak, and utterly lacking in intelligence. You failed to notice your surroundings and cannot see the bigger picture, let alone recognize who I was speaking to.”
She looked down at him, her tone level and sharp, the voice of someone accustomed to command.
“Do you know what truly disgusts me? You presume ownership over me as if the title of fiancée grants you the right to question or claim me. You mistake your insecurity for love and your temper for strength. It is pathetic.”
Kain sat there in silence on the ground holding his stinging face as Sophia continued.
“Our engagement has long ceased to be anything more than duty. You must know that. What was once a promise between children has become an obligation neither of us desired to uphold. Yet even bound by formality, I expected a shred of dignity from the heir of Valemont.”
She straightened her posture, gaze icy.
“You shame not only yourself but your house. The Valemont name once stood for loyalty and restraint. Now it is tied to a man who cannot control his tongue or his hands. From this moment forward, we are nothing but strangers bound by circumstance. I will ensure my father knows of this incident. And when he does…you will face the consequences of your own foolishness.”
Kain's eyes started to shake with the weight of his actions. Her eyes softened for the briefest instant, though her words did not.
“You are not who you once were, and whoever that person was… he is gone.”
And then she started walked away before turning around and uttering her final words.
“Next time we meet will be the last.”
The memory lingered like smoke, foul and heavy.
‘These memories started to come back only after I woke up this morning...like my memories needed time to assimilate once I took over. If I remember the story correctly, the man she was talking to was her cousin, Eliot Hartfell. The long light green hair with narrow eyes and a smile that looks like he is always plotting...exactly as described in the novel. He played a major role later. Damn it Kain! You could have just trusted her and asked before acting like a fool.’
“This combined with everything else I have done...guess that explains why he is done pretending I can be redeemed,” he muttered.
He tightened the last wrap around his palm, tested the grip, and flexed his fingers. It hurt, but not as much as the thought of what came next.
‘So that is how I get exiled...not by battle, not by failure, but because I am a dumbass.’
He stood, grabbed his coat, and stepped toward the door.
‘Time to face Gerald Valemont.’
Kain walked quietly through the mansion's corridors, his hands now bandaged, body still aching from yesterday’s training. The sluggish throb under his skin served as a grounding reminder that this was reality.
He stopped before the double doors of the main hall, flanked by armored guards bearing the Valemont crest. Letting out a slow breath, he looked up at the guards.
“Inform Duke Gerald Valemont...that his son has come to speak with him.”
One of the guards gave a silent nod and entered. The other remained still, though Kain could feel his gaze which was cold, judging, as though already aware of what awaited him inside.
A minute later, the guard returned and opened the door.
“The Duke will see you now.”
Kain stepped inside.
The hall was vast and cold, each side was a line of knights and Kain could see Henry with a smile knowing what awaited him. Eira was standing beside his father silently waiting patiently as if she was here to watch it all unfold. Unbeknownst to her, what was going to happen is going to be something that would shock even her. At the far end, seated in a high-backed chair carved from blackwood, was Duke Gerald Valemont.
He was a man carved by battle and duty. Slicked-back silver-gray hair framed a stern face, his beard neat but rugged. A scar, long and pale, marked the length of his right cheek, which was earned in a border war against monsters before reaching a standoff with Vorthal, the Drake King. An ancient frost drake whose wings can create a blizzard with a flap and a breath that could freeze anything. He fought it for seven days without rest before Vorthal retreated.
His eyes, a piercing royal violet, were sharp enough to feel like blades. His broad shoulders bore the mantle of leadership without hesitation as head of House Valemont, one of the Seven Noble Houses of Celestria.
And right now, those violet eyes looked upon Kain with clear disappointment.
“Kain”
A single word, spoken low, deep, and heavy. His voice carried weight, rolling through the hall like thunder warning of a storm. His aura followed it and was crushing, suffocating, like a mountain pressing down on Kain’s chest.
Kain legs weakened and he almost fell on one knee, but he persisted and stayed standing. He proceeds to meet his father’s stare unfaltering, though his body instinctively stiffened under the pressure.
“Gerald”
Kain never called him father to his face. Not since his mother died. Silence stretched between them, heavy with history neither wished to speak of.
