Ethen and Noel sat quietly under the willow tree near the koi pond. Their legs dangled over the edge, toes barely brushing the surface of the water. The pond was calm, with little ripples that made the sunlight shimmer.
Noel's black wavy hair moved slightly in the breeze. His skin, pale but touched with a bit of sun, glowed in the fading light. His ocean-blue eyes stared into the water, deep and thoughtful.
They had been sitting there for a while.
The soft voice of Noel's nanny called out in the distance. She was looking for him. Still, Noel didn't move. Neither did Ethen.
"I should go," Noel said quietly.
"Wait," Ethen replied. "There's one more thing I haven't told you yet."
Noel looked at him, already feeling like he had learned more secrets today than he ever expected. But Ethen's face was serious, more serious than before.
"You're not just the only child of Duke Edmond Vallis," Ethen said.
Noel frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You may have inherited your powers because of your mother."
Noel felt his heart beating faster. "I don't get it."
"You will," Ethen said, his voice softer now. "But you need to listen carefully. My family's been keeping these stories for generations, there once was prophecy made by a saint about south and duchy of Vallis. "
It felt like Ethen had just opened another box of secrets—just when Noel thought there couldn't possibly be any more.
He was only ten years old, and it felt like everything in his life had changed in a single day. What mattered was that Ethen trusted him. Really trusted him. And that trust made Noel feel a little lighter. A little stronger.
Noel had always wondered about his birth mother—the woman who left him behind with his father when he was still an infant. He never knew the full story. People rarely spoke of her.
After she left, most of the older servants in the estate were replaced. Only the most loyal ones remained. From then on, Noel was raised by his nanny.
A few years later, Duke Edmond Vallis remarried. His new wife came from the powerful House Marcellen, a respected marquis family known for its political connections and long line of ambitious nobles. The new duchess, Lady Selendra Marcellen, was elegant, poised, and careful with her words. She didn't like Noel—that much he knew. But she never did anything openly cruel or unkind. She didn't need to. She knew her place. As long as Noel remained the only child of the Duke, he held a position above her in the family hierarchy. If she crossed a line, she could easily be sent back to her maternal home in disgrace.
Over time, Duke Vallis grew distant. He buried himself in work, estate affairs, and political matters. He rarely spoke to Noel unless it was necessary, and when he did, it was with cold formality. But every now and then—just for a second—he would look at Noel a little longer than usual.
"You really do resemble that insolent woman," he would mutter, mostly to himself. "She never appreciated my love."
Noel never knew how to respond to that. He didn't know how he felt about it. Most of the time, he didn't feel much at all. He rarely thought about his mother… except for those rare moments when the Duke's voice cracked, just a little, or when Ethen quietly changed the subject like he knew something Noel didn't.
Noel never asked.
But deep down, a part of him always wondered.
But if the truth lay somewhere in his blood, passed down from a woman the world had nearly forgotten, then what?
His mother. Ocean-blue eyes that seemed to hold secrets of the sea. The same eyes Noel had inherited. People whispered about her even now, though never loudly, and never in front of the Duke.
Noel's mother wasn't born into nobility. She had been adopted as a young girl by a baron's family in the quiet countryside. They raised her well, gave her their name, but she never quite fit in with the other noble daughters. She wasn't social. She didn't play the politics of court or care for gossip. Some called her strange—others, enchanted.
When she came of age, she was invited to a coming-of-age celebration hosted by House Dareth, they were a county known for their lavish parties and strong ties to the southern nobility. That night changed everything.
It was there she met Edmond Vallis.
Edmond had grown bored of such events, full of empty flattery and shallow conversation. But that night, his gaze fell on her. Not because she was loud or sparkling like the rest—but because she was quiet, calm, and seemed to belong to a world no one else could see.
Her name was Elira.
Elira didn't speak much that night, but her presence lingered. Over the next few weeks, Edmond ran into her again—always by chance, or so it seemed. In gardens, at small gatherings, or in the library of a mutual acquaintance. He found himself drawn to her in a way he couldn't explain.
It didn't take long before he formally proposed. Their courtship was short, almost rushed by noble standards, but he was determined. And she… she simply said yes.
They were married within a season.
But whatever peace they might have shared in those early days didn't last. Noel never knew what caused the rift between them—only that by the time he was born, the love between his parents had already crumbled into silence.
Then one day, Elira was simply… gone.
No letters. No explanations. Just gone. Along with her adopted parents, who were nowhere to be found. The only thing his mother left behind was a pendant—marked with an insignia that didn't belong to the Nirathis Empire.
And Duke Vallis never spoke of her again—except in bitter mutterings when Noel did something that reminded him too much of her.